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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes 2023-01-28 CITY COUNCIL MINUTES Cathedral City Special Meeting Saturday, January 28, 2023 8:00 AM Double Tree by Hilton Hotel Golf Resort 67967 Vista Chino Cathedral City, CA 92234 • CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 8:00 AM by Mayor Rita Lamb. • ROLL CALL Attendee Name Title Status Rita Lamb Mayor Present Mark Carnevale Mayor Pro Tern Present Nancy Ross Councilmember Present Raymond Gregory Councilmember Present Ernesto Gutierrez Councilmember Present • STAFF PRESENT Charles McClendon, City Manager Anne Ambrose, Assistant City Manager Tracey Hermosillo, City Clerk Ryan Hunt, Communications and Events Manager Eugenia Torres, Human Resources Manager Kevin Biersack, Deputy Finance Director London Pyle, Accountant II Mallery Gerry, Accountant II Jan DeGuzman, Chief Technology Manager Edward Moore, Facilities and Field Superintendent Robert Rodriguez, Director of Planning and Building Gil Estrada, Chief Building Official Sandra Molina, Code Compliance Development Manager John Corella, Director of Engineering and Public Works Armando Balizzone, City Engineer Deanna Pressgrove, Environmental Conservation and Public Works Manager Stone James, Economic Development Director George Crum, Chief of Police Rick Sanchez, Police Commander Jon Enos, Police Commander Michael Contreras, Fire Chief Stephen Tumir, Battalion Chief Craig Sanborn, Battalion Chief Al Ford, Assistant City Attorney Michael Kashiwagi, City Consultant 1. STRATEGIC PLANNING OVERVIEW Mayor Rita Lamb welcomed everyone to the 2023 City Council Strategic Planning. She expressed that the workshop is an important opportunity for the City Council to have a collaborative discussion with the City's Management Team to discuss current priorities and to develop a long-term vision for the future. She stated that as the City continues to grow and demands on municipal service providers become increasingly complex, the ability to quickly identify and adapt to changing needs and expectations of our community becomes increasingly important. She announced that the Management Team attending the workshop represents professional staff responsible for planning, staffing, and implementing the full range of city programs, operations, and services for the residents and businesses. Their understanding and knowledge of changes within their business groups, new and emerging legal and regulatory compliance mandates, challenges and opportunities created by current and emerging technologies, and evolving customer service needs and expectations are all important "inputs" for our visioning and goal setting efforts. The City's Strategic Plan will be an important planning document to help maintain focus on the future in addition to operationally and tactically addressing current issues and needs. Similar to the City's Biennial Budget process and 5 Year Capital Improvement Program, the Strategic Plan will be reviewed annually and updated to reflect business changes and evolving needs and expectations of the community we serve. She thanked everyone for investing their valuable time and knowledge in the important work and discussions that will be taking place during the workshop. She introduced Esmerelda Garcia, MIG, who the City engaged to facilitate the Strategic Planning process. Ms. Garcia explained that the purpose of the workshop was to introduce city leadership to the Strategic Plan process, and to discuss their shared values, vision, goals, and strategic directions to be considered in the five-year strategic plan. Ms. Garcia led the group with self-introductions, reviewed the workshop objectives, and provided an overview of the strategic planning process. She introduced Richard Bernard who presented findings from the community survey conducted by his survey research firm FM3. After he addressed questions, Ms. Garcia launched the workshop activities. The City Council and city staff were assigned to cross functional teams and sat in these smaller groups. The groups each addressed questions and prompts focused on a series of topics related to the Strategic Plan. These included Values, Vision, Goals, and Strategic Priorities. Each group shared the results of its discussion with the entire group. Below is a summary of the responses to questions and prompts that were a result of the team's discussions: Cathedral City Page 2 Printed on 3/02/2023 VALUES The groups were asked to share what they value most as a community. Community and Civic Pride • Great quality of life • Great place to retire or raise a family o Education o Health services o Housing options and price points o Affordability o Employment • Events/cultural • Culture • Independence • Identity • Fun • Integrity • Cleanliness • Attractiveness Inclusivity • Embracing all • Strong/sense of Community • Spanish outreach • Cultural events reflective of demographics • Community engagement • Transparency Safety • Police Department • Fire Department • People feel safe • Emergency preparedness • Homelessness • Roads • Public safety • Community engagement- neighborhood watch Public Investment • Financial