Rep. Carbajal Delivers $13,400,000 for Central Coast Projects in 2024 Funding Deal

Carbajal pushed for funding over past year to support affordable housing options, public safety upgrades, clean water access, and more

Representative Carbajal voted [Wednesday] to finalize $13,446,901 in funding he secured for Central Coast community projects in the 2024 government spending deal advanced by the U.S. House of Representatives.

The funding, which Rep. Carbajal championed over the course of the past year’s federal budget negotiations, will go towards 14 projects ranging from affordable housing construction and infrastructure improvements to public safety and water management upgrades for communities up and down the Central Coast.

“I’m proud to be bringing more than $13 million in direct funding for Central Coast projects back to our region – funding which I know will have a profound impact on our communities and improve the quality of life for our residents,” said Rep. Carbajal. “I have been pushing to see this funding approved for the past year, and although our federal appropriations process has become even more tied up in political games and brinksmanship in recent months, I’m proud to help break this logjam today and deliver this key funding for my constituents. These projects will improve public safety, upgrade our water systems, create more housing options, and so much more – and I look forward to seeing them signed into law this week.”

The 14 projects funded in the deal advanced by the House today are:

• $2,000,000 to help fund the replacement of the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office’s radio dispatch system
• $1,666,279 for the Ventura County Family Justice Center to provide additional rooms for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault
• $1,000,000 for the Oceano Community Services District Water Resources Reliability Program
• $1,000,000 to fund the County of Santa Barbara and Sanctuary Center’s construction of 34 new studio apartments and a neighborhood clinic 
• $1,000,000 to complete a new child development center and community spaces in the City of Ventura’s redeveloped Westview Village housing project
• $963,000 for the installation of new infrastructure for the City of Santa Barbara’s radio communications system
• $963,000 to expand the SciTrek program at U.C. Santa Barbara
• $959,752 for storm drainage improvements in Santa Maria
• $850,000 to complete a 1.2 mile bike and pedestrian path adjacent to State Route 227 in San Luis Obispo County
• $773,870 to support the purchase a new digester for the Goleta Sanitary District
• $728,000 for public safety upgrades at the Lompoc Police Department and the City of Lompoc
• $543,000 for public safety upgrades for the City of Grover Beach
• $500,000 for the City of Ventura’s portion of the State Water Interconnection Project
• $500,000 to help replace the Charles Street reservoir in Pismo Beach

The projects head to the U.S. Senate for approval, and are expected to be signed into law by President Biden before the end of the week – which marks the next deadline for government funding.

Details for the 14 projects funded in the legislation passed today can be found below:

$2,000,000 to help fund the replacement of the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office’s radio dispatch system, including upgraded hardware and software. The current software and services support system, which handles the 100,000 annual calls to the County’s largest 911 dispatch, is set to expire in September 2024.

$1,666,279 for the Ventura County Family Justice Center to provide 17 additional rooms for domestic violence and sexual assault victims who are fleeing abusive households and relationships. The Ventura County District Attorney requested the funding to expand the program, which began in March 2019 and now serves over 2,000 Ventura County residents a year.

$1,000,000 to fund the County of Santa Barbara and Sanctuary Center’s construction of 34 new studio apartments and a neighborhood clinic at 115 West Anapamu. The project will provide affordable housing and support services for residents who struggle with homelessness, mental illness, and substance use disorders – doubling the number of individuals that Sanctuary Centers can support. Additionally, the new building will include 10 supported, independent living units. These specialized units will enable Sanctuary to provide a higher level of around-the-clock care to residents than previously possible.

$1,000,000 to complete a new child development center and community spaces in the City of Ventura’s redeveloped Westview Village housing project. The Westview Village, which has been supported by federal funding backed by Rep. Carbajal in previous phases, is in its second stage of constructing an expected 320 units. The new community spaces supported by this funding will deliver vital resources to Westview residents, including a state-of-the-art community center, a commercial kitchen, an accessible community playground, and an early childhood development center.

