Rancho Mirage City Council Meeting, May 15, 2025

Transcript text

AI transcript text.

[00:00:12] Good
[00:00:14] afternoon. It is a little after
[00:00:17] 1:00 on Thursday, May 15th.
[00:00:21] This is the regular meeting of the
[00:00:22] Rancher Mirage City Council and
[00:00:25] Community Services District, Energy
[00:00:28] Authority, Housing Authority, Joint
[00:00:31] Powers, Finance Authority, Library and
[00:00:34] Observatory, and Redevelopment Successor
[00:00:37] Agency
[00:00:39] boards. I will now ask you to join me in
[00:00:44] saluting our great
[00:00:47] country. Please join me. I pledge
[00:00:50] algiance to the flag of the United
[00:00:53] States of America and to the republic
[00:00:55] for which it stands. One nation under
[00:00:58] God, indivisible, with liberty and
[00:01:01] justice for all.
[00:01:09] And we have roll call, please.
[00:01:12] Council member DS, I'm here. Council
[00:01:14] member Framberg Edelstein, here. Council
[00:01:16] member O'Keefe, here. Mayor Prom Molatto
[00:01:19] I am here. Mayor while here
[00:01:31] I will now go to
[00:01:33] uh we're going to go to council com.
[00:01:36] Yeah, we will start out with council
[00:01:39] member comments today. Mayor, we do have
[00:01:42] a public comment on this item. So if you
[00:01:44] take that now Brad Anderson.
[00:01:55] Hello. Uh my name is Brad Anderson. I
[00:01:57] currently live in the city of Anz. I
[00:01:59] wanted to speak on the uh item number
[00:02:01] two this week. Uh they move around
[00:02:03] apparently. I would suggest that maybe
[00:02:06] this could be predictable uh council
[00:02:08] comments on a certain agenda item in the
[00:02:10] future. Uh but item number two is the
[00:02:13] council member comments and reports. U
[00:02:16] I've spoken before about maybe having uh
[00:02:19] uh public comment after you have your
[00:02:22] comments uh because it kind of defeats
[00:02:24] the purpose. But knowing that you would
[00:02:26] do this or assuming that you would do
[00:02:28] that this week, uh I went ahead and
[00:02:30] submitted some actually everything I'll
[00:02:32] be speaking on today I submitted written
[00:02:34] comments to and they should be in the
[00:02:36] record. And uh I'm going to go ahead and
[00:02:39] uh just uh voice my uh my commentary I
[00:02:43] guess about the comments at the not the
[00:02:45] most recent but at the May 1st uh
[00:02:47] council member meeting. Uh this is when
[00:02:50] Mr. DS council member DS u commented on
[00:02:53] the CV link and affordable housing or
[00:02:55] social housing aspects and hospital
[00:02:58] staff or having
[00:03:00] uh accommodations for Eisenhower
[00:03:03] Hospital. Uh because of that uh I want
[00:03:05] to just address that uh
[00:03:07] momentarily. I know the uh um I guess
[00:03:12] the affordable housing or social housing
[00:03:14] I would call it because it's really low
[00:03:16] income housing uh probably wouldn't be
[00:03:19] uh suitable for Eisenhower and most of
[00:03:22] the staff I would think most of the
[00:03:24] staff are traveling staff but that I
[00:03:26] don't know that for a fact. Uh so those
[00:03:29] aspects need to be addressed and uh the
[00:03:32] the mayor made a statement at the last
[00:03:35] or the May 1st meeting too about bicycle
[00:03:37] safety and that's that's all good and
[00:03:39] well and I and I commend him for doing
[00:03:41] that. But I think the uh the pretext of
[00:03:45] that was actually the death of a cyclist
[00:03:47] right outside city hall. But nothing's
[00:03:50] being addressed to u mitigate that risk
[00:03:53] to bike sickers. Uh but I'm sure it's
[00:03:55] coming and if they could do announcement
[00:03:57] on that that would be great. Uh and uh
[00:04:00] that's really all I wanted to talk about
[00:04:03] the budget meeting. You had some issues
[00:04:04] there and I'll make comments to those
[00:04:07] later on. And um and hopefully uh during
[00:04:11] the comments today, you can uh you can
[00:04:14] voice
[00:04:15] uh I guess uh make an announcement of
[00:04:18] the meeting you're going to have at 4:30
[00:04:19] concerning the housing authority or
[00:04:21] housing authority of the city which
[00:04:23] you're having a meeting representing
[00:04:25] this board right now, but you're going
[00:04:26] to have another special meeting at 4:30
[00:04:28] today, I believe. So if you can make
[00:04:30] that announcement, maybe people would
[00:04:32] know about it. Thank you. Thank you for
[00:04:34] your comment.
