Duroville residents future uncertain

A plan by Riverside County to move migrant farm workers out of a substandard trailer park in Thermal is on hold.

Late last week, people living in the Duroville Parklearned they might not be moving to the new Mountain View Estates Park in Oasis afterall.

The state of Californiarejected the county’s appeal for $12 millionin redevelopment funds needed to complete the purchase of 181 mobile homes for the new affordable housing development.

The state claims since county redevelopment agencies have been eliminated, it’s no longer obligated to come up with the $12 million.

The county has already spent more than $6 millionon the project.

“At this point, recovery of the money that has already been spent to get the park to this point is really kind of not the focus of what we’re looking to do.” said John Aguilar, deputy director of the Riverside County Economic Development Agency. “It’s really more about how we can complete the rest of the units.”

Forty-fivemobile homes are currently on the Mountain View Estates property.

Aguilar added, the county will look into alternative funding sources on both the state and federal level.

Meantime,time is running out. A hearing on the closure of the Duroville Park is set for July 23 in Riverside.