City Council - Regular Meeting

Well, good evening everyone. Uh, we're actually in our presentation period of the city council meeting. So, before we start our regular session at 6, uh, we don't have a lot of presentations today. So, Chief Fish, you have 30 minutes just to talk at us. Tonight, we're going to introduce our CalFire Riverside County Unit Fire Chief, Robert Fish. He's the uh, newly appointed How long do you get that that title for? Like a year or so. We spent a lot of time together recently, so I'm going to give you the floor. And there are a bunch of people watching on TV.

Thank you. Uh, I'll I'll squeeze it as long as it works. Uh, as the new guy, uh, [clears throat] thank you. Uh, my name is Robert Fish. As previously stated, I have the honor to serve as the CalFire Unit Chief and the Riverside County Fire Chief. I was appointed in November uh, at the end of uh, Bill Wiser's uh, 44 year career. And so while I have a long history with the city of Desert Hot Springs, I still wanted to come in front of the council and introduce myself and tell you how much um we as the county fire department uh value the relationship with Desert Hot Springs and how meaningful it's been. And I think recent uh uh example of that is is uh Quent 98 and uh station 98 um coming online and the collaborative work that it's taken basically over a 5-year period to go from concept to reality in order to serve that uh eastern side of the the city which is vitally important and very much needed and provides an ample relief to uh station 37 and that we want to continue to foster an ongoing relationship. Uh we love the relationship with the city manager. She's great to us and uh Danny's okay too. [laughter] um but um that we look forward to continued partnerships and uh just uh I promoted and as you guys may or may not be aware of uh Chief Mike Beverlin who you may be familiar with for some reason or another um who has served here as the previous fire chief also uh promoted behind me. So between uh Chief White, Chief Beverlin, and and myself, you've got the three previous chiefs in charge of the city that are u running at the highest levels of the executive staff in the county fire department. So we keep an eye out for Desert Hot Springs because it's important to us and um we appreciate the relationship. And so

that's really what the message is tonight. I can talk another 28 minutes about random things if you'd like, but uh you know, we've had an opportunity um you know, not only at the the grand opening for 98, but Councilwoman Pi and Councilman Gardner, we're also at the U dispatcher appreciation dinner and got to spend a little bit of time together. So, it's just great having a good relationship with the city and we look forward to fostering the continued growth and strengthening of the fire services here. And I know we just opened third station. We're not that far from having to start talking about a fourth station down south and and you know, start that planning process. So, we look forward to having those conversations.

Well, we appreciate the relationship and uh it's it's been a lot to get to where we are today. And as I said last week, it's it's something that we got to keep in the forefront, making sure fire services strengthen over time. So, I'll open it up to questions for the fire chief. You guys can you have almost 35. [clears throat] the new the new big size engine that you got, is that the type that we would use to knock out the fire that's going on in Ontario right now at that warehouse?

That is one. So, you're speaking about the quint, which is uh Yeah. So, the quint is a a unique piece of equipment. It serves both as an engine company. An engine company and the fire service is the thing that carries hose and water. And then a ladder truck is typically the thing that has the aerial ladder and brings lots of tools and ground ladders in order to facilitate coordinated fire attack. Uh what the city invested in in uh point 98 is a hybrid of the two where it can do both functions. And the advantage of that is it provides instead of having to have a an independently staffed engine and an independently staffed truck uh it brings both capabilities in a single device. The answer to your question is yes. If for God forbid something like that were to happen at um one of the commercial buildings in the south or even here along uh Pearson, that is the type of device that would go up. It flows a high rate of water potentially up to 20 uh up 2,000 gallons per minute from an elevated platform that helps us not only suppress the fire but also defend other structures adjacent to the primary fire.

Yeah. Okay. Thank you. Long answer. Sorry. Oh, perfect. Keep going. I can keep going. [clears throat] One thing we love is the nerd stuff in the fire department. That's exciting to talk about equipment. Anything else? I know you guys are Come on. I want the chief stand up here for a little bit longer. Oh, [laughter] we don't need a torch. [clears throat] So, uh, any any more fire stations in the Coachella Valley planned anytime soon?

Uh, yes. actually um specifically station 102 will be coming online I believe September still August August uh so that will be the fourth Palm Desert fire station. Uh it's a joint collaboration between the city of Palm Desert and the county uh to protect uh the university area of Palm Desert there on the north side off of Cook and um uh Cook and Interstate 10 area, but it's also from the county perspective protecting the extra arena. So that fire station will be coming online. Um not relevant to the Coachella Valley, but relevant to us. Something you will appreciate going back to your volunteer days. Uh station 49, uh we are building a new 8,500 ft uh multiple bay fire station out there at Lake Tamarisk. And uh that's been uh something the department's been striving after for 30 years. And so that should be completed in May. Uh we'll be having the grand opening there. Wow.

And then, you know, all of the cities are constantly in a planning cycle stage. Uh, Rancher Mirage is working on a potential third fire station and staffing additional equipment as well as they face the same challenges that Desert Hot Springs does, which is population growth and increasing call demand.

So, if any of our residents decided that they wanted to be firefighter, where do they go? Well, the first thing I would say is uh speaking specifically to the young men and women that are in high school or still in school that may be watching. Uh many of our fire stations have uh explorer programs. I know we had one here recently um at station 36. Correct me if I'm lying because I get lost in we have a lot of them.

Yeah. So that during COVID it kind of died off because of a lot of the restrictions and because of the nature of the explore program kids tend to age out. So um we have been working really hard to revitalize both the explorer program and the reserve program which was the former volunteer companies. Um so depending on your age check in station 36 very shortly will have another explorer program. I know the high school here has a PSA program. It's an excellent way to get involved uh if you're over 18 years old. Uh the reserve program is also something you can apply for at rvcfire.org. But ultimately, all of the things that we do require some base education. The College of the Desert, who we've worked with as a partner for many years, has both a fire program and now uh their first graduating cohort of paramedics will be coming out um in May officially. But some of those um kids are actually going through the um final stages of that paramedic training program. Some of them are here in the city uh actually doing their writeouts going to calls in the city under the guidance of our folks. So locally the high school would be a great place to start. College of the Desert check into the programs. They also have uh police programs there. Uh, we recommend fire though.

If I'm correct, didn't the fire department, didn't the police department take one of your guys out? Yeah, we What's that? One of our engineers from 35. Yeah, we don't talk about Bruno. [laughter] No, I mean, here's the the reality is it takes both of us. And while you know, there's always the fun jabbing. What they do is extraordinarily important. and uh we certainly wouldn't be able to do our piece without them, but the same is true in reverse as well. Any other questions, comments? I could talk fire all day, but we'll let you go, Chief. You know,

you got bigger things to do, but I really appreciate you and I appreciate you being here. Um uh our partnership is great, strong, and and uh looking forward to planning that South Station someday before I leave. So, excellent. I look forward to it as well. Our door is always open if you ever have any concerns. Um Doria knows how to get a hold of me. There's no or Brian or Mike or any of you on speed dial. Yes, she [laughter] does. We'll take her call anytime. Awesome. Thank you so much. Thank you, sir. I appreciate you, council. Thank you, guys.

All right, we have 20 minutes till the open session. We're in recess. Good evening everyone. This is the city of Desert Hot Springs regular meeting of the city council and the city council serving as a successor agency to the former redevelopment agency board for Tuesday, April 7th, 2026. This is our 6 p.m. regular session. Roll call, please.

Council member Gardner, resent. Council member Pittz present. Council member Pi present. Mayor Potenvos present. Mayor Mattis present. The invocation tonight will be given by Bishop Sheepard of the Word of Life Fellowship. It's all yours, sir.

