City Council - Special Meeting

Lower his chair, but he sits in it. Good afternoon. I hereby call the Palm Springs Special City Council meeting of May 19, 2026 to order. Mr. Clerk, can you please send up roll call?

I'm not going to reflect that all members are present with the exception of Council.

The next item is public testimony. This time has been set aside for members of the public to address city council on agenda items. Only city council welcomes public input. 2 minutes will be assigned to each speaker and you're asked to begin your time telling us. All we're doing is commission interviews, but telling us what agenda item or items you were speaking about.

Do you have any. We don't have to.

Didn't know I had to fill out the form.

Sorry about last week. Michael came on Wednesday.

All right, Michael Joseph Pitkin, Palm Springs Unified School District. Their budget, $460 million, all children's services. I'm now asking Sunline and Zoom for their budgets. Here in Palm Springs, I've met with several mayors to ask for help in negotiating barriers to my residency in medical and social services. In five years, I've been denied verification of residency by all social service agencies, not to mention mail and voter fraud. In multiple commission meetings, you all spend money on yourselves with discretionary funds for pride flags and awards you give yourselves, not to mention massive pickleball. You all have sent me to senior protective services, using my identity as they be my payee or fiduciary. No. The moment this happens, it flags the FBI system as a person of interest. I may have HIV side effects that I live with. I may need more processing time than most, yet my mind is clear. I find it unreasonable that you spend so much funding on a possible dying few and children's services. A couple new pickleball tennis courts would have been reasonable. In 10 years, most 70-year-olds will either die or be in nursing homes. If, like my family, the grandchildren, great-grandchildren will not be interested in expensive homes, pickleball, or golf, it would not have been unreasonable to create a location for a warming and cooling program for those citizens in need with a reduced-rate food vending machine and an ice machine when it's 105, 110, and 120 outside. Palm Springs, you have your priorities skewed. You're not adequately planning for when all baby boomers die and Palm Springs goes through a massive tsunami demographics sell-off. It's coming.

Okay, well, we have a full schedule of interviews, and we're already late, so we are going to get started. We have Historic Site Preservation Board, then Measure J, then Planning Commission. We'll have a break, and then we'll start the Human Rights Commission. I thought it might be helpful to have Evelyn just talk through the little folder and binder about what you can find in each section. Do you want to give, or Brendan?

OKAY, SO IN EACH OF YOUR PACKETS, YOU'LL SEE THE SCHEDULE. AND FOLLOWING THE SCHEDULE, YOU'LL SEE EACH SPECIFIC BOARD. SO YOU'LL SEE THE HSTB, HSTB PRESERVATION BOARD. YOU'LL SEE MEASURE J, FOLLOWED BY FINANCE COMMISSION AND HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION. WITHIN EACH BOARD, YOU WILL FIND A COVER SHEET FOR THE SPECIFIC BOARD. HSTB, FOR EXAMPLE, YOU'LL SEE IT'S THE INTERVIEW TIME, THE APPLICANT'S NAME, FOLLOWED BY THE STAFF RECOMMENDATION, WHICH IS LISTED ON THE AGENDA. SO STAFF RECOMMENDATION IS LISTED ON THE COVER SHEET, FOLLOWED BY INCUMBENTS AND LIAISON FEEDBACK, AS WELL AS CHAIR FEEDBACK LISTED FOR YOU. FOLLOWING THAT SHEET, YOU WILL FIND YOUR QUESTIONNAIRE FOR EACH SPECIFIC CANDIDATE. AND THAT'S BASICALLY IT. AND IT'S THE SAME TEMPERATURE FOR ALL OTHER AWARDS.

And we'll go through as we get through each section, reviewing the vacancies for each 1, starting with historic site preservation. We have. 2 vacancies that we are interviewing for 2 incumbents that have already been recommended to move forward. Any questions before we call up Charlie?

So what's our process? We're going to go through each of the commissions, then talk about them, or are we talking about them after each commission? What's our process?

I'd recommend going through all the interviews as quickly as possible, considering we're already kind of behind, and then discussing them at the end. But I'm open to feedback.

No, that's fine with me. Okay.

Okay. All right. Can you get Mr. Roddy, please?

Time. Jeremy, how are you?

HERE?

WHEREVER YOU'D LIKE. THERE'S PLENTY. HI, CHARLIE. WE'RE GOING TO GET STARTED RIGHT AWAY, BUT THANK YOU FOR APPLYING. AND TO START US OFF, CAN YOU SHARE A LITTLE BIT? WE HAVE YOUR APPLICATION, BUT IT'S GREAT TO HEAR FROM YOU DIRECTLY. WHY DO YOU WANT TO SERVE ON THE HISTORIC SITE PRESERVATION BOARD?

A NUMBER OF REASONS. I JUST HAVE ALWAYS HAD A PASSION FOR HISTORY IN MY LIFE. MY HOMETOWN, I WAS PART OF THE MOST HISTORICAL SOCIETY, WHICH IS BACK IN MASSACHUSETTS. history is so very important for all of us to make sure that we don't lose what we have. And we certainly have it for those future generations to come. And more importantly, I think in terms of the passion for It's not political. This is just history. What's happened with the East Room and what's happened with the demolition of that East Room and all the history that is going away with it in terms of the First Lady office that was built in the 1920-year-old facility. So all those generations of children coming up now and people will not have access to that piece of history. So I think just being a part of CELEBRATING, LEARNING MORE ABOUT WHAT'S IN THE HISTORY OF OUR CITY, AND HOW DO WE GO ABOUT SHARING IT? AND I THINK THAT WAS ONE OF THE BIGGEST THINGS THAT I WOULD HOPE THAT I WOULD LOVE TO BE INVOLVED IN IN TERMS OF THE WORK OF THE BOARD AND THE COMMISSION, IS HOW DO WE CELEBRATE THIS AND SHARE THIS MESSAGE WITH THE SCHOOLS AND THE CITIZENS OF POMP SPRINGS? BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT THAT'S GONE ON UNLESS I'VE GONE IN AND READ ABOUT IT. and reading minutes, I think there's a lot of opportunity there.

You should probably mention we only allowed like seven minutes for each person. I understand that. Yes, I saw that on the agenda. It's a very short. So I actually have a question. Obviously you've been involved a lot in the city, but you're not reading in with Parks and Rec. No. And so why do you think you have specific skills for historic site?

BECAUSE OF MY HISTORY OF BEING INVOLVED IN HISTORICAL SOCIETY, BEING INVOLVED IN A PERSONAL PASSION THAT I'VE HAD, I DON'T NECESSARILY CERTAINLY HAVE THE SKILL WHEN IT COMES TO ARCHITECTURE, BUT I WANT TO LEARN ABOUT THAT. I CERTAINLY KNOW ABOUT THE WHITE FLOORS AND ALL THE VARIOUS INDIVIDUAL ARCHITECTS IN THE CITY, BUT I WANT TO BE ABLE TO BE, HOPEFULLY, BE AN EAR AND A VOICE FOR WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE CITY IN TERMS OF OUR HISTORICAL PRESERVATION. GREAT. AWESOME.

Can you tell us a little bit more about the specific skills that you, beyond your passion, that you would bring to the board?

Well, certainly communications. I think it's extremely important. Certainly, I served as communications chair for one PS for three years. I've been involved in all my relations my entire life. So building coalitions, building communications methods with regards to alumni groups and the whole process of keeping people engaged and keeping them informed, I think is the skill set that I bring. And I think just working across the aisle and across departments, I think it's really, really important. And I think that's a skill that I think I have. Thank you.

What challenges are in front of the Commission that you feel you would be able to contribute to improving, changing?

That was one of the questions I think on the application that I felt I really couldn't answer because I don't know enough about what's in front of the Commission. didn't answer it here and I don't and I would answer it the same way I did then and I think it's I really don't think I I it's going to be a curve for me to certainly learn all about where you want where it is and one of the things that are sitting in front of it the most important things were the other than historic designations and preservation etc um but that's my hope is to learn to be part of the committee to learn that yeah excellent well thank you Charlie

YOU SHARED A LITTLE BIT KIND OF YOUR FORMER 1PS CHAIR. YOU WERE ON PARKS AND RAC. IS THERE ANY OTHER CIVIC INVOLVEMENT THAT MAYBE IS GOOD TO FLAG OR TO KIND OF GIVE SOME CONTEXT AS TO HOW YOU SERVE ON THIS BOARD?

I served as campaign chair for Les Young, who ran against Grace a number of years ago. You did a great job. And that was, you know, that's door to door. That was all about engaging and embracing the community, building a coalition with Les in terms of sharing his message and his candidacy. So other than that and certainly my work with Michael's house here in the city is I'm aware of What what that service provides to all of us in the city of Palm Springs and beyond and the importance of education How do you think we go about balancing preservation and development in our city it's the housing I really you know if I I see the pieces on the announcements that come across about the historic designation, but I'm not as familiar as I need to be in terms of where we are today with preservation and with historical preservation. I mean, I know what we did at the Worcester Historical Museum, what we did with the whole education program that started in grammar schools and got kids involved in learning about the history of the city. How do we do that from the ground up here in Palm Springs? I don't know. If it's already in place, if we currently have an educational program that talks about preservation and historical preservation with the public school systems and the public in general, that's... Great.

Awesome. Great. All right. Well, thank you very much, Charlie. We really appreciate it.

You're welcome. I have a closing one. So, Charlie, how would you... Having an understanding, if you had a crystal ball, knowing that the other people coming up with you applying for the position have significant years of experience and expertise in the fields that historic site preservation deals with. How do you set yourself apart? FROM THOSE PEOPLE?

I THINK IT'S THROUGH THE PEOPLE SKILLS, THROUGH THE COMMUNICATION, THROUGH THE ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE AND TO BUILD COALITIONS. I THINK FOR ME, AND TO SHARE A MESSAGE, I THINK, IS IF THERE'S BEEN, IN MY MIND, A LACKING, CERTAINLY AS A CITIZEN, UNDERSTANDING THE WORKS OF THE COMMISSION, THERE'S A REAL OPPORTUNITY THERE, I THINK, TO REALLY EDUCATE THE PUBLIC ABOUT WHAT THE WORK IS THAT THE COMMISSION DOES AND HOW COULD I BE AN ACTIVE PART IN THAT.

QUESTIONS?

THANK YOU.

DO WE HAVE THE FULL LIST OF EACH OF THE COMMISSIONS AND WHAT DISTRICT THEY'RE IN, AS WELL AS THE APPLICANTS, JUST ALL THE DEMOGRAPHICS?

OH, HERE, IT'S ON THIS. THERE IT IS. YEAH, WHAT WE CALL THE MADDIE ACT.

OKAY.

BUT DO WE HAVE, DO WE KNOW THE DISTRICT ON THE TOP? THIS IS ON THE TOP, OKAY.

Thanks, David. We have seven minutes scheduled for these interviews, so we're going to try to keep it as tight as possible. We are running a little bit late, so we appreciate your patience. I'm going to get a timer going for us, so if we hear a beep, that's what's going on. But tell me a little bit more about why you want to serve on the Historic Site Preservation Board. I know you have a balance of Historic Site versus Measure J, so maybe we can

Sure. I think I can comment. Maybe this will help apply to both. You know, to serve, you really have that opportunity to help the city. best you can connect with the residents and make a meaningful contribution while you're doing it the opportunity is there to listen learn I suppose collaborate to make a difference for today's residents as well as as tomorrow's now specific to historic site preservation board certainly have a passion for the history here in Palm Springs AND CERTAINLY I THINK I WOULD BRING A STRENGTH TO THE BOARD, NOT SAYING IT DOESN'T ALREADY EXIST THERE, BUT IN TERMS OF UTILIZING OUR RICH HISTORY THAT WE HAVE HERE TO BUILD COMMUNITY, TO CONTINUE TO BUILD COMMUNITY, TO CONNECT maybe find ways to allow some of our neighborhoods that are not, shall we say, accepted by Modernism Week to somehow become involved, maybe on their own, maybe through this new XOXO. Maybe there's opportunities for a DeMuth Park. or a barista neighborhood or certainly a desert highlands to better contribute.

Thanks. I'm going to pass it over to some of my colleagues who want to go next.

So I mean, all interesting points. What about in terms of what specific skills and expertise to lay the historic site?

Historic site, yes. Well, I suppose my skills have been obtained here over the last eight years here in Palm Springs. One, researching neighborhood history in my neighborhood, Little Beverly Hills, and again, trying to use that to build community. But in that time, I've also had the opportunity to speak with Historic Preservation Officer Yoon regarding historic districts. as well as I suppose historic properties in general. I certainly have pay attention to the Historic Site Preservation Board activities. I had a chance to go back and go back, I didn't realize, 1981, 45 years that board has been in existence. And had a chance to go back and look at their activity, if you will, again, refresh my memory about all the historic designations. And even, of course, focusing on the more recent So I think I just bring that energy, that passion. Certainly I have the time. And I think I have a good enough understanding. Of course, we have a wonderful staff here, both Historic Preservation Officer Yoon, as well as Director Mooney, that I think we can, as a board, we are able to lean on them. And... A LOT OF IT IS JUST HOMEGROWN, THE LOVE OF HISTORY, AND, YEAH, WOULDN'T I KNOW IT? WOULDN'T I BE LUCKY ENOUGH TO LIVE IN PALM SPRINGS FULL OF IT, FULL OF WONDERFUL HISTORY? THANK YOU. MEASURE J QUESTIONS, BY CHANCE? HAPPY TO ANSWER THOSE AS WELL. SURE.

DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT? I THINK YOU'VE TOUCHED ON THIS A BIT. But are there things that you specifically want to do with historic preservation that's different than what they're doing now?

