Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Transportation Infrastructure topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council approves $1.53 million repayment to Caltrans, will open new Pine Avenue connector project file
Summary
Chino City Council approved a $1,529,549 abatement payment to Caltrans to repay ineligible federal reimbursements tied to the Pine Avenue connector project and established a new CIP project number for a revised bridge concept. Council also directed staff to pursue reinstatement of funds through congressional and Caltrans review.
The Chino City Council on April 1 approved a $1,529,549 abatement payment to Caltrans to repay federal funds that Caltrans determined ineligible after a contract lapse on the Pine Avenue Connector project.
Contracts and DIF Administrator Sylvia Ramos and Public Works Director Haejin Lee explained that the Pine Avenue Connector project—proposing to widen Pine Avenue from two to four lanes between Euclid Avenue and El Prado Road and to construct a new connection to State Route 71—has been in preliminary design for over a decade. City staff said Caltrans audited project invoices after the city’s professional services agreement with Hewlett & Zollars (spelled in transcript) expired; Caltrans then determined certain costs from 2020 onward were ineligible for reimbursement.
“As a result, related costs [were] deemed ineligible for safety loo reimbursement from 2020 forward,” Haejin Lee said, and staff calculated $1,529,549 in reimbursements that must be repaid to Caltrans. The council authorized the abatement payment and approved establishing a new CIP project (ST261) for a revised Pine Avenue connector bridge concept while closing out the old ST061 project number.
Staff said the city has used and committed over $5 million to preliminary engineering and design on the effort and has received just over $3 million in Caltrans reimbursements; about $1.9 million remained available under the federal allocation for eligible work. City staff told the council the repayment will be offset using project-specific development impact fees, Measure I arterial funds and a general-fund contribution of roughly $900,000; staff also said the city submitted a request through Congresswoman Norma Torres’s office to ask Caltrans to restore the repaid amount to the available safety allocation and that Caltrans is reviewing that request.
Why it matters: staff emphasized the regional mobility and safety value of the project and said a new bridge concept and a fresh request-for-proposals will be required to proceed. Council members asked staff to improve grant/timeline tracking and oversight to avoid similar issues in the future.
Vote: The item passed with a 4–0 roll call (one councilmember absent).