Hey, Father, we thank you [clears throat] for this evening. We thank you for this platform and access to the throne of grace. God, we pray that you continue to guide this city. We pray that each one of our elected officials are led by your spirit using your wisdom and not their own. God, we thank you uh just for this opportunity to be able to stand here and declare that you are in control of all things. And Father, as we uh prepare to start this meeting, let us shift our attention to pray for our elected leaders both in our state, national, and uh level, God, for all of our world leaders. So much chaos going on in the world. And we pray that you move by your spirit and bring in a spirit of peace so we can all learn to live here uh peacefully together under your name. And God, we honor you tonight. We thank you. We lift you up in Jesus name. Amen. Mr. Pitts, would you lead us in the pledge?

I aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you very much. at the approval of the agenda tonight. Uh is there anyone that would like to pull any items from the consent calendar? It' be items item seven. Anyone like to speak on item seven? All right, we'll accept a motion to approve the the agenda in the consent calendar. It's been moved. Is there a second? Second. Your screen is off.

His screen's off. You'll have to put them in. Go ahead and do this and then we'll we'll fix it afterwards. Let's do this first. Mr. Gardner seconded. Please vote. Mr. Gardner, your vote.

Motion passes unanimously.

Thank you very much. We did not have a closed session tonight, so there going to be no report on closed session. Uh we're going to move to public comments and at this time pursuant to the Brown Act, any person may comment on matters of general interest within a subject matter jurisdiction of the city council not listed on the agenda. Under the Brown Act, the city council shall not take action on or discuss matters raised during the public comment portion of the agenda that are not listed on the agenda. All comments redirected to the city council shall be devoid of any personal attacks. Members of the public are expected to maintain professional courteous decorum during their public comments. So, I have one public comment for general discussion. If you have a uh if you want to speak, you could fill out a blue card, give it to the city clerk, Dy Wilder. Hi, I'm Dy Wilder. Good evening, council. Um what I have I have to read just a statement. So um this is about the the community of Vista Montana located in Desert Hot Springs. I want the I want to inform the city that Vista Montana recently filed a statement of information with the California Secretary of State in 2025 in which a corporation declared in writing that it is an association formed to manage a common interest development under the Davis Sterling Act. This statement is inconsistent with the city's own records, the county's records, and the state's HCD permit to operate a mobile home park. If ISA Montana is still a mobile home park, then this filing is incorrect. If Montana is a CD, then the city would have had to approve a subdivision map and legal conversion and no such approval exist. uh you do have a map, but that's the only um thing that I

have if I'm asking the city to review this discrepancy because it affects every homeowner and the regulatory status of the property. The developer apparently did intend to convert to a CD, but if he had completed the conversion, he would have pulled the HCD permit and transferred the deed into the name Vista Montana. So, um that's my statement and um hopefully somebody would look into it and figure it out because uh um the the CCNRs which say that the city approved in 2020 um [clears throat] don't mention it being a mobile home park. So anyway, thank you.

Thank you. I have no other public comments. Would anybody else like to speak in public comments on items not on the agenda tonight? I see nobody coming forth. We'll close public comments. to the city manager report. Good evening. Thank you, mayor, city council. Uh tonight we'll start with Robera Cernick, our recreation and community services director with a few updates for the community.

Yes, good evening, mayor, city council. Um so we are excited to announce a new direction for Desert Nights on the Boulevard. We are going to be featuring live local bands. Um so this format will officially replace the previous DJ nights. The shift is aimed um at enhancing the overall atmosphere, increasing participation, and creating a stronger um connection with our community. So, the next event will be held this Saturday, April 11th, and we will have two bands performing. Um, Cyanide 818 will be performing a tribute to Metallica from 4 to 6 and Mushroom People performing a tribute to System of the Down from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Um, the event is located on at 66120 Pearson Boulevard, which is between Cactus and West. Um, again, this is a free event and all ages are welcome. Please bring your blankets and chairs and we look forward to seeing you all there. And then um we have officially started the phase two of our mural project. So keep your eyes open for all the new art murals going up in the city. And then finally um uh the the farmers market that is held um on the same the same and last Saturday of each month um on Sundays is winding down for the season. Um, and the last market will be held on Sunday, April 26th. Um, they will be coming back in the fall. So, we created a community survey. So, we really want to hear from the residents on what they want to see when they come back in the fall. So, please look out for that survey link. That is all. Thank you.

Thank you, Robera. Uh, next we'll ask our deputy city manager, Christina Newsome, to uh introduce our dog for the night.

Good evening, mayor and city council. I want to give a quick couple of updates about animal control. Uh we attended Desert Nights on the Boulevard to increase visibility for our shelter dogs and connect with the community. We also participated in a fundraising event at Lita's Brewing Country Fest where we raised funds selling animal shelter merchandise and raffling gift cards provided by the venue. Uh this past week, four animals were adopted and six were rescued. Of those, five dogs traveled 22 hours to Seattle to our rescue partner Pity Project. We sincerely appreciate their support. And tonight, our featured pup is B. B's a lovable four-month-old pitbull who's looking for a forever home. If you're interested in adopting him or any other dogs, you can reach out to City Hall for more details on our adoption process. Thank you.

Thank you. And thank you, Tyler, for uh escorting Bo. That concludes updates for tonight. Thank you very much. All right, we only had one week between meetings, so it shouldn't be long reports. We'll start with Mr. Pittz.

Good evening, Mr. Mayor and city council members. This is my update for April 7th, 2026. So, April 1st was a very productive day for me. First, I did attend the city's official ribbon cutting ceremony at our brand new fire station 98. I was joined by, of course, our mayor, city council colleagues, fire chiefs, and other elected officials who spoke and presented our city with proclamations of support. It was great to see so many members in the public and uh obviously they're in attendance all coming together to celebrate all this very important public safety resource. Then immediately after that ribbon cutting um ceremony, I had the honor of serving as a special guest speaker for the Friends of the Library Club here in the uh city's library. On April 3rd, I attended the monthly Riftco Animal Commission meeting. As always, the animal shelter management team shared several positive outcomes for our furry friends. It's encouraging to see that our county's animal services are continuing to move in the right direction. On that same evening, I had the honor of spending the evening with our public safety first responder heroes, our 911 dispatchers representing the city of Desert Hot Springs along with the California Highway Patrol, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, and other public safety teams from neighboring cities were all celebrated and recognized. It was a magical evening filled with glamour, class, and delicious food. Thank you, Desert Hot Springs Police Department for hosting such a wonderful event. And thank you all for your continued support. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. That completes my report.

Mr. Gardner,

thank you, Mr. Mayor. Pretty much a ditto on that one, too. I just wanted to uh add a couple of quick little things. The Eastern Riverside County banquet for the first responders, we called, and I I was a term I learned at that meeting. They're the first first responders. They're the people that answer the call before the police and the fire roll, which I thought was a great tribute to them. And what uh uh Mr. Pittz didn't didn't add in his report, I will, we had uh all of the students from our explorer program there and we had most of our COP people there as well. So, uh it was great. our city was technically the host of it and it was really really a spectacular evening and it's first time I think any of us have gone to that and I'm hoping we get invited back again next year because these guys they really are they're the calm voice at the end of the phone when you call up in a panic because your house is on fire or somebody god forbid is breaking in. They're the calm voice on the other end getting our police and and and and fire folks out to them. So, it was a well-deserved uh recognition for them. And um the ribbon cutting at the station was great. Best view of anywhere in the valley, a view up Long Canyon. It is really a spectacular station. And a lot of the credit for that goes to our mayor here who has been that has been his priority for a long long time through multiple councils. Finally got it over the finish line. And you know, a lot of us were there for all for the whole process, but Mayor Mattis led the torch with that and he deserves a lot of recognition for that. And that's all that I've got.

Appreciate that. Thank you, Mr. Boss.

