Jerome Stocks is wrong in saying that the money that the City spent to subsidize the move of the Visitor Center to downtown Encinitas would be wasted if we could have waited until after the audit and after a timeline was established for the new business plan. . .

What people may not realize is that the volunteers had not wanted to move downtown where parking is a problem. Where the visitor center was, in the old Smart and Final center parking lot, had easy freeway access. Parking was never a problem, or locating the visitor center, before so much taxpayer money was spent on the move.

Many cities do not subsidize their Chambers of Commerce, particularly as much as Encinitas. The newspaper publication put out by the Chamber, in the past, has had a distinct political bias, for example, supporting Jerome Stocks when he was running for re-election, and not having articles about other candidates.

However, all that being said, I do feel the Chamber has represented many businesses in Encinitas when it did a “survey” of the surveys filled out by over 160 residents at the last workshop, at City Hall, re the North Hwy. 101 streetscape improvements. According to over 60% of those surveyed, and according to over 1000 people who have signed petitions, most businesses and residents do not favor five roundabouts in approximately two miles on North 101, and reducing northbound traffic to only one lane.

We do favor preserving, restoring and maintaining our precious tree canopy.