[1:48] You can leave right there.
[2:22] This doesn't have to be in your face.
Pretty good. But like right there once
[2:26] they move up.
[3:40] All right. Good evening, everybody. Uh,
welcome to the meeting of the City of
[3:44] Desert Hot Springs Public Safety
Commission. It's Thursday, September
[3:47] 10th at 6 PM. Uh, we're going to call
the meeting to order. Uh, Gerald, can we
[3:53] please get a roll call?
>> Commissioner Flores,
[3:56] » here.
>> Commissioner Lance,
[3:57] » present.
>> Commissioner Sanchez,
[3:59] » here.
>> Vice Chair Lozono
[4:01] » here. and chairman Meyer
>> here.
[4:04] » Thank you.
>> All right. Thank you, Gerald. Uh we'll
[4:06] move on to the pledge of allegiance. Uh
Donna, you want to lead us in that?
[4:11] » I sure do.
>> Thank you.
[4:14] » Hand over heart. I pledge allegiance to
the flag of the United States of America
[4:20] and to the republic for which it stands,
one nation under God, indivisible, with
[4:26] liberty and justice for all.
>> Thank you everybody.
[4:30] » Thank you, Don.
Okay.
[4:32] » All right.
[4:36] We need approval of the agenda.
>> I make a motion to approve the agenda.
[4:42] » I'll second that.
>> Okay. You got those, Gerald? Do you want
[4:47] us to vote? Uh, you want to do a roll
call or you want us to hit the button?
[4:50] » Um, on the screen.
>> It's on. You hit the button. Okay.
[4:54] » It's way up there.
>> Oh, there it is.
[4:56] » Where is it?
>> I can't.
[4:59] » You got it. It's kind of light. It's
right there.
[5:02] » There you go.
>> Motion passes unanimously.
[5:06] » Okay. Motion passes uh unanimously. Uh I
noticed there's no approval of minutes.
[5:10] We're all caught up there, right,
Gerald?
[5:11] » Um I wasn't able to get this last set in
time for this agenda, but it'll be on
[5:16] the next uh we'll catch them upg
[5:21] uh public comments. Uh at this time
pursuant to the Brown Act, any person
[5:24] may comment on matters of general
interest within the subject matter
[5:28] jurisdiction of the public safety
commission not listed on the agenda.
[5:34] Okay. Uh under the Brown Act, the public
safety commission should not take action
[5:38] on or discuss matters raised during
public comment portion of the agenda.
[5:44] And I'm going to put my glasses on
because I am having a hard time reading
[5:46] that. You
>> got older.
[5:48] » Thank you, Donnie. Yes, I did get older.
So uh it was only two months. Speakers
[5:52] may not yield their time to others
without consent of the chair. All
[5:56] comments are to be directed to the
public safety commission and shall be
[5:59] devoid of any personal attacks. Members
of the public are expected to maintain a
[6:03] professional courteous decorum during
public comments. Please complete and
[6:06] submit a speaker card and we have one uh
to the city clerk. You will be asked to
[6:11] state your name and city of residence
for the record. And we do have one
[6:15] speaker card. And is it Mr. Leco?
>> Emory. Yeah. Just
[6:19] » Yes. please step up. Thank you, sir.
>> Uh, dear commission members, um, and our
[6:26] chief, I just wanted to say that, you
know, you guys are doing a great job out
[6:31] there. You've helped us immensely at
Miracle Springs and at the spa, and I
[6:36] can't even thank you guys enough for
what you do. And, um, I just had, um,
[6:42] you know, the interactions with our
business. we probably are your most
[6:47] called places because of, you know,
we're a we're the lower price leader
[6:51] kind of in the area. And I just want to
say thank you. That's first. Secondly,
[6:56] um I did want to ask one question. Does
the city of Desert Hot Springs have the
[7:02] lowest crime rate in Coachella Valley?
Can you speak to that and let me know
[7:06] kind of where we're at in the pecking
order? Um cuz I'd heard we had the
[7:11] lowest rate and I'm like, "Oh, wow. Is
that true?
[7:16] » You you uh we'll let uh Lieutenant
Kuranza handle that when he does his
[7:20] report on the administrative reports if
that's okay with you cuz we we can't
[7:24] answer you right here right now.
>> Oh, no. I And I understand that. It was
[7:28] just I was like, "Okay, wow. That's
great." If that's that's where we're at
[7:32] and then how do we help, right? Anyway,
thank you very much.
[7:37] » All right. Thank you, sir. Appreciate
it. Okay. And yeah, I got a feeling,
[7:40] Lieutenant, you'll be able to handle
that that inquiry. Yeah, I knew it.
