Category: News

Eric Castro, Carpinteria Community Library’s Community Engagement Librarian, has been chosen among many applicants to participate in California Libraries Learn’s Catalyst leadership program through the California State Library. Catalyst is an 18-month program designed to equip and support California library workers with professional development opportunities that allow them to lead from anywhere. To begin the program, Castro will join 24 other individuals from all over California at a four-day conference in November in Monterey. After that, Castro will participate in weekly cohort meetings to encourage collaboration, reflection, skill-building, and exchange of ideas. A second in-person conference will be held in March. “We’re proud to have Eric be selected to participate in this prestigious program,” said City Librarian Jody Thomas, “and we’re so excited for him to add to his skills in ways that further benefit our library and our community.”

The City of Carpinteria makes customer service and engaging with our citizens a priority and we are excited to announce that we have partnered with GOGov, a government software company, to launch a new free mobile application called City of Carpinteria!

Residents will be able to submit service requests on the fly from their smartphones or on the web and access important City information regarding events, alerts and more. If a question arises, City workers will be able to have direct communication with residents to resolve issues together.

City of Carpinteria app will feature access to the following city resources:

•       Submit Requests/Concerns with the easy access “Start Request” button
•       Provide multiple photos when submitting a request
•       Track requests and send messages to City Hall Staff regarding the status of a request
•       Access Frequently Asked Questions through the fully searchable knowledge base

To download the free app, go to the Apple App Store or Google Play Store and search “City of Carpinteria.”

Starting November 15, 2023, we’re switching things up at the Carpinteria Community Tennis/Pickleball courts to make your playtime even more enjoyable!

Tennis Lovers: You can still reserve the EAST court and serve up some fierce competition with your friends. There will be no charge for playing but you do have to reserve your space.

Pickleball Fanatics: The WEST court is now all about FREE PLAY! No reservations needed! Just show up, grab a paddle, and join in on some spontaneous pick-up games.

It’s time to rally, volley, and have a smashing good time! See you on the courts!

If you would like to bike to the event, please feel free to join any of the following bike rides from Carpinteria, Santa Barbara and Ventura.Registration is encouraged but not required. Register at https://sbroads.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=506e29b8ed7711b13311dcbcf&id=b1060ebd24&e=4fe2cd80bd

Carpinteria Ride – Lead by Chris Sobell, MOVE Santa Barbara County Community Advisory Council (CAC) from Carpinteria. Ride departing from City of Carpinteria City Hall at 9:45 a.m.  Ride will continue through the new bikeway to Summerland and back to where the ribbon cutting event will be held at the Carpinteria Avenue end of the new bikeway.

Santa Barbara Ride – Lead by Jack Bailey, MOVE Santa Barbara County Board Member and SB/Goleta Valley Cyclists Meet-up Organizer. Riders will meet at the Dolphin Fountain around 9:15am.

Ventura Ride – Lead by Diane Stein, President the Channel Island Bicycle Club. Meet at Downtown Ventura, Museum of Ventura County; 100 E. Main St..  Parking lot departure at 8:30 am.

At its Nov. 6 meeting, the Carpinteria Planning Commission will consider a Temporary Use Permit for an off-leash dog park pilot project at Monte Vista Park, located at the northern end of Bailard Avenue. Project plans call for the off-leash area to be enclosed within a 14,400-square-foot fenced area in the southeast corner of the park for one year.

The meeting will take place on Monday, Nov. 6 at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall, 5775 Carpinteria Ave. Members of the public may attend the meeting in person or view the meeting live at https://carpinteriaca.gov/, on Government Access Television Channel 21 or by logging into the Zoom webinar.

Additional details and numerous ways for the public to provide comments can be found at https://bit.ly/40leLRM. Comments posted on social media will not be provided to council members.

The Carpinteria City Council is pleased to announce the selection of Michael P. Ramirez as Carpinteria’s next City Manager. This decision is pending approval of an employment agreement, which will be addressed during an upcoming Regular City Council Meeting.

