Palm Desert City Council - Regular Meeting, November 13, 2025

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AI transcript text.

[00:00:25] Mayor: Good afternoon. I have a little explaining to do. All of everything that we did tonight took a little more discussion than we had anticipated. So, we're a little behind in time. We took our closed session. We are back to continue our study session. So, if we can do that, is that okay? Yes. And then we'll... Okay. Then we'll go on our regular agenda.
[00:00:51] Staff: And Madam Mayor, if I could just make one quick announcement. There's a speaker card. The address is Valencia. I don't have a name.
[00:01:02] Mayor: Thank you. Okay, Miss Mure.
[00:01:07] Miss Mure: Thank you. And good afternoon again. Continuing on the presentation from the study session, the next topic that we were going to look into is the California State University San Bernardino park site. Staff, understanding that there were some recreational needs to be met in the north end of the city, did meet with CSUSB staff to kind of pursue this collaborative approach on a regional park site. The discovery on this has been over a year and multiple meetings, and we've developed a mutually agreed upon concept plan that could work. It's nothing that is set in stone and completely draft form, but something that could work and meets the needs of both the city and the university. And then we've also done a formal appraisal.
[00:01:53] Miss Mure: So the potential park site, it does mitigate for some of those intensive uses. It's the stormwater management component, as we discussed in the north end of the city, larger athletic fields for our youth sports and recreation programs. And then there's not as much neighboring residential, so it allows for more of that sports lighting and intensive uses. So here is the acreage on that potential park site. The initial discussions again started over a year ago. It meets those needs, and then it would activate the college campus, which is one of the council's goals. It aligns with the needs through public engagement. You can see there are three full-size soccer fields there, pickleball, basketball, playground, and then there's potential for expansion for other park uses as well.
[00:02:40] Miss Mure: As a comparison between the UNSP site and the CSUSB site, there are several factors that we want to discuss. For the UNSP site, it would be a purchase one time from Sarda. And for the CSUSB site, what we've discussed with the college is a 20-year lease at $250,000 per year. That's based on the appraisal. There's an escalator factored in there that brings it up to $6 million over the 20-year term, and then there would be an option for a 20-year renewal. After that, the options are unclear but would need to be negotiated. They both provide similar park sizes and amenities. As Carlos mentioned, the UNSP site can be changed, and some of the parcels of land that are designated as open space can be consolidated to accommodate more park space if needed. There's some differences in park use and access. If it is at the college site, then the college campus would like to have designated use for its students during the weekdays.
[00:03:39] Miss Mure: And then parking and security. There is somewhat of a concern about parking because it will be proximate to the college site, and we expect that students would use it for parking. However, a public park site in the UNSP would not have that same challenge. Community benefits are very similar. Again, there is a benefit on activating the college campus site. There are some known infrastructure challenges at the college campus site. However, there's going to be some utility coordination at both. And then the neighboring community impact I discussed.
[00:04:13] Miss Mure: So a comparative summary is the difference in the site, the purchase versus the annual lease. The amenities are pretty similar, but the maintenance is also going to be proportionate to the number of acres. We expect that to be over $100,000 a year. I think it was $200,000 per year. And then use and operation: it would be primarily for public use at the UNSP site, but at the CSU site, there would be some designated time specifically for students. And then construction and improvements. This is a sticking point because we're dealing with this at Washington Charter, replacing shade structures and things like that. Anything that you do on a school site that's over eight feet in height does have to be reviewed by the State Architect. So any plans for...
[00:05:02] Staff: Development and things like that would go through the state architect for approval.
[00:05:07] Staff: So in summary, both park sites meet the community needs, but there is a need for significant investment in parks and recreation in the city, especially on the north end. There is the unmet need for athletic fields right now. The NSRP site does address that by providing a city-owned park, and it does have some flexibility in programming. The size may be adjusted at the CSUSB site. It also accommodates the need for those athletic fields, but there is a higher cost for the land and the flexibility is less.
[00:05:40] Staff: So, in summary, we'd like to have the council's input on two main questions. Can the NSRP sufficiently accommodate the park needs for the community in the council's opinion? And can we adjust that site to allow for that flexibility? And then, does the CSUSB site continue to sound like a feasible option that the council would like staff to pursue further?
[00:06:05] Mayor: Excuse me, staff is asking for direction on these issues. Please provide clear, succinct comments back. Who would like to ask questions or give comments?
[00:06:21] Councilmember 1: Okay. Earlier in the presentation, you mentioned the survey that was conducted among residents, and the number one need identified was for pickleball courts. Was that survey conducted before or after the civic center conversion from tennis to pickleball? Do you know?
[00:06:38] Staff: That survey was conducted about the same time that that conversion happened.
[00:06:42] Councilmember 1: Okay. And then how many pickleball courts will we have at Irwin?
[00:06:48] Staff: Four.
[00:06:49] Councilmember 1: Okay. Because I mean, if that demand is reduced then—and this is what I've been hearing at parks and rec and from residents in general—is that athletic fields for kids is a huge demand as well. So pickleball is removed by virtue of the conversion here in Irwin, and soccer then moves up to the number one demand. So I just want to bring that to folks' attention, that that number may change over time. And also, Carlos mentioned something about retention. You know, when retention is included in this site plan, it takes the burden off the developers and therefore it incentivizes them. They can then on their property build more homes. So that's what he meant by that, right?
[00:07:31] Carlos: Yes, I did. Yeah. And not just for the residential component, but also the commercial component that could be in there, that that retention area could be potentially used for that.
[00:07:40] Councilmember 1: Okay.
[00:07:41] Staff: But retention isn't done at the expense of park space. It can be included or incorporated into the park space by like disc golf and things like that.
[00:07:48] Carlos: Yeah. Our—the idea was you could use the retention areas for multi-purpose, whether it's—disc golf was one of the, you know, active, one active park uses, or passive with trails or landscape.
[00:08:00] Councilmember 1: And freedom uses soccer?
[00:08:01] Carlos: Right, and there's some that soccer, I believe at Dave Irwin, some of the—some of the sports, the soccer area is going to be retention as well.
[00:08:08] Councilmember 1: So that's not an official size soccer field, just so everybody knows. Can't be used for actual leagues. Okay, that's all I have for now.
[00:08:14] Mayor: Okay, any other questions or comments?
[00:08:16] Councilmember 2: I have—well, I was going to give input.
[00:08:20] Mayor: Please.
[00:08:20] Councilmember 2: Okay, so I am a—I firmly support the University Park location. And I also, for years now, was under the impression that athletic fields were going to be a priority. And so they require more acreage than 22 acres. And I'll just take a few seconds to read a few sentences from a letter I received from somebody on the parks and rec. And I believe he speaks for a majority. It says, 'Our entire committee was shocked to say the least. None of us ever remember any proposal of a 23-acre park like what is proposed. We've always talked about a 40-acre park.' And then I'll skip over a lot, but basically, our youth athletic fields are already overcrowded, and I believe that needs to be a priority in anything we do. And I like having control over—I believe it's important for the city to own the land.
[00:09:24] Mayor: Okay. Any other, please?
[00:09:28] Councilmember 3: I fully support moving forward with feasibilities of why it would be essential to have this. I fully agree that this would activate the campus, economic development surrounding it. My only or two suggestions would be if—just ensure that we have the heat reflective surfaces, and how to get free Wi-Fi in the parks. I've seen that in Mexico City and other large cities. If we're going to be that close to the campus, I think we can find a way to have people there a little bit longer and engage, and just support and activate in the meantime. Thank you.
[00:10:01] Council Member Pedetto: In terms of is the CSUSB site a feasible option to further explore, my bias is towards city-occupied, owned, controlled so that we have the most accessibility for our residents. So that's directionally how I would support that. And then Carlos, the presentation shows that all in the university specific plan can accommodate about 56 acres of programmed—it says programmable with mixed use, but it's recreational uses, correct?
[00:10:37] Carlos: Correct. And to be clear, that 56 acres is within the 170 area. So the entirety of, you know, including the existing, that would total about 90-something acres. The 56 is just in the 170.
[00:10:48] Council Member Pedetto: And then can you speak or somebody speak to what the recreation committee had to say about the 22-acre space? Aside from that, what kind of conversation was there? I kind of want to understand if you presented to them that we can consolidate to a bigger consolidated space, and did you guys have that conversation?
[00:11:15] Carlos: We did. There was a presentation I gave to them. Where they were concerned really was on that 22 number and that block we came up with, and it not being bigger in the offset, right, out of the 56 acres, that 22 just not being larger. There were previous community meetings where maybe that was larger and it shifted to create programming throughout, again, for retention as well as creating those buffers along the major roads. So some of that did shift. But ultimately, you know, with that and what I was trying to explain was also the other programming that's needed within the 170, the housing and the commercial. But also, you know, for you all, right, that 22-acre number is not locked in for that block. It can become bigger if the programming and the design is better that way.
[00:12:18] Council Member Pedetto: I would support going that direction. I think the retention basin that we can program is a good way to help incentivize developers and help them pencil out while getting some really good amenities.
[00:12:32] Council Member: Great. Okay, here are my comments. I have real issues thinking that we should pay the CSUSB $6 million for a lease for 20 years and then they'll allow us to lease it for a few more years for even more money after we gave them that land, and then we will have limited use of it. As much as I want to support CSUSB, this just isn't working. So that one is easy for me. The next one is, can it sufficiently accommodate park needs for the city? I do believe it can, but 22 acres isn't enough. And so somehow we've got to figure out how to make a bigger space for our community members, our youth, for everybody who needs to use it for all the good reasons we have parks. And the retention basin is great. I know, like I said, in Freedom Park, they use it for a soccer field. So there's lots of potential there, but we have to make sure that that is bigger than 22 acres. That size will not accommodate the needs of the growth in the north end for our families and for those who want to use a park. So those are—you have all of our thoughts.
