Cosumnes Community Services District, Elk Grove's Measure E Workshop #4 on road and parks

On the evening of Tuesday, February 28, the Cosumnes Community Service District and the city of Elk Grove held the fourth and final workshop on spending revenues from the recently passed Measure E. That measure, which was approved in November and becomes effective April 1, levies an additional one-percent sales tax on most consumer purchases in Elk Grove.

The focus of the fourth workshop, which was held at Elk Grove's District56 facility, was traffic, road, and park maintenance. After introductory remarks by CCSD general manager Joshua Green and Elk Grove city manager Jason Behrmann, an overview of the topics were presented by Elk Grove's public works director Jeff Werner and CCSD's parks manager Phillip Lewis.

As with the previous workshops, which focused on public safety, economic development, and homelessness, after the presentations, participants were invited to provide their thoughts and ideas at three stations. The most popular stations were road maintenance and traffic congestion.

At the traffic congestion station, many participants cited the intersection of Elk Grove Boulevard and Hwy. 99 as the city's most problematic area (see image below). Although the city is working on a new limited access interchange at Hwy. 99 and Whitelock Parkway, one public works official in attendance said construction would not start for at least 10 years. 

Mesure E is expected to generate $23 million annually. As part of the voter-approved measure, Elk Grove Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen will nominate five residents for a citizen oversight committee. 

To be appointed, the nominees will need approval from Singh-Allen's four city councilmen. The four councilmen are expected to approve the mayor's nominees.

Of the four meetings, attendance was largest at public safety and homelessness sessions. The city and CCSD staff said a summary of residents' input will be presented to the Elk Grove City Council, which will decide how to use the money. 

Although the relocation of the Sacramento Zoo to Elk Grove is the largest and most expensive [proposed] project in the city's future, the workshops did not explicitly address it during the meetings.

Even though the mayor and city council have vaguely committed to considering residents' input as budgets are developed, they are not legally obliged. The mayor and city council have the discretion to allocate the money in any manner, which includes paying for the relocation and construction costs of facilities for the Sacramento Zoo.    

The presentation can be heard in the audio posted below. Listen time 26 minutes 15 seconds.

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