Wait Will Continue for Carmel Valley Park

E-MAIL STORY

I just got an e-mail from Manjeet Ranu, the vice chairman of the Carmel Valley Community Planning Board.

He has been pushing to get the city to build the first neighborhood park in his community, Pacific Highlands Ranch. We wrote about it a couple of weeks ago, highlighting how city budget troubles have affected the construction of public facilities in new developments that have been expecting them, and already paid construction costs.

The mayor's 5-year financial outlook through 2015, released Thursday, listed the public facilities scheduled to come on-line over the next five years.

Gonzales Canyon Neighborhood Park was not among them, though the community's facilities financing plan scheduled construction to begin this fiscal year.

He wrote Park Department director Stacey LoMedico to ask if it had been listed under another name.

She responded:

We have partial (operations) funding allocated in FY15 as the project is anticipated to come on line mid-year. The balance would be requested in FY16.

"This is not acceptable to the community," Ranu wrote.

What do you think? Shoot me an e-mail at adrian.florido@voiceofsandiego.org.

-- ADRIAN FLORIDO

2 Comments so far on this story...

Why is Ocean Air Park in Carmel Valley still being built ? The park department is cutting back everywhere. Even if there is money to construct this park, there is little or no money to staff or maintain it. I live in Clairemont where our older parks are not fancy or large. It irks me to see that this park is opening soon. At the same time the public restrooms in Ocean Beach are condemned and closed. One lifeguard tower in La Jolla is closed due to its poor condition. The City has strange priorities. There is one perfectly good recreation center and park in Carmel Valley, an upscale community, where the residents really could get along until there is money to maintain a new parks.

Posted by grasca | reply to this comment
October 4, 2009 7:24 pm

I bought a home over eight years ago that is a couple blocks away from Ocean Air park and I've been paying HOA and Mello Roos fees (approx. $1244/year). Not being plugged into all the inner workings of our city, my understanding is that my fees will be going to pay for not only the park but the school that is adjacent to it. I would think there are legal reasons for not using these funds for other priorities such as the OB restrooms and the La Jolla lifeguard tower. By the way, the park opening is being delayed due to lack of funds to maintain the park. So by no means is this park totally immune from the financial troubles of our city.

Posted by Dan K. | reply to this comment
November 16, 2009 2:50 pm

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