Last December, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors offered $1.2 million to the San Jacinto Mountain Community Center board toward the construction of the Idyllwild Community Center. The next step in making these funds available occurred at the board’s Aug. 29 meeting.
The board’s latest actions formally adopted the environmental statements confirming that the project would not have any significant effect on the environment and requested the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development transfer and release the funds to this project.
The county reported that a Notice of a Finding of No Significant Impact had been published last month in both the Town Crier and the Press Enterprise. Further, the construction and completion of the project will have no effect on the county’s General Fund budget.
In early fall, site development at the Butterfield Commons on Strawberry Creek, which Loie and Dave Butterfield generously donated to the community, will begin, according to Chris Trout, advisor to the board for marketing.
The Butterfields also took another step — another donation — to ensure sufficient funds were available so site development can move forward immediately.
An amphitheater was originally part of Phase 1, but the SJMCC board is re-assessing its costs. “If we can reduce the cost of the amphitheater and if we have enough money, it will be included in the site development,” said SJMCC President Janice Lyle
The HUD funding is for Phase 2, construction of the community center. However, Lyle added, “we’ll re-invigorate fund raising this year” in order to have enough money to finish the community center building.