Okay. So, on the first I attended the fire station ribbon cutting. Um, you know, the residents in the fourth district are obviously very happy with that. Uh, fortunately I was in good physical enough health that when I had my heart attack in 23 that we had some distance coming to, but now I know the guys are down the street. So hopefully I won't have another one. But I'll feel better knowing they're just not too far from us. But it was nice to see and um I think it's a great kind of entryway into our town. You come in, you see a nice attractive building. It's modern and looks nice. So it it just continues the trend that we're doing uh collectively as a group here. the then also attended the Eastern Riverside County Public Safety Dispatch awards banquet. Our dispatchers really rocked it. They did a great job organizing it. Uh even when there was a person was supposed to be a guest speaker, they had somebody backfill it with us, not even really knowing it happened, you know, with that. And um you know, they were on top of it. They had some really great raffle prizes and everything and it was something to be proud of. And I think if I recalled correctly, we were predom mostly the entire of the city councils. I think there was one from Palm Desert, one from Lintita, but there were no other council members there supporting their staff. But we were there and that was good. But that's the way we do things. And so I was proud to be there. Also attended the National Hispanic Contractors Association installation board dinner. That was enjoyable. Uh, I referred them to the vendor thing next week and encouraged them to send the that information out so that their membership can learn some things about that as well. And then yesterday, Palm Springs Airport did a master I'm on the airport commission. They did a master plan update at the Plaza Theater in Palm Springs. If you haven't been to the Plaza Theater

in Palm Springs, they've done a nice newly remodel of the place over there and it's got a nice desert Moroccan feel to it. Um, many people probably remember when that was the folly's there. And then of course on the 31st was when our very own madam city [snorts] manager Doris Williams received a dis an award from our our uh state assembly member Greg Wallace at the Desert Willow Country Club. They had well over a hundred people had had names submitted and they took the top 10. Dory was one of our top 10 and uh it was or was it 15?

15.

15. Okay. And uh you know was really proud and we were there and just one of the things they wrote in this was today we celebrate women whose contributions to our communities deserve to be recognized and remembered. They are educators, executives, civic leaders and entrepreneurs, advocates and innovators. What they share is not a title or a field, but a habit of showing up for others and making something better than they found it. Each woman honored today was nominated by someone who knows her work firsthand. Dozens of constituents wrote in to share their stories, and the depth and quality of those nominations made this one the most gratifying programs our office has undertaken. Choosing among so many deserving women was not easy. What unites these honores is not a single field or a single kind of service. It is a shared commitment to the people in the places we call home. That is what leadership looks like in the 47th assembly district and it is a privilege and honor for it today. Sincerely, Greg Wallace, assembly member. [clears throat] Uh so we're very proud of our city manager of being chosen for that. And was there a

Did you already show it? Okay, perfect. And so, yippy yeeha. [applause] That's it. Miss pie. I'm going to piggy back on

Mike. Start all over. I'm going to piggy back on council member Pittz and you. He knew what I was going to say. Anyway, I'll be back. on the first Kathy Gavin, president of the DHS women's club and I were present at the Indial Women's Club and we represented our club there. Um, we were invited by all of Coachella Valley Women's Club by Sylvia Baron who is the president of the NDO club and we learned a lot from her. We learned what they do for fundraisers and we learned the organization of the club. So we're going to try and go to each of them uh all the well often and enough so that we can learn and we also learn about there's divisions which we didn't know about. On the second uh the Desert Hot Springs women's club scholarship committee [clears throat] um studied for the for the scholarships for Desert Hot Springs High School. Um, the members that met were Nancy Wright, chairman, Sher McDonald, vice chair, Nancy Hasting, Lucinda Chaplain, and Kathy Gavin, attended as an observer, and me, myself, and we will be interviewing the applicants on April 21st. Regarding the dispatch, um, Council Member Pit said it was a

marvelous event. My tag on it, it was superb that even the last people that hosted said it was the best one. So, we did good. On 33, I attended Save Our Ba Babies hosted by Assembly Member Dr. Corey A. Jackson, who's the sixth district. Uh it was at the Co Coachella Valley Community Center regarding the health of black infants mortality rates and needs assessment. In attendance were Dulas Health Care Agencies, Desert Regional Network, Eisenhower and Riverside University Health System, and others will be invited to continue that conversation. Um, with respect for the fire station, now I get to do you like she didn't want to get done. You have worked very, very hard and you should be proud long time. And now we have what you wanted, which is a fire station, a good fire station. And it did not happen too soon, even though government takes a long time. You also establish with this dispatcher, a dispatcher within our city. It was in Cathedral City. And not their fault. They didn't know what street was what when they got a call. And so again, you did public safety.

I know you keep saying this and I need you to stop saying it that you don't have much longer to be here, but you do work the council. My life's good. When you said much longer, it sound like I was dying. I don't want to make I was dying. Well, no, you're not. And that's what I'm trying to talk about.

And you do a lot of stuff outside that we don't know about with the school district, with assembly people. So, your time is not up. You got it.

Okay. And I'm proud of you as being our mayor because you have um do what leaders are supposed to do. You're a good steward and you've been a good steward. The public safety commission took up your stewardship and decided they were going to put together what they could to help push further the fire station. Um, so don't talk about that stuff anymore. I'm done. So, I get very uncomfortable when people talk about me, good or bad. Um, I make jokes because it's not about me, it's about our community, right? And it's something I was passionate about when I was elected. And I hear you loud and clear, Miss Pie. I if you did not attend the ribbon cutting for the new fire station. I made a lot of comments to this being one of my last big acts as mayor because I'm going to term out in in two and a half years. But I wanted to bring it to the forefront because I don't want fire services not to be talked about and Chief Wide will know about this because it never ends. You know, the need for service just continues to grow the same as our our police department need for service. So public safety has always been at the forefront. This fire station was a great accomplishment. I walked in and it was very emotional when I walked in uh because it was something that I, you know, done for a long time. Thanks, Jim. Anyways, um the fire station being built on the east end of the city is not about me. It's about the community up there. It really is. Uh that community was underserved. Um if Mr. Voss's heart attack was worse than it was. You know, he he could have waited past the life of what you should be there. A paramedic should be within the range of the time. He lives at the extreme norththeast end of the community and and it could take somewhere sometimes for a paramedic to get up

there 7 minutes or more. So, um it is something that that community needed and I'm glad we found a final way to get it done. um moving forward. Um it's not the end of what we do for fire services in our community and and we know how long it took me almost 20 years to to advocate and get that built and with a lot of support from the city council and city staff. It just wasn't an easy task. So my point in that whole spiel was you know when I do leave in 3 years I wanted to be inbreeded in everybody's brain that fire services have to be continue to be at the forefront because our community is only going to grow. We have one of the uh fastest growing communities in the Coachella Valley and we're going to need more services. So, um I was not able to attend all the other events. I obviously did attend that one. So, I appreciate the council stepping in and getting all that uh all the other things done. So, I'm going to stop there and we're going to move on to our meeting. All right. Um our first item is the public hearing and it's item number one. It's a resolution of the city council of the city of Desert Hot Springs, California to number one adopt an amendment to the land desert land ventures environmental impact report. Uh this number is SCH207051070 EVV25-2. Number two, approved DHS Varnner Road specific plan amendment SP24-2 amending the Desert Land Ventures specific plan in the city. Number three, general plan amendment GPA 24-1. Number four, track map track map or TM25-1. Five, design review DR24-4. And six, approve an ordinance amending chapter 17.210 to amend the land vent desert land venture specific plan and develop a

logistics center. Patricia, you did that on purpose, didn't you?

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Mayor and members of the city council. Terara Noa, on behalf of the applicant, Newling Capital Group at this time is requesting a continuence to a date certain of April 21st, 2026 due to scheduling issues. And with that, staff is recommending continuing the item to a date certain of April 21st, 2026 for the DHS Varnner Road specific plan amendment. And I would like to note that since the posting of the agenda, we have received a comment letter that has been distributed to the council and hard copies are also available. That concludes my report. I'm available if you have any questions and Teranova is also here. Thank you.

So what you're saying is the title was longer than your report. All right, we had staff report. Is there any questions to staff from the city council? I'll open the public hearing this time and take testimony. No testimony today. We'll continue the public hearing to April 21st, 2026, unless there's any Do we have to do we have to vote on that to continue it? Yeah. All right. So, we'll need a motion to continue the public hearing. So, move second.

