The Solvang City Council greenlit an additional $50,000 to support the Santa Ynez Valley Community Aquatics Complex. With the council’s Nov. 10 approval, the city’s contribution has increased to half a million dollars since June, which will be released when construction begins.
The decision came after a friendly challenge from Buellton. The cities have engaged in a back-and-forth since the summer, encouraging each other to increase and match pledges during decisions at public meetings. Buellton approved its own $450,000 pledge on Oct. 23 with a promise to pitch in $50,000 more if Solvang did.
“It is important to note that both cities’ financial participation is noticed by the entire community and encourages others to contribute to the cause,” Solvang City Manager Randy Murphy said during the Nov. 10 meeting.
Other entities have donated as well, including around $240,000 from the county and between $100,000 and $150,000 from the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, Murphy said.
“Also, part of the idea is by the cities contributing a half a million dollars each, that the county and the tribe would follow suit,” Murphy said. “There’s no commitment from them, but we’re hoping to encourage them.”
Spearheaded by the nonprofit Santa Ynez Valley Aquatics Foundation, the swimming complex will serve the Santa Ynez and Los Alamos valleys, communities that don’t have a year-round public pool, according to the foundation. The project’s two pools are planned to be built at Santa Ynez High School and will be open to students and the public. In total, the project’s estimated cost is $13.7 million, with $4.6 million already raised.
Lisa Palmer, the foundation’s board president, expressed appreciation at the Solvang meeting.
“I just wanted to thank the council for their earlier commitment and to thank Randy for his continued involvement and advocacy of the project,” Palmer said. “We’re, of course, grateful for the momentum and the commitment of both cities.”
Palmer added that the foundation has obtained two more $50,000 grants since Buellton’s pledge in October.
However, Elizabeth Orona, Solvang’s only dissenting council member, said she’d like to see other entities “share in the big numbers” and ensure the city gets through the holiday season with its predicted revenue.
“I don’t see a compelling reason to put more money now. I think we can do that more leisurely as we go through this year’s budget and even into ’26 and ’27,” Orona said.
Councilmember Mark Infanti disagreed, saying that the city isn’t required to pay until the foundation comes up with all the money. Solvang’s $500,000 pledge will be drawn from Measure U funds, a sales tax measure that passed in 2022 to support recreation programs and essential services.
There are also guardrails on the funds, which would expire on June 30, 2028, if unused and be withdrawn if the project is unviable, according to the staff report.
“If it comes to that, we’ll put the money up, but it’s not something we need to worry about for the next year or so,” Infanti said.
Buellton is anticipated to match Solvang’s pledge at an upcoming City Council meeting.
This article appears in Nov 20 – Nov 27, 2025.