City Council - Regular Meeting

All right, good evening everyone. Um, we are starting our presentation period a little earlier tonight because we have a lot of presentations to get to. Uh, but we're going to start with Desert Hot Springs equals youth football here in Desert Hot Springs. And I believe we had two teams that went to the Super Bowl. And did they win and by a lot?

Yeah, they did. All right, we're going to start with the freshman team. with the freshman team like to come up here with their coach and the freshman are seven and nine year olds. We're going to have you guys come on up here right behind me here. Who's the main coach? Coach David, thanks for putting on your shirt. They put mayor on my shirt so I remember who I am. Makes it easier.

Yeah, you wake up sometimes you don't know. So, Desert Hot Springs has great youth sports programs here in Desert Hot Springs. And the city council, as long as I've been on here for almost 20 years, we've supported these programs no matter which city council I've sat on, whether they had kids or they didn't have kids. And the reason that we do this is because we know how important it is for our youth to have something to do in our community. From either baseball to football to soccer, uh, to our youth rec center, whatever it is to keep our youth busy. But it's not just about that. It's about building kids into programs and having mentorship and having coaches that are going to teach them what values are in life. Let alone hopefully we move them into the high school levels where they can do well for our high school teams and then you never know. You might see that on TV someday either in college or or maybe the pros. So with that said, I'm going to ask Coach David for his 30-minut speech. You ready? No. I'm going to have you come up here and what we're going to do is we're going to we're going to see who's here. Give them a little certificate on behalf of the city of Desert Hot Springs. Congratulations to you guys for winning the Super Bowl.

What did you win by? What was the final score? Um 36 to 14. 36 to 14 Desert Hot Springs. And and and who did you beat? Uh Apple Valley. Apple Valley. Yes. All right. I'm going let Coach Davis say a few words about the kids and then we'll find out who's here. hand them a certificate and then uh we can what we'll do is we'll have the kids funnel out this way. We'll give the awards to the other kids and then we can come back and take pictures after the ceremony. Okay.

Good evening everybody. Thank you all for showing up. I'm sure you guys are all here for other certif certificates as well. Um huge shout out to the president Randy and the executive board. Without them this isn't possible. also to the parents. It takes a big commitment for these kids to show up to practices and game prepared, ready to go. So, thank you to the parents as well. And to the boys, thank you guys for showing up every day, putting in the work. Um, football is not an easy sport. It's a very physical sport and these boys showed up every day, put on pads and did a hell of a job and I'm proud of them. Good job, boys. So for the first certificate of recogn resignation um Jai

J boy for my second certificate Marlin come up here boy Third, Auggie, come up here, Augie. Good job, GMO. Come up here, GMO. Good job, Rhino. Evan,

there we go, boys. Good job. This was one of my favorite. Call him happy feet. Angel, come up here, Angel. Abraham. Yeah. Good job, boy. You here? No. And then Gus, come up here. So, I think that's everybody. Coaches real quick.

So, coaches, um, this was actually his first year coaching. Um we're actually missing another coach. Um Marlin Marlin back here first year uh was my offense and defensive line coach. Did an amazing job. Not only that, his son is also part of the team. Um so thank you. Thank you for dedicating your time, showing up and putting in the hard work. Appreciate you. Um my exass assistant coach, um he's actually now our commissioner. Uh Jeremy, a lot of a lot of people know Jeremy. Not only does he uh help coach youth football, but he's also part of uh Little League Baseball as well and has been a part of those programs for quite some time now. So thanks, Jeremy. Appreciate you, buddy. So that one Jordan Marlin

and then let's see here. Next person, our team AD. Team AD is responsible making sure our boys are ready to go for the games, making sure they're weighing in. Um, also attending to the children if they get hurt on the field and so forth during game days and practices. Um, Gloria big help on the field. Trust me, when the kids get out of line, they go there. You always pick them up.

Yeah. Oh, yeah. Uh, next one, Irene. Uh, second year or first year T- mom, first year tier mom, second year in the league. Um, again, another person that shows up every day to practices, every day to games, helps Gloria make sure the kids are ready to go, helps her on the field and so forth. So, Irene, come up here. So, this one, well, I can't make him give him his own. Um, David's been with our league going on fourth year now. Fourth year.

Fourth. um head coach obviously took us to a Super Bowl. He's our equipment manager. He uh he hangs in there, does a lot for our league and uh took us to our Super Bowl. So, thank you, sir. Appreciate you. One second. I'm going to change my mind because we're this going to get out of control if we go and come back. So, we're going to push you all back here. City council is going to stand up behind you. We're going to get pictures of everybody. Did you one more showed up? CJ. CJ. CJ, come up here. CJ. CJ. Oh. Oh, there we go. Okay. What's up, buddy? How you doing?

Christian Spears, this is your third year playing. Fourth year, third year. Amazing kid. Fast. Very fast. Um, second Super Bowl, right, that we won together. So, this one's for you, buddy. Good job. And again, thank you to the coaches for coming out and doing what you do. Without you, these youth wouldn't have the mentorship they they have. So, thank you for what you did. We're going to back you all the way up to the podium there. Anybody? We're going to squeeze in here. Any parents want to take a quick picture? This is the time. Ready?

Right. Nice. It's okay. All right. One, two. Thank you for saying, please. Not that one. Thanks, guys. And the sophomores, why don't you guys come on up here? Sophomores are 9 to 11 year olds. Who's the coach? All right, Coach Arnold.

You guys want one of those? Those aren't the sticker ones. You can't have that one. All right. So, you guys went to a Super Bowl. We did. What was the final score? 58 to 14. 58 to 14. And who' you beat? Whoever got in our way. Whoever got in our way. Spiria, they won by just a small margin. 58 to 14. Yeah. All right. Congratulations, guys. Coach, you got 30 minutes. Just joking.

How's it going everybody? Keep it real short. You know, uh, these kids, I've been in this program going on for about five years. Majority of them that's been here with me, they've been here, they I've been coaching since we were five, you know. So, a lot of these kids got heart and they they dogs out there, man. You you you get in their way, they're little, but they'll hit you. They ain't scared, you know. And a lot of other cities, you know, they they think, "Oh, Desert Hot Springs's coming up." Yeah, we coming by and we going we going we going to let you know we came by, you know. Um yeah, it's pretty much I got a lot of help that I have, you know, in this uh program, start with my coaches, president, you know, team moms, everybody helping around it. It's a big help, you know. Early mornings, late nights, we're out there setting up. We're doing it for the kids, you know. But, uh, it's all I got, you know.

