Press Releases

Today, Congressman Salud Carbajal announced that $9,512,340 in direct funding for Santa Barbara County community projects will be signed into law by President Biden after more than a year of advocacy for critical local projects.

The projects receiving funding have garnered community support and will help improve quality of life for residents of Santa Barbara County by upgrading health care, safety, and waste water treatment facilities.

“I have, and always will, use my seat in Congress to work to deliver real results for Central Coast residents. I am proud to have secured over $17 million for local projects – including $9.5 million for Santa Barbara County – that will make our community safer and stronger,” said Rep. Carbajal. “With these funds, we will be able to make long overdue improvements to community centers, create more affordable housing units for families, and protect our water supply. These projects will go a long way toward improving quality of life on the Central Coast and I look forward to seeing them signed into law later today.”

The following projects were approved as a part of a government spending bill for Fiscal Year 2022 approved by Congress last week:

$3,000,000 for the Goleta Valley Community Center

This project will help the City of Goleta reopen a key community asset that has been partially closed since January 2021 due to a critical need for seismic upgrades.

“The Goleta Community Center, located in the heart of the City in Old Town, is an important gathering place for our community,” said Goleta Mayor Paula Perotte. “The City is ecstatic to be awarded $3,000,000 for the necessary seismic/ADA upgrades at the Community Center as part of the Federal Government Omnibus Bill. This funding will be critical to allow the reopening of the auditorium and return the GCC to a vibrant community hub. This treasured building can now be restored thanks to the efforts of Congressman Carbajal and his staff. The City is beyond grateful for their dedication to the City of Goleta.”

Background: An ADA evaluation of the GVCC and Building D (Boys and Girls Club) approved in August 2012 found that the Main Building had some Priority 1 items (pose the greatest risk to life-safety because they can generally contribute to local areas of collapse) and Priority 2 items (pose less risk to life-safety as they are typically associated with structural and non-structural damage but are not usually linked to local area collapse). These required improvements include but are not limited to accessible entrances, accessible routes to the improved areas, accessible restrooms, telephones and drinking fountains. The 2013 ADA evaluation found several areas of needed improvements.

The City will work to complete these improvements, which include but are not limited to making all areas of the building ADA compliant, including the restrooms and all the access points to the building, and finally all paths of travel in, out and through the building will be improved. The GVCC has between 90,000-120,000 visitors each year including an average of 250 seniors participating in programs at the Goleta Valley Senior Center. Over 90 non-profits and over 50 commercial establishments use the facility on a monthly basis. By providing a venue and rental equipment for meetings, classes and activities the GCC serves all facets and age groups of the Goleta community, from child-care to senior services, with a special commitment toward other non-profits. It also serves as an American Red Cross shelter site that has been used during recent fires in the Santa Barbara South Coast area.

$2,500,000 for the Escalante Meadows Community Center in the City of Guadalupe

The $2,500,000 in project funding will be spent on the construction costs of the Escalante Meadows Community Center.

“The Escalante Meadows Community Center, once built, will provide vital early childhood education and wellness services that are otherwise not available to lower income residents of this community,” said Bob Havlicek, Executive Director of the Housing Authority of the County of Santa Barbara. “This critical funding allows the Housing Authority of the County of Santa Barbara to finally move forward with construction.”

Background: The Housing Authority of the County of Santa Barbara (HACSB) is the largest property management organization for affordable housing in Santa Barbara County and a leader in supporting low-income families to improve their lives. For nearly 80 years, the HACSB has functioned primarily to build, acquire, manage, and maintain rental units for persons of extremely low income (less than 30% of the area median income), very low income (less than 50% of the area median income) and to obtain rental payment assistance for similar households in the private real estate market.

$1,700,000 for LeRoy Park in the City of Guadalupe

This project would restore the park to be able to provide the community facility that the LeRoy family intended the park to be in 1871.

“Los Amigos de Guadalupe, working on behalf of the City of Guadalupe, are incredibly excited by these funds being made available to finish the Le Roy Park project,” said Tom Brandeberry, CEO of Los Amigos de Guadalupe. “The additional funds will complete this project with a much needed addition to the community center for a large multipurpose for youth sports, community health education and adult education, like English as a Second Language. The amphitheatre with the park itself will be used by the community to strengthen performing arts opportunities for youth, and adults. The City of Guadalupe and Los Amigos de Guadalupe can not thank Representative Carbajal enough for championing the Le Roy Park project and the great community of Guadalupe!"

Background: LeRoy Park and the community center was the community’s unofficial town square where community events and family activities have occurred for generations. The park has been a popular site for family gatherings, cultural/national holidays, or other community events like easter egg hunts and boy scout campouts for decades. This funding will be used to provide further park enhancements such as additional barbeque areas and picnic areas, an exercise area, and an amphitheater. The projects invest taxpayer dollars back to the local community to bring back LeRoy Park as a community gathering and event spot for families in the City of Guadalupe.