All right. There is a motion, a second. Once it comes on the screen, please vote. I motion passes unanimously. Move to the administrative calendar. Item number two is awarded of a construction project and approval of the first amendment to funding agreement with Riverside County for line C-1 storm drain project city project 603. Jim,

honorable mayor, city council members, um this is the award of the construction contract and the first amendment uh to the funding agreement with Riverside County for the line C1 storm drain. Um the uh the project uh just a reminder, we we bid the project uh starting February 17th. It starts uh the north end is at um up at Diodora and the the storm drain which will be upsized from basically a 48 in to a 60-in storm drain then runs from there down uh red red bud uh down briefly on Hosienda which is the insaid picture of a recent rain and then down Kai Amopola and then finishes at the south end of Panorama Drive. The project um was identified originally in the master drainage plan. It's a joint project with Riverside County Flood Control. They're the funding uh agent also for the project. We uh had the plans prepared and the NWE associates, our designer, had a construction estimate of $6.2 million. On March 25th, uh we received 10 bids uh for construction and then WA was the lowest responsive bid bidder at just uh at the 6,392 369 that you see there. We also have updated the funding agreement as we talked about uh back in February. Uh the agreement before you increases the amount of the county's contribution to the project from 3.8 million to just over $8 million. We are uh currently uh we're getting the temporary construction. We need two of those and one rightway easement uh secured and also working with the utilities for their final relocations. Uh we anticipate uh assuming the project is awarded tonight, we would start work about midmay and then it would go

through uh the end of the year into early in 2027. Um, with that, um, so the three parts to the recommendation are the award of the contract to WEA. Uh, they I failed to mention they were the lowest responsive bidder at that $6.3 million number that I mentioned before. uh the authorized the city manager to execute the construction agreement uh for the not to exceed amount which is weakest bid plus a 10% contingency and then authorized the city manager to execute the agreement uh with uh Riverside County Flood Control and Water Conservation District. The agreement that is included in the staff report is a draft and so it's um if we could include it's subject to minor revisions um for the city attorney's uh recommendations there. That concludes my staff report. Be happy to answer any questions the council might have. Thank you.

Any public comments on this item before I take city council comments? Do nobody coming forward? Anyone have any comments, questions? Yes, sir. So, is is this is when this gets finished, is this intended to to at least try to avoid some of the excess sand and debris that gets washed through during the storms? Yeah, it well, it will pick up it will prevent that that shot of hotend that we had before that, you know, the street gets overrun by the by the drainage that brings all the rocks and sand. So, it'll help definitely help with that because we'll intercept the water upstream. So, yes, that's the intention. Okay, good. Um, no, that's that's all I needed to know. Thank you. Will

this project be started before the next Hosienda project? Yeah. You think it'll be completed? Anyone else? All right. There's a motion by Mr. Boss. Is there a second? Please vote. Yes. Motion passes unanimously. Item number three is an ordinance amending chapter 3.44 of the municipal code revising the city's purchasing procedures. Mr. Becca.

Yes. Uh thank you mayor and council members. Is the ordinance reviving revising the city's uh purchasing procedures? Uh staff is proposing to update the city purchasing procedures in um in response to increased activity from uh new city services. These changes in the purchasing procedures will apply to the purchases of goods and services and professional services contracts. These are non-public or construction project contracts. So not not any of the public works contracts. Uh these these updates will clarify the administrative approval levels um and as well as the competitive procurement types which will be based on dollar amounts and the consol and to consolidate the purchasing procedures. Uh we're hopefully these changes will increase efficiency and cost effectiveness in our purchasing process and they will reduce the amount of time and administrative costs to obtain goods and services. The summary of changes is that we were requiring the use of a purchase approval form rather than purchase a um requisition uh for our purchase authority levels. We are now quantifying that less than $5,000 can be approved by a department head, 5,000 to 50,000 by city the city manager and over 50,000 uh by city council. Our procurement type, so anything less than 5, 5,000 requires at least one quote from 5,000 to 50,000 requires at least two quotes and over 50,000 requires at least three quotes. We are also identifying the documentation required which includes purchase orders, insurance certificates, IRSW9 form and business licenses unless exempted per section 5.04.240. The city manager also has authority to approve CH change orders up to an accumulated total of 50,000 and an additional 10,000 um but not to not to exceed an accumulated total of over 60,000. All change orders that uh that

bring the accumulative over 60,000 will require city council approval. And if we have any questions, do we have any uh public comments? Any questions by the council? Is there a motion? I move. Moved by Miss Piser. Second. Second by Mr. Voss. Please vote.

I just wanted to say that I thoroughly went over this with the city manager um looking for loopholes. There aren't any. Motion passes unanimously. This is the first reading of an ordinance of the city council amending chapter 3.44 purchasing of title 3 revenue and finance of the Desert Hot Springs Municipal Code to revise the city's purchasing procedures. The ordinance will return on April 21st for second reading and adoption. Item number four is an ordinance amending chapter 3.45 of the municipal code for public works projects. Mr. Porz.

Yes. Thank you, Mr. [clears throat] Mayor, members of the council. This item is regarding chapter 3.45 of title 3 of the desert hot municipal code. Uh this section governs the bidding, rejecting, and awarding of contracts of public works projects. Uh this chapter currently references uh state um state code and also references some city procedures that are outdated. Uh the city has previously elected to follow the California uniform construction cost accounting commission cost accounting procedures thereby allowing the city to avail itself from the uniform public construction cost accounting act or other easily known as UP U up. What essentially that says is the city is following the state requirements for bidding, rejecting, and awarding contracts. Whatever the state follows, we follow. It's UPKA. That's what it's called, UPA, or we known as UPKA. Every year that changes. If it does change it, we will change with it. Um, in our previous code, it did not specifically say that. So, a lot of items were previously from the years past. Um, some limits, for example, were at 175,000, which are now at 220,000. But that caused a lot of confusion when we were reading it. Um because it wasn't clearly stated that we were following the UPKA and not following the actual MUN code. Um so what this ordinance will do is clarify and define the UPKA language in our MUN code. Um and some of the some of those changes are to the definitions to the bid procedures for small, medium, and large projects to the bid protest procedures for the grounds for rejection. uh what maintenance definition is, the exemptions for from formal and informal bidding, um emergency contracting procedures, and alternative delegation of authority to city manager in case of emergency. The proposed ordinance is attached and I'll gladly answer any questions. [clears throat]

Do we have any public comments on this item? Mr. Gardner, just one quick one, Danny. Um, if we're incorporating UPKA by reference and [snorts] UPA makes a change, um, we automatically reflect that change or does it have to come back and have we don't we we don't have to readopt it every time they make a change? Correct. Yeah, we we automatically update the whatever requirements thresholds that the state does. Correct. And we have our internal policy um which forms we use, which forms we don't use, and those we also incorporate in here. So now we we can go back and say this is exactly what we're doing.

Do would we ever have anything that would differentiate or be different from OPAD that would be specific to us because of our climate or our geography or anything like that? We don't if another city would like to follow their own procedures then they could follow their own but we decided to go through through the state state requirements. All right. Thank you. [clears throat] Any other questions, comments? Entertain a motion. So move. [snorts]

Is there a second? Please vote. Motion passes unanimously. This is a first reading of an ordinance of the city council of the city of Desert Hot Springs amending chapter 3.45 45 public works projects of title three revenue and finance of the desert hot springs code to provide informal and formal bidding procedures under the uniform public construction cost accounting act. The ordinance will return on April 21st for a second reading and adoption. Thank you very much. Move to item number five, the strategic plan update. Miss Williams.