All right. A little more. What do you got so far? Just want to call him up in a minute.

All right. All right. This kid right here, Michael Milano, his first year with us. Silent kid, quietest kid. He's one of those kids that play safety and he's going to come hit you. Kill Michael. Next one I got right here is Vincent. He's been my center since he was five and it's very tough on him. He's getting, you know, smashed in between the middle and uh every snap gets he gets it done. Vincent, this kid as well, he's uh Christopher Baldenegro. He's uh he's been my quarterback since he started. That kid makes things happen, man. He scrambles back there and he's he's pretty fast on his feet as well. Let's go, Chris. All right. Next one I got. It's the reason why I started in this program. You know, he's we brought him out here and he wanted to try it. AJ Cano, let's go, man. Next one I got got uh Josiah. He's a defensive player as well. He's going to come hit you. Let's go, baby.

You got one. Should be should be No. All right. We'll start off one of my coaches, uh, defensive coach as well. He helps out with the the elite players that go out there. You know, we they compete out here. They get the best of the best and they go out there to compete in um, if I'm not mistaken, it was India. And, uh, he's he's a good defensive coach. Robert Noriega. Daddy.

All right. This kid right here, I'm first coaching him. Um, he's very, very strong kid. He He gives you that push. When you need that push, you tell him to push forward, he's going to give it to you. Ezekiel, let's go, man. All right. Last coach, uh, is Christopher Baldengro. He's, uh, he's a big help out there with the kids, you know. So, let's give it a shot. That's all we got. Wait, we got to present you yours. And to coach Arnold for everything he did. Let's give him a round of applause. Thank you, sir. Thank you. Back up here. We'll take a picture. Hold that trophy up high. Yeah. Who's got their ring? All right. I like it.

We're going to squeeze in this way. Keep squeezing in. Keep squeezing in. All right.

Mr. Boss, can you move a little? And it's not just Desert Hot Springs Youth Football. It's Desert Hot Springs Youth Football and cheer. Yeah. So, can we have the cheerleaders come up? So, who's the coach for the cheerleaders?

Who wants to speak for the cheerleaders? Randy.

Well, we have, you know, a bunch of awards to give out because you won a bunch of Super Bowls. I know, so we had to start early. Okay. Um he's Jeremy will get through there. You want to talk a little bit about the cheer program? All right. Cheer program. Oh, Mon'nique is here. Okay. Well, I'll get started till Monnique walks in. Our cheer director is uh Monnique Ramirez. Uh she's on her way in, I believe, as we speak. Um a lot of these kids start at 5 years old, just like football players.

Um they they go up to 14 years old. We try to get them ready for high school um the best we can. Um It's a challenge for sure. Um, we had, I think, 45 cheerleaders this year and we had one official coach um throughout most of the season and they're broken up to four different teams. We try to keep them with their siblings, but when it comes to comp time, we break them back up and put them into their correct age categories. And here is Monique. Um, and so we try our best to get as much volunteer help as we can. We get a lot of team moms. Um, couple extra coaches come in during comp time. We get a lot of high school cheerleaders that come back to the program that were with our program. Um, which was nice to see. Um, and with that, we'll see if Mon'nique has anything to say.

You got 30 minutes. Go. You got You got two minutes. Two minutes. Just say a few words about your program. Yeah.

Hi, I'm Monique. So, this is my third year of going to be the cheer director. Something new, something different. Um, working with kids. Um, I wasn't expecting it, but I like it. Um, to see them coming back from very starting from 5 years old cuz I have parents waiting to get them into the program. And when they finally meet the age at five and they stay longer, it's good to see how they um grow and they get advanced in their their routines. And this season coming in first was awesome for all four of the teams. I appreciate working with everybody and the parents and the kids. It's amazing. These are the ones.

Who' they go up against for the competition? Um there's cities um Yaka Valley, 29 Palms, Usparia, High Desert, um Barstow, Big Bear. So there's like uh nine teams they had to go up against and all four teams did take first place. So we're going to try to get through these names. So far, I think we got it pretty good. You want to start with with these ones? The ones we got? Okay. So, we have Audrey Bradley. This is the um the tiny mites. The tiny mites. There you go. Chloe,

Mercedes,

Paradise, Aubrey Wilms Capri. Now we have Michaela Perez. She is Sophia Sophia S. Sorry, forgot. Iliana, I thought there were groups. Isabella,

she's not here. Riley, Nala, Eliza, Genesis,

Sophia, Kentu, Natalie Ramirez, Elizabeth Myers. Aaria Myers. And I have one more,

Elaine Gutierz. Azeriah Ela. Elaine, your turn, Mommy. There you go. And these are the ones that just showed up. We do have more that attended, but they're not here. Thank you. Okay, girls. We're going to take a picture if everybody wants to back up here. All right. One, two, three.

Perfect. Thank you.

So proud of you, girl. Congratulations, girls. Thank you for representing.

And again, thank you to all the parents uh for bringing your kids out. Uh you're the ones that are keeping them busy by having them be part of these programs. And Desert Hot Springs is committed to their youth programs. And we just broke ground on our new park here in Desert Hot Springs that is dedicated to the Desert Hot Springs Eagles program. It'll be your own football field. So, we look forward to that in about a year. Thank you for coming out tonight.

All right, I'm going to give it over to the police chief. order. All right. Tough act to follow, but we're going to give it a shot here. Mayor, council, staff, community, guests, friends, family, welcome. Uh very excited tonight to introduce four new police officers to the city of Desert Hot Springs and the Desert Hot Springs Police Department. So uh we are

going to start tonight with Officer William Chung. If you can come on up here and uh William, did your girlfriend make it? She's right there. Naen, where are you? Just raise your hand. Naen, welcome. Come on up here. And then did Corpal Estrada, if you can come on up here. Uh, Corporal Strata is going to do the pinning uh for for officer Chong. Corporal Strat is a friend and his he was his second and third and fourth

third and fourth phase field training officer. So So please welcome police officer William Chung to the Desert Hot Springs Police Department. Prior to joining the Desert Hot Springs Police Department, William attended the Rio Hondo Police Academy in Radier, California. Officer Chung spent the last four and a half years working as a correctional deputy with the Riverside County Sheriff's Department where we stole him from. Um, Officer Chung graduated from the University of Northern Iowa with a bachelor of arts degree in criminology. Officer Chung is grateful for the opportunity to be part of the Desert Hot Springs Police Department and looks forward to making a positive impact on the community he will be serving. During his free time, William enjoys relaxing at the beach. Not sure where that's at, but that sounds fun. And working out. Officer Chong recently completed the San Francisco Marathon this year and looks forward to running a few more. So, congratulations on that. So, with that, Officer Estrada or Corporal Estrada, I will have you do the pinning. There it is.