[00:13:47] Carlos: Thank you very much.
[00:13:48] Mayor: Thank you. Okay, we have one more study session item. And again, those of you who may have just entered, we had a lot of discussion on everything, so we're running a little behind, but we're going to hang in there with us. And we apologize for the delay. The next one is 2E, and welcome, Miss Powell.
[00:14:11] Ms. Powell: Thank you, Mayor, and members of the City Council. Today I bring before you study session item, a lease agreement with Golden Voice. Golden Voice hosts the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and is internationally recognized for its large-scale interactive installations. Today staff is asking for Council to provide direction regarding a potential 10-year lease with Golden Voice for installation of Taffy by Stephanie Lynn at Civic Center Park. Should City Council determine the artwork or proposed location is not suitable, staff requests direction on maintaining collaboration with Golden Voice and the public art company to pursue future artwork. Oh, apologies. When commissioning works, Golden Voice...
[00:15:02] Erica: ...and the public artwork prioritize shade and seating for the large-scale artworks. Staff initiated discussions with Golden Voice and the Public Art Company to explore potentials for Palm Desert. Through the process, Civic Center Park was identified as a potential location due to visibility of the San Pablo corridor, accessibility to public parking, and its well-integrated community offerings.
[00:15:31] Erica: Taffy by Stephanie Lynn is composed of five vertical towers ranging from 25 feet tall to 50 feet tall. The towers are built with lightweight frames wrapped in translucent scalloped mesh fabric. The material creates a shimmering moiré effect as sunlight passes through them with colors that reference the mid-century design. Circular benches at the base provide shaded seating and create a natural gathering space.
[00:16:00] Erica: Golden Voice is the commissioning owner and will maintain ownership of the entity of Taffy. The Public Art Company serves as Golden Voice's representative and oversees transport, installation, and long-term maintenance, coordinating directly with the artist. The city would prepare the site, lighting, landscape, foundations, and replacement of benches.
[00:16:27] Erica: The economic benefits that the artwork would bring include tourism and visitor activity. Cities that host Coachella artworks report strong tourism interest, especially through regional promotions with Palm Springs Life and Visit Greater Palm Springs. Cultural identity: hosting festival artworks reinforces Palm Desert's commitment to the arts and complements the city's public art collection. It also enhances our public-private partnership and the long-term value to the city. A 10-year lease offers opportunities for community engagement, events, and park activation over time.
[00:17:10] Erica: The financial impact: the total project cost is not expected to exceed $300,000, and it's funded entirely through the public art fund, and no general fund monies would be used at this time. There's the breakdown. Most of the costs here are for transport and installation. The fees at the top would include a small artist fee and the fee for the Public Art Company to basically organize all of the installation and transport.
[00:17:46] Erica: And here are some renderings at the location, a potential location at Civic Center Park. Obviously, there would be some landscape changes, but this is just a general overview of what the rendering would look like. And here's an aerial view of where it would go. And with that, I would take any questions and your feedback.
[00:18:18] Speaker: Are there any questions or comments?
[00:18:22] Councilmember: Please. I was at the Cultural Arts Committee meeting when this was presented, and I want to share that meeting tends to go long because there's a lot of varying opinions. This actually had a lot of support in unison, and I want to go back to what we were talking about, the Marrakesh and the colors and what it means to the sunset. Part of the way that the mesh is layered, it will change throughout the day, and because of where they are, the shade will also change throughout the day. So it'll be multi-use. And I think that another component is that we ensure during that discussion that because it's perforated, there are no concerns with any wind, and should there be any damages, Golden Voice is fully responsible. So I think at this point, our only concern is: do we like it, yes or no? Because it can already be paid for. It's not general fund, it's sustainable, has economic impact, and is not any safety concern.
[00:19:25] Erica: Yeah. And if I may, it will be fully engineered for wind and structural.
[00:19:29] Councilmember: Thank you.
[00:19:31] Speaker: Cool. Please.
[00:19:32] Councilmember: Okay. So, thank you for the presentation, Erica. How much money do we have in that public arts fund?
[00:19:40] Erica: Currently, there's 1.5 million.
[00:19:43] Councilmember: And on an annual basis, how much is typically spent, or what other demands are there on that fund? And how much comes in on an annual basis?
[00:19:50] Erica: That varies from year to year. However, this piece has been appropriated in our CIP budget. We currently have appropriated for Coachella Festival...
[00:20:00] Speaker: Artwork.
[00:20:01] Speaker: Okay.
[00:20:02] Speaker: For this amount.
[00:20:03] Speaker: And you may have covered this, I'm sorry if you did. How long will it stay?
[00:20:08] Speaker: The current lease is for 300,000. Oh, sorry, I went backwards. For 10 years, but within the draft agreement, they can extend that agreement.
[00:20:19] Speaker: Okay, perfect. Thank you.
[00:20:21] Speaker: Any other questions or comments?
[00:20:22] Speaker: I like it. Very cool.
[00:20:25] Speaker: I think it's great.
[00:20:26] Speaker: Okay, you may see this on the next meeting. Thank you.
[00:20:29] Mayor Harnick: It'll be an asset to Civic Center. Thank you. Okay, so that concludes our study session. Now, we're going to open the Palm Desert City Council meeting. It is 4:22. This is Thursday, November 13, 2025. This is a joint meeting of the Palm Desert City Council, successor agency to the Palm Desert Redevelopment Agency, Palm Desert Housing Authority, and the Palm Desert Board of Library Trustees. So, let's move on and we'll call the meeting to order. Are there any public comments? We have none. Roll call, please.
[00:21:16] City Clerk: Councilmember...
[00:21:17] City Clerk: Councilmember Nestandi?
[00:21:18] Councilmember Nestandi: Here.
[00:21:18] City Clerk: Councilmember Pedto?
[00:21:19] Councilmember Pedto: Here.
[00:21:20] City Clerk: Councilmember Kindania?
[00:21:22] City Clerk: Mayor Pro Tem Trouy?
[00:21:23] Mayor Pro Tem Trouy: Here.
[00:21:24] City Clerk: Mayor Harnick?
[00:21:25] Mayor Harnick: Here.
[00:21:25] City Clerk: All councils present.
[00:21:26] Mayor Harnick: Thank you very much. We'll have the Pledge of Allegiance now. It'll be led by Councilmember Nestandi, and our inspiration is by Councilmember Pedetto.
[00:21:44] Councilmember Nestandi: ...United States... nation... indivisible, and justice for all.
[00:22:00] Mayor Harnick: Okay. Thank you. And inspiration, please.
[00:22:02] Councilmember Pedetto: I'm going to do something a little different. I've asked staff to cue up a video. And while they do that, there's an old story about a Greek philosopher who was sharing his hypothesis that the world rested upon the back of a turtle. Another philosopher questioned that and said, 'Upon what does that turtle rest?' And the philosopher says, 'Another turtle.'
[00:23:52] Councilmember Pedetto: So after repeatedly being questioned upon what does the world rest and upon what does that turtle rest, the philosopher, annoyed, said, 'It's turtles all the way down.' 'Because of the bones' is my new favorite expression for things that just have no basis. And you might be asking, 'How or why, Joe, why are you sharing, you know, levity and inspiration?' Well, I find inspiration in humor, and this also inspires me to be humble about what I know. And may we continue to be humble in seeking truth and making good decisions.
[00:24:32] Mayor Harnick: Thank you. Okay, is there any report out from closed session?
[00:24:38] City Attorney: No reportable action taken in closed session this afternoon. Thank you.
[00:24:41] Mayor Harnick: Okay, we'll now move to awards, presentations, and appointments. And we're going to start with a proclamation for Burgett and Paul Mohler. And I'd like perhaps Karen and Bergot to join me in front.
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[00:30:00] Speaker: Thank you to the people in Palm Desert and in the valley who have supported us all these years and who has made it possible for us to raise a family and have a home and feel the love of a community. So, thank you for supporting us.
[00:30:23] Speaker: Do you want—any, you want to say anything? I knew she wouldn't want to say anything. They've done so much for our community. And in fact, as we dug through about the Mullers, I think they were here actually before our city was incorporated. So maybe that's why we're here today. So, thank you.
[00:31:19] Speaker: ...to read the Civic Academy.
[00:31:29] Ryland Penta: Good afternoon, members of the community, our city council members and city staff. My name is Ryland Penta...
[00:31:36] Shelby Goodwin: ...and I'm Shelby Goodwin...
[00:31:37] Ryland Penta: ...and we are so honored to recognize the graduating class of the autumn 2025 Palm Desert Civic Academy. The Civic Academy is a program that we do twice a year. It's a five session course. You get to learn the ins and outs or as I like to say the from art to zoning of Palm Desert A to Z. And there's just a great opportunity for collaboration, community partnership, learning what the staff does, but also getting feedback from these residents, business owners, students. It's a great way to enhance our community spirit. And we have a great collection of people here that went through the program, committed their time, dedication to our community, and we want to applaud and recognize them as they come up and receive their certificates. So one by one we will call them up and they can take their certificate and also stand back here for a group photo. So we will start with Eileen Lynch, Cynthia Buckner, Shila Crane, Irene Kiteon, and Matthew Kiteon, Monnique Dempsey, Ben Green,
[00:33:38] Shelby Goodwin: Lindseay Harris,
[00:33:49] Ryland Penta: Jeffrey Keeling, Jerry Neighbors, Christopher Martinez,
[00:34:14] Shelby Goodwin: Elena Moiva, Veronica Platt, Ana Ramirez, Tony Shu, Jasmine Villan Nova, Paulo Wildermouth.
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[00:40:00] Speaker: professionals and adult learners, and most are in entry and mid-level roles.