stability • Fiscal responsibility • Development • Business o Business friendly o Variety/different options o Predictable development process • Economic development • Road condition Cathedral City Page 3 Printed on 3/02/2023 • Visual appearance o Street medians • Homelessness • Environmental consciousness Diversity • Great place to live for different groups and people o Young families o Retirees o Business options Services • Education o Trade schools o Palm Spring Unified School District o College of the Desert • Health services • Cultural and community events • Recreation Innovation • Willingness to evaluate and change • Technology • Environmentally conscious VISION Each group developed a vision that expresses the City's success. The following represents the results from each group. All roads lead to Cathedral City Cathedral City is safe, beautiful, fun, unpretentious, We are the best kept secret of the Coachella Valley, the place where charm meets innovation We welcome everyone - you can be yourself come as you are We embrace small and start up business Cathedral City is ranked one of the top 10 safest cities in California Because we facilitate high quality development, we have become a fully built out city We offer excellent amenities and are a leader in entertainment in the Coachella Valley We have a great reputation for being inclusive and have transparent government Cathedral City is the heart of the desert and has built its success by leveraging its adjacency to Palm Springs We have a deep sense of community, great government services Our community embraces our diversity with an emphasis on equity, and inclusion Residents stay forever because Cathedral City is affordable, has a variety of housing options, vibrant business, beautiful neighborhoods, and cultural/arts events Cathedral City is a great place to live, work, and play! Cathedral City Page 4 Printed on 3/02/2023 Itis the safest city in the Coachella Valley where the community can engage with Police and Fire We have well maintained and clean streets that are nicely landscaped It's a prime hub and destination in the Coachella Valley The community is affordable, visually attractive, diverse, and inclusive We offer diverse offerings for locals and visitors including special events, walking and biking trails Cathedral City is one of the top places to retire It is family oriented, safe, clean, visually attractive, affordable, is a great place to work, and business friendly We are innovative and a leader in smart technology The City is a destination, where people come for our events, arts and culture, visit the downtown, and experience the diverse outdoor recreation options GOALS Groups were asked to discuss and identify goals that will guide the city in achieving its future vision. These are a starting point and city leadership will continue to build on these through the process of developing the strategic plan framework. Below is the initial set of goals identified by the groups. Enhance public safety • Prioritize innovative community-based public safety programs • Ensure proactive initiatives and strategies Increase the rate of high-quality development that results in economic prosperity Improve the visual appearance of the City • Streets, medians, gateways • Residential properties are maintained • Development/redevelopment standards • Homelessness • Graffiti • Code enforcement Enhance communication between Cathedral City and the community • Ensure people are heard • Utilize all methods and technology • Ensure it is efficient and two way STRATEGIC PRIORITIES The group discussed specific opportunities and priorities for realizing the City's vision. The City Council members shared their priorities, and these are noted below: 1. Serving the Community with Pride and Dedication - Through diversity, equity and inclusion driven employee programs and employee experiences, Cathedral City is the employer of choice with a workforce that is engaged, motivated and respected public stewards a. Study the need to reallocate staff resources, including the use of contracts Cathedral City Page 5 Printed on 3/02/2023 b. Review comparison data on Council salaries and the process to update if warranted c. Consider a Fire Cadet program to introduce youth to the potential for careers in fire and emergency medical services 2. Community Pride and Investment - Cathedral City road conditions have improved to rank among the top cities in the Coachella Valley, and other city infrastructure and facilities are well maintained due to the use of objective asset management tools a. Develop an Electric Vehicle transition plan to comply with upcoming state mandate and include consideration of providing publicly accessible charging stations b. Develop an entryway, medians, and lighting master plan to provide appealing gateways to the City c. Develop a wilderness trail plan d. Complete a dog park in the southern part of the City e. Improve and expand Chuperosa Lane to become a point of pride in Cathedral City f. Maximize the use of existing resources to include underutilized parks and the library to support goals with the budget we have g. Communicate with residents to move parked