All right. Congratulations. You got to stay up here. You can say a few words to folks. Uh first of all, thank you Chief Sha for this wonderful opportunity. Uh, thank you Deputy Chief Hattersley for joining us and welcoming to me as well. Um, excited to join the Desert Hot Springs Police Department. Excited to serve the community and ready to make this my home.

All right, next up, Officer Keith Ruiz. Come on up. And then Officer Ree is going to be pinned by uh his fiance, Officer Bailey Young, and their and their newborn daughter. Yeah. Come on up. What's your daughter's name again? Remington. Remington. Born what? Two weeks ago. Yes, sir.

Two weeks ago. So, all right. Please welcome police officer Keith Ruiz. Officer Ruiz is a Southern California native and a recent graduate of Riverside County Sheriff's Office Basic Police Academy 223. Prior to becoming an officer, Ree worked in the emergency services as a fighter fire EMT and engineer. Officer Reez's last assignment was as a fire apparatus engineer here in Desert Hot Springs at Fire Station 37, where we stole him from. As a firefighter here in Desert Hot Springs, Officer Ree had the opportunity to work closely with his Desert Hot Springs police counterparts, which reignited a spark in him to fulfill a childhood dream of becoming a police officer. After nearly 10 years as a fireman, Officer Ruiz made the jump to law enforcement and is both honored and proud to serve the community of Desert Hot Springs. And we are thrilled to have you on our side of the fence. So, congratulations.

All right, baby. You going to be able to do that? Can't drop. Don't drop her. Congratulations.

Thank you.

Uh thank you everybody for coming out. Uh I want to thank everybody in this room. Uh family, friends, thank you for all the support. Uh couldn't do it without without all of you. Uh thank you for the opportunities, Chief uh Chief White back there. Like literally, thank you guys for all the opportunities you guys have provided myself, my family. Uh and I look forward to, you know, doing the best job that I can. So, thank you guys. All right, you're going to see a theme starting to go here. Officer Joshua Olsen, come on up. Josh, did your wife Brooklyn make it?

Raise your hand. Welcome. So, please welcome police officer Joshua Olsen. Officer Olsen was born and raised in Washington State, where he resided until he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 2019, bringing him to San Diego. During his time in the Marines, Officer Olsen developed a strong interest in public service. During his military service, he earned the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War and Terrorism Service Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, Expert Fire Qualification Badge, and Marksman Pistol Qualification Badge. Upon his completion of his enlistment, he attended the 220th Basic Academy with the Riverside County Sheriff's Office. After graduating from the police academy, Officer Olsen served as a deputy sheriff at the Palm Desert Sta Sheriff's Station where we stole him. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his daughter and wife, going to the gym and camping. Officer Olsen is grateful for the opportunity to serve the community and residents of Desert Hot Springs. Congratulations. This time, I got to do it. Yes, sir. Oh, man. Oh, man. Get it, sir. Okay. I'm just put it in the top one here. You can fill it in later. All right.

Yes, sir. Deal. Kind of there. Congratulations. Please say a few words. All right. Thanks, sir.

I just wanted to I wanted to thank the chief obviously for this opportunity. I know you did a lot of work getting me over here and everything else. So, I appreciate a lot. Also to the FTO program. Uh they kind of mentored me, got me to where I am today. Sergeant Jimenez, you were there on my first day. So, thank you, Corporal St. I can't forget you either. They wanted me to name everybody by name, but obviously I can't. I think the most important person I got to thank is my wife for stick through me. Uh, stick by my side through all this. And then obviously the residents and everybody at Desert Hot Springs. So, thank you for the warm welcome. I'm glad to be a part of the family and I'll see you all out THERE falls off on you. All right, last but certainly not least, this one's exciting. Officer Roman Kamacho, come on up.

Roman, where's your wife? Carolina. Carolina, come on up. Welcome. And who we got here? My son. What's his name? Roman Leonardo.

All right. Welcome. All right. Please welcome police officer Roman Kamacho. Officer Kamacho is a proud member of the Desert Hot Springs community. He attended elementary school at Julius Garcini, continued through Desert Hot Springs Middle School, and graduated from Desert Hot Springs High School. Officer Kamacho later attended College of the Desert Public Safety Academy, where he successfully completed level three and level two of the modular format. He was then hired by the Desert Hot Springs Police Department as a police trainee. After six months and over 981 hours of intensive training, Officer Kamacha graded from the 223rd uh Police Officer Basic Academy held at the Riverside County Sheriff's Office at the Ben Clark Safety Training Center. Humble and grateful for the opportunity to serve with the Desert Hot Springs Police Department. Officer Kamacho is devoted to public service, he strives to make a meaningful, long lasting impact and remains committed to strengthening and uplifting the community he proudly calls home. Grounded in a deep reverence for God, Officer Kamacho's faith shapes his character and guides dedication to service. He draws strength from his family and carries out every responsibility with dedication, compassion, and a genuine desire to serve. Congratulations and welcome. Thank you guys so much. It really means a lot to me. I'm extremely moved and grateful to to Chief and the city of Desert Hot Springs for allowing me to pursue my goals and dreams. You know,

growing up in this city, I've seen the incredible work and change that the police department and the city have done, and I'm just honored to be a part of that change. Now, I just want to thank the great citizens of this of this community, my family, my loved ones, but most importantly, my beautiful wife and children for supporting me through this great journey. Um, but I also want to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for everything that he's done for me and helped me with. Um, you know, wouldn't be here without I wouldn't be here without him. He gets all the honor and all the glory and I just want to thank you guys again. Um, and I'm looking forward to the journey. Thank you.

All right, gentlemen. Stand up right here. Raise your right hand and repeat after me. All right, you guys ready for this? All right. I state your name. I do solemnly swear domly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California and the Constitution of the State of California against all enemies against all enemies, foreign and domestic. foreign and domestic. that I will bear true faith and allegiance that I will bear a true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of the United States to the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of California

and the Constitution of California. that I take this obligation freely That I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation without any mental reservation for purpose of evasion for purpose of evasion and that I I will well that I will well and faithfully discharge and faithfully discharge the duties upon which I'm about to enter the duties upon which I'm about to enter. Congratulations,

gentlemen. On behalf of the city council, thank you for serving your community and please be safe. Thank you. We can do some quick photos up here with the officers and their families and and the city council. And we'll be uh recessed until 6 o'clock. Yep. Can I do the city council first?