[00:40:07] Speaker: The majority of our programs are actually online, but we do have face-to-face programs as well. And I just want to highlight that over the last couple of years, we've seen a 40% increase year-over-year in online enrollments in the Coachella Valley, which has been remarkable for us.
[00:40:25] Speaker: We also do courses in person at Palm Desert Center and at the University of California, Riverside. We can also bring custom programs to businesses and to city governments. So we offer a lot of opportunities at Palm Desert Center.
[00:40:46] Speaker: We offer a nonprofit management program in collaboration with the RAP Foundation. We offer a teacher education program at Palm Desert Center. And we also have a very vibrant Osher Lifelong Learning Institute with nearly 500 members who are taking classes on current events and taking classes for personal enrichment.
[00:41:11] Speaker: We have a number of events and lectures at Palm Desert Center. We do nearly 500 events and lectures at Palm Desert Center per year with up to 8,000 participants per year on average over the last several years. So we do a lot at Palm Desert Center.
[00:41:32] Speaker: Aside from our open enrollment courses, the events and lectures that we do at Palm Desert Center, we offer custom training for businesses, for school districts, for nonprofits, and for city governments.
[00:41:45] Speaker: And so, for example, we do city staff training. And we have a number of programs that I just highlight here, including Applied AI for City Government, AI and Human Intelligence, a Human-Centered Design Bootcamp, AI-Powered Process Optimization, Introduction to Productivity Tools for Business Efficiency, Human Resources Management, Supervision and Leadership, among others.
[00:42:15] Speaker: In addition to the training that we do, we partner with cities. And just as one example, we partner with cities, we partner with nonprofits, we partner with businesses.
[00:42:28] Speaker: One example that we're really proud of recently is with the City of Coachella. We did a business training program with the city where we offered three courses: Business Readiness, Business English, and a Micro MBA—essentially the fundamentals of an MBA program in 40 hours. And we just had 68 graduates who graduated from that at Palm Desert Center in August. And we have another cohort that's going through this program right now.
[00:42:56] Speaker: We love to partner with cities, and we love to write grant proposals together with cities to get funding for that kind of training. And so that's something that we're very, very active in doing.
[00:43:12] Speaker: We also partner with businesses. We work with businesses. We'd love to do that more here in Palm Desert. We were just recently funded by Riverside County Housing and Workforce Solutions for a layoff aversion program, essentially where we can offer training and consultation to businesses that have 10 employees or more to avoid layoffs or to avoid the businesses shutting down.
[00:43:40] Speaker: We've just signed that contract with the county. We'd love to offer that program here in Palm Desert. We also do Employee Training Panel—have ETP or Employee Training Panel funding, which offers free training to businesses. Businesses are paying into that tax for the state, and we can offer training for staff of businesses through that ETP funding.
[00:44:14] Speaker: I just want to highlight a couple—just a couple of other things. We also provide educational access for those who do not have access to education, to higher education. So we were just recently funded by the California Employment Development Department for a farmworkers program, where we're offering free training to farmworkers in early childhood education and in English as a second language.
[00:44:43] Speaker: And what they're doing is they're taking a year of classes with us, and by the end, they are trained to get their license in early childhood education from the State of California. And we're targeting farmworkers, and it happens that every single...
[00:45:01] Dean Von: student that is enrolled in this class right now. We're serving 59 farm workers right now. They're all female, they're all seasonal farm workers or unemployed farm workers. And so we're really proud of this program and happy that we're able to serve this constituency. And then just finally, I just want to mention that we're always developing new programs to serve the entire region, including the Coachella Valley and hopefully the city here. And we're looking to diversify the economy in the Inland Empire in clean energy. This is another area where we're funded by the Riverside County Housing and Workforce Solutions. So we're developing three programs: EV diagnostic technician, which is a step—so all of the community colleges in the region, including College of the Desert, have an EV technician program. Diagnostic technician is a slightly more advanced program that allows technicians to skill up, essentially. We're also doing a sustainable transportation and circular economy program and emerging grid technologies. Those are all funded by Riverside County. And then finally, we're also developing a semiconductor manufacturing and testing program with our College of Engineering at UCR. So, just to give you an overview of the kinds of things we're doing at UCR University Extension, some of those, again, at Palm Desert Center. Much of that is online as well. So, thank you very much, and I'm happy to take any questions that you might have.
[00:46:42] Council Member: Thank you very much. Are there questions?
[00:46:44] Council Member: May I ask a question? This is all exciting that you're bringing a lot of these, and the combination of having, you know, online programs because it is a substantial drive for people that are employed full-time. Where do you have your EV diagnostic technician program? Wouldn't that require some sort of hands-on experience?
[00:47:05] Dean Von: So, we don't have the program yet. We just contracted with the county to do that. Most of that is going to be online, and we're actually partnering with an extended reality platform that gives you—it's not exactly like hands-on, but it's nearly like hands-on experiences. And so we're doing that with this particular program.
[00:47:33] Council Member: Same thing with the semiconductor manufacturing. What's the vision for that?
[00:47:37] Dean Von: So, with the semiconductor manufacturing program, we're also partnering with this third-party vendor. But the idea is that's the way that we're going to scale training in these different programs. But we'll also be offering experiences at UCR in clean rooms for the semiconductor program. That's a lot more difficult to scale, and it's very, very expensive to have clean rooms. We have them there at UCR, and so we're hoping that we can train—and with the semiconductor program, we're hoping that we can train starting in high schools and then working through college-age learners as well as working adults. And then some small subset of those individuals that we train with the online program will have the opportunity to be in clean rooms at UCR.
[00:48:35] Council Member: Wonderful. That's why UCR keeps getting named as one of the top schools for upward mobility. So, thanks for bringing us to the future. Go Highlanders.
[00:48:45] Council Member: Any other questions or thoughts?
[00:48:47] Council Member: Thank you very much, Dean Von. Thank you. Thank you.
[00:48:52] Council Member: Okay, we'll move to City Manager comments.
[00:48:56] City Manager: We just have a brief update from Lieutenant Boris.
[00:49:06] Lieutenant Boris: Good afternoon, everybody. With the rain coming this weekend, we want to remind everybody, give you a few tips to be careful out there. Make sure you slow down. Wet roads mean longer stopping distances. Give extra time to react. Turn on your headlights; it helps others see you at night and during the day. Increase following distances. It gives the car in front of you the opportunity to—or if the car in front of you decides to stop quickly, it gives you the chance to make sure you can react and slow down in time. And if conditions worsen, please do not take a risk. Delay your travel, especially if our city roads go out there and put some barricades up. If you drive around those barricades, one, you can increase the danger of somebody having to come rescue you and the issues that create there, but you also can get ticketed. So, we don't want any of that. And last, I want to kind of give you an update regarding
[00:50:00] Lieutenant: A new law that happened, uh, it went into effect in June of 2025 regarding the no-touch cell phone law. There's a lot of, uh, questions we get about that. And this law was actually meant to create the—or lessen the confusion about it. In reality, what you need to do when you—if you're driving using a cell phone, it needs to be mounted on a vehicle or a mount in your car and must be securely mounted on your dashboard or windshield. Use voice commands such as Siri, Google, Alexa, whatever your car has or your phone has. And single swipes is okay as long as it's mounted. But you can't be holding it while you're driving around, stopping, checking, uh, your messages at a red light. That can result in a citation. So, we want to make sure that people do not drive with their phones, holding it. I know some people are accustomed to it, but we want to make sure that people put them down and drive attentively so that we don't have any accidents.
[00:51:01] Mayor: Thank you.
[00:51:02] Council Member: So, thank you very much. Appreciate—a good idea when they're walking, too.
[00:51:06] Lieutenant: That too. Especially when you're crossing through a—sometimes we see it that, well, they're crossing through a crosswalk and people are walking. We don't want that either. So—
[00:51:14] Council Member: It's bad for your posture and it's bad for your life. Put your phone down.
[00:51:18] Lieutenant: Thank you very much.
[00:51:19] Mayor: Thank you so much for the reminders. Okay, we'll move to council member reports and requests for actions. Can we begin with Council Member Petto, please?
[00:51:31] Council Member Petto: Earlier today, we had the study session on the UDC update, but continuing on is our UDC.
[00:51:39] Council Member: UDC, what is it?
[00:51:41] Council Member Petto: Oh, that is our Unified Development Code. So, I—I'm letting the public know that right now the City Council is engaged in an overhaul of our development standards and codes. And, uh, we had a little conversation about that and letting the colleagues here know that the hillside discussions continue. Um, Mayor Hick and I serve on that subcommittee, and then the downtown conversations continue. So we'll see those coming forward, but for the public, know that lots of changes are coming. And if Ryland's here, I think Engage Palm Desert's a good place to—to go to stay up to speed on some of the changes coming, for those of you here who are—are high-information consumers of—of news and city news. So just be aware of big changes that could potentially be coming. Uh, in short, I think part of the work is to protect the city's hillside views and create very good developments, uh, but also making it easier to build to comply with state laws. So that's—that's coming. But in one of our downtown meetings, uh, Councilwoman Kintine and I, um, learned—or actually, she educated me on, uh, a situation we have, uh, 'homeless alley.' Alessandro Boulevard or Alessandro is known as 'homeless alley.' And we've made such good progress on homelessness, I wanted to bring this attention to the attention of the City Manager and staff to see what, um, if—if you're aware of it. If not, um, make you aware of it because we have residents who are feeling very unsafe in that area, and I want to make sure that no one feels unsafe in our city. So, we've given direction and resources, and we just want to make sure you have what you need from us to do—to do a good job to protect and make our residents feel safe. Thank you.
[00:53:43] City Manager: Uh, we were made aware of the concern last week, and since then, we always have ongoing enforcement and resources provided, but we've increased that on that corridor. So, in specific, increasing our enforcement efforts as well as resources for those in need.
