If you want to listen to or download the audio recording of this Desert Hot Springs City Council meeting, here it is. Closed Session The only item on the closed session agenda was the performance evaluation of City Manager Rick Daniels. Attorney Ruben Duran said that technically there was "no reportable action," but the council had directed him to share some information from the meeting. "It's fair to say, Madam Mayor, that the council wholeheartedly agrees unanimously that the manager received high marks in his evaluation, that the council is pleased with the progress he and his staff have made, the progress the city is making, and that things seem to be going in a good direction. I will note as well, Madam Mayor, there is no accompanying contractual changes to the city manager's contract at this time. This was an annual performance review. There is no salary adjustment at this time. There is no contract amendments to be brought forth to the council." Michel and Ginette Neumann This couple has lived in Desert Hot Springs for 16 years. Mr. Neumann is a master cabinet making and made cabinets for Peggy Lee and Patti Paige. Mayor Parks presented them a certificate of recognition for their garden which was featured in National Home Gardening Club magazine. Mr. Neumann expressed their great love for Desert Hot Springs as he thanked the mayor. I think we should get these two into the next TV ad for DHS. Police Officer Nicholas Botich Chief Williams and Mayor Parks presented a certificate of appreciation to Officer Botich, who you will recall is one of our new police officers hired from San Bernardino. Officer Botich has just returned from serving 6 months in Afghanistan as a Tech Sergeant in the US Air Force. He said that Desert Hot Springs is a "very happy place" compared to Afghanistan. YMCA "Y 2 B Fit" Presentation Paula Simmons, Program Coordinator for YMCA of the Desert spoke about their after-school program. It started last year at Two Bunch Palms Elementary grades 2 through 5. This year they will serve 150 kids at Two Bunch Palms, Cabot Yerxa and Corsini schools. They teach kids about nutrition and healthy choices. There are a total of 700 kids in DHS in the YMCA's after-school programs. Neighborhood Renewal - Neighborhood Stabilization This was a slide show presented by Jeff McLaughlin, the still-new Housing Manager. He wasn't here when we had the infamous presentation from Southern California Edison, so I don't think he has been impressed with the high priority we in DHS place on quick, snappy, to-the-point presentations. But still, it was no where near as bad as that Edison thing. I will give it to you briefly. Remember that Neighborhood Renewal (NRP) is our own locally-funded program to fix up front yards and exteriors of owner-occupied homes in blighted areas. They are starting with Block 8 (yay Block 8!) which is Pierson to 8th, West to Palm. Website with more info on NRP here. Or cal them at 760-288-0620. The link to the spanish language page is at the bottom of the English language page. Should be at the top. There is no link on the spanish language page to the English page (although there is a link on the spanish page to the spanish page in the sidebar). Should be at the top. Neighborhood Stabilization (NSP) is a federally funded program (money flows through Riverside County) whose goal is to buy up foreclosed homes, fix them up and then re-sell them to first time homeowners at cost. Since it's federal, it comes with a lot more strings. So far they've gotten ten applicants for NRP. They are going to contract with Rancho Housing Alliance to do the first six improvements. The NSP is starting out slow. They've made 40 offers and have 4 homes in escrow now. They are encountering a lot of competition as sales are picking up in the very low end of the market. Also, banks that hold foreclosures prefer to sell homes in multi-home packages. The NSP is not permitted to pay more than 99% of the appraised value, and that appraisal is made by the county. A home must be unoccupied for 90 days before its eligible for NSP. There are no targeted neighborhoods for NSP. They are making offers all across the city. The city uses a broker for their real estate transactions. They draw on a pool of local vendors. So far there are 3 brokers in the pool. Mayor Pro Tem Baker strongly suggested there are more than 3 in DHS and more should be sought. Councilmembers Betts and Baker spoke of how important it is to hire local workers for NRP. Public Comments Donn Sholty got up to praise the success of the California Desert Coalition and Coachella Valley Coalition in their work to apparently successfully bring a halt to LADWP's plans to build Green Path North. He also told us that at one of the CVC fundraisers he won a free one-night stay at El Morocco inn & Spa which he and his wife enjoyed immensely. He praised the inn and the unique qualities of our hot water. El Morocco was a 2008 winner of a TripAdvisor Traveler's Choice Award. Kirk Warman announced that for the first time a "Coachella Valley Christmas Store" will be set up at Grace Church at 17400 Bubbling Wells Road. They will serve 500 invited families who have been screen by various agencies. Each family will be able to choose 3 gifts per child. They will also get a family photo and food. For the two weeks that the store will be