Wednesday, Aug. 21

City Council meets on Wed. 

Soap Box Derby 

check www.VWRPD.org for details, pre-registration required  

Tuesday, Sept. 17 

Marketing your small business workshop 

See related story 

The city recently unveiled "Menifee Moving" - a logo (pictured) and branding program to identify the upcoming traffic congestion relief projects as identified in the five-year Capital Improvement Program. 

The M logo will be used on all Capital Improvement Program construction related project materials. The logo will identify construction work as City of Menifee projects and remind the community where to find updated construction information; on the city's website and via the city's social media pages on Facebook and Twitter.

The Menifee City Council recently appointed Earl W. Phillips Jr. to fill a vacant seat on the city's Planning Commission. Phillips was nominated by Councilmember Greg August who represents district one.

Phillips is a Registered Environmental Health Specialist with an emphasis in environmental project management. He worked for the County of San Diego for more than 15 years where he exercised regulatory oversight of more than 130 site assessment and mitigation projects for the county's Department of Environmental Health.

Phillips is also a retired Navy officer who served 33 years in the United States Navy and Naval Reserve as an environmental projects officer and environmental consultant.

A life-long learner, Phillips will obtain his certification in Environmental Planning and Land Use next month. Phillips has lived in Menifee for seven years and is a member of Menifee's Citizen Emergency Response Team.

"I'm honored to be appointed to the city's Planning Commission," said Phillips. "My general work experience and education have more than prepared me for this opportunity, and my desire to be involved and make a difference in my community is a primary motivation."

Planning Commission is an appointed five-member advisory committee to the City Council whose role is to review specific land use projects, hold hearings and make recommendations regarding zoning ordinances, maps, conditional use permits and variances. The Planning Commission also holds public hearings and makes recommendations about the city's General Plan, specific plans and the city's zoning map.

The Planning Commission meetings are open to the public and are held at 7pm on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month in Menifee City Hall, 29714 Haun Road. Meeting agendas are available online at www.cityofmenifee.us.

For more information contact City Clerk Kathy Bennett at [email protected] or
(951) 672-6777.

Reminder: City Council meeting day changed to Wednesdays

 

Beginning Wednesday, Aug. 21, Menifee City Council will meet on the first and third Wednesdays of the month. The meetings are held at 7pm in Council Chambers at Menifee City Hall, 29714 Haun Road.

Until now, City Council has met on the first and third Tuesdays of the month. City staff suggested the change to allow for more meeting preparation time during shortened holiday weeks. The meeting agenda is posted on Friday and since many holidays fall on Monday this change will give staff an extra day to prepare.

Meeting agendas are available on the city's website. 

The public is invited to attend meetings and encouraged to participate during the designated public comment time. Anyone who would like to address the City Council must complete a speaker request form and submit it to the City Clerk at the beginning of the meeting.

For more information, contact City Clerk Kathy Bennett at [email protected], or (951) 672-6777.

Earlier this month, City and County officials gathered to break ground on the Newport Road Widening project. This is the first of seven major traffic congestion relief projects to be built in the next five years as identified by the city's ambitious Capital Improvement Program.

Riverside County Supervisor Marion Ashley (from left) joins Menifee City Councilmember John Denver, Mayor Scott Mann, Deputy Mayor Wallace Edgerton, Councilmember Greg August and Interim City Manager Rob Johnson in front of the Newport Road widening construction sign at the project groundbreaking ceremony. Councilmember Tom Fuhrman (not pictured) was unable to attend.

In addition to other components, the project will add one lane in each direction of Newport Road from Antelope Road to Menifee Road. For complete project information refer to the project fact sheet. 

During construction, Newport Road will remain open for through traffic but lanes may be closed during off-peak traffic periods. Residential and commercial driveways will be accessible and a 48-hour minimum notice will be provided for any closure.

In order to finish construction by the intended completion date in December 2013, contractors will be working in both day and night time shifts. Night time work is scheduled to occur intermittently throughout the project with advance notice.

Information about project updates, lane closures and night time work is posted on the city's website  and on Twitter  and  Facebook. The construction hotline,  (951) 821-1911, is also available.  

Drivers should plan to use alternate routes or to allow extra drive time for traffic delays and drive with caution through the construction zone.

Menifee Road "missing link"
under construction

The Menifee Road "missing link" project,  is also underway and expected to be completed later this year.

The project will build what's known as the road's "missing link" by paving a half-mile, four-lane stretch of dirt on Menifee Road between Aldergate Drive and Simpson Road to create a continuous north/south thoroughfare east of Interstate 215.

"Paving the 'missing link' makes Menifee Road a convenient  north/south option through Menifee for residents in the east part of town," said Public Works Director Jonathan Smith. "Residents, especially those in the Oasis Community, have been looking forward to the completion of Menifee Road for some time and will be able to use this as an alternate route during upcoming construction projects."

The $4 million project also includes lane striping and parkway landscaping. Eldorado Ventures and their local partners The Rancon Group, developers of the adjacent land parcel, partnered with the City of Menifee to bring this project to fruition. The city is contributing $1.5 million which will be fully refunded by the County of Riverside Transportation Uniformed Mitigation Fee (TUMF).

The missing link project is one of the city's seven traffic congestion relief projects included in the ambitious five-year Capital Improvement Program. Details of all Menifee Moving projects can be found in the Improving Menifee's Traffic Congestion brochure.  

The City of Menifee Public Works staff did their homework this summer and is ready for the "back to school" season.

In response to community requests and because pedestrian safety is a top priority, the City worked with the Menifee Union School District to identify and complete projects at seven pedestrian-heavy locations to improve traffic flow and pedestrian safety.

McCall Road looking west before the sidewalk project.

A new sidewalk on McCall Road, west view.

The $40,000 McCall Boulevard sidewalk project was the largest of the seven. It included constructing a new sidewalk on the south side of McCall Boulevard from Sherman Road to an existing sidewalk east of Hillpointe Drive. It also included a 175 foot stretch of new sidewalk along Sherman Road to make one continuous sidewalk on the east side of the street.

The project also added a chain link fence around an existing drainage ditch for additional pedestrian safety.

The new sidewalk replaces a dirt path and provides a designated place to walk where pedestrians are clearly separated from fast-moving traffic on McCall Road. In addition to creating a safer environment

for all pedestrians, the new sidewalk offers a safe school route for students attending Hans Christensen Middle School.  

"The McCall sidewalk project is a great example of the city using community input to improve our infrastructure," said Interim City Manager Rob Johnson. "We heard the community's requests and we delivered a solution in time for the start of the school year."

The additional pedestrian safety projects were smaller in comparison and included things such as revising traffic circulation for safer pedestrian routes and safer drop off and pick up routes at schools. These changes required new signage, lane striping and curb markings and were completed at the following locations: 

Additionally, a new traffic signal was installed on Briggs Road to improve school access to Heritage High School located on Briggs Road. And finally, all of the required signage, road striping, crosswalk installation and stop signs for a new school were added for the new Ethan A. Chase Elementary School located at 28100 Horizon Court.

As schools start back in session and more pedestrians are on the streets, the city urges drivers to be cautious, obey all speed limits and most importantly, refrain from cell phone use while driving.