[00:53:56] Council Member Petto: Okay. Thank you. And I heard we had, uh, just, uh, cleared out an encampment just this week or last week. Two—two nights ago. So—
[00:54:04] City Manager: This week.
[00:54:05] Council Member Petto: Great. Uh, the other thing I want to report is a couple weeks ago I was driving around. I saw a lot of traffic stops. Thank you, Lieutenant. Um, one of the things that I have friends who are in law enforcement remind me, although they're inconvenient, nobody likes to get pulled over, and they say, 'Why can't you just focus on bigger criminals?' I remind the public that traffic stops often lead to major arrests because we have the opportunity to run warrants and things like that. So, uh, good job to our sheriff's, uh, deputies out there hitting the street, and, uh, thanks for everyone who just understands they're doing their job and it's—it's nothing personal.
[00:54:45] Mayor: Thank you, Council Member Kintania.
[00:54:49] Council Member Kintania: Thank you, Madam Mayor. Uh, first and foremost, the NAMI Walk, the National Alliance on Mental Illness. They said rain or shine tomorrow at 8 a.m. So, I hope that, uh, you will consider joining us with your umbrella and a little bit—
[00:55:01] Councilmember: ...of patience. And the Filipino festival was rescheduled, so I know that a lot of folks were looking forward to that. I see a lot of nodding hands, so it's rescheduled for the 22nd. The City of Palm Desert was a table sponsor for National Philanthropy Day, and I enjoyed my time there with my colleagues. Councilmember Petta was talking about feeling humble and what humbles us, and some of the recipients... For example, the one that stood out the most was a young woman by the name of Dior Halum. At the age of six, she started giving away her toys to the children at the Loma Linda University Health Center. She just thought how sad that they don't have toys for Christmas. And since then, she's raised $3,000, and she received another $1,000 that day. So that was really touching, remembering that one person with one idea and action can trickle through. Also, the owners of the Roost in Palm Springs, they raise $300,000 every year for local organizations.
[00:56:09] Councilmember: So we can skip that one. The Dust Summit, that was very interesting as we look at the ongoing impacts to our health, but also the economic impacts as we see people posting on social media that they came for clear skies and great weather and they're posting dust—how it affects all of us, what we can each do. But on the nerd side of it, it was fascinating to see. We look at the particulate matter size, the 2.5 or the 10. We kind of think that once it's ground down, it stays there, but it can actually pick up other stuff. So your 2.5 can turn into a 10, and your 10 can get smashed and go further than that and become a 2.5. So, just thinking about what we're breathing while we're out there and being cognizant. I attended the Joslyn wine and jazz dinner, and that was absolutely wonderful. The members sent their hellos to the Mayor, and they said that they missed seeing her because they assumed you'd be there as a board member. So, they said to send all their hellos.
[00:57:15] Mayor: I'm not a board member.
[00:57:16] Councilmember: What's that?
[00:57:17] Mayor: I'm not a board member.
[00:57:18] Councilmember: Well, they thought you were a board member. I'm conveying the message. On a more personal note, some of you may know Charlie Era. Father Charlie Era has been very involved with the community. He is 95 years old and he is not doing so well. So, I'm just sending lots of love. I feel that in the next few days he's going to get his fast pass to heaven, and he did a lot for the community. So, that's about it. Just sending love his way, and that's all I've got.
[00:57:55] Councilmember: Yes. So, many of you might have noticed that we're still in need of a sculpture at the San Pablo roundabout towards Mag Falls. At the Cultural Arts Committee yesterday, they are making great progress. They went through 214 artist applications and have narrowed it down now to just five. These five artists will be presenting at the next meeting in January, and hopefully we will see what comes of it. So yes, it's been a long journey, so hopefully we're making progress.
[00:58:32] Councilmember: Okay, forgive me in advance, but I got a few things here. I ordinarily don't talk a lot, but it's been three weeks since our last meeting and a lot's happened. When I was first elected in January of '23, we attended a groundbreaking on Merurl Avenue, which was a Coachella Valley Housing Coalition program where there were 14 lots. There was just open dirt. Ten families qualified to get a home through this program where they might not otherwise qualify to buy a home the traditional way. So, the program allows them to have sweat equity and participate in building the homes there. And, you know, we did the groundbreaking, cut the ribbon, everybody's happy. I walked away, forgot about it. But the homes apparently are now completed. The families have moved in. And what I've heard back from people in the area is that it's brought vibrancy and energy to that street in that community where kids are playing. The houses are meticulously maintained. They're beautiful. There's a lot of pride in ownership. So, it's just such a heartwarming feeling to know that this piece of dirt turned into homes for these people, and they chose our city to do it. I think the residents had to work in our city.
[00:59:43] Councilmember: Self-help.
[00:59:44] Councilmember: Yeah, and it's called the Self-Help program. So, I just want to give kudos to the Coachella Valley Housing Coalition. That whole program, it was just neat to see something come to fruition in such a beautiful way. Of course, we had the golf cart parade, and I want to give kudos to our staff...
[01:00:00] Speaker 1: who won a big-time award there, and it was an incredible—was it Public Works, wasn't it?
[01:00:04] Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, Freddy.
[01:00:05] Speaker 1: That cart was crazy. I mean, it was just really, really cool. And not only that, but the whole experience is wonderful. Seeing thousands of people line our signature boulevard or street in our city just makes me so proud. And I know not everybody there is from Palm Desert, so it's just so welcoming to have all those people there with that energy. Also, Veterans Day this past Tuesday was sort of an unusual program. I mean, it was not unusual, but it was new for us to host it at the McCallum Theatre. And I didn't know what to expect going in. You know, the traditional thing is we'd have some speeches by boring politicians in the amphitheater maybe, and instead, this just blew my mind. The McCallum was sold out. I mean, from what I could see, it looked like every seat was taken. The incredible energy, so many veterans there, of course, and it just was a positive. It was almost like a USO show. It just brought energy and fun. And I don't know, I'm trying to figure out who deserves credit exactly on staff, but like most times, city staff is very, very humble. But I understand Ryland Shelby and probably Amy Lawrence, and I imagine Thomas had a part in it, and I know our mayor probably dropped a few seeds along the way to make this thing happen right through the course of the year. So I hope this thing happens year after year after year, and if you have a chance to do it next year, please attend. It was just really, really uplifting and a high-energy show. I'm just so proud we were able to pull that off. And coming up, we have the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day, if you haven't been. That's a lot of fun. You don't have to run, you can just walk, but it's on Thanksgiving morning. It's on El Paseo, and it's a great community event. You can go out and get a little exercise before you wolf down all that good turkey Thanksgiving food. And it's a lot of fun and a great community event. And unfortunately, we were going to have a bench dedication to Buford Crites, a former city council person and mayor here in our city, which was going to be dedicated up in the Cahuilla Hills area. Anyway, we have to postpone it because of the rain, so look forward to that happening in the future. And that is all I have, so thank you so much.
[01:02:10] Speaker 3: And if I may add on to Veterans Day, it was truly inspiring. I have never been in a situation where there were more positive comments, happier people, satisfied and validated people, and it was so important for so many reasons. We honored somebody from each branch of the military from the city, and they were so proud to represent their branch of the military. And it was the Marines' 250th anniversary that day. Additionally, and usually we all go, 'Oh my gosh, it couldn't be,' but it also this year marks the 50th year of the conclusion of the Vietnam War, and we got a chance to say thank you to a lot of people who never heard thank you. And it was an amazing partnership, and it was sold out. And I think we'll see that every year because it really, at a time when everyone needs lifting, our community theater was there and lifted, and it was truly a great moment. Also, CV Link, you talked about how great our float was in the golf cart parade, and it was of the base of the Bump and Grind and the CV Link. So, we had multiple openings, ribbon cuttings for the CV Link, for 40 miles of CV Link in this past week, and it makes a true difference. It's a multi-modal transportation pathway that goes across our valley, and it gets people to education, recreation, it gets them to work. It is a true great asset to our community, and it is something that so many people will learn from, and it's here to stay. The other thing, we were at CVCC today, which is the Coachella Valley Conservation Commission, and we mentioned about cleaning up, and we again purchased 11 acres for conservation, and we do this every time we meet. We purchase more and more. But here's what stunned me is we went out in the desert in just a couple weeks and cleaned up 300,000 pounds of garbage of dumping in our desert. So, we made a dent and will continue doing so. But it was amazing what they cleaned up, and there's more to be done. The other thing I wanted to mention is CALCOG, which is the California Association of Councils of Governments, which is the Council of Governments from all over the state, had their annual meeting in Palm Desert. And we looked
[01:05:00] Speaker: Really good. It was perfect weather. It was a beautiful night and we really showed off our city at its best. And you know, El Paseo at night right now, if you haven't seen it, please take a walk down at night. It is so beautiful with all the lights. And they, their motto, just to give an idea, we believe that effective regional governance is essential to the principle of local control, which is, as cities, something we all want. And I want to remind everybody with the onset of the holidays, shop small businesses. You know, support our small businesses in our city and let's make sure they flourish. So, on that note, we are going to move to non-agenda public comments, and I thank you all for really hanging in there and being so patient. So, we'll start with Michael Abrams. These are non-agenda comments. Do we, let me ask first, do we have any online public comments?
[01:06:07] Staff: No online comments.
[01:06:08] Speaker: Okay. Thank you. Michael Abrams.
[01:06:24] Michael Abrams: Good evening. Um, I wasn't supposed to be the first speaker, but since I am called, I will do it.
[01:06:30] Speaker: There's no 'supposed to'. We just pull.