Well, certainly I would at least advocate for reaching out to the community. Again, to try to... We've got a tent. I just want to bring more people into the tent. We've got all the Class 4s, 1978, and that's the way it is. Wouldn't it be nice if there's a way for... of all that wish to to participate and and of course contribute and maybe raise some funds there for their communities that they then can make donations and do good things for for those communities certainly that would be the one area kind of going in that I'd have in the at least there to advocate. And then, of course, engaging with the public, I think is very important. I would be out there, you know, not overdoing it, but being there to engage. And that would be true for Measure J as well. If I could just take a moment. Was there at the day the Spagovi was put in. I was there early. Had to call a safety timeout to let the photographer for the artists know we had to have a hard hat on, though she should, as others did, and watch that happen. That was Measure J funds that had been used there. Got a chance to chat with our John, our engineer. And then I was at, as many of you were, at a wonderful ribbon cutting at the Eisenhower Westside Campus. Got a chance to go in, talk to some folks that were really going to benefit it from that how would a wonderful project I can ship from Israel real quick I'd be looking if we're not got that much money a couple million dollars a year going forward after the convention center there's a way to strategically I would look to strategically try to pinpoint that and THAT SORT OF OUTCOME, CHANGING PEOPLE'S LIVES, MAKING THEIR LIVES DIFFERENT, MAYBE EVEN SAVING SOME LIVES. WOW. SO ANYWAY, THAT WAS MY LITTLE MEASURE J PITCH. I FIGURED I BETTER GET SOMETHING IN SINCE THAT WAS MY FAVORITE. I'M SORRY I WAS 51-49, BUT OTHER THAN THE EDUCATION, IT WOULD BE 50-50. BUT MY BACKGROUND IS ON THE FINANCE. SO I CAN'T DECIDE. SOUNDS LIKE WE'RE UP.

ALL RIGHT, WELL, THANK YOU. WE'LL USE THE SEVEN MINUTES OF OUR TIME.

ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU. AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE. THANK YOU. HAVE A GOOD DAY.

Just clarification on that. So I didn't notice this, that he was interviewing for two.

Well, this one, his application said that he was like 51% historic site preservation.

And it says 51% Measure J.

HE APPLIED FOR HSPB. HE WAS INTERESTED IN. HEY, HOW ARE YOU?

GOOD AFTERNOON. SO ON HIS APPLICATION, HE APPLIED FOR HSPB.

YEAH, BUT THEN ON THIS NOTE, IT SAYS MEASURE J, 51%. YEAH, HE CALLED ME. YEAH. I MEAN, I'M JUST SAYING WE JUST DIDN'T TALK TO HIM ABOUT MEASURE J EXCEPT FOR HIS OWN PITCH AT THE END. WE HAVE ALSO A LOT OF APPLICANTS FOR MEASURE J. ALL RIGHT.

WHAT'S OUR TIME LIMIT?

SEVEN MINUTES.

SEVEN MINUTES. OKAY. WE GOT TO GO FAST. GOOD AFTERNOON. I PROCESSED TWO BEFORE ME PRETTY QUICKLY.

THANKS, GARY. WHY DON'T YOU START US OFF AND TELL US A LITTLE BIT WHY YOU'RE EXCITED TO SERVE ON THE HISTORIC SITE PRESERVATION BOARD.

ALL RIGHT, SO THANK YOU. MY NAME IS GARY JOHNS. I HAVE SERVED ON THE HSPB IN THE PAST. I SERVED FROM 2011 UNTIL 2016. IT WAS A VERY PRODUCTIVE TIME FOR THE BOARD. I THINK THAT WE ACCOMPLISHED A LOT. I WAS A BOARD MEMBER AND THEN I WAS THE CHAIR FOR A WHILE. I STILL HAVE A LOT OF PASSION FOR PRESERVATION. I AM INVOLVED ON A DAY-TO-DAY BASIS WITH PRESERVATION THROUGH MODERNISM WEEK AND THROUGH THE PALM SPRINGS PRESERVATION FOUNDATION WITH THE PALM SPRINGS HISTORICAL SOCIETY. So I think I still have a lot to contribute to the city.

SO HOW DO YOU DO THIS WITH PRESERVATION FOUNDATION? BECAUSE THEY'RE SUBMITTING A LOT OF APPLICATIONS, RIGHT?

YES.

I DON'T WRITE THEM. SO IT'S NOT A CONFLICT THEN?

YOU KNOW WHAT? I THINK IT'S COME UP IN THE PAST THAT THERE IS A CONFLICT OF INTEREST WITH PRESERVATION FOUNDATION BOARD MEMBERS THAT SIT ON THE HSPB. IN PARTICULAR WHEN A NOMINATION NORMALLY WRITTEN BY EITHER STEVE VAUT, THAT'S A NAME YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH, OR STEVE KELON. Board members in the past have had to recuse themselves, and I don't know why. There's no financial gain for anybody to vote yes or no on a historic application. The Preservation Foundation is a nonprofit. It's an all-volunteer board. But if I had to recuse myself on those occasions, then I certainly would.

I think it's more perception. Okay. PERCEPTION IN THE COMMUNITY OF THE ACTIONS THAT ARE BEING TAKEN.

I WOULDN'T WANT TO CHANGE THAT SYSTEM. AS I SAID, IN THE PAST, PRESERVATION FOUNDATION BOARD MEMBERS HAVE RECUSED THEMSELVES AT THE TIME A NOMINATION COMES THROUGH THE BOARD.

I DON'T HAVE ANY MORE QUESTIONS.

I DON'T HAVE A QUESTION EITHER BECAUSE YOU ALREADY ANSWERED EVERYTHING IS THERE ANYTHING THAT YOU THINK COULD BE IMPROVED

Council Member Garner, I don't think that anything needs to be improved. I think that I have been involved with the city for coming up on 20 years. And I think today's city council and today's city is light years ahead of where it was in 2005 when I moved here. Vacant storefronts downtown and the council was putting old movie posters in the storefronts too so that our tourists wouldn't see a vacant window. They'd see something of interest. And certainly with the new downtown and the park and everything that's happening with the airport and the city's infrastructure and Measure J. When I moved here, there wasn't such a thing as Measure J. And so I don't think anything needs improving. I just want to keep participating. Flattery will get you everywhere. Councilmember DeHart, if I were applying for perhaps another job, and I don't know what that job might be, but one's experience certainly comes into play when the employer is looking to hire somebody. And I do have experience. I pay attention. I'm the one that's sitting home in my kitchen watching the City Council meetings and the Planning Commission meetings. Thank you and sorry. But Mayor, it isn't, it's... It's a beneficial form of entertainment for me because I do learn and I impart what I've learned to the other people on my dog walk in the morning. And they'll say, well, how do you know that? I say, well, it was on the city council meeting last night. So I have a strong interest in our city.

Appreciate your service.

Thank you. How do you think we're doing with the balance between preservation and development? I think excellent. Oh, absolutely. And I think, now I should have stopped talking a while ago. I think the shift happened in December of 2015. Because many of you will recall that in the spring of 2015, a demolition permit was pulled on Talquitz Plaza. And the HSPB was instrumental in stewarding that through the city, the balance between preservation and development. But an election in November changed everything because several city council people did not get re-elected, and the new council members that did come on board were more preservation-minded. And the first action of the first city council meeting of December of 2015 was to declare Tockwoods Plaza a historic site. And today, I think everybody who goes in and out of Taquitz Plaza sees the benefit of having that building there today with a real sense of community, whether you want to get your hair cut or go see a realtor or go get a cup of coffee or a glass of wine. The proposed replacement building would not have done that. It wouldn't have done that. It would have erased that corner from the community. So I think that was a good thing, and I don't know why that was the answer to the question. I forgot the question. Balance.

Balance is good.

That's a good answer.

Well, thank you so much. We really appreciate it, Gary.

Thank you. That's it. Thanks a lot. I love the big room. It's terrific.

We have seven minutes, so appreciate your patience. We're running a little behind. So let's just get started. Can you share a little bit why you want to serve on the historic site preservation board? Sure.

I have a deep connection with our architectural ancestry in this city. Born and raised in Southern California, I've seen a handful of other cities like Palm Springs, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Pasadena. What I've seen is that there is a certain level of human connection when you come in the city, whether you're a tourist or whether you're a resident. And it really allows us to really appreciate what we have here. And when I first came into the city, I used to take walks around. And I noticed these markers, these plaques, something special about the home. And so I said, why not me? Why not my home? I live in El Rancho Vista Estates, the Wexler community. And after about three years, I finally got all of you to approve class one status. Right now, working on district status. And we hope to get that pushed through as well. I think what I've also discovered is that I've been to almost every meeting in the last year and a half, the HSPB monthly meetings. I came here just to kind of press on Sarah and say, hey, you know, what's taking so long? And I just got hooked, and I come all the time. And I've learned a lot, and I'm really glad I came because that's the reason I'm sitting here now. I feel a kinship to the board members that are here. I really appreciate how they... They monitor and measure and compare economic growth with preservation. Because I feel preservation really is our identity. And without preserving, and when I say preserving, I mean thoughtfully preserved. You can't preserve every casement window put in there by a famous architect. You've got to really look at it and determine what kind of value does it really give to the community and is worth saving. That I've just really found that I want to be a part of it. You know, I come from some real estate development background when I was younger, so I can really appreciate that economic growth is something that is inevitable. We need to make sure it continues because it's really the engine that fuels what we need and what we want for our city. Yet we have to be careful, especially in a community like this where architecture is such a strong piece of our record.

So you've gone through the process to start preservation. So what do you think the challenge is facing the organization, the board, that you might want to address?

That was going to be my question for you. What do you see the challenges of historic site preservation board?

But actually the board itself and the process.

Yeah. You know, what I found is that, and I try to kind of take my own experience and keep it separate because I would get too personally connected to, you know, there's nothing wrong with this house. But I think what I've noticed here with the board is they really have a challenge trying to determine whether something is really you know because they're sitting there with homeowners that really want to see this thing get through and sometimes it's not necessarily just the status of class one it's one of the you know tear down an old garage that maybe was you know, built by Albert Frey, and they'd need to determine whether that is valuable enough to maintain. So I've watched that here. So I think they really have this balancing act of making sure that they go through the process that is very, as you know, very straightforward, yet are progressive enough of work with the applicant and make sure that that applicant can get what they're looking for and the city still maintains what they need as far as process.

How do you find the balance between preservation and development?

I think the identity of preservation is really the foundation. That's really where you need to maintain a You know, your claws into make sure that it's not you're not sacrificing it. You know, like I said, sacrificing sacrificing something that might bring a short term economic gain into a city. Yet at the same time, it's possible to lose that identity that we have, I think. We've all been to Waikiki Beach 60 years ago. That didn't look like it does now. And it had a short-term injection of high-rise income. Everybody wants to go to Hawaii. But it's kind of lost a lot of that Waikiki Beach thing that another area like Miami Beach was able to maintain with their modern art deco, if you've ever been there. They still have that. You get that feeling there. You don't get it in Waikiki anymore. That's a good answer for you.

No right answer, there's no right answer. That's true.

Yeah Is this your have you served on any other Commission's is your first time applying or in Palm Springs?

Yes, I did serve for a couple of years in a 250 unit condo community in Carlsbad that I lived in so That was an eye opener. You know, to kind of see, you know, some of the deep yet also sometimes the, you know, minor things about my tree doesn't get trimmed once a month. What's going on here? So, yeah, I have served and I've had to learn how to balance, you know, long-term growth and preservation and short-term gains and gains.

Any other questions?

NO, I'M GOOD.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

THANK YOU. OKAY, SO THOSE ARE ALL THE INTERVIEWS FOR HISTORIC SITE. WE'RE GOING TO MOVE ON TO COMMENT NUMBER TWO IN YOUR TAB, WHICH WILL BE THE MESHER J COMMISSION. Thanks for waiting. We're running a little bit behind, so I appreciate your patience. You have seven minutes. I'm going to start a timer. Surprisingly, we've been keeping it under seven for most of our interviews. So to start us off, can you share a little bit about why you're interested in serving on the Measure J Commission?

sure uh so i uh retired last year i've been living thank you uh started as a break and now a year later it's become retirement i've been living in palm springs full-time since uh lockdown and I'm going to stay here. And so I want to get involved in the community. Now that I don't have the 9 to 5 thing and traveling half the time, I have the ability to actually commit to something. So when I looked over all the different commissions, This one actually looked, you know, particularly interesting because of the breadth of what it does because it crosses over a lot of different things in the city. And I do think that I have some transferable skills from my professional experience that would do well on the commission.

So four spots that have a potential to be filled today. Two of them are alternate positions, and two are full-time, fully appointed positions. Would you have interest in one over the other? Lack no interest in the alternate position?

Well, does the alternate have the same term, or is it just an annual term?

It's a full three-year term.

Full three-year term. So it's a full three-year term, and I think if I understand it correctly, the alternates participate, but they don't necessarily vote. Yeah, that's right. I don't think, I can't identify a preference.

Okay.

So I'm fine with either.

Yeah, thank you.

What do you think some of the challenges are facing Mr. Jones?

You know, I've watched, I think I went as far back as maybe November of last year watching on YouTube, and I just watched the most recent April. I think the challenge becomes, you know, You have a limited amount of money. And so where, where do you put the money? And so there has to be some sort of decision framework that says, okay, why should we fund this particular project over another? And so that that looks to me to be the biggest, the biggest challenge that the commission faces and determining how are they going to select which. guess for lack of a better word which project is most righteous and should receive the funding and how do they do that prioritization and also does look like I get the sense from some of the meetings that there's actually there's a lot of conflicting agendas moving across that commission. It's not just sort of hitting the commission and then they make sort of a pure judgment. It goes to staff and it comes to council. It looks like there's a lot of influence of other priorities that are influencing the things that are coming to that commission. That's the sense I get. Maybe I'm projecting that into what I've launched.

I'd say you're very observant.

And speaking to, I think it's a balance of what are the projects that the Commission put recommendations forward and prioritization and also balancing THE INVESTMENT THAT THE CITY IS USING THOSE DOLLARS FOR IS OUTSIDE OF THAT COMMUNITY INITIATED PROJECT. SO THAT'S ONLY A FEW MILLION DOLLARS.

IT'S OVERALL, YOU KNOW. IT'S A PRETTY DRAMATIC DIFFERENCE. YEAH, IT'S OVER $20 MILLION.

Have you looked at some of the things that they have funded over the years?

Yeah, I was looking through some of the different places where the money was allocated. I guess I was going back a few years and I saw what looked like some smaller projects comparatively. I think there was a Victoria Park, there was a children's playground. There was a lighting for the baseball stadium. But then I see things coming. I was really interested in the meeting where the fire chief was presenting the needs he has. And of course, now I've started to see the blowback on social media about Where the new fire station is going to be built and you know different people are coming in and saying There but that's a really massive Project comparatively so it I get the impression that it's moving toward fewer allocations and larger Single initiatives. I'm not sure if that's right, but that's that's what I was seeing in the trend Yeah, it's both so They have more say in something smaller, okay

So I have a process question. If AAB Airport, HRC, and sustainability were alternate choices for you, correct?

Yeah, my primary alternate was the Airport Commission because I thought that was incredibly interesting, but I don't think I have the same transferable skills for that. I mean, I think I bring great things to the table.