[7:44] Somehow I knew it. So, all right, let's
go to the uh animal control monthly
[7:48] report. Tyler, are we ready? Or are you
going to have somebody else do it?
[7:52] » So, I'm actually going to have our lead
animal control officer be uh stepping
[7:55] into this position for me on the
commission so he can review the reports
[7:58] for you guys so you get it straight
straight from him.
[8:04] That
>> better. There you go.
[8:10] whenever you're ready.
>> Okay. Good evening, commissioners. Our
[8:13] animal con care and control month re
report for August 2026,
[8:19] we had a total of 124 service requests
completed,
[8:25] seven administrative citations issued,
14 animal licenses issued, nine license
[8:32] renewal reminders sent.
[8:37] 61 animals received into care, 23
veterary visits provided, 43
[8:44] vaccinations administered,
14 microchips provided,
[8:50] 18 returned to owners, six adopted into
new homes and 11 transferred to rescue
[8:58] partners.
We had a total of 16 animals dead on
[9:04] arrival.
one animal that passed away while in our
[9:08] care and two humane euthanasia for
severe medical conditions.
[9:15] After hours on August 13th at
approximately 3:45 p.m. 10 puppies were
[9:21] discovered at one of our facilities by
our lead kennel Joe who contract
[9:28] contacted our officers and Tyler and two
of our officers that were on that day um
[9:35] arrived at the facility helped Joe
capture all the puppies. Two of them
[9:39] were hiding under vehicles. Um,
everybody was as dirty as can be,
[9:45] dehydrated.
Um, they gathered them all up,
[9:48] vaccinated them, fed fed them, gave them
water. Um,
[9:54] and we reached out to several rescue
organizations. Um, eventually getting
[10:00] them into,
um,
[10:03] the Helen Woodward Animal Center on
August 19th where they took over their
[10:09] care. and uh eventually got him into
homes.
[10:19] » All right.
>> Is that it?
[10:20] » Any that's it?
>> Is that it? Yep. Thank you. Is there any
[10:23] questions?
>> And what's your name again, sir?
[10:26] » Uh Jonathan Nitz.
>> Jonathan. Okay. All right.
[10:29] » It's right. It's right there on your
thing there.
[10:35] » Please, Donna, go ahead.
>> Um the puppies were they of all one
[10:41] Yeah, as far as they can tell based on
their the looks and the teeth and the
[10:45] age. Yeah, I would say so.
>> What were they like?
[10:49] » They were like little shepherd
Australian cattle dog.
[10:54] » They were fluffy. They were fluffy
fluffy
[10:55] » mix.
>> They're definitely a fluffy large breed
[10:58] when they entered our care.
>> Where did you find them?
[11:01] » Uh they were found at our facility on
Indian Canyon. Some We believe somebody
[11:05] dropped them over the fence. Um, yeah,
>> that's a lot of puppies.
[11:10] » Yes, it is.
>> Great job. Thank you.
[11:13] » Oh, thank you.
>> Yeah, we're just we're thankful that we
[11:15] had somebody on staff still at the
facility that was able to uh witness
[11:18] them on the ground. So, we're able to
round them up and take care of them,
[11:21] give them baths, give them vaccinations,
make sure they had food and water, they
[11:23] weren't dehydrated, no serious medical
concerns that would require us taking
[11:27] them over to urgent care or a vet that
night. Um, it what the good news that
[11:31] came out of it was we were able to build
that partnership with the Helen Woodward
[11:34] Animal Center. So, we um that that's a
big partnership for us. We're really
[11:40] glad to have that one. They they're
they're a really great organization who
[11:43] does thousands of adoptions every year.
So, we're hoping to continue our
[11:46] partnership and that this outcome has
brought us that partnership.
[11:51] » Great. Good news. Thank you very much.
>> Thank you.
[11:55] » Other questions for Jonathan? I
remembered his name. That's a good
[11:59] thing.
>> Thank you.
[12:01] » No, you're good.
>> I got one. Just one, please. Right.
[12:03] » Yeah. The citations issued were those
mainly for just like violations or no
[12:07] licenses or things like that or
>> Yeah. So most of them are for
[12:12] violations. Um our most common one is
licensing.
[12:20] » Okay. And I have two questions. First
question is is uh where is this Helen
[12:24] Woodward facility at? So, if people want
to go there and they want to look and
[12:29] see maybe adopt a puppy from or a dog
that's come from Desert Hot Springs and
[12:33] they've been gracious enough to take
from, where can people find them?
[12:36] » Oh, absolutely. So, I had the pleasure
of actually doing a tour of that
[12:39] facility and and meeting their staff and
their management and kind of picking
[12:42] their brain a little bit on how we can
up our adoptions. They're actually
[12:45] located out in San Diego,
>> but um I would encourage anybody to go
[12:49] down there. They have a whole education
center down there. So, if anybody just
[12:52] wants to go down there for that trip,
it's a beautiful facility. I strongly
[12:55] encourage it. I do think they still have
a handful of our puppies left.
