City Council reviews $16.3 million in additions to CIP Projects

By Doug Spoon, Editor

Higher than expected sales tax revenue projections enabled the City of Menifee to add $1.6 million to its $65 million general fund budget for the remainder of the fiscal year.

Among the other adjustments announced during the City Council’s mid-year budget workshop last week was the addition of $16.3 million to the Capital Improvement Program over the course of the fiscal year. This allows the City to allocate much-needed funding to infrastructure projects.

Throughout the first nine months of the fiscal year, there were seven approvals of funds from the General Fund, Measure DD fund and other sources to support road and building projects, according to City documents. The majority of that funding came when the City Council approved the allocation to CIP projects of $12.4 million that was above the City’s standard amount of 35 percent in reserve funds. The CIP budget also is benefiting from $3.7 million in budget carryovers from the 2020-21 fiscal year.

An additional $1.85 million approved by the Council last week came from a variety of funding sources, including grants, Measure A, Community Facility Districts, and the General Fund. The addition of $16.3 million to the CIP budget increases it to $44.29 million.

What does this mean for CIP projects in Menifee? Here are some of the major projects that will benefit from the additional CIP funding:

-- A total of $2.8 million has been added to the Holland Road Overpass project. This project was already fully funded in terms of commitments from regional funding sources, but the City must first have funding available to pay up front for construction costs before being reimbursed by the County.

According to Carlos Geronimo, principal engineer for the City of Menifee, environmental permits for the Holland Road project are in review and agreements with utility companies are in place. An encroachment permit allowing work to be done in the Caltrans corridor will be filed this month. Construction is scheduled to begin in August.

-- A total of $600,000 has been allocated to the design and construction of Evans Park, which will include a pump track.

-- A total of $350,000 has been allocated for the construction of a Park Rangers station adjacent to the Audie Murphy Ranch Skate Park, plus additional lighting at the park.

-- A total of $250,000 has been allocated to a pedestrian project for the area surrounding Bell Mountain Middle School. A traffic signal for the intersection of La Piedra Road and Menifee Road has already been approved and will be in place later this year.

-- A total of $4 million has been earmarked for a fund to build a permanent City Hall in Menifee Town Center, across the street from the County courthouse, which is under construction. The current leased building on Haun Road that serves as City Hall is already filled to capacity.

-- A total of $250,000 has been allocated to a fund for the construction of a raised median on Newport Road from Bradley Road to Murrieta Road.

-- A total of $100,000 ha been allocated for extension of the Salt Creek Trail to the east of Antelope Road, running alongside the WellQuest and Oasis communities.

-- A total of $650,000 has been allocated for resurfacing of streets in the Audie Murphy Ranch community.

In addition, the City is awaiting the awarding of a $5 million grant to support construction of the Bradley Road bridge across Salt Creek, which will avoid flooding that currently occurs during rainstorms.

Measure DD funding is expected to increase by $2.55 million by the end of the fiscal year, but fees paid to the City by developers is projected to decrease by $700,000 – primarily due to the effects of COVID-19 on construction projects.

The City has also been awarded $13 million from the American Rescue Plan, a federal government program designed to help cities recover from the effects of the pandemic.

Mayor Pro Tem Dean Deines urged city officials to monitor the increased cost of construction materials when considering the timeline for projects.

“I think we need to start looking at what to put on hold until costs are more reasonable,” Deines said. “Let’s make sure the highest priority projects get done.”