So Measure J was your number one?

That was my number one. Got it. Okay, thanks.

And then are you aware of the time commitment of the Measure J Commission? I know you might be just retired, but people are allowed to have a life. So is there a concern or any thoughts on that?

Yeah, I have no concerns about the time commitment. So I'm not completely unencumbered, but I can manage my own time to meet the commitment of the commission. Great.

All right.

If there's no other closing questions, thank you very much.

We really appreciate it. Thank you. Thanks a lot.

THE OTHER ONE'S ALREADY BEEN APPROVED.

YEAH. I'm saying that there's people who have listed this is their top choice, but they're also interested Sorry about that OK. We have seven minutes. We're running a little behind. Thanks for your patience. I'm going to set a timer. I'm not texting. But tell us a little bit about yourself and why you're excited to serve on the Measure J Commission. Sure.

My name is Colin Wright. I've been a resident of Palm Springs for five years. I moved here from Atlanta five years ago during the pandemic, and I've absolutely loved living here. I am involved in the community. I'm my neighborhood 1PS representative, and so attend those meetings. See Councilman Berksy quite a bit in those. And I am an attorney. I work for a medical technology company called Stryker as an in-house attorney. I'm not licensed in California. I'm a patent attorney, so I do patent work, which is federally run. and used to be a software engineer, so I'm a nerd. I also go to Councilman Bernstein's PS Next meetings, and I've actually registered for your session in June. What was the AI session last year? I'm excited to do this because I have always been very involved in my community. I've previously served as a poll manager when I lived in Atlanta. I've been a 1PS volunteer. I actually volunteered the last two years with Palm Springs Pride, as a matter of fact. And just like what I do, I think I bring a unique perspective as a technologist with a law degree who can be very analytical, very problem-solving oriented kind of person, but also enjoy local politics and I think I... We'll see you for that. They're easier than federal politics. And yeah, I think that's the long and short of it.

What's your understanding about how Measure J, what it is and how it works?

Sure. So Measure J I know was originally passed in 2011. The sunset was removed a few years ago. It's a one cent sales tax that is available to the city to allocate directly without having to go through the requirements of the state. It is predominantly used at least initially for quality of life and for capital improvements. I know that over time some, I guess recurring expenses have been used. The fund has been used for that as well. And then I know that the commission is. specifically designated with advising on the spending of the measure J funds having oversight over the projects that the City Council approves and then also making recommendations about the community improvement projects right should the funds be used for things that are not quality of life how do you feel about that so I would probably go back initially to the language of to what the actual ordinance requires. And I can't quote that, so I couldn't tell you for sure. But on a personal level, I think it's gotta be about the priorities that make life better. I think when you say quality of life, I think it's important that the funds go more towards capital rather than recurring expenses Just because I think that's a bigger impact over the long run for the city But then again funding extra police officers is important too. So I understand the value of that So I don't know if I have a strong feeling about that. Where would you put police cars? Probably that they're more like a capital expenditure. So I think you know, I paying for something like that seems more in keeping with the theme of Measure J, but ultimately I know that the City Council is probably free to spend it on whatever they want to spend it on.

Can you talk a bit about some of the suggestions that you have that you listed in your application?

Sure. So in terms of the ways that Measure J can improve, I know that there's been issues in the past with the CIP projects where I think something like 19 out of 52 were REJECTED, IN PART BECAUSE THE PROPOSALS INCLUDED THINGS THAT MEASURE J TYPICALLY DOESN'T FUND, AT LEAST NOT ON THE CIP SIDE. AND SO I THINK THERE'S PROBABLY AN EDUCATION PROCESS THAT CAN GO ON TO THE PEOPLE WHO SUBMIT, WHERE WE CAN DO A BETTER JOB OF INFORMING FOLKS ABOUT WHAT THEY SHOULD INCLUDE IN THE PROPOSALS AND WHAT THEY SHOULDN'T. Um, because I, I would like to see more proposals submitted. Um, even if that means more people are turned down, at least it'll be for. Um, the right reasons, I think, um, in terms of other suggestions, I do feel, um. The issue of committing measure J funds to future debt servicing. And then therefore removing or reducing the ability to have spending discretion in the future is a struggle. And I'm sure it's a balance that you guys have to figure out. I do think that we could figure out a better way, not a better way, but maybe figure out how we can spend the money without necessarily committing future debt servicing.

Can you share a little bit about your civic involvement in the city of Palm Springs? Sure, sure. If anything kind of shapes your, what you're hoping your service on Measure J commission to be.

So so one PS is the one I already mentioned I I like to volunteer the community. I also get very involved with Political campaigns. I'm working right now with with Brandon Riker on his campaign for the congressional seat so I think My civic involvement has been considerable. I'm very social in the community. My husband and I do a lot in the community in terms of helping host fundraisers for political candidates. I was very involved in the Victory Fund for a very long time. I recently stepped down from the board there. But I see that as a way to help candidates run for office in the local community.

Great, thanks.

And you are in District 5? I'm District 5, yeah. In fact, I had coffee with David a few weeks ago to talk about my application and whether or not I should step up and do this. Sweet. Working the connections. I mean, I hadn't met him before. I just called. I emailed him and asked if we could meet for coffee.

Well, thank you. Really appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you for your time. Have a good one.

That's it for, no, yeah? Oh my Lord, I was looking on the wrong line. Hi, how are you? Welcome, thank you.

I'M RUNNING A LITTLE BIT BEHIND, SO I APPRECIATE YOUR PATIENCE. WE HAVE SEVEN MINUTES FOR THESE INTERVIEWS. THEY GO QUICK, BUT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO STAY WITHIN THAT SEVEN MINUTES. NOT TEXTING, HITTING START ON THE TIMER. BUT I'D LOVE TO HEAR A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOU AND WHY YOU'RE EXCITED TO SERVE ON THE MEASURE J COMMISSION.

I'M AN ECONOMICS PROFESSOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND. I TAUGHT AT UCLA. AND SO I'M A NUMBERS I ACTUALLY LIKE BUDGETS. AND I BECAME AN ADMINISTRATOR, SO LARGE BUDGETS AT ANTIOCH UNIVERSITY AND A VICE CHANCELLOR AT HOUSTON COLLEGE, LARGE PLACES, LARGE BUDGETS. A LOT OF THOSE BUDGETS, AS YOU KNOW, ROLL OVER AND THEY'RE PRETTY MUCH THE SAME. THERE'S NOT A LOT OF EXCITEMENT OR THE IF YOU'RE DOING THINGS, AND IT SEEMS LIKE THAT'S ASSOCIATED HERE. I'M ALSO A PROJECT GUY. I'VE BEEN ON HOAs. AS THE PRESIDENT. WHEN WE MOVED HERE, I BECAME THE PRESIDENT OF HOA, AND THERE'S PROJECTS. SO PROJECTS AND BUDGETS ARE ALL THINGS THAT... YOU LIKE THEM. PARTICULAR INTERESTS HERE. ALSO THE OTHER OBVIOUS THING IS WE MOVED HERE FROM SANTA BARBARA A FEW YEARS AGO. THE FIRST THING WE DID HERE WAS WE BROUGHT A COUPLE CHAIRS AT THE Plaza Theater. And in looking through that, we saw, you know, Measure J and Brad Prescott. And then the next year, We decided because of Oswit that was doing this really interesting things with the country club. And so we joined to be on the Friends of Prescott. And again, it was Brad Prescott and it was Measure J in there. So as of this year, I started to do my research on you guys and said, well, this looks like a good fit. I am now, I don't teach any longer because I don't like to be online. And so I'm the editor of a higher education publishing team. And so I spend most of my time just in my office at home doing this.

Good organizations and causes to get involved in.

Yeah. So I need to get outside.

How do you apply some of those strengths that you mentioned to work on Measure J?

Well, I'll give you a very specific example, because I went through the materials. I did my homework. And last, I think it was the last meeting, the chair was talking about the fact that I don't think he was particularly thrilled about the Sipskins chair, and he made some really good statements about oversight. and that he was not, that oversight was, the commissioners were charged the different ones, and that those reports weren't coming in. And that is a good example. That picked me up because I wrote a book on strategic planning in higher education. AND OF ALL OF THE CRITICAL MISTAKES, ONE OF THE TOP ONES, THE INABILITY OF PEOPLE TO KEEP ON TOUCH WITH SOMETHING. STRATEGIC PLANS, THEY PUT THEM TOGETHER, THEY'RE NOT COLORFUL, THEY PUT THEM IN, AND THEN THEY WALK AWAY. AND OVER FIVE YEARS, YOU REALLY NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT FEEDBACK IS LEARNING, AND YOU NEED THE FEEDBACK, BECAUSE YOU DON'T WANT TO BE SURPRISED. SO THAT'S A GOOD EXAMPLE OF THE STUFF THAT I DO THAT I THINK Yeah.

So what do you think are the problems that are facing Measure J? Any sense of that?

What problems? You know, I could not understand. I know it's there, what the criteria are. That's very, very specific language, because at some point, people are going to ask the question, why not me versus this? So the specific language, I didn't quite understand that if it was there or it wasn't. CLEAR TO ME, OR MAYBE OTHER PEOPLE, THE COMMUNITY ABILITY TO PUT IN ONCE A... AT ONE POINT IT SAYS $1 MILLION AND NOW IT'S $6 MILLION. I'M NOT CERTAIN IF IT'S CLEAR AS TO HOW MUCH OF THAT IS BEING DONE. like that I have a few others whatever but nothing it looks if you if you if you look at the at the meetings and how they're doing it they're they're very sincere it's a very good group so there's nothing major and I wouldn't think and I and I sat through the last year the five-year for our one that you do was in the next couple days THE JOINT MEETING. YEAH, THE JOINT MEETING. AND AGAIN, EVERYBODY WAS VERY SINCERE, KNEW THEIR STUFF, THEY WERE ON TOP OF THINGS, AND THAT'S, YOU KNOW, THE MAIN THING. THERE IS A LOT OF MONEY INVOLVED, AND LIKE I SAID, IT'S VALUE-ADDED STUFF. IT'S THE STUFF THAT CAN REALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN AN ORGANIZATION AND IN A CITY. yeah I've got skill set I think that works well with them and I need to get out of my house if there's some alternate positions open

And full voting positions. Are you adverse to being appointed to one of the alternate positions, which doesn't have a vote, but it's a full contributing member?

I didn't quite understand.

Is that because of? No, they're just extra positions on the commission. They're just alternate positions.

So they... Serve three years. So they're part of the discussion? Mm-hmm. I... I WOULD LIKE TO VOTE, BUT IF THAT WAS THE THING THAT WAS OFFERED TO ME, CERTAINLY I WOULD TAKE IT. SURE. COOL. THANK YOU.

IT CAN BE A BIT OF A LEARNING CURVE, SO THE ALTERNATE COMMISSION CAN ALSO BE A GREAT WAY TO KIND OF GET THAT EXPOSURE, TOO. AND THEN IF THERE'S A VACANCY EARLIER, THOSE ARE OFTEN THE ONES THAT HAVE BEEN MOVED UP AS WELL. SO THERE'S OTHER BENEFITS. AND THEN THE ONLY OTHER THING I WOULD JUST, OR LETTER NOT ASK ME A QUESTION AS MY TIMER IS GOING TO GO OFF. Just making sure you're aware of the Measure J funds is both comprised of regular capital projects from the city and also the community-initiated projects. So as you mentioned, oversight. That is something that they have oversight of all of the funds and guidance. But their discretionary funding is kind of that smaller community initiative project. So your comment on diligence is important.

But as I was saying, the oversight, I think, is more important than the problem that was brought up in the last meeting. And you really need to pay attention to that. It's like in strategic planning, when they don't spend the attention ATTENTION TO THE IMPLEMENTATION AND THE FEEDBACK. IS THIS WORKING? IS IT NOT? WHY IS IT WORKING? WHAT CAN WE DO? HOW CAN WE GET IT ON TRACK?

THANK YOU SO MUCH. REALLY APPRECIATE IT.

THANKS, EVERYONE.

THERE'S NOTHING.

Thanks for waiting. I know we're running a little behind.

We have seven minutes, so we'll just dive right in. I'm going to have a timer going, not texting. But tell us a little bit about yourself and why you decided to, on the possibility of serving on the Measure J Commission.

Sure. I moved here eight, almost nine years ago this summer. COVID was not much to do, and so I just started applying and volunteering and doing a number of things. I've been on the Village Fest Commission for two terms, and that role ends next month. Wow, that flew by. I know. Wow. And so I'm actually retired for the most part, so I'm looking to keep involved in the community. I really support our business community because I've been in HR for 45 years of my career. Somebody that perspective helping small businesses succeed start out the hotel and restaurant business long time ago I think the promise is If you get involved in our community, in this city, you know what Measure J is. You've been around. You've heard about it. There's pros and cons and opinions all over the place. I think it could stand maybe a little new, I don't know, rebranding, perhaps? know how much it helps the small businesses small hotels and restaurants and such but I think getting the word out to what is offered and what is available still lacks and again I'm not a business owner I know several of you are but if I'm also a member of Main Street Palm Springs. That was one of the first organizations they joined. I am officially or unofficially their HR consultant, so I tell people, hey, this new law is going to affect on July 1st. Don't forget to raise minimum wage. I'm not going to stop. And so I bring that sense of responsibility and ownership and consulting and advising, but I don't claim to know all the answers.

Are there any attitudes, skills, expertise, cultural diversity that you think you would bring that would be particularly helpful on Measure J?

I was watching several of the previous episodes that are online. And I'm particularly interested in improvements in our hospitality industry. I'm hoping to be on the board that will bring a convention here next spring, 2028, excuse me. for professionals and human resources throughout all of Southern California. They haven't done it for about 10 years and I just attended one last week in Anaheim. I know we can do a better job than Anaheim does and they just keep going there because it's one hotel, one conference, 1,500 people. But, you know, I like to support my community and the small business owners as well. I know many of them. I'm particularly proud of the accomplishments and organizations that I support and I get involved with.

You had a wide variety of interest in commissions. I know. I think you only left off a couple. So what draws you to Measure J over all the others?

I can't say that's the most, I'll be honest with you, it's not the most relevant one for me and I would have a lot to learn.

What is?

