>>mayor jan harnik: I will now
reconvene the city council
successor agency meeting of
thursday january 13, 2022.
can we have roll call, please.
>>clerk:
>>mayor pro tem sabby jonathan:
present
>>council member kathleen
kelly: here
>>council member gina nestande:
here
>>council member karina
quintanilla: present
>>mayor jan harnik: here.
all present.
thank you so much.
>> we'll have the pledge of
allegiance by staff.
>>council member gina nestande:
thank you.
>> I pledge allegiance to the
flag of the united states of
america and to the republic for
which it stands, one nation,
under god, indivisible, with
liberty and justice for all.
>> thank you so much.
we'll now have a little
inspiration. I thought I would
do a little refresher for us. I
think everybody knows it but
it's our mission statement and
our palm desert community
statement which is a great
product from a wide -- the
mission statement says the city
of palm desert provides
amenities and programs for the
community. Our vision
statement, palm desert is the
heart of california's coachella
valley. Palm desert's quality
of life offers -- residents and
visitors of all ages a wide
array of educational and
opportunities as well as arts
and cultural activities and
world class events in a
uniquely and beautiful desert
environment. This is a thriving
safe and sustainable community
that attracts innovative
employers and synergistic
educational partners.
we rocked that in 2014 and it's
still good.
do we have a report from closed
session?
>> yes, we do. With respect to
the agenda on the first item a
1 on family development, no
action was taken.
no reportable action nor
direction was given.
on the second item, with
respect to the refuge that
council unanimously authorized
the purchase and sale agreement
for the property described on
the agenda and that agreement
will be available to the public
once it is finalized.
that's all. We have. Thank
you very much.
>> thank you so much.
>> we'll go mayor and council
member reports and request for
action. You can do them at
once.
so may I start please with
council member kelly.
>>council member kathleen kelly:
thank you.
I have nothing this evening for
the general --
>> I find that tremendously
hard to believe but okay.
council member nestande?
>>council member gina nestande:
mayor, thank you.
I have nothing this evening to
share as well. I appreciate
your asking.
>> okay.
council member quintanilla?
>>council member karina
quintanilla: thank you mayor.
I luckily have plenty of things
to say so I will fill up that
time.
the mccallam education meeting.
that was wonderful in hearing
how many children have access
to arts and social learning.
they were able to reach 4500
students and 165 classrooms and
hearing the testimonials of
teachers in the classroom was
very rewarding.
they
have called to do. That is
going on the 14. You can apply
by january 19th. Art and public
places will now be cultural
arts committee. We were looking
at the budget. And did convey
to them where we stand with the
discussion of the first
committee. I want to report
that we did have the
resignation of a long standing
member. And my deepest
gratitude. She was on several
commissions. I know she will be
missed. If you are watching, I
send lots of love and you will
be missed.
I have a request. At san pablo,
when I go and visit and
sometimes chat with the
different merchants, I have
seen that we need some sort of
blinking light for pedestrians
to cross from one end to the
other. I have seen cars have a
difficult time making a left
turn. So I have seen drivers
make a u-turn. So looking at
the safety fact of that
particular intersection of san
pablo.
I also want to have a request
of staff to see if we can look
at where the $25 million
that is allocated for community
resilience designated for
agreement heat if we can
capture those for palm desert
given that we get some extreme
heat. With that, I will pass
that on, mayor.
>>
>>mayor jan harnik: thank you.
I think we all owe gratitude to
-- she's given a lot over the
years.
>>mayor pro tem sabby jonathan:
thank you, mayor.
to my colleagues, I also made
meetings and the desert willow
management -- that took place
earlier this week as many of
us recall. We contract with
sports for the management with
desert willow. The 5-year term
is up soon and the city put up
the contract for request for
proposal. And the city
conducted interviews earlier
this week and the process is
moving forward.
I have no request for action.
thank you.
>>
>> great, thank you.
I have a couple of comments I
would like to make.
first, I don't know if anybody
else noticed but we have a
tremendous up tick in graffiti
throughout our city, and I
think our public works
department does a great job at
immediately getting the
graffiti abate mentment team
out there but it is a
significant increase. Please
watch for that. And we do have
the palm desert app that you
can all have on your phone. The
team will get out there and
eradicate graffiti. We need to
make that happen. So please
paying attention to that and
please help to be sure our city
remains clean like it should be.
the other thing I'm going to
remind everybody is
international holocaust
remembrance day is thursday the
27.
at 1:00.
there will be a remembrance
ceremony in our civic center
park here in palm desert.
and it's an important occasion
and something we need to all
think about.
also, january 17th.
martin luther king jr. So there
is another day that is worth
sitting and thinking about what
it takes to be who we are as a
nation.
I also wanted to mention that
at our lasts meeting which was
december 16th, our then mayor
kelly requested that we have a
discussion on this agenda
regarding the districting
issue. I don't mean the census
districting.
but if we should put something
on the ballot. Unfortunately
with the planned vacations and
covid surge, we didn't have
enough time to go about that in
a proper way. It will be on the
agenda january 27th. I want to
be sure for those who want to
weigh in that we'll have that
opportunity on january 27th. It
will be on the agenda.
so I apologize to council
member kelly, who I know it was
important to you, but between
covid and the holidays, that's
what happened. So we will get
that back right on back on the
agenda.
