Approved funding for Holland Overpass spread over 2 years

By Doug Spoon, Editor

Regional transportation representatives have approved the remaining funding needed for the Holland Road Overpass. The funding is spread out over the next two years, however, and is not allocated all for the current fiscal year, as City of Menifee documents show.

Members of the Southwest Zone Committee of the Western Riverside Council of Governments (WRCOG) approved on Thursday $3.25 million in funding for the project in the current fiscal year. The five-year approved budget includes another $3.205 million for the project in 2022-23 and $1.8 million in related street work for the bridge, also in 2022-23.

The promise of that additional Transportation Uniform Mitigation Fee (TUMF) funding – fees collected by the county from developers building in local cities – brings the total TUMF funding for the overpass to $8.255 million. That matches the City’s overall request to supplement other funding for the $31.2 million project.

The City’s Capital Improvement Budget shows expected TUMF funding of $7.7 for the current fiscal year. Thus the City’s budget line items must be adjusted to match the county’s budget for the project. Waiting another year for the additional funding won’t affect the project timeline, however, because the permitting process and utility relocation has pushed back the construction start date to at least April 2022.

The City does not receive any of the TUMF money until it has first spent funds from its own budget, however. As phases of the project are paid for, the City submits a request for reimbursement to WRCOG. City manager Armando Villa has not stated which portion of the City budget the up-front costs will come from or how much is needed for the first phase.

Menifee is represented on the Southwest Zone Committee by council member Matt Liesemeyer. City public works director Nick Fidler and principal engineer Carlos Geronimo also viewed the virtual meeting, as did representatives of Moreno Valley, Perris and Riverside County (Supervisor Jeff Hewitt).

Cameron Brown, program manager for WRCOG, said during the Zoom meeting that every effort was made to accommodate Menifee’s request, acknowledging the tremendous growth in the city and subsequent increase in developer fees paid to the TUMF program.

“Menifee regularly sees nearly $1 million a month [in TUMF fees],” Brown said. “We’re trying to do our best to satisfy their projects while also supporting other transportation projects in the region.”