[00:04:36] Are there any other that that was the
[00:04:38] only speaker Carter? Is there anyone
[00:04:40] else who would like to speak on this
[00:04:41] item? That was the only speaker. Okay,
[00:04:44] we will now go to council comments and
[00:04:46] I'll start on my left with Eve from
[00:04:49] birdstein.
[00:04:50] Thank you, mayor. So, I attended the
[00:04:53] CEAG public safety committee meeting on
[00:04:56] Monday the 19th and there was has been
[00:04:59] considerable work and research done
[00:05:01] regarding the 911 outages throughout the
[00:05:03] Coachella Valley, especially during
[00:05:05] natural disasters.
[00:05:07] Making a presentation were Riverside
[00:05:08] County Sheriff's Office Communication
[00:05:10] Director Tim Buckfeller, Sheriff's
[00:05:13] Captain Steve Favo, CalFire Deputy
[00:05:16] Director Chad Ashba, and California
[00:05:19] Offices of Emergency Services 911 Tech
[00:05:22] Division Chief Ryan Sunahara and
[00:05:26] Assistant Chief of Technology uh Don
[00:05:29] Jones. What was interesting was that
[00:05:31] robust testing of current systems was
[00:05:33] done by these offices and through CAVAG
[00:05:36] to discover what went wrong during
[00:05:38] during Hurricane Hillary that caused the
[00:05:41] 911 outage that plagued many cities in
[00:05:43] the Coachella Valley. It was discovered
[00:05:45] that many failures occurred not totally
[00:05:48] due to the existing statewide 911
[00:05:50] system, but a failure of equipment
[00:05:52] belonging to private companies such as
[00:05:54] AT&T and Verizon, a lack of cell towers
[00:05:57] and damage to fiber fiber connectivity
[00:06:00] due to theft or accident. Local cities
[00:06:03] took the brunt of the blame, but the
[00:06:04] fault of failure really lies with
[00:06:06] private the private companies and their
[00:06:08] networks. I spoke about our wireless
[00:06:10] study and its findings and I
[00:06:12] specifically asked the gentleman who
[00:06:14] spoke if more towers would help aid the
[00:06:16] uh in solving the problem. They said
[00:06:19] yes, more towers always
[00:06:21] help. Specifically, when you use your
[00:06:24] cell phone to call 911, as the private
[00:06:26] companies expand their cellular
[00:06:28] networks, connectivity and location
[00:06:30] notification greatly improves. Further,
[00:06:32] it's important for residents to know
[00:06:34] that our extensive wireless study and
[00:06:36] our action to modify our municipal code
[00:06:38] to reduce the process for new towers
[00:06:40] will aid in getting more towers. Should
[00:06:43] that that als that should also make 911
[00:06:45] more reliable. I also mentioned to the
[00:06:47] other cities that were there that if
[00:06:49] they wanted assistance with what we did
[00:06:51] with our code, we would be happy to
[00:06:53] share with them. It was further said
[00:06:55] that there are plans to shift to the
[00:06:57] 911, the next generation 911 system
[00:07:00] across the state, which will increase
[00:07:02] resiliency and provide common technology
[00:07:05] across California, allowing agencies to
[00:07:08] reroute 911 calls to each other during
[00:07:11] disasters, so if there's failures, they
[00:07:13] can log into other networks. It will
[00:07:15] also improve location services and
[00:07:17] integrate a nationwide broadband network
[00:07:20] initiative. However, this pro program is
[00:07:23] on hold. uh with the state currently.
[00:07:25] Unfortunately, and again, without the
[00:07:28] involvement of those private carriers to
[00:07:29] work with the 911 system, these types of
[00:07:32] outages may continue due to no fault of
[00:07:34] your local municipality or the county.