Thank you, Mayor, City Council. Before I get started on this very robust uh staff report, um I do want to um make note and draw everyone's attention to uh two of the attachments because they are ancillary attachments that are very important to this overall presentation. So for council's benefit, but also for the benefit of the public if they want to go back and really dive into this, one of the attachments is um this document if it can be captured on camera. I am going to go over highlights in each area of focus. I'm just touching on highlights. If anybody wants to know where we are at with any particular item in the strategic plan, this document, get out your readers. The print is small. Uh but you will be able to see the current status as of the posting of this agenda of that um area of focus and action item in there. There are 177 of them. Um in addition to um the updates, it also tells you which departments are working on the initiative. Um it also tells you when we started that um item or when we anticipate to start that item and when we anticipate that that item will be completed. uh things will are updated on our end um often, but we will continue to do these periodic updates to the city council and to the community uh so everyone can follow along with um where we're at with the strategic plan. So, with that said, I will get started on the presentation. So, in January of 2025, the city council convened a special strategic planning session to assess the city's current position, re-evaluate organizational priorities, and establish a clear vision and direction heading into the upcoming 2-year budget cycle. The session resulted in the adoption of 11 overarching strategic goals which now

serve as the foundation for policy direction, operational planning, and resource allocation. Adopted in July of 2025, the 2025 to 2027 strategic plan provides a focused and forward-looking roadmap for the city of Desert Hot Springs, building upon prior progress while addressing the evolving needs of our growing community. The strategic plan includes 11 areas of focus, 177 action items, and measurable outcomes tied to performance management and resource allocation. [snorts] This report provides a 9-month update on the city's progress in implementing the strategic plan. Since adoption, staff has worked diligently across all departments to align operations, budget development, and performance metrics with the city council's identified priorities. And I have to give a huge shout out to staff. We have worked very hard. They have worked very hard and they have had their foot on the gas for the last nine months achieving these. This could not be done without them. Um to date 45 action items have been completed. 80 action items are in progress. 35 action items have been implemented and are continuing on an ongoing basis. and 17 action items are scheduled for future initiation within the 2-year timeline. This represents substantial forward momentum in the first nine months of implementation with approximately 90% of action items either completed, underway, or institutionalized as ongoing operations. Building on this framework, the following sections highlight key accomplishments achieved across each action item, demonstrating the progress made towards executing the city council's strategic goals. So, the first item, freeway corridor staff has advanced coordinated planning efforts focused on infrastructure readiness, land use alignment, and

economic development along key freeway corridors, including the I 10 and Palm Drive, I 10 and Indian, and Highway 62 and Pearson Boulevard. for area focus one highlights. Um Mission Springs Water District and Coachella Valley Water District are actively collaborating on a path for sewer services at the I 10 and Palm Drive corridor. This is a massive undertaking uh and once completed will open up tremendous amount of economic development opportunities in that uh frontage area and corridor into our city. Advocacy and coordination from staff with regional partners continues on these efforts and will continue um until these um this goal is realized. Targeted outreach to property owners to identify highest and best used opportunities along all freeway corridors are underway by our economic development manager Joselyn Kaine who's in the audience there. Um she has been tasked with these endeavors and she has hit the ground running. We have a Hampton in hotel confirmed at Indian and I 10. It's very exciting. Highway 62 uh moratorum was adopted by the city council to preserve the corridor as a strategic tourism g uh gateway. uh we will uh staff is continuing refinement of land use designations to support the long-term goal in development as a tourism gateway and that will be coming back before the city council for uh review and adoption. In addition and in furtherance of the goal at the I 10 corridor with the um sewer infrastructure, the city has initiated a sewer study and an EFID and uh enhanced financing infrastructure district study uh to uh further those efforts to bring that infrastructure into that area. Also, I would be remiss if I didn't mention Amazon's opening, which was a really big deal which you see on the

screen there. Moving along to area focus two which is hotel and spa zone. Uh efforts are focused on expanding tourism and positioning the city to double transient occupancy tax revenue over the next uh 10 years. In furtherance of this goal, the city hired a tourism development liaison and uh that is Race Johnard Rudd and he is not in the audience anymore but he also came in and hit the ground running. Uh one of Race's first um initiatives was to um uh establish relationships with the hotel years and uh get them working collaboratively with the city and uh he did that and so much more um so much more. Um that collaboration has led to a re-engagement of the hotel years and the um the formation of the Miracle Hill Spa Association. Um and and that is actually in furtherance to another goal that the council had uh designed in the strategic plan which was to rebrand that whole area where our spa zone is. Uh and so we worked internally to do that uh internally uh and in city branding we reference it as Miracle Hill Oasis. The hotel years have really run with that and they created the Miracle Hill Spa Association and in January uh they hosted uh after 10 plus years uh a very amazing uh spa tour and we expect that that will continue in the long run. Uh Race is uh continuing that collaboration with them and is working on a water festival for the fall. Uh and so we're really excited about that. Uh continuing along, uh staff is working um in 2x2 meetings with council on a natural spa zone overlay that is in progress and uh

hospitality development projects uh as we speak are in various stages of the development process. And this is in direct response to the strategic plan. And I and I want to mention that one of the projects that is working with the city right now, they came to us because they saw the strategic plan. they saw the support of their efforts uh that they would have here with the council because it was in line with your goals and they are working diligently with staff now on um execution of their goals. Uh in addition, staying on the same item, um the city council updated uh their short-term vacation rental uh ordinance that was already adopted. Um the subcommittee brought forth a hotel and spa incentive program updates and that was approved by the city council and uh there is ongoing preservation and activation of boutique hotel properties uh with the most recent being uh the reopening of the relax hotel on Hienda. Um finally uh as a highlight the Hyundai hotel as we all know was purchased. They are in building plan check now. The new owners are in building plan check now. Uh it is being rebranded to the Saluna Hotel. You can see on the screen um a rendering of what they anticipate that to look like and it will be operating uh under the upper upscale brand Dolce by Windham which is a huge huge win for our city. Moving along to the next area which is the downtown district. So, revitalization efforts uh continue to be underway to strengthen the downtown art and culture district as a vibrant community hub. So, starting straight out of the gate, uh staff worked uh with the community uh on the development of a cohesive downtown identity, uh the boulevard, uh you can see that branding there. Uh that has been incorporated on signage,

marketing, and web presence, and we will continue to fold that out uh along with the downtown businesses. Uh, additionally, the downtown Boulevard event space was completed in the fall of 2025. And, uh, shortly after that, uh, the city launched Desert Nights on the Boulevard, which is quickly becoming a beloved, uh, event in the community. Uh, you can see many of the, um, different events that were held there since, uh, opening in the fall. And, as Robera mentioned, uh, we'll be pivoting our DJ weekend uh, to live music. So, we're really excited about the continuing uh evolution of this. In addition to that, uh the Palm Springs Cultural Center partnered with the city and launched a bimonthly farmers market at the boulevard and uh for uh format art events have been activated by known gallery at their gallery in the downtown. Um, also as Robera mentioned, uh, the, um, phase one of the downtown mural project was already completed and, uh, as we speak, uh, phase two is underway. One of the really, uh, fun things that I want to talk about in in a little depth tonight is, uh, the 11.3 million grant that was awarded to the city to continue uh, uh, this downtown district goal of the council. Uh so the city was awarded $1.3 million uh through the affordable housing sustainable communities grant. Um as you can see from the photos on the screen uh the the bottom photo is Lancaster, California, which has been uh our model uh that we've looked at, you know, as we've uh worked to to figure out what we where we wanted to get to uh in our downtown. Up top is what what downtown looks like right now. Um, this grant uh is going to assist us tremendously with getting there. So, this grant is going to uh provide wider and ADA accessible sidewalks, uh, a road