I can get the city council back to the D. Paging Gary Gardner. Paging Gary Gardner.

Mr. Mayor, you're being silenced by Cider. Cider wants to talk. All right. Thank you.

Yep. All right, we're going to

Good. Good. We're going to call to order the city of Des Hot Springs regular meeting of the city council and the city council serving as a successor agency to the former redevelopment agency board for Tuesday, February 17th, 2026 is our 6 p.m. regular session. Roll call, please. Council member Gardner, present. Council member Pittz, present. Council member Pi, present. Mayor Pomposs, present. And Mayor Madison,

present. Our invocation tonight will be given by Council Member Pie. This is by Reverend Dr. Margaret Stoz. The divine good fulfills me. Always has, always will, and I access assess it every day. I welcome the creative urge within me and I am ready to give it form. I await consistent guidance. Thank you very much, Mr. Mayor. Prom, would you lead us in the pledge of allegiance? All right. And our heart ready begin. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Anybody would like to pull any items from the consent calendar, items 3 through six.

Sorry, Mr. Mayor. Uh, city attorney report on I'm sorry, madam city attorney. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Members of council, we have no reportable action. Thank you. U, we're going to approve the agenda and in the agenda approval will be the consent calendar, but there are no items to be pulled. Is there any p any public comments on the consent calendar? All right, I'll move the calendar. in the end the agenda. Uh motion by Mr. Gardner. Is there a second? Second. Second by Miss Pi. Please vote when it comes up. I can't do it.

Motion passes unanimously. Thank you very much. Um, at this time we have one public comment. Andreas Marquez. I don't see him in the audience. We'll come back to public comments at the end of the agenda. Move the city manager report.

Thank you. Good evening, Mayor, City Council. We'll start uh with our administrative services director, Jeffrey Buckheim, with a financial update. As for financial update, as of January 31st, 2026, uh for the general fund and public safety funds, we have revenues of over 14.2 million, which is at 36% of the adopted budget. Uh last year at this time, we had revenues of 12.6 million, which is at 35% of the budget. And two years ago, we were at over 10.9 million, which is 33% of the budget. Uh expenditure-wise we are at 22.7 million uh which is 20 58% of the budget. Last year at this time we were at 20.3 million which at 57% of the budget and two years ago we were at 19.8 million was that also 57 for the budget. And I'm also happy to report Cheryl next slide please that our budget has also earned the operating budget excellence award for the California Society of Municipal Finance Officers. Well, you're just on a roll, aren't you, with awards? I love it.

And that is my report. Thank you, Jeffrey. Uh, next we're going to ask Robera Cernick, our recreation and community services director, to provide an update. Thank you. Um, just a reminder, our concert series continues. So, Desert Nights on the Boulevard, our next concert is next Saturday, February 28th from 4 to 8. And this theme is the Mottown Party Terrell Edwards Band will be playing. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Roberta. And last, uh, Christine, our deputy city manager, with another exciting update out of Animal Control.

Good evening. Uh, since the last city council meeting, we've celebrated four adoptions and two rescue placements. Great news for pets in our community. Every adoption helps keeps our shelter population manageable and places animals where they belong, in loving homes. Uh tonight we're excited to introduce Banjo, a three-year-old male boxer. He's affectionate, energetic, and would thrive as the only dog in an active home. If you're looking for a loyal companion, Banjo may be your perfect match. We encourage our community to consider adoption. Your new best friend may be waiting at our shelter. Thank you. That concludes our updates. I'm going to reopen public comments. Is Andreas Marquez here? on that.

Sir, once you begin speaking, your three minutes will be up on the screen. My name is local.

Um, and I just want to start with, you know, a quick a little apology. Not to any wrongdoing or anything like that, but uh just basically I took an accusatory tone and um I just want to steer that narrative away. Wasn't my intent, but I do have uh certain concerns. So, I've been taking some uh um performance indicators and metrics on certain things. And one of them I want to bring up just keep it nice and small is oil and different household chemicals. We do know Palm Springs has like a facility that uh I think is orchestrated by the county and they are able to dispose of certain chemicals there when you can't uh easily get rid of them. And in town it made me think about it. It's just because I went to AutoZone and I was able to drop off oil at O'Reilly's. I went to AutoZone um and when I came there with a little bit more cuz they only take up to 5 gallons and I come in with like 20 30 they told me they can't and then uh even if it was a little bit they still could not uh because their tanks were filled. I said okay. I said uh do you know of anywhere else? And um they told me O'Reilly's and stuff but I said um I just came from there and uh basically they told me my the advice they gave me is just dump it on the ground. Just go dump it. I said uh no I can't do that. So another guy stepped in. He said don't listen to him. And uh so I said, "It's fine, man. I understand. I mean, this is not how this guy does it. That's fine." So I went to O'Reilly's at a whole another time. And uh not an oil. They took my oil at this point. And I also had some leftover gallons of antifreeze, just different mixes. And I tried to give it to him. They said, "Actually, nobody will take that." So I was uh concerned. I was like, "Well, what do I do with it?" It's a young guy, but he told me just dump it in the in the street. And I was like, "Ah, man. I can't do that." So, you know, eventually take it to the dump or something or uh because they have on Saturdays you're allowed to bring like 15 gallons. Um but uh also the uh the place down there in Mosqu and Palm Springs. So, but for the residents here, you know, it's good for me because I'm always driving around anyways. But for residents here, I think maybe a lot of them don't really have uh the means to

get across that freeway. Sometimes it's closed. And if places in town that normally would take like oil, if they're not telling where to take it, what do they do with it? You know, and one guy even told me, he said, "Take it here." I'm like, "No, you can't take it there." So, that's just uh one of the issues I just want to see if you know, I don't need no correspondence or nothing on it, but maybe something that uh if you guys want to uh we can figure something out, but um maybe you guys are already aware of this. Appreciate the uh comments. 30 seconds. I believe that's Yeah. You know what I mean? It's not a back and forth. Yeah. I forgot about that. Yeah. No, no, it's it's good information. I appreciate the comments and we'll take them into consideration on programs. We have a good relationship with Desert Valley Disposal and the county and we'll see what we can do.

Okay. Thank you. Thank you very much. No other public comments. Would anybody like to speak to the city council? I know they're blue cards. We'll close public comments and go to mayor and council member comments. Let's start with Mr. Pittz.