[00:07:36] The best takeaway from the presentation,
[00:07:39] though, is that 911 can be contacted in
[00:07:42] four ways. Number one, landline or
[00:07:44] analog, which some of us have and most
[00:07:46] of us don't. Two, voiceover internet
[00:07:48] protocol or VIP.
[00:07:51] three cellular and wireless phones, but
[00:07:54] most importantly four by text, which is
[00:07:58] amazing. And it simply requires you to
[00:08:00] text
[00:08:01] 911. Uh when you do that text, they do
[00:08:04] ask you to provide your location and
[00:08:05] then they can track and find you. Uh
[00:08:08] they said the 911 texts are actually
[00:08:10] very very reliable and work better than
[00:08:12] cell calls in most instances. So per
[00:08:16] calos text is very reliable. It is also
[00:08:19] recommended to know the local phone
[00:08:21] numbers for your law enforcement offices
[00:08:24] should your 911 not be accessible. And I
[00:08:26] just thought that was really valuable
[00:08:28] information for citizens. Thank you.
[00:08:31] That's great. Well, thank you. Um, from
[00:08:34] a a personal standpoint, uh, I would not
[00:08:38] have thought about texting 911. I mean,
[00:08:42] I think that's a a wonderful
[00:08:44] contribution and um extremely valuable.
[00:08:48] That's terrific. Thank you so much. Um
[00:08:52] Council Member O'Keefe. Thank you, Mr.
[00:08:54] Mayor. No comments today.
[00:08:57] We'll go now to Council Member DS.
[00:09:02] Thank you, Mr. Mayor. So I am the city's
[00:09:04] representative on the board for the
[00:09:07] Coachella Valley Mountains Conservancy
[00:09:10] and our last board meeting was just last
[00:09:12] Monday. Uh and so what uh what we did at
[00:09:16] that board meeting was we passed out the
[00:09:18] annual report for the Mountains
[00:09:19] Conservancy. This is the annual report
[00:09:21] and I want to talk today about some
[00:09:23] highlights from that annual report. The
[00:09:26] mission of the consery is to protect and
[00:09:28] steward land in
[00:09:30] perpetuity and provide for the public's
[00:09:32] enjoyment and access to those lands. And
[00:09:34] the district extends from the banning
[00:09:36] pass to the Riverside County border of
[00:09:39] the Sultan Sea. But before I talk about
[00:09:42] the annual report from the mountains
[00:09:43] conservancy, I want to contrast that
[00:09:46] with some comments that we have received
[00:09:48] over time about Cotino. There have been
[00:09:52] some who have suggested that Cotino
[00:09:54] should have remained open space. Now, I
[00:09:56] disagree and here's why. This is a 618
[00:09:59] acre parcel that has been zoned for
[00:10:01] commercial and residential use, not just
[00:10:03] for years, but for decades. In fact, in
[00:10:06] the early 2000s, there was an approval
[00:10:08] to build a residential and hotel and
[00:10:12] golf course project on that land, which
[00:10:14] died with the 2008 uh great recession.
[00:10:19] Um and it took some years for another um
[00:10:24] investor to come along to purchase that
[00:10:25] land. Now that land is in the center of
[00:10:28] the city of Ranch Mirage, which means
[00:10:30] that it's in the center of the Coachella
[00:10:32] Valley and it always has been one of the
[00:10:34] most logical parcels of land for
[00:10:37] development in this city and in this
[00:10:39] valley for decades. It's in the economic
[00:10:41] best interests of Rancher Mirage to
[00:10:43] develop this parcel. Now, that said,
[00:10:45] it's also important to conserve open
[00:10:47] desert land for future generations and
[00:10:50] habitat
[00:10:51] protection. So, here are some of the
[00:10:53] highlights from the Coachella Valley
[00:10:55] Mountains Conservancy annual report. In
[00:10:58] 2024, the conservancy made award grants
[00:11:01] in the amount of $1.9 million. Now,
[00:11:03] these were grants to manage and protect
[00:11:05] land already owned and conserved. Now,
[00:11:07] over the years, more than 100,000 acres
[00:11:10] of land have been acquired and set aside
[00:11:12] for conservation by the commission and
[00:11:15] its partners, and about 200 acres of
[00:11:17] land were acquired just in 2024 alone.