diet, shade trees, landscaping, street lights, benches, trash recepticles, safety ballards, enhancements to the existing bus stop, and a new bikeway that will connect uh the transit center that is also going to go in as part of this grant uh to an existing bikeway that's running along Palm Drive. Uh the city is partnering with Sunline Transit Agency uh on a transit hub that will provide accessible, comfortable, and shaded uh transit center where three Sunline Transit Agency bus routes converge in the heart of downtown, as well as an electric transit van that will link areas uh currently underserved by existing bus routes, increasing accessibility to uh central transit hub. Uh this is really exciting in the continuence of this downtown goal. Additionally, uh staff has worked hard, uh specifically code enforcement staff has worked hard on beautifification efforts of the downtown, uh through partnering with vacant property owners for the clearing and grubbing of vacant lots and also working in collaboration with downtown businesses on exterior improvements with the most recent being uh beautifification efforts at the cottage 2. Um so next time you're driving downtown, take a look at that. Uh Jocelyn is also uh working to attract businesses to the downtown. [clears throat] The next item is public safety, staffing and community policing. The city continues to enhance public safety through staffing, leadership development, and community policing strategies. Couple highlights. Uh the the police department uh completed their police department post organizational assessment and coming out of that uh there was a recommendation uh to add two lieutenant positions. Uh so that was done and we were actually very fortunate to be able to promote uh from within to fill those positions. Um and you can see a photo of uh those promotions there. In addition uh increased recruitment efforts uh have

been underway resulting in the hiring of nine police officers, three of which were designated as overhires. The department is now stacked at 36 sworn officers. It's a big deal for our community. Formal [snorts] overhiring strategy is in development now and will come before the city council for review and approval. Uh we're excited uh that recruitment has uh been completed for the deputy chief position. Uh um we uh continue to implement community policing uh and the public safety annex is nearing completion. So we will be celebrating a ribbon cutting soon there as well. And of course uh we would be remiss if we didn't mention the ongoing reduction in crime rates uh throughout the city. Next item is area focus 5 public safety quality of life which is really focused on balancing the needs of the unhoused uh with the quality of life needs and concerns of the broader community. So we have successfully transitioned from a housing first model to a treatment and accountability model. Um and that is what has really assisted us with providing that balanced and compassionate approach um to addressing homelessness. Uh that transition has resulted in improved outcomes. Uh we have a 76% treatment acceptance rate and a 53% long-term housing success rate. uh after the first year of operating uh this model uh we have deployed and continue to deploy a multid-disciplinary critical response team and was able to reduce SWAG which is our nonprofit partners' contract uh resulting in a cost savings exceeding $450,000 annually while improving outcomes. Next item is community beautifification. [snorts] Efforts to enhance community appearance and address illegal dumping have intensified. [clears throat] Our code enforcement staff is out there doing proactive code

enforcement efforts. The city continues our partnership with Desert Valley Disposal um on addressing uh this long-standing issue in our community. Um, at the same time, staff is exploring a long-term franchise agreement solution to address the robust debris accumulation in the residential neighborhoods. And that will come back before the city council for uh review and consideration. Public education through social media has been um one of our um our outlets for getting information out to the community. and code enforcement is actually working on a very specific illegal dumping campaign that you will see in very short order uh with videos and education and such. Um also on the screen you're going to see a billboard that was put up and JNS, our um marketing and PR firm actually was nominated for an award for this billboard that we had up in the community as well. And we also do a lot of um education in the spring insider magazine that was also launched uh over the last year. Uh in addition to that, uh a program that I think is going to be incredibly impactful, which is going to be the rental registration program is slated to uh roll out in quarter 3 of 2026. We will be ramping up recruitment for the code enforcement officer uh adding a code enforcement officer to our broader code enforcement team so that we will be able to um fold in those that program into our daily operations. Next item is going to be community [clears throat] parks uh area focus 7. So the city is prioritizing park improvements while planning for future um expansion. Uh as you all know we have celebrated the groundbreaking of Eagle Sports Park. Construction is near completion at Reflection Park at 8 and Palm. Uh new shade structures and bleachers have been installed at Wardman Park and design is

now underway at Skyborn Park. Uh there's a lot that will be undertaking over the next uh couple of months uh with these efforts and so you'll see a lot of things coming forward uh to the council uh and a lot of discussions as well uh behind the scenes as we continue these efforts. Next area of focus uh eight, community service engagement and quality of life. Uh expanded programming and services continue to strengthen community engagement and quality of life here in Desert Hot Springs. So ongoing construction of the Furby Aquatic Center and new splash pad um is is going on. Uh we got our most recent update and uh anticipate that this project will be finalized in time for our our typical summer swim program. So, we're really excited about this addition, the muchneeded repairs to the pool, and then the new additional um splash pad uh will be coming um in the summer months uh here for the community. In addition, um staff is currently exploring year-round pool operations through partnerships with regional agencies uh to do year- round pool operations. We understand the desire and the commitment to try to do that here in the community. uh there is a f a large financial undertaking so we are exploring every avenue that we can possibly explore so we can bring those options forward to the city council. Additionally uh services have been expanded at uh the Lozano Community Center at Guy Tedesco Park uh through a partnership with the Riverside County uh for Riverside County Veteran Services. [snorts] And um there has been continued growth in our youth and senior programming uh taking place at both the health and wellness center and the senior center. And uh currently um uh Robera and her staff are planning for facility optimization. Uh we are definitely bursting at the seams at these facilities and so looking for ways that we can uh be proactive to stay ahead of that growth optimization uh for

for our seniors. Very specifically. Next area of focus is animal care and control. So there has been significant operational improvements uh at animal care and control which have resulted in enhanced service delivery and animal welfare outcomes. Uh very happy to report that we have achieved full staffing levels at animal control. Uh this includes the hiring of a full-time uh administrative support uh at that facility which has significantly reduced complaints. uh we used to just get complaints simply because we did not have enough staff to answer the phones or to answer the door when somebody came by and that that those days are gone. Those are not we are not hearing any of that any longer. Um and and I really want to um really call out Christina and Tyler very specifically because they have done a tremendous job um really strengthening everything that we have going on over there. Um that really started with putting into place uh the implementation of training SOP standard operating procedures and operational improvements over there that really got things on track. Uh there has been a strengthening of our volunteer programs, code of conduct policies and SOPs for the volunteers um at animal care and control. Uh we have also hired an adoption coordinator which has helped significantly in um in really increasing adoptions out of that facility. Um sorry I got a little happy there and and flipped a little sooner. Uh through our partnership with Greater Palm Springs, we all celebrated the opening of the animal clinic and uh currently working on expansion, planning, and implementation of spay and neuter clinics and uh continuing to roll out community education programs. I expect that you guys will have a more robust update on animal control, but we are very excited that we have made the progress that we've made there. We will continue the work. Um like everything, um there's still a lot of work to do,

but there has been a lot of work that has been done there. and I I couldn't be prouder of um Tyler and Christina and the work that they've done to get us there. Next item is area focus 10 uh street and road infrastructure. Uh efforts are focused on both immediate maintenance and long-term infrastructure planning. Um so uh a draft pavement management plan has been completed that will come uh before the city council for review and feedback. Staff is working through that now. [snorts] Staff is working to initiate a circulation study in the industrial area to explore ingress and egress options. Uh staff is prioritizing routine road and pothole repairs. If anybody out there sees issues, please uh let us know. You can report that through our app. You can report it online or you can report it simply by calling us. Uh we like having those extra eyes and ears in the community alerting us to these issues as they come up. Uh we are coordinating with partner agencies in Calran on uh potential new freeway access and coordination with CALR for Highway 62 and Pearson signal installation remains ongoing. Uh Danny and I actually just recently met with CALR and they confirmed that they are still anticipating construction to start on the Pearson 62 stoplight in January of 2027. So uh we're very excited about those efforts and we'll continue to stay in touch with CALR. The last area of focus is area focus 11 uh which is focused on financial and operations. So organizational improvements are enhancing efficiency, accountability and service uh delivery here in the city. Um really happy and pleased uh with our finance staff. They received two budget awards uh over the last nine months. Uh we have integrated the strategic plan um into all city council items. So you can look at your council items and see which area they are focused on. Uh we have also

