Palm Desert City Council - Regular Meeting, January 9, 2025

Transcript text

AI transcript text.

[00:00:00] Speaker: Will take a short, short, short break before we come back to public session.
[00:36:50] Mayor Harnik: ...and Palm Desert Board of Library Trustees meeting for Thursday, January 9th, 2025. Thank you, and we know we were a little late, but we were doing business. So, did you want to do roll call at this point?
[00:37:09] City Clerk: Councilmember Nestande?
[00:37:11] Councilmember Nestande: Here.
[00:37:13] City Clerk: Councilmember Kelly?
[00:37:14] Councilmember Kelly: Here.
[00:37:16] City Clerk: Councilmember Quintanilla?
[00:37:17] Councilmember Quintanilla: Present.
[00:37:18] City Clerk: Mayor Pro Tem Trubee?
[00:37:19] Mayor Pro Tem Trubee: Here.
[00:37:20] City Clerk: Mayor Harnik?
[00:37:21] Mayor Harnik: Here.
[00:37:22] City Clerk: All Council is present.
[00:37:23] Mayor Harnik: Thank you so much. We'll now have the Pledge of Allegiance with Mayor Pro Tem Trubee.
[00:37:58] Mayor Pro Tem Trubee: Thank you. And this is a point where we like to pause and just think about what it is that we're doing today. And there's so much going on, and there's so much very real tragedy going on right near us right now. And life and all its blessings are fleeting; we see it all around us, and we see it every day. One moment you might be at a music festival, and the next you might be brutally kidnapped and a hostage in a foreign land. One moment you may wake up to all those familiar routines and things, then it all may be taken from you in a moment in a raging fire. There are no guarantees. And remember that today, when you try to extend your reach outward for the superficial and momentary pleasures, that it's much better and more appropriately directed inward. And so today and always, please keep those who suffer and those who respond to help the suffering in your thoughts and prayers. Please.
[00:39:12] Mayor Harnik: So, do we have a report from closed session, please?
[00:39:16] City Attorney: Yes, thank you, Mayor. I do want to report out that on item 1B, for the benefit of the record, Councilmember Trubee did recuse from participating in that item due to proximity of real property that he owns to the project area. And other than that, there's no report from closed session.
[00:39:32] Mayor Harnik: Thank you very much. Do we have any awards, presentations, and appointments?
[00:39:39] City Clerk: Why, yes, we do.
[00:39:55] Mayor Harnik: So, this is the oath of office for Councilmember Karina Quintanilla. If you'll please raise...
[00:40:02] Council Member Quintanilla: Your right hand... May I have my partner stand up with me in support of all of the sacrifice and time and missed events with the roles over the last four years?
[00:40:20] City Clerk: Your right hand and repeat after me. I, please state your name,
[00:40:25] Council Member Quintanilla: I, Karina Quintanilla,
[00:40:26] City Clerk: that while serving
[00:40:28] Council Member Quintanilla: as a member of the Palm Desert City Council,
[00:40:30] City Clerk: do solemnly swear
[00:40:32] Council Member Quintanilla: do solemnly swear
[00:40:34] City Clerk: that I will support and defend
[00:40:36] Council Member Quintanilla: that I will support and defend
[00:40:39] City Clerk: the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California
[00:40:44] Council Member Quintanilla: and the Constitution of the State of California
[00:40:45] City Clerk: against all enemies, foreign and domestic,
[00:40:48] Council Member Quintanilla: against all enemies, foreign and domestic,
[00:40:50] City Clerk: that I will bear true faith and allegiance
[00:40:52] Council Member Quintanilla: that I will bear true faith and allegiance
[00:40:54] City Clerk: to the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California,
[00:40:59] Council Member Quintanilla: and the Constitution of the State of California,
[00:41:02] City Clerk: that I take this obligation freely,
[00:41:04] Council Member Quintanilla: that I take this obligation freely,
[00:41:06] City Clerk: without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion,
[00:41:09] Council Member Quintanilla: without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion,
[00:41:11] City Clerk: and that I will well and faithfully
[00:41:13] Council Member Quintanilla: and that I will well and faithfully
[00:41:15] City Clerk: discharge the duties upon which I am about to enter.
[00:41:20] Council Member Quintanilla: upon which I am about to enter.
[00:41:22] City Clerk: Congratulations.
[00:41:23] Council Member Quintanilla: Thank you.
[00:41:38] Council Member Quintanilla: Thank you, everyone. I'm just going to take a quick bit of time and thank my partner, Gil Moreno, my daughters, my family, and my friends that have allowed me the grace of being present for events and missing family events in order to fulfill my roles with the Council. I want to thank the staff for all of your hard work and support. I want to thank my fellow council members for all of the hard work that we have done together in the four years that have allowed me to continue towards the reelection and continued service. I'm proud of all that we have done, and again, the kudos to staff. Things such as the autism certification, that means the world to me. I know it means a lot to the community, and that is one of the proudest things that I think is a legacy that we will continue. So thank you all. I appreciate your continued support and look forward to serving another four years with the best of my abilities and the truest nature in my heart. Thank you.
[00:42:43] Mayor: Thank you. Do we have any City Manager comments?
[00:42:47] City Manager: No report this evening, Mayor. Thank you.
[00:42:50] Mayor: All right, we'll move to Mayor and Council Member reports and requests for actions. Council Member Quintanilla, can you begin, please?
[00:42:57] Council Member Quintanilla: None at this time, thank you.
[00:43:02] Council Member: Okay, not this evening, thank you.
[00:43:06] Council Member: Mayor, I have a request. Our January and into February has been pretty busy with special meetings and study sessions with appointments to various committees and commissions, also a goal setting session and the City Manager closed session evaluation. I understand this isn't typical, but I'd like to suggest a shift in approach and scheduling. I think it'd be more efficient, effective, and transparent to consolidate as much of the city business as we can on regular Thursday meeting days, even if it means adjusting the time of the meetings to begin earlier or start later. For example, our goal setting session and City Manager performance evaluation are two meetings I believe should be scheduled to coincide with a regular council meeting day. They are sufficiently important to let the community know that we're doing this business and have an opportunity to be a part of it. I know they have it regardless. I think meeting on a regular scheduled day is just more accountable, especially with the changing demographics of our city. I think we have more council members and community members that work full-time jobs, and consolidating our business to make it more accessible to them would be a good gesture. So with that in mind, I'd like to ask my colleagues to direct staff to reschedule our goal setting session and City Manager performance evaluation to a regular meeting day and provide additional direction to, to the best of our ability as it makes sense, consolidate special sessions and study sessions with regular Thursday meeting days.
[00:44:51] Council Member: I wholeheartedly support.
[00:44:54] Council Member: I support as well.
[00:44:57] Council Member: Well, I'll be number four when we look at this, and I...
[00:45:03] Speaker 1: I understand the sentiment, but a goal-setting session is not a small thing. And do you want to start at 8:00? When do you want to start?
[00:45:11] Speaker 2: I'm fine...
[00:45:14] Speaker 1: You want to take a whole day on a Thursday?
[00:45:16] Speaker 2: It's easier for me to consolidate a day than to pick and choose throughout the week. It's easier to set aside an entire day.
[00:45:23] Speaker 1: Is it easier for everyone else, or is it easier for you? What you just said...
[00:45:27] Speaker 2: Well, that's why I'm bringing this up. And I think that, for the most part, it's feasible. But in general, I think we should consolidate our study sessions to be on regular meeting days.
[00:45:40] Speaker 1: And they are. They are now. This is like today, we had a study session. Let's look at how many people showed up to the study session. No one. So let's look at this carefully. Let's make sure that we are not losing the time to do things right for convenience' sake. A full and complete discussion regarding goal setting is very necessary, for sure.
[00:46:12] Speaker 2: So how long of a study session...
[00:46:14] Speaker 1: Let me finish, please. A full and complete discussion is necessary, and we shouldn't be putting ourselves in a position... Today we started late because we were doing what we should be doing. Should we be adding on to that so that we even make the meeting go later, or does it, in fact, deserve its own time? Because a goal-setting session for an entire year is critically important.
[00:46:43] Speaker 3: If I may add, what I'm understanding from your interpretation is that we can combine a variety. It doesn't have to be those two in particular, but I agree...
[00:46:52] Speaker 1: I don't think that it is a sub-moment, because he was... You interrupted him. He was speaking next, so let's allow him.
[00:47:00] Speaker 3: Just saying, he was not...
[00:47:02] Speaker 1: Well, he was.
[00:47:03] Speaker 2: So, well, the question then is... I forget. I think the study session in February on the goal setting was two, two and a half, or three hours. So we could start at 1:00 PM on a Thursday, and that would allocate the same amount of time.
[00:47:23] Speaker 1: Okay, let's look at it. We also have to consider staff time, because it isn't just our time, it is staff time. So if you'd like to look at it, let's do that and see where we go with it. But I don't think we want to have to rush through some of these really important things. They are important, and again, our goal settings for an entire year and then going forward. So let's look at it closely. And how would... I'm not sure how we would do that. Do you want to do a subcommittee to work with maybe the Assistant City Manager, the City Manager? How would you want to do that?