All right. Good evening, Mr. Premier and city council members, this is my update for February 17th, 2026. on January 26 26th I attended my Sunline transportation meeting and discussed um and discussed was Mona our CEO and of Sunline will be visiting all of the cities within Kajala Valley over the next few months to provide updates about enhanced bus transportation possible new hubs within various cities and how Sunline wants to re-imagine different modes of travel in the future a forwardthinking transportation revival On February 5th, I attended my Rifco Animal uh commission meeting. I was very impressed by the director's update regarding some positive trends and live outcomes for our fur babies in 2025. For example, euthanasia for dogs decreased by 41% and adoptions totaled 7,000, second highest since 2019. Euthanasia in cats decreased by 26%. Lowest in 7 years. Cat adoptions totaled by 4,366. On February 7th, I attended the groundbreaking for the city's new youth sports park located at the corner of Hosiend and Chola Drive. Once built, it will be the new home of the Desert Hot Springs youth football cheerleading and senior baseball programs. We are elated for this new park edition. On that same evening, I attended the Palm Springs Air Museum Gayla, a fundraiser to help raise money for scholarships for our local youth, all while celebrating our veterans and their sacrifices to our country. We enjoyed a delicious dinner and entertainment as we dined. It also appears it was successful as a fundraiser. Lastly, I attended the California League

of Cities Division dinner in Banning. It was a nice evening attended by local leaders and elected colleagues. The focus of the meeting was to update our cities regarding legislative changes that could impact our jurisdiction. Stay tuned for more information. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. This completes my update.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Um, I'm going to start with a little bit of a detour and handle something what Miss Pi got to do. I was invited to take an air tour of the Sand to Snow National Monument last week, but sadly had to chair the Coachella Valley Conservation Commission at the same time, so I couldn't go. I asked if Jan wanted to go instead. She bravely went, and now she's going to torture me by making me describe the views that she saw and that I didn't. So, Gerald, all right, first one up here. This uh started Snow National Monument was declared a monument 10 years ago, February 16th, 2016. It borders desert hot springs on both the west and the north. Covers 154,000 acres, goes from an elevation of 1,000 ft here in DHS up to over 11,000 ft at the top of Mount San Gorgonio, hence the name Santa Snow. So this one here, this is flying over Little Morango Canyon, Mission Lakes Country Club there, kind of off to the left and looking towards Mount San Gorgonio with the snow on top of it. Little Morango Canyon marks the east end of the Sand to Snow National Monument and really does show our sand to snow designation for its name. All right, next one. Uh this is over the upper reaches of the Whitewater whed uh looking west at Mount San Gorgonio, the highest peak, Southern California, a little over 11,000 ft. And the next one, this is looking down. This is one Jan shot out the window of the Whitewater River uh as it climbs down from the mountains. And you can see what a channel it's created over the years and the amount of water that comes down from from uh from the highest peaks down and and closes Indian Canyon from time to time. But uh that is the Whitewater waterhed coming down from there. And last one. And there is our own Ms. Pie in the middle with the pilot and also uh Colin Barrows who's the executive

director of the Cactus to Clouds Institute and the teeny tiny plane they all got into to fly up around in there. So, anything you want to add since it was your trip? No.

Okay. Thank you. All right. Um attended the mosquito vector control board meeting. Nothing for DHS there. Uh we had the SCAG Southern California Association of Governments meetings in LA and had an interesting discussion on our housing committee that I sit on uh about using community development block grants to clean up uh developable land from homeless encampments and trash dumping as they can be considered brownfield sites which are eligible for CDBG grants and we'll talk about that in a in a second here. uh with the rest of the colleagues here. I attended a groundbreaking for our Eagle Sports Park on a gorgeous Saturday morning. Um excited to see this long awaited project coming along as well as the final parts of Hosianda Avenue phase 1's project. Uh been some concern about keeping animal controlled shelter there as a park is built. But the noise from the park would uh upset the animals from I've heard some several residents discuss that. But just to note, Palm Springs Shelter is also smack dab in the middle of their park in Demute Park, surrounded by baseball fields and pickle ball courts, and they have no issues, and it's a great venue for adoption events and places for volunteers to walk the dog. So, I'm looking forward to having that part done in a year. And then lastly, we had a Coachella Valley Conservation Commission meeting. Uh bought some additional land out by Thousand Palms, and we discussed the development of the Ranger program for conservation lands. And I'm happy that that's developing nicely. It's taken a while and it's a much more complicated project than we thought it was going to be. And we discussed additional homeless camp cleanups. We got a grant from Cal Recycle to do that. My colleague on the commission, Amber Duff, who sits on the Mission Springs Water District, and I uh were uh drafted to film a short video on our cleanup efforts here in DHS. So Gerald, if you'd roll that.

Gerald just pushes the button. There's no rolling of the video anymore. That sound right. We can hear it. This is conservation lab. This is This is meant to be wild. This is to protect critters. This is to protect wildlife. Having a an illegal encampment, all of the trash, the waste, everything that goes along with that completely decimates the entire goal of the conservation plan.

It's almost leaves you speechless, you know, when you see the before and afters. This is a filter. Everything we stand on in this entire valley is a filter. And our drinking water is 100% from below our feet. So everything that is not properly disposed of affects the quality of our water which will affect generations if we don't stop it now. I think it's really important that as CBCC moves forward that we start finding ways for people to use it in use the land responsibly and yes

with the protection of it so that they learn the the precious need uh to participate in its protection. That's our next step at CVCC and all of the other agencies is we, you know, we conserve the land. Now we got to figure out what to do with it. So, I'm hoping that this will elevate the pride in our community a little bit. I'm hoping that it will definitely bring awareness. We all have to work together on this to to bring it to fruition.

