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Lake Elsinore council: $4M road safety award, transit updates, trail easements and homelessness figures
Summary
At a regular meeting, the Lake Elsinore City Council approved consent items and heard reports that the city won roughly $4 million for road safety projects, the Riverside Transit Agency awarded solar and ordered hydrogen buses, the RCA approved easements for the Murrieta Creek Trail, and the homeless task force reported recent client exits.
The Lake Elsinore City Council approved its consent calendar and successor-agency consent items by unanimous votes and heard several reports on transportation, trail easements and homelessness at its regular meeting.
Mayor Tisdale opened the meeting and the council approved the city consent calendar (items 1–9) on a 5-0 vote after a motion by Councilmember Venos and a second by Mayor Pro Tem McGee. The successor agency consent calendar (two items) was later approved 5-0 on a motion by agency member Manos and a second by Vice Chair McGee.
The council heard several substantive reports. Mayor Tisdale said the city had secured roughly $4,000,000 — “almost $5,000,000,” in his words — in road safety funding. The award will fund two projects he described as Railroad Canyon Road improvements, including relocation of utility poles and installation of guardrails, and a set of about 30 intersection upgrades across the city to improve pedestrian safety. "Our city is very proactive about looking for money. So we just received 4,000,000, almost $5,000,000 for road safety improvements," Mayor Tisdale said.
On regional transit matters, Councilmember Sheridan, the city's Riverside Transit Agency (RTA) representative, reported that January ridership was up 11.9% from the same month a year earlier and that fiscal-year-to-date ridership was up nearly 9%. Sheridan said the RTA board awarded a design-build agreement to Motive Energy Storage Systems for solar photovoltaic installations at Riverside and Hemet facilities and approved purchase of five 40-foot hydrogen fuel cell buses expected to arrive in the next few years.
Councilmember Johnson reported on the Riverside Conservation Authority (RCA), saying the RCA board unanimously approved temporary construction and permanent trail easements for Lake Elsinore to advance the Murrieta Creek Trail project. "We got our temporary construction easement and then our permanent trail easement, which means we can work towards that project," Johnson said.
Johnson also gave an update from the city's homeless task force, saying outreach led to continued mental-health service referrals and reporting recent client exits: 11 exits from shelter services and 39 "street exits" year-to-date, as recorded in the task force update. She credited the outreach and coordination by the city's partners on the task force.
Other items included announcements and community notices. Councilmembers highlighted upcoming community events and programs: town halls on fire safety, climate-action community workshops with online registration posted on the city's website, Little League opening-day activities and the Storm baseball season opener at Diamond Stadium. A student, Carson Gray of Lake Elsinore, used public comment to invite council members to the Crystal Apple Awards on Sunday, March 16, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at 18220 Dexter Avenue in Lake Elsinore. A resident, Darren Hagen of Riverside, described local anti-opioid outreach tied to a community exhibitor the city has allowed to operate locally and said the group had supported someone who has been in recovery for more than a year.
Council members also noted local pavement-management work on the North Shore area and reminded residents to watch for 72-hour notices and mailed information about overlay schedules. The mayor reminded residents about parking clearances near fire hydrants and about upcoming holidays and community gatherings.
No ordinances or resolutions requiring separate floor votes were introduced or adopted during the portion of the meeting reflected in the transcript.
Votes at a glance: Consent calendar (city) — motion by Councilmember Venos, second by Mayor Pro Tem McGee; outcome: approved, tally 5-0. Successor agency consent calendar — motion by agency member Manos, second by Vice Chair McGee; outcome: approved, tally 5-0.
The council closed the evening after staff and council updates; several councilmembers encouraged residents to check the city's website for schedules and registration links for workshops and upcoming events.