[00:48:10] Speaker 2: No, I think I'm making two requests. The first one is to reschedule... and I could break them down into three. So the first one could be to reschedule the study session on goal setting to a regular meeting Thursday. And two, to reschedule the special closed session to review the City Manager's performance also to a regular council meeting closed agenda. And three, to provide additional direction to staff as necessary. I do not want to remove the Mayor's prerogative of what makes sense to move throughout the week. For instance, the interviews that we conducted as a special session appeared to me to be a very good use of that. However, I think the goal-setting session and the review of the City Manager—one of the two people we hire—the public should see that we're doing that work, and they're more likely to do so on a regular meeting agenda.
[00:49:10] Speaker 1: Okay, and I appreciate what you've just said. The performance review, though, is in closed session regardless of whether the public participates or not.
[00:49:17] Speaker 2: They need to see that we are doing that work.
[00:49:27] Speaker 4: I think... I guess what you mean is because we have a report at our open agenda or at the regular meeting after a closed session on a traditional Thursday meeting day. Is that what you're saying? That like, these people right here would then get a report from closed session on...
[00:49:46] Speaker 2: Yeah, because I would argue that most people look for the regular meeting Thursday out of habit, and that they actually have to keep additional watch to find when we're doing special meeting days. But out of habit, they're...
[00:50:00] Councilmember: ...watching our meeting agendas and to be accountable. I think that is one item that should definitely be on a regular meeting closed session.
[00:50:08] Mayor: Okay, so we'll need to look at that. Did you want to continue?
[00:50:10] Councilmember: I do. Um, earlier in the week during our interviews for the committees and commissions, that is one of the things that we discussed: who are we serving? Yes, they would keep staff a little bit later, but if it allows us to offer more transparency to our residents, we're serving our residents overall. Staff already stays late for a variety of events. If we want to make it flex so that they can come in a little bit later on those days, I think that, as mentioned by Councilmember Petto, we have to acknowledge the changing demographics of our city. The reasoning that you had mentioned in the past was that the meetings are available on Zoom and anyone can watch at any time. Well, the same would be true if we have a meeting that's later and people want to watch that on Zoom as well. Zoom is an option, but it does not replace the business of the Council to serve the people. When we have meetings that start early, we don't have a lot of people present. If you get off at 5:00, by the time you go, whether you're picking up kids or not, or you're making dinner, or whatever your personal life requires of you, you won't make it here for 4:00. If we allow the grace to our residents to be here and be present, I think we'll increase our engagement, and that's the purpose of being here.
[00:51:35] Mayor: And I'm not sure that the question was whether or not the staff had to stay later. I don't recall that as being part of the discussion. But we do have to consider that we do have many people who are involved in the tourist industry, and those people are the ones who may then not be able to be here during the day or may not be able to be here at night. We're never going to find a perfect time, and we have to realize that we try our best to find the sweet spot. I think we've done a pretty good job of that, but those people who work in the food and beverage industry and start at 5:00 are not going to be able to be here. So we're always going to miss out on somebody. But I do believe we can take a look and see what we can do to condense what we are able to condense, and let's take a look at that. Now, how is it that you would like, again, how would you like to do that? Do you want to have two people from the—
[00:52:39] Councilmember: No, I think I'd like to make a decision tonight. My request was to combine the City Manager review to a regular scheduled Thursday. We could pick a Thursday that is the next meeting close to that meeting date and do a date certain right now.
[00:52:55] Mayor: Okay, so I am not prepared. I don't ever have my calendar with me. I never ever would take my phone up here, so I don't have my calendar to say if I'm able to do that because I do have other meetings representing the city. So I think we have to take this and do it very carefully. Let's not make a—let's not tell everyone here what we decide and then have to change it.
[00:53:22] Councilmember: No, I don't disagree.
[00:53:23] Mayor: Oh, are you—sorry, I'm finished.
[00:53:24] Councilmember Evan: So, I don't disagree. I think time batching is a basic component of simplicity and predictability. So if we, as a body, tell staff when you need the City Council present, all combined, the preferred time to look at first is around a meeting day that we're already scheduled. Absolutely. And that's just because I know I get email, text message from Erica, 'What's your schedule?' and I'm thinking there's a lot of varied dates. But if she starts with, 'Can you meet at 1:00 p.m. this Thursday?' or whatever day, that's an easier start point for her predictability. And then, depending on your judgment as Mayor, whether it needs to be on a special thing all by itself, I'm not trying to dismiss that. I'm trying to create predictability for staff and for us, because it's easier for me to batch time. When I say it's easier to batch time, I'm speaking in generalities that most people, whether they realize it or not, it's a productivity hack to batch your time.
[00:54:30] Mayor: So, and I agree with you. So let's look at how we can do that. I want you to remember that, Evan, you have a CBCC meeting on Thursdays. Are you still on Energy?
[00:54:44] Councilmember Evan: Yes, it is here on—well, it's on the—it's at the Park View building, right, but it ends—yeah, so I could get here at 1:00 on a—
[00:54:55] Mayor: So, I just—it's the second Thursday we need to be cognizant of. There are other meetings that we're attending. Yeah, so if we are going to do—
[00:55:02] Council Member Petto: That and fine, we need to look at everybody's schedule before we put something in stone. Right now, since I'm new, I'm going to ask that you bear with me. And when I suggest we do something, inherent in the suggestion is that we do it in the most logical, cautious way possible. But I want to see action towards a goal; inherent in that is the smart way, okay? So why don't we do this: why don't we put this at our next Mayor/Mayor Pro Tem meeting, which is soon, and we'll work with the staff. We will then be able to, hopefully, we'll have schedules. Do you keep your schedule 100% with Erica so she's able, so we have something that we can rely on? And to both of you as well? No, but I will. Okay, and you do? Okay, so then we'll be able to achieve that. Okay.
[00:55:54] Council Member: May I have a moment to follow up? Thank you, Council Member Petto. And part of the second question that you had proposed, which did sound like a motion to me, so I would like to second that as the consideration for a future Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem meeting. If it doesn't have to be on a set schedule for a Thursday, to at least try to combine study sessions. It doesn't have to be the goal-setting session with another one, but potentially two or three that we see are coming up. I think that is a very valuable suggestion, and I hope that that will also be taken into consideration, not just a consolidation to a council meeting date. Sure, and if we have some very big study session items that are going to dominate a lot of time, and some ones that can wait, then prioritize. And meat and potatoes, you know, a couple big items. Are you comfortable with what has just occurred here?
[00:56:48] Staff: And then in hearing this conversation unfold, if there was a concern about upcoming items that are in the next month, I think, you know, a direction to staff about checking calendars offline would be appropriate. If the Council wishes to have a broader discussion, potentially a future study session item on exactly this to unfold—unfold, you know, pros and cons of whatever ideas a Council might have would be more appropriate.
[00:57:13] Council Member Petto: Okay, and I agree. If we can all talk about it and work this out, I think that is the best way to go. So can we look at that and see how soon we are able to do that?
[00:57:28] Mayor: Okay, thank you. All right. And do you have any comments or questions? No comments at this time. Okay. The only thing I have is at the Riverside County Transportation Commission, again, the seemingly omnipresent issue of Highway 74 came up. And Caltrans District 8, two days ago, signed the work order to implement all the pothole filling and the dangerous situations that currently exist. They were additionally requested to take a look at the fact that there are big rigs that are using that as an alternate route. It's one thing for those trucks to be going up there to deliver the necessary goods to those communities, but to use it for an alternate route not only does significant damage to the infrastructure, but it's a dangerous situation. So we've been asked to look at that. And again, that's not a Riverside County Transportation Commission under their domain—it's Caltrans—but Caltrans is there and is looking at it. That's all I have. So we'll move to the non-agenda public comments. And remember, this is a time when you have three minutes to give your comments, and there is the red, yellow, and green light at the podium. So the first one we have is Barbara Bergman.
[00:59:04] Barbara Bergman: Seems like no accidents with me. 74 is why I'm here. I am a—well, I currently live in Pinyon. I can see my house from here. I was a PCC Community Council member, and we sat in metal chairs in an unheated firehouse, so this is nice. I was also a CSA member. I was on the National Monument Committee to create 74 as a scenic byway. I am a retired teacher. I chose to drive to Coachella, which is why I drove 74 two times a day for 28 years. And in that time—why me?—I witnessed five bodies, 10 trucks, mangled motorcycles. And at some point, I looked up and said, 'Okay, okay, it's not an accident.' So I created the Highway 74 Safety Committee. I worked with Caltrans, CHP...
[01:00:03] Public Speaker: We helped get the guard rails, blah blah. We did quite a bit in that time. We were working with trucks, and I was jumping into cabs, and I was calling truck companies. It was dangerous. Then they stopped, and I'm here today to talk about the laws regarding 74. Three weeks before Tristan died, I said to somebody, 'I need to do this again, it's out of control.' And I feel really badly. He didn't need to die. That highway is designated as 'not recommended' with a yellow sign behind a bush around a corner that you can't see. In asking many truckers, 'Why are you here?'—some by accident, some didn't know, some of the trucking companies did know they were there. You know, the various reasons for them to be there don't mitigate why they are. They shouldn't be there. It's dangerous. He died; he shouldn't have died. So my goal is to change the law on that road. I've been in contact with Caltrans in Sacramento. It is possible. It isn't easy, but it is possible. And I'm asking if Palm Desert would please put me on an agenda. I have video, I have research, I have backing of the news—I work with NBC. I have the family's complete backing. I'm begging for help on something that is huge and going to take a long time. But I'm lucky to be here today. I've always said this, I said, 'It's going to be the van with the family, the truck, and the bicycle.' The video I got today, I get goosebumps. Why me? I have the video of the van, the truck, and the bike, and the truck going three feet over the yellow line to miss the bike, who almost hit the van, and I was behind him. And like you said, I'm lucky to be here. I am. Time's up. I want to be on an agenda, please. Thank you.