[00:11:21] So, here's a map. Can we put that map up
[00:11:23] on the screen? There's a map for you of
[00:11:25] all of the land that is currently owned
[00:11:28] and managed by the conservancy. You can
[00:11:30] see all those blue dots which are all
[00:11:31] over the Coachella Valley. And that
[00:11:34] gives you some idea of the scope of the
[00:11:37] operations uh for the mountains
[00:11:40] conservancy. Now uh the u this annual
[00:11:43] report I'll give a copy by PDF. I'll
[00:11:46] send a copy by PDF to my council
[00:11:48] colleagues and to staff. I'll give this
[00:11:49] copy to uh our director of marketing
[00:11:51] Gabe Coding. Gabe, maybe that's
[00:11:53] appropriate uh use for our next Ranch
[00:11:56] Mirage News. Maybe a download of the
[00:11:58] report for our residents. And I'll close
[00:12:00] with uh these thoughts today. It is
[00:12:02] critically important to manage lands
[00:12:05] that can provide a vibrant economic
[00:12:07] future for our city. That's what we did
[00:12:10] in improving 618 acres at Cotino. It is
[00:12:13] also critically important to conserve
[00:12:15] land for public enjoyment and wildlife
[00:12:18] habitat and that's what we do in our
[00:12:20] support for the more than 100,000 acres
[00:12:24] owned by the Coachella Valley Mountains
[00:12:26] Conservancy. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Thank
[00:12:29] you. Uh now on I call upon mayor proam
[00:12:34] mo mayor protowel molatto. Thank you Mr.
[00:12:39] Mayor. You know daily residents and
[00:12:42] business owners will contact council
[00:12:44] members. We run into each other and have
[00:12:46] discussion what's happening on the
[00:12:48] various projects that are occurring
[00:12:50] through the city. And uh to piggyback on
[00:12:54] uh Council Member D's comments about
[00:12:57] Cotino, often is the case. Residents
[00:13:00] will say, "We don't see much movement
[00:13:02] going on in there. It it's they're not
[00:13:04] selling." Well, I'm I'm very very
[00:13:07] pleased to announce a a big
[00:13:10] congratulations to the Cotino
[00:13:12] development. On May 7th, they had 13
[00:13:16] closings, 13 homes that were delivered
[00:13:19] to new homeowners in the Cotino
[00:13:21] development. So, congratulations not
[00:13:23] only to the developers, but to the new
[00:13:25] homeowners and welcome to Ranch Mirage.
[00:13:28] Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Thank you. Have
[00:13:30] they uh uh at this point uh isn't there
[00:13:35] some uh homes that have been occupied to
[00:13:38] date? It's my understanding. Yes. Yeah.
[00:13:42] No, it's a it's a community that's
[00:13:44] coming to life very quickly without a
[00:13:47] doubt. I'll make these brief comments
[00:13:50] that
[00:13:51] um today I'm honored to commend
[00:13:54] Eisenhower Health
[00:13:57] uh for its exceptional celebration of
[00:13:59] National Nurses Week.
[00:14:02] This meaningful tribute begins on May
[00:14:05] 6th through May 12th and stands as a
[00:14:08] powerful acknowledgment of the
[00:14:10] dedication, compassion, and
[00:14:14] tireless work of nursing professionals,
[00:14:17] not only in our community, but across
[00:14:20] the
[00:14:21] nation. Throughout the week, Eisenhower
[00:14:24] Health organized a series of thoughtful
[00:14:27] and uplifting events, all designed to
[00:14:30] express the deep appreciation and hold
[00:14:34] for our N
[00:14:36] nurses. The following video captures the
[00:14:39] spirit of this celebration with great
[00:14:42] warmth. It serves as a heartfelt
[00:14:45] reminder of the vital role nurses play
[00:14:49] in our health care system and the
[00:14:52] lasting impact they make on the lives of
[00:14:56] so many. We are truly thankful for their
[00:15:00] extraordinary service. If you will
[00:15:03] kindly play the video.