[12:58] » Okay. All right. And the second
question, and please don't take this as
[13:03] a complaint,
okay? It's going to sound like one, but
[13:06] it's not. Trust me, it's not. Uh my my
wife had to call the other day, uh
[13:11] animal control. We had a a coyote who's
injured, sick, mangy. It wasn't afraid
[13:17] of humans for the most part, which she
called me and said, "It's not like
[13:20] taking off." And I'm like, "That's not a
good sign." Uh because usually coyotes
[13:25] see a human, they take. And I said, "Go
ahead and call animal control. See if
[13:29] they can do something because it's sick
and it's and it's acting aggressive." Uh
[13:33] she did. Your team was on the spot like
super quick. And uh the dog the coyote
[13:39] ran off uh and you know uh she was told
that there's nothing really we can do as
[13:45] a city. Okay. And then she was uh given
a number to call for the county.
[13:54] there wasn't anything there. They just
said call the city. Uh and then, you
[13:59] know, and then she tried to call the a
wildlife number and all she got was like
[14:03] a pre-recorded thing. Uh you know, my
question is is and I get it. If we're
[14:08] not allowed to handle those, we're not
allowed to handle them as a city. I get
[14:10] that. I think you I think the control
officer mentioned there was some code or
[14:14] section that prevents us from doing
that. But I'm just wondering how do we I
[14:19] mean is there a way to deal with a
problem like that? I mean, you know, I
[14:24] you know, I just I went out I cen
peppered where the dog the coyote was
[14:28] hanging out and figured out he's
drinking water out of Mono. I busted
[14:31] water lines. I'm the bad guy. So, I'm
getting that fixed. uh but and and that
[14:36] we haven't had it back. But I'm just
wondering, you know, someone who doesn't
[14:39] have that ability to do that or that
knowledge, how do we is there a better
[14:42] way for us to do it or is there maybe
you could explain the process when
[14:46] dealing with wildlife like that? I mean,
>> obviously there's some rules with that.
[14:51] » Yeah. So, the Riverside County will come
out if they're actually injured and
[14:56] they're not mobile. So if a your typical
I think I remember this call but the the
[15:03] coyote was limping but it's still
running off 100 miles an hour over
[15:07] exaggerating a little bit. Um so they're
not going to come out and chase it
[15:11] around the net. However, if it were
injured and just laying there where they
[15:16] knew they can catch it, they will come
out. Um as far as
[15:21] we go, I think we would have to go
through
[15:24] schooling and get certified for that.
>> Yeah. So coyotes uh they carry rabies a
[15:29] lot of times coyotes, bats, stuff like
that. So anytime it comes to a wildlife
[15:33] in particular like that, unless it's
deceased, we're going to partner with
[15:36] the county on that one just so they can
they can help us assist us taking care
[15:39] of that one.
>> Okay. So the key for the county to come
[15:43] out is and and there's a reason you guys
exist that started years ago and the
[15:49] county is not here anymore. So So the
key to them is that it has to be
[15:53] immobile.
>> Yeah. Correct. Okay. If it's not
[15:55] immobile, they're probably not going to
come out for something like that unless
[15:58] it's a danger to like let's say if it's
hopping in your backyard and attacking
[16:01] your dogs or something like that, then
absolutely call us. We'll come out there
[16:04] for something like that, too. But we're
going to partner with the county at the
[16:06] same time. So
>> Okay. All right. All right. You guys
[16:10] know that?
>> I do now.
[16:12] » I do now. Yeah. So, all right. Cool.
>> Thank you.
[16:15] » Any Did that spur any other questions?
You guys got any other questions? No.
[16:18] Okay, we're good. Thank you guys.
Appreciate it. All right. Let's move on
[16:23] to uh the code compliance monthly
report. Tyler,
[16:28] » so for this month with code compliance,
I'm actually going to allow Linda Hume,
[16:32] one of my code officers. She's a code
officer too, one of our senior code
[16:34] officers. She's going to deliver the
report this week.
[16:38] » Uh good evening. Um code compliance um
public safety commission um report for
[16:45] the month of August 2026. Um we had 188
service calls. We completed 188
[16:53] inspections.
Um, notices of violations was 124.
[17:00] Um, we had 29 citations issued. Um,
we've opened 117 cases
[17:08] and the total amount of dollars for the
month of August was 191
[17:14] $100. Sorry.