[01:06:32] Michael Abrams: I got it. Um, I'm a member of Joslyn and um, I teach three days a week there on a volunteer basis. And um, I think you may have seen my concerns about the board of directors, whether they are acting what appears to be negligently or what appears to possibly be um, intentionally wrong. The members and the staff, I understand, are very concerned about the board. Um, they don't seem to be accountable and we can't find out what they're doing. We don't get any information. Um, it's almost like a secret society and something is seemingly wrong. Um, we have laid out in other presentations to this board um, our concerns in detail. So I'm not going to go over those again. Um, I would say that in all my years, and I practiced law for 53 years, um, I was a deputy attorney general for the state of California in the business fraud section. Um, I founded a bank and I was a director for 30 years. I've never seen a board like this. They don't, they don't welcome us in. They don't tell us when meetings are. They don't allow us to participate. And it's almost like a secret society. And since I understand that Palm Desert uh, gives them money through one method or another and allows them to stay on that property for $1 a year, um, it would seem to me that it would be obligatory for this board to look into that board of Joslyn to see if they're acting properly. So that's my suggestion. That's what I'm urging this board to do. Um, obviously if you have any questions, I'd be happy to try to address them.
[01:08:28] Speaker: Thank you. It's a non-agenda item, so we just thank you for your comments.
[01:08:32] Michael Abrams: Thank you.
[01:08:33] Speaker: Thank you. Our next is uh, Julianne Henley.
[01:08:46] Julianne Henley: Hello. I want to thank you all for what you do. First off, uh, my name is Julianne Henley and I'm on the board um, of directors uh, for the Vista Del Montana um, HOA, and we are located on Cook and Hovley. And we have an entrance that has no lights and it's just very dangerous. And uh, we wanted to address that several times uh, because, like I said, it's, it's dangerous. And uh, we're told that the city has to take care of that, that we're not allowed to, and so that's why I'm here today um, to see if we can get a couple lights in there because there's currently no lights at all.
[01:09:43] Speaker: May I just ask a quick question? Is it on Hovley? It's not where you're talking about, or Cook? The entrance is on...
[01:09:49] Julianne Henley: Hovley, correct.
[01:09:50] Speaker: Okay. Thank you.
[01:09:51] Julianne Henley: Off of Hovley.
[01:09:53] Speaker: Okay. Thank you.
[01:09:55] Julianne Henley: Thank you.
[01:10:00] Speaker: Okay. Stephen Nelson left. Okay. Why don't we have Ricardo Loretta?
[01:10:24] Ricardo Loretta: Good afternoon. I'm Ricardo Loretta, and I wanted to come and give a deep thank you to the city because I'm reminded of a statement that my wife used at a eulogy for our youngest son who, five months ago, was killed in a hit-and-run accident in Miami. And her eulogy, which she insisted on delivering, said—and it was a quote from a famous poet by the name of Mary Oliver—'keep room in your heart for the unimaginable.' And what they really are referring to is the importance of trying to balance pain and anger and frustration that are going to come with an event such as this with a little bit of room for searching for the good in people. And one of the things that we found, and it was amply demonstrated in the past week, thanks to people like our mayor, Jan Hornik, and many Rotary friends who banded together and said, 'We'd like to acquire a bench and see if we could put it in Palm Desert City Park in honor of Andy Loretta,' in his memory. That's our son, Andy Loretta, so that his parents, Jennifer and Ricardo, will have a place to visit and relax and practice what Mary Oliver told us, which was 'keep room in your heart for the unimaginable.' And I never dreamed of how good people can be, but you have shown this, what I say, in spades. And for that, I thank you very much. Thank you.
[01:12:49] Speaker: Okay. And our last speaker is Sya Lavasani.
[01:13:01] Sya Lavasani: Good evening. Since it's six o'clock right now, right? My name is Sya Lavasani and I'm a member of the Joslyn Center. I'm speaking on behalf of the members and community supporters of the Joslyn Senior Center to express deep concern and disappointment over the unexplained removal of Dr. J. Sellers as a director and subsequently discovering the lack of accountability and transparency of the Cove Community Senior Association. We were shocked to learn that there is no oversight of this board by the city. The Cove Community Service Commission that is supposed to oversee the board was told they have no authority to oversee how the money given to them by the three funding cities is used. We were further shocked to learn that the city of Palm Desert's official stance is that there is nothing they can do about it. As the city of Palm Desert makes a substantial direct dollar contribution to the Joslyn Center and grants essentially free lease of the center's building and property, it would seem the city, as well as the Cove Community Service Commission, should have a fiduciary interest in how its funds are utilized. The charitable donors, both large and
[01:15:01] Public Speaker: Small, also have fiduciary interest. Yet there seems to be no oversight happening anywhere. It is the opinion of Joslyn Center members that the City of Palm Desert should take the lead along with Rancho Mirage and Indian Wells to assure oversight, transparency, and accountability over the Joslyn Center and its board. If there is no way now to hold the board accountable, then they should make a way. We would also like to see the return of Dr. J. Sers to the position of executive director. Thank you.
[01:16:00] Mayor Hick: Thank you for your time. Okay, we will now—are there any comments online? No, there aren't. Okay, we'll move to the consent calendar. Are there any items anyone wishes to pull? And remember, you don't have to pull an item to comment on it.
[01:16:18] Council Member: I need to recuse myself from 13I due to proximity.
[01:16:24] Council Member: And I need to recuse myself from 13D due to proximity. And I will register a recusal on 13D due to proximity to real estate property of mine. Are there any others that wish to be pulled, or can we vote on the balance depending on registered recusal?
[01:16:52] Council Member: I'll move the balance, noting recusals.
[01:16:56] Council Member: I'll second.
[01:16:56] Mayor Hick: Okay, we have a motion and a second. Can we have a vote, please?
[01:17:01] City Clerk: And Madam Mayor, one of the screens is not working, so we'll do a roll call vote.
[01:17:05] Mayor Hick: Okay.
[01:17:06] City Clerk: Council Member Nisti?
[01:17:08] City Clerk: Council Member Pedetto?
[01:17:10] Council Member Pedetto: Yes.
[01:17:10] City Clerk: Council Member Quintanilla?
[01:17:11] Council Member Quintanilla: Yes.
[01:17:12] City Clerk: Mayor Pro Tem Trouy?
[01:17:13] Mayor Pro Tem Trouy: Yes.
[01:17:13] City Clerk: Mayor Hick?
[01:17:14] Mayor Hick: Yes.
[01:17:14] City Clerk: Motion passes 5 to zero.
[01:17:16] Mayor Hick: Thank you so much. Okay, we'll move to the action calendar. And Item A is a resolution approving a density bonus agreement and granting one waiver for the Affirmed Housing affordable housing project.
[01:17:40] Carlos Rois: Thank you, Madam Mayor, members of the City Council. Carlos Rois, Civil Services, here to provide a presentation on this item.
[01:17:57] Carlos Rois: So, what you're being asked for today is to approve a density bonus agreement and one waiver. These are requirements to be approved if a streamlined SB 35 project has met all of the applicable objective design standards. So, the project being referenced here is called the Affirmed Housing project. This project came in as what's called a Senate Bill 35 project, which is a streamlined housing project which are required to be approved at an ministerial level. Cities aren't allowed to hold public hearings for them. So again, what you're being asked to approve today is the associated density bonus agreement and waiver for this project. Some basics: it is a 298-unit, three- to four-story multifamily affordable housing project on the northwest corner of Cook Street and Frank Sinatra Drive. This project timeline is going to run through—it was in your report—but this process started in 2023 when city staff received a Senate Bill 330 pre-application and precise plan application for, again, a streamlined housing project. I did want to note that the only standards that city staff is allowed to apply are the standards that were in place at this time. So, standards such as the multifamily objective design standards or updated subdivision standards were adopted after this and weren't applicable to this project. It took some time, you know, for staff. We went back and forth in coordination with the applicant as well as HCD on this project. In May 2024, we did confirm with the applicant that their latest submittal had met all of our objective standards. The only thing pending was this density bonus agreement, which is in front of you today. Since May, there was ongoing coordination with the applicant on said density bonus agreement. So again, some basics of the project: it is located right here on that corner site. It's multiple buildings of three to four stories, all for affordable housing.
[01:20:02] Staff: Here are some elevations and some renderings they are proposing. Again, three stories along the edges of the building and four stories towards the interior.
[01:20:13] Staff: So what is a density bonus? Per state law, when a project has 100% of its units available for lower-income households and within what's called a very low vehicle travel area, they get different standards as well as a density bonus, which is as follows: there's no max density; they get up to five incentives or concessions from our development standards; they can increase their total height up to three additional stories or an additional 33 feet; and they are eligible for flexible parking ratios. So, this project did have 100% of its units designated for low-income households, and it's within a very low vehicle area. So, this table here, again from the report, provides a breakdown of compliance with our municipal code as well as what is allowed with the density bonus. So, for example, the base density in this zone is 17 units to the acre. They are proposing 39 units to the acre. Our maximum height is 40 feet. They are going up to 52 feet, and so on and so forth. They are consistent with all of the rest of the objective design standards within our city, with the exception of one waiver which is in front of you today.
[01:21:35] Staff: They're requesting a waiver from our control building pad elevation section. I won't get into some of the boring engineering verbatim of this, but essentially, the code standard that they are asking for is where the finished grade of their property would be. They are not asking to increase the pad elevation to be higher than the highest point of the site, but the way our code reads is that they would need to be within 12 inches of the lowest point of the site. And so, they are asking for a finished pad height of 254 feet, which is below the highest point of 260 but still above, you know, 30 feet above the lowest point of the site. So, we went back and forth with them, and this is the concession that they are asking for from our municipal code.