implemented uh uh sections of the strategic plan um into our performance evaluation program. Um and so that is as uh employees are coming up for their annual evaluation that will be something that's incorporated into their their long-term plan. Um tonight we updated the procurement processes and ordinances. Um we continue to evaluate uh RFP and RFQ platforms. We have already evaluated one and we'll continue those efforts. Um HR launched an employee recognition program uh and we actually just made it through uh first four quarters of that. So uh going into the big heart award uh Linda Hume who is our big heart award recipient um that is a product of our employee uh program. um which uh recognition program uh we have updated uh internally the compensation and benefits profiles uh for our department heads and non-represented staff and uh HR continues the expansion of training and policy standardization uh within the daily operations and of course Jeffrey is continuing constantly the refinement of our 10-year financial forecasting the [clears throat] strategic plan has been fully integrated ed into core city functions including budget preparation for the 2025 through 2027 cycle, department work plans and performance evaluation systems along with capital improvement planning and resource allocation decisions. The plan serves as the city's operational roadmap ensuring that daily decisions align with council's priorities and measurable outcomes. At the nine-month mark, implementation is progressing in a deliberate, measurable, and disciplined manner. With 45 action items completed, 80 actively underway, and 35 institutionalized as ongoing operations, the city is demonstrating meaningful momentum across all 11 strategic uh

focus areas. Staff remains committed to executing the plan efficiently and transparency uh transparently while continuing to respond to the needs of the community. That concludes my updates. Happy to answer any questions. And again, thank you to staff. None of this could happen without them. So, thank you to them.

Very impressive, Miss Wilms. Um, I'm going to take public comments if there is any before I get the council comments. All right. um you know when we when we hired you to take this position um you had just taken over after the strategic plan had been talked about. I mean obviously you were part of making that come to life but uh it's been very impressive what you've done with it so far. Thank you to all our staff for continue to keep it on track. I think it's something that our city council uh looks forward to seeing completed or added to in the future because I don't think the strategic plan will ever be finished. Um but it's it's very impressive on what's going on right now. Open it up, Mr. Gardner.

Thank you. And you know um I am rarely one for loss for words, but I I can't say anything. This was amazing. Um you've taken the ball and run with it. you and staff, you've accomplished the goals. I I am I'm just blown away. And the one thing I would hope to take away from this, and I hope our residents that watch city council, go on our website, see this, I've seen a a decrease in the amount of negativity expressed towards the city from our own residents. That's always been something that has saddened me in the years that I've been on council. But I have seen a remarked decrease in that. And I think it's the result of things like this by putting these kind of things out, by putting our magazine out, by putting out these kind of updates and just by driving around the city and seeing it. I think that that we're seeing that. One of the one of the things that I think is one of the best things that has come out of this is that I think our residents are finally getting the idea that you know what this is a great place to live and it's because of these kind of things and so I thank you for that Spitz.

So thank you madame city manager for that update. Thank you for your leadership and all the moving parts. Um, and you're correct on every single agenda we have, it always has the strategic plan in that particular part of what we're what we're doing here. It breaks it down that way. It better frames it. And also for the hard work of the staff, obviously, but it starts at the top. It starts at the top and so I always say that leadership starts at the top. But yeah, thank you everybody that's that was so instrumental in this. Um, and as the mayor said, it's gonna it's I mean, we're going to pivot it. It's gonna it's never complete. It's constantly evolving. Um, we're going to be doing that again here pretty quick, a strategic plan, but some great things that we all can be proud of. And as my colleague had stated, we hear about this all the time at the different events. You hear about it, the different events that we go to, people are saying, wow, Desert Hot Springs is a new place. It is a new place and this matters. Optics matter and what we're doing behind the scenes matters. Thank you Christina for what you you've done with the animal services. What a pivot. What a turnaround. We all know it was um and not because of us but because of different cir circumstances and situations we need um we needed to get in there and you did that. you you went in there and you turned that around and now it's a positive and you spoke to how the you know there's no um someone's there to answer the phones now and there's no issues with that. We used to get those obviously those kind of complaints but anyway I just want to say thank you. Thank you for all you guys do.

Awesome. So I love strategic plans. Some people don't like them but I love them. They are a great tool and they're never over with. They're always reconnected, re-uped, cleaned, changed, modified, and what have you. But what was great about ours is is that it was in depth. It was very specific. And I think, you know, one of the first things I do when people will come up to me or I'll talk to them is I'll steer them to the front page of the website and I'll tell them where to click on the strategic plan and look at it. And when I send emails out, I'll actually take um the link to it and I'll send the email with it as well. and and um suggest that they take a look at that because it is thorough and it's not your typical strategic plan you see from your governing agencies that's out there and it's a fluid working document but what it also does is it keeps us all in line is we don't stray. We might stray a little bit but it keeps us focused because as electeds we can stray a little bit. No,

but no, I know.

I'm just saying it's not us. It's others. [laughter] They supposed to speak here and they go this way. But the great thing is that what it also does though and it gives us a tool to talk about because just as I did that breakfast the other a couple weeks ago I made brought this up to come look at this and take a look and it gives us that tool to talk about and and when we're promoting the city and everything but it keeps us in line in a sense where too where staff knows where we're at for the most part on things. And I don't mean that in any bad way. I mean that you know we're elected right so we kind of are a little fluid and change a little bit but at least you know this is what council wants and you can wake up in the morning come to work and you know this is what council wants and then we as council know these are our expectations and so we meet with you know the city manager and other staff members and stuff they already know where we're kind of going at and it works very well so I'm very very pleased with the progress we've made with these things and we've already you know met some of our goals already such as like in public safety and what have you. And then we're still working on some of these others which we'll be talking about at another item. But um you know great great presentation and update and I would encourage you know even if it's just for a short time putting this update up on the front page of the website so we can push people there to read the update on it as well.

Absolutely. And one one other thing can we do a strategic planning session in Pismo Beach? [laughter] I'm just No, you can't. No. Miss P, what you and your staff I like strategic plans also, but they need to be in depth. And what you and all of your staff has created is a start of institutional knowledge. No matter who sits here, as long as you continue all of this, all of us will be in line. and we will have a great city.

Great words of encouragement to continue going down the path you're going and to keep pushing along as we check those boxes. Thank you again. That's a receive and file item. There's no no motion needed on this. We're going to move to item number six, which is discussion item. Consideration of a survey for a half cent sales tax measure to fund street improvements. Just for the public's knowledge, uh, the way our policies work here in Desert Hot Springs is that the mayor or the city manager can place items on the agenda or two council members can place an item on the agenda. Two council members asked for this item to be placed on agenda for consideration. One of the steps that we added years ago was consideration. So, no two council members could just place something on there, go straight to a vote, and hoping they had a majority and and force something down without a good debate. So this item tonight is just for discussion to see if we as a city council in a majority want to consider having the work done by our staff to bring back for an agenda item in the future. And I'm going to give it over to Mr. Voss and council member Pittz who are the two sponsoring this.

