County Supervisor Hewitt visits site of new Menifee library

Menifee Bill Zimmerman, City Council member Lesa Sobek and County Supervisor Jeff Hewitt visited the new library site. Staff photos by Doug Spoon

By Doug Spoon, Editor

A project whose funding has survived the COVID-19 financial impact and potential building delays is completing the grading process and is headed toward the start of construction.

The Menifee Public Library is expected to be completed by mid-year 2021 at the northwest corner of Menifee Road and La Piedra Road, across from the Veterans Memorial in Wheatfield Park. The County-owned property has been a vacant lot for decades, used only for overflow parking for Wheatfield Park events.

Now, enclosed by construction fencing, the parcel will soon be on its way to serving the needs of Menifee residents in several ways.

The 20,000-square-foot facility will include the traditional library book stacks, computer work stations and charging stations, an adult area, children’s area and community room. The community room will provide an important social gathering place for residents, said Menifee City Council member Lesa Sobek.

“They knew there was a need for it, and we had requested it, so we’re happy it was included,” Sobek said about the community room.

The library will become the newest facility to serve residents east of the 215 Freeway – an area which was mostly housing until recent years. The construction of a major commercial center a few blocks north – anchored by a Stater Bros. market – marked the beginning of expansion of services in the area.

Riverside County Jeff Hewitt, who represents Menifee in the 5th District, visited the library site on Monday along with Menifee Mayor Bill Zimmerman and Sobek.

“Libraries add to a sense of community,” Hewitt said. “A big growing community like Menifee, you need a lot of these kinds of facilities.

“Think of the community value of a park as another example. Youth sports in a community brings doctors’ kids playing with kids from blue collar families or kids raised by grandparents. It puts them all on the same team. Pretty soon all those kids are eating pizza together. Sports brings together parts of the community that might not otherwise interact with each other. Libraries do the same thing, including the community room.

“Having that room … well, keep that thing full. Use it for service clubs, scout groups. This is a big step for Menifee.”

The Sun City Library, located in the northwest part of the city, was renovated shortly before its closure because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is one of the busiest libraries in the County and is expected to remain so, even with the opening of the new facility. The smaller public library located on the Paloma Valley High School campus will close when the new library opens, allowing the school to use that extra space.

The Menifee Public Library is being built at no cost to Menifee taxpayers. It is part of a public-private partnership between Riverside County and the contractor, explained Zimmerman.

“The contractor is going to fund it, hand the keys to us, and the county will start making lease payments to them,” Zimmerman said. “At the end of the term, it gets deeded over to the county.”

The entire parcel is six acres and only four acres are being used for the library project. City of Menifee officials have asked County officials to consider deeding the remaining two acres on the west end of the parcel to the City – something former County Supervisor Marion Ashley had said was a possibility in previous discussions.

“There’s been talk they might dedicate that to the City,” Sobek said about the additional two acres. “We would have several options for its use. The Veterans Memorial needs a place. So does the Menifee History Museum. There’s an opportunity here because there’s extra space.”

Zimmerman said he is grateful to those who have supported the library project and are helping make it a reality.

“We appreciate our County Supervisor, Jeff Hewitt, for meeting us at the library construction site,” Zimmerman said. “It was an excellent opportunity to express our gratitude to the County.

“It was also an opportunity for council member Sobek and I to express the City’s interest in the additional property at the site that could serve as a future Community Center.”

Bill Zimmerman and Lesa Sobek show County Supervisor Jeff Hewitt additional acreage they hope the City can use.