Um you'll see down here that we do have
[17:19] some um cases that we're pretty proud of
of um Lonnie Brock. Um she had this
[17:25] rental property that um had extreme um
dead vegetation and very bad overgrowth.
[17:32] Um it did take her a little while, but
the property owner did finally come in
[17:36] compliance and um is now um one of one
of the nice properties on the street.
[17:43] Um there's another one here for the
U-Hauls. Um that was my case. Um we had
[17:48] a business that um started having
U-Hauls as a business that wasn't
[17:53] licensed and it's not zoned for the
area. So
[17:56] » we were able to make contact with them
and uh actually with that U-Haul company
[18:00] and they were more than willing to come
get all those U-Hauls. So we we handled
[18:03] that one pretty quickly. Um then we have
the community response team enforcement.
[18:09] Of course, they are doing uh a lot of
work out there. Um lots of work. Um
[18:15] you'll see some of our um recent ones
and there's a lot more than this, but um
[18:21] we have the one here on 5th uh 15th
Avenue which was quite a big um lot
[18:27] cleanup, um getting rid of the trash and
debris. Um we have the one on Verbina
[18:33] that was quite big, you know, closer to
where you kind of see it from the
[18:37] street. they were able to take care of
that. And then we had a few um on on
[18:42] Pearson Boulevard. It's just a few that
we gave you, but um they're out there
[18:46] doing a lot of cleanup throughout the
whole city. So, and I would say that's
[18:51] um my report if you have any questions.
>> All right. Questions?
[18:57] » No, I just want to say thank you. You
guys have been doing a good job. So,
[19:01] » I know you did a couple of things down
our street. So, thank you.
[19:04] » Yeah, I'll let everybody know. Thank
you. Those are uh big improvements. It's
[19:10] beautiful. Very nice. Yeah, I'm
impressed. And um does that have
[19:15] anything to do with streets? I mean like
potholes.
[19:21] » That would be engineering. Engineering
handles um any potholes. So, if we get
[19:25] any complaints, uh, we we we redirect it
over to engineering and they're pretty
[19:29] good about response and getting it on
their list to make
[19:32] » because I've there's a lot of them on
Pearson
[19:36] towards Indian Avenue. Yeah,
>> I'll I'll I'll I'll let them know that
[19:41] that's
>> I appreciate it. Thank you. Other than
[19:44] that, I'm impressed. I think it's
beautiful all the work that you do and
[19:48] I, as MNA says, thank you very much.
No problem.
[19:53] » Actually, I just wanted to address what
Donna was saying. Uh on the Desert Hot
[19:56] Springs website, there is a place where
residents can report potholes and the
[20:01] engineering department is pretty quick
in responding and come out there and
[20:04] » uh they just ask the location and send
pictures if you got them and I reported
[20:09] a couple and like a day or two they're
they're taken care of. So,
[20:12] » wow.
>> Oh, I'll do that. Thank you very much,
[20:16] » Ray. You're good. Okay. All right.
>> Thank you. See, you both survived the
[20:21] first time. It was It's a good thing.
>> Yeah. Even Even your boss is smiling,
[20:26] which is an even better thing, right?
[20:31] » It's all good. Okay. I noticed that
Chief White's not here tonight, so we'll
[20:35] skip the fire department monthly report
and we'll go to Lieutenant Kuransza for
[20:40] the police department monthly report.
Good evening, uh, commission members
[20:46] and, uh, individuals in the crowd over
here. Um, I'm Corey Kronz, Lieutenant
[20:50] with the Desert Hot Springs Police
Department. So, a couple things I want
[20:53] to go over first. Um, first thing I'm
going to go over is our group A offense
[20:56] report for the month of August. Um,
overall, we see there's a downhill trend
[21:01] um, in comparison to last year in 2025.
For crimes against uh, persons, total
[21:07] crimes, we're down about 30%, just a
little bit over that. For total property
[21:11] crimes, we're down 27 and a.5% or
correction 27 and a quarter percent. And
[21:16] then crimes against society as a total
is down 28% for an overall total group a
[21:21] offense um reduction in 28.26%.
[21:28] As far as our monthly, excuse me, as far
as our monthly statistics go, our total
[21:32] calls for service for the month of
August were 1,862.
[21:36] Out of those 1,862, 1,251 were officer
initiated, so self-initiated activity.
[21:44] Traffic stops, uh, we had 402 traffic
stops, 568 bus and buildings checks, 91
[21:52] vehicle checks, and 190 pedestrian
checks. As far as arrest goes, we had 18
[21:57] drug arrests, seven DUIs, uh 20 or
excuse me, 35 felony arrests, 26
[22:04] misdemeanor arrests, and 47 warranted
arrest for a total of 133 arrests for
[22:09] the month of August. As far as citations
go, we had 26 misdemeanor citations, 115
[22:16] moving citations. So, those are as a
result, obviously, those traffic stops.