I can't thank Sebag and all of its partners and teams. I can't thank the commission members from all the different cities in the valley enough for agreeing to to handle these here first and that was just one grant but that ended up costing almost quarter of a million dollars. But you can see those amazing statistics and the sheer amount of garbage that we hauled out of there in those cleanup efforts. And that's just one little dent. And there's a lot still to be done. And it's going to cost a lot of money. So we spend a lot of time finding grants and working ways to to be able to clean up our desert and then um working with some other efforts to keep people from dumping stuff out there. So that's an ongoing project. That's all I've got. Thanks, Air Pro. Sir, thank you. Uh on February 7th, I attended the Eagle Sports Park groundbreaking. Excited to see that come to come about and go and also I enjoy seeing what's happening along our road improvements as well. And now the road has been paved in some of the areas. So, uh you can see it really kind of looking really nice with the sidewalks and all the design stuff over there with these two. That's going to be real uh a very attractive part of our town. um including that same day attended the Palm Springs Air Museum fundraising gala. That was always a tasteful uh evening and uh it was nice to see the different uh representatives from the different branches of military that were not from you know from the states and then also the uh people who got the awards and everything like that. Uh it was exciting to see that too and you go back to thinking you start thinking about the movies cuz the theme was was the Vietnam War era and so we remember

some of those themes which was good. Uh the 9th attended the Calc regional dinner meeting in Bulmont. Um as always the updates are helpful and in meeting some of our peers in other areas outside the valley and listening to them on different topics and what have you is very helpful as well. Uh on the 10th attended the chamber mixer at the community animal hospital here in town. There were quite a few people there. Uh it was really exciting to see that. Um you know up and about and doing their thing. There was staff people and there was other residents and what have you there and it just seemed like every they had these really interesting uh vegetarian stuff. They got it from Azour. They got their um like a vegetarian hamburger type thing that they cut up that you could have there and these special little cookies that were extra carroty thing or whatever. Uh it was actually pretty good. I'm not um I I typically don't eat vegetarian, but it was good though. I gave it a whirl and uh it was good. Uh, but it was nice to see and in the in the the volume of of animals. So, to date, um, the gentleman that operates the facility there, the manager was saying that they've seen over 3,000 animals there since they've opened up, which is just incredible numbers, isn't it? You know, with that, so very much needed. So, all that. And then on the 12th, we had our CVAG sustainability and energy commission meeting. There was a lot of discussion on dust control. South Coast Air Quality Management was there. Dust control, the winds, the blowing in and those kinds of things. So, we'll be talking more about that. And we're talking about areas that uh how are we going to mitigate some of these areas that are very obvious such as in the Whitewater area, such as in the south of the 10 in the uh over there by Vistachino and and uh what is that? date palm and some of those areas that are pretty bad or got affected by this by the storm hilly that we had and how

we're going to deal with that. So definitely some we had enough dialogue on it that we had to extend part of our agenda to the next meeting you know just because of that. So a rather robust conversation there and then today uh before I came here I attended the Inland Empire Economic Partnership annual state of the region and that was really informative as well. you had from CEOs of the hospital San Antonio, Redlands and Lomolinda to key economists that um are from the uh IEP and discuss kind of the state of the region and activities and what's happening in Riverside and Sano County, which that report is accessible online and also um I I think everyone may have gotten it. It was sent out to everybody to read up on that, but it's just it's to me it's reading that I love to do. But um some but it is you know got some good information there that can kind of give you an idea where things are at. And that's it. Miss Pie

on 218 which is tomorrow uh do the right thing will be honoring Fabian Gooseman of Edward L. Winsloff Education Center. on 216 yesterday, I attended um the President's Day parade in India. And Gary to the right is Gary Lord and it was a 1961 Porsche Porsche roster that we rode in. And also the the queen um Es Estafana Rodriguez, she was also our marshall,

grand marshal,

grand marshall uh at our holiday parade and she was in this parade also. There's a lot of people that attend that parade and uh particularly from Desert Hot Springs and a lot of people recognized us and one person said, "You're doing the park. You're doing the Eagle Park. Please keep doing what you're doing." And others recognized Desert Hot Springs. So, it was good to be there. Uh, also I attended on the 12th the Palms, no on the 12th, Palm Springs uh cemetery district. I am no longer the chair. It was time to um pass it on. I've been chair for 10 years and it was time. I'm still on it, but I'm just a member now. And the new chair is Tim Ratigan. Um, I did the uh aerial tour and really I did it because I had no idea what I was looking at and the plane is real small. So I was digesting and decided you know more than I know and that's why he did it and I have nothing else to say. Um I attended on uh February 7th Desert Healthc Care District Community Forum and there were a lot of members there at that forum. They requested an emergency room. They requested lowincome housing. Um the purpose of the Desert Healthc Care District was they're doing their strategic plan and they want to know what is it that the different

communities um want. And that's the end of my comments.

And I'll be quick. I just wanted to say thank you to all the staff members that came out and helped put the groundbreaking together for the Eagle Sports Park. Um this is a big step for Desert Hot Springs. All our youth programs will now have a space. Uh, as we grow, we'll need more space, but at least all of them will have their own space moving forward. Um, I did attend the last Erica meeting. Erica is a radio system that Desert Hot Springs was one of, I believe, five cities that were involved in back in 2008 or nine. Uh, this radio system was put together for emergency dispatch for mostly police, but used in other other areas also. um it was shared with five different cities, but over time the system the county system got bigger and they were able to purchase out the ERICA equipment to be able to modify it and use it. Um and we joined the county system. Uh the committee hadn't met in 3 years, but they needed to meet one last time to formalize the final documents and final accounting. Desert Hot Springs will receive a small portion of what's left, which is less than $25,000 between the five cities. Uh so Jeffrey, you got a little bit of money coming. And there'll be a final document uh Mr. City Clerk, you'll need to add to the agenda um with the city manager probably the next meeting or so. That should come from Carrie Mendoza. All right, that's all I have. We're going to move to administrative calendar. Item number two is provide direction regarding the use of a traditional fireworks display or drone light show for the 2026 Independence Day 250th anniversary celebration. Miss Cernick.

Good evening, Mayor, City Council. Uh the city of Desert Hot Springs annually hosts an independent independence day celebration featuring a traditional fireworks display as the highlight of the event. In preparation for the 2026 celebration, which marks the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, staff secured a contract with Pyro Spectaculars, the city's longstanding fireworks provider on January 23rd, 2026. The total cost of the fireworks displays, $35,000, and the show date is July 5th, 2026, has been formally reserved. During the February 3rd, 2026 council meeting, staff was directed to explore alternative entertainment options, including a drone light show. So, staff did receive three drone light show proposals from the following vendors. Skyworks, a 300 drone show for $90,000. Sky Elements, a 300 drone show for 57,165. And Grizzly Entertainment, a 350 drone drone show for 28,000. So each proposal includes a FAA compliant drone fleet and licensed pilots, a custom 10 to 15 minute choreographed patriotic show, and 3D animated imagery. Um, staff has also included the current quote and contract with Pyro Spectaculars, the city's long-standing fireworks provider for the traditional Independence Day fireworks display already reserved for July 5th. Uh, 15 to 20 minute fireworks displays, $35,000, and that includes a traditional aerial shell display, approximately 912 shells, and an on-site pyrochnic crew. and

additional costs such as traffic control staffing and event production do remain similar regardless of the display type. Um so staff needs direction on whether to continue the longstanding tradition of a fireworks display as the featured attraction for the 2026 Independence Day celebration um or pivot to a drone light show. And that concludes my staff report and I'm happy to answer any questions. Thank you very much. We're going to start with public comments. Anybody have any public comments? All right. I would just like to say you need to come up to the mics. There's no one here, but there's like hundreds and thousands of people watching.

