Dave King said he wants to reopen a movie theater, build a disc golf course and slow down traffic on Highway 246 if re-elected as mayor of Buellton.

King appears on the latest episode of Santa Barbara Talks with Josh Molina.

King was first elected to the City Council in 2008. He served for four years. He did not get re-elected, but then returned in 2018 to the City Council. Two years ago he was elected mayor.

A retired California Highway Patrol officer, King said he has worked to get more officers to patrol Highway 246, which runs through the Santa Ynez Valley. He said he was persistent and spoke to people at the CHP and the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office to get assigned part-time motorcycle officers. He said next month Buellton is set to get a full-time motorcycle officer on Highway 246.

“We have had a problem with people speeding through there because it’s so wide that it looks like a freeway,” King said. “People either coming out of Lompoc or going from Solvang to Lompoc, they have a tendency to go pretty fast through the middle of town.

“I am also negotiating with the owner of the movie theater to possibly open up a couple of the smaller theaters,” he said. “Make it kind of one of those boutique-y movie theaters, they have lounge chairs, they have food, it’s really kind of an experience.”

He’s also working on bringing more youth sports fields to Buellton.

“I want to have some kind of a structure, soccer fields, regional soccer fields so that these kids can come from other locations, like travel leagues, soccer leagues, baseball leagues can come into Buellton and fill up our hotels, eat at our restaurants,” King said.

He is also working on a disc golf course near the Santa Ynez Riverbed, beginning in River View Park. He’s talking with the people who manage the Lake Cachuma disc golf course.

“We’re going to collaborate with them and I think we kind make that happen and make it happen pretty quickly,” King said.

King is running against David Silva in the mayor’s race, who appeared on Santa Barbara Talks recently. You can watch an interview with him here.

Josh Molina is a journalist who creates dynamic conversation and provides media content on the issues of the day, including housing, transportation, education, business and culture. He is also a college journalism instructor. Visit SantaBarbaraTalks to make a contribution and please subscribe on YouTube.