[01:22:32] Staff: Here's a breakdown of the affordability mix of the project. So again, it is being reserved for extremely low, very low, and low income. You received recently an update on RHNA allocation. So the table on the bottom shows if this project moves forward with building permit issuance, it would be able to count towards our RHNA. And actually, if this project moves forward and it is towards issuance, we would actually be meeting our very low-income allocation for RHNA purposes and also get closer to meeting our low-income allocation.
[01:23:10] Staff: So, density bonus agreement. It's an agreement that ties the property to make sure it is for affordable units. As they outline, the state precludes the city from denying this unless there's a specific adverse impact on health or safety that can't be mitigated, it's impacting a California Register of Historical Resources property, or is contrary to state or federal law. It's limited to that criteria, and staff finds that it doesn't meet any of those exemptions and that it would have to be approved. So the recommendation today is for the City Council to approve the density bonus agreement and approve the one waiver on the pad elevation for this project. That concludes my presentation.
[01:23:56] Mayor: Thank you. Are there any questions?
[01:24:03] Councilmember: All right. So, we went through this with the development behind... what was the name of the development that we had a lot of back and forth?
[01:24:17] Staff: Might have been the 394 site off Portola?
[01:24:21] Councilmember: No, it was behind... it was off of Frank Sinatra, behind...
[01:24:26] Councilmember: Gerald Ford. It was a building height or pad height, and we had addressed it, remember, because our language, the code stated...
[01:24:34] Staff: Oh, you were talking maybe about the PUD refuge project, correct? Yeah, that we changed the subdivision standards after.
[01:24:39] Councilmember: Right. So through that process, we changed our ordinance to state it was based on curb height, not existing pad height, didn't we?
[01:24:46] Staff: That was part of it, as well as the amount that you're able to increase your pad based off existing, yeah, and proximity to residential.
[01:24:56] Councilmember: And those rules have been put into effect for future developments.
[01:25:00] Staff Member: Correct. They're in effect now.
[01:25:01] Council Member: However, this proposal or this project came in before we changed those rules. Is that right? That's why, so instead of one foot above curb height, we're going 30 feet above curb height if this project goes through.
[01:25:12] Staff Member: From the lowest point. Yeah.
[01:25:13] Council Member: Okay, cool. So, but if something comes in, it gets submitted in the future, we can hold them to the one foot above curb height.
[01:25:21] Staff Member: It would be a different standard. I will say, for what it's worth, they could ask for a concession from that standard, but yes, it would be from our existing standards.
[01:25:31] Council Member: Okay. And would this be the largest affordable housing project in the city and that sits in one place? Largest affordable housing development, I guess we'll say.
[01:25:43] Staff Member: Yeah, by number of units in one development.
[01:25:45] Council Member: 298.
[01:25:49] Staff Member: Oh man, you're quizzing me now.
[01:25:51] Council Member: It seems like it. Well, I just, and I only asked that because it seems like I remember Mayor Harnick through the years stating the way we've done affordable housing in the past is kind of spread them throughout the city, so it's kind of intermingled in traditional neighborhoods, etc. This seems to go in the face of that, however, and I'm only bringing this up as a point of conversation. I know we really don't have much choice in this matter, but this is going to sort of change the scope and scale of what we traditionally do with affordable housing projects, it seems.
[01:26:19] Staff Member: And that's more of a comment, I guess, than a question, but...
[01:26:20] Council Member: Well, I think what it is is it's state-mandated. I understand. We can't say that it can't go there.
[01:26:27] Council Member: There's no wiggle room, no kind of discretion that we have, it seems. But I just want to bring those issues up.
[01:26:32] Staff Member: And they're all good points.
[01:26:34] Council Member: Okay. Well, there we have it.
[01:26:35] Council Member: And here we have, and it says, which are required to be approved if the project has met all applicable objective design standards. So the waiver, it's like we're... this is just, you know, a dance.
[01:26:50] Staff Member: And if I may, Millennium Apartments is 330 units but not 100% affordable. So that's a yes and no answer.
[01:26:59] Mayor Harnick: Any other questions, or were you finished?
[01:27:02] Council Member: Okay.
[01:27:02] Mayor Harnick: Any other questions or comments?
[01:27:04] Council Member: I motion approval if there's no further discussion.
[01:27:07] Mayor Harnick: Well, I thought I would make some comments. What concerns me about this, I mean, we have to take it the way it is and we understand that. What concerns me is I see what the architecture is. I hope that there is some really beautiful landscaping to help complement what is going to be built. And what always troubles me when I see these type of buildings is I wonder if they are taking into full consideration our community members who will be living there. And I hope they are because these are our neighbors and we want to make sure they are living in a welcome and warm home environment. So those are my only comments. And now, since there are no other comments or questions, I'll entertain a motion at this time.
[01:28:10] Council Member: I move approval.
[01:28:11] Council Member: Second.
[01:28:13] Mayor Harnick: We have a motion and a second. May we have a vote, please?
[01:28:16] City Clerk: Council Member Nestandi,
[01:28:17] Council Member Nestandi: Yes.
[01:28:18] City Clerk: Council Member Petto,
[01:28:19] Council Member Petto: Yes.
[01:28:19] City Clerk: Council Member Kintania,
[01:28:20] Council Member Kintania: Yes.
[01:28:20] City Clerk: Mayor Pro Tem Trouy?
[01:28:22] Mayor Pro Tem Trouy: Yes.
[01:28:22] City Clerk: Mayor Harnick?
[01:28:23] Mayor Harnick: Yes.
[01:28:24] City Clerk: Motion passes five to zero.
[01:28:25] Mayor Harnick: Thank you. Okay, we'll now go to which item is that? B. Award progressive design build contract to Tilden-Coil Constructors, Inc. for new library facility project number CFA00000027 and find that the project is categorically exempt from CEQA. Mr. Lamb,
[01:28:55] Ryan Lamb: Madam Mayor, fellow council members, thank you. Ryan Lamb, Capital Projects Department, senior project manager, and I'm here to present an update on the new library facility project for the request to award a progressive design build contract to Tilden-Coil Constructors, Inc., as well as authorize the city manager to approve an early construction package amendment for the demolition of the Parkview building, the two-story office building at the Parkview office complex. So, want to give a little timeline recap of the project and where it started and where we are today. So, back in October of '23, the city council voted to withdraw from the Riverside County Library System and ultimately take over the city library and operate it under the Palm Desert Library starting July 1st of '24. At that around the same time, we had the economic development department was doing an assessment of the Parkview...
[01:30:01] Speaker: office complex to identify, you know, its future use and future opportunities, and how it could be utilized as an asset to the city. And in March of '24, we had a couple of things that happened with the library project, where we awarded the contract to Rashard Kennedy Architects for conceptual design. While at the same time, City Council had reviewed the assessment of the Parkview office complex and identified that that location would be the future library site.
[01:30:38] Speaker: As I had mentioned, Rashard Kennedy was contracted for conceptual design services, and the plan for the delivery method for the project at the time was for a progressive design-build. Because we wanted to get—because of the project being a high-profile project—we wanted to go through the conceptual design process, get review and approval from yourselves, the City Council, before we moved into full construction documents and design documents, and ultimately constructed the project.
[01:31:06] Speaker: So, in February of '25, the conceptual design was presented to City Council and approved with a $30 million budget. And the following month, that same conceptual design was presented to the Architectural Review Commission, which provided feedback and comments, which were then incorporated into the next phase, which was the schematic design documents for the new library project.
[01:31:32] Speaker: And that took us through to August of this year, where we now have a completed schematic design package. Also, what we did in order to help with our project timeline, Rashard Kennedy Architects completed the demolition package for the project. That way, we were able to put that out with the progressive design-build RFP, and we were able to get a good comparison of cost and expectations for construction cost.
[01:32:06] Speaker: And so, moving into the progressive design-build, I want to highlight some of the benefits of why we're using this delivery method versus, you know, a lot of times you have the typical design-bid-build, where you have an architect, you hire them under a contract to do the design, you then have the completed documents, you put it out to bid, and then you hire a contractor to do the work. Whereas in this case, it helps to expedite the process where early on, you have the design team working with the construction team, addressing issues, working through items, getting a clean vision of your budget, ensuring that you're not having any unnecessary scope creep, knowing that you have a single entity. The contractor side is identifying concerns and issues early on, and we're able to move through the final design process much quicker than if it was isolated, and then you take away that bidding period, which could be months after the documents are awarded.
[01:33:08] Speaker: Once the construction documents in Phase 1 of the project are completed—I'm sorry, the contract for progressive design-build—we then have what is called a Guaranteed Maximum Price negotiation, where the design-build firm provides their cost to construct the building, and ultimately that is what we would then hold them to, to deliver the building under that price. And so, we work on that, and if the City Council and the City decide that their ultimate GMP does not meet our project budget, we then take the completed construction documents and then we can put them out to bid under a different vendor, from a different contractor.
[01:33:54] Speaker: So, diving into the progressive design-build's scope of work, specifically, we have Phase 1, which would then be the architecture firm piece of the design-build vendor, which in this case is Holt Architects. They're paired up with Tilden-Coil Constructors to do the design development phase to complete that, which is about 60%, and then construction documents, which is the 100% through approval. You know, you get the utility coordination, emergency services coordination, and then ultimately plan check approval, and we anticipate that to take about six months. And at the end of that, as I mentioned, we do the GMP negotiation to ensure that we are prepared to continue moving forward with Tilden-Coil into construction.
[01:34:41] Speaker: Now, in order to help with our timeline, we are requesting approval for an early construction package amendment, which is for the demolition. It's for abatement, demolition, and site preparation of the Parkview site. That way, we can have that ready to go as soon as the GMP is approved.