I hope everybody had meaningful
holidays and let's make 2022
healthy and happy and dynamic.
so now we'll go to non-agenda
public comments.
first I would like to give our
clerk an opportunity to talk
about how to participate.
>>clerk: thank you. If you
would like to participate in
public comment, please raise
your hand to speak.
when you are called upon, press
star 6 to unmute your line.
please state your comments and
state your name for the record.
>>mayor jan harnik: I want to
note this is an opportunity to
address issues that are not on
the agenda. If anybody would
like to speak at this time.
I do see a hand raised. I also
want to make note that the
brown act does not allow any of
the bodies that are meeting
today to respond to comments
that are not on the agenda, but
we will refer the matter to
staff or record a
recommendation.
so our first speaker. We have
joanne speer. Would you like to
address the council?
>>clerk: joanne speer, you have
3 minutes.
public speaker: okay, thank
you for taking my comments.
and I'm wondering why we are
spending so much time on
redistricting for two districts
when going to a five district
5th district system now
provides local and fair
representation for all parts of
palm desert. And I do
acknowledge that this is being
put on the agenda for the next
meeting. Thank you very much.
>> thank you.
is there anyone else? I see
luis --
public speaker: being this is
your first public hearing and 2
weeks from tonight is the
second public hearing and we'll
have our chance to review --
and the third public hearing,
the final draft map published
on the 17, and we have the
third.
and fourth public hearing for
the final map to approve that
final map and the deadline for
the final approval is april
17th and we go to november
election.
that concludes my presentation.
it's fairly straight forward.
it is dictated by state law.
there was the question about
this and so I'm happy to answer
any questions about this
process. I would love to take
the input of both public and
the council in this mapping
process. Thank you very much
for your time.
>> thank you so much.
okay. We'll have questions now.
the first question is council
member quintanilla.
>> thank you, mayor.
thank you for the presentation.
I have questions in regards to
the mapping software. Are there
plans to do maybe a tutorial in
advance. The last time it was
not an easy process and I'm
wondering if you can either
share this, if it's optimized
for the other systems and if
the map is available. If we can
get that answer.
and my second question would be
what is the proper for the
paper maps because some prefer
drawing their paper maps. Is
that all -- also something that
will be provided at the other
meeting?
>> yes. Thank you for the
question. I have been involved
in districting process and
without software it can be very
difficult to submit draft maps.
so our mapping tool is very
intuitive. There will be
instructions given.
as far as the tutorial goes, I
will have to refer to the clerk
for that, but having used it,
it's very intuitive. I believe
it's available both on a
desktop or laptop as well as
mobile. I will have to come
back to confirm that forks. As
far as paper maps, I will put
that question to the clerk.
>> the question was that some
may not have access to that. Is
there a possibility that we can
have some of the presentations
held at a school and available
to residents. Thank you.
>> from a legal perspective,
there is nothing that holds the
city from making any number of
workshops at any location in
the city.
>> thank you.
>> council member kelly?
>> it looks like ms. Harnik has
some information to share which
is not why I raised my hand,
but --
>> yeah, that's correct.
there was a couple of questions
in there. I do want to note
that the first work we'll go
over the mapping tool and how
to use that. That is one of the
things that is going to be
discussed there as
demonstrating how to use that.
it is available on a website.
so I have that information
there. I don't have the rest of
the answers.
>> all right. Thank you very
much.
>>council member kathleen
kelly: thank you. I'm glad you
moved back to this slide
because that is what I wanted
to talk about.
this slide issays that at our
next council meeting, we will
review and consider tract maps
and the written staff report as
they schedule which says next
to january 27th, held prior to
the release of tract map.
so I'm confused about what we
will or will not have tract
maps at next council meeting
>> if I can again ask the
clerk, I know that -- if our
process is to review tract maps
at the second public hearing,
but I want to make sure I'm in
line with staff's plan for this
meeting. I will also ask the
clerk to chime in there.
>> the written staff report you
have is consistent with the
first timeline that was
presented at city council.
is that what we are to assume
is the accurate timeline?
>> you know, frankly --
>> so we know that the public
knows what to expect when. So
what is accomplished and
clarity. My way of thinking,
this is for a second
introductory session. So if we
do the tract map, but as I
said, we need to figure out how
to make sure that our
communications are clear.
>> our intent and our practice
is to have the draft maps
available for review at the
second public hearing.
and that is the plan is to have
it a draft map at the second
public hearing.
the public has the ability to
submit draft maps all the way
up to the third public hearing.
there is a longer window to put
together their draft maps to
consider. But you will have a
draft map that complies with
all of the requirements, the
settlement agreements and with
the input we receive tonight
and the intent there is to give
both the council and the public
enough time to mole over that
draft map and make any tweaks
with their own submitted draft
maps to kind of again have more
time for that part of the
process as it really is the
most important part of this
process.
>> thank you. That was clear.
we just might need to scrub
what is out -- to be sure it's
consistent.
>> thank you. Good catch.
council member nestande?
>>council member gina nestande:
thank you, mayor.
mr. Richardson, I just wanted
to say our city of palm desert
is 50,000 population, and doing
like a redistricting of a big
city like los angeles, almost
seems to be an easier job to
do. As palm desert, can we
redraw these maps as some sort
of priority. Should they be
looking at the homes that are
unique in golf courses, that
are gated. We have 55 plus, we
have 55 plus in manufactured
home communities. So we are
somewhat unique in a lot of
work that you are doing in
redistricting.
so, it just seems so wrong and
I would hope that we can give
the public some more fine
tuning tools to more prioritize
this as they draw these maps.
