CARLSBAD — The city of Carlsbad is looking to spend about $80.4 million in the upcoming 2014-15 fiscal year on capital improvement projects, including enhanced parks, potential community centers, and library improvements.
At Tuesday night’s city council meeting, city staff explained that much of the upcoming year’s budget will be focused on furthering the master plans of coming projects and reevaluating the future facility needs of the city.
The city will specifically be looking at potentially expanding the Leo Carillo Ranch Park, the future relocation of Fire Station 3 as more houses are constructed in the eastern portions of the city, renovations to both city libraries, completing the Arroyo Vista Trail extension, widening El Camino Real, as well as numerous street and water upgrades.
The capital improvement projects are based on the city’s growth management plan to ensure that the city projects meet resident demand.
The city also plans to explore the possibility of building a community center at Pine, Poinsettia, or Aviara Parks.
Carlsbad’s 15-year capital improvement program outlines about 258 new and continuing projects that are expected to cost about $496 million.
City staff did voice concern that funds to pay for capital improvement projects may decrease in coming years.
City budget manager Helga Stover explained that the majority of the budget for capital improvement projects comes from development fees, utility replacement funds, infrastructure replacement funds, special district fees, and other sources including grants.
She said that the city anticipates the fees received from development are anticipated to decrease in future years. While the city experienced a decrease in development revenues in recent years due to the poor economy, she said that moving forward the fees will decline due to lack of development in Carlsbad because the city is getting closer to being completely built out.
Stover said that there are only so many big development projects like the Quarry Creek housing development left to be completed on the remaining vacant properties within the city.
City Council approved further discussion of the projects for a public hearing June 17.
2 comments
Carlsbad’s elected official have failed us, the citizens who elected them! Northwest Carlsbad, the oldest section of the city, is so neglected that it doesn’t even comply with the city’s very own and very weak city plan for open space and park space there. Wires are above ground and potential park space is ignored, all while tourists and businesses are catered to without fail. In this citizen’s humble opinion, our elected officials ought to work very hard to serve the long term tax-paying citizens by burying overhead wires more quickly, expanding a roadside trail system throughout “olde” Carlsbad, and paying to build parks that serve Northwest Carlsbad.
June 17 is coming up! We could collaborate with Santa Fe Railroad and NCTD to improve the footpath that connects Washington St to Tamarack Ave. This path is used by locals and tourists as a short-cut, a quieter walk than local sidewalks, birdwatching and wildlife tracking. It may just need a few welcoming signs, truckloads of mulch, a few hundred hours of landscaping, several benches, dog relief bag stands, etc to make an inviting pedestrian and mountain bike/beach pocket park. The addition of mulch and drought tolerant plantings will help absorb railroad noise, dust, and smog. It’s a cheap, win/win/win.
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