This week, Carlsbad’s voters approved a Bond Election by a mail out vote of 2,054 to 1,313. Carlsbad Municipal Schools was seeking support for a school bond that was a renewal of a current bond. Supporters of the bond pointed out that it would be a renewal of a current bond, so there wouldn’t be an additional tax increase. They also noted that Carlsbad has continued to increase in population, which has put a stress on existing facilities.
They also pointed out that this phase of the plan would include construction of a new middle school on the south side of Carlsbad as well as renovations to Sunset Elementary School. In February, Carlsbad City Council passed a resolution in support of this bond. Additionally, local volunteers reformed a “Committee for Carlsbad’s Kids,” which had previously encouraged support in other bond issues to help encourage people to vote for the bond. We appreciate all of their hard work, and thank all of our residents who participated in this election process, no matter how they voted. Congratulations as well to Superintendent Gerry Washburn, our school board, and all of our school district’s employees.
We encourage our school district to continue to keep residents informed about how funds from bonds are being spent on school improvements, and we look forward to seeing these developments take place.
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On Tuesday, Carlsbad City Council approved a two-year lease agreement with the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce that will allow the Chamber to run concession services at Port Jefferson. Port Jefferson is the dock area on the water park side of the beach area. The Chamber is in the process of working out the details.
We know there’s been some confusion about development in this area, so we wanted to explain that the Chamber plans to bring back services such as a concession stand and paddle boat rental by this summer.
The Chamber also manages the Pecos River Village Conference Center and the village façade on the other side of the river, so this will allow us to continue to tie these two recreational areas together. We will also be tying the two areas together for Christmas on the Pecos. We will be working closely with Chamber CEO Chad Ingram and the entire organization on continuing to expand recreational opportunities along the beach area. We are continuing to receive feedback about this past weekend’s successful Gus Macker Tournament, which was another great opportunity to show off our river area.
Sincerely,
Carlsbad Mayor Dale Janway