The Carlsbad City Council-sponsored Connecting Community, Place & Spirit (CCPS) took place on November 2, 2005 at the Grand Pacific Palisades Resort. Over 100 people including: City employees, chamber leaders, school officials, tourism and museum employees, developers and community activists, gathered for the all day workshop to discuss what Carlsbad should include in a new civic center complex.
CCPS began with an overview of the first CCPS, held 2 years ago. At that time, the city had recently purchased the Farmers Insurance building and wanted community input on how to turn the location into a City Hall complex. The event ended with city leaders learning the community wanted more from a civic center than the site could provide.
"Today, we are not going to talk about location… we're going to talk about what our community's center will be," Councilman Mark Packard told the crowd at the beginning of the 2005 CCPS event. "If there is some change, we need some direction, we need some understanding," he added.
The attendees looked at Carlsbad from the perspective of tourists, business owners, hotel/resort owners, city government officials, youths and seniors. CCPS? used braining storming or break-out sessions, which were made up of small groups of 7-10 people each, to cultivate ideas. The groups then presented those ideas about the future of Carlsbad, what sorts of things a civic center should provide its residents what a civic center would provide to tourists and how a civic center could support surrounding and local business. The information they provided was looked at considering the perspectives mentioned above. Denise Vedder, Carlsbad's communications director, said, "We (the city) want to hold more meetings in the community and we want to get more people involved."
At the end of the day, it was clear the community wants a civic center complex that is pedestrian friendly, allows for adequate public transportation, has a connection to Carlsbad history, provides a warm and welcoming environment and includes a community performing arts center. Information from the workshop will be available soon on the city's website (www.ci.carlsbad.ca.gov).
CCPS began with an overview of the first CCPS, held 2 years ago. At that time, the city had recently purchased the Farmers Insurance building and wanted community input on how to turn the location into a City Hall complex. The event ended with city leaders learning the community wanted more from a civic center than the site could provide.
"Today, we are not going to talk about location… we're going to talk about what our community's center will be," Councilman Mark Packard told the crowd at the beginning of the 2005 CCPS event. "If there is some change, we need some direction, we need some understanding," he added.
The attendees looked at Carlsbad from the perspective of tourists, business owners, hotel/resort owners, city government officials, youths and seniors. CCPS? used braining storming or break-out sessions, which were made up of small groups of 7-10 people each, to cultivate ideas. The groups then presented those ideas about the future of Carlsbad, what sorts of things a civic center should provide its residents what a civic center would provide to tourists and how a civic center could support surrounding and local business. The information they provided was looked at considering the perspectives mentioned above. Denise Vedder, Carlsbad's communications director, said, "We (the city) want to hold more meetings in the community and we want to get more people involved."
At the end of the day, it was clear the community wants a civic center complex that is pedestrian friendly, allows for adequate public transportation, has a connection to Carlsbad history, provides a warm and welcoming environment and includes a community performing arts center. Information from the workshop will be available soon on the city's website (www.ci.carlsbad.ca.gov).