[01:02:12] Mayor: We will. We will follow up. Thank you very much.
[01:02:16] Mayor: The next is Lisa Blet. And if you can give us your name and address, that's helpful.
[01:02:32] Lisa Blet: 47970 Via... in La Quinta. Okay, I'm here to urge you and recommend Councilmember Karina Quintanilla that she remain on the Coachella Valley Animal Campus Commission. Councilmember Quintanilla is the only member who has stood up for the animals and the community and has not settled for the status quo the commission has stood for the past two decades. She's working passionately and professionally to make positive change in the Riverside County Department of Animal Services. Before Karina Quintanilla, they couldn't get a quorum, and they only meet every other month. They didn't know they had a right to see a budget; they have a budget now. They didn't know—the commission members didn't know what their purpose was; they know what their purpose is now. To not appoint Councilmember Quintanilla to remain on the commission would be a slap in the face to the pets suffering and being killed in silence, and all of us who are dedicated to seeing much-needed changes in the antiquated and broken system of the Riverside County Department of Animal Services, causing us to be the highest-kill county in the country, in fact, in the nation. Thank you.
[01:04:12] Mayor: Thank you. Okay, next is Jan Kazinski.
[01:04:29] Jan Kazinski: Hello, I'm here representing Kaufman and Broad and the Shephard Lane communities. When you look at everything in retrospect—the short notice of The Refuge Palm Desert neighborhood meeting scheduled for the dinner hour during the height of the summer in August 2022, a faulty audio system during that meeting making it difficult to hear the presentation and impossible to hear questions from the residents, the subsequent omission fear...
[01:05:03] Public Speaker: ...of flooding by the City Planning Manager to the Planning Commission and therefore, upon their approval, to the City Council that the neighbors' only concerns were dust, traffic, and loss of views. The repeated and consistent ignoring by City staff, MSA consultant, and the developer of a water drainage specialist's request for details, then once given, his pleas to review his figures about the distinct likelihood of flooding if they proceed with the plans, even after Hurricane Hilary flooding in a Palm Desert community. Letters about other neighborhood meetings regarding this development either not received or came in envelopes with return addresses not from the City, but from companies other than Refuge Palm Desert, and therefore mistaken for junk mail. The insistence by the developer and City engineer that the elevation shown on their plans and then graded to in 2024 were correct when they clearly varied from highly accurate and reliable USGS and Google Earth maps that both agreed with each other. The Council's approval of the first phase of TW, August 2024, despite the breaking of California law by the developer building a structure that is offensive and creates a flooding hazard, and despite being shown that the elevations graded were not for drainage but for view homes on view lots, clearly seen as such, labeled in the developer's plans, and that the land parcel had a 27-foot drop in elevation from the south to the north at Gerald Ford. Lack of response by the developer and City staff to impacted neighbors' damages and complaints. Can you understand why Kaufman & Broad and Shepard Lane neighborhoods feel they and the City Council have been consistently lied to? At the very least, they were misrepresentations by the developer, MSA, and City staff, both to the neighborhoods and to the Council. At worst, there may have been fraud. We believe a thorough investigation should be made of this matter. If the developer has misled the City, then the plans should all be revisited. If the City staff misled the commissions and Council, then there should be some accountability. There is no doubt the neighborhood...
[01:07:46] Mayor: Can you—you have to wrap up now.
[01:07:48] Public Speaker: ...misled. Thank you.
[01:07:53] Mayor: Thank you. Next, Tiffany Labu.
[01:08:05] Tiffany Labu: Good afternoon, Mayor, City Council. I sent an email to Mayor Harnik January 2nd wishing to engage in a conversation regarding putting forth an ordinance for a backyard breeding ban in the city of Palm Desert. I've been instrumental in assisting other cities doing this, and today's public comment has a little bit to do with that, but it also... I'm really here to commend Karina Quintanilla for her chairperson work for the Animal Campus Commission Committee this last calendar year. We are fighting a big battle not only with Coachella Valley Animal Campus, but with Riverside County Department of Animal Services in a larger scope, and those meetings are extremely important to the residents here because we feel seen and heard for the first time in almost 20 years. And I know that committees, obviously, you change your representation with each council member annually normally, but we would really appreciate if Karina could stay on as the representative for Palm Desert. She definitely understands everything that is happening within that committee and those others who serve it. But a big part of our issue is, of course, the fact that each city needs to really take a good look at being a leader for spay and neuter initiatives within the city limits. This is part and parcel to the reason why we're having such a huge, huge, huge overpopulation problem within the sheltering system. Unfortunately, backyard breeding happens...
[01:10:02] Speaker: In every city, you only need to go on Craigslist, the Penny Saver, the white sheet to see animals for sale. And there is no ordinance currently, unless I'm incorrect, I've been looking on your website for a backyard breeding ban ordinance that would allow Animal Control to cite these people and hopefully put an end to that. So my hope is to talk to Code Compliance and meet so this can become an agendized item in the near future. Thank you.
[01:10:41] Mayor: Thank you very much. And next is Debbie Green.
[01:10:56] Debbie Green: Good afternoon, Mayor and City Council. I'm glad to see I'm not the only one concerned about Highway 74. With that, if you have seen the Desert Sun article or have been following Fred Rogan's investigation into Highway 74 issues, I think you would agree that this is an issue impacting Palm Desert residents. There have been too many accidents and a recent death on this highway. Many use it as the only means to get to the valley. Postcards, emails, petitions, text messages have been sent to Caltrans and specifically to Director Tony Tavares with very little results. I've been supporting my friend Tammy Track. She lives in Eastvale. She's on the National Truck Safety Coalition, and she has spoken about safety issues and attended meetings in Washington, D.C. This is near and dear to her after her sister's family was killed in a truck-related fatality. The timing could have not been better for this article, as I was planning to address this topic today. I see this as a win-win, nonpartisan issue to start the new year. Finally, a published plan to remediate the problem will be addressed in 2028, but it is too late for all who must use it. The trucks are too heavy for this narrow road and continue to cause huge potholes. Since Highway 74 is partly in Palm Desert, the potential liability for the city is a concern. I would like to ask all the council members to contact Supervisor Perez and the Riverside County Board of Supervisors to prohibit semis and large, heavy-loaded trucks from using Highway 74. I understand that Chuck Washington is the board member who allocates funds. Many truck drivers use 74 to avoid the weigh station, and banning, eliminating the truck usage would be a great start. It seems Supervisor Perez and the board members are the ones who can put a stop to it. Please start this New Year making a difference for all and showing your compassion for those who are at risk every day. Thank you very much.
[01:12:47] Mayor: Thank you. And I will quickly just note we have done work at RCTC yesterday on this, and there is no such thing as too much effort on this. So thank you for that, and we can all keep working on it.
[01:13:02] Staff: Madam Mayor?
[01:13:04] Mayor: Yes, please.
[01:13:05] Staff: For those on Zoom, if you want to participate in public comment, please click the raise hand button on your computer or smartphone. And if you're joining in by calling on your phone, please dial star nine to raise your hand, and when called upon, press star six to unmute yourself. And at this moment, there are no raised hands, Madam Mayor.
[01:13:22] Mayor: Thank you. Okay, at this time, we'll move to the consent calendar, and all items are considered routine and may be approved by one motion. Are there any council members who would like to pull any from the consent calendar?
[01:13:40] Council Member: Madam Mayor, I'd like to pull 13D, as in dog, and 13P, as in Paul.
[01:13:47] Mayor: Okay. Any others?
[01:13:51] Council Member: I do. I would like to pull item 13M, as in Mary, and 13R.
[01:13:55] Mayor: Okay. And on this end, given the public comments that were received, I would like to pull item 13G.
[01:14:07] Mayor: Okay. Would anyone like to move the balance?
[01:14:11] Council Member: So moved, Madam Mayor.
[01:14:14] Staff: If I could just note for item 13F, the appointments to the Finance Committee and Planning Committee, the City Council did conduct a study session, and the recommendation for the appointments are Alex Meyerhoff to the Planning Commission and Bob McCauley for the Finance Committee.
[01:14:29] Mayor: Thank you. Move the balance?
[01:14:41] Council Member: Second.
[01:14:44] Mayor: Council Member Petto, if you could hit lock.
[01:14:46] Mayor: Motion passes 5 to 0.
[01:14:50] Mayor: Okay, I'll take these in order as well as I can. Can do the alphabet, so D is first.
[01:14:59] Thomas Soul: Good afternoon, I'm Thomas Soul.
[01:15:02] Public Affairs Manager: Your Public Affairs Manager, and you have before you a staff report on the list of approved social media commemorations for 2025. And I'm happy to answer any questions.