vehicles on street sweeping day h. Improve pedestrian access to parks through the use of crosswalks and sidewalk improvements i. Improve wayfinding signage to direct visitors to destinations in the community j. Develop a traffic calming plan with strategies for addressing location specific speeding issues k. Develop a plan to address the need for funding for parks and recreation services through the DRD; and other resident priorities including streets, and work toward a potential funding measure in 2024. I. By the end of 2023, complete the design phase and begin construction on the Dream Homes Park 3. Fiscal Stability and Sustainability - Cathedral City has economically prospered by facilitating the investment of private dollars in high quality development which benefits the community a. Explore providing a General Fund Capital Projects fund as part of development of the next biennial budget b. Develop and adopt a Facilities Master Plan c. Implement improvements to purchasing practices and procedures to align with procurement code requirements d. Increase Council district improvement funds e. Consider acquisition of an underutilized site on Cathedral Canyon and work to activate the site f. Allocate resources necessary to achieve the City Council's goals and vision g. Develop an inventory of vacant and underutilized properties h. Complete and improve the installation of the Tyler EnerGov software to automate, improve and streamline the plan review, permitting and Cathedral City Page 6 Printed on 3/02/2023 inspection processes i. Evaluate data and work with CVEP to identify holes in the local economy and develop plans to address j. Strengthen the Economic Development team and remove optional tasks such as commission staffing to focus on core/essential duties k. Complete and adopt the Development Impact Fee study 4. Innovation - Cathedral City has successfully leveraged technology to optimize resource allocation, improve public services, stimulate economic growth, and has improved accessibility and affordability of reliable high speed internet services a. Develop and adopt an Information Technology Master Plan including consideration of providing public WiFi access in parks b. Provide an on-line calendar to display Amphitheater bookings c. Complete and improve the installation of the Tyler EnerGov software to automate, improve and streamline the plan review, permitting and inspection processes 5. Safety- Cathedral City is safe for all who live, work and play in our community a. Fill the authorized Ambulance Operator position and complete the transition to the ambulance operator program and provision of the third ambulance b. Develop a firearm discharge ordinance c. Expand the use of cameras and other technology to promote public safety d. Increase Police and Fire engagement with the community e. Police department develops pro-active methods to reach out to youth and families f. Improve the Police presence and interaction at community events 6. Inclusive/Thriving City - Cathedral City is valued and respected as a community that welcomes and celebrates diversity, has an abundance of high quality, affordable housing, vibrant businesses, and attractive and well- maintained neighborhoods a. Complete the comprehensive update of the Cathedral City Municipal Code with initial emphasis on Chapter 9 (zoning) and Chapter 5 (business regulations) • Address parking and paving provisions in the code for residences • Prohibit parking in front of mailboxes b. Help define who Cathedral City is for our families and others c. Update the Thousand Palms annexation fiscal analysis d. Promote additional community events and celebrations e. Develop and implement a plan to improve and diversify methods of communication with residents f. Work with Riverside County to locate the potential RUHS community health center in Cathedral City 7. Homelessness - Cathedral City has professionally and compassionately addressed issues of homelessness through thoughtful programs and strategies developed and implemented in collaboration with key stakeholders and adjacent communities a. Develop a public awareness campaign to inform the community of the Cathedral City Page 7 Printed on 3/02/2023 City's efforts and expenditures on homelessness and how residents can participate in solutions in the graphic summary below. All five members of the City Council, city department directors, and representative staff across all departments participated in the all-day interactive workshop. In addition to the discussion on values, visions, goals and strategic priorities, City Manager Charles McClendon provided an update on the Council Goals that were established for 2022 and Kevin Biersack, Deputy Finance Director, provided a financial overview and FY 2022-2023 mid-year budget update. The following members of the public also attended the all-day workshop and had the opportunity to provide their insight and comments. Danny Lee Shelly Kaplan Sunshine Herrera Danielle Mead ADJOURN Mayor Rita Lamb adjourned the Five-Year Strategic Plan Workshop at 3:15 p.m. Mayor, City of Cathedral City City Clerk, i y o Cathedral City Cathedral City Page 8 Printed on 3/02/2023