$1,300,000 for Seismic Upgrades to the Santa Barbara Veterans Memorial Building

Funding for this project will make improvements to the Santa Barbara Veterans Memorial Building, including seismic, electrical, and utility upgrades.

“Once again, Congressman Carbajal has delivered for veterans and residents of Santa Barbara County,” said Santa Barbara County Supervisor Gregg Hart. “These funds for seismic and safety upgrades for the Santa Barbara County Veterans’ Memorial Building will serve current and future generation and honors residents of Santa Barbara County, who as members of the United States Armed Forces, died in the service of their country in peace and in war.”

Background: The Santa Barbara Veterans Memorial Building is owned by the County of Santa Barbara and serves as an important community resource for the area’s veterans, non-profit groups, and other residents. Veterans of foreign wars are often overlooked, forgotten, and misunderstood. Giving them a place to interact with other veterans is an important way to recognize their service and support them. The requested funding is for necessary health and safety improvements:

• Seismic Safety: This includes seismic retrofitting, foundation stabilization, and deteriorated wood framing components. Total cost estimated for this work is $390,000.
• Electrical Systems: This includes main panel, subpanel upgrades, internal wiring systems, and aging light fixtures. Total cost estimated for this work is $520,000.
• Energy: This includes water distribution systems, HVAC, utility regulation equipment, and window upgrades. Total cost estimated for this work is $390,000.

$900,000 for the Lompoc Health Clinic

The project includes the connections of two separate structures of the Lompoc Health Clinic campus (the Wellness Center and Primary Care) to create additional capacity for the clinic, improve patient flow and overall experience.

In addition, a generator for the primary care facility needed to support the information technology infrastructure and facility resilience in the event of power outages will be procured.

“Supporting our residents’ public health needs in Lompoc is vital,” said Lompoc Mayor Jennel Osborne. “I appreciate the county requesting these funds as well as Congressman Carbajal’s work making sure it was included in this bill. I look forward to the improvements at the clinic.”

“The Lompoc Health Care Center operated by Santa Barbara County Public Health serves 7,410 individuals with an average of over 34,000 patient visits annually.  This Community Project Funding will allow us to expand our facility to provide greater access to high quality healthcare and will further enhance the overall patient experience,” said Santa Barbara County Public Health Director, Dr. Van Do-Reynoso, PhD, MPH. “We thank Congressmember Carbajal for his leadership and advocacy for strategic investment in the expansion of healthcare in the community of Lompoc.”

“I am thrilled to see $900,000 for the County’s Lompoc Health Clinic in the most recent omnibus funding package that is set to be signed by President Biden today,” said Santa Barbara County Supervisor Joan Hartmann. “This funding will help pay for new medical equipment and improve this valuable community healthcare resource. Huge thanks to Congressman Carbajal for securing funding for this project and others across the County.”

Background: $750,000 will be dedicated to renovations and the linking of two buildings on the clinic campus to expand patient and program capacity and $200,000 will provide for the generator purchase. The Lompoc Health Clinic is the flagship Federally Qualified Health Care Clinic within the County of Santa Barbara Health Care System serving 7,410 individuals in 2020 with over 34,000 patient visits annually.  The clients of the Lompoc FQHC are the under-resourced and underserved populations.  The total number of patients served at the Lompoc Health Care Center represents nearly one-fifth of the city’s total population. Of the 7,410 patients served in 2020, 87% of patients served live at 200% of poverty or below.

$112,340 for the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians Waste Water Treatment Plant

This project will support the initial engineering analysis required to implement the preferred alternative to expand the waste water treatment plant to serve the town of Santa Ynez.

"I want to thank Congressman Carbajal and Senator Feinstein for securing support for the planned expansion of our tribe's wastewater and water reuse project.  We are committed to using this funding to help build out a system that supports our tribal citizens and neighbors," said Chairman Kenneth Kahn of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians.  "The prolonged drought in our region makes it imperative that we use the water we have wisely," added Chairman Kahn, "our current system has won numerous awards from the EPA and other groups for environmental stewardship, and we intend to make this system even more efficient once the expansion is complete."

Background: Once the analysis is complete, the project is expected to be funded through a partnership between the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians and the Santa Ynez Community Services District (which provides wastewater services to the town of Santa Ynez today). The project promotes responsible water policy in a portion of Central California that is experiencing a prolonged period of drought.  Further, it promotes inter-jurisdictional cooperation between the indigenous community and the neighboring residents of the town of Santa Ynez.

Background on Community Funding Projects:

Last year, the Chair of the House Committee on Appropriations announced the committee would accept Community Project Funding (CPF) requests from Members of Congress. Each Member was limited to submitting no more than 10 Community Project Funding requests for Fiscal Year 2022 and there was no guarantee all requested projects would be funded.

Projects were secured by Rep. Carbajal for both Santa Barbara County and San Luis Obispo County. More information on the San Luis Obispo projects can be found here.

More information on the CPF requests Rep. Carbajal submitted to the House Appropriations Committee can be found here.