[01:15:12] Council Member Joe Petto: Thank you. I pulled this item because it directs communication resources to go towards posting statements that affirm our City's commitment to diversity and inclusion on the theory that it unites our community. And one of the things I hear often when these lists get posted is, 'Where's my day?' And so, as I think through the list, I wanted to suggest some additions. But before I do, I'd just like to say that I think, in general, I would like to see our focus of communications on the big work we're doing. We're, you know, I know we'll put the story out on restoring our deputies that we're about to do in a little bit, new fire station, and those are good stories we want to put out. And we want to limit the noise on our communication channels for the signal.
[01:16:08] Council Member: And real quickly, before you go further, do you want to explain exactly what these look like when you push these out? Because that might be helpful.
[01:16:16] Council Member Joe Petto: I've seen them. So, anyway, I think my preference would be to, you know, get out of the business altogether, to keep our communication channel clear for the big things we're doing. But, you know, in terms of 'Where's my day?', I hear people say that. You know, I had one lady say, 'Hey, I'm German. Where's my German-American Day?' So, I think, you know, add German-American Day, I'd like to do that. We have a big Greek festival and Greek heritage, I'd like to suggest we add the Greek Heritage Month. I'm Italian—I don't like pasta very much, I don't like big celebrations, but you know, there's an Italian Heritage Month. We've done good work on autism, and you know, I don't see Autism Awareness Week on there as an opportunity to talk about the good work we've done. So, I think there's a lot we can add to the list. But my preference would be just to get out of the business of commemorative days altogether. But I wanted to see where my colleagues stand.
[01:17:16] Council Member: Anybody have comments?
[01:17:20] Council Member: Yeah, I tend to agree with Joe—Council Member Petto, beg your pardon. One question: in the staff report, I didn't see what criteria or what master list do you use to pull our list? Because, I mean, there's plenty more that could be added. So, how do you choose?
[01:17:37] Public Affairs Manager: There are a lot more that we have. These are sort of the predominant ones that have garnered the most attention and hit the bigger categories. We do promote the Greek festival, we promote a lot of other things, and certainly if people ask us—like, we rarely get a comment of 'we haven't covered somebody's day'—but these seem to be the predominant ones that were of concern to Council. So, that's where this list came from. We're happy to add anything to the list that Council would like, or take anything off.
[01:18:08] Council Member: I just have a feeling that if we stopped doing this altogether, nobody would notice.
[01:18:13] Public Affairs Manager: I think that you would find that would be very different, because we would get comments if we didn't. Virtually every city, every county, every, you know, state does this. This is a very common practice for local governments, and it would be noticed if we didn't do that.
[01:18:30] Council Member: Well, maybe we need a subcommittee for this to go through all these names, because there's apparently more.
[01:18:36] Public Affairs Manager: There is a subcommittee. It's the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem, and so we did approve this.
[01:18:41] Council Member: Yeah, so are there any other comments?
[01:18:44] Council Member: My comment is, I agree that there are absolutely things that we need to focus on, especially if they highlight things that we're doing. For example, Autism Awareness, Autism Month. I think when Palm Desert is leading the way or leading the charge on things, we should highlight what we are doing. I think in terms of highlighting our social media feed for some of the activities, perhaps we can look at increasing the amount that we're paying for social media ads that highlight these things instead of just being by default on the feed. I go on, I look, sometimes there's a consistent feed, other times there aren't, and I think that it doesn't pop up as regularly. And I understand the algorithms, I understand how you set the scope of the demographics, the geographical preferences on how you purchase social media ads. I think that—I concur—people would absolutely notice if we stopped having any commemorations. And in response to increasing particular events or articles, it would be a reasonable expense from our substantial marketing funding to push those up.
[01:20:00] Speaker 1: ...further into people's feeds. Any other comments?
[01:20:04] Speaker 2: Well, if I understand correctly, maybe part of the issue is there's a concern that we as individuals are promoting certain holidays over others, or perhaps agendas we don't agree with. Would that be what you're concerned with?
[01:20:22] Speaker 3: I think there's part of that. And I think there's also just the knee-jerk of, you know, 'Hey, where's my day?' And, for instance, Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, I think, is another one that would make sense to add. We have International Women's Day; I'd suggest we add International Men's Day. Yeah, so some other ones to broaden out, for sure.
[01:20:51] Speaker 2: I would suggest then, please feel free to put that list together, and we can put it in front of the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem and add as needed.
[01:21:00] Speaker 3: Yeah, one other comment. I know that you and I discussed this, or it was put before us to bring to the Council, and I thought this discussion is better with all five of us, so I said let's just present this as it is. But one thing that I brought up during that exchange was Zero Discrimination Day. I thought that was a little bit unusual. It gives the connotation or insinuation that that's the only day we don't discriminate, only day, you know. It should be 365 days a year. It was just an odd... so some of these just strike me as very odd, and I did bring that up during the discussion, but it's still here. So, yeah, I just... I'd rather we focused our social media on big things and core kind of functions of the city rather than this.
[01:21:46] Staff: One of the strategies that we find with social media is that if we only put out the messages that we want to broadcast to people versus the ones that they want to hear, they stop paying attention to the channel. And so one of the strategies is to address a broad range of topics so that when we do have something we want to communicate, we've built the audience and that they'll see it. To Councilmember's point, the algorithm is generally not our friend on these things, and so trying to promote a variety of things that people are interested in helps us reach them when we do have those important topics to also cover.
[01:22:22] Speaker 4: So, are you finished? I'm sorry. So, I would add also, making people feel good about their heritage or something that they identify with is not a bad thing. It's a very simple, very easy thing to make people feel good. So, I have no problem with any of this. We talk about Zero Discrimination Day—well, yes, at the City of Palm Desert, we have laid out a proclamation that says we include everyone every day. But there's Valentine's Day; it's not only that we love that one person every day, but we have one day that we make sure we can talk about it. Same thing with Zero Discrimination Day. If that brings about a productive, effective, positive discussion, it doesn't make me mad. And if we can make people feel good, whether it's Ramadan, Human Rights Day, or any of these other things, it's a very simple thing to do. If you want to talk about the new deputies on Law Enforcement Appreciation Day, we can say that, and we can mention that we are hiring new deputies. So, there's ways we can integrate this. Making people feel good is not a bad thing, so I have no problem with any of this. If something comes up that might be detrimental, that might be offensive, we need to take a look at that. I don't see anything here that is offensive.
[01:23:58] Speaker 3: I will provide a list for next year, but for this year, I'd like to move the approval of this item with the addition of Autism Week in April, and the Labor Day that wasn't on the list, I'd like to add on as well, Greek Heritage Month in March, Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month in May, Polish Heritage Month in October, Arab American Heritage Month in April as well.
[01:24:30] Speaker 5: I second.
[01:24:32] Speaker 1: Yeah, oh anyway, fine. That's... we have a motion and a second. So, can we have a vote, please?
[01:24:45] Speaker 1: Motion passes 5 to 0.
[01:24:50] Speaker 1: Now we have, again in alphabetical order, we have G. This is the approval of the 2025 City Council liaison and subcommittee assignments, and...
[01:25:00] Council Member: Appointments of Representatives to external organizations. Um, the reason that I requested to have this item up for discussion was, um, originally wasn't going to say anything. Seeing the unexpected public comments that came in, um, I wanted to let whoever is concerned know that I'm still on—I am the alternate, so it's not that I have been removed entirely. I am no longer just the primary, so I am still there, I'm still involved, I'm still following what's going on. Um, that is the only change that's been made. Um, I know that Council Member Truby—excuse me, Mayor Pro Tem Truby—has been, um, receiving correspondence, and, um, I appreciate that. However, given the comments that did come forward, I would ask consideration to stay as the lead, given that I have seen the way that things have grown and, um, feel that I've made substantial contributions. So that is, um, my request for consideration. Any comments, thoughts?
[01:26:27] Mayor: I would entertain a motion at this time.
[01:26:30] Council Member: My only comment is I, you know, trust the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem's judgment and the committee assignments. I'll move approval.
[01:26:45] Council Member: I'll second.
[01:26:46] Mayor: Motion passes 5 to 0 to accept the assignments as presented. Thank you. We'll now go to M, as in Mary.
[01:26:57] Mayor: This is receive and file the independent accountant's report on agreed-upon procedures performed on the Measure A Transportation Fund for the fiscal year ended June 30th, 2024.
[01:27:11] Council Member: Thank you. Um, just a quick question, probably easily answered. Page 145, third paragraph on the background analysis, it said that Conrad LLP found, uh, during the course of this, that report, we had an excess of 14.5—uh, I'm sorry, $10.4 million in excess that I guess raised a flag or concern. Uh, how did that excess accumulate?
[01:27:38] Staff: So the fund balance accumulation is the result of, uh, CIP projects that were not—uh, budgeted but not fully funded due to delays, various issues that they just couldn't be expended. So that fund balance accumulated over a few years. Um, as you see, we've, uh, included the CIP schedule and, um, an aggressive look to kind of spend down that fund balance. Um, I believe the pandemic was probably an issue to just the accumulation of funds over the years.
[01:28:04] Council Member: So this was not an oversight, this is sort of force majeure stuff beyond our control?
[01:28:08] Staff: Exactly.
[01:28:09] Council Member: Okay, and now we're clearing it out and everything's good?
[01:28:11] Staff: Yep.
[01:28:12] Council Member: Perfect. That's all I needed. Thank you.