I'm not sure if you are aware
of this or not, but the city of
palm desert, north frank
sinatra drive, is in the desert
sanders school district. That
is one that pops in my mind for
community of interest. Thank
you. Those of my comments.
>> if I can respond briefly to
that. I think you've nailed the
primary issue on the head when
it comes to redistricting.
actually while we certainly
have worked with bigger
jurisdictions, most of our
clients are small to mid-size
cities just like palm desert. I
serve the city attorney as well
and just like palm desert in
terms of being served by
multiple school districts,
having hoa's. Those are pretty
distinct areas in the city.
that is exactly what we want to
look at.
unfortunately the fair maps act
which is the law that informs
what we do isn't that specific
with the criteria. So we know
that the districts have to be
geographically contiguous. It
can't look like an octopus with
tentacles.
we know they have to be
compact, right. But the bulk of
our work is going to be exactly
like you articulated. 55 plus
communities that are clustered
together and gated communities
and hoa's and breaking up those
types of communities up
probably isn't consistent with
the fair maps act.
so the communities job and the
council's job is to articulate
where those boundaries are,
what those communities are that
you don't want to break up as
you redraw the lines between
these two districts.
that school district line -- if
there is specificity what you
just articulated is exactly the
rule that we want to be looking
at. Do you have specific and
distinct communities that
shouldn't be separated.
that's what the fair maps act
wants us to look at when we are
separating those into
boundaries. Sometimes we have
to separate them, but often you
can keep them together because
they should be together. I hope
that answers the question.
>> thank you, mr. Richardson.
>> I think it would be helpful.
although I'm not sure if it's
going to help. That should be
at the next meeting for sure.
>> council member quintanilla?
>>council member karina
quintanilla: thank you, mayor.
from the school district, there
is no possible way that it
could be now away from the
north district issue. Unless
mr. Richardson, I'm mistaken
but with we do get to the
boundary districts to keep that
in mind. Thank you.
>> are there any other
questions? Then we'll open
the public hearing and ask if
there are any comments anyone
would like to make? I don't
see any.
I wonder if our clerk see's
any?
>> I'm not aware of any.
>> I don't see any either.
okay.
then I will close the public
hearing and we will have any
discussion needed at this time
from council? No?
>> I do have the request or the
desire so when we have some of
these sections that the
location is identified to give
residents access to use
computers so we are not worried
about whether or not the access
they have in their home is
equitable for them to
participate. This is democracy
after all. I hope the city will
keep that in mind and create
some of these opportunities
either the middle school or
high school, a place that is
centrally located, if not the
library. Thank you.
>> I see ms. Horning taking
notes.
I will entertain a motion at
this time.
>> one more comment. Basically
as we'll draft the first map
and that is similar and we have
to add the population to
district 1. The one thing to
understand is at the lower end
of the range and the middle end
and the high end.
>> thank you.
I see a hand up.
council member kelly, do you
have a comment?
>>council member kathleen
kelly: yeah. The key objective
should not be a set number.
that would make it easy for
you, but that's not really
helpful.
what I said in december, I will
say again. This is established
to come as close as possible to
the district in palm desert. So
the priority is to receive that
identity. And might come at the
low range and might come at the
high end of range.
>> council member quintanilla?
>>council member karina
quintanilla: I echo the
sentiment that there is no
magic number that should be our
goal. I appreciate that you
want some guidance and aiming
for the middle would be a good
guidance but because we can't
say fix -- I think the
importance of keeping the
contiguous boundaries and
communities of interest is only
the priority and what makes
sense for the community. When I
was canvassing, I was in
monterey and residents didn't
know what was here.
so I echo the previous mayor,
council member and somewhere in
the middle but that we can't
necessarily give a number to
start. I know that's not as
helpful and you came for
direction but I think somewhere
in the middle, but we can't
give an exact number.
>> I think I heard the
direction loud and clear. It's
very very clear.
>>>
>>mayor jan harnik: are there
any other questions or
additional direction that might
be helpful, mr. Richardson?
>> I think I'm good. Thank you
very much for your time.
and your input. I look forward
to have a new map to look at.
>> thank you.
we do need a motion.
>> I make a motion to approve.
mr. Richardson to come back
with a map to approve it at his
earliest timeframe.
>> we have a motion and second.
>> roll call, please.
>> I just ask, is it important
to follow of the last promotion
that we receive the report and
so forth. I didn't hear that in
the motion. I don't know if
it's legally required, mr.
richardson or is the proposed
motion is sufficient from a
legal standpoint?
>> yes, it is sufficient from a
legal standpoint.
>> thank you, sir. .
>> okay, so we are moving the
motion as presented, is that
accurate, council member
nestande?
>> yes.
>> thank you.
>> roll call, please.
>>clerk:
>>mayor pro tem sabby jonathan:
aye.
>>council member kathleen
kelly: yes.
>>council member gina nestande:
yes.
>>council member karina
quintanilla: yes.
>>mayor jan harnik: yes.
>> motion passes unanimously.
thank you.
>> thank you so much.
thank you very much mr.
richardson.
we are going back to where we
were which is no. 15.
>>15. Ordinance no. 1374:
update palm desert municipal
code sections relative to
organicwaste recycling
requirements to comply with
senate bill 1383 (1st reading)
(
>> good evening, honorable
mayor and council members. This
is the municipal code to
coincide with organic waste and
I'm available for answering any
questions if needed.
