Editorial: Now is not the time for spending on an amphitheater

By Doug Spoon, Editor

Here at Menifee 24/7, we try to be as fair and impartial in our reporting as possible. As a journalist who worked for daily newspapers in Southern California for 40 years, I understand the difference between fact-based, ethical news reporting and public comment filled with opinion and speculation. A daily newspaper – which I consider Menifee 24/7 to be – should only post opinion on a topic when it is warranted, and only then on a limited basis and when clearly labeled as an editorial.

This is one of those times.

An agenda item at Wednesday’s 6 p.m. Menifee City Council meeting will ask council members to consider approval of the design for an amphitheater structure in Menifee Town Center’s Central Park. This item, which previously was debated at council meetings on March 3 and April 7, is the subject of concern stated by at least two council members because of an estimated associated construction cost of $3.9 million.

The opinion of the project’s proponents is that the amphitheater would be a “signature piece” for Menifee, providing an entertainment venue to boost the city’s regional visibility and, to some extent, its economy.

That’s an opinion, which requires some speculation. We believe that approving this project would be a mistake because it overlooks some major city issues that are facts, not opinions.

Fact: There are 30 road projects listed on the city’s five-year plan for Transportation Projects – everything from the Holland Road Overpass (listed as the No. 1 priority) down to “lowest priority” projects such as the widening of a section of Ethanac Road and the widening of sections of Menifee Road in the Romoland community. The total estimated cost for the next five years is $304 million. The amount budgeted for 2021-22 is $21 million.

Fact: There are 23 projects listed in the Street Improvements Projects budget. The total estimated cost for the next five years is $18.5 million. The amount budgeted for 2021-22 is $510,000.

Fact: There are 20 projects listed in the Street Pavement Management Projects budget. The total estimated cost for the next five years is $25.5 million. The amount budgeted for 2021-22 is $2.7 million.

We realize that putting the amphitheater budget on hold and moving its proposed $3.9 million into one or all of these road budgets might be considered a drop in the bucket compared to the combined budget shortfall of $323.8 million in those three budgets for the next five years. But consider these points:

-- $3.9 million would be a nice cushion in case there’s a shortfall in the budget for the Holland Road Overpass, which seemingly has been on the drawing board since local pioneer Luther Menifee Wilson first worked his mining claim here. City Manager Armando Villa says the $31.2 million project is fully funded, but he’s counting on the final $10.5 million to come in this next fiscal year from sources such as developer fees and tax revenue from Measure DD – which has conveniently been renamed the Quality of Life Measure.

Considering all that has happened ever since former mayor Scott Mann promised to “Build Holland Road first” in 2012, is there any guarantee that the remaining funding will be there as promised?

-- $3.9 million could go toward any number of other Transportation Projects, such as the bridge over Bradley Road ($13.1 million shortfall), the widening of Scott Road / Bundy Canyon ($27.5 million shortfall), Murrieta Road widening (from Newport Road to Scott Road, $6 million shortfall), or many other large projects in need of funding.

-- $3.9 million could pay for entire street paving projects in the Romoland street grid, the Lazy Creek community, the Menifee Meadows neighborhood of Menifee Lakes – or 70 percent of the paving project east of Bradley Road and north of Potomac Drive. Have you driven through those potholes lately?

-- Perhaps most important of all, this is an opportunity for council members to show residents they are willing to put at least one development on hold in favor of much-needed road improvements. They can't do much to control the Krikorian Theater delay because it's a private project, but these are city funds we're talking about.

According to the agenda for Wednesday night’s meeting, council members are being asked to approve “only” $445,000 for the amphitheater at this point – the cost of the design. They haven’t taken bids for the construction yet. But if they commit to the design cost, the approximately $3.4 million projected for construction must eventually go along with the design cost – or $445,000 is wasted.

Design graphic showing the look of the proposed amphitheater structure at Menifee's Central Park.

When this item was first brought before the City Council on March 3, it was upon the recommendation of Mayor Pro Tem Lesa Sobek and council member Dean Deines, who served on an ad hoc committee to study the project. In defending the proposed project – which includes a two-part arching cover, sound system and lighting over what is now just a cement slab – Deines said, “This is something Menifee can be proud of. It will be a timeless structure."

Mayor Bill Zimmerman expressed concern over the project, however, noting how the estimated cost had increased well beyond what had originally been an estimate of about $100,000 a few years ago.

“It’s a beautiful project, but I still have sticker shock over the price,” Zimmerman said. Yet with the understanding that potential reductions in construction price would be studied, he joined his colleagues in unanimously approving the design concept.

A request to approve a revised design cost with $50,000 in reductions from design group TY Lin was brought forth at the April 7 council meeting. At that meeting, council member Matt Liesemeyer said “my headache is the cost” and expressed more concern about limited parking issues around Central Park, which has only 39 parking spaces on site.

In response, Sobek mentioned possible use of parking spots at what will eventually be a new City Hall in Menifee Town Center. She also referred to a study conducted by consultant Keyser Marston Associated, which estimates that events held at the amphitheater would generate $1.7 million per year for the city, based on “12 larger festivals and concerts” drawing an average of 2,500 guests per performances, plus some smaller events.

We believe those numbers are highly speculative and deserve further study before any kind of vote to approve the project. Then there’s the matter of the additional traffic that would put more of a burden on an already insufficient infrastructure.

After the discussion at that meeting, including the concerns expressed by Liesemeyer and Zimmerman, even ad hoc committee member Deines stated that “if we can’t all agree, we should step back and address the concerns. We need a united front on this.” A motion to table the item pending further study passed, 3-1, with Bob Karwin absent and Sobek voting no.

It seems that a “united front” on this project is not possible at this point. There may even be an orchestrated effort to voice support for it at Wednesday’s meeting, as there appeared to be at the May 19 council meeting, when three administrators from Santa Rosa Academy – located just south of Menifee Town Center and Central Park – spoke in favor of the amphitheater, even though the item wasn’t on the agenda that night.

The next day, we asked Sobek if she had asked those administrators to speak out that night. She responded that she had seen them at a National Day of Prayer event at Central Park a few days earlier and “I did share it would be good for all the council to hear from the community. They went on to talk about all the ways SRA could use it.”

In an email exchange with Menifee 24/7, SRA Executive Director Robert Hennings wrote that, “Our gym is limited in size and in the types of events it can hold, especially being an ‘indoor’ venue during Public Health restrictions. But that is beside the point. Community events taking place nearby is an opportunity for the SRA community to be involved and participating in neighborhood events at our neighborhood park.”

Hennings did not respond to a question about whether he was concerned about traffic and parking and whether SRA would offer its parking lot for events at the park. Yet the agenda item for this week’s council meeting lists 200 parking spots at Santa Rosa Academy as “parking options” for the park.

“This could be used for city events drawing 500 to 1,000 people,” Sobek said in an interview with Menifee 24/7. “I’m hoping it would have bigger draws for outdoor plays and concerts. Maybe eventually we could have a regional park for big events, but right now, this would be investing in our community.”

Never mind the traffic nightmare in getting guests in and out of the venue.

When this project was first brought up, it was announced that it would be named the Neil Winter Amphitheater, in honor of the Menifee mayor who passed away in 2018. Winter won the mayoral seat with a grassroots campaign based on frugal spending.

It is our opinion that Winter would not vote to approve such a project as it is presented today. We urge the City Council to vote against the proposal and reallocate the funds to more important projects.