[01:28:15] Council Member: May I ask a follow-up question on that, Madam Mayor? Um, when you mentioned that there are some of those, um, Capital Improvement projects that haven't quite come to fruition, is there still the expectation that they will continue, or some of those just—like you mentioned, the pandemic had an impact—do any of those look like they'll be scrapped entirely?
[01:28:33] Staff: Not any cancellations I'm aware of, just delays and various, you know, pushbacks of projects.
[01:28:37] Council Member: Thank you.
[01:28:40] Mayor: Okay, why don't we—do we have a motion and a second on this? We don't really—we need one. Okay, so...
[01:28:48] Council Member: I beg your pardon, I will make a motion to approve, okay, uh, consent item M.
[01:28:53] Mayor: Okay, we have a motion...
[01:28:59] Council Member: ...and a second.
[01:29:00] Mayor: Motion passes 5 to 0. Then we will move to P...
[01:29:05] Mayor: ...and that is approval of Amendment Number 1 to the Law Enforcement Services Agreement between the City of Palm Desert and the County of Riverside.
[01:29:13] Daniel Herado: Good evening, Mayor and members of the City Council. Daniel Herado, Public Safety Analyst, here to answer any questions.
[01:29:19] Council Member: I don't have any questions. I just had the misfortune of not being here when my colleagues got to make the motion to put the—move forward with this amendment, and I wanted to make this opportunity to just say thank you to all of you for making this happen so quickly. It is something that I ran on, and it's a promise made and promise kept. And it was totally, um, not my responsibility, but in politics, you get to take responsibility for your votes. So thank you so much, and I move approval.
[01:29:48] Council Member: I'll second the motion.
[01:29:52] Mayor: Vote, please.
[01:29:56] Mayor: Motion passes 5 to 0. Okay, thank you. The next is R, which...
[01:30:04] Mayor: This is the approved sponsorship for the 2025 Desert X exhibition in the amount of $35,000.
[01:30:10] Erica (Public Art Management Analyst): Hi, Erica, Public Art Management Analyst, and I'm here for any questions.
[01:30:17] Councilmember: Great, just a quick question. I just noticed during the, on the staff report page 223, that Desert X impact, it looked like the most recent numbers report we had was from 2021. It seemed a little dated to me. I thought we might have more current numbers. Was there a reason?
[01:30:34] Erica (Public Art Management Analyst): The exhibition happens every other year, so those are the most recent that we have. So I assume that they'll be taking new numbers from this exhibition.
[01:30:44] Councilmember: Okay, and it was too soon to get 2023 numbers, I suppose?
[01:30:47] Erica (Public Art Management Analyst): That's correct.
[01:30:48] Councilmember: Perfect, thank you so much.
[01:30:50] Erica (Public Art Management Analyst): Absolutely.
[01:30:50] Councilmember: Okay, I make a motion to approve if anybody has any question.
[01:30:54] Councilmember: Thomas, we're good.
[01:30:56] Mayor: Okay, we have a second?
[01:30:59] Councilmember: Second.
[01:31:00] Mayor: Thank you. Motion passes five to zero. Thank you so much. We will now move to the action calendar, and we are on A, which is approve amendment number eight to contract number C36620 with Family YMCA of the Desert for management at the Palm Desert Aquatic Center.
[01:31:31] Sean Mu (Community Services Manager): Good evening, Mayor, members of the City Council. I'm Sean Mu, the Community Services Manager in Public Works. We have a presentation here for you today about the item before you, which is to extend the management agreement with the YMCA, Family YMCA of the Desert, for the management of the Palm Desert Aquatic Center. So I want to take this opportunity while I am before you tonight to give a little bit of background about the facility and just catch everyone up to speed since it's been a minute since we've discussed the Aquatic Center. So we'll take you through some history, a little bit about the admissions and fees, some recent and planned improvements that have happened, and then we'll go into the management agreement discussion.
[01:32:11] Sean Mu (Community Services Manager): So, the history of the facility: this is a three-pool facility. There's a lap pool, recreation pool, and splash pool. It opened in 2011, and the lap pool is open year-round. The recreation pool does house some programs like learn-to-swim programs for children and is open for recreation swim, as the name suggests, and that happens about April through Labor Day every year, and we extend additional weekends as we can. There are a couple of water slides and some new amenities: a rock wall and zip and rope swing—I'll show you some of those later—a snack bar, and then up to 150 staff at this facility in the summertime.
[01:32:50] Sean Mu (Community Services Manager): The chart is showing the admission history at the PDAC—I lovingly call it PDAC for short, Palm Desert Aquatic Center. And the orange shows the non-residents, the blue shows the residents. And so you can kind of see over the years since the opening in 2011, the attendance has been really good. The inevitable dip during COVID and then a rebound which has happened, but there's also been another increase that's in the past couple of years, and I'll go through explaining a little bit more about that. But, you know, that's in part due to some new initiatives that the City's been working with the YMCA on, including new key performance indicators, the establishment of a PDAC business committee, and then a focus on increasing attendance. Feel free to stop me with questions.
[01:33:40] Sean Mu (Community Services Manager): So, admissions fees: those were set at their levels in 2011 by resolution, and there was a 60% cost recovery rate that was also set at that time. Those fees remained the same until last year when the first fee increase was implemented. The cost recovery rate was set at 60%. In the past few fiscal years, we've been hovering around the 33-34% mark. And when I say that, that means that all costs are not recovered through the fees and merchandise sales and the revenues that the Aquatic Center brings in. There is a City subsidy, and what we expect that subsidy to be this year is 1.7 million. We have 2.5 million budgeted overall, and that would be a transfer from the general fund. The current fees that are shown are the year-one fee increase, that was the first increase that was ever implemented, and it's part of a five-year plan that staff have worked on. And I want to note, too, that that didn't negatively impact attendance. We're still seeing the good attendance numbers even after the year-one fee increase.
[01:34:50] Sean Mu (Community Services Manager): Moving on to some recently completed improvements, I want to mention here, this is a long list of things that have been done. I'm not going to go through all of them. We have some...
[01:35:00] Staff: ...cool pictures of the new chillers being lowered into the facility, the renovations to the locker rooms, some new in-water lights that are high efficiency, and then the complete resurfacing of the recreation pool in 2022 for a new plaster throughout. It was very nice. But we're also seeing, because we had all of this deferred maintenance, we were getting at—when we looked at the historical recovery rates, those were closer to 60%. Post-COVID, we've been addressing some of this deferred maintenance, and so that might have been part of the reason why the 60% recovery rates were being hit in the past. Now that staff have set regular schedules to address maintenance as it comes up, we're not quite there yet, still working on it, of course.
[01:35:44] Staff: And the recently completed improvements that are a little bit more fun are the rock wall, the Aflex inflatable, and the rope swing. Also, we've just installed shade structures throughout the facility. It was lacking in shade at the get-go, and so now we have the facility completely shaded on all of the deck areas, which is very important for sun exposure in the desert. Coming up here, there has been a new solar array that was recently installed and will supply power to the facility, so we're going green. That'll be connected and powered up very soon. We've also purchased a backup generator, so if there is a loss of power, our equipment in the pump room is protected. And then the photo that I'm showing you here is the filter tank for the lap swim pool, and it's, you know, original installation, outdated, and there's much higher efficiency equipment to be had in this room. So we have a pump room renovation this fiscal year planned under Capital Improvements. We're designing replacements for filter tanks, heaters, and pool pumps, so that'll increase efficiency of the facility. And then coming up soon, we'll have the Year 2 fee study and a presentation back to the Parks and Rec Committee, and then again to the City Council for implementation of the second year of the five-year fee increase plan.
[01:37:10] Staff: Okay, and now to the reason we're here tonight, which is the administration contract with the YMCA. This was established in 2011. The YMCA has been the only operator of the Aquatic Center since it opened. And then in 2018, the contract was renewed with four one-year extensions. We implemented all four of those extensions, excuse me, and then went back out to RFP in 2023. Some of the lessons we learned from that RFP process is that we could have a better scope of work. We included those key performance indicators, and we started working with the YMCA on catching up on that deferred maintenance, completing capital projects, and then conducted a new marketing study to get some better marketing materials out there. So that's part of what you saw on that 2023-2024 uptick in attendance, attributed to those additional steps that the City, in partnership with the YMCA, took. And so the extension was for a year and a half, and it would expire June 30th, 2025.
[01:38:23] Staff: The updates to the management agreement—so what does the new agreement include? We looked at the termination clause. So that was, the YMCA could only terminate for cause, and the City could terminate the contract with the YMCA in seven days. So that's really rough. We changed that to 180 days for the YMCA and 90 days for the City. We're looking at a two-month closure for the replacement of the filter tanks, heaters, and pumps, as I mentioned on that capital project. We're designing it now, and the planned closure would be November and December of 2025, so later this year. And so we wanted to—
[01:39:00] Council Member: Just for clarity, that's for the entire Center?
[01:39:03] Staff: Yes, the entire Center will be closed.
[01:39:06] Council Member: The entire Center would be closed for two months. Thank you.