>> great, thank you.
I see a hand up.
>>mayor pro tem sabby jonathan:
thank you, mayor. The report
and it's also my understanding
that it indicates that
implementation is required by
january 1, 2022, and of course
we are maybe 12 days past that.
so are we behind the eight
ball, are we going to be
arrested?
>> no. We are not behind the
eight ball and we are ahead of
the game and in good graces
with recycle at this time.
>> I don't have much to add
other than what amy presented.
>> I feel better already. Thank
you.
>> okay.
>> council member kelly,
please.
>> you are muted.
>>council member kathleen
kelly: in that vain, for the
benefit of listening, what do
we expect to be the actual
implementation where people
will be expected to change
their practices and by which
time we will equip them to do
that.
>> we have a prop 218 notice
going out to palm desert
residents. Beginning tomorrow
and next week. That is a 45-day
notice before the public
hearing at the city council at
the first council meeting in
march.
that is to bring the proposed
amending agreement and upon
city council approval of that
agreement will bring for july
1st.
>> any other questions or
comments?
>> that is quite an agreement.
okay.
if there are no questions nor
comments, I will entertain a
motion.
>> I move.
>> second.
>>
>> roll call, please.
>>clerk: [roll call] motion
passes unanimously.
>> thank you very much. We'll
go to 16.
>>6. Resolution no. 2022-02:
rescind resolution no. 2021-25
and updating the homelessness
taskforce bylaws; and appoint
members to serve on the
homelessness taskforce
that is ms. Horning who is
presenting.
>> that's correct.
good evening, mayor and
council.
I would like to start my
presentation this evening by
pointing out that there is this
revised staff report with
supplemental information this
afternoon.
the revised report is intended
to clarify changes in the
staff's recommendation and I
will go over this in the
presentation.
bear with me as I'm going to
share this on my screen.
okay, everybody can see my
presentation all right?
>> yes.
>> okay.
>> I wonder if you can make
that bigger.
>> I think I shared the wrong
screen. Here we go.
all right.
>> is that better?
>> wonderful.
>> okay.
the city council as you all
know has been working onseting
up a homelessness task force
for a while now. Interviews for
open positions were held in
december and resulted in and
council will appoint 8 members
and two alternates.
consist of two council members,
the chair, two community
members, business member,
alternate.
this also removes the question
to include bylaws.
which are incorporated in the
staff report for reference and
they are on your screen.
the request is to wait until
after the homeless task force
is able to be established and
be able to review the bylaws
and all the changes will be
brought back to council at the
same time at a future date.
at this time, I'm happy to
answer any questions you may
have.
>> I see we have a few hands.
we'll start with council member
jonathan.
>>mayor pro tem sabby jonathan:
thank you, mayor. Just very
briefly ms. Horning and council
member quintanilla, my
recollection is that the is
that it's consistent with the
selection committee. Is that
correct?
>> yes.
>>
>>council member kathleen
kelly: that's exactly what I
wanted to confirm. So thank you
chl. Are there any other
questions or comments?
>> I move.
>> we have a motion and second.
>>council member kathleen
kelly: is that a motion to
approve both the alternates
that has been presented, if so,
second.
>> that is correct. Thank you.
>> we have a motion and second.
>> roll call, please.
>>clerk: [roll call]
>> motion passes 5-0.
>> thank you so much.
17. Request to approve
amendment no. 1 to contract no.
c37040b with southstar
engineering and consulting of
riverside, california in an
amount not to exceed $350,000
for additional construction
management services related to
president£s plaza east and west
parking lot improvements
(project no. 758-14) (cc)
is that mr. Fireside who is
willing to present this? No.
there is mr. Bauman.
>> thank you, mayor and city
council. Audrey prepared this
report. Audrey, are you
connected?
>> I'm here.
>> there she is.
I'm here to back up audrey as
needed.
>> okay, I'm going to start
this presentation up real
quick. Can you see it?
>> yes.
>> today we are requesting
additional budget for
engineering to provide
additional construction
management services to complete
the construction for the
president plaza the parking
renovation project.
throughout construction project
has experienced numerous
challenges and resulted in
additional work and overall
expended construction schedule.
for now, I want to start by
summarizing some of the
additional work items that have
been required during
construction. Here is just a
few of the bigger examples that
we have. As you probably all
heard, our construction team
has found to date 18 septic
tanks throughout the project
site. Many of which were
properly abandoned and
connected the affected
businesses to the sewer system.
we also had a lot of issues
while grading with dealing with
wet and dry utilities.
dpw has had a lot of delays. So
our contractor had to wait and
work around the infrastructure
around all the bright water
lines that should have been
vacated and in turn we had the
lower a lot of those and we
also had to replace a lot of
wet and dry utilities because
they were shallow and also a
lot of them were sewer lines
and private lines and aged
and/or damaged during
construction.
as for dry utilities, we had
spectrum and sce come out for
the lower area that was graded.
we also ran into several
unmarked system lines that had
to be lowered and they were in
both in east and west lots.
very expensive amount of work.
in addition, our contractors
refined the ada improvement
design. We got a lot of
comments from businesses that
there weren't enough ada ramps
coming from the parking lot. So
we added some of those. Also we
refined the larger ramps to the
businesses that needed them so
they really match well with the
existing buildings. They were
being applied to.