[22:20] and 50 municipal code citations for a
total of 191 citations for the month of
[22:26] August.
[22:29] » Yeah, very busy. Uh and that that
concludes um the offense and our um our
[22:35] stat stats for the month of August if
anybody has any questions.
[22:38] » So,
>> I was before we get to questions, I was
[22:42] going to ask you if you could please
address the question that was brought up
[22:46] during the the public comments thing. So
I don't want to uh I don't want to say I
[22:50] don't want to speak from like hard facts
in front of me. I don't have everything
[22:54] directly in front of me but anybody can
get onto a cell phone and and go through
[22:59] any sort of um you know Google search or
AI generated um search but I do know
[23:04] that um so our reporting system uh
federally is through um a system we call
[23:10] neighbors which is the national incident
based reporting system. So basically if
[23:14] we take a report for like a burglary
then um it goes into the system and
[23:18] that's reported at the end of every
month. So based off of those statistics
[23:22] and just in any sort of any sort of
internet search it does show the city
[23:26] deser hot springs you know having the
lowest crime rate within Coachella
[23:28] Valley. Now, um, we get into other, you
know, minutia as far as like per capita
[23:34] and this, that, and the other, but I
mean, overall, as an individual who's
[23:37] been a police officer for the city for
well over a decade, um, I can attest to
[23:42] significant reduction in, you know,
violent crime and overall crime as it
[23:45] goes. Um, and that's not just me tooting
the horn of the police department and
[23:48] the chief of police and the officers
that are working. That's me looking at
[23:52] it from as objective as a perspective as
a police officer can be, especially in
[23:56] an administrative role where I look at
these things a lot more frequent. So
[23:59] hopefully that answers your question a
little bit.
[24:03] » Yeah. And I I think you explained it
great, L, Lieutenant. I mean, you know,
[24:06] some of the minutia you have to look at
is you it's kind of hard because all the
[24:09] reporting is voluntary. So you and some
cities report crimes differently. Sure.
[24:15] » On that report than others do. So it's
not always
[24:18] » it's it's a better system to compare
Desert Hot Springs to Desert Hot Springs
[24:22] a year or two years or three years ago
rather than to compare it city to city.
[24:27] But if you ask me, I would say all the
cities are doing a really good job. I
[24:31] mean, the whole valley is,
you know, I I've been to some other
[24:36] places and lately and it's Yeah. Yeah.
It's a It's a It's a different world.
[24:41] So, but I would say they're all doing a
really good job, but
[24:44] » you know, those numbers are better
compared to the city itself. It's hard
[24:47] to compare them city to another city.
And I will say to kind of piggyback off
[24:52] of what Linda was saying, so our
community response team, which isn't
[24:55] just um the police department, but it's
also code enforcement as well as our um
[25:00] social workers um group, they're out
there working every day and they are if
[25:05] anybody's driven around the city and
again compared from one year to the next
[25:09] or even 10 years ago, um the amount of
um criminal activity just blatantly um
[25:16] taking place on the streets is
significantly reduced. And I can I can
[25:20] say that from my own perspective of my
own city. Um just in comparison, it's
[25:24] night and day. And they're really out
there, you know, um working for the for
[25:30] the citizens, not just at Desert Hot
Springs, just in general. Anybody coming
[25:33] up to visit the spas or anybody going to
do any shopping in any sort of area, I
[25:37] mean, it's it is night and day. So, I
will say that they're doing a heck of a
[25:41] job out there.
>> Yeah. Yeah. All right. Questions from
[25:44] commission members?
>> I do. No, just thank you for all your
[25:48] hard work.
>> You're very welcome and thank you for
[25:50] your support.
>> Okay, Donna.
[25:52] » Yeah. What city are you from?
>> I'd rather not say because I don't want
[25:56] to throw anybody under the bus out
there, but it's a it's a city outside
[25:59] the Coachella Valley, not too far away.
>> Okay. I was wondering
[26:03] um I noticed that we're going to get 35
more officers. Am I right? Or
[26:08] » it's not so the the total number um is
going to be 45. That's been set. Oh. Um
[26:13] yeah, that was set the other day at the
city council meeting. Um and what Chief
[26:17] Shaw has done u just through our recent
um uh post audit through um you know
[26:24] obviously through the state and
everything they gave a number and it was
[26:27] recently uh you know accepted by the
city council and stuff to to add up to
[26:31] 40 45 officers over the next several
years and stuff. So basically an initial
[26:35] two officers a year for the next for the
next uh for the next 5 years. So we're
[26:39] in the process of doing that right now.
Do we have enough cars and equipment and
[26:44] things? Do we
>> We could always use more.
