Message from the City Manager

January 2023

A new year is here, and I look forward to all the opportunities that lie ahead for our community. A new year is a chance to reevaluate priorities while looking back and reflecting on the past. At the City of Murrieta, we always seek to improve our organization and services for our customers (you). This year we are launching enhanced customer service training. We will have multiple opportunities for residents to provide input about the community's future, including on the Parks Master Plan and a communitywide survey. These are just a few ways that we are striving to enhance the services we provide for residents and businesses. If you have ideas about how we can create a better experience for our constituents, please let us know. You can email us directly by replying to this email.

We have a lot of exciting updates to share as we kick off 2023. In this edition of More Murrieta, you’ll find information about the following and more:

• Murrieta PD partners with new local Crime Stoppers to prevent crime in the community
• Share your thoughts about local hazards so we can prepare for future needs to keep the community safe
• Start the new year by checking out the many new businesses now open in Murrieta
• Get a fresh start around the house with our upcoming bulky item and hazardous waste drop-off and shredding event on January 28

Whatever your goals are for 2023, I hope they include time to enjoy all that Murrieta has to offer, from community events and services to parks and trails. Here’s to a healthy, happy, and connected year to come!

Kim Summers

Murrieta City Manager

Kick off the New Year with a Fresh Start

City of Murrieta waste collection event is this month

Start your year with a fresh home by getting rid of your bulky items, hazardous waste, and/or papers for shredding. The City will be hosting a drop-off event in partnership with Waste Management.

Mark Your Calendar:

Date: Saturday, January 28, 2023

Time: 8 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Location: City Hall Parking Lot

Follow the City on social media or on our website for updates and more details prior to the event.

City of Murrieta Wins Award for Turning Red Tape Into Red Carpet

City staff win award for new Murrieta Hot Springs Resort

The City of Murrieta is thrilled to announce that the Murrieta Hot Springs Resort project was selected for the Real Estate Redevelopment and Reuse award at the 10th Annual Turning Red Tape into Red Carpet Awards. Hosted by the Inland Empire Economic Partnership (IEEP), this award recognizes real estate development or adaptive reuse projects that create jobs or additional tax sources. Winning projects are selected because they will catalyze economic growth and demonstrate innovative partnership approaches, including both the public and private sectors.

Receiving the IEEP award for the redevelopment of the Murrieta Hot Springs Resort was a long time in the making. Murrieta was once well known for its natural, mineral hot springs. The current main artery of the city, Murrieta Hot Springs Road, was named for this amenity. From the early 1900s until the early 1970s, Murrieta was home to a large hot spring resort renowned as one of the first resorts in the region, with many celebrities and visitors passing through. Once the resort was no longer operational, the space was home to a bible college. Yet, after the pandemic hit, they reevaluated their service delivery model at the site and decided to sell the property. The City worked directly with the seller with the goal of bringing in a use that would benefit everyone. After several buyers showed interest, a major hot springs resort group was selected, and the City got to work entitling the project. Finding that the bible retreat and college space also featured hotel rooms, the City was able to approve a substantial conformance in four months. This allowed the buyer to close escrow and begin the massive work of redeveloping the 46-acred site.

Scott Agajanian, Murrieta’s Director of Economic Development, praised the efforts of the City’s Development Services Department for the work of transitioning a bible college into what will be the new Murrieta Hot Springs Resort. “This project is a shining example of how government can work in unison with property owners and developers for the betterment of everyone involved. Everyone at the City of Murrieta who played a role in seeing this project through to the finish could not be more proud of what we accomplished,” shared Agajanian. He also noted that “the project could not have been made a reality without the help of Olympus Real Estate who had the vision to acquire the property and invest in this community.”

The IEEP works collaboratively with prominent business and government leaders to make the Inland Empire a great place to live, work, and invest. With a constant need for change and adaptation, the IEEP strategizes the most successful ways to accommodate regional needs that succeed today and prepare for what is to come tomorrow. The IEEP's Turning Red Tape into Red Carpet event honors agencies that have developed innovative ways to avoid bureaucratic red tape for the betterment of local economies and communities.

For updates on the Murrieta Hot Springs Resort, sign up for the City's eNewsletter here. To get the latest Murrieta economic development news, sign up for the City’s Economic Development eNewsletter here.