due to the cwd delays, we also
had some rework for the
contractor. They had to leave
out some segments of the and
make connections so cwd had to
redo some work that resulted in
this -- for this type of work.
we also chose to install
temporary light towers
throughout project site, as a
safety measure until we can get
the new lighting put in.
the additional sidewalk redesign
from the contractor included
curb ramp designs to match the
existing conditions and
additional drainage
improvements that work better
with the lower profile curb
design, and also some redesign
around palm trees and sidewalks
that are going to remain.
this map, we included this. I
know it's hard to see but I'm
not going to spend a lot of
time on it. This just shows all
of those improvements
throughout the project site. So
this is the east lot and you
will see this is a spectrum
line I was talking about here.
and it shows the improvements
are not located in individual
project site. We have run into
issues all over every time we
put a shovel in the ground.
that was the east lot.
this is the west lot and
another large spectrum line
that we found while we were
digging and septic and all the
sidewalks and utilities.
this shows the severity of the
additional work that's been
completed.
so that has ultimately extended
the work schedule for
construction. Right now I want
to give you a quick update,
where we are at.
by the site, you will see the
east lot was paved on the 23rd.
most of the parking lot now
open for parking. We do have
some staging and the contractor
is going to to continue
installing other improvements
in that lot and they plan to be
done with most to the
construction and that lot by
the end of february. That is
club landscaping, lighting,
closures, the works.
cwd is expected to complete
their work next week and should
have the sidewalks finished and
should look really good. And
now the west lot is scheduled
for february 23rd and 24. The
remaining lots will be closed
to vehicle traffic until the
lot is paved. The contractor is
only required to
have 150 spots on the lot and
agreed to have spots open in
the area as feasible as long as
they are safe to provide as
much parking as possible to the
businesses. We still don't have
a solid date to cwd's work
schedule yet but they are
hoping to be at the lot by the
end of this month. That's where
we stand now. I wanted to
highlight the construction
schedule. When we set up the
contract, the contractor was
getting 125 working days to
complete the interim portion of
the project.
it's primarily getting the lots
paid and that was planned for
december 1, 2021. And then the
completion date for the total
project was january 29, 2022.
based on the additional work,
we have granted 40 extra
working days for the
contractor. So now the interim
completion date is february 8,
andth, and the total completion
date is april 11th.
the interim date is where the
lots are primarily open,
drivable, usable and the
completion date in april will
be for all the other
improvements that would require
-- once the lots are paved, we
should see improvement.
with that being said, we need
the management and on-site
during construction and extra
management required for the
construction for april.
I'm happy to answer any
questions if you have them.
>> okay, we have hands up.
council member kelly.
>>council member kathleen
kelly: yes. I would like to try
to understand this correctly
and members of the public who
are listening.
do I understand correctly, we
have already approved the
additional construction work
that is necessary for the work
and the contract for the entity
that we contracted to over see
that work.
>> correct.
we are still grading. There is
still potential for some
additional constraints.
>> we have identified the
additional work and received in
the budget if we find any other
issues. This is just for
management on site to help
watch over the contractor, help
redesign the field, help
resolve issues. Through the
construction.
>> thank you.
>>> thank you.
>>mayor pro tem sabby jonathan:
thank you.
I have to ask again, the
original cost estimate was $8.6
million. Through no call of
staff or our management team,
you know the cost has
skyrocketed almost $3 million
from 8.6 to 11.5. And we've
discovered these previously
unknown conditions under the
ground that has largely caused
these increases and they keep
rising from the deep.
here is the question.
are we -- do we have a sense
whether there is control and
whether there is more monsters
down there?
>> yes, we are in the last, the
north side of the west lot is
the west quadrant of the site
that has to be graded. The
other three -- that have
previously been closed, we've
already graded them out. They
are a finished grade. So this
week, we have identified
utilities that the contractor
has addressed and we have found
additional cesspool, but as we
get to that final grade, then
we feel much more confident
that we will not hit anymore
surprises. The sooner we can
close the ground,
the more confident that we
feel.
>> thank you so much. All of
your hard work. Very much
appreciated.
>> thank you.
>> I have a question. By the
way, that's why there are
surprises because no one knows
about it.
do you have any idea of the age
of the septic systems, the
surprise septic systems? Do
you have any idea of the age?
>> I don't know the exact age,
but they haven't been permitted
in a very long time. I know the
east lot was originally
developed in 1970. I wouldn't
be surprised if they were 40-50
years old.
>> I wanted to make the point
that a lot of this system,
before the city was
incorporated. So we don't have,
unfortunately, we don't have
the plans for some of this. So
I know on the level of
frustration for staff and I
know for the merchants is
really difficult.
at some point, we had to take
this on. And we chose to do it
and we are going to get it done
and it will be an amazing
project when it's finished and
it has to be done.
so thank you for doing what you
are doing. And now cvwd has
some problems with the chain
and what next. Thanks for
hanging in there and trying to
keep people informed as you
can. I know it's important and
difficult for you and difficult
for everybody involved. Thank
you.
>> I see a couple more hands
up.
council member kelly.
>>council member kathleen
kelly: if it's time, I would
move to approve.
council member nestande may
have something to express
first. I should move we should
have one heck of a party but I
will leave that to staff.
>> we'll have nice lots of nice
smooth pavement.
>>council member gina nestande:
yes, I will second the motion.