[00:15:08] Thank you so much to the amazing nurses,
[00:15:09] not just in our organization, but across
[00:15:11] our valley and across the country. Ben
[00:15:13] Farber, VP of patient care and chief
[00:15:15] nursing officer, Eisenhower Health. We
[00:15:17] are in one of our units at Eisenhower
[00:15:19] Health getting ready for National Nurses
[00:15:20] Week starting today and ending May 12th.
[00:15:23] National Nurses Week is one of my
[00:15:24] favorite weeks because we get to honor
[00:15:26] the work that nurses do, not only in our
[00:15:28] organization, but across the country as
[00:15:30] the largest portion of healthcare
[00:15:31] workers. And as many people who have had
[00:15:34] the unfortunate experience of
[00:15:35] hospitalization know, they're the faces
[00:15:37] that they see the most frequently while
[00:15:38] they're hospitalized. So nurses really
[00:15:40] are the people who are helping to make
[00:15:41] sure that everything that you need is
[00:15:43] taken care of while you're in the
[00:15:44] healthcare industry and escalating needs
[00:15:46] to your physicians. I do what I do and I
[00:15:48] love what I do and I just I come every
[00:15:51] day because I want to make someone's
[00:15:52] life better. It's innate in nature and
[00:15:55] to become a nurse you have to be caring.
[00:15:58] You know, you need to have a caring
[00:15:59] heart. I think nursing is definitely a
[00:16:02] safe space for us and we are a very
[00:16:04] powerful group and that's why I joined.
[00:16:05] We have events throughout the week.
[00:16:07] Today we started with our t-shirt
[00:16:08] distribution and then we also have
[00:16:10] lunches planned for nurses throughout
[00:16:11] the week as well as an ice cream day
[00:16:13] culminating on Monday with the unveiling
[00:16:16] of our new Daisy Garden uh celebrating
[00:16:18] our Daisy Award winners and nurses
[00:16:20] throughout the healthcare organization.
[00:16:21] I get really really excited about these
[00:16:23] weeks because it means that I get to
[00:16:25] really truly honor my team in a way that
[00:16:27] I can't do every day even though I want
[00:16:30] to. So they truly get the attention that
[00:16:32] they need for the work that they do
[00:16:34] during this week.
[00:16:39] That's wonderful. It's great to honor
[00:16:40] the nurses. They do extraordinary job.
[00:16:44] Uh and we're we're extremely proud of
[00:16:48] the job that Eisenhower does. We're
[00:16:50] fortunate to have them located in uh the
[00:16:53] city of Rancho
[00:16:55] Mirage. Uh that concludes our council
[00:16:58] comments. Uh council member comments.
[00:17:01] I'll ask the city manager for any
[00:17:03] comments. Uh and if he has none, we will
[00:17:07] then go directly in to the consent
[00:17:09] calendar.
[00:17:11] Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Uh no comments
[00:17:12] today, so we will go right to the
[00:17:14] consent calendar. Uh the council has six
[00:17:17] items on the consent calendar for
[00:17:19] consideration. Item 4 A is to wave the
[00:17:22] full reading of all ordinances
[00:17:24] introduced or adopted pursuant to this
[00:17:26] agenda. Item 4 B is to approve the May
[00:17:30] 1st, 2025 regular city council meeting
[00:17:33] minutes. Item 4 C is to receive and file
[00:17:36] the general plan annual progress report
[00:17:39] for 2024. Item 4 D is to adopt a a
[00:17:43] resolution uh noting compliance with
[00:17:46] Senate Bill one eligibility requirements
[00:17:49] by approving the road maintenance and
[00:17:50] rehabilitation account project list.
[00:17:53] Item 4E are to approve the contracts.
[00:17:56] Item 4F are demands. And before we go to
[00:17:58] council comments or questions, I'll ask
[00:18:00] the city clerk to take any public
[00:18:02] comment on the consent calendar. Brad
[00:18:04] Anderson.
[00:18:10] Hello. Uh, thank you again, Brad
[00:18:11] Anderson, City of Ranch. I wanted to
[00:18:13] speak on item number
[00:18:15] 4B. As concerning the May 1st regular
[00:18:18] city council meeting minutes, written
[00:18:20] minutes.