[01:39:11] Staff: And so we want to keep as much staff on board during that time as we can. We can train them, we can do maintenance projects, and so we'll do that. But also, there will be some cost of unemployment, so we worked with the YMCA on what that would look like, and the City would cover the cost for that. We'll have a strong on-site management presence, as we've built up over this past year with the YMCA, and we have designated staff for day-to-day operational decisions. There's also a stronger management fee understanding, so we went through that line item by line item and made adjustments based on the needs for the current day. We've improved the marketing, as I mentioned. There was a marketing study conducted, and some of those programs that have rolled out, such as the Hot Summer Nights last summer, were very successful, so we look forward to doing more of that. And then—
[01:40:02] Staff (Sean): The YMCA will contract with an external aquatics consultant each year to get aquatics-specific feedback and consultation on some revenue-generating ideas so that we continue with this pattern.
[01:40:18] Staff (Sean): So in short, we're looking to extend the long-term partnership with the YMCA. It's been a successful partnership since the opening of the facility in 2011. They're a very community-oriented group. They've made a commitment to the city to improve the services, and we've made the commitment to work with them on it. And then we have this reasonable and predictable management fee. We've worked through all the kinks with them, and it's actually less than what it has been in the past couple of years. And then we'll continue with city staff oversight on the day-to-day operations with both Public Works and the City Manager's office. And with that, I welcome any of your questions. I do want to mention that we have two YMCA board members as well as the aquatic manager present to answer questions that you might have for them as well. Thank you.
[01:41:08] Mayor: Are there any questions or comments at this time? Okay, thank you.
[01:41:15] Councilmember: From what I understand with this agreement, the marketing is going now in-house as part of this contract. So we're saving about $33,000 a year on the management contract, and we're also saving by not using FG Creative any longer for marketing purposes for the PAC, is that right?
[01:41:32] Staff (Sean): We still do use FG Creative, and that marketing budget is a city-supplied budget, so the city does pay for the marketing program, yes.
[01:41:45] Councilmember: The idea though, that FG Creative's scope would be significantly scaled back and we'd be using the YMCA's marketing team much more?
[01:41:51] Staff (Sean): We have not finalized what, if any, role there would be for FG Creative, but we this year made a temporary adjustment to the contract. We moved it up to $100,000 to try to get additional business there, people through the gates. The idea would be that would be significantly scaled back. We can't answer the question right now if there would be any role for them in the future, but it would be significantly less.
[01:42:17] Councilmember: So we stand to have savings on both fronts?
[01:42:18] Staff (Sean): Yes.
[01:42:18] Councilmember: Perfect, thank you.
[01:42:21] Mayor: Any other comments or thoughts?
[01:42:25] Councilmember: I have a question. I had a resident call and ask why it didn't go to an RFP. I tried to explain that it was ongoing, and this person still wanted to know. So I'm asking in public because I know they're watching and will want to have that addressed.
[01:42:43] City Manager: And I'll handle that, Sean. When the city put in the 18-month agreement last year after we did go through the RFP process—and Council remembers how fun that was—we decided we would use that time to kind of work through numerous issues with the YMCA, both on their end (things that they weren't happy with that were clunky) and things on our end that we wanted to see improved in terms of best practices, more emphasis on non-fee generating revenue, passive income opportunities, third-party looks at how we're doing, what ideas can we implement. And the conversation over the last several months has evolved, and we're seeing that it's improved to the extent that, from a day-to-day perspective, we see no reason to go to an RFP right now. To be honest with you, we would not recommend that we go to an RFP. And I think because of the leadership we've seen from the YMCA board members, we feel very comfortable moving forward given the last couple months of negotiations with them.
[01:43:47] Mayor: Right. Any other comments?
[01:43:50] Councilmember: Madam Mayor, I think I had the same person call me. And when I really thought through this process, my thinking is, I think the request was to postpone this, but I don't see any gain in postponing this because there is an out on the contract, but we're heading into swim season. And I think it's beneficial for the city and the provider to come in with security in the contract. If our Parks and Rec Committee wants to continue to study, they can study to their heart's content with the benefit of time and a contract in place, so a secure option. So, I support this.
[01:44:30] Mayor: All great points. And I'd like to mention that we have been—the city has been more involved, working hand-in-hand with the YMCA. We've been looking at this in a very clear way, and for years we didn't do that, and we are now. And what we're seeing is increased attendance. We've watched David come up with some great ideas. Is it hot...
[01:45:01] Councilmember: ...summer nights and what's happened there has been outstanding. So there's this creativity, these approaches to building the community, and this is another—it has water in it, but it's another park in our city. It's an amenity to our city and our community members. And we've seen great progress, and in our meetings that Mayor Pro Tem Trott and I attend with the YMCA and the management and the marketing, we're seeing good things happen, and it's very encouraging. And we'd like to support them and watch that trajectory that we're seeing, that trend continue. And as Joe said, it's nice we have the time to do this right, and that's what we all want to support, it sounds to me. So those are my thoughts on it. I see it's moving in a good direction, and we're all watching carefully and doing our best work to make sure it continues. And there is the safeguard of the 90 days if we decide we want to change course, so you know, for that as well, because I also got the same phone call and I do want to be respectful of our volunteers, and I do appreciate them, if any of them are listening on Parks and Rec. But anyway, yes, I'm supportive of moving forward.
[01:46:27] Staff: Madame Mayor, I just want to note that there's no public comment on Zoom nor any speaker cards.
[01:46:32] Mayor: Thank you so much. Okay, I'll entertain a motion at this time.
[01:46:35] Councilmember: So moved.
[01:46:37] Councilmember: I'll second.
[01:46:39] Mayor: May we have a vote, please?
[01:46:43] Mayor: Motion passes 5 to 0. Thank you.
[01:46:50] Mayor: Our next is 14b, directions on materials for El Paseo raised crosswalks.
[01:47:00] Martin Alvarez: Good evening, Mayor, members of the City Council. Martin Alvarez, Director of Public Works. I just want to give you a quick update and background on the project that's proposed this summer, which is to add additional raised mid-block crossings on El Paseo, and also seek some direction in terms of what type of materials the City Council would prefer to use for these crossings. Just by way of background, you'll see on the map the locations of three existing block crossings, which are in purple. Just general number one, right in the middle of El Paseo in front of The Gardens on El Paseo. The next one to the east would be in front of generally Mama Gina's Restaurant, and then the third one is between The Gardens and Hotel Paseo on Larkspur Lane. The yellow ones you'll see to the west are the two proposed locations that have been studied: between Lupin and Sage, and between Sage and El Paseo. There is a third one that doesn't show up on this map that we've studied, that we will also propose to the east, basically between San Luis Rey and Portola Avenue, mid-block as well. And so what we want to do tonight, just give you—if we go to the next slide—just a little bit of history. These mid-block crossings were approved in 2019. They've been successful. They've been able to assist with pedestrian safety, pedestrian connectivity between both sides of the street, and they've been well received with the businesses. Over the last year, we've met with the City Council and also with the Active Transportation Committee to evaluate not only locations but materials. And now, basically, we want to reach out to you, and as this project is being planned for this summer as part of the paving project that's going to take place, we wanted to make sure that we get direction on the material you would like to see. We have an opportunity, if we go to the next slide, this is the—on the right, this is a current condition, the crossings with the floral pattern. So there's options to keep that asphalt look with or without the floral decoration, or to go into more of a paver pattern or concrete material. So those are the questions we would like to discuss with City Council, and we are open to answer any questions you may have. Thank you.
[01:49:37] Mayor: Thank you. Are there any public comments on this?
[01:49:44] Staff: No, Madame Mayor. Thank you so much.
[01:49:47] Councilmember: Before we get into this, because I do not want to forget on the Larkspur one—and you have a perfect picture, it's on page 530 of the packet, and it shows a, you know, kind of a caricature of a person...
[01:50:03] Speaker A: Crossing with an arrow underneath, those are so dangerous and we have to look at those on both sides of the street. Those signs with the arrows are something somebody's going to walk right into. We've got to take care of those. They're low enough, they're in a tough position. There are other signs on that street that are much higher showing the same thing. I don't know why those—and I don't know, this may be in one of the manuals for Public Works that says they have to be at that height, but we need to look at it because they're really dangerous. Okay, so that was my tangent and I'm back. Are there any questions or comments, please?
[01:50:53] Speaker B: Yeah, sorry. Just during the—I guess it was on page—well, it shows that we're going to have to replace three RRFB systems, install two new ones. It strikes me, is it unusual to have to replace an RRFB system in five years, or is there a more typical lifespan?
[01:51:11] Speaker C: There are some new safety guidelines that are coming current that we need to address. So, for instance, to give you an example, when you press the button to get across, you go to the mid-block, you have to press it again to get across. So now when you cross, just one button gets you all the way through. Those are the type of safety improvements that are going to be incorporated.
[01:51:35] Speaker B: So we're conforming with an unfunded mandate from Sacramento? New safety improvements. All right, there we go. Thank you.
[01:51:39] Speaker A: Any other questions?
[01:51:42] Speaker D: All right. My question is, as we're looking at the pavement options, are we going to make a decision by selecting, for example, A, the ones that are the solid blocks, or B, the ones that are alternating by pattern? And if we still have, I think, the original presentation, which is page 537—trying to get to the fine print—is that where we can look at the individual cost if we are making this decision based on costs and not aesthetics?
[01:52:14] Speaker C: We're recommending, if the Council wants to go in one direction or the other, that we go back to the Active Transportation Committee to go through those options and then look at costs as well. So that's the recommendation we're making as well.