Share Your Input

City's Development Services Department collecting data on design standards

In the 2019-20 budget, the State of California allocated $250 million for all regions, cities, and counties to prioritize planning activities that accelerate housing production to meet identified needs of every community. With this allocation, the California Department of Housing & Community Development (HCD) established the LEAP Grant Program with $119 million for cities and counties. LEAP provides one-time grant funding to cities and counties to update their planning documents and implement process improvements that will facilitate the acceleration of housing production and help local governments prepare for their 6^th cycle regional housing need assessment (RHNA) and implementation of the subsequent Housing Elements. 

The City was awarded a LEAP Grant, and the preparation of Multi-Family Residential Design Guidelines and process improvements are goals with part of the grant funds.

To gather more public input on the architectural styles preferred in the city, the project team has put together an online survey. We want to know what designs catch your eye, what architectural styles you prefer, and other comments or concerns you may have regarding residential design.

Please take 10 to 15 minutes to read and complete the Objective Design Standards Survey here.

Additional questions? Contact Carl Stiehl, Senior Planner, by email or phone (951) 461-6063.

Local Hazard Mitigation Plan Survey

Comments and suggestions being accepted on Murrieta's disaster-mitigation strategy for two more days!

The City of Murrieta is updating its Local Hazard Mitigation Plan, and community input is essential to making it effective. The plan identifies Murrieta's natural hazards and critical facilities vulnerable to these hazards. This plan lists potential actions to reduce risk and future damage.

Your response to this survey will help the City create a thorough and effective plan that allows us to prepare for and respond to disasters.

Public comments and suggestions are being accepted until Tuesday, January 3, 2023. For additional information or if you have questions, please contact Rachel Hollinger at (951) 461-6169 or RHollinger@MurrietaCA.gov.

TAKE THE SURVEY HERE

Thank you for helping make sure Murrieta is ready to respond when residents need it most.

Retiring American Flags - Two locations at City facilities

Drop off your worn flags at Murrieta's Public Library and Murrieta Fire Department Station 1

Did you know that to properly dispose of a worn American flag, you need to retire it? The City works with the Luiseño Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution to collect US flags, and is grateful that they have provided two drop boxes for City facilities.

To be more accommodating to residents’ schedules, the box formerly located at City Hall box is now located at the Murrieta Public Library. This means it is accessible six days a week (Monday - Saturday) and later in the evening on weekdays.

Murrieta Fire & Rescue works with the American Legion and Boy Scouts of America to officially retire the flags with a ceremony around Veterans Day each year.

Please make note of the current flag drop-box locations:

Murrieta Public Library

8 Town Square

Murrieta, CA 92562

Murrieta Fire & Rescue

41825 Juniper Street

Murrieta, CA 92562

Murrieta Police Department

Murrieta PD partners with new local Crime Stoppers to prevent crime in the community

You may have heard of the national Crime Stoppers organization, and Murrieta now has their own regional Southwest Riverside Crime Stoppers. Southwest Riverside Crime Stoppers (SWRCS) is a 501c(3) non-profit that provides a means for citizens to anonymously report crimes that they have witnessed and potentially receive a reward if the tip leads to an arrest.

You can provide tips by going to the website, or by calling their toll free number (844) 227-8477(TIPS). available for download at the Southwest Riverside County Crime Stoppers website. Southwest Riverside Crime Stoppers is exclusively supported by donations and not by tax funds. Follow them on social media at Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

For additional information contact SWRCS Board President Tony LoPiccolo at (951) 751-2242 or via email.

Visit the Murrieta Police Department website for more Murrieta PD news. 

Updates from the Murrieta Public Library

Library rings in new year with new programming, introduces new children's supervising librarian

New Year; New Programming

The Library begins new programming in January: The Children’s Department is hosting Dog Tales on Mondays at 4:30 p.m. Toddler Storytime (birth to two years) is on Tuesdays at 10:30 a.m., and Preschool Prep Storytime (ages three to five years) is on Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m. The Children’s Department is also offering a brand new program, Art Studio, which will be held once a month on Thursdays beginning January 26. Art Studio is geared toward elementary students and designed to help children embrace their inner artist.