open, a big tent will be erected in the Grace Church parking lot. The church will move all of its church activities out to the tent, while the church building will be given over entirely to the Christmas Store! Bruce Montgomery announced that a blood drive will be organized this Saturday at Grace Church. Party in The Park will be held on November 14 in Tedesco Park. The city has decided to also dedicate the Tedesco Police and community buildings that day at 11 AM. Doctors, dentists, nurses and eye care people will be available in the newly opened community building. There will also be bands, free hot food, food to take home, kids activities, sports, professional BMX and skateboard demonstrations. Ends at 5 PM. Parking is available at the park as well as at the Water Of Life Church at West and Hacienda, where a shuttle will be available to transport you the 1 block to the park. Dot Reed said the Bunco Roundup was successful. The DHS Historical Society Soup Supper will be on Thursday, October 29, 6 PM in the Skyborne Clubhouse. The charge is $15 and advance reservations is mandatory. Call 760-329-0282 to make your reservation. Ms. Reed said it looks like there will be a big turnout for Morgan Levine speaking on the subject of "Joshua Tree Tales: Gold, Murder and Betrayal." She also reminded everyone of the big clean-up that starts next week. Just get your trash (or that trash on the vacant lot next door) out to the curb and DVD will pick it up. Sex Offender Residency Restrictions This is based on Prop 83, "Jessica's Law." It's similar to the recently approved parolee/probationer restrictions, except the distance rule in this new ordinance is 2,000 feet. in this ordinance a "sex offender" is defined as any person for whom registration is required under California Penal Code Section 290." A sex offender cannot live closer than 2,000 feet to a child care center, school, public library, park, or another sex offender. Also, a sex offender cannot live in the same single family lot, or duplex lot, or multi-family lot, or mobile home in a rented space, or hotel room that is already occupied by a sex offender, unless the two people are related by blood, marriage or adoption. Also, a sex offender can't live as a permanent resident in a hotel or mobile home park if there is already a sex offender living in that hotel (no exception for family) or mobile home park (there IS an exception for family) as a permanent resident. The ordinance also holds landlords/property owners responsible for violations of this law. A sex offender in violation must be evicted and has all the usual eviction rights. The ordinance applies only to sex offenders convicted, paroled or given probation after November 8, 2006. This ordinance goes into effect 30 days after final passage, which will be after its second reading...probably at the next city council meeting. Chief Williams said there are 74 sex offenders in the city. Some registrations are public information and some are not. The Chief and the staff report both mention "AB 552" which may change the law on sex offender residency restrictions, but I think that number is incorrect. The two bills numbered 552 (AB and SB) that I could find had nothing to do with the subject. The staff report also mentions four petitions that are pending before the California Supreme Court that raise constitutional challenges to Jessica's Law. The ordinance was approved (first reading) 5-0. World Music And Wellness Festival The essence of this was only to authorize the city manager to negotiate a contract with Tresed Ventures, LLC. to develop and execute the World Music and Wellness Festival. The contract is to be for no more than $250,000. This is not provided for in the budget and the only place to find it is in the reserve. City Manager Daniels said he would only consider dipping into the reserves for a one-time expenditures, not operational expenses, and if this is an investment in the marketing of the city. City Manager Daniels asked the city council NOT to put this out for bid. Tresed hopes to have the festival between March and May, and if time was taken for bids, then the date would be moved off into the future. Any negotiated contract would be brought back to the city council for its approval. Negotiations will address these issues: progress development and payment milestones; what city support services are going to be required; traffic control; event dates; public safety issues; marketing plans; revenue sharing opportunities; use of local vendors; any opportunities for non-profit organization participation; proposed parking plan; program beneficiaries (if any); the artist line up; festival sponsorships. Dave Hoops came forward to comment. He first praised a quick street repair in his neighborhood on the day he complained. He then recalled a past proposal for a rock concert where the city was taken to the cleaners. He also remembered times when the city didn't have the money to demolish a house or to keep the parks lighted. He suggested a loan rather than a payment. tommy Calcilaro spoke in support of the event, and more research into the event. He said it will be a far-reaching event. C.M. Daniels asked council members to provide him other items of concern that should be included in negotiations. Councilmember Pye suggested insurance to protect the city. She