I like the smaller hotel operators and hospitality company organizations. You know, that's always been a part of me. That was my dream when I moved to L.A. 20, 30 years ago. I wanted to own a small guest house or hotel out here. I'm glad I don't. But, you know, I support them. I like that industry. Pardon me? I don't think so. You know, I just like staying involved and supporting Palm Springs. So whatever the council feels would be a good match for me. I will say Village Fest was fun. It was really interesting. And a lot more time and effort goes into it than people realize. It's not just one meeting a month. It's two, and typically two hours. Uh, a lot of decisions and debates and such, but it was, it was really interesting and I have so many colleagues and friends now that I see. Not only village fest, but at other events and farmers markets and stuff and help them grow their business to something that will eventually produce more revenue and more tax dollars for the city.

And then, David, what district are you in?

I live in Little Tuscany. District 2. District 2.

Great.

I'm on the board. The best. Great. Sorry about that. I'm your neighbor. Calm down.

Any other questions for David?

Let me answer one. How do you measure the balance between, you said, hospitality and the industry? Measuring the balance between Measure J funds for that versus community efforts? Versus community efforts, community projects.

I mean, you can do anything you want in the city. If you can sit and be there and take attendance or hand out tickets or something like that. Sure, I've done that many times before, but... I like to travel. I enjoy traveling all over the country, all over the world. And now I have the opportunity to do more of that now that I'm retired and collecting all my collectibles and state and federal level. So I love seeing new ideas and new concepts and how the industries have changed, especially hotels and restaurants, which is where I began a long time ago. YOU KNOW, I WANT OUR CONVENTION CENTER TO SUCCEED. I WANT MORE HOTELS, BIGGER HOTELS TO COME IN DOWN TO GIVE PEOPLE MORE VARIETY AND TO GIVE THE CITY MORE REVENUE. GREAT. RIGHT? THANK YOU.

THANK YOU, DAVID. APPRECIATE IT.

SURE. THANKS, DAVID.

ALL RIGHT. THANKS.

WE HAVE THREE MORE IN MEASURE J. I GOT A MEMO FROM JEFF REAL FAST. Thank you for waiting. I know we're running a little behind. We appreciate it. We have seven minutes for each interview. And so I'm not texting, I'm just watching our timer. But tell us a little bit about yourself and why are you looking forward to serving on the Measure J Commission?

I share my background. I have a deep financial and operational background. And I've taken a year off, actually, from the business world, and it's been just exhilarating and realizing I'm at the time of my life where I have the opportunity to give back. And I just see Measure J as one of the commissions that really makes a huge impact on Palm Springs and found the opportunity to be part of it, which I got it. Just a year, we're going back to work? It's a good conversation with my husband right now. And the opportunities that I have, I can manage the time commitment.

What's your understanding about how Measure J, where it's from and what it's spent on?

Yeah, so I did quite a good amount of research. I know it's about a $22 million fund annually, right? And it's split over large capital projects as well as community-initiated projects. Monthly meetings under the brown act and so we encourage public participation and the role of a commissioner is really oversight. Right? And so it's a matter of making recommendations to the city council on for project approvals. well as once projects are approved each Commissioner gets roughly three to five projects that they oversee and are responsible for timely Commission reports making sure that those things are staying on track and bringing transparency to the project the

strengths that you bring to the table, how do you see those having a positive impact on the work of the Commission?

I think if I were to summarize my top three, I would say my first is again that deep financial and operational expertise that I did mainly in Consultative roles whether it was advising a CEO that I worked for or working with clients and looking at these large capital projects Really having that eye of how do we optimize and keep things on track? It's probably the first skill The second is deep relationship management skills, which I think are going to be critical with the grantee and the project owners when projects are approved to make sure that we're communicating and bringing transparency to the progress of those projects. then the last piece is really I have a high sense to the civic duty and more importantly my personal brand is extreme ownership on follow-through and I think with that that is all about the oversight component of the role and really making sure I'm staying on top of what's assigned to me and making sure that those are successful projects on time and on budget so when you monitor and manage the outcomes of program are you looking at dollars and a budget or what are you looking it's it's a it's a range of factors right definitely budget is one of those the other is the objectives and the goals that's really about the outcomes it's the timelines it's about the resources that are being allocated in what way So it's really a matter of making sure that you make all those pieces come together. It's a little more art than science at that point, right? Because it's about how forthcoming are people being with the information and really talking it through and making sure that the objectives are being met.

Can you talk a bit about some of the suggestions that you have listed in your application?

Yeah, absolutely. I think a couple. First, I know it's a delicate balance between community-initiated projects, which I think are so important. And it's not necessarily always about the amount of money being spent. but the quality and the quantity of those community-initiated projects being brought forward. So making sure that we're getting out to the residents and making sure that that's available, but balancing that with we've got some big projects that have to get done, right? The convention center, the library, the downtown park, fire station one, right? So we have to strike a good balance on that. The second thing I talked about was road maintenance, which Measure J has somewhat become synonymous for that. And so making sure that if we, you know, I saw the proposed budget of going from 9 to 6. If we are going to do that, let's tell the residents, and not just the residents, people that work in Palm Springs, people that visit Palm Springs, how we're spending that money. And then the last piece. I think is really making sure that the commissioners are being visible and transparent with those reports. And that's where I think there's a bit of PR. Working with the Office of Communications for the City of Palm Springs and making sure that as a commission we're really evangelizing how we're optimizing all the funds that are coming in. And then hopefully when there are wins with, let's say, the convention center, when we see an increase in tax revenues, how did that even benefit even more, showing how the long-term capital investments are helping Palm Springs evolve? And there's a lot of, I think, communication that goes with that.

Thank you so much. Can you share about your civic involvement in the city or just even your kind of service work more broadly?

Here in Palm Springs, it's been mainly, I'm pretty passionate about Modernism Week. And so I've gotten pretty involved to the point where yesterday, Sean Pitts and Marshall asked me about even being a house captain this year. But I'm also going to be, I'm in the pipeline for being a bus tour guide. I love what is so... unique about Palm Springs history and the architectural assets that we have and The other is I get pretty involved with the film festival. So that's been my extent with with volunteering here in the community no real Civic duty except for in high school. I was actually sharing with somebody I was a legislative page when I was 16 years old for Representative Peter Deutsch in Fort Lauderdale and his legislative aide who she was 23 years old working with me was Debbie Washerman and So it's been a while.

That district has a lot of history. They've got some real lifers there.

What organization were you appointed through?

It was through Nova Community College at the time. They had future business leaders, and I was the representative for my high school, and then I got to go to Tallahassee, and it was awesome. Then I got sucked into the business world, and so now I think it's time to pull myself out.

Are you from southern Florida?

I was born in New York, but raised in Fort Lauderdale.

Oh, we should chat.

Okay, yeah. Like all good Italians, when my grandparents retired, we moved south.

Thank you. Well, thank you so much. We really appreciate it.

I appreciate this time and the opportunity. And if selected, I promise I'll be back.

Oh, one last question. John, remind me what district you're in. You're in 2? District 2.

Yeah. And now we know, I know I've got another connection with you with FDLA. Oh, really? State President of Arizona. Oh, that's awesome.

I didn't get that far, but yeah, it was a great program. I also got to meet Dave Thomas, the founder of Winfield way back in the day. He's a huge supporter.

Well, thank you.

Thank you again for this time.

Thank you. Thanks, everyone. That's New Jersey, that's Central Florida. Thank you for having us.

I DO HAVE THIS. THIS IS NOT ALL OF THE CURRENT PEOPLE ON THE COMMISSION. SO I NEED TO KNOW, LIKE, ALL OF THE NAMES AND THE DISTRICTS OF WHO'S ON THE COMMISSION, NOT JUST THE INCUMBENTS. EVERYONE. EVERYONE. THAT'S NOT IN OUR FILE FOLDER. SO, FOR INSTANCE, KATHY'S NOT CONSIDERED IN THIS, SO SHE'S NOT LISTED. SO WE DON'T HAVE A FULL UNDERSTANDING OF, LIKE, HOW MANY PEOPLE FROM EACH DISTRICT.

MARK, HOW DO YOU SAY YOUR LAST NAME? PADRASIC. OH, LIKE IT'S EXACTLY THE WAY IT'S WRITTEN?

YES, PRETTY MUCH.

JUST WHICH SYLLABLE DO YOU PUT THE X?

YEAH, YEAH. WELL, MARK, THANKS FOR being here to chat with us for a little bit. We have seven minutes to go through these interviews. I'd love to hear a little bit more about you and why you're excited to serve on Measure J.

Okay. So I... Worked as a healthcare consultant, working primarily with the Medicaid program. So my clients were actually state governments and did anything everything from helping them to develop programs, financing them, evaluating them. Doing kind of due diligence types of activities as we're required by the federal government, because the federal government kicks in money for Medicaid as well. So I worked for a company for 10 years, then went off on my own with a business partner. We had a company for 14 years. My business partner retired. I took over, proceeded to sell the firm to a larger company, stayed on for three years, guided my team. We stayed as one unit, and then I took my graceful exit and was very happy to retire early at 54. So now I'm here in Palm Springs. As soon as I retired, I moved here with my husband, and we love it. And honestly, I mean, I do enjoy volunteering and contributing. And whereas with my job, I could never really commit to anything on a regular basis because I was traveling all the time. I've always been interested in kind of city and local government types of things. So I thought this might be an avenue where when I saw the notice in the Palm Springs Post about these commissions and applications, like this might be a good fit. What's your understanding about how measure J, the function of it function of the commissioners? I mean, from what I can see and saw in the meetings that, you know, it was a proposition that was approved by the citizens and the dollars that are appropriated from. That tax or levy go towards funding of local. Initiatives specifically, whether they be to supplement the city budget or local community based things. And the commission reviews applications for grants of those dollars and does an approval process and an oversight of the dollars once they're spent.

So having seen some of those meetings and your experience that you bring to the table, how do you see yourself contributing to the work of the commission?

So I, you know, as I mentioned with my job, I did a lot of work in the financing of programs, so kind of an analytical financing background and agility in that area and, you know, the fundamentals of Excel and things like that. or my strong suit. And also, when I was watching some of the meetings, particularly ones where they were deliberating the funding during the grant process, it reminded me of when I would review health plans for the states for the Medicaid program where there was an element of a quantitative scoring as well as a qualitative and then an interview process. So without being privy to everything that's going on, with the Measure J Commission, it seemed like some of those elements, if they're not already part of that, could be something I could help assist with as far as that. And then the ongoing oversight as well.

It's good if our process is akin to state review of state Medicaid programs. I think that's a compliment.

I don't know for sure, but we'll see. We'll work towards that, yeah. Did you move from DC? I lived in the DC suburbs, yes.

Oh, good to know. Yeah. You were there for a long time then, huh?

32 years.

Oh, wow.

Yeah. Big move, but do not regret it. We cut our last ties last fall, sold a weekend house, and now we're here full-time. Well, happy to have you.

Can you share a little bit about any recommendations or issues you hope the board can address or that you're looking to kind of Support and assist with if there's, um, you mentioned a little bit the application process, but, um. Yeah, what would be maybe some ideas or goals that you have for the commission?

I mean, I attended the April meeting and saw the few meetings from a few years ago during the deliberation process and. It wasn't. transparent as I thought it might be more for the end user ie on the website so either from a again there might be a thorough process that we're not aware of but kind of the process upon how the funds are approved would be one area that potentially I could help out with and then just kind of there was even an illusion at the meeting to the oversight after they've been appropriated could be strengthened in that you know each commissioner might be assigned a particular project and they might walk by and say it's looking fine but like is there a little bit more to that That the public could see on the website, whether it's, you know, something, nothing grandiose, but a simple scorecard or report card. Like, hey, we got the job done or here's the results. I know there's some photos and all, but just something a little bit more. Than that, maybe and also, it just seemed like, I mean, I was aware through talking to local residents about Mr. J, but it's not promoted. as well. So it seemed like maybe tying not just like the job got done but a promotion of that in some way shape or form as well.

Any other questions?

How do you see where the opportunities to promote the work of the Commission?

Well I mean I have seen a few signs around town.

The billing one? Have you seen those? The ones that billow?

Yeah, yeah. Well, I walk around Riverside a lot since I live in Deepville Estate, so I saw where they put some funds towards that, and there's a sign up there. So that or even just... You know, even the website itself, I mean, and maybe some way to promote the website and people can go to the website versus necessarily spending a lot of money in other ways. But just a one-stop shop of here's who applied, here's how the money was spent, here's the results. Okay. Excellent. Thank you. Sure. All right.

Well, thank you, Mark. Really appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you.

YES. SO IF YOU TURN LIKE THIS REPORT RIGHT HERE, IF YOU TURN IT LIKE OVER ON THE BACK, YOU'RE GOING TO SEE THE HISTORY WITH THE DISTRICTS.

I DON'T THINK IT'S ON WALL-EYES OR DISCRETIONS. THIS IS THE MADIAC. THIS IS THE MADIAC.

IT'S RIGHT ON. YEAH. HOLD ON.

I'VE SEEN IT. IT'S ON THE BACK.

If you go to the back of that page right there, you'll see the history with the districts of the current members.

OK, I'm admitting right now. Rick, can you hear us? Rick, can you hear us OK?

Yes. Yes, I can.

Perfect.

Hi, Rick. We have multiple cameras or multiple screens. And so if you see us looking in different places, we are all looking at you just maybe on different screens.

That's fine.

We have seven minutes for this interview. We're really looking forward to chatting more. So if you could tell us a little bit about yourself and why you're looking forward, why you'd like the opportunity to serve on the Measure J Commission.

Okay, I own my own home in Palm Springs. I've been here since 2004. I have a master's degree. I'm a retired school teacher, but now broadcast engineer, retired. I am the current engineer for the Joey English Show, in case you listen to her. I knew I recognized you. Yep, that's me. Anyway, I thought I might be... able to contribute something to palm springs and the measure j committee is of interest to me i know they are allocating funds for various projects around town and i thought i could be of some value in giving my opinion to assess priorities and recommendations to the city council

What's your understanding of Measure J and what it's from and what the funds are used for?

Well, I know there are several projects, including the street in front of my house that's a Measure J project. I've seen some improvements in the city and I support it and I'm paying taxes for it too. So I thought I would like to have a little say in where the money goes and what the priorities are.

Great.

Yeah, go ahead. I'm sorry.

Have you... reviewed or attended any Measure J meetings and what's your, do you have a sense of any issues or problems that are facing Measure J that you'd like to help work on or help address in any way?

Well, let me put it this way. I anticipated your question. I have not attended a meeting and I think that's an advantage. I don't hold any prejudices. or preconceived notions, so to speak. I would like to see a fair distribution of funds between the business community and the residential community. And that's my objective in trying to influence where the monies for Measure J are spent.

