Rivals in Carlsbad Come Out Swinging on Golf-Tennis Vote

Last year, as Election Day neared, Carlsbad residents were debating growth-control measures that would sculpt the coastal city’s future.

This year, with 38 days left before voters head for the booths, residents are addressing an issue of a more leisurely nature. The question is whether they will have a place to swing golf clubs and tennis racquets.

The suspense centers on whether or not the City Council can convince voters to favor a 2% increase in the hotel room tax to generate funds for a $6-million to $8-million public recreational complex.

1991 Construction Goal

The city’s desire to build the amenities by 1991 has prompted a clash with the Chamber of Commerce and rekindled a political duel between longtime rival Councilmen John Mamaux and Mark Pettine.

The move to gain the two-thirds voter support needed to pass Proposition M, which would gradually increase the hotel room tax to 10% by January, 1990, suffered a setback Wednesday when the chamber rebuffed the council’s courtship.

“Essentially, the reason why we opposed it is that we do not think it’s wise for businesses to support utilization of funds exclusively for the use of recreational facilities when there are other significant needs in the city, such as more roads, more policemen and more firemen,” said chamber President Don Hoyt.

The council-sponsored initiative would place the generated revenue into a fund earmarked solely for the construction of the recreational facilities.

“Our singular position is that we don’t like the special fund,” Hoyt said. Instead, he said, the tax money should be placed in the city’s general fund, where it can be used to finance recreational projects as well as meet other needs.

This is the second time in four months that the chamber has rejected the council’s plans to raise money for the facilities. In June, the council offered a similar measure to voters, Proposition D, which won the support of 58% of the voters, shy of the two-thirds necessary.

Actively Recruiting

Hoping to avoid another such defeat, all five council members have been actively recruiting support from the community.

The five signed a letter urging the chamber to support the ballot initiative, but its board of directors voted against Proposition M on Wednesday.

Mamaux, who argues that the initiative would also raise money to address residents’ long-term concerns, said the hotel tax increase would generate enough money by 1990 to pay off construction costs of the complex and that revenue generated after 1990 would be placed in the general fund.

“In addition, once the golf course gets built and is in operation, it is expected to make a profit of $200,000 a year,” Mamaux said. “Down the road, by having Proposition M, the city will have more money to do more things.

“I’m certainly very disappointed” the chamber voted against it, he said. “The only reason they want the money in the general fund is because that way it gives them a chance to get their hands on some of the money.”

The chamber vote did little for relations between the business organization and Mamaux.

Motives Questioned

In June, when the chamber opposed Proposition D, Mamaux questioned whether the organization was acting in good faith. He also questioned whether the council should be providing $200,000 annually in public funds to help operate the chamber’s Convention and Visitors Bureau if the chamber is going to ignore public officials.

Councilman Pettine interpreted Mamaux’s action as political extortion, and wrote a letter to Hoyt apologizing on behalf of his colleague.

“I don’t pay any attention to what Pettine does,” Mamaux said.

“Before I even met to talk with the chamber’s committees, the board of directors had set their mind to vote against it,” he said. “Their action was not right. If the chamber is getting local money, they should not be excluding the public.”

Mamaux and other council members say they believe the ballot measure will pass, despite the chamber vote.

“Just because the chamber didn’t support it doesn’t mean the sky has fallen,” he said. “I don’t think they’re in tune with the mainstream of the community anyway.

Looking Out for Business

“Voters supported Prop. D by 58%,” Mamaux said. “Now, that may not be the 66% we need, but it is still a clear majority. I think the chamber board is going against what the majority wants.”

But Hoyt said the chamber wasn’t necessarily formed to back the majority.

“Our primary goal in life is to protect the business interests within the city of Carlsbad,” he said. “We do take a significant interest in the community, but we’re not here to speak for the majority. That’s the council’s job.”

Councilwoman Ann Kulchin, who is up for re-election, seems to have taken that to heart. She is on the campaign trail not only for herself, but also for Proposition M.

“It would be great for tourism, and all the additional revenue that we would get can be used for other things,” she said. “This is something for the whole city, not just for golfers.

“The one thing that we’re lacking here in Carlsbad is a public golf course,” Kulchin said. “Right now, you have to go to Oceanside or Solana Beach or pay $18,000 a year to join La Costa and play golf. That’s not right.”