[00:18:21] Uh, as the city is aware that they
[00:18:23] changed their format or the process of
[00:18:25] how they record minutes and and it's
[00:18:28] censored a lot of, uh, testimony, a lot
[00:18:31] of everybody's testimony, but mostly the
[00:18:33] public's uh, that attends uh, city
[00:18:36] meetings. Uh so anyway, I wanted to I
[00:18:39] did write some uh comments and I think
[00:18:42] there was three in inconsistencies that
[00:18:44] I found uh on those staff reports. Uh
[00:18:48] and hopefully you can address those.
[00:18:49] Thank you.
[00:18:51] Thank you for your comments. Is there
[00:18:53] anyone else who would like to speak?
[00:18:55] That was the only speaker.
[00:18:58] Are there any uh council comments
[00:19:01] regarding the consent calendar?
[00:19:05] Seeing none, I will entertain a motion.
[00:19:08] I'll make up the motion that we um
[00:19:11] approve the consent calendar as read by
[00:19:12] the city manager. Second. There's a
[00:19:15] motion and a second. Please vote.
[00:19:32] Motion carries. 50.
[00:19:34] We will now go to the first item under
[00:19:37] public hearings and it's a zoning text
[00:19:41] amendment case
[00:19:44] number
[00:19:49] ZTA-25-01 and that will be presented by
[00:19:52] Ben Torres, our planning manager. Ben,
[00:19:55] if you would please. Uh good afternoon,
[00:19:57] mayor and city council members. Uh for
[00:19:59] your consideration today we have uh
[00:20:01] zoning text amendment case number Z
[00:20:02] ETA25-00001
[00:20:06] uh which we refer to as the omnibus
[00:20:08] ordinance as it contains multiple
[00:20:09] amendments to our current municipal
[00:20:10] code.
[00:20:12] Uh the primary purpose of this omnibus
[00:20:14] ordinance is to introduce certain
[00:20:15] amendments to title two administration
[00:20:18] and personnel, title five, businesses,
[00:20:21] taxes, licenses and regulations, title 8
[00:20:24] health and safety, title 14 code
[00:20:27] compliance and remedies and title 17
[00:20:29] zoning of the rancher mirage municipal
[00:20:31] code as further detailed in the proposed
[00:20:33] ordinance. As part of regular municipal
[00:20:36] code maintenance, updates into chapters
[00:20:38] and sections are occasionally required
[00:20:40] to update uh standards and ensure that
[00:20:42] the municipal code complies with new
[00:20:45] regulations. On March 6, 2025, the city
[00:20:48] council received and filed the wireless
[00:20:50] master plan which contained key data and
[00:20:52] recommendations on how to improve
[00:20:54] cellular coverage within the city. Uh
[00:20:56] staff was directed to initiate the
[00:20:58] necessary municipal code amendments to
[00:21:00] streamline the permitting process and to
[00:21:02] reduce barriers to entitlement for
[00:21:04] wireless communication facilities. Uh
[00:21:06] the proposed revisions to chapter 17.32
[00:21:08] achieve these objectives. Other
[00:21:11] amendments are proposed to title 17 to
[00:21:13] clarify regulations and the review
[00:21:15] authority. Uh the planning commission on
[00:21:17] April 24th, 2025 reviewed and adopted
[00:21:20] resolution number 2025
[00:21:23] PC04 recommending the title 17
[00:21:25] amendments which are under the planning
[00:21:27] commission's
[00:21:30] perview. Additionally, amendments are
[00:21:32] proposed to titles 2, 5, 8, and 14,
[00:21:35] which correct references, clarify review
[00:21:38] authority, uh modify enforcement, and
[00:21:41] establish a shopping cart management
[00:21:42] program for
[00:21:44] retailers. Uh, with that, staff
[00:21:46] recommends that the city council make
[00:21:47] the recommendation shown on screen or as
[00:21:50] listed in the staff report. That
[00:21:51] concludes my presentation. I'd be happy
[00:21:53] to answer any questions. Thank you.
[00:21:56] Thank you, ma'am. Uh, are there any
[00:21:58] public comments? Yes, I have one speaker
[00:22:00] card from Brad Anderson.