Thank you.

Nothing for me.

Oh, there must be something.

Now you asked for it. And why measure J over other commissions?

Well, that's a very good question. I'm not interested in the other committee, so to speak. I was considering the street fair, but although I attend the street fair, Measure J is more important to me. It's very important that the monies that are collected are spent wisely and in the best interests of our community. And that's why I have a special interest in Measure J funds and where they're allocated.

And do you have any time? Are you aware of the time commitment to serve on the Measure J Commission? Yes.

Yes. No, I'm retired. With the exception of Thursdays when I record Joey English, I'm available 24-7.

Well, I hope our commissions do not require that.

No, I hope not, too.

How does Joey sign off? Something about chocolate.

Oh, yeah, yeah. We wear red and we eat chocolate. There you go. Yes, indeed.

I think Measure J meets on Thursday.

The third Thursday.

Oh, no. Well, I hope it meets. What time does it meet? Because...

530.

Oh, that's fine. That's fine. I record Joey between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. So that 530 is fine. Everybody does everything on Thursday. I don't know why, but that's what happens.

Okay. Well, thank you so much, Rick. We really appreciate it.

Oh, my pleasure. Thank you very much.

Thanks, Rick.

All righty.

BOB IS ALSO ON IT.

ARE WE GAINING GROUND? NO.

NO, ARE WE LOSING GROUND?

NOT LOSING, BUT NOT GAINING. DON'T SAY SEVEN MINUTES, SAY SIX.

OKAY, SO WE'RE ON... SAY FIVE MINUTES. WE'RE ON SIGNING? I THINK THERE'S NO OPENINGS. THERE'S THREE COMMENTS AND THREE INCREASES.

OKAY. So why aren't we interviewing?

Because they apply. So we're interviewing all. We're interviewing all. What about the alternate?

Yeah, I've never met this man. He's a stranger. Hello. Hi, Chris. Oh, yeah. We have seven minutes to this interview. Most of them have been going no pressure between like around five to six minutes, so let's see if we can keep with the trend. But I hear a friendly face, but tell us a little bit about why you're interested on serving on the Planning Commission.

Well, sure. So after three years, if I don't quit 1PS sooner or later, they're probably going to kick me out. It'd be an unprecedented fourth term, so I'm looking ahead at what else I could do for the community. But just beyond that simple answer, having attended a few commission meetings, I get a feeling that the engagement with neighborhoods is something that could be improved. I do get the notice within 500 feet or yards, I forget the measurement. project is being considered and you have been informed and that's good I may look at it I may not but beyond that I don't feel there's engagement yes that level of conversation of community engagement perhaps advantages to the Commission to get support from immediate neighbors on projects, or maybe the flip of that. So I just think it's important, as you know from the role I already serve, and the more communication the better, particularly on projects. I think all of you, maybe not you lately, have come to meetings where people say, what's up with the dream? What's up with the orchid? And I think if there was more conversation about development projects, you wouldn't be bombarded all the time. Like, the mayor can't answer this question. It's the same answer every month. Blah, blah, blah. You've been there. So I just think that's a slant that I could offer this. My planning background is probably a little bit more than pedestrians, so I'm not going to pretend I have a big planning background. But I think that what I can do in community engagement is a dimension that probably could add value to the commission. So that was actually largely why I was interested. Yeah.

And you're also interested in Measure J?

Measure J is an interest because I've received the great support for that and projects. So yeah, my concern with Measure J I'm understanding is that it's kind of in limbo, or at least that's kind of the perception now is that the budget for that is not quite there anymore. So while I see there's a connection with my experience, I get the feeling that people have left because there's nothing to do. I mean, that's just street talk. But that's some of the concerns I've heard about that commission. So I wouldn't want to be somewhere and then just sit and show up to a meeting and not do anything. But I'm happy to continue serving. Like I said, I think after three years and one PS, while I would hate to leave, I'll just step aside for a little while and see what else we can do here.

Great. Coming against people with architectural expertise, engineering backgrounds, planning backgrounds, how do you put yourself on a level to interpret what's in front of you? without that type of expert background?

It's a great question, because I have not immersed in that world. I'm conversant enough to know, I've attended a half dozen meetings, I would say, and the material is straightforward enough where I think if I don't know something, I can definitely find that answer and drill down into it. It wouldn't be more of a passive, like, I don't know what this is, sorry. Because, I mean, I would love to learn more as well, so... But, yeah, I agree. There's a lot of experience coming through the doors today, and I think you have an interesting decision to make. But, you know, I'm very intrepid in my learning and how I apply myself, and certainly it's an area that, you know, the term is for a number of years or so. So, yeah, one would want to get in and invest and actually do a good job. So, you know, that's how I would apply that.

Okay. Were you aware that there's no openings on the commission? I am. Well, thank you.

Of course. Something to keep in mind, if there's vacancies that open up during the year, it's helpful to have this pool of applicants. Of course.

Any other questions?

No.

And a District 3 applicant, I might point out. Well, I'm sorry. He's a good guy otherwise.

Another vibrant district, isn't it?

Are they watching the previous interviews?

No, we don't admit them until anybody can. Can you hear us okay, Mr. McDonnell? But not on TV. We're live Zoom. We have a Zoom platform and it is probably live.

Can you hear us, Mr. McDonnell?

They can watch. Hello.

Hey, how are you? Are you traveling today? Is that why we have you on Zoom?

OF THAT CRITICAL TIME OF MAY WHEN THERE'S GRADUATIONS IN HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE BY FAMILIES IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA GOOD FOR YOU I LIKE TO CALL IT MAYCEMBER IT'S MAY BUT IT FEEDS Yes, I made some for her. Exactly.

Well, Bob, thanks for being with us. We have about seven minutes to do this interview. They usually have been about five minutes. For a little context, we don't have true vacancies on the Planning Commission, as we also have incumbents who have applied, but we also like to do these interviews so that if there's any vacancies that we can fill over the year, we have this pool of most recent applicants that we can be able to Pull from if they're still interested. So I just want to put that context and confirm. You're still interested in interviewing today.

Certainly yes, I am.

Can you share a little bit as to why you're interested in serving on the planning commission?

Well, I have been involved in. and planning at local governments my life. If you looked at my resume that I served almost 10 years on the city of Sonoma's planning commission. And prior to that, I served 10 years on the historic and design review commission. I was also active in the business community in the chamber of commerce, because I owned a business in Sonoma. Prior to that, I was an urban planner, a city planner. I started off as a planning technician, went and became an assistant associate planner working for local governments, and ultimately worked for the city and county of San Francisco, but in a different capacity as a project manager for capital improvement and construction projects, and ultimately was the long-range planner and director for capital improvements for the city and county of San Francisco. So you can say it's in my blood and I've retired to Palm Springs and I've been in Palm Springs officially full-time for almost three years and part-time for a few years. I want to continue to stay active. I want to contribute as much as I can to the city of Palm Springs. I love it. It's my new home. I live there full-time now. and um i think i if i have the capability um i want to be able to offer my skills and help to the to the city have you been following our zoning code updates Yes, I have been following those both on social media, on video, on your podcasts, and also I went to two workshops with the planning department at the casino. So I'm familiar with what's going on. It is what's happening in all cities and counties in California. served as a planning commissioner for the city of Sonoma when we were doing exactly what you are all doing right now. And that was having to basically re-look at our zoning code, re-look at our general plan, look at the new legislation that's before all local governments and having to comply, particularly with housing policy and housing performance requirements that the state is mandating. So I'm familiar with what Palm Springs is doing. I'm listening to you deliberate about what it is that you want and don't want and how you want to do it. And I am fortunate that I mostly went through that whole process already. And so that's one thing that I feel that I might be able to offer to the city of Palm Springs, particularly as it relates to design guidelines and objective standards for construction of high density housing and affordable housing. Those are primary concerns of mine as a citizen. And I'm pretty sure that's the same concern for the city council.

How do you feel about five-story buildings in Palm Springs?

Well, I... Some of the five-story buildings in Palm Springs are very attractive. I think me personally, and I believe that quality design is important, I believe that massing requirements are vital. And I also believe that view quarters are extremely important. In the case of Palm Springs particularly, we're looking at also shadow requirements and looking at blocking views. All of these design considerations are vital to making sure that if you're developing a downtown a corridor where there is higher density, that you're sensitive to the immediate uses. But I'm familiar with that. We were tackling that in the city of Sonoma. One of the main things was a five-story hotel in downtown Sonoma, which is a federally and state-recognized historic place. So that was very... that was something that i i spent a lot of time on as a planning commissioner with that city so you know where we're coming from oh yeah i do yeah great background yeah do you know jr roberts i know i know of him yes from sonoma yes i know i i'm familiar with his name yeah okay

AND DISTRICT 3.

BOB, JUST ONE LAST THING. Again, if there was an opening, are you aware of the time commitment for planning commission?

Yes, I do. Our commission met twice a month. We also were encouraged to serve on committees. There was a huge outreach program that the commissioners were involved encouraged to um and wanted to actually be at all of the community workshops so i i do know um the time commitment involved that's one of the reasons why i want to volunteer because i have a person that really likes to do things okay well thank you so much we really appreciate it okay thank you so much um for this opportunity thank you

Just a couple of minutes.

ROGER, THANKS FOR SPENDING SOME TIME WITH US A LITTLE BIT AND INTERVIEWING FOR THE PLANNING COMMISSION. SO JUST WANT TO PUT A LITTLE CONTEXT INTO THIS. SO WE HAVE THREE OPENINGS, BUT WE ALSO HAVE THREE INCOMING TO APPLY. zero actual vacancies, but it's really helpful to have these interviews in case we have any gaps in the year and we can fill them immediately with our most recent application. So I just want to be give that context and confirm that you're still you're aware and you're still interested in today's interview.

Absolutely. And thank you for being upfront about that.

Of course. Okay. Well, tell us a little about yourself and why you're looking, would be hoping to serve on the planning commission.

Yeah. So my name's Roger Montelonga. And to that question, I think everybody in this room has been asked that same question. And it's really because I have a heart to serve. And so my background's in urban design and city planning. And so I went to school in Texas, did my master's in the UK, have been working for the private sector, the public sector, and the nonprofit sector, working with the city of Corpus Christi and their long-range planning department, so putting forward recommendations for the planning commission. Have been working as the director of creative activations from the placemaking side, community building with our artist community in Durham, North Carolina, most recently working for a large global engineering firm WSP focusing on a lot of SS for a type safety transportation projects and so I guess for me it really was that I was integral in community in the past places that I've lived in but now working remote isolating, and really wanting to kind of integrate with the community in a topic that I'm actually passionate about. And so that's kind of what led me to apply for this position. I believe that representation matters, and being one of Palm Springs' newest residents, My partner got a job at Historic Plaza Theater doing the booking, and so that's what brought us over here. And since we moved here in February, we've just been in awe with this community and definitely want to make it our long-term home. And so in that sense, this is what brought me here.

Amazing. Welcome to Palm Springs. Thank you for your enthusiasm so quickly.

Yeah, no, absolutely.

Are you aware of the time commitment that the Planning Commission is here on?

absolutely i would assume it's about 20-ish hours a month there's a lot of participation in different committees i know that there were quite a few at the convention center workshop a couple of maybe weeks ago that i attended sneakily through THE PLAZA THEATER, BUT I KNOW THAT THAT'S LIKE MY BREAD AND BUTTER AND ANY TIME THAT I CAN BE OUT IN THE COMMUNITY, MEET PEOPLE, It fills my cup, and so to me, even though it is a time commitment, I don't really see it that way. On top of having to do the pre-reviews before starting conversations at the planning commissions, which are twice a month.

Can you follow any going code updates we're doing?

Yeah, and it's funny that you mentioned that because I actually worked at Code Studio. It was one of my first jobs out of college or out of my master's program. So I worked with Colin and Lee back when Code Studio was just five or six of us pre-pandemic. And so working through the Los Angeles Recode LA was one of those projects that I was a part of. Yeah, have definitely been following along with those conversations as well as the convention center talks.

I see in your list of other commissions that you're interested, you have a wide variety of commissions you'd like to serve on. Village Fest, everything else is strategic and planning and Village Fest. How are you deciding what are the secondary commissions you are interested in?

No, that's a good question. And I feel like I chose Village Fest simply because working for the downtown organization. So I worked for downtown Corpus Christi, which was a downtown management district. And then in Durham, North Carolina, it was a business improvement district. And so that's really where I was in Corpus Christi and I was a part of the art walk, bringing it back post COVID. And so when I first got there, it was still a hybrid model where, We just had like vendors, artist vendors pop up at local businesses, as well as having things online where people could shop with these vendors, but online. And I was like, well, let's close a block. And so we closed 1 block. Well, no, we actually started with 2. we started with people street and star street, but they were too far apart. There were a couple blocks away. It was very bland. So it was kind of hard to get people to go from 1 side to the other. That event now closes 14 city blocks brings in about 140. Ish vendors, so it's similar to, like. What village fest does. But Village Fest is every Thursday. We only had capacity for once a month because there was only a staff of like six of us. So to do everything was impossible. But now with the help of Visit Corpus Christi and a bunch of our different partners, we've really been able to create something special with that. In fact, two larger events kind of spurred from that. Music Walk takes over Art Walk, which happens once a month, and that's where we bring a bunch of large stages or brought a lot of large stages out. And that really put us in the map for music, like a live music award through the governor's office. But the second is Mural Fest. And they're now at like year five or six. And so the thing is, we bring a bunch of like national, even international artists, and we give them a blank piece of canvas. So working with the business property owners, to identify walls where we can have these large murals. And so incrementally, we've been able to do four to five large murals every year. And so that's just been building up. And that happens at the end of May, beginning of June. So that Memorial Day weekend till like the first Friday of June is kind of when that event takes place. And it's just like increased exposure in Corpus Christi for arts and just beautifying the like downtown and really revitalizing it. And we also managed the tours for the downtown area. So that really did help a lot in bringing funding and allowing us to make these implementations.

Well, now I see the connection.

Yeah.

So yes. IT WAS FASCINATING. YOU SHOULD DO THAT HERE.

WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH. WE REALLY APPRECIATE IT. AND WELCOME TO POND SPRINGS. WE CAN'T WAIT TO SEE ALL THE WAYS YOU'LL GET INSPIRED INTO OUR COMMUNITY.

YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. WELL, THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR TIME. ALL RIGHT, THANKS. ALL RIGHT, WE HAVE TIME FOR A FIVE-MINUTE BREAK.

Yeah.

Um, we have been scheduling these interviews. We have them 7 minutes each. I must have been going around 5, 6 maybe. Um, but, um, tell us a little about yourself and, uh, why are you looking to serve on the human rights commission? Sure.

Um, so I had a, a very long and very. FULFILLING CAREER AS A HUMAN RESOURCES, HUMAN RESOURCES FOR YEARS. LAST POSITION WAS DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES FOR THE RAND CORPORATION IN SAN MONICA. AND JUST THOROUGHLY ENJOYING ALL ASPECTS OF IT, NOT ONLY THE ORGANIZATION BUT ALSO THE WORK THAT WE DID BECAUSE THE HUMAN RESOURCES SIDE, SPECIFICALLY WHAT I HANDLED WERE EMPLOYEE staffing and training and development. And what it was fascinating to me about RAND is that the overwhelming majority of the employees that work there have at least one PhD, sometimes multiple, so they know everything. at least according to them. But it was always interesting because even some of the smartest people in the world can do some of the silliest things and have to kind of bring them back in alignment. And I just always enjoy that aspect of reaching out to the people. I had a really good staff that worked with me that, you know, we just had a very cohesive team and it was fun. I really did enjoy it, but it was time to retire and turn it over to somebody else. One of the things, and I will say this because it's, so I launched the DEI program at Rand. A lot of people, you know, now it's like you say DEI and you have to recoil, but I was very proud of that program because we did, inclusion, the equity part of it. Diversity for us was really about reaching out to try and increase our candidate pool because we always hired the best people no matter what, but we just needed more diverse candidates to actually apply. So we did a tremendous amount of work on where do we go Who would we recruit to? How do we get into those universities and the like? Equity piece was easy. It was making sure people were paid equitably, treated equitably. And then the inclusion part was always very interesting because it was... We had a very diverse workforce. We had a lot of international H-1B visa people that would come in to do specific research and really reached out to make sure that they felt like they were part of the community. They weren't here just to work. They were actually part of the plan. So I had a really good run with them. I enjoyed it, and it was time to retire. Moved out here six years ago full-time. Been back and forth part-time for 20-plus years. And when I got out here, it was... trying to see what we're going to do, how we're going to fit in, how we're going to give back to the community. I've been aware of the Human Rights Commission for years. I'm an asbestos. I actually lived in Palm Springs full time from 2003 to 2008. At that point, I was actually a member of the personnel board, which no longer exists, I think. And so I did a three-year term on the personnel board. And at the end of that term, I was considering going on to the Human Rights Commission. I actually wanted to move to that, and that's when I got the opportunity to work at RAND, and that was not going to work to be part of here and there. So I've always had an interest in it. I think what the organization does is really good work. It's very much in line with the type of diversity work I did with RAND. you know, reaching out to people, making them feel part of the community, making them feel that they feel safe, secure, heard, recognized. Since being out here, actually one of the things that just recently happened is I was named to the to the board of directors for the Shared Plate, which I think you are familiar with. We did the launch with them. So I'm now on the board. And I don't know if you're familiar with the Shared Plate. It's a wonderful organization. Oh my gosh, there's incredible volunteers that work there and the work that they do. just the people that you meet just gracious there just feel so grateful for what you're doing they're always very kind and considerate so I enjoy doing that work and the initial target I have is to sit back and observe all the volunteers and to see how to make them work more cohesively together. Because they have three different days that they serve food, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and there's basically three different groups. And how do you get those groups to mix together and how do you get them to work together and be consistent in how they do things. So that will be my challenge for them.

That's great. Pass it over to anyone else if they have questions.

So what do you think some of the challenges are facing our Human Rights Commission?

Well, you had the big one from a few years ago, which hung out there for a while. But I understand that that has been resolved both between the Council and the Human Rights Commission. I think the biggest challenge that the Commission is going to have is how do you focus on, where do you focus from the standpoint of there is so much that needs to be done in this community or any community for that matter, but Palm Springs, you know, we have the diverse community, we have the homeless, we have LGBTQ, we have transgender, we have, you know, it's just this huge, you know, we have the Jewish community, we have, it's just, how do you bring all that together and make sure that they are heard? And I think that's the biggest challenge of the commission is how do you focus and how do you really reach out to all of those different organizations without getting spread too thin?

Where should the commission get direction?

Well, I think they get direction from you guys. But I think the direction really should come up from almost like a groundswell. Like the commissioners should be involved in the community. They should be out there. They should see what's going on. And from that, they should be able to say, we need to focus on this group. because this is a problem right now. It may not have risen to the point that it's being covered by the press or by anything else, but this is what we hear in the community. And I think you really do need to rely on the commissioners to be part of the community to go out there and hear what's happening and bring that forward. And do you see that happening today? To some degree I do. I watch online for the community. I've gone to a couple of the commission meetings, and it was a little awkward being the only one in the audience. But I look it up online, and I do see things being brought forward. The commissioners have passion about something specific, or multiple items. And they really bring that forward. I guess I see that brought forward on the commission. I don't know what happens to it after that is my concern. I see it at the meetings. I hear something that's brought forward. I hear a group is introduced or given a presentation. But does something happen after that? And that I'm not sure about. Yeah, okay.

Are you aware of the time commitment regarding the Human Rights Commission? Do you have any concerns, or do you feel comfortable?

I feel very comfortable with that. I had the same question from the Shared Plate Board. Full disclosure, I told them that I was coming for this interview, and they're like, what about the time commitment? It's like, I ran an HR organization that was worldwide. I'm good.

Great. Well, Daniel, thank you very much. We really appreciate it.

Thank you. AND DISTRICT THREE. AND DISTRICT THREE. AND DISTRICT THREE. YOU'VE GOTTEN E-MAILS FROM ME BEFORE.

ON YOUR LIST, RICHARD BABIK IS GOING TO BE ON A FLIGHT, SO YOU CAN SCRATCH THROUGH HIS NAME. HE'S NOT A MAGABLE RICHARD. OH, BABIK.

OH, NO.

SO WE WOULDN'T CONSIDER RICHARD?

David, can you hear us okay?

Yes, I can hear you. Thank you.

Can you hear us?

Yeah.

Would you mind enabling your camera? Hey, Jax.

How are you guys? Excellent.

Thanks for your patience. We're running a little behind. But we really appreciate it. We have actually the other thing. We have multiple screens here. So if we're looking at different places, we're still looking at you. We just might be using different screens. We have seven minutes for this interview. Most of them have gone five to six minutes, so I think we might be able to finish early. But tell us a little bit about yourself and why Human Rights Commission? Why now? Why HRC?

Great. Well, thank you, first of all, for giving me this opportunity to speak to you. As you can tell, this is not the perfect environment for me to be doing it in. I hope you can hear me well. Right now I'm in the baggage claim area of an airport. but I really want to continue my public service in the city of Palm Springs. It started a couple of years ago when I'm serving as the trustee and treasurer to the library board of trustees. And in a couple of years in between, I was going back to school and now I've graduated. So I was looking for some opportunity to continue my public service.

Pass it over to see if anybody else has any questions.

Jax, can you tell us what particular skills you think you would bring to the Human Rights Commission?

Probably more like a combination of lived experience and professional experience. My background is in public health, also in governance and community engagement. And I have a demonstrated ability to work across communities.

What do you think? What do you think are some of the problems?

Yeah, I've been actually doing a deep dive into the history of the Human Rights Commission over the last couple of years, and I talked to a former board member as well. And I don't know if I'd say that there's necessarily problems, but the way I view the Human Rights Commission is a way for the community to be able to express its opinions and to feel listened to. And oftentimes, maybe the council doesn't get that opportunity. There's a lot of business that goes on that doesn't necessarily deal with the way the community feels about living in the community of Palm Springs. But I really believe that this is an opportunity for them to do that. As serving on the Human Rights Commission, I feel it's kind of an advisory role, also an educational role to let the community know directly what the role of government is, as well as an opportunity to just listen.

Jack, taking that last question, listening to the community and understanding what's going on in the community, how do you bring that as an action to the Human Rights Commission?

Well, first of all, I'm very engaged in the community, and I'm also very engaged in policy. And so I like to keep abreast of what's going on in the town. So oftentimes, just in conversations with people or reading the newspaper, I can get or actually social media, Facebook, those are great ways for me to have a good temperature read of what's going on in the community. So I think even on a national basis, I think there's some opportunities to have discussions with community. I think we're in an environment now where so many of us are feeling erased and marginalized. And I think it's an opportunity for the Human Rights Commission to listen to those voices.

Thanks.

Jax, are you aware of the time commitment regarding the Human Rights Commission? And do you have any questions or reactions or concerns about that?

You know, I'm not entirely aware of it, but usually when I get involved with something, I take a deeper dive than usually is required. So when I was on the library board of trustees, I actually took their annual report and took seven years of it and analyzed it and then prepared a report. Nobody asked me to do that, but it was something that made me feel grounded in my role. So I don't anticipate, actually I anticipate the opposite. I probably will spend more time than probably is required.

Okay, great. Any other questions? Well, thanks, Jax. Safe travels if you're going to fun or coming home, whatever it might be. I think that was JFK I heard, if I got that correct. Was it JFK?

I was trying to keep that out of the public sphere.

We do have people always watching. Well, safe travels, and thank you again for your flexibility. We appreciate it.

Thank you. Look forward to hearing back from you guys.

Erin is not available. Of course, she couldn't get off work. So, Frank is here. So, if you want to.

Oh, wait. Frank. Which Frank? McAlpin.

McAlpin.

Okay.

Sorry. Making sure there wasn't a surprise of the other Frank. Yeah, the first two or the next two are out. Erin's out and Frank.

Hi.

Hey, how are you?

Good, how are you? Great. Good. Appreciate your flexibility and patience with us. We have, do you work at USW? That's right. Okay, we met at the Cal State Seminole. Going through all my events this year. Thanks for applying. We have about seven minutes for this interview. Most of the interviews have been going about five or six minutes. I have a timer, so it'll ring when we reach our time, but tell us a little about yourself and why you're looking to serve on the Human Rights Commission.

Thank you very much for having me. My name is Frank. I've lived in Palm Springs probably for four years now, and currently I'm a social worker, but I'm currently a professor at Cal State San Bernardino in the Palm Desert campus. And mainly I just want to get more involved. My classes that I teach are mostly around policy and advocacy, which is why I invited you all to come and talk to the students and just kind of want to get more involved in terms of community involvement and kind of practice what I preach. Cool. So why the Human Rights Commission? It felt like the one that I most align with in terms of all my experience in social work. I've worked most in community practice in New York, LA, Chicago, Africa, at the intersection of a lot of different human rights issues, housing, LGBT rights, youth. So it just felt like social justice, it kind of felt like the best fit for me in terms of my knowledge and experience.

So when we asked about problems facing the Board of Commissions and suggestions you put quite extensive. So what was your focus on?

You mean the list I provided? Yeah. Well, good question. I mean, I'm very interested in, like, the intersection of housing and housing justice, I think is a really important human rights issue. You know, I worked at Mizell Senior Center for just under a year and I was in charge of, like, case management there and I worked with a lot of seniors in Palm Springs who are renting from someone, they're priced out, that person, you know, they rented from that person for $600 for 15 years, that person's selling and now they need a place to go and they have nowhere to go. So I think, like, how do we, and again, like, kind of that intersection of, like, Fixed income, seniors, this is their home, but nowhere to go type of thing. So I think housing is a really big issue. And I think just in general, connecting human rights or social justice to the larger issues that are happening in the community. and kind of maybe having conversations with people around housing, around homelessness, around things that people may feel like a little like mingy about, like not in my backyard, and trying to like bridge that.

How does the commission actually, what's the outcome at the commission level to address some of the concerns that you raised? What's the outcome you would expect?

I think it depends. I guess like, you know, maybe partly like either being a space for people to come to share their concerns, maybe partnering with community members who want to address those concerns or like helping to interface between other entities within the government to kind of share like hey this is what's going on I mean I think it would be cool and I think this is done a little bit but like promoting specific initiatives or like advocating for specific initiatives that would further human rights in the city or like address kind of social injustice how do you see

HOW DO YOU SEE THE ADVOCACY? WHAT IS THE ACTUAL ADVOCACY STEPS? WHAT COULD THEY DO?

WELL, I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY THE POWER OF THE COMMISSION, BUT I THINK, LIKE, I MEAN, IT COULD BE AS SIMPLE AS, LIKE, HELPING PARTNERING WITH A COMMUNITY GROUP TO ORGANIZE AROUND SOMETHING. LIKE, THEY COME, THEY SAY, OUR COMMUNITY, THEY'RE BUILDING, YOU KNOW, A LUXURY HOUSING IN OUR COMMUNITY, AND THAT'S TAKING AWAY, YOU KNOW, WORKFORCE HOUSING. could we support that organizing or could we partner with that organizing? Could we help them or partner with them to discuss that at like the city level or the county level? So I mean I guess it would look different and I'm not knowing I mean I definitely don't know the inter workings of like the council of the Commission's and how they interface with and what their appropriate kind of role is in terms of like how they would advocate, so I would want to know that and follow that.

I'm curious about your vision and what that expectation would be. Where did you move from?

Well, most recently I worked at University of Utah, but I lived in LA for a long time before that.

Sweet. You have a full-time job. We always appreciate working professionals being on our commissions and sharing that working professional experience of our city. Are you aware of the time commitment and do you have any concerns or questions about that?

um so is it the meetings are mondays they're monthly yeah and then okay and then like other like if there was other things you like support then that's kind of like additional to the monday right yes optional additional does that feel doable to your schedule yeah yeah okay yeah i teach on tuesdays and thursdays and need to be on campus on tuesdays and thursdays in the evenings but otherwise i'm pretty flexible okay great

All right. Well, thank you, Frank. Good to see you. Thank you. Thank you very much.

Thank you for your time. Thanks.

Sorry. I wrote on Aaron's page. So I was like, Aaron?

I almost wrote on the wrong page.

Let me make a note. That was McAlpin, right? Yep. McAlpin.

MR. NICHOLS, HOW ARE YOU? I'M WELL. HOW ARE YOU DOING? EXCELLENT.