[01:35:01] Staff Member: amendment and they can they can go right into new construction versus the typical procedure where you'd have the contractor would then once you get approved documents then they would start the demolition and we would lose months. So then phase two again as I mentioned the GMP has to be approved by city council. So, we will be coming back with that with that amendment for approval and moving forward through that through substantial completion at the end of 2027 and then ultimately moving into the new building and open for business early 2028.
[01:35:38] Staff Member: So, some highlights on the project budget. So, we do have a $30 million approved budget. And with these items in front of you today for the award of the contract as well as the amendment, that would leave us with the remaining budget of just under 25.9 million. And that remaining budget balance is for the new construction. It's for construction management services. It's for permit fees, inspection services, any furniture, fixtures, and equipment, as well as AV and IT equipment, and the furniture from the existing facility over at the COOD building. We will do our best to incorporate as much of that furniture that might still be feasible for repurposing into the new facility to help offset some of the typical costs for a brand new construction project. And part of that furniture and fixtures and equipment package, we have had previous discussions with CAG about their conference room that they used to use over at the Parkview building and them their future use of of the library building and the conference room. So we will be looking at some, you know, very, you know, higher quality conference room furniture that they can use for their board meetings as well as, but being that it is a city facility, we will be able to reap the rewards of that as well for other future events. So with that, I will take any questions you might have.
[01:37:09] Mayor Hornik: Well thank you very much. Are there any questions?
[01:37:13] Council Member: Is this the city's first use of progressive design build?
[01:37:17] Staff Member: That is my understanding. Yes, it is.
[01:37:19] Council Member: All right. I have never been through this process, but I hear from engineers and city engineers and development teams that it's the way to go. Faster delivery, cost reduction. So I'm in favor.
[01:37:36] Mayor Hornik: Great. Any other questions, comments?
[01:37:42] Council Member: Congratulations to staff and everybody who's had any single keystroke idea and to go along with this. I know this was a big conception and where we're going. So, it's exciting to at least have on there to see something that we're going to be open for business in 2028. It's going to be here before we know it. I'm very excited and I know we've got reliable partners working on this. So, it feels very solid. So, thank you again.
[01:38:11] Mayor Hornik: Any other comments, questions? I love the early construction package amendment. That's a lovely thing. Okay, there are no more questions or comments.
[01:38:24] Mayor Hornik: Entertain a motion.
[01:38:26] Council Member: Second.
[01:38:26] Mayor Hornik: We have a motion and a second. May we have a vote, please?
[01:38:30] City Clerk: Council member Nandi,
[01:38:32] Council Member Nandi: yes.
[01:38:32] City Clerk: Council member Pedto,
[01:38:33] Council Member Pedto: yes.
[01:38:34] City Clerk: Council member Kintania,
[01:38:35] Council Member Kintania: yes.
[01:38:35] City Clerk: Mayor Pro Tem Troopy,
[01:38:36] Mayor Pro Tem Troopy: yes.
[01:38:37] City Clerk: Mayor Hornik.
[01:38:38] Mayor Hornik: Yes.
[01:38:38] City Clerk: Motion passes 5 to zero.
[01:38:40] Mayor Hornik: Thank you so much. Okay, we'll move to 14C, proposed Palm Desert 2026 social media commemorations.
[01:38:52] Thomas Soul: Good evening, mayor and members of the city council. I'm Thomas Soul, your public affairs manager. The item before you is a request to approve the city's proposed list of social media commemorations for the calendar year 2026. As in prior years, this list will help inform and guide the city's messaging around cultural, civic, and community observations that reflect our values and help inform our residents. In developing the proposed list, staff began with the approved 2025 framework and also incorporated additional environmental observances at the suggestion of the environmental resources committee. That input, which is included in your packet, helped inform the final recommendations that were reviewed by the mayor and mayor pro tem and which is presented to you this evening.
[01:39:41] Mayor Hornik: Okay.
[01:39:42] Mayor Hornik: Are there any questions?
[01:39:45] Council Member: I have a question.
[01:39:48] Council Member: Do we really need Groundhog's Day? We don't have groundhogs in California and I would rather see something like, um, the tortoise week. It's a endangered species. It is California's official state reptile. Um, the Living Desert has
[01:40:02] Councilmember 1: programs for it. So, I would rather see something that supports something local instead of Groundhog's Day. I don't quite see the relevance. Um, I would also—I love the staff recommendations for things like World Water Day, Energy Efficiency Day, where I think we could do that and share resources with CVWD and IID to be sure that we have our residents aware of ongoing and evolving programs. The, I think it was like bike to work. Desert Sands does something similar with the walk or bike to work. So, I think we can combine that in alignment. And I did see also the National Bee Day. We have seven local species, essential pollinators. They don't all live in hives. And I think it'd be great to let people know it's not a weird bug. That's a bee. It's essential to our ecosystem. Given all the work that we've done with disability awareness, I know we have autism awareness day in March. We can also add disability awareness month in May, mental health awareness month. And just to clarify if it's a typo or something I'm not aware of in June, you've listed the National Trials Day or is it trails?
[01:41:23] Staff Member: Trials.
[01:41:24] Councilmember 1: Okay. Just making sure it wasn't something... clarification. And also in November, Epilepsy Awareness Month. I know we've done proclamations in support of that. And then when it came time to see the November proclamation or recognition of October Indigenous People's Day and Columbus Day, I saw a great majority of the comments were negative and I think that we can eliminate that if people are going to come and see Palm Desert in a negative light. So those are my comments.
[01:42:03] Mayor: Any other comments? We got to keep Groundhog Day.
[01:42:06] Councilmember 2: I'm with you.
[01:42:07] Mayor: It makes me think of Bill Murray.
[01:42:09] Councilmember 2: National tradition. I'm with you on Groundhog Day.
[01:42:15] Mayor: It's fun.
[01:42:18] Councilmember 1: Then can we add the tortoise day?
[01:42:21] Mayor: I don't mind adding tortoise day if you feel the need.
[01:42:25] Councilmember 2: And then on—well, I'll wait to see if there's more comments. I don't want to open cans. I'm ready to approve with Councilmember Quintanilla's addition of tortoise.
[01:42:38] Councilmember 1: Tortoise.
[01:42:40] Councilmember 2: And by the way, we do have National Trails Day and National Trials Day. I thought it was a legal thing.
[01:42:47] Mayor: Same thing. The one thing—because I think you've done a great job and yes, I would of course keep Columbus Day and Indigenous People's Day because either way you go, you'll get a negative comment if you remove one or the other. I would like to see us do something about celebrate Palm Desert one day. And if we did our November 26th, which is our anniversary, we could choose each year maybe something different or maybe we create a tradition of doing the same thing every year. I don't know. But I'd like to see celebrate Palm Desert. I think it's kind of a special place.
[01:43:30] Councilmember 2: Sure.
[01:43:32] Councilmember 3: I concur.
[01:43:33] Councilmember 1: And we do have pollinator week and we include all our pollinators which are so important, and we do a lot of partnership things with the Living Desert to celebrate and uphold and raise awareness with those. What's the harm in adding just one more that teaches the essential need of pollinators? If we don't have pollinators—yes, people think of butterflies, but just to specify that the weird little bees are just as important.
[01:44:07] Mayor: Don't we do an annual sort of proclamation for pollinators?
[01:44:12] Councilmember 1: For pollinators, yeah. And for bees actually, we've done it in the past.
[01:44:18] Mayor: But I don't see the need for pollinators. I don't think everybody goes, 'Oh, it's butterflies.' I think it's pollinators. So, I don't have a problem with pollinators. And we'll add the tortoise and celebrate Palm Desert. And any other things somebody'd like to remove?
[01:44:44] Mayor: Okay, I'll entertain a motion. Just be clear, we're entertaining a motion to approve adding tortoises and celebrate Palm Desert.
[01:44:56] Councilmember 2: Yes. Some sort of Palm Desert celebration. Absolutely.
[01:45:01] Speaker: So, does that include any of the recommended additions such as World Water Day Energy Efficiency that staff added in their consideration?
[01:45:10] Speaker: Well, it actually was RPC and we did include many of them. We just didn't include all of them.
[01:45:16] Speaker: Okay. So,
[01:45:17] Speaker: so we—it would be as it stands plus you wanted tortoise. We'll put tortoise in there and then we'll put something for Palm Desert.
[01:45:25] Speaker: Okay. And can I also get support for disability awareness, mental health awareness, epilepsy awareness, and what was the other one on here? I think that was it. Disability, mental health, and epilepsy awareness. Thank you.
[01:45:48] Speaker: So would that then be a substitute motion to accept with the recommendations?
[01:45:59] Speaker: Well, we'll just add it. We don't have to go through...
[01:46:02] Speaker: ...because we didn't make a motion yet. We only had...
[01:46:05] Speaker: ...right. So do a substitute...
[01:46:07] Speaker: Council Member Trouby, we didn't make a second. So we can...
[01:46:11] Speaker: ...right...
[01:46:11] Speaker: ...change it.
[01:46:13] Speaker: Well, is it part of Council Member Trouby's motion or no?
[01:46:19] Mayor Pro Tem Trouby: Uh, my motion I thought was to approve adding simply tortoise day or some sort of celebration of tortoises whenever that occurs and recognize a Palm Desert Day. So, that was my motion.
[01:46:29] Speaker: If it's not part of your motion, then someone else can either do a substitute or it could just fail to get a second. So, I submit a substitute motion that includes things that are in line with Palm Desert's awareness of disabilities, including disability awareness, mental health awareness, and epilepsy awareness month.
[01:46:49] Speaker: Second.
[01:46:53] Speaker: We have a motion and a second. Can we have a vote, please?
[01:46:56] Clerk: Council Member Nandi,
[01:46:57] Council Member Nandi: Yes.
[01:46:58] Clerk: Council Member Pedto,
[01:47:00] Council Member Pedto: Yes.