I just wanted to add if at all
possible because staff is not
busy enough if we can come up
with a plan b or c with the
parking. Is what I'm hearing
with businesses is that there
is no place to park to frequent
their business. I have been
thinking and thinking about it
and I know february 8th is
almost here for the interim
completion. But I'm just
throwing that out there for
staff.
>> I thought it was very good.
>> okay.
>> do I give an overview?
>> the partners with the
development department, tried
to secure temporary leases of
two existing parking lots. The
old union bank site being one
of them.
and we have been encouraging
businesses and customers and
business employees to use those
lots particularly when we've
had to do closures for bathing.
in addition, working on
temporary timed parking
restrictions, for instance, on
palm desert drive south to
allow for greater customer
access to the businesses and
there are tweaks we have been
making to the parking to add to
the growing shifting and
phasing of the parking. For
instance, we are considering
handicap parking for one of the
businesses while they are for
every department of ada parking
was moved. Staff is working
with the businesses to make
these temporary arrangements so
far.
>> thank you, randy. I
appreciate it.
>>mayor jan harnik: we have a
motion and second. Unless there
is any other discussion, can we
have a roll call vote, please.
>>clerk: [roll call]
>> motion passes unanimously.
>> thank you so much.
>> okay, we will move to 18.
>>
18. Request to approve the
annual council liaison
assignments for calendar year
2022
we have named on that. It's
something that the mayor does
and I will give a quick
overview if that's okay with
you.
madam clerk?
>> absolutely.
>> okay.
this is something we just
review to make sure that the
city is well represented and
the council is asked to review
and confirm their appointments.
and we have gone through this
process.
are there any comments or
questions regarding these
appointments? I think we have
strong representation in all of
the entities that are on this
matrix and I thank you for all
the extra work you have done
with this.
can we have a motion, please.
>> I motion to approve the
committee assignments.
>> thank you very much.
is there a second.
>> second.
>>
>> roll call, please.
>>clerk: [roll call]
motion passes 5-0.
>> thank you so much.
>>19. Request to appoint two
(2) city councilmembers to the
palm desert ihub advisory board
>> good evening mayor and
council. I'm the business
advocate and also over see the
agreement between the city and
the coachella valley economic
partnership for their oversight
of the palm desert hub. Part of
the agreement is the advisory
committee that has two
representatives from the city
council as part of it as well
as business members and
representatives from cal state
san bernardino palm desert. So
with the staff report, staff is
asking for two appointees for
that.
>> okay. Are there any
questions regarding these
appointments? I see a hand up.
>>council member karina
quintanilla: thank you, mayor.
my question is what is the
projected time that these
meetings are scheduled for the
I-hub advisory?
>> I believe the meetings will
be more of an ad hoc schedule.
at this point in time it will
be through zoom. It will depend
on -- this advisory board will
be setting up the policies for
the I-hub. Most of which is
spelled out in the agreement
between the city. So I don't
anticipate a large period of
time. There may be some changes
necessary otherwise there would
not be a regular standing
committee.
>> okay.
may I offer at this point that
I do represent the city on v
cva. In my mind, I think it
would be best to represent the
city in this position.
council member kelly?
>>council member kathleen kelly:
>> yes.
I know that the assignment that
we just approved included the
mayor's continuing appointment
as our representative to c
back and will council members
want to seek a second pointy or
go in a different direction?
>>
>> I'm open to whatever the
council decides.
>> thank you.
>>council member gina nestande:
>>council member karina
quintanilla: thank you. My
question is the point of
interests and the city
understood and the academy. If
the intention is to grow more
of the student centered and may
work and I feel I have a lot
of experience and would serve
as a representative should I be
selected. Thank you.
>> I do want to note and I saw
your eyes light up at this
agenda item that work with csd
and the academy is what we call
one future.
>> it was actually the post
secondary committee to see that
I was on the committee.
>> that's why and one --
>> however, having said that, I
wanted to add that clarity. I
think it's a great idea if you
would like to be on committee
that would be great.
council member nestande, what's
your thought on that?
>>council member gina nestande:
I defer to you, mayor. It
sounds like council member
quintanilla has spoken. So I
don't need to debate this
issue. So congratulations.
>> great. I do think we need a
motion for that.
please.
>> so I move that our
appointees be mayor harnik and
council member quintanilla.
>> I second.
>> we have a motion and second.
>> roll call, please.
>>clerk: [roll call] motion
passes unanimously.
a ¿bicycle rack incentive
program½ for private commercial
properties
>> who will be presenting?
>> good evening mayor and
council. Eric for development
services. We had a request to
initiate a bicycle rack
incentive program. With the
number of bicycle rack
improvements on san pablo, we
need places to also park the
bicycles. The incentive of this
program is the city would work
with private property owners.
the city would purchase bicycle
racks and install them on-site
with the property owner
maintaining them for 10 years.
tonight we are looking for
direction because we are
focused on areas around cv
link. And would like to have
council provide some feedback
onseting a price limit on the
bicycle racks.
probably some consideration
that you may want to go with a
different aesthetic. We want to
make sure that we
are aware of this.
I stand for questions and
direction.
>> we have a question from
council member kelly.
>>council member kathleen
kelly: a couple of questions.
first question is if we set up
a ceiling for what this city is
willing to do by way of
incentive, could it also be a
part of the program that the
site owner would do something
more as decor, more compatible
with their --
>> we would design the program
that way.
