Carlsbad Resident Recalls Unbuilt Alga Norte Community Park

During the October 26 Carlsbad City Council meeting, Michelle Levy, a Carlsbad resident of 20 years, cited a pair of big investments by the City of Carlsbad as financial blunders and then asked, “Are we going to repeat the past?”

First, Levy spoke about the Crossings at Carlsbad, which she referred to as the most expensive golf course for its size in the U.S. The golf-course project — already perceived by many citizens as a financial burden for Carlsbad — was estimated to have cost the City over $70 million and has required use of nearly $5 million in tax money since 2007, per Levy.

“I would say that’s a waste of our money,” said Levy. “One of the reasons we didn’t have enough money for the Alga Norte Park.”

The Alga Norte Community Park has been planned for construction at a 32-acre area at the intersection of Poinsettia Lane and Alicante Road but has been moved down on the City’s priority list for nearly a decade. The park project is expected to include baseball fields, picnic areas, a dog park, skate park, and an aquatic center.

Levy added that 16 million tax dollars were spent in 2001 on the purchase of a former Farmer’s Insurance building (located on El Camino Real and Faraday Avenue) that remains largely unoccupied. According to Levy, one of the floors is being used for storage and another floor is being used as a temporary area by the fire department and nothing else.

“Here we are, $16 million and nine years later, and we keep saying we have no money for the Alga Norte Park,” said Levy.

With elections less than a week away, Levy said her biggest concern is that the newly elected leadership will continue to make costly mistakes. Incumbent mayor Claude A. “Bud” Lewis is not seeking another term. The four candidates running for mayor are councilmembers Matt Hall and Keith Blackburn and residents Walt Meier and Glenn Bernard.

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