ENCINITAS — With $7.25 million on the table for capital projects and millions more under discussion, the Encinitas City Council convened a special meeting May 7 to weigh competing priorities ranging from a $500,000 storm drain fix on South Vulcan Avenue to $400,000 in planning for a new fire station in Leucadia.
The city’s Finance Director Tom Gallup said the meeting marked the third public workshop on the budget, which is scheduled for introduction on May 28 and adoption on June 18. The staff presentation included updates to construction estimates, new project requests, and refined revenue projections.
City Manager Jennifer Campbell outlined several new funding requests, including $80,000 for a citywide permit parking software system, $50,000 for enhanced vegetation management in high fire-risk areas, and $10,000 to supplement the city’s habitat stewardship contract for sensitive urban forest management.
Additional requests tied to fire safety included funding for citywide evacuation signage and $7,500 for printed public education materials. Altogether, the newly proposed operating requests totaled approximately $189,000, including $10,000 in capital expenses.
One major topic of discussion was an increase in funding for temporary Fire Station No. 1, which staff said will require an additional $85,000 this fiscal year. This will reduce the amount available for appropriation in the upcoming fiscal year to $7.25 million.
The council also reviewed three engineering-related capital improvement proposals:
— $85,000 in improvements on Clark Avenue and Union Street, including upgraded pedestrian signals and signage.
— $500,000 for design-only work on storm drain infrastructure along South Vulcan Avenue.
— $400,000 for design and permitting work associated with a proposed temporary Fire Station No. 6, with locations under consideration at Leucadia Oaks Park or county-owned rural residential floodplain land.
During council deliberation, several members strongly supported prioritizing drainage improvements citywide. Mayor Bruce Ehlers said the proposed $500,000 investment in the South Vulcan storm drain could reduce long-term maintenance costs and help prepare the city to compete for grants.
“It would be a huge improvement,” Ehlers said. “It would eliminate two pumps, one to two pumps out of our current mitigation plan, and that’s operational costs.”
Debate also emerged over a $140,000 proposal to hire a consultant to draft a historic context statement, guiding the formation of historic districts. Deputy Mayor Joy Lyndes supported the item, calling it a first step toward enabling community-led preservation efforts.
“We are always looking for opportunities for how can we as your City Council get behind really good things, really smart things that would help to preserve our community character,” Lyndes said. “And over the last six months, staff has been working …to put forward some ideas about what the city itself can do to help bring forward historic preservation in our community.”
Councilmember Jim O’Hara questioned the study’s necessity, calling it “a nice to have, not a need to have.”
“(The) goal for this year should be to identify the things that are important to have over the things that are nice to have,” O’Hara said.
Other speakers emphasized safety-related spending. Council members also expressed support for adding two sheriff’s deputies focused on DUI and traffic enforcement. Gallup confirmed the cost would decrease in future years as initial startup costs were phased out.
Several residents urged the council to invest in infrastructure and safety, and others requested an expanded law enforcement presence downtown to address crime and homelessness.
The council also discussed the potential reallocation of $1.72 million in general fund money currently set aside for the Santa Fe East corridor project. Staff said any redirection would depend on upcoming community feedback, a May 13 public meeting, and council direction.
Lyndes argued against redirecting the funds, citing students’ safety needs and the terms of an existing $680,000 active transportation grant.
“If we don’t move forward with that East project, then we are creating a gap,” Lyndes said. “And there’s not the continuity that the students and the children would be safe in.”
Councilmembers did not take final votes during the workshop, but they used a shared budget calculator tool to preliminarily indicate support or opposition for each line item.
Ehlers said the city would carry a $500,000 unassigned general fund balance into the next budget cycle, with flexibility to restore additional items later using anticipated FEMA reimbursements or midyear budget savings.
“Hopefully we don’t have to dip into it, but if we do, it’s there,” Ehlers said.
2 comments
Cancel Phase 2 of StreetScam
Revert Santa Fe to what it was before and fire whoever was involved in designing this fiasco.
Repave streets that were ignored by the Blakespear/Kranz regime, especially Mountain Vista from Village Park to ECR.
Repave ECR from Encinitas Blvd Southbound to where the repaving suddenly ended for some reason.
Get the street lights to sync better with traffic flow. Standing there for over 30 seconds for no reason is ridiculous, wastes gas, time and bad for the environment.
Reverse Santa Fe to what it was before, pave terrible streets like Mountain Vista and ECR from Encinitas Blvd South