GOOD. THANKS FOR JOINING US TODAY. REALLY APPRECIATE IT. WE HAVE ABOUT SEVEN MINUTES FOR THIS INTERVIEW. MOST OF OUR INTERVIEWS HAVE BEEN GOING ABOUT AROUND FIVE TO SIX MINUTES. BUT TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOURSELF, GEORGE, AND WHY HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION, WHY NOW? SURE.

at the stage yeah sure um well i'm originally from pennsylvania lived here since i graduated from film school in uh los angeles and then west hollywood for 21 years and my husband and i moved here uh in december so we're very new to palm springs but we've been coming here actually wrote 2001 but i believe it's since 2000. So we even honeymooned here when we could marry. It's always been our place. So we found a place that we absolutely love. It was a little unexpected. We made an offer. It was accepted, one and only offer. And so we moved here. Every single day we're happy that we did it. So I like to say that we didn't as much move away from West Hollywood, which I still revere. We moved to Palm Springs. So and why Human Rights Commission? Why being on and commissioned at all is because if you don't get involved with your local city, then you're going to end up living in the city where other people make decisions for you. So it's always good to have a voice. It's always good to be there. And as far as Human Rights Commission, it seemed to align mostly with the commissions that I've worked on. So I was a Public Safety Commissioner for years in West Hollywood. And of course, when you're dealing with public safety, you're often dealing with vulnerable communities and concerns around first responders with the police. And then I was also on the District Attorney's LGBTQ Advisory Board.

Any questions from anybody? No. Are there specific issues that you think that the Human Rights Commission should address or that are maybe conversations that are not happening right now that should?

Yeah. I've watched a lot of meetings and I've been to some as well. And it does seem that a lot is covered. I really like that there are a lot of outsides. outside services that come in, Martha's Village, Boys and Girls Club, school, there's a whole lot that's being done. I think that what you have to do is prepare for our federal government, because unfortunately we have a federal government whose values do not align with the values of Palm Springs. So you need to be prepared to make quick moves to protect vulnerable communities when rights are taken away, and I believe it's quite possible that they will be.

How do you think the Human Rights Commission will be most effective in doing that and other work?

Well, I think the main thing for any commission is always being a liaison between residents and the people who come here to have a good time, who may become residents, and government. I think it's really, really important. So outreach always matters in education, which I know is part of what the Human Rights Commission does. It's a matter of educating people on issues that or hot button issues and hopefully also to calm things down and make everyone get along as much as possible. So I think that outreach is always really important. I really like that I believe that there was a booth I stopped by at the PS1 picnic. These kinds of things really, really matter. And every single opportunity, I mean, it might even make sense to have some presence at some point at Village Fest. And it hasn't been there. Let people know. That's the problem. Most people never go to a city council meeting. They never even know that the commissions exist, and they don't know what's available to help them. So when things go bad, they find out pretty quickly, but it's good for them to know the resources are there. So part of it is having residents tell us what they need.

How do you get beyond the... the challenge of being new in a community and in under 12 months serving on a commission. So that newness versus stability in the community. How do you get over that hurdle?

Right. So, I mean, I will say it was, and I wrestled with the idea of applying it all for that exact reason. And if there are people that are equally qualified, and they have been long-term residents, you should certainly appoint them over me. I believe that. I really do believe that being grounded in the community matters. I have lived here since December, but like I said, I've been coming here for 25, 26 years. A lot of time, I've spent a lot of time here. And it's a matter of listening. It's a matter of going out and doing as much as you can and being a part of the community. I've only been here a little while, but I'm already a member of my neighborhood organization. I'm on my HOA, if that matters. And I look at the calendar and I go out to things that I think I think could have an impact on me and my neighbors. One of the things is the fire station, expanding fire station one, replacing that. And I went to the first open house and I hadn't planned to, but I got up and I spoke. So, because I think, I think I had a point of view and I had a point of view because a lot of very basic things are the same, no matter what city you live in. People want a safe place to live where they feel included.

Okay.

Thank you.

Yeah. Thank you for being there.

Yeah. Appreciate it. That's it. Welcome to Paul's Friends. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you for your interest in serving so quickly.

It's our desert paradise. We're happy to be here. All right, George. Thanks.

I feel like one PS needs to change its name to PS1. Every new resident always mixes it up. And it's almost like, oh wait, are we the ones that are wrong? Should we switch it?

PS1 sounds good, too.

It does. But it's like the most common mistake that I hear from new residents. And so I'm like, maybe it's us.

RESPOND SO WE HAVE LINDA. HI, LINDA.

WELCOME.

OH, YOU HAVEN'T BEEN IN OUR NEW, IN OUR UPDATED ROOM. HELLO, HELLO.

Yeah, it's nice.

We have seven minutes for today. So you've been a long, you've served on so many different groups and orgs. Thank you for your service. Tell us why you're interested in Human Rights Commission right now.

Because I believe in the mission of what you're to be doing on this commission. I think it's a place where everybody in every community should feel safe and included. and that includes maybe our Filipino community, which I haven't seen represented, our disabled community a little bit. How are they doing? How are they getting around their town? How are they being treated? And I think the mission to try to SEE THAT EVERYBODY IS SAFE AND SOUND AND CAN PARTICIPATE AND CAN BE A PART OF THE COMMUNITY. I THINK THAT TAKES A LITTLE BIT OF EFFORT ON THE COMMISSIONS TO GO OUT AND GET PEOPLE TO COME AND TO TRY OR TO GIVE UP THEIR TIME. I'M NOT SURE A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW HOW TO DO THAT. I DIDN'T. AND I WAS MENTORED. AND SO MENTORING IS IMPORTANT.

And I'll pass it over, see if anybody else has any other questions.

Are there things that you think the Human Rights Commission should be working on that they're not right now?

I did attend a meeting last year. And when I walked in, I thought, whoa, we're missing some pieces here. And that stayed with me all year long. We have a big Hispanic community. We have a very big and important black community. The Filipino community is out there, and they had come to Major J. Naomi, you can address that, to paint a mural in the park, if you remember. I would also like to see younger people. I'm a big advocate of Boy, with the new College of the Desert, is that empowering. Somebody from the educational community. I'm not sure anybody really gets to City Hall unless somebody brings you. We used to have kids come and do the pledging. You brought back a little Girl Scouts. And I'm delighted because if you're not in a civics class at high school, you don't know who's making rules for you. And our young people are an important part of our community in terms of jobs. You're not the commission, but they had a wonderful woman from Palm Springs High School, I believe, or the district, who came and talked about the rainbow rooms that are going in schools so that young people have a place to go and talk about who they are and what they're becoming. And I thought it was really quite... And then after that meeting, some of the members said, we need to write, and we need to write about this. You just have an expert here who has written curriculum and has the program in place, and you could certainly bring her in to write some pieces for our young people.

Where do you see the strengths that you have making the biggest difference with the Human Rights Commission?

Well, if you work with me, you know I am not shy. I've lived here a long, long time. I came late 60s. It's not the little community it was. And I'm not opposed to that. But I still like the low level and I do like GROWING UP HERE. I DO MY HOMEWORK. I APPRECIATE THE CITY EMPLOYEES. I THINK WE HAVE AMAZING PEOPLE WHO WORK HERE AND OUR COUNCIL. THAT WOULD BE MY STRENGTH. I REALLY FEEL DIVERSITY IS SOMETHING I WOULD TALK ABOUT A BIT MORE. Do you know much about her? I do. Is she related to Nathan Greer, that family? Oh, that I don't know. Sorry. And I think we do have a large community on the north end of town that I know all those kids. And they have spoken to me about some things that bother them. So here's the place, you know, or run for council, or go where your voice makes the difference. And that's what I tell them.

Well, Ms. Studer.

So that's what I would say. I do think there needs to be some different faces around the table. I feel strongly about that. And whatever the work is to be done, I'm willing to do that.

And how is your face different?

How what?

How is your face different?

Oh, my face?

Yeah, yeah, then what's around the table?

Oh, okay. You have two women on the commission. I don't know. I think it is, with all due respect, very heavy. And I think, thank you for doing a great deal to bring that out to the public. I feel Plum Springs is pretty, pretty fair overall. the wonderful events, the things that people do. There's always some fool that's going to say something dumb or rude, right?

Trust me.

But I just think I would like to see more I would like to see somebody from the Filipino community. I would like to see perhaps a little more Hispanic community. And I don't know, are there, and the disabled community. I really, when I visited and there wasn't somebody in a wheelchair, I went, oh. We do have a member in a wheelchair. Do you? Yeah.

He's on, he attends most of the meetings with Commissioner Malachi. He attends most meetings on Zoom to be accessible. Wonderful. But he is actually funny that you mentioned that specifically.

No, I think I am healing needs and so I've had my cane experience and it has really taught me a lot about how nice people are. I'm shocked. To be honest with you, oh, can I help you? Can I open the door? I mean, there's a lot of things that we can do. I think the theme should be, be kind. That's pretty simple. I like to see that across Palm Canyon, quite frankly. Be kind. It's not hard to be kind. So thank you for telling me that. Thank you very much. I'm glad. Thank you, Linda. We really appreciate you. Nice to see you again. Glad to see you.

All right. Thank you. Have a good day.

It's longer today. Are you here longer? Yes. All right. Enjoy. Thank you. Thank you all for what you do. Hello?

We can see you.

Can you try speaking one more time, Michelle?

Can you hear me? Oh, there you go. OK. Michelle, thanks so much for spending a few minutes. We've been running a little behind, so appreciate your flexibility. We have seven minutes for this interview. Most have been going about five or six minutes, so we may finish a little early. But tell us a little bit about yourself and why you're looking forward to serving on the Human Rights Commission. Why human rights? Why now? We'd love to hear a little bit more.

OK. Name is Michelle, obviously. I just moved out here in January from Utah. And I still currently am employed in Utah. But I work for Utah Association of Justice. So it's just kind of a carryover in what I am very passionate about doing. I have been kind of paying attention to the meetings and I noticed kind of race coming up as an issue. And I understand just because of what I've done for a living, the importance of being able to listen, value people and relay information to where it needs to go so that something can be done. But I think most importantly is that people need to be heard. and valued when they're heard. So it's just kind of something based in who I am. Like I get up in the morning, it's what I do for a living. It's hard in my everyday life not to open up my mouth when I see an injustice being done. So it beats, my heart beats strong with it. And I think that kind of with my background and my passion for it, I could be a good asset, especially in valuing and hearing people.

And where do you see the commission acting on that, acting on what you're hearing and what folks are sharing with you?

I think obviously community outreach, letting people know that there is a place to be heard. I saw maybe through the meetings youth engagement in schools that they're moving forward with. I'd like to see that come to fruition. I think that's very important. It's everything in the community. I know it meetings that looks like only sometimes some people come in and I feel like there's a lot more people throughout reach that could be reached and then that information then could be could go through this flow system.

Thank you.

Just you work remotely out here.

I do work remotely.

So the time commitment's fine.

Yes. Right now, I couldn't come in today because I was doing an ethics training for paralegals. So they're on hold for this, for you guys. They're fine. It's bagels.

Well, we appreciate that. Can you share a little bit about, you mentioned kind of a lot of your kind of personal background and work at the Association of Justice in Utah. What are kind of maybe some of those specific skills and expertise or even cultural diversity do you think that would bring like a tangible newness, new asset to the Human Rights Commission maybe? So if you could share a little bit about your kind of skill set and how that could be applied to the HRC conversations.

I think like understanding diverse communities, understanding or being able to interpret kind of discrimination acts for underserved populations, knowing that it needs to move on to a different body for something to be done. And I think I have kind of a background in maybe strengthening community relationships. I worked on the Department of Justice's Title IX, which was reporting of sexual violence on colleges. And the most beneficial part of that was outreach and listening to people. And then obviously that information went to attorneys and the lawmakers that were able to get something done. I think obviously I talked about the ethics part of it. and obviously understanding human rights and dignity for residents and visitors.

Thank you. Any other questions for Michelle?

I appreciate you taking a break from ethics. Yes, thank you.

And thank you for your interest in applying so quickly after moving to Palm Springs. It's been amazing to see new residents jump into our community so quickly.

Thank you guys for giving me some time.

Okay, have a good one.

Right. In person.

Someone kept calling me over and over. I was like, oh my god. Someone kept calling me. It's like airplane mode. Hi, Mihaly.

Great to see you again.

Hi. Hi, Mihaly.

Thanks for spending some time with us today. We really appreciate it. You're a friendly face to this group, so I don't think you need to give too much of your background, but why are you looking to serve on the Human Rights Commission? Why now?

Well, I've been meaning for a long time, but I always forgot about the deadline. I always remember after. But I think it's really in line with what I do and what I'm interested in, both professionally and personally. since there isn't a commission that focuses on economic development in particular, I think human rights really, especially in Palm Springs, covers that aspect of well-being, opportunities, access. So I think that's kind of something that I'm very interested in. And I was reading earlier the statement about the commission, you know, and, you know, I think it's really what I do, and it's such an important part of the Blue Zones work, connecting people and creating that environment where community members can connect and develop relationships. I don't want to say fight, but find solutions through social isolation and really figure out ways of being together and eventually working access to different resources that the community offers. Great.

So you're already doing a lot in the community to do that. What do you think human rights you can do additive to what you're already doing everywhere else?

I think it maybe brings a different lens, because I think we are looking at obviously well-being. And I don't think we are looking from just in general or the community. They don't necessarily look, and I don't necessarily look from a human rights aspect. I think we are more in silo, oh, this is transportation. This is food. everything and I think Human Rights Commission and that idea of that concept really covers everything and I think gives a different different perspective to look at it and hopefully, you know different so provide different solutions and Different ways of connecting the dots in what we are doing that might seem SEPARATE FROM OTHER ENTITIES OR THE CITY OR OTHER ORGANIZATIONS.

BRINGING THAT THOUGHT AND YOUR vision to the commission, how do you transform that into actionable steps at the commission?

