Mayor Cindy Warren touts growth, $15M road project and new wet lab in Murrieta State of the City

Murrieta Mayor Cindy Warren delivered the city’s 2025 State of the City address at the Murrieta Hot Springs Resort on an evening framed by her theme 'we are better together.' She opened by thanking community partners and sponsors and outlined priorities including public safety, economic development, infrastructure and fiscal sustainability.

"We are better together," Warren said, framing a string of announcements that included transportation, library and economic development projects she described as investments to manage the city’s growing population. Warren said the city’s population is "over 120,000," that average household income is "over $139,000," and that "over 70% of our population has some college or more." These figures were presented as context for planned infrastructure and service expansions.

Warren announced a $15,000,000 Murrieta Hot Springs Road widening project intended to repair pavement and add bike lanes, sidewalks, street lighting, a new traffic signal and drainage and landscaping work. "This $15,000,000 capital improvement project will help mitigate congestion along this very busy stretch of roadway," she said, and the mayor said construction is expected to wrap up by next summer.

On city facilities, library representatives said the children’s library will grow by nearly 20%, adding flexible multipurpose spaces and sensory installations. Speakers reported the library has secured more than $1,500,000 in grants and asked for community donations to complete the buildout.

Scott Agajanian, economic development director for the city of Murrieta, described the Murrieta Innovation Center as a medical‑technology incubator and said the city is building "the second wet lab in all of Riverside County" for public use, with capacity for up to 39 small businesses and an expected operational window in 2026.

Warren also discussed long‑range infrastructure, saying Keller Road is in the environmental design phase with construction expected to start in 2027 to create freeway access important for nearby medical facilities. She outlined healthcare expansions in the region — including a new helicopter pad at Rancho Springs Medical Center and plans for additional hospital capacity at Loma Linda University Medical Center Murrieta and by Kaiser Permanente — but did not provide firm timelines for all projects.

On homelessness and human services, the mayor said regional outreach work with CityNet and the emergency shelter partner Project Touch helped and sheltered "over 200" people in the past year, 48 of whom were children. She described the city’s community services and homeless outreach as operating in regional alignment with neighboring jurisdictions.

Public safety remained a central theme: Warren introduced Police Chief Matt Henry and Fire Chief Bernie Malloy, noting the police drone program has been deployed more than 600 times this year and describing the city’s traffic enforcement and DUI teams. Warren also said the city bought a training tiller truck and purchased property expected to become the city’s sixth fire station.

Warren closed with a community engagement call — including citizen academies and volunteer opportunities — and thanked sponsors and staff. The event concluded with a final thanks from event emcee Patrick Ellis and an invitation to a reception.

What’s next: many of the projects Warren announced (the road widening, library expansion and Innovation Center work) have projected completion windows; some items — notably health‑care expansions and long‑range freeway ramps for Keller Road — were described as planned or in design and will require future updates from staff and regional partners for firm timelines.