>> the second question is, I
see that the staff report
requests to us supply three
bicycle rack options from the
list attached to the report. I
didn't come up with how many
options there are. And we have
100.
could it be possible to perhaps
for staff to narrow the field
space for issues of
practicality and design to use
palm desert to get some public
input because I think we
discovered what's around that
part that questions around what
people are going to see on a
continuing basis, really to
ignite public interest. So it's
a great way to drive people to
the palm desert site. Would
that be a possible option?
>> absolutely. We can do that
and take a look at the number
of bikes presented and get that
communication to you.
>> cv links will probably be a
great resource also.
>>mayor pro tem sabby jonathan:
thank you, mayor.
so I do have some feedback for
staff and I will hold back for
the appropriate time as far as
questions.
number one, good evening to you
sir. Thank you.
I indicated a cost to about 400
to $1,000. In my experience,
installation is often equal to
a greater cost fof finding it.
is your cost estimate for the
cost installation?
>> that would be for the public
works team.
>> I'm super ethiopia hear that
because that was the second
question I had. Can we use our
own staff to do the
installation on private
property and I think you are
saying yes?
>> yes, we would be drafting an
agreement that requests to let
us on to their property.
>> my other question is whether
or not staff has considered
allowing the use of a parking
space without the owner coming
into violation of the zoning
ordinance or development
agreement or whatever
restriction there are on the
number of parking spaces. Has
staff considered this program
to be allowed as a parking
space to a bike rack?
>> we have appropriate some of
our larger regional centers and
we will look at that on a case
by case basis. We want to work
with the property owner for the
location of the bicycle rack so
they are easily identifiable
and people are going to be
using these bicycles. We can
use this parking space as part
of that.
>> as part of that question,
you want to keep in mind the
process with the number of
bicycle riders that don't have
access to street parking. So
they are limited in terms of
where they can put this.
>>
>>council member karina
quintanilla: thank you for
your very comprehensive list of
options here. In thinking of my
time in working with higher
education the university has
the ones that are allowable for
extra space. Is there some
installation or something that
was thrown into the list of
options?
>> it was a list of options.
>>
>>council member gina nestande:
this might be more of a
comment, but I will go for it.
for the city link, this is
perhaps something that our
committee can look at our next
meeting as well because looking
at -- and maybe just the
standard bike rack is the ideal
situation that can hold the
most bikes. I think we need to
look at practicality to staff
in my opinion. Thank you.
>>mayor jan harnik: council
member kelly?
>>council member kathleen
kelly: what is staff's
recommendation?
>> we don't have a
recommendation. The cost of
those will draw the program
quicker. You have maximum
amount to spend on this.
>> thank you.
>> council member?
>> thank you, mayor.
I have another question,
something that is very
minimalistic and functional and
if someone wants to get a
little fancier.
>> I think we can set up the
program that way.
>> time for comments?
>> due to inadequate needs,
this is a great idea and I love
it.
I think that it occurs to me
that this might lend itself to
the subcommittee to work with
staff to address those details
and I would be happy and
something like the icon edge or
some of the other hedges that
are just for a bike rack. Even
the artistic ones are very
sturdy. There is a lot of good
options there and using
something with the icon edge
with an artistic manner gives
the owner the option of
installing with.
I think this shouldn't be just
the high demand areas because
there are some areas that is
part of the encouraging to go
green these days.
that covers my feedback for
now. Thank you.
>>mayor jan harnik: thank you.
>>council member karina
quintanilla: thank you, mayor.
the policy, is that something
that could be added to the palm
desert --
>>council member kathleen
kelly: let me take a stab at
the motion to establish the
subcommittee. As council member
stated is using the reservation
and motion to give the staff
direction is yes, we love the
idea, no. 2, is the city, that
goes for both, and thirdly, to
using the suggested and
deferring the issue of the cap
on subsidy.
>> okay.
>>mayor jan harnik: we have a
motion and second. I'm going to
add a few comments because I do
also ride a bike. So let's ask
those bicyclist who are out
there and council member
nestande and uc davis and they
have bicyclist and the stands
and repairs and of course I
have pictures of all of them.
>> roll call, please.
>>clerk: [roll call]
>> this passes unanimously.
>> thank you.
>> next.
21. Request for direction on
the meeting format for
committee, commission and
council meetings (
this is for the council if you
would prefer to have virtual
meetings during the pandemic.
>>mayor pro tem sabby jonathan:
thank you. Yeah, I think
staff's recommendation makes
sense. I think this is a long
time that we are in a surge. We
should go to hybrid meetings
once the council chamber has
been completed and the acr and
omicron and some other variant.
>>council member gina nestande:
I was just going to say is that
I don't know if we can give
that option to those that want
to do that.
>>council member karina
quintanilla: that's what I
have heard from other
residents.
>> some of the flexibility
there. And the key thing is
number one keeping people safe,
no. 2, we have lived here for
decades and we have the zoom
format and we have to comply
with one or the other. We can
kind of modify wherever you are
to zoom and that level of
participation. So we are really
rather constrained.
>> does that answer your
question?
>> yes. It does. Thank you.
>>mayor jan harnik: I think we
always have standards put in
place by the county or the
state.
>>
>>council member karina
quintanilla: with that, I will
add my comment now.
I think it's still the safest
until the surge has dropped. Is
there a threshold that staff
has for this committee but I
would be in favor to stay
virtual to preserve public
health.