[26:46] » Yeah, it's I was wondering. Yeah.
>> So, I mean, from the perspective again,
[26:51] uh we could always use more and just
because like we and we'll and we'll
[26:55] bring up vehicles for, you know, from
what you just said is those are things
[26:58] that we use every single day and we use
them whether it's cold outside or 120°
[27:03] outside, we're going through the desert,
we're driving through the streets and
[27:06] all that kind of stuff. And although our
fleet services manager is does awesome
[27:10] at his job, um when we're out there
running and gunning every single day, um
[27:14] those cars do take a lot of wear and
tear and everything. So, we could always
[27:18] use more vehicles. I will say that.
>> So, we don't use motorcycles anymore or
[27:24] is there any like in the winter it would
be easier for them to ride around?
[27:30] » So, as of right now, as far as like a
like a a dedicated motor officer, we
[27:35] don't have anybody. We do have three
motorcycles that are up and running. The
[27:39] only uh certified law enforcement motor
officer that we do have is Chief Shaw.
[27:44] So, and I don't think Chief Shaw wants
to go out in 120 degrees and write
[27:47] tickets. However, not that he wouldn't
though, but one of the things that
[27:51] » I thought he would.
>> I'm sure uh one of the things that uh
[27:54] that he has said is he does want to
staff that motor officer position. um he
[27:59] hasn't given a number but I know that uh
like the number that I've had in my mind
[28:04] um just from my perspective is and as
the patrol lieutenant and also as
[28:10] someone who supervised the um traffic
unit before in the past is two one for
[28:14] the front half of the week and one for
the back end of the week. So that is
[28:17] something that we do want to that we do
want to fill sooner rather than later.
[28:22] » Thank you. I think since I've been here,
I always say since 6 1962,
[28:28] there's been a lot of improvement, you
know, and when my son was murdered, I
[28:33] think there were only like 10 cops or
something or another. So, and I still
[28:38] thank Rod Pacheco for doing all that he
did with the crime sweeps and stuff like
[28:44] that. And everything started rolling
after that. But I'm very proud of what
[28:50] we have now in Desert Hot Springs. I
could tell people I live in Desert Hot
[28:54] Springs and they say, "Oh."
>> All right.
[29:00] » Thank you very much.
>> You're very welcome.
[29:02] » Do you have anything?
>> Uh, just quick with the increase in in
[29:04] staffing. Is that because we need to
just add more people on staff during
[29:08] every shift or is that just to cover
like schedules and things like that?
[29:12] » It's going to be a combination of the
two. ultimately ultimately there is a uh
[29:16] like an algorithm of some sort that post
uses in order to ga gather um you know
[29:20] hey this department needs this amount of
people and stuff so I can't I can't
[29:24] speak exactly to what that looks like
however I will say that it's a
[29:27] combination of staffing patrol which is
the most important thing to get out
[29:30] there make sure that we have enough
people um working patrol uh to go out
[29:35] there respond to calls for service and
also um conduct selfinitiated activity
[29:39] but it's also to make sure that we can
staff additional uh additional teams
[29:45] like motor officers, different task
force, um the CRT team, the detective
[29:50] bureau. Also, with the increase in
staffing, uh it allows the officers to
[29:55] grow so that way they're not just
running from one call to the next. They
[29:58] can take their investigations further so
that way they can take that step further
[30:00] into an investigative role later on. Um
and you know, as far as monetarily, it
[30:05] does cut down in overtime, uh mandated
overtime and stuff because obviously if
[30:08] there we don't have enough people, then
someone has to get ordered into work and
[30:11] that comes at a higher cost and
everything. So, it is a combination of
[30:14] things.
>> Thank you,
[30:16] » Charles.
>> No, I'm good.
[30:17] » No, you're good. Uh, you know, I'm I'm
going to tell you that we've had the
[30:21] last two months off and I was sitting
over the last two months and I'm like,
[30:24] we need a goal for this year and I'm
like, my goal, we've staffed up the fire
[30:29] department, we've staffed up animal
control, we've staffed up code
[30:32] enforcement, right? You know, we've done
all these great things. We haven't
[30:36] really talked about the police
department. And I know we talked about
[30:38] it like in 2022 when I was still on the
commission and uh I said, you know what,
[30:44] it's let's let's bring that I was going
to throw that out tonight and say that's
[30:48] we need to talk about staffing the
police department and
[30:52] » you know, you know, the city staff and
the city council have have stolen my
[30:57] thunder, but for the best of reasons and
they did an awesome job and I love the
[31:01] idea of phasing in over five years. It
helps make the cost uh the city adjust
[31:06] to the cost easier. Uh sorely needed. A
proactive department does better than a
[31:11] reactive department. Absolutely.