Ramirez, who is currently the Assistant City Manager for the City, emerged as the ideal candidate following a comprehensive nationwide recruitment and selection process.

“The Council and I are absolutely delighted to announce the selection of Ramirez as our next City Manager,” said Mayor Al Clark. “His track record and commitment to our community values align perfectly with Carpinteria’s mission and vision.”

Ramirez has over 24 years of public sector work experience, including prior work with the Oxnard Elementary and Hueneme School Districts, and with the Cities of Moorpark and Oxnard.

Read the full press release at https://carpinteriaca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Michael-Ramirez-City-Manager-Press-Release.pdf

In order to offer NO COST lunches to local seniors five days a week, the Central Coast Commission for Senior Citizens needs additional volunteers who are willing to help. Anyone who is ready to roll up their sleeves in pitch in at the Carpinteria Veterans Hall, 941 Walnut Ave., between approximately 11:45 a.m. and 2 p.m. on weekdays should contact Angela Paez either by email at Paezangela8000@gmail.com or by phone at (805) 284-8000. Volunteers will set up tables and chairs, meet and greet seniors arriving for lunch, serve lunch, and clean up when the meal is over. The program is an excellent way to give back to your community and pay it forward!

There’s a lot going on at Carpinteria Community Pool this fall, and we appreciate your patience with these impacts to our regular scheduling! Please visit https://bit.ly/CarpinteriaPool for more information.

There is no shortage of programming for Carpinteria seniors this fall! The November calendar has just been released and is filled with events and activities designed to promote mental and physical fitness while providing opportunities to socialize and enjoy companionship. Highlights from the lecture series are listed below, and the full schedule of programs can be found at https://carpinteriaca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/November-Senior-Calendar-2.pdf.

Each of the following lectures is free and will be held on Thursdays at 9:30 a.m. at Carpinteria Community Library, 5141 Carpinteria Ave.

• Nov. 2: Medicare 101 is an educational presentation regarding Medicare and updates and changes in 2024. Join us for an informative workshop with Brian Ornelas, a retirement plan specialist at American Legacy Solutions.
• Nov. 9: Legal Aid Foundation of Santa Barbara County is a non-profit law firm that provides free legal services to Santa Barbara County residents. Have questions about debt collections, foreclosures, financial abuse or fraud? Come learn how Legal Aid can help.
• Nov. 16: Come and meet Wendi Dunn, our new Community Garden Coordinator. Learn about successful gardening in our unique climate, share gardening secrets and see all our community garden has to offer.
• Nov. 30: Jeanne West will speak on caregiving from a caregiver’s perspective. This includes tips on having necessary conversations, forming a care team, developing a care plan, and care for caregivers. West, RN, MHA is a senior care consultant and a board member of the Parkinson Association of Santa Barbara.

If you are interested in Carpinteria’s harbor seal population and developing recommendations for its future, you may be the right fit for the City of Carpinteria’s new Ad Hoc Harbor Seal Advisory Committee. At the Oct. 23 meeting, the Carpinteria City Council reformed the Committee, which will be composed of councilmembers Mónica Solórzano and Natalia Alarcon and five members of the public.

The Committee is responsible for making recommendations to the City Council concerning developing an understanding of the local harbor seal population, including causes of recent trends in births and haul-out numbers, and advancing the recommendations from the 2023 Harbor Seal Rookery report to mitigate habitat degradation and incidents of harassment.

Anyone who is interested in serving on the reformed committee can fill out the City’s application at: https://carpinteriaca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/All-Boards-and-Commissions-Application-Rev-6-15-22.pdf. The completed application can be scanned and emailed to brianb@carpinteriaca.gov, or mailed or dropped off at Carpinteria City Hall, 5775 Carpinteria Avenue, Carpinteria, CA 93013. Once a sufficient number of applications are received, the City Council will consider making appointments to fill the five public members positions on the Committee.