Council approves funding swap to advance Diamond Bar Complete Streets project

The Diamond Bar City Council on Feb. 17 approved a funding-exchange agreement that swaps $1,160,000 in federal STPL (Surface Transportation Program Local) funds for an equal amount of Metro Prop C dollars to advance the Diamond Bar Complete Streets project.

Public Works Director David Lu told the council the swap lets the city avoid federal procurement burdens associated with a relatively small federal share of the roughly $10.6 million project and preserves local measure funds for other capital projects. "We're merely swapping the federal money, the 1,160,000, in agreement with Metro for the same amount of money that's coming from Metro Prop C," Lu said, adding that the packet shows line-item adjustments that produce the $8,000 net difference in the summary table.

Mayor Pro Tem Lo raised the gap in the packet table, calling it "sort of magic," and David Lu explained it reflects reduced use of Prop C, Measure M and Measure R line items (for example, a Prop C allocation illustrated in the packet moves from $328,000 to $150,000), which the city can now reserve for future projects. City Manager Fox added that Metro committed to replace the federal funds with local money that can be used on other San Gabriel Valley projects.

Councilmember Stan Lu moved to approve the agreement; the motion was seconded and the council approved the item on a unanimous roll-call vote. The staff report and council discussion indicate the project has an awarded construction contract and that the swap is intended to streamline delivery while retaining the dollar value for local use.

No legal challenges or additional conditions were announced at the meeting; staff said the funding exchange and agreements were determined to be categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act in the consent materials.