[01:52:28] Speaker D: So if the recommendation is for direction, I think my preference would be towards the pavers. Not only on a life-cycle cost they're competitive with pavement, they also have an enhanced aesthetic that I think increases the feel on El Paseo and is a classier look, more enduring. And so, if looking for direction, that's my preference.
[01:52:57] Speaker A: Any other comments or thoughts?
[01:53:00] Speaker E: I agree on pavers. A little more classic, a little more durable.
[01:53:05] Speaker A: Well, this would be the third person then in wanting pavers. And we do have to look that there are places on El Paseo that currently have pavers, have bricks, so we want to make sure that we have something that is complimentary or at least consistent when we do it. But I absolutely support the pavers. I do have one additional question. I haven't taken time to look into it, as we're talking about Sacramento mandates and the decisions of our legislators. Does the current—I guess someone said if jaywalking is no longer ticketed, or is that just not a priority for our law enforcement partners? And if that is not the case, there is not necessarily an incentive for as many people to use the crosswalk. So, that's my question.
[01:53:56] Speaker C: Perhaps no longer illegal.
[01:53:58] Speaker A: Okay, so if it's no longer illegal to cross, then this again makes it slightly more of an aesthetic preference. I see a nod from people here that see that it's not necessarily people cross where we would like them to cross. So I just want to be sure to state for the record that this is more of an aesthetic improvement and less of a safety concern if people cross where they want.
[01:54:27] Speaker D: I would add to that, that that is an assessment on your part. I'm not sure that that's so. I am on El Paseo enough, I do see people use those crosswalks quite often, and it is a safety issue. And not only do people cross there more often, but it slows the cars down. Those raised crosswalks slow the cars down, and that's worth an awful...
[01:55:01] Councilmember: Have we taken any feedback from the El Paseo BID?
[01:55:06] Martine: We've consulted with them on the location of the crosswalks, and they were in favor of those locations.
[01:55:15] Councilmember: What about the materials?
[01:55:18] Martine: We did also approach them originally with basically replacement of the asphalt and potentially colored crosswalks. I don't know if Randy or Chris could opine whether or not, or maybe even Patrick could probably, might know what was the resolution from that board, or Thomas.
[01:55:57] Patrick Klein: Mayor, honorable Council, city manager, and staff. Patrick Klein, the general manager for the Gardens on El Paseo and the board president for the El Paseo parking and business improvement district for the city of Palm Desert. As Martine had mentioned, the locations had definitely been presented to us. Actually, we've had several meetings and presentations on proposed locations, and we were all as a board unified in agreement on those proposed locations, including the additional location you had spoken about between San Luis Rey and Portola, which is approximately at the footing of where Lupine is on the north side of the boulevard. As it relates to the material application, there have been discussions about how it's very important that—well, let me back up. When we did the demonstration bulb-outs and the painted-out crosswalks, there was a lot of public outcry about how that really, really didn't meet the standards and the aesthetics that we've come to know and love of what El Paseo is as the Rodeo Drive of Palm Desert. So as we have reviewed that plan, we've talked about how it is important to do elevated applications when we finally do something that is more permanent. So I can speak with a great level of confidence on behalf of the board that we would strongly support something to the effect of a paver stone application or something that is more elevated than just painted-out asphalt, which discolors and loses its luster and it just doesn't really meet the standard criteria that we like to see for the El Paseo district. So with that said, I'm happy to take any questions. I would also point to the comment that was made that some of those key areas where they're looking at providing this paver application, yeah, it does meet where we have paver stones in front of the Gardens and the Village. There's already that aesthetic. I mean, we have paver sidewalks, so it would tie in and connect nicely in those areas. You also look at the crosswalk that is right at the forefront of Daily Grill that connects over to Eddie V's, and that is like a cobblestone application. Mind you, it's not raised, but it's a very classy look, and so something to that effect, too, I think bodes very well for the district. So that said, I'll take any other questions you have. Otherwise, thank you for your consideration.
[01:58:16] Councilmember: Okay, I like what Mr. Klein has to say because it agrees with my opinion. Thank you.
[01:58:22] Mayor: Then it must be fact.
[01:58:25] Councilmember: So we're giving—my understanding is that the details will be implemented through a committee, subcommittee, so I would move the direction toward—you know, this is just for direction.
[01:58:34] Mayor: Yeah, so we're good. We don't need a motion.
[01:58:39] Staff: I don't think so, because what we've got is the direction sufficient, and we, I would imagine, will come back for adoption.
[01:58:47] Mayor: Thank you. Okay, 14C: Resolution declaring intention to establish the City Council of the City of Palm Desert—oh, no, I skipped there. Resolution declaring intention to establish the City of Palm Desert Community Facilities District No. 2025-1 (Marriott Shadow Ridge) Public Services and set a public hearing date for February 13, 2025.
[01:59:23] Eric Ceja: Good evening, Mayor, members of the City Council. Eric Ceja, Director of Economic Development. Tonight is a presentation for a resolution of intention to establish a Community Facilities District for Shadow Ridge. In early 2024, the City Council approved an amendment to a development agreement for Marriott Shadow Ridge. It removed approximately 18 acres, shown there in the vacant area on the east side of the property, to allow for new development. The amendment essentially took that 18 acres out of an obligation to pay a facility use fee, as well as it took away the obligation to develop timeshares in favor of developing a new single-family...
[02:00:01] City Staff: family home subdivision there for Toll Brothers. As part of those negotiations, there was an obligation for Marriott to provide the city $1.6 million upon transaction of that land. Marriott has met that obligation to date. And then the second obligation was to establish a new service CFD for this subdivision. So tonight's resolution of intention is for Community Facilities District 2012-1, Ridge Public Services. The range of public services include street and road maintenance, as well as public safety costs, or to offset public safety costs. The CFD is allowed through the Mello-Roos Community Facilities Act to fund certain services such as public safety and roadway improvements. As part of this, there's a rate and method of apportionment that's been negotiated at $2,200 per developed property. That's essentially a supplementary tax for future property owners that would be disclosed at the time of the sale. There's also an annual escalation of 2% for those fees, and the term would be for the next 30 years. The next steps would include tonight's adoption of a resolution of intention to establish the CFD. Staff would also then record a new boundary map by the end of this month, there for January 24th. We'd also set a new public hearing date for February 13th. And part of that action on February 13th, we'd establish a resolution for the formation. There'd be an election that is called for those property owners—it's currently held by a single property owner. We'd declare the results of that election, and ultimately an ordinance would be adopted for that special tax. That ordinance would then be ratified at a second reading sometime after that February 13th meeting date. That concludes my report. Eric Everhart with Toll Brothers is also available to answer any questions. We have consultants with Webb that are also online to answer any questions, and bond counsel is also here to answer any questions. Are there any questions or comments?
[02:02:09] Mayor: Okay, then I'll entertain a motion.
[02:02:14] City Clerk: Madame Mayor, yes, just for the record, I have no public comments online and no public comments in person. Thank you so much.
[02:02:24] Councilmember: Move approval.
[02:02:26] Councilmember: I will second.
[02:02:34] Mayor: Motion passes 5 to 0. Thank you. We will now go to Public Hearings A, and that is the introduction of an ordinance to amend sections of Title 25 of the Palm Desert Municipal Code and finding the actions exempt pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act. Sir?
[02:03:00] Nick Maloney: All right, thank you, Madame Mayor and honorable members of the City Council. Nick Maloney, Principal Planner with the Development Services Department. I'll be presenting this item, which for your consideration is the introduction of first reading for a zoning ordinance amendment, as well as finding that the action is exempt from further environmental analysis pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act. These changes will amend three sections of the current zoning ordinance with the intent of expanding public notice requirements for actions by the City on development projects and permit approvals, as well as community engagement. This request was initiated by the City Council, or as they directed City staff to research means of expanding public notice and community engagement. City staff presented policy options to the City Council in November of 2024 during a study session. City Council was supportive of those policy recommendations and also recommended the inclusion of expansion of notices to homeowners associations associated with hillside development plans. Staff presented the finalized version of that ordinance to the Planning Commission, who adopted a resolution recommending the City Council approve that zoning ordinance, and that brings us here today. So we'll go through each of those sections and what the amendments will include. So for Section 1, these changes will include an expansion of the general public notice requirement, that is the mailing radius around a project boundary, and all property owners within that area that will receive the notice. It is going to expand from 300 feet to 500 feet for any projects that are less than five acres, and the projects that are greater than five acres will continue to be noticed at 1,000 feet. We're also...
[02:05:00] Staff Member: ...expanding the noticing requirements to not only go to owners of real property but also to any associations that preside over common interest development, just to expand notice for that. We will also be requiring that notices be sent out when a project goes before the Architecture Review Commission if that project is then proceeding to Planning Commission and the City Council. So those will then, those will be noticed as public hearings. And lastly, as a part of this section, we are going to implement a requirement that a sign be posted on the project site when it's ready to go to a public hearing. That'll be like a 32-square-foot sign posted along a street frontage so that when residents drive by, they'll know there's an application and an upcoming public hearing on that project site.