>> And I I couldn't be more proud of the
[31:14] city staff and and the city council for
doing it before we even had a chance to
[31:19] look at it.
>> And I'm not saying anything negative
[31:22] about the us not getting to look at it.
It's just it's great that we don't have
[31:25] to look at it because it's already been
handled, which is a terrific thing to
[31:29] have happen. So, so now I'm going to go
home and
[31:34] think of something else. Unless somebody
wants to tell me what our project should
[31:38] be. I would love to hear some ideas on
projects like anything from animal
[31:41] control to code enforcement to the fire
department. If they've got something
[31:45] they want us to look at or if there's
some issue that, you know, maybe we need
[31:49] to beat up a little bit, you know,
especially when it comes to money. I
[31:52] mean, you know, that's that's our
primary thing is look at budgets. But,
[31:56] but uh but yeah, I'm really happy that
they did that for you. Uh, you know, we
[32:01] had talked about it and 1986 when I
started here, there were two two
[32:05] officers per shift. We had 18 people
total,
[32:07] » including the chief. We had four cars.
>> So when your people are all complaining,
[32:11] they don't have enough cars, you just
tell them, "Come see me." We had
[32:14] » four cars and two of them only worked
half the time. So So they literally
[32:19] drove 24/7. They you would literally
your partner would pull up who you were
[32:23] leaving and they would take your stuff
out. They wouldn't even turn it off. So
[32:26] it's it's really great to see you guys
advancing. Uh it's uh like I said, every
[32:31] time I've seen the the troops out there,
they're doing a great job. And uh I know
[32:35] we're looking at the College of the
Desert to try to help you guys out and
[32:39] support your support your uh staffing
and stuff like that in a, you know, more
[32:43] effective way. So uh I think you guys
are doing a great I'm not just saying
[32:48] that because I'm up here. It's when I
got nothing to talk about, that means
[32:51] you're doing pretty good. So So So thank
you. Thank you.
[32:54] » I just have one more thing.
>> Please, Donna. I just want to say in
[32:57] partnership with everything is our 911
staff is they do a phenomenal job as
[33:04] well and I just want to give them a plug
of all working together. I mean you call
[33:09] them and they're right there. They're
right on it and saved my life five years
[33:14] ago. So I think they're great. So
>> I'll make sure I get that information
[33:18] over to them. But yeah, they do an
excellent job and uh the ladies the the
[33:21] men the men and women that work there
are are are definitely topn to say the
[33:25] least. And it's great having them in
house now as opposed to, you know,
[33:28] several years ago we were using
Cathedral City and stuff. And although
[33:31] those ladies and gentlemen did a great
job over there, it's nice to have it in
[33:34] house. You get to put a face with the
voice and everything like that and
[33:37] becomes more of a team effort. So
>> very good. Thank you. I appreciate that
[33:41] you do that.
>> Thank you.
[33:42] » Thank you.
>> All right. And that's going to take us
[33:45] to commissioner reports. I know somebody
has to go watch a football game.
[33:50] » What's the score? Go
>> first then. So M is going to go first.
[33:55] And we're losing. So
>> Oh, they're playing tonight.
[33:58] » Yes.
>> So, I just wanted to invite everybody to
[34:01] the uh Hispanic Heritage Festival that
the Glube de Muer Latinas is having on
[34:08] October 3rd from 12 to 7:00 p.m. And
it's going to be at the Living Word in
[34:14] the Desert Church on West. So, so if
anybody you guys are invited to show up,
[34:22] okay, to support
Thank you.
[34:25] » All right, Charles.
[34:29] » Yeah, just a couple things. I see a
little flyer here for the pet adoption
[34:32] event on Thursday, September 24th. So,
just going to make sure that gets out
[34:37] there for anybody who may be watching
live stream to come and get yourself a a
[34:41] good quality animal. They do know
they've been given a second chance and
[34:45] they appreciate it. Uh secondly, I I did
attend the city council meeting last
[34:50] week and I think we benefit a lot from
this committee because everybody that
[34:55] sits up here on the board has been a
resident of Desert Hot Springs for quite
[34:58] a while. Uh and we've we know what it
used to be and we've seen what it's
[35:02] become. And so when people in the city
like this gentleman here wants to know
[35:08] where we stand with the crime rate and
we can go back oh had you been here 10
[35:13] years ago or 15 years ago it was it was
a bad no to go to Stater Brothers after
[35:18] dark. Uh now you can go anywhere in the
city after dark and feel safe. I mean
[35:23] there are still always going to be areas
in any city to where after hours is off
[35:28] limits. Uh, but it's an honor and a
privilege not only to represent this
[35:32] city up here on the board, but also with
these gentlemen and the police
[35:36] department, code enforcement, everybody
else of just seeing where this city has
[35:40] gone and where it's going to go in the
future. So, hats off to all of you.