I think just being strategic and taking it step by step and I think being very what can be done in short term and how do we build on what has been done so far. And I think that's kind of, yeah, we want to change everything, but that's not doable overnight. And I think figuring out, okay, what has been done and how do we build on all the investment that has been done, all the relationships that the commission has, and see what's next. AND I KNOW THE MEETINGS ARE PUBLIC AND EVERYONE, ANYONE CAN JOIN. SO THAT TRANSFER, THAT CONNECTION WITH THE COMMUNITY EXISTS. AND TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WE TAKE OUT OF THOSE CONVERSATIONS you know it's a radical shade or walkability or everything i mean how do we put those elements into work because probably it's not very feasible financially or in terms of resource for the commission to take on like oh this is our project BUT HOW DO WE FIT WHATEVER THE COMMISSION DECIDES TO DO AND PROPOSE INTO THE BIGGER PROJECTS, INTO THE BIGGER IDEAS AND DEVELOPMENTS THAT OTHER COMMISSIONS MIGHT WORK ON OR THE CITY OR DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS? HOW DO WE PLUG INTO THOSE PROJECTS? I THINK THAT'S KIND OF PROBABLY AN EASIER WAY TO MOVE FORWARD THINGS AND HAVE the Commission to demonstrate, yes, we've done this, we are behind this, these are some very measurable steps that we took. Even the dog park that Blue Zones is working, if you think about it, that's also a human right, something that the Commission can support. They might not lead it, but I think their input and perspective should be considered for all the events, especially from a Blue Zones perspective. THEY SHOULD HAVE A SAY. MAYBE NOT A SAY, BUT PROVIDE A PERSPECTIVE AND SUGGESTIONS, JUST LIKE WE WORK WITH THE PARK AND RECS OR SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION, HAVING THAT RELATIONSHIP, BECAUSE I THINK the commission can bring a different perspective that we don't think about.

What's the connection between Radical Shade and the Human Rights Commission?

I think we need that, right? We talk about, oh, you should go, you should walk, you should have access to the stores. I mean, this morning we did the Sunline Blue Zones Town Hall. James or Jesse, we talked about walkability, but if there's no shade, we actually did, Sunlight brought a bus, which was very nice and very clean, and we did a bus tour with those that were present there, and everyone was talking about, yes, the bus stop is there, but then we have 10 minutes to walk to our home. So I think, you know, that might be a barrier for especially some of our senior residents to go to use the bus. So shade, I think, you know, that will encourage them to walk. And so I think, you know, yeah, that can be where that is, you know, can be looked at from a human rights perspective. that access to public transportation, because there is no shade, or especially now that it's getting hotter, incentivizes and provides access. I'm looking at human rights just in general as access. We talk about diversity, we talk about inclusion, but do we have access to all these things? And not necessarily from a philosophical perspective, but literally, do we have shade? Do we have sidewalks to get there? I think we complicate things, but do we have those really basic access tools to what we need and then complain about other things. So there was a lady today and she's using one of the bus stops in Pistachino and I think she was saying well I would use it even later during the day but there is no sidewalk on section of her street so I think that is but I think you know having the Human Rights Commission maybe advocate on that or contributing to the conversation I think that will also help other departments time but thank you so much

It's so warm.

Page 64 Thank you

WE'RE NOW AHEAD OF SCHEDULE.

Thanks for applying and spending a little bit of time with us to talk about the Human Rights Commission. We have seven minutes for this interview. Some have gone five or six minutes. Really looking forward to chatting. So let's just get started. I'd love to hear a little bit more about yourself and why are you interested in serving on the Human Rights Commission? Why now?

Well, my name is Rene Robles. A little bit about myself. I work for the county of Riverside as a crisis responder and assist a lot of offenses and support a lot of the community. I'm also a resident here. I'm also part of the community, the LGBTQ+, and I believe in supporting and strongly the community and educating the community and linking them to resources if necessary and developing a good rapport and relationship within this community.

What particular skills would you bring to the Human Rights Commission?

A lot.

Tell us.

Yeah, it's so hard to break it down. However, you know my lived experience my understanding of cultural differences and just being where I'm at today yeah I'm a genuine individual and I work well with others and I've also ought to add that I have been with the county for almost four years doing what I do

So what crisis team are you on?

It's called the Mobile Crisis Management Team, under the umbrella of the County of Riverside.

Are you the mental health? Behavioral Health Department. Okay, so we call you, you're one of the people we call when we have an issue that needs to have a little attention.

YES, SIR. I'M ONE OF THE INDIVIDUALS THAT WILL RESPOND. WE'RE DISPATCHED OUT. AND ALSO, I WOULD LIKE TO ADD ALSO, IN MY ROLE THAT I PLAY WITH THE COUNTY VIRUS SITE, We have a very great communication and relationship with the law enforcement, including but not limited to Palm Springs. So we co-respond with law enforcement as well. And so yes, to answer your question, I would be one of the ones that would come in and work with you in a person-centered approach. YOU MIGHT BE HAVING A BAD DAY AND IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT I'M GOING TO COME IN AND BE ARBITRARY AND MAKE YOUR DAY WORSE. YEAH, YEAH. SO THAT GIVES YOU AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE CENTER OF MYSELF AS WELL. WE NEED MORE OF YOU. ADVOCATE FOR MORE CRISIS RESPONDERS AT BALM SPRINGS. WE HAVE A TOUGH JOB. AND, YOU KNOW, BUT IT IS WHAT IT IS. I'VE CHOSEN THIS ROLE AND I RESPECT IT. Yeah, well thank you for doing that. Thank you.

What issues or problems do you see facing the Human Rights Commission and do you have any ideas or suggestions on how the Commission could address those?

I can't sit here before you and tell you that I see any problems with the Human Rights Commission. However, I just saw recently the May 11th recording of the HRC, the two gentlemen that were sitting back here, and a nice lady from Palm Springs Unified School, Palm Springs High School, I believe, or Palm Springs Unified. I don't know. She presented a program that I liked very much, the Rainbow Program and whatnot, and But the two gentlemen that were sitting back here that addressed some concerns about unfairness and I guess some perceived racism, I think I've experienced the same thing. But I don't focus on that. It's good to address it. Things need to be addressed, as I do in my role in my work. I think that when we do address those things and the way they addressed it, I really like, and I'm going to add this, that they addressed it, but I really liked that IT LOOKED LIKE THAT GENTLEMAN RIGHT THERE. COULD BE. HE WAS GUILTY. YEAH, HE'S GUILTY BECAUSE HE HAD TO STOP THEM BECAUSE THEY HAD THREE MINUTES. BUT I REALLY LIKED THAT. I BELIEVE IT WAS HIM THAT HE'S GUILTY IN THAT HE WANTED TO REVISIT THAT CONCERN OR THE CONCERNS OF THE TWO GENTLEMEN THAT WERE SITTING HERE. really like that because he didn't just listen and hear them and just disregard it he brought it forth to be able to address it even further and to try to find a resolve to this because that's reality there's some reality behind that how would you expect the Commission to put action into that conversation that you heard with honey and onyx FIRST OF ALL, BRING IT TO THE ATTENTION AND LISTENING, ACTIVE LISTENING IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. BUT AS THIS GENTLEMAN DID, HE DID NOT JUST DISREGARD IT AGAIN. HE WANTS TO REVISIT IT AND IT SOUNDS THAT THERE WILL BE AN AGENDA ITEM SOON TO TALK ABOUT IT. And talking about it, actively listening to each other's side, I think that would be a very good type of resolve. And it's important to develop a good relationship with everybody. And one of the key things is to educate each other. And we educate each other by listening and trying to find some type of resolve to it.

Great. Great.

I hope I answered your question. Yeah.

Um, the commission meets once a month on Mondays at 5. right?

Every other every 2nd, Monday. Is that correct?

It's the 1st, Monday.

It's 5, it's at 5.

Do you have any concerns with your work commitments or other life commitments? For a monthly meeting.

No, I do not. I've already spoken to my current supervisor Referencing this obligation should I be selected? So I think it would be an honor to be part of your Commission I believe I would be sitting here with you as a council member and I'M SORRY. OKAY. I APOLOGIZE. I'LL RETRACT ON THAT. BUT I'LL BE SITTING WITH SOMEBODY, RIGHT? OKAY. SORRY.

THAT'S OUR TIME. PERFECT TIMING. THANK YOU, RENEE. WE REALLY APPRECIATE THAT.

YEAH, THANKS. APPRECIATE IT. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU.

THIS IS SO WEIRD. AND DISTRICT FIVE.

I'm sorry.

Hi, how are you? Good to see you again. Thanks for spending a little bit of time with us. We have about seven minutes for this interview and looking forward to chatting. So if you could share a little bit of background about yourself and why the Human Rights Commission? What piques your interest there?

Absolutely. My name is Sarah Lilly. I'm a recent resident to Palm Springs and I recently retired from a 20-year career in the federal government where I worked for 20 years preserving the human rights of individuals in the United States. I held various positions in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, senior positions. where I was involved in various activities to include but not limited to conducting administrative investigations into potential violations of human rights, developing national civil rights policy, formulating policy recommendations targeted to preserving human and civil rights, engaging with communities experiencing harm from potential human and civil rights violations, representing the government in roundtables, to include roundtables with the United Nations, and creating educational programming about the constitutions and provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. And the reason I'm interested in being involved with this commission is because I still have more to give.

What's GS-14?

GS-14 is a...

Sounds like a secret spot.

It's not. It's a particular pay grade in the federal government. It's pretty high up there. It is. I was a GS-15.

Oh, 15. So what's the highest level?

15, unless you become a senior executive service, and then beyond that, a political appointee. Yeah.

Beautiful. Well, you made it pretty far.

I did.

Sarah, can you talk a little bit about what things that you think the Human Rights Commission could do better, things that you would want to address that you don't think are being addressed now?

I could. And in answering this question, please know that I did go to your website and I looked at some past meeting minutes. but it's also impossible for me to not to take into account the training that I've had at the federal government level. So some human rights topics and projects that I propose the City of Palm Springs address based on past public meetings and current events include immigration, health care, housing, education, nutrition, climate change, voting rights, gender equality, and discrimination.

How do you see the Commission putting into action a conversation about immigration?

Absolutely.

What comes from that conversation?

Yeah, well, I think we are very aware of the impact that the federal government's immigration activities have had on our community and other communities around the country. And I think it's important for the city of Palm Springs to put into action communication to our residents and our business owners to let them know that we are here for them. communicate ways in which we are working to protect our residents and business owners that's that's a start and we could go as far as putting into place measures to make sure that the city is potentially protected from liability from potential lawsuit from the federal government i think there are actions and activities that could be put into place it's unfortunate that we are living in a time when the federal government is actually taking states to court and taking cities to court over their immigration activities. And I think there are a number of things that we could do without necessarily reinventing the wheel, because other cities are doing this, to protect our city and our residents and businesses. But I think at a minimum, we need to let our residents know that we're here for them. THAT WE ARE HERE FOR THEM AND COMMUNICATE THE WAYS THAT WE ARE WORKING TO PROTECT THEM. THANKS.

I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE, AS I SAW ON YOUR APPLICATION, SO THE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSIONS ARE PUBLIC. THEY'RE IN THIS ROOM. AND THEY'RE ALSO PUT ON THE YOUTUBE CHANNEL, JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE AWARE.

You mentioned that you recently retired from the federal government. Just asking this to folks just to underscore, the HRC meetings are once a month. Which Monday, second Monday? I think it's the first Monday. Second Monday of every month. First or second? Jeremy said second. Okay, second. Second. At five, do you see any issues with that commitment either professionally or personally?

I am currently working part-time for a local museum, and there are times, depending on my schedule, where I get off at 5. In terms of navigating that, I mean, hopefully that would just be a conversation with my employer about the need to maybe depart early. If I change jobs in the near future where my hours would change, I mean, again, that's having a conversation with that employer about the ability to perhaps leave work.

What local museum?

The Agua Caliente Cultural Museum. Oh, nice. Very good.

So what are you doing there?

I am a gallery attendant, so I engage with the public when they come in the door about what they're going to see and experience. And then there are times when I'm actually in the gallery interpreting to the extent that we're allowed some of the exhibits. Beautiful.

And where did you move from?

been in a lot of different cities so I left Washington DC shortly after January 6 and moved to Northern California the infamous January 6 or okay and moved to Northern California and was working remotely there for the federal government and then unfortunately the office that I was working for in Homeland Security was abolished as soon as the new administration came in and that changed my entire life and so I needed closer to civilization I was living in rural, on the rural California coast, and needed to come closer to civilization to find work.

Yeah. Well, glad you're here.

Thank you for your interest in serving. I appreciate this conversation. Okay, sure. Thanks, Sarah. BREAK? YES. NO ONE ELSE CAME UP, RIGHT? NO ONE ELSE. HOW MUCH TIME DO YOU GUYS HAVE?

FIVE MINUTES.

Okay, so we're going to start with human rights commission, which we just wrapped. We have, it's amazing. We have so many applicants across all of our commissions. Thank you city clerk's office for all your recruitment and promotion. Of course, the diversity and of different kinds is always a big focus, but we have so many applications. So thank you for all your work there. So for HRC, there are THREE TOTAL VACANCIES. SO THREE OUT OF THE FIVE INCUMBENTS ARE, HAVE BEEN RECOMMENDED FROM FEEDBACK FROM OUR CHAIR AND OUR LIAISONS. THOSE ARE BEVERLY GREER, BOBBY REMUS, AND CARLOTTA RINK, WHICH HAS US FOR THREE REMAINING VACANCIES. I HAVE THOUGHTS ON KIND OF THE MOST TOP OF MIND FOR HRC Sarah, Jax, Mihai, and Frank stood as people with real background and lived experience, but I'm open to the conversation as to how any other names that stood out. I mean, overall, we had, again, an excellent pool, but we're filling for three openings.

I also like Michelle.

I did feel Michelle understood what the commission's purpose is. I felt Linda was not in tune with the commission and their purpose. Daniel Borgstad, I thought was an exceptional candidate with exceptional background. Sarah didn't know what the commission does, even thought that they didn't meet. But I do like the professional background that she brings. So if Sarah was on a short list, I would say yes on Sarah. Then Daniel would be my next candidate. And then Frank McAlpin would be the next one. And then if we could name two backups, which I would suggest, two other candidates that this group agrees on, I think that opens the door for possibly another woman.

Why would we do two additional? We only have three openings.

Just thinking in case there's an opportunity to that's including those three It's it's three total including we have three incumbents and three open three incumbents recommended by Is on and then so we have potentially three three total vacancies that we are filling today

They reapplied, okay.

Yeah.

All right.

I understand Do we have sorry and run I heard I just wanna make sure Names that new names that were highlighted. You said Frank and Daniel, right?

Frank McAlpin Daniel AND I SUPPORT SARAH FROM HER PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND THAT SHE BRINGS TO THE TABLE, WHICH I THINK COULD AID THE COMMISSION.

OKAY.

ANY OTHER NEW NAMES? SO THE ONES THAT HAVE BEEN WHITTLED DOWN BASED OFF OF FEEDBACK ARE SARAH, JAX, MIHAI, FRANK, MICHELLE, AND DANIEL. ANY OTHER NEW NAMES?