All right. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. So, when this item first came up for discussion to want to put this on the agenda, um you know, one of the items came in as we're doing some just kind of looking at our topics of what's important for our city. And really the big three topics are public safety, streets, road, infrastructure, and economic development. And I think with public safety, we're have met a lot of the accomplishments that needed to be met. and now it's more of a maintenance, more of an upkeep, more of encouragement and keeping what they're doing. So then shifting to the roads, it began looking at our budget, began looking at how do we get ahead of the game or how do we get ahead of having a good road maintenance management program, how do we have a good funding mechanism and how we're not just um doing spot work here and there and and falling behind a little bit. And so and also seeing you know I know that our revenue sources are are a little def you know short with what we're able to have and work with uh in reference to this. And so initially the thought was and I'm going to change a little bit here. What this came with is originally the thought was is after [snorts] gosh probably 60 members of the of the community I spoke to and asked them if they would they support some type of a halfsent sales tax if it went directly towards streets, roads, sidewalks kind of thing similar to what the city of India's done sim similar to what Palm Springs has done and and so where we can kind of get ahead of it a little bit or at least get caught up including in our residential neighborhoods and that kind of thing as well. uh and as we're looking to you know want to increase toot but since you know that time and we've put this on the agenda I'm going to pivot in a recommendation that I'm going to change on this is [snorts] I

I'd like to you know recommend instead that uh Councilman Pittz and myself serve on a uh on a council committee uh working with our public works our deputy city manager overseeing public works and look at because in our in our area of focus, it says right here, develop a more comprehensive street repaving program, you know, uh outline repairs, potholes, explore funding mechanisms, prioritize what areas, uh it's even one, it's actually our number one item on our goals thing with streets and roads and the tourism toot and desire to increase these type of things. And so I thought, okay, you know, not every I'm not warm and fuzzy about taxes just as much as anybody else, but sometimes if that's all you got, that's all you got. And so what I think would be better is is that we do a council committee of him and I with uh our staff member and we look at the various funding mechanisms or what possibilities we've got both within our budget, both with uh measure A, both with bonds, both with um gas tax, you know, vehicle registration, whatever it may be, and come up with these and see where we may be eligible for, including what we might be eligible to bond based off our current circumstances. ES and then come down with a recommendation to the council that here are the three or four big streets that we recommend in this order that we target that we think is our priority that we're recommending as priority. In addition, then we shift funds towards um like a a more advanced slurry seal program perhaps through our neighborhoods. You know, that's what many of our residences like, I'd love to have my street slurry sealed. I don't remember when the last time it was black, you know, that kind of thing. And

so I think doing that, um, we've exhausted the avenues of what's here. We've spent some time and energy on this topic. And then we can come back and say, here's where we're looking at funding. Here's what we're looking to prioritize. Here's the streets. Here's what we'd like to see funding. We'd like the council, we recommend to the council that this, you know, move forward in this way. And then we're all on a game plan which fits what we're dealing with here. It's just a little more fine-tuned, a little more detailed. [snorts] And then as a lastm minute measure, maybe the tax is the final option, but let's exhaust this alternative route first and then consider that and I'll then go or Mr. Mayor, maybe

Mr. Pitz.

Thank you, Mr. uh mayor and councel. So I think that's I think a council committee to focus on roads. I think that's an amazing idea and I would love to sit on the committee with you, the two of us to look at that. And so one of the reasons why I know this even came on the agenda in the first place was and we just speaking about strategic planning, we just talked about it. It's number 10 here on our on our strategic planning, but and you and you framed it. Um we hear from constituents all the time, all of us do as far as as far as the busted roads here, the broken roads and and needing some attention. And so, um, I think doing this committee, council committee with you and focusing on that on ways we're going to improve the road and even and I think you talked about this as well, a comprehensive street master plan is something else that we can talk about in that committee. So, yes, I completely support this and uh, uh, thank you, Mayor Proim, for bringing this forward at this time.

Before we get into council comments, I'm going to open up to public comments. I have one comment, Brad Anderson. Thank you. My name is Brad.

Okay. Thank you. Uh, hi. My name is Brad Anderson. I currently live in the city of Ranch Mirage, but I I just wanted to come up and comment on this halfcent uh propos proposal. Um I want to commend the city too for uh the policies and procedures you have in place for these types of items to come on the agenda. My city rans barrage I believe one council member can bring anything he wants according to Mr. D one of the council members. I have no confirmed data to that but that's what I heard. Uh so again uh uh good job on that aspect. Uh I I'm all in favor of the uh two council member newest council members which is great to see u recommendations for this and definitely uh I'm not a proponent of any new uh increased taxes. So I think this is a benefit to the city to have this more explore this in detail before uh going after increased revenue. Thank you.

Any other public comments?

Yes sir. Uh Charles Lance, I sit on the uh public safety committee, but excuse me. Uh I went ran for the city council along with uh Dirk Voss and a couple others. And one of the other nominees, his whole agenda that he ran on was the roads and that was like a really big issue. So, when you talk about a half cent or half percent pay raise or pay raise tax increase, you're talking about like if a person's spending $100 a week on groceries, like $24 a year, and if you double it to $200 a week on groceries, $48 a year. I don't know anybody within the city that wouldn't be willing to do that. As I've said before on in our meetings, you guys have done so much to improve this city. We're we're now at the what I call the paint and window stage. Uh when you're working on a house and you're first beginning, you just feel like there's no end to what you're getting into. And when you're finally putting in the windows and the paint, you feel like you've accomplished something. We fixed the police department. Uh we've got fire departments coming in. You guys have just done so much to improve this city. And I think the the roads is just the uh cream of the crop, the icing on the cake. So I'm also all in favor for that increase.

Thank you very much. Any other comments? move back to council comments. Um I I heard you loud and clear. Um I I could not support a half sales tax right now due to the fact that we just did this a few years back. So I think to pivot and go to a subcommittee. Um I'd be happy to have that added to the next agenda for council to approve the subcommittee um if needed. Um but um I I think it's important that we exhaust all remedies first before coming back with a recommendation that we have to go back to the voters and ask for more money. So I think this is a great strategic plan to move forward. We have the pavement management plan that'll be uh sent to us very soon. Um and that'll be a good road map to um you putting together a a wellfunded or well a good plan to go forward and then find funding mechanisms with that. Miss Pie,

we just changed the agenda item. Um, I don't have a problem with you nominating the committee, the committee chair to go further in in depth, but we just changed Yeah. the agenda item. So, we definitely need to bring it back. She wants to say something. Well, no, go ahead. Finish your thought. Um, so we're not dealing with this right now. No, that's why that's why I was saying we could bring it back next meeting for approval. He could He could bring it back. Let them decide how deep they want to go, when they want to bring it back, but I think that's all we can do right now.

Yeah. Yes, sir.

I u I tend to agree with you, Mr. Mayor. Um I could not have supported the the uh the sales tax. We just did that last year. um our residents have a particularly high tax burden given their uh income our median income here and their sales tax tends to be more aggressive and disproportionately hitting lower income people. Um that being said um I like the idea of the two uh of you taking a subcommittee and really developing a good hard look at how we could fund this. Miss Pi and I believe our city attorney are right. But I also think Mr. Mayor, if I'm not mistaken, and Jennifer will tell me if I am, um, subcommittee doesn't take require council action. The mayor can do it. You appointed me and Mr. Pittz on the sub short-term vacation rental, me and Miss Pi on the hotel incentive plan. None of those came before council. You just did it. So, I think you have the authority to do that, to appoint those two or whoever you want to to be on that without having it be an agenda item. Am I correct, Madam City Attorney?

I'd have to uh double check that. I I think you are, but in this specific case, just because we're changing the agenda item, what I would recommend, just also an abundance of caution, we do bring it back. Um I think though you are right because there were some subcommittees that were not um that were not that you didn't come forward to council and that were uh taken but in this specific instance I would just recommend bringing it forward. Yeah. Just for transparency reasons. We can throw it on the consent calendar next time for approval and then the best way to disperse of this item is for them to withdraw their request or for us to vote it down down.

No, you don't need to vote it down. there's nothing to it was more of like a you see if if we wanted to bring it forward what I'm hearing is a consensus that with respect to the sales tax uh we do not need a vote on it it's just to you know to bring it forward um what I'm hearing is we'll bring something uh a subcommittee back regarding the roads and how we how we fund those so does anybody want to make a motion for this item to go forward

if there's nobody making that motion then it dies at this point I think we've heard enough we'll put it on the agenda the next next meeting. You guys can start the work as soon as you like to and go from there. Any other comments? Awesome. All right, we've already approved the consent calendar. We'll go back to public comments. Anyone that didn't get the chance to speak at the beginning of the meeting may speak now to the to the council. Nobody coming forth. Our public safety commission will meet on April 9th, the planning commission on April 14th, and the next city council meeting will be on April 21st. We are ajourned.