Councilman Dean Deines speaks during a District 4 Town Hall on Monday.
Menifee officials shared updates on new businesses, development, e-bike safety and city projects during a District 4 Town Hall on Monday.
The town hall was hosted by District 4 Councilman Dean Deines and included city staff from several departments.
Business and development
Plans for another Walmart location in Menifee could be moving forward.
Community Development Director Orlando Hernandez said Walmart owns property at the northeast corner of McCall Boulevard and Encanto Drive and submitted a pre-application to the city last month.
“This is very early in the process,” Hernandez said. “Nothing official has been filed yet, but a pre-application has been filed by Walmart.”
Economic Development Director Kayla Charters said another Walmart is planned near Scott and Haun roads.
Charters gave an update on the former Krikorian Theater property, which she said has changed hands after being tied up in litigation between the previous property owner and partners in the project.
“We don’t have a formal submittal from the applicant as of today, but there is movement behind it, which was not the case for the past five years,” she said.
Charters said the uncertainty surrounding the property had affected interest from movie theaters looking to come to Menifee. She said the recent movement has opened conversations about other possible locations for movie theaters and entertainment uses.
Costco remains in the due diligence stage for a potential Menifee location.
Charters said the company is doing preliminary work and putting in applications, but the project has not been approved.
“It’s a little bit early in the process for us to be shouting at the rooftops,” Charters said. “When we get to that stage, you’ll definitely be hearing it from us.”
E-bike safety
Police Chief Dave Gutierrez gave an update on e-bike safety and said the department continues to work with schools and families on education.
The city previously adopted an e-bike ordinance with regulations that give police additional tools for enforcement. Gutierrez said staff has since made additional recommendations based on new concerns that could eventually go before the City Council.
“Education is a component, but enforcement is probably the priority,” Gutierrez said. “Our big concern is the safety of the kids.”
Gutierrez addressed the ongoing investigation into the recent death of 15-year-old Koa Quintanilla, who was struck while riding an e-motorcycle.
He said investigators are communicating with the family and working with the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office.
“Our investigators are working diligently to do what we need to do to arrest the person responsible,” Gutierrez said. “I’m confident that that will come to a resolution.”
City projects
Deines said the city is working on the design for improvements to the McCall Boulevard interchange.
The Bradley Road bridge project is expected to be completed by the end of the year. Deines said the bridge will allow emergency vehicles to reach the Sun City area during heavy rain without having to take a longer route when the road floods.
Work is continuing on the Central Park amphitheater and the city’s first aquatic center. Deines said Brookfield Residential has donated about 10 acres of land and funding toward another fire station.
The city recently purchased about 400 acres of Menifee Hills behind the Oasis community to preserve as open space.
Deines said the city is looking at ways to add walking and biking trails to the property.
City finances
City Manager Armando Villa addressed the city’s finances after a question from an online participant.
Villa said the city’s finances are healthy, and the city has enough in reserves to weather about two years of poor economic conditions.
Deines said the city maintains a 40 percent reserve to help protect services during future economic downturns.
“That’s not for today. It’s for tomorrow when we don’t have that money,” Deines said.
Deines, who will be termed out in December after serving eight years on the City Council, thanked residents for allowing him to represent District 4.
“If you know it, over the last eight years, it’s changed incredibly, and we’ve grown,” Deines said. “I think District 4 has probably some of the most developable land here, and we’ll see a lot of future growth that will benefit the city.”