[35:44] » Thank you, Charles. And I appreciate you
not saying comparing it to 1986 when I
[35:49] was here cuz that was a long time ago.
>> I graduated in ' 86, so you were
[35:54] probably one of those guys I didn't care
for.
[36:00] See any all of us can change
>> anything. Thank you guys for everything.
[36:05] Thank you.
>> Okay,
[36:07] » Donna.
>> I just want to say thank you for
[36:09] everything as well. And I when I talk
about how long I've been here, I I was
[36:14] just envisioning my grandmother um who's
gone um driving in her little what do
[36:21] you call it? A golf cart on Palm Drive.
And she thought she was so cool. And
[36:26] there were no lights. There were there
weren't even barely any stop signs, but
[36:30] it was a a wonderful time then. So, but
then things changed and they've changed
[36:36] bad. They now they're very good and I
appreciate everything that everyone
[36:40] does. Thank you.
>> You want to go? Yeah. Go ahead, Mara.
[36:45] » I just wanted to welcome you guys and
thank you for your reports.
[36:48] » Yeah,
>> perfectly said. So, hey, um my final
[36:52] thing is is once again if somebody has
an idea for a goal for the commission
[36:57] this year, I'd love to hear it and put
it out to the rest of the commission and
[37:00] see if uh that's something we want to we
want to track down and work on or
[37:04] something. I I would love to do it. We
we've had we've done that in the past
[37:08] and we've come up with some really great
things like a new animal control
[37:10] department one year. Uh there's a whole
big fire truck up on the east end of the
[37:16] city now that kind of evolved out of one
of those projects and things. there's a
[37:20] paramedic unit that evolved out of that
project, those kind of projects. So, uh,
[37:24] it doesn't mean that if we take on a
project, something's going to happen
[37:27] because of it. It just means we do some
kind of leg work or we do some
[37:31] examination and we provide the city
council and city staff with some ideas
[37:35] or some concepts or some plans or, you
know, if you uh there's nothing worse
[37:40] than having some extra funding pop up
all of a sudden and nothing to spend it
[37:44] on, right? That's that's a benefit. So,
so it's kind of good to help put those
[37:49] ideas and those files into the hands and
pockets of the people who make the
[37:53] actual decisions and give them options.
So, um I would love to hear something
[37:57] because like I said, mine got stolen
away from me for all the right reasons.
[38:01] So, secondly, I I just wanted to say uh
uh we had a pretty good fire over there
[38:06] at Iron What is it? What's is it Sil
Country Country Village Apartments or
[38:10] whatever? Country Hills.
>> Country Hills Apartments. Yes.
[38:13] » Yeah. And uh you know I was my wife sent
me to the store for something. Of course
[38:16] I got in the middle of 50 fire trucks
and everybody driving crazy but it was
[38:21] uh uh you know we don't we didn't get to
talk about the fire department today but
[38:25] it was really heartening to see the
incredible response of Cal Fire to uh
[38:30] that episode. Uh you know when you're
when you're driving along and you see
[38:34] the the I don't know how big that ladder
truck is that comes out of Palm Desert.
[38:38] I think it's ladder 33 coming out and
coming into coming into our town. You
[38:43] know, that's uh you know, you're you've
got something bad going on. But they had
[38:47] that thing knocked down pretty darn
quick and they did a great job. I'm sure
[38:50] your people were there, Lieutenant, you
know, protecting the hose is what we
[38:55] always called it. Uh yeah, don't run
over those hoses, man. I guess that's
[38:59] like a that's bad. So that's bad. No,
no. So, but I just wanted to say the
[39:03] fire department did a great job. I They
had a very busy day because they had
[39:06] that fire. I think they had a second
fire that day and then you had a major I
[39:11] think you had a major TC out at 62 in
Pearson. We were watching you all night
[39:15] driving all over the place all crazy
from our backyard. So, but uh very busy
[39:19] day but very hot day, a difficult day,
but it seemed like you guys all handled
[39:24] it. So, the I just wanted to give a
shout out to the fire department because
[39:27] because they they need a little love
too. So,
[39:30] » anything else for the good of the order?
>> Just good to see Gerald again. Thank
[39:36] you.
So sweet and quiet all the time.
[39:40] » Yes. Thank goodness for Gerald.
>> Yeah. Amen.
[39:43] » All right. Well, if there's nothing
else, um we'll go ahead and adjourn the
[39:47] meeting for tonight. We'll see you all
next month. Thank you everybody.
[39:49] » Thank you.
>> Have a good night.