went on to address Dave Hoops' concerns saying that today is a different day. She answered critics who said that the majority of the estimated 5,000 visitors will stay at hotels on the other side of the freeway, saying she agreed with that claim, because every hotel and spa in Desert Hot Springs will be full. She has no trepidation about the festival. Mayor Pro Tem Baker agreed with Councilmember Pye, and added that he cringed at taking money from the reserves, but he supports the festival wholeheartedly. Mayor Parks is satisfied that the milestones in the negotiated contract will assure that the money will not be paid to the developers until they have completed the work required. Councilmember Betts said the city will see a lot of extra revenue with this, but he said he would vote against it because he thinks that proposals should be sought from others via the bid process. Councilmember Matas says this will be a very good investment for the city. The resolution was approved 4-1, Councilmember Betts dissenting. Appointments Councilmember Jan Pye was approved as the liaison to the Desert Health Care District by a vote of 5-0. Mayor Pro Tem Baker's appointment to the CVAG Energy and Water Conservation Subcommittee was approved 5-0. Rancho Housing Alliance This was the approval of a professional services agreement with Rancho Housing Alliance for the renovations of 6 homes in the Neighborhood Renewal Program (mentioned earlier). Mayor Pro Tem Karl Baker pointed out that agreement had no element in it for hiring unemployed/underemployed people in DHS. It says only that "Rancho will make good faith effort to hire and obtain materials locally." He suggested that if the staff was having trouble finding a pool of such people they should visit the food banks or the pastor of the First Baptist Church. He said he thought the agreement required too much work for the council to do it at one meeting and wanted staff to do it and bring it back at a later meeting. Councilmember Pye said there are boilerplate paragraphs that could be added to the agreement to accomplish all that Mr. Baker sought. Rudy Acosta said the mandate to pay prevailing wage presented problems, because that typically requires the city to hire union and unions have specific qualification requirements. Councilmember Matas said that the BIA has said they are willing to conduct workshops in DHS in how to become a licensed contractor. After much further discussion Attorney Duran suggested that the council could, if they wish, approve the measure and direct staff to revise it to include the directions council had been giving on hiring and training locally. Mayor Pro Tem Baker suggested he did not trust staff on this issue. The first motion was to continue the item to a later meeting where a revised version could be considered. That failed 2-3 with Betts and Baker voting yes. Then Councilmember Matas moved the item with instructions to revise it according to council's direction. This item was approved 4-1 with Mayor Pro Tem Baker dissenting. Professional Services Agreement For Cabot's This agreement was to authorize the City Manager to negotiate an agreement with Bauer and Wiley, Jones & Jones whose job it would be to Prepare a site facilities program,Develop a master plan,Develop a conceptual design,Recommend acquisition of additional surrounding property,Preparing a project phasing plan, andPreparing a preliminary implementation budget and schedule. All for Cabot's Museum. Mayor Pro Tem Baker said the material was full of nothing but the latest buzzwords. Councilmember Matas said this was a pro-active move to hire consultants to work with the Miracle Hill Committee. Mayor Parks said she thought this was getting the cart before the horse. The Miracle Hill Committee is meeting October 28. C.M. Daniels explained that the consultant team will be the staff that will work with the city. Donn Sholty came forward to comment. He asked for a description of what constituted Miracle Hill. He said he quit the Cabot's board in disgust, and said there is a disconnect between the leadership of Cabot's board, the citizens and the city. Mayor Pro Tem Baker moved that the matter be referred to the Miracle Hill Committee with a request that the committee come back to the city council with a recommendation. The motion was approved 3-2 with Mayor Parks and Councilmember Matas in the minority. City Manager Comments City Manager Daniels said some on the Conservation Commission that is in charge of the MSHCP who want to charge Desert Hot Springs for the total expense ($1.25 million) of re-doing the MSHCP after DHS voted it down. C.M. Daniels said he told them "No." Also, U.S. Fish & Wildlife has raised some late objections to our annexation to the freeway which includes future MSHCP land, so the LAFCO hearing on the annexation has been put off to November. There are now police cameras in Tedesco, Mission Springs and Wardman Parks. Eighteen more should be installed by November 17. The city needs $2.3 million to finish repaving the worst streets in the neighborhoods that weren't scheduled in the just completed project because the city thought MSWD would be tearing up those streets to put in sewers. The city is looking at taking an advance from Measure A funds to help with that. Once the funding is found, the work can be completed in 100 days.