Mayor Matt Hall spoke to a standing-room-only crowd at the Sheraton Carlsbad Resort & Spa on Friday, Aug. 26 at the State of the City’s Luncheon where he highlighted the city’s goal to retain and attract innovative businesses that provide high-paying jobs in the region.
The annual event hosted by the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce sold out weeks in advance and brought together close to 500 business, community, and city leaders.
Hall started off highlighting the City’s life sciences incubator, Bio,Tech, and Beyond, as a successful city partnership that provides low-cost lab space for scientists interested in testing out their ideas.
He also mentioned expansion efforts by some of Carlsbad’s top employers including Thermo Fisher Scientific, Nordson Corporation, and ViaSat. There’s also a number of businesses who recently moved into Carlsbad such as GoPro and Coola Suncare just to name a few.
Hall also spoke favorably about the results of the City’s most recent resident satisfaction survey where 98 percent of residents rated their quality of life as excellent; 91 percent said they were satisfied with the job the City is doing to provide city services; and 60 percent said they were very satisfied.
Services that ranked the highest are the City’s library services, Hall added. The modernization of both the Dove and Cole libraries is part of the City’s plan to promote lifelong learning and meet the changing needs of the community.
“We as a community, love to play,” said Hall. In the coming year, the City will invest 21 million in the Poinsettia, Aviara, Pine Avenue and Leo Carrillo Ranch parks.
Hall said education precedes good jobs and told attendees that Carlsbad High School ranked among the top ten percent of high schools in the nation according to the 2016 U.S. News and World Report. In addition, the Carlsbad Unified School District is expanding partnerships with local businesses to offer real-world training to City students.
Following his speech, the mayor presented a 15-minute video that covered 30-years of growth management, and the main areas of focus for the year such as enhancing Carlsbad’s coastline, revitalizing the Village and Barrio, implementing innovative transportation solutions, fostering lifelong learning, and planning for future city facility needs.
Three awards were presented during the event. Congressman Darrell Issa was presented with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Spirit of Enterprise Award. LEGOLAND California Resort was honored with the Commitment to Emergency Preparedness Award bestowed by the Ready Carlsbad Business Alliance. Meanwhile, the Mitchell Thorp Foundation was also honored with the Starfish Leadership Award.