New initiative aims to bring major infrastructure upgrades to eastern Coachella Valley
Riverside County and nonprofit organization Alianza Coachella Valley are reaching out to community members to discuss ECV Próspera, a new initiative by Riverside County and Supervisor V. Manuel Perez to bring infrastructure and improve the quality of life in the communities of the eastern Coachella Valley.
As part of that push, the community partners are organizing the first in a series of community meetings about the initiative, beginning on Monday at the Mecca Boys & Girls Club in Mecca.
“ECV Próspera is a plan for how we can help residents with major investments and improvements in the communities of North Shore, Mecca, Thermal, Oasis and Vista Santa Rosa,” said Supervisor Perez. “These communities have many infrastructure needs such as clean drinking water, housing, sewer and sidewalks and roads. Through these meetings, we will be introducing ECV Próspera and working with community members to identify projects that we can build out using a unique tool known as the EIFD that can put in infrastructure up front and benefit communities long-term.”
ECV Próspera is Riverside County’s initiative to improve the lives of residents in the eastern Coachella Valley through a variety of public infrastructure projects. An important component is the county’s effort to establish an Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District (EIFD) for the eastern Coachella Valley. Examples of projects that could be financed through ECV Próspera’s EIFD include improvements to infrastructure associated with water and sewer, electricity and telecommunications, housing, community facilities and the Salton Sea.
“We are excited to partner with Supervisor Perez and the County of Riverside in an effort to build critical infrastructure in the eastern Coachella Valley,” said Silvia Paz, Founder and Executive Director of Alianza Coachella Valley. “The establishment of an EIFD will give our communities a funding mechanism to improve quality of life.”
In January, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors approved relaunching Supervisor Perez’s effort to create an EIFD for the eastern Coachella Valley. Information about EIFDs, a map of the proposed EIFD boundaries, and meeting information is available on the county’s Web site, http://rivcoed.org/eastern-coachella-valley.
ECV Próspera is one of the many ways Riverside County and Supervisor Perez are working to improve conditions in the eastern Coachella Valley. Other active efforts include county investments under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), the Unincorporated Communities Initiative, the proposed North Lake Pilot Demonstration Project at the Salton Sea, and the ongoing county efforts to provide relocation assistance to the Oasis Mobile Home Park community.
Supervisor Perez is also planning to launch a community outreach effort to create the Thermal Community Plan, which will help the county acquire grants for infrastructure and housing and set a plan for the community’s development. Outreach meetings for the Thermal Community Plan will start in coming months.
Two meetings will be held on Monday, May 8 in the community of Mecca, one from 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. and an evening meeting from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Boys & Girls Club in Mecca.