$1,000,000 for the Oceano Community Services District Water Resources Reliability Program. The funding will be used to improve groundwater resource reliability in the Oceano Community Services District through waterline improvements that will reduce water losses, protect groundwater supply, and improve water quality for Oceano residents.

$963,000 for the installation of new infrastructure for the City of Santa Barbara’s radio communications system. Santa Barbara operates a network of 11 sites across the City making up its radio communications system. The current system is over 30 years old, and requires parts that have not been supported by the manufacturer for 15 years. The upgraded system supported by this funding, which will allow each site to operate autonomously without additional equipment, will reduce communication failures resulting from weather events and improve the City’s ability to communicate during natural disasters.

$963,000 to expand the SciTrek program at U.C. Santa Barbara. SciTrek allows Central Coast students from 2^nd to 12th grade to experience the scientific process first hand by partnering with local schools to present practical modules covering topics such as earth science, aeronautics, and space.

$959,752 for construction of storm drainage improvements in Santa Maria. The upgrades, which will include new stormwater piping installations across the City, are critical to addressing flooding and protect homes, businesses, and neighborhoods as heavy storms become more routine in the region.

$850,000 to complete a 1.2 mile bike and pedestrian path adjacent to State Route 227, trail segments 6 and 7 of the Edna Valley Trail. The path, which is being overseen by the San Luis Obispo Council of Governments (SLOCOG), will connect neighborhoods along the corridor to Los Ranchos Elementary School and retail and commercial zones along State Route 227.

This project is part of the Juan Batista de Anza National Historic Trail, a 1,200-mile route from Nogales, AZ, to San Francisco that commemorates the 1775-76 expedition led by Lt. Colonel Anza to settle Alta California.

$773,870 to support the purchase of a new digester for the Goleta Sanitary District. The new digester will increase the District’s biological treatment capacity, lowering electrical costs for the District and decreasing its greenhouse gas emissions. The energy generated by the new digester may allow the Goleta Sanitary district to sell excess power back to the grid, making it available for public use and easing grid constraints.

$728,000 for public safety upgrades at the Lompoc Police Department and the City of Lompoc. Funding will be used to implement a new Records Management System (RMS), allowing the Police Department to improve its service, improve data analysis of crime trends, and create a safer community. The City’s current RMS system was installed more than 20 years ago, in 2002, and is technologically inadequate to meet modern public safety needs and best practices.

$500,000 for the City of Ventura’s portion of the State Water Interconnection Project. The State Water Interconnection Project consists of a seven-mile pipeline that will be used to transport water between Calleguas Municipal Water District and the City of Ventura’s distribution systems to reach its 113,000 residents. The funding will go towards the construction of the City’s 4-mile section of the pipeline and related infrastructure, allowing the delivery of State Water Project water that Ventura has had rights to since 1971 but has lacked the infrastructure to access.

$543,000 for public safety upgrades for the City of Grover Beach. The funding will assist in the purchasing of new public safety cameras, license plate readers, and in-car video recorders for patrol units. The technological improvements will help the City’s small police department to better protect the community from criminal activity in Grover Beach and nearby communities of Arroyo Grande, Oceano, and Pismo Beach.

$500,000 to help replace the Charles Street reservoir in Pismo Beach. The new Charles Street Reservoir will provide more storage to receive and distribute groundwater in the City of Pismo. The Pismo Beach 2020 Water Master Plan identified the Charles Street reservoir as a critical piece of aging infrastructure that is deficient in seismic standards and storage capacity. The upgraded Charles Street reservoir will become increasingly important after the completion of Central Coast Blue – which also received funding from Rep. Carbajal’s efforts through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law – because the use of groundwater wells will increase.

Additional Background:

In the spring of 2023, Rep. Carbajal began to push for funding for these projects through formal requests to the House Appropriations Committee for Fiscal Year 2024.

Rep. Carbajal has previously secured funding for 23 different community projects, totaling nearly $40 million over the past two years. 

The funding was secured through the Community Project Funding (CPF) initiative first launched in 2022. Projects must be in the public interest, be good uses of taxpayer dollars, and be certified to not conflict with the representative’s personal financial interests. More information on the rules governing what projects could be requested, can be found here.