[01:47:00] Clerk: Council Member Kintania,
[01:47:01] Council Member Kintania: Yes.
[01:47:02] Clerk: Mayor Pro Tem Trouby,
[01:47:04] Mayor Pro Tem Trouby: Yes.
[01:47:05] Clerk: And Mayor Hornik.
[01:47:06] Mayor Hornik: Yes.
[01:47:06] Clerk: Motion passes 5 to zero.
[01:47:09] Mayor Hornik: Thank you. Okay. So, now we'll go to public hearing. Uh, introduction of an ordinance amending the Palm Desert Municipal Code Title 6 related to animal control. Pedro Rodriguez.
[01:47:26] Pedro Rodriguez: Good evening, Mayor Hornik, members of the City Council. Uh, this item before you is an introduction to the Title 6 of the city's animal control ordinance. Um, I'm going to briefly give a summary of the staff report. Then I will go into the presentation if I could find...
[01:47:58] Pedro Rodriguez: So, Title 6 was adopted in 1988 as the city's animal control regulations. And since inception, it's never been updated or modified in any way. Um, the ordinance is outdated, the language, definitions. It doesn't have some of the newer administrative functions that we use nowadays for hearings. It doesn't have a lot of the new tools that the county ordinance has that we want to align with. So part of our contractual agreement with the county, they strongly recommended that we adopt their Title 6 ordinance. After reviewing their ordinance, I felt that full adoption of their ordinance would not be beneficial for the city because we would lose control of a lot of items, quality of life issues such as picking up after pets and things that are essential like barking dogs that have certain procedures in our city versus the county where there's more rural areas where it may not be as big of an issue. But in our city where there's closer proximity to residential units, we tend to get a little bit more complaints about noise issues. So in reviewing the ordinance, we selected certain sections of their ordinance and modified our ordinance to accommodate the needs of our city and our community. Um, this item was brought to the Animal Services Subcommittee on October 16th. Couple of changes were required from that meeting, which was definition of service dogs, which includes people with disabilities, requiring pet owners to update a change and contact information with the county and microchipping companies because they are different. So we've included that in the ordinance update, the language in the microchipping exemptions. It had a clause at animal mobility and we changed it to athletic—from athletic ability to mobility. Um, I also met with Riverside County supervision, the field services supervisor that's assigned to officers in our jurisdiction, and they reviewed what our changes are and...
[01:50:00] Speaker: They're very excited about it, and they actually made a comment that if it is adopted, they may be looking at making some changes to their ordinance to help enforce their ordinance as well and make it stronger. So,
[01:50:14] Speaker: in going through the ordinance here, some of the key amendments are a general cleanup of the definitions, the outdated language to ensure our language throughout the code is updated.
[01:50:26] Speaker: Licensing registrations: we now have a mandatory spay and neuter requirement, stronger language and enforcement tools for dangerous and vicious animal standards, nuisance abatements, noise, waste. Something new is backyard breeding regulations, stronger impoundment and adoption procedures, expanded enforcement authority, which now includes animal control, code enforcement, and peace officers the way the county does. So it kind of aligns with that. So that's the alignment with the county. So all our chapters are consistent with what the County of Riverside was asking, and I'll kind of go over the chapters.
[01:51:04] Speaker: So Chapter 604, which is the first chapter of definitions, it alphabetized and consolidated definitions. It expands and updated the language, aligning with the county ordinance. It improves definitions for 'at large', 'backyard breeding', and 'exigent circumstances' was important because it gives the officers for animal control, code enforcement, and peace officers the ability to act immediately if there is a threat to life and safety, versus where they would have to take different measures in our current ordinance, which didn't allow them that ability to act on exigent circumstances.
[01:51:40] Speaker: Title 608 updated the enforcement definitions to align with the county as well, and clear definitions for the enforcement authority. And again, as I mentioned, it adds code enforcement and peace officers to the language, such as how the county has it.
[01:51:59] Speaker: Chapter 612, which is licensing, updates and clarifies the licensing requirements, adds mandatory spay and neuter, which we've also purchased microchipping tools that will be arriving probably by next week. That tool will allow us to identify animals and return them to their owners versus being impounded, where our cost is already up for impoundment. So this would help kind of get animals back home when we find them or people bring them in when they find them at the park.
[01:52:28] Speaker: At our—just a comment—last week at our vaccine clinic that we had at the library, I believe 90% of the people that went through the clinic had their dogs microchipped. It wasn't mandatory at the time, but now any future clinics, people wanting to have their dogs microchipped, it will be a requirement. So that will enhance the ability for us to identify pets and return them to their owners when they get out.
[01:52:54] Speaker: Title 616, biting. There was very minimal changes to that, just grammatical corrections.
[01:53:03] Speaker: Title 618 is actually a new chapter that was created with certain sections of our code that we took out to create this chapter, which is now the potentially dangerous animal chapter. It needed to be on its own so that we can have clear definitions. It outlined the administrative procedures and administrative orders for the violations. It sets clear grounds for the guidelines for dangerous animals, and it clearly defines the difference between potentially dangerous and vicious. In our current ordinance, it was just one definition, which was vicious or dangerous. So a dog that committed a minor offense, biting someone with a minor scratch, was now labeled as vicious or dangerous. But now, the punishment fits the crime. We have three different escalation levels to label the dog based on the actions that it's committed. So that's a better tool for us. It allows us more leeway to have a little bit more leniency when some of the pets, you know, made a mistake and they deserve a second chance as well.
[01:54:09] Speaker: Title 620, which is our impoundment, that language was updated as well.
[01:54:16] Speaker: 624, that's actually a new chapter as well that we took some of the language from our noisy animals and created this new chapter, which again, it updated the definitions, nuisance declarations, where now we get to give a person a warning notice versus in our current ordinance, if we received a complaint of a noisy animal and after a visit to the property didn't quiet it, the next step was litigation in court. There was no administrative process to give that person an opportunity to comply. So that's a big change where now we have an escalation process before we get to litigation, which gives a person the opportunity to comply, obtain, you know, tools to quiet the dog on their own.
[01:54:59] Speaker: And then Chapter 628, which is...
[01:55:03] Staff: Offenses, that one we clarified the language, updated it as well. Definition of the unlawful breeding is included in that, the sales and gifting of animals on public or private property. Prohibition of livestock within city limits was better defined. It was previously referred back to County's Title 594 ordinance, which was a nightmare trying to find sometimes when we had those type of violations. So now that's clearly in our code, gives us better tools to handle those type of situations, and it provides a better abatement and cost recovery program for violations abated by the city. So if we have to come in and conduct an abatement, there's a cost recovery process now that we give people due process before they're on the hook for a bill of any type of abatement we have to handle. And that's basically a summary of my changes. So, the proposed amendment will provide clear rules for residents, consistent clear enforcement tools, improve community safety, enhance animal welfare, and it will align with the county ordinance, and I'm here to answer any questions.
[01:56:10] Mayor Harnick: Great. Thank you for laying it out so clearly for us, too. Are there any questions?
[01:56:16] Council Member: No questions. Just a comment.
[01:56:18] Mayor Harnick: No, please. We're going to open the public hearing at this time. And is there anyone—I know we don't have an applicant—so is there anyone online or here who would like to speak either for or against anything here, or public comments, speak to this issue? Good. Thank you. All right. Then we will move—well, I guess we can close it, can't we? And now we can have comments. So the public hearing is now closed, and let's have comments.
[01:56:56] Council Member: I wanted to give my thanks to everyone involved and also my counterpart on the subcommittee. I greatly appreciate the way you reorganized and made it easy, just as we had at the beginning of our study session about how to make it easy to find these things and to clarify. One of the things that came up was the ability to alleviate neighbor disputes, that you have the ability to help instead of saying, 'Sorry it happened, you were ticketed, nothing we can do,' and now you've got fines that are accumulated and you've got to get folks to neighbor disputes and whatnot. We have such a great code team and also the valuable experience of how many of the code team came from animal services. So you have expert perspectives in how to maximize those opportunities. I know it was a lot to go with the fine-tooth comb and bring it forward decades where it had been neglected. So thank you for bringing it to the 21st century for everything involved. And I'm excited that we're going to move forward with greater service to our community.
[01:58:09] Staff: Thank you.
[01:58:11] Mayor Harnick: Are there any other comments? Okay, I'll ask for a motion.
[01:58:17] Council Member: I move approval.
[01:58:19] Mayor Harnick: Is there a second?
[01:58:22] Council Member: Second.
[01:58:23] Mayor Harnick: Thank you for all the work on this. I know it was a lot, and we appreciate everything you've done.
[01:58:28] Staff: Thank you very much.
[01:58:29] City Clerk: Council Member Nandi?
[01:58:30] Council Member Nandi: Yes.
[01:58:31] City Clerk: Council Member Petto?
[01:58:32] Council Member Petto: Yes.
[01:58:32] City Clerk: Council Member Kintania?
[01:58:33] Council Member Kintania: Yes.
[01:58:34] City Clerk: Mayor Pro Tem?
[01:58:35] Mayor Pro Tem: Yes.
[01:58:35] City Clerk: Mayor Harnick?
[01:58:36] Mayor Harnick: Yes.
[01:58:36] City Clerk: Motion passes 5 to 0.
[01:58:38] Mayor Harnick: Thank you so very much. And are there any other comments at this time?
[01:58:46] Council Member: One last comment. As I had mentioned, Mr. Charlie Era, he was the 2024 Senior Inspiration Award recipient. And when he was asked for a word to summarize the year, he said 'tenderful.' He said, 'Tenderful is 10 times better than wonderful.' So, I wish you all a tender Thanksgiving.
[01:59:09] Mayor Harnick: Are there any other comments? Seeing none, have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Enjoy your family and friends and pie. And seeing no unfinished business, this meeting stands adjourned.