04/03/2001 RA RPT 03 - Laserfiche WebLink

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CITY OF RIVERSIDE REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY MEMORANDUM Honorable Mayor & Agency Members Date: April 3, 2001 Item No,: 3 Subject: Arlington Village Beauti~cation Project-Eastside, Phase 1 Background On June 22, 1999, at joint meeting of the City Council and Redevelopment Agency, the City Council approved a Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU") with the County of Riverside for participation in economic development of the newly expanded Arlington Redevelopment Project Area resulting from the closure and subsequent sale of the former Riverside General Hospital property. The objective of the MOU was to provide a mechanism for the County's voluntary participation in the economic revitalization of the Arlington area by offering to transfer $200,000 from the sale of the hospital property to the City to help stimulate effective redevelopment of the Arlington Community. Subsequently, on September 12, 2000, the County and Agency signed the attached Agreement providing for release of funds along with the appruved project list. The Agreement further provided that the funds be expended no later than December 31, 2003. The funds have been received and have been placed in an account waiting project approval and expenditure. Current Issue Since receipt of the funds, staff has met with the Arlington Project Area Committee (PAC) and the Arlington Community Committee to ask for specific ideas on area improvements. At the PAC meeting held on February 22, 2001, the Committee made a motion, "To approve funding of streetscape improvements on both sides of Magnolia Ave. from Castleman Street to Van Buren Blvd., including the removal of the existing sidewalk, trenching and installation of irrigation lines to accommodate existing and new plantings, electrical lines and the installation of new cement sidewalks. Additional details and amenities to be decided upon later." These improvements meet the list of potential projects approved by the County of Riverside and City Redevelopment Agency. A draft budget has been proposed by the Development Department with the assistance of Public Works. The draft budget totals $2371000. This budget has been reduced and leveraged from an originally estimate of $358,000. From the $200,000 income from the County, staff has identified $20,000 that could be retained for future improvements in the Ward 6 area, specifically Bryant Park which is the only Ward Six project on the approved project list. The balance of $180,000 would be applied to the Arlington Village Beautification Project. Public Works has agreed to provide an additional $10,000 in sidewalk improvement funds and the remaining deficit would come from interest accumulated from the $200,000 and anticipated fund balances. If funds were still lacking, the project would then be scaled back with the possibility of removing the pedestrian lighting. In Summary, staff' s suggested allocation of mitigation funds is as follows: less $ 201000 $180,000 Income from the County Set aside for Ward Six Project Total Remaining for Arlington Village Beautification Project From County Mitigation Funds