Notice of Violation Against The Art Kids of San Diego County Still a Mystery

The business license has been paid and yet there is still a problem existing for The Art Kids of San Diego County (TAKOSDC) using any public area in the City of Imperial Beach for their art classes. The classes have been taught for the last nine years in the parks and public areas of Imperial Beach. Last Thursday the director was issued a Notice of Violation concerning a complaint and that the business license was not paid for. The business license was paid for that Thursday and yet the kids are still not allowed to use the park for classes.

When asked what the violation was the city was unable to come up with an answer. They have been asked four times now for the reason of the violation without any answer. Is this a great big secret or was there any complaint in the first place? All the city has to do is look at the book and see what the violation is and give a reason for the Notice. They say that the person making the compaint is confidential but that does not cover the complaint nor the violation. One should be able to know what they are being written up for. It does not take a week to find the answer to this very simple question. When a reader called and addressed this issue to the Mayor's office. Their response was, " they knew nothing about the issue." The question was then addressed to the city manager.

The city manager asked that a copy of the violation be sent to him and the receipt showing that the business license had been paid. Excuse me, but the city manager's office is just a walk from the financial department which issued the receipt and another few feet more is where the original violation is filed. Why did we have to scan the document and then send it to his office when it is only a few feet away? Are they stalling or is it they just don't have an answer?

This is a very small issue and yet it seems as though it can't be resolved in a proper manner. Someone made a complaint; a notice of violation was issued. Okay we got that far now what was the complain? NO ANSWER. How are we supposed to fix it if we do not know what it is? Meanwhile, the kids are the ones who suffer and cannot use the public parks for their classes. The city asked us to detail our program so they can make a decision. We have been here nine years and they now want to know who we are and what we do.

The Art Kids of San Diego County (TAKOSDC)

The Program as it has always been

The Art Kids of San Diego County meets every Saturday from 9:00 AM till 12:00 PM.

Sometimes it meets at the pier plaza, one Saturday each month we meet at the West Coast Café to display our new art work and the new theme of that work. The program is open to all ages as there are two distinctions, the young artists (Art Kids) and the older artists (Super Sized Art Kids). TAKOSDC now has some 26 students in the program. We also meet at various places throughout the south county when we have a project to do for a service group or when we paint the utility boxes. We work on the upkeep of the murals for Bibbey’s Shell Shop as I use the murals to teach the kids a larger scale medium that adds to their portfolio. It also helps beautify the beach area and attract tourists to Imperial Beach. Also residents of Imperial Beach love the art that we paint on the building. The shark alone has been photographed over 10,000 times since it has been painted.

The program has been very beneficial to the young people as it has opened many doors. 18 year old Ines Monic Nefzi will be attending San Francisco State this next school year partly because of her work with the art kids, Josue Merigo was accepted to the art program at the San Diego Art School because of his portfolio, four year old Osmar Pete Hernandez has been interview by NBC San Diego because of his art and his story ran in 12 major newspapers throughout the United States. Everything the kids create goes into their portfolio so that they may show their work to colleges, at job interviews and possible clients. Along with the art program they are taught sales and marketing techniques. These are taught by me, I hold an MBA from Pepperdine University and a lifetime teaching credential for business within the California Community College system.

When TAKOSDC does use the tables at pier plaza they are covered with canvas so nothing penetrates the canvas and there is no paint left on the tables. Depending on the number of students that show up we use four to six tables for the three hour period on Saturday. The tables left are not used to full capacity because most people do not come to the park that early. We also help the shops near the pier as my students and their patents purchase food from Cow-A-Bunga, Pretzels and much more, IB Liquor and Subway. So our classes help the local beach front economy as we patronize the local businesses.

As far as TAKOSDC being a business, it is hard to place us as a money making business as over the part nine years I have spent over $75,000 of my own money sponsoring this program. This year for the first time I had to ask the parents to help pay for the materials as the cost for materials have been so high. I asked the parents to pay $100.00 for the entire year for the art materials. This is a very reasonable amount as it would cost each child at least $250.00 just to get started with the supplies used in the program. The lessons are free and they get three hours a week year around.

We have worked with and helped the Imperial Beach Chamber of Commerce, The South Bay Art Association, The Imperial Beach Women’s Club, The Cancer Society, The Lion’s Club and many local businesses throughout the entire south bay area.