I was missing a lot of information and I seen your guys' presentation from the Coachell Valley uh Conservation Commission. I mean, I just want to say thank you to that. Um, you know, sometimes it feels like you're all alone. Well, I'm always alone out there, but you know, sometimes it feels like when you're way out in the deserts and you feel alone, but it's good to see people. I mean, doing what they can to, you know, and that was a lot. Thank you. Uh, Mr. uh, Pitts first, uh, since it's his item. Um, did you have any comments to add to it?

Yeah, I just want to I just want to circle back just quickly because I we already know what the talking points are, but uh, we already know why the reasons we brought this forward. Um, I had a couple of final points I wanted to make in addition to the points that were made a couple of weeks ago as to the positive reasons why should we should pivot to a drone show. So, one of the or some here are the few final uh points. The city will come will continue to have nonprofits and other local businesses sell the safe and sane fireworks in our city. I wasn't sure if if there was any confusion on that. Um that is not cha that will not be changing and um so we sell the safe and sane fireworks here locally in the desert hot springs. A lot of local businesses do that. That will stay the same. That's not changing. Another point, our neighboring cities that surround us do offer large fireworks shows during the Independence Day. City of Palm Springs puts on an impressive firework show. So does the Rancho Mirage Aua Kalante Casino. And there are many choices to enjoy different forms of Independence Day celebrations all around us. Last point, the city of Desert Hot Springs has not historically, we just spoke about it, has not historically celebrated Independence Day specifically on the 4th of July. We usually celebrate on the 5th or a different day because of our neighboring cities. And the casinos typically celebrate their fireworks shows specifically actually on the 4th and Palm Springs will be doing that on the 4th 2026 of July and that I yield back.

Mr. Voss, anything to add to that that we haven't already heard before we start the debate?

No, I think he's he's got the gist of all the information there. I did just want to point out that city of India, this is their second year now doing this. And in talking with uh one of the council members there, she indicated that uh last year was their first one. It was successful enough that they're literally almost doubling the size of it because it had so much success and and interest in that. Um, you know, there's a number of cities that I've kept, you know, got a list here, but I'm, you know, I won't ramble them off, but I got a uh at least another 8 to 10 in Southern California. In Northern California, it seems to be taking off as well as as kind of an alternative trend that many people are doing with this. And so, I would encourage us to consider that for our future one.

Mr. Gardner. Yeah, I have a quick question. Uh, Miss Cernick, do we have a penalty for uh terminating the contract with the existing vendor for the firework show if we chose to go down this road? I haven't executed the contract yet. So, um, it it hasn't been fully executed. So, it can be we'll just let them know that we're not moving forward if that's what the council decides.

Okay. Thank you. That's all I have. Let a few comments. So, the great thing about politics is you hope you can compromise. So, I'm going to ask for a compromise tonight. I don't think the 250th anniversary of our nation is the day to do it. And I made that very clear. Um, I don't think it's not a path we shouldn't go down in the future, but I was thinking maybe we can compromise and give give some money um find some money and maybe do a smaller show at one of our uh Pearson events this year and see how the public takes it and see how they they and and talk about this is something that we're moving towards for a bigger event, but this year just to tell everybody no fireworks, we're doing a drone show. I don't know if you're going to be able to market it as well and it might, you know, and I'm sure there has been some people that are seeing it. I'm I'm impressed with the drone show. Let me say that. Let me start there. We went to one last year at the soccer event in Palm Springs and it was very impressive. The the um putting the city seal in sky the way they did and and the sponsors, it was pretty awesome. I do think it's something that we could move to. Absolutely. But again, I just asked the council to think about this a little more and not just cut ties right away. Let's do a regular show this year. Let's have a smaller show maybe on a Pearson night uh in the sky with a maybe a 100 drones or something that can do maybe a 10-minute show or something and start to build the public towards that. And that would be my suggestion. We're spending how much on the fireworks this year or how much was it?

35,000. 35,000. And the cheapest uh drone show that we or the lease inspect inspe is going to be 28,000. The next two were 58.90, but they're about the same amount of drones. Actually, the cheaper one has more drones. Um, and I believe it's because the company is a local company, which gave us a better rate. They're not having to put people up in hotels and things like that. That makes sense. All right, those are my comments. Miss Pie, anything?

Yes. I don't think we should do it at this time. We have a budget. Um, we got to do whatever we do, we got to do it. Now, I don't like the rush. Uh, I don't have a problem with thinking out of the box, but we need to pay attention. We we have strategic plans and at every um item we put what the strategic plan is. We should do this as a strategic plan. Also we have we have a budget. The reason why we one we're going to have to do it now is because we could lose if if we dillydally we could lose the fireworks. Um the others have they're going to charge us more because it's late. Um, I think we also should consider um, you said you like the drone show, but that also included youth and I think we should include youth. Um, you saw what happened with the park. I think we should include youth also. I just we're not doing this strategically and I think as you just said uh this is good for later and I think it is uh so that we can strategically plan it and go ahead with what we've already um decided to do and sign that contract.

Mr. Gardner.

Um, I appreciate very much my two colleagues bringing this forward and I think it's a good idea. Uh, but I'm I'm going to I'm going to share uh a little bit with uh with what the mayor said. I think that you came up with a very very good compromise that we build towards it. Maybe we do a little one on on on on a on a desert nights on the boulevard night uh just to get people warmed up for it and transition to it. I and I share Miss Pi's concerns too with the cost. Um, you know, we have uh we budgeted for this already and if we go with the number three bidder, we would save it little bit of money, but if we go with the other two, we're going to significantly impact the budget as well. And there's also the timing. We're sitting here in February, which is not all that far away from July. So, um, I like the idea of it. I like the idea of exploring it. I think uh I I I can support what the mayor said and sticking with the fireworks this year, lending staff more time to research, find other vendors, see what they've got planned, start testing it out a little bit with the with the Desert Nights on the Boulevard and transitioning to it uh with uh within the next year and and that's what I can support. So, Mr. Pitts.