[02:05:53] Staff Member: The second section will expand and clarify some of the existing requirements for community engagement meetings. The main change is that we will now be requiring two community engagement meetings. Those are meetings that are organized and conducted by the developer with City staff in attendance just to observe and answer questions related to the general plan or process, and to gain feedback from residents. Those are currently required, and they are really only required for projects that are 5 acres or greater. And we're also clarifying what those meetings should include, when they should be held, just to offer more clarity to developers when holding those, and require that the developers provide a summary report of any comments or concerns raised by residents so that that can factor into decision-makers' consideration on the project. And the intent is that this really applies to projects that the City has discretion over, so precise plans, tentative maps, specific plans, things like that, and not apply when we're preempted by state law for housing.
[02:07:09] Staff Member: And the final section that we're amending is expanding the notice to homeowners associations for hillside development plans. Currently, the requirement is that HOAs south of Haystack Road be notified at the request of Council. That'll be expanded to any HOA south of Highway 111. Just to close out, this meeting was noticed in accordance with local and state law. We haven't received any comments. And for CEQA, this qualifies for an exemption pursuant to the common sense exemption, CEQA Guidelines 15061(b)(3). That concludes staff's presentation. We're available to answer any questions.
[02:07:53] Mayor: Thank you. Are there any questions?
[02:07:56] Council Member 1: I have a couple of thoughts.
[02:07:58] Mayor: Are we questions or thoughts?
[02:08:00] Council Member 1: Oh, question.
[02:08:02] Mayor: Let's stick to questions now.
[02:08:03] Council Member 1: Okay. So one of my concerns is, as we move towards the development code update, I suspect we'll have more and more objective design guidelines. When we get to that point, I am concerned that introducing more community involvement in something that has more objective design guidelines would do neither the residents or the developer any good, because a lot of what they're meeting is just strictly to the code. I don't think we have to worry about that too much now, but as we get there, or as we approach that, my question is, in your opinion, does my concern have any warrant? And if so, is that something that staff will consider through the development of the development code update?
[02:08:58] Staff Member: Yeah, the comment is noted, and it is something that staff will consider. Staff is not concerned that these would create any lack of clarity going forward, that these will dovetail into any future updates made to the UDC, which of course, these could be refined as a part of that as well.
[02:09:16] Mayor: Are there any other questions? Questions? No? Any questions?
[02:09:23] Council Member 2: Thanks, Nick. Just for clarification on the HOA notification, we've got 4,000 feet with a 5-acre development, right?
[02:09:35] Staff Member: The 4,000 feet is for a hillside development plan. The 1,000-foot is for any project that's 5 acres or greater.
[02:09:43] Council Member 2: Got it. Okay, perfect. So if the front gate of an HOA is 1,000 feet away from a 5-acre development, does the entire HOA need to be notified? I mean, that could extend now, you know, that then all of a sudden triggers...
[02:09:58] Staff Member: Yes, but speaking from my...
[02:10:01] Staff: ...experience and working through some of these development projects, it may be best that the entire HOA receive that notification through the HOA, because that notification would go to whatever management association, and then it would be on them to notify the residents. Speaking anecdotally, my experience has been one resident falls within the boundary, gets the notice, their neighbor across the street doesn't get it, and they ask more questions. We feel that this would help quell that if the associations are also involved.
[02:10:35] Mayor Pro Tem Trusty: Does the cost or the burden of notification fall on the developer then, or does the developer notify the HOA, then it's up to the HOA to spread the word among their...
[02:10:46] Staff: There's two notices. The community engagement is organized by the developer. However, public hearing notice, because that's at the time that an item is scheduled for a public hearing, the City takes on the responsibility for organizing that. The cost of postage and staff hours would be accounted for in the application.
[02:11:05] Mayor Pro Tem Trusty: Okay, I'm just thinking that could effectively double or triple the distance or, you know, all of a sudden you bring in people within two to three thousand feet of a development.
[02:11:15] Staff: Yeah, to clarify, if an association... it would just go to the one contact for the association. We wouldn't send it to every member of a community, just those that fall within the 1,000-foot boundary.
[02:11:27] Mayor Pro Tem Trusty: Okay, I got it. Perfect. Sorry, that's what I meant. Okay. And then second, has this ordinance been sort of run by the Builders Association?
[02:11:38] Staff: Yes, during the... we sent out the initial draft to the Desert Valley Builders Association. We received their comments and incorporated them into a revised draft that was presented to the Planning Commission.
[02:11:48] Mayor Pro Tem Trusty: Okay, but by and large happy, or they were understanding?
[02:11:52] Mayor Pro Tem Trusty: Perfect, thank you.
[02:11:55] Mayor: Are there any other questions? Okay, we'll open the public hearing then at this time. Are there any public comments?
[02:12:02] City Clerk: No public comments via Zoom and none in person.
[02:12:08] Mayor: Okay, then are there anyone who would you like to speak in opposition or in favor?
[02:12:14] Councilmember Nande: Yeah, I think this is so important that we make these changes and involve larger reach to our community members so that they are at least... they realized they had the opportunity, that they were noticed. Because so often we've been hearing people come up here and speak for their three minutes and say they had no idea this project was going up. And so this is a huge, I believe, step in the right direction. There's so much building going on in the north end of our city, and I think that is really going to help us relate to our community members because sometimes there's the... there's the misconception that we were trying to approve a project and not let them know. And I think this will go a long way in building transparency and trust with our residents.
[02:13:09] Mayor: And my error, I should have closed the public hearing before... no, not you, that this was my error. So are there any other comments from my colleagues?
[02:13:20] Councilmember: No, my only comment is that, and Mr. Maloney and Ken... Ken, and even Seha who's dealt with land use, you know, we can plaster the whole city with notices and we're still going to have people come and say, 'I didn't know.' In which case, I argue that the fact that they're here, the system worked, and they have their opportunity to have their voice heard. It's just... I'm okay with this. I just wanted to opine that in my experience, we're still going to get it. It's inevitable.
[02:13:51] Councilmember: If I may add a final thought, I concur. As Councilmember Nande mentioned, this is... any extra step that we can take helps to build that trust. I appreciate, as Mayor Pro Tem Trusty asked, if it touches only one home, who does the notification? And I'm happy that again, that burden goes to the entire HOA. One of the residents that came and spoke at public comment mentioned that when they received notices from the developer, they assumed it was junk mail. And yes, that's their unfortunate mistake. Yes, that falls on their responsibility to open their mail. But if they're getting a notice from the HOA, it's more likely that they're going to pay attention to it, and that's a big benefit without costing us anything substantial. So thank you for finding a way to do that, Mr. Maloney. I know that they really put you through the ringer on some of these projects, and this was a great way to approach it. Thank you.
[02:14:49] Mayor: Any other comments? Okay, I'll entertain a motion.
[02:14:55] Councilmember: I will move to approve.
[02:15:04] Mayor: Second motion passes 5 to zero. Thank you.
[02:15:08] Mayor: We'll now go to 15b, approve Outside Agency funding committee recommendations for program year 2025-26 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Action Plan.
[02:15:25] Veronica Chavez: Good afternoon, honorable Mayor, members of the City Council. Veronica Chavez. I drew the short straw, so I am pinch-hitting for Joe Baron. CDBG is an annual program that we bring to you. This year, it was a little bit accelerated given the fact that we are working with the County now as administrators. And so, as an entitlement city, the City of Palm Desert receives an annual allocation from HUD for CDBG funds. Those funds can be used to provide decent housing, create suitable living environments, and expand economic opportunities. We also attempt to meet national objective requirements that benefit low- and moderate-income families, eliminate blight, and address urgent threats to health and safety with our CDBG funds. This year, the recommendations went to the Outside Agency Committee early in December, on December 18th, and the committee considered staff's recommendation of allocating the $365,000 that we're anticipating for '25-'26. As you see here on this sheet, 15% of our allocation can be provided for public service. There is no limit on the amount that we can provide for public facilities and improvements. And then we have a 20% cap on admin, and so the relationship between the County and the City is paid through that portion of the allocation. So, as you can see, that's how we allocated it and how the committee approved it for recommendation to Council. So tonight, what we'd like to do is obviously conduct the public hearing that's necessary to approve the CDBG Grant Action Plan, approve the committee's recommendation of use of the '25-'26 CDBG funds, and also approve the City's Action Plan for '25-'26 and authorize the City Manager to sign and execute any of the needed documents to effectuate this action. That concludes my presentation. If you have any questions, please, I'm here to answer them. Thank you.
[02:17:42] Mayor: Thank you. Are there any questions?
[02:17:45] Councilmember: Who's on the subcommittee or the committee that made the recommendations?
[02:17:49] Veronica Chavez: It is the Mayor and the Mayor Pro Tem.
[02:17:54] Mayor: Any other questions? Okay, we'll open the public hearing. Are there any public comments?
[02:18:02] Staff: No public comments, Madame Mayor.
[02:18:05] Mayor: Okay, I see none in the room, so we will close the public hearing. And are there any comments at the Council? No? Then I'll entertain a motion.
[02:18:18] Councilmember: A motion to approve.
[02:18:20] Councilmember: I'll second the motion.
[02:18:27] Mayor: Motion passes 5 to zero. Thank you. We have no more unfinished business. I would like tonight to adjourn the meeting in the name of our 39th President, James Earl Carter. And if we can have just a moment, just a couple moments, and think about what he's done for the country during his presidency and certainly after his presidency, it would be befitting to show that respect. And I thank you for that moment. Seeing no unfinished business, this meeting stands adjourned.