Source: The Daily Californian, Wednesday, May 19, 1999

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The Daily Californian
Task force to
address issue of

border drinking
ByWally Pickford
Daily Californian staff writer

SAN DIEGO – Concerned about county teens who travel to Tijuana to drink, the Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 Tuesday to convene an international task force to address the issue in September.

The board also moved to pre-authorize the renewal, without competitive bidding, of a $200,000 one-year consulting contract with the non-profit Institute for Health Advocacy, based in National City.

The IHA contract includes money for meetings of the proposed task force.

Because the so-called "summit" gathering of politicians and law enforcement officials from both sides of the border will come at the end of the school summer vacation period, the supervisors have asked the county’s chief administrative officer, Walt Ekard, to recommend interim strategies to deal with the problem.

Please see BORDER, page A8

A8 The Daily Californian Wednesday, May 19, 1999
BORDER
continued from page A1

The board action, advanced by supervisors Dianne Jacob and Greg Cox, tentatively earmarks $202,721 of the just-proposed fiscal year 2000 budget to fund what they hope will be a "broad-based, community approach" to teen drinking across the border.

Mexican law permits drinking at age 18. Californian’s legal drinking age is 21.

Ekard was directed to reach out aggressively for the participation of both U.S. Navy and school districts in mapping what amounts to a prevention-intervention program aimed primarily at weekend "binge drinking."

Supervisors gave Ekard preliminary permission to renegotiate the existing "Border Project" contract with IHA.

The institute, which has several contracts with the county’s health and human services agency, provides "science-based" strategies in education, enforcement and media to reduce abusive drinking.

James Baker, IHA’s executive

 

director, said "our new contract will be $200,000, beginning July 1."

He said IHA was responsible for amassing various data on the scope of the cross-border teen binge drinking problem and in creating "Operation Safe Crossing," which included education and law enforcement components.

Baker said that continuing effort involves the detention and assessment of suspected underage Americans returning from Tijuana.

Possible drunken drivers attempting to cross the border are directed into the secondary inspection areas, where San Diego Police Department or California Highway Patrol conducts a DUI investigation.

Passengers who are unruly and pedestrians who appear to present a health or safety risk also are routinely arrested, Baker said.

According to an IHA statement, "the problem of underage drinking in Mexico is a unique issue" for border communities, because of the differences in legal drinking age, differing standards for enforcement and related public safety problems.

 

 
"We’re very deeply involved in all these issues and have been," Baker said, attempting  to explain why he expected the supervisors to renew his agency’s contract without seeking other bids.

Reached this morning, Jacob defended the supervisors’ intention to renew the IHA contract without issuing a request for proposals or following the ordinary competitive bid procedure.

"We have a unique situation with a uniquely qualified vendor," Jacob said.

"They created this cross-border coalition approach to a very serious problem.

"There’s no one out there who can do what they can do. It makes no sense to change horses in mid-stream."

The original contract with IHA was funded by a state grant.

The money for the renewal will come out of county reserves, along with any supplemental funds Ekard can identify, according to the board’s directive.

Before the board can award a renewal contract to IHA, however, it must vote again to waive the county ordinance requiring competitive bids on projects valued at $50,000 or more.

IHA estimates that its strategies have reduced cross-border under-age drinking by 31 percent.

 

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