Teen Programming

Teen programming begins on Saturday, January 7, with a college prep, ACT Practice Test at 9:00 a.m. Teens are also invited to attend Game On! at 4:00 p.m., Thursday, January 19. Teen Study Hours is a new program designed to help teen students study in a quiet atmosphere and it begins on January 24, in the Library’s Lab on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Adult Programming

On Wednesday, January 25, at 4:00 p.m., adults are invited to a special Health Coach Presentation with certified coach and owner of Small Steps Coaching, Christine Garrison. The program is geared towards helping adults achieve optimal health in the new year. Also in January: our Library for All program, an interactive program for adults with disabilities, will have take-home watercolor kits, which can be picked up at the Adult Reference Desk starting at 10:00 a.m., Monday, January 9, as well as a DIY clothespin lamp making program on Monday, January 30, at 10:00 a.m. All events are held in the Community Room, unless otherwise noted.

Welcome New Children's Supervising Librarian

The Library has exciting news to share: On December 5, the Library happily welcomed Kayti Mathewson as the new Supervising Librarian for the Children’s Department. Kayti was previously with the Inglewood Public Library and comes with a lot of experience and innovative ideas!

Stay Current with the Library

To stay current with what is happening at the Murrieta Public Library, sign up for the Library’s Newsletter at bit.ly/murlib. As always, staff are available to answer questions by phone Monday through Saturday during regular hours by calling (951) 304-BOOK. 

Mark Your Calendar

Upcoming special events and public meetings

January Special Events

• City of Murrieta and Waste Management Community Clean-Up and Shred Event | January 28 | Event Details

January Public Meetings & Closures

• City Council Meeting | January 17
• Parks and Recreation Commission | January 5
• Planning Commission | January 11 and January 25
• Holiday Closure |December 26 - January 2

Meeting times and dates are subject to change. Please visit the City's agenda webpage for meeting details and full agendas.

Adult Recreation Program

Offering activities for those with different abilities

Did you know that the City of Murrieta has an Alternative Recreation Program (ARP)? ARP offers activities for special needs and differently-abled adults 18 years and older at least once each month. Program activities include dances, potlucks, movies, field trips, and pool parties. Most activities take place at the Community Center on Fridays from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. There is a nominal fee of $2 per participant, but guardians or caregivers are free except for field trip admissions, where prices are to be determined. 

Economic Development Updates

Check out a new Murrieta business and make your dollars go further

Dickey's Barbecue Pit Now Open in Murrieta

If you love BBQ then go and experience delicious recipes that have been handed down for generations, alongside the down-home hospitality you’d expect from a family operation. Dickey’s Barbecue Pit slow smokes all meats on-site just the same way they did in 1941. The menu features beef brisket, pulled pork, St. Louis-style ribs, polish sausage, spicy cheddar sausage, smoked turkey, and marinated chicken, with an extensive array of homestyle sides from jalapeño beans to macaroni and cheese. Buttery rolls are served with every meal, along with complementary ice cream. And just like always, kids eat free on Sunday.

Stop by 39525 Los Alamos Road in Murrieta for food, drinks, and fun!

Mochinut Grand Opening

Have you heard about the latest donut craze? The mochi donut originated from Hawaii and uniquely combines an American doughnut and Japanese mochi. The mochinut has a unique shape and wonderful texture; light crispy coating with a soft, chewy inside as a result of the main ingredient – sticky sweet rice flour. The final product is glazed with various flavors such as chocolate, vanilla, matcha, earl grey, and topped with delectable toppings like cookies, fruits, flakes, and nuts. Their menu also includes Korean rice flour hotdogs and boba drinks. 

Visit the newest Mochinut at 25175 Madison Avenue in Murrieta.

Make Your Dollars Go Further with the Murrieta Money Match Program 

Did you know your shopping can support local businesses and save you money by using our Murrieta Money Match program? Buy a gift card accepted at more than 70 Murrieta businesses, and the City of Murrieta will match your dollars with a bonus card of equal value! Check out the Murrieta Money Match webpage to purchase the special gift card and view the list of participating businesses.

We love supporting our community, and thank you for supporting local businesses!

Join the Murrieta team!

Check out Jobs at the City of Murrieta

The City of Murrieta is consistently ranked one of the best places to work in the region and has a strong organizational culture and dedicated workforce.

Have you considered looking for the next step in your career by serving your community? Check out the City's jobs website and learn more about current openings. Make sure to check back often, as new positions are listed frequently. The following positions are currently posted on the City's website:

• CAD/RMS Administrator
• Financial Analyst
• Firefighter/Paramedic (Lateral)
• Public Safety Dispatcher I/II

Visit Murrieta's Jobs website today!