Group Requests $1 Million From City
By Barbara Henry, North County Times
(May 13, 2005 -- Carlsbad, CA) Leaders of the Carlsbad Boys & Girls Club will seek nearly $1 million in cash and in-kind donations from the city next week, club officials announced Thursday.
They will make their request Tuesday when the City Council debates how to spend Calrsbad's massive reserve fund. The nonprofit organization wants city money to help pay for a proposed $5 million clubhouse in the Bressi Ranch development, said the club's Chief Professional Officer, Ron Sipiora. "We'd always envisioned approaching the council," Sipiora said, adding that now seems to be the perfect time.
Council members said they are not averse to giving the club a little cash, although there are many city projects already fighting for the money, including the $37 million municipal golf course, the $17 million swim complex and the $8.5 million police/firefighter training complex. "They'd have to get in line with everyone else," said Councilman Mat Hall, who is filling in as mayor while Bud Lewis recovers from back surgery.
Known for its fiscal conservatism, Carlsbad has stashed away $65 million in its reserve fund. It also has $35 million set aside for the swim complex, the emergency services training center, an extension of Cannon Road to the city limits, and open space purchases.
Unfortunately, all these projects seem to be moving forward at the same time, council members said. They added that they are worried carlsbad may go from being cash flush to cash- strapped rather quickly.
At its 6 p.m. meeting Tuesday, the council will review the latest cost estimates for everything from the swim complex to the training center. Among the considerations will be whether to scale back some of the projects.
Longtime Councilwoman Ann Kulchin called the meeting a difficult one, saying that people who are asking for money are often friends. "These are not easy times," she said. "People are very passionate, emotionally passionate (in their requests). She added that she has already received e-mails from people telling her they don't care if the city builds the proposed golf course, but that it had better build the swim complex as planned. "We will carefully look at all the submissions and make the tough choices," she said.
Hall said that in order for the Boys & Girls Club to gain any funding, it must match city money with other donations. Any city funding will be doled out over time, not all at once, he added.
Matching money won't be a problem, Sipiora said. The non- profit organization already has it -- $1 million donated by a local businessman.
From the city, the club is seeking $750,000 in a cash contribution to its building fund, the waiving of building fees (estimated at $150,000) and a $99,999 grant for general operations.
The money will allow the club to build its second permanent facility in Carlsbad. The organization, which serves children ages 6 to 18, already has a 15,000-square foot clubhouse on Roosevelt Street and a branch facility in a 1,440-square foot mobile unit in La Costa.
The new 18,000-square foot building will go on land donated by the builders of the Bressi Ranch housing development at El Camino Real and Palomar Airport Road. The structure will house a technology center, a game room, an area for arts and crafts, and a separate room for teenagers to gather.
It won't have one thing the downtown clubhouse offers -- a swimming pool. The new clubhouse won't need a pool because it's right down the street from the proposed city swim complex, Sipiora said.