All right. Well, I can see where this is going already. Um, and I'm I'm all for obviously a compromise and I like I like how you said that. Do the regular fireworks show this year, maybe do a smaller one at the boulevard. The only thing though with that is so the regular firework show is 35. The smaller one, even if we do it at like on Boulevard at the nights, it's going to be 28. So, um, I don't know if they have anything even under that. That's probably pretty much what the pricing is. So, for those reason, for financial reasons, I don't I don't think that we probably should do the uh the the drone show um in in tandem with the large traditional fireworks show. Um, but I also want to see and it's it sounded kind of like this was the way that maybe this body was going when we brought this up a couple the last actual city council meeting was that we would all be open for 2027 moving forward to have the traditional not fireworks show but a drone show. Is that is that what we're still at?

Well, maybe you know you don't know about a a compromise. Maybe maybe Roberta and her bottomless rolodex. You all remember Rolodexes, right? Uh can find somebody that can do a combination show, too. So, they don't know. I've talked to the drone people before. They can do small shows. They can do large shows. So, if we give them a number and tell them how much we want to pay, I'm sure they can come up with something for us. I mean, I would suspect so. Um, yeah, I'm I'm okay with doing the compromise of this. I' I'd like to just kind of keep it more in line with is I don't want to leave it lingering on on if or maybe or kind of sort if we're going to do it in 27. Yeah.

Um it's going to be for me anyways it's got to be we're going to do it in 27 and we'll we'll do the fireworks show in 26

as that and then in 27 we we begin the firework or I mean the drone show that way. uh in that I'm just afraid that if we do a scaled back one, people aren't going to really get a chance to feel the full effect of what it really is like and to deal with that and then you know the various feedback may be enough where we go well it really wasn't all that popular there plus you're not really getting you know people who are in their backyards or whatever people that are there at the park seeing it. So, I'd rather just us, you know, make it very simple. And that is in 2026, we execute the contract, then we uh ask staff to begin looking for um and maybe it's the ones that she that she already got uh but getting some bids for 27 and schedule it that way and take it from there. I mean, you know,

Yeah. I mean, I've I've I I think I can make this easy for you guys. This would be my motion if I was to state a motion, but I won't do it unless everybody's good with it. Is uh let's execute the contract for a fireworks show this year. Um let's uh allow up to $10,000, not to exceed $10,000 on a smaller show now that I brought $25,000 back from Erica to Jeff. Sorry, you can't spend it all. I'm spending it for you. if we could fight up to $10,000 not to exceed for a small show on Pierce uh Desert Nights on the Boulevard. Thank you. And um do you guys want to do an informal survey throughout the community just to see what how they feel after seeing the show or do you wanted to go straight to transitioning to next year and making that decision?

I would actually like to uh if we could actually do two different motions. the the first one just the fireworks show traditional like we talked about and the second one moving to the drones in 2027 for the first one the first motion I'm I'm not going to vote yes on it now because I don't want to compromise but for all the reasons I've stated for being an animal advocate you don't yourself I get okay so yeah if we could do that I will definitely obviously vote on the second one for having the drones move forward in 2027 May I? You may. I don't go with your compromise either. That's not budgeted either.

No, I get it. And I agree with you definitely. 27 what you said. I agree with that.

All right. um well trying to build a compromise and I know it's not budget and sometimes we do go outside the budget for for special events and I think it's important for the community to understand what a drone show looks like first of all what I can't just say get rid of the fireworks show and show and we're going to have a drone show without the community at least seeing something and how and building some interest in it. I had to go see the one in Palm Springs to really realize what it was. So um I'm just going to make the motion if it dies it dies. My motion is to approve uh the 2020 or the 2026 uh fireworks show as as as usual with the fireworks um and then to explore the uh the use of not to exceed $10,000 on an event downtown for a drone show and to support Mr. Pittz's and Mr. Voss's idea for turning the 2026 2027 fireworks display into a drone show uh after the uh Pearson's uh show is made uh or it has happened and we bring it back to council for final approval to see how the public reacts to it.

Second. All right, there's a motion to second. Any further comments? All right, I'll move it as well. Motion fails with council member Pitts, Council Member Pi, Mayor Potam Voss opposed.

All right. Then I'd like to make a motion that we uh do the fire execute the contract that we have now that's budgeted for the for the fireworks show for 2026 and in 2027 we do the drone show uh which gives staff a year to uh meet with the different ones, come up with good showing. It seems like the 300 to 350 range. Maybe call the city of India and find out what they used down there. uh and the numbers that they use, but it seems like anything over 300 is kind of the magic number. Um and begin that in 2027.

Uh there's a motion, a second. I do have discussion on that. So the it still have to be brought to back to us as a contract because it's way you spend money. It's not budgeted for. Correct. Uh yes. Anything. And also if it's over the city manager spending authority, it would need to come back before council. So this the fireworks show is always brought back to the city council for final approval when you sign the contracts or do we give approval for that in the

So traditionally um in the past the firework show has been budgeted in our annual budget and it's under the city manager spending authority. So the city manager executes. So um two things, one uh we have a two-year budget cycle. So for the next budget year um 27 if the dollar amount for the drone show exceeded what was already expensed then it would absolutely and if it's over my spending authority it would need to come back before the city council. That's the point I was getting up. Yes. Actually mayor may I Yes.

Okay. So since the fireworks show takes place in July so the uh 20 26 fireworks show will be taking place in July 26. that's actually budgeted for in the 2627 budget. Um so then the drone show which will be taking care taking place in July of 27 will actually be incl will need to be included in the 2728 budget. Perfect. That would be the new 2-year cycle. Yes, that would be the new year. Either way, it's coming back to us. Yes.

For final approval. Yeah. it it and being that we're changing it completely. I mean, I would assume for our financial policy that we just if if you want to buy a Lexus and it costs the same, you never mind. Not even going to try that one. Um I I I understand what's going on here. So, there's a motion on the table and uh it's stated on the screen there. It's been motioned. Who second it? It's not on the screen. All right. Please vote. Motion passes with Mayor Mattis opposed. All right, we're going to move to the next item which is public comments. Anyone didn't speak at the beginning of the meeting may speak now.

Please state your name and your three minutes will begin. It's on the screen. Omar Kamacho. Uh just comment and a question. Comment is uh congratulations on the operating budget excellence award. So good job there. question is there any can staff confirm can staff confirm if there is a reportable action from today's close session uh that was already given at the beginning there was not I was not here so okay so there was not no okay thank you

you're welcome all right with no other further comments we do have another council meeting on uh March 10 I'm sorry March 12th no today's is uh February March 3rd is our next council meeting planning commission will meet on March 10th planning public safety commission on the 12th and the city council will be back on the 17th. We are adjourned. Erica, I haven't heard. I think I went to the last