>> it can be virtual and in the
conference room. So we have 25
days away from the rooms to
start to become available. We
can reevaluate that climate.
>>council member kathleen
kelly: which was just clarified
to keep our meetings virtual
until we are concurrent with
many of the comments that are
made and our committees need
clarity. We need that and
staff's recommendation is very
sound.
>>mayor jan harnik: thank you.
>>mayor pro tem sabby jonathan:
thank you, mayor.
that direction being to
continue with virtual meetings
for now with the target of
converting.
>> okay.
>>mayor jan harnik: it's
important to remain flexible
because who knows what the next
variant might be.
we have a motion and second.
>> roll call, please.
>>clerk: [roll call]
>> we are going back to public
hearings.
22. Ordinance no. 1375: amend
the palm desert municipal code,
chapter 25, modifying section
5.60.60 (public hearing and
public notice), adding section
25.60.160 ¿community
engagement,½ and chapter 5,
section 5.11 ¿disclosures upon
transfer of residential
property½ regulating the public
engagement process (1st
reading) (cc)
>> I'm sorry, madam mayor. I'm
having technical difficulties.
>> this is for notifying the
policy of community engagement.
>> can you see my screen?
>> yes, perfect.
>> this is the community
engagement ordinance being
proposed.
early in the planning process
leads to better outcomes to
committee concerns. The
community engagement intended
to have the following. The city
supports increasing the public
notification of certain
developments, broadening the
audience and also as part of
the application the community
engagement plan to be reviewed
by staff to adequately closing
documents of long-term planning
efforts and potential future
projects including the
disclosures of the city's --
respond to public hearing and
public notifications.
so, our section 25.60.060, with
what 300 feet is which is what
is required and the new
requirement.
the developers are required to
submit a community engagement
plan for projects 5 acres or
more. That is done at the time
-- a method of communication
with the public and locations
for the public outreach to take
place. It is also a requirement
to submit any package.
the requirement is one meeting
at minimum with follow up
meetings as directed by the
department of services and
project engagement with the
public.
the notification of the
meetings will include a
thousand notifications as well
and how those concerns are
being met.
the third ordinance
recommendation is any
residential property located
within our city is to deliver
the prospective buyer through
closing documents, the real
estate tax disclosure, the
resale of homes in older
subdivisions to benefit from
awareness of likely development
in the vicinity.
this concludes the staff
report.
>> thank you so much.
I see two hands for questions.
>>council member karina
quintanilla: would anyone like
attendance sheets be required
or sign in sheets? I believe
that was brought up in a
previous conversation.
>> so part of those meetings,
city staff will have to
participate. City staff will be
there and if it is an in person
meeting, there will be those
sign in sheets. There is no
requirement of the number of
people that will show up.
>>council member kathleen
kelly: we essentially -- is
that correct?
>> that's correct.
>> what I see in the staff
requirement that resale of
homes would lead to the
disclosure called for. It's not
the 5 acres issue.
what I'm looking at in page 5,
clarifying that the new
language on disclosures only
applies to new.
>> also wanted to provide the
opportunity to have, for
example, for
today.
>> thank you. That's helpful.
>> thank you.
>> when this issue came up, of
course it was enforcement and
when the california real estate
disclosure and fire risk, with
this issue and directed to the
city's website and ends up
building their own home. If you
follow the state law that
already has the format. So
that's why it went this way.
it's something that is already
there and we can develop this
straight forward for that to
happen.
>>mayor pro tem sabby jonathan:
thank you.
so, item 5. That is under scope
of regulations. It says the
following.. And something that
wouldn't create basically
unlimited power.
>> how to correct this or
revise this if the council
wishes. The thought process
really was to see what kind
those community members are,
what are we going to see from
our backyard. So they already
provide those line of site. So
we just wanted to reserve our
right to be able to request
those various kinds to really
help and assist.
>> let me help you direct your
answer to my question.
>> sure.
>> I understand what developers
provide and what they don't
provide. This particular
provision -- staff is not cost
conscious, right? A
3-dimensional plan can cost,
has staff considered some kind
of limitation on this
open-ended authority for staff
to request additional items.
>> to give me a week or so
with staff. To address the
concerns that are being
generated to the city council
this last year. I'm not quite
sure how that procedurally
require that before we take it
to the city council. I tend to
agree with you. This is not
intended to be a bureaucratic
backstop.
>>council member kathleen kelly:
mayor pro tem jonathan's
suggestion, because certainly
can -- the rails for the
perspective. We'll find the
middle ground.
>> our next meeting.
>> that will end the public
hearing.
>> good point.
>>
>>mayor jan harnik: so why --
or do we have to open the
public hearing if we are going
to continue it? Mr. Hargrave?
>> if we know we are coming
back in 2 weeks, we go to a
public hearing. And then
continue to a date certain so
that way we don't have to
renotice it.
>> why don't we do that to
speak on it at this point.
unless there are additional
questions of staff, I will open
the public hearing.
and now why don't we move to
continue this to the next
meeting.
>> second.
>> we have a motion and second.
can we please have a roll call
vote.
>>clerk: [roll call]
>> motion to continue passes
5-0.
>> that public hearing remains
open at our next meeting.
that marks the end of our
meeting except for city manager
comments.
>> I have no comments tonight,
mayor.
>> thank you. And seeing no
unfinished business, this
meeting stands adjourned.