[00:22:06] Thank you again, Brad Anderson, city. I
[00:22:09] wanted to speak on this public hearing
[00:22:11] item today. Um I did again I did submit
[00:22:15] written statements uh concerning this
[00:22:17] agenda item. Uh there's a lot of
[00:22:20] inconsistencies with this too. Uh I did
[00:22:23] uh during the planning uh committee
[00:22:25] portion of this public hearing of this
[00:22:28] item. Um I did write uh comments to
[00:22:31] those and submit testimony to in person
[00:22:34] I believe.
[00:22:35] uh but that wasn't really addressed in
[00:22:38] the staff report or the minutes uh or
[00:22:41] this agenda item. So I'm I'm really
[00:22:43] concerned the way the city is censoring
[00:22:45] public comment it impedes public
[00:22:48] hearings. So this is a big issue. I
[00:22:51] think it is um and and you should too. I
[00:22:53] believe uh because uh the public uh is
[00:22:57] left out of these type of decisions now
[00:22:59] the way the city u is man mandating
[00:23:02] their their responses I guess. Um but
[00:23:04] anyway, uh there's a few things the
[00:23:06] wireless plan um I'm not a proponent of
[00:23:10] that mainly because of how the city is
[00:23:12] doing it. It gives most people probably
[00:23:15] don't know that the city manager is
[00:23:17] really uh has a lot more authority of uh
[00:23:21] approving these type of installations in
[00:23:24] the city and around residential
[00:23:26] neighborhoods. Uh so the public may not
[00:23:29] even know that these facilities go in.
[00:23:31] Now, uh, that's my main thing. There's a
[00:23:34] lot, this is kind of a cleanup thing.
[00:23:35] There's nothing wrong with this, but
[00:23:37] every time this happens, it takes a
[00:23:39] little bit of freedom, a little bit of a
[00:23:42] little bit of a quality of life away
[00:23:45] from every resident that lives in this
[00:23:46] city. uh just these little definitions
[00:23:49] like uh I think in my comments, my
[00:23:52] written comments, I submitted something
[00:23:53] about parks and no more than 30 people
[00:23:56] at a time in any park other than the uh
[00:24:00] Whitewater Park or you be named, I
[00:24:02] guess. But um and I think you have to
[00:24:05] have a special permit to do that. Uh
[00:24:07] that's not I understand the premise of
[00:24:10] that but uh I remember during the co
[00:24:14] crisis uh uh well yoga was uh illegal in
[00:24:18] parks. Uh it's just nonsensical this
[00:24:20] type of
[00:24:21] uh mandates. So anyway, uh and I did
[00:24:25] bring u I was going to bring a sampler
[00:24:28] of my research around these cellular
[00:24:30] antennas or palm tree looking things cuz
[00:24:34] they're all debris that uh that leaves
[00:24:37] the boundary of those uh areas and on
[00:24:39] adjacent properties and I have those as
[00:24:43] exhibits and I have photographs too and
[00:24:45] maybe I can bring those at a different
[00:24:46] date uh when litigation begins. So, u
[00:24:50] hopefully I don't have to, but they are
[00:24:55] protectors, I guess, u items that could
[00:24:57] harm people from those and and and let
[00:25:00] alone uh mitigating other other I guess
[00:25:04] things that could happen. And that's it.
[00:25:06] Thank you. Thank you for your comments.
[00:25:09] Is there anyone else that would like to
[00:25:11] speak on item 5A?
[00:25:14] Okay. Please state your name.
[00:25:20] Good afternoon, uh, Mr. Mayor, city
[00:25:23] council, and staff. My name is Bill
[00:25:26] Reon. I live in Rancho Mirage. Some of
[00:25:29] you know me from my past experiences.
[00:25:32] Anyway, I have a question concerning
[00:25:35] chapter
[00:25:36] 8.25, landing of
[00:25:38] aircraft. And I'm not sure what that's
[00:25:41] about. As you may, some of you may
[00:25:43] recall, I retired from the state
[00:25:45] division of aeronautics.
[00:25:47] uh which uh regulates all the airports
[00:25:50] in the state including what we used to
[00:25:53] call or we called when I was there uh
[00:25:56] temporary airport permit. Every airport
[00:25:59] in in the state requires a state airport
[00:26:01] permit to operate. Any off airport
[00:26:04] landing requires a special airport
[00:26:08] permit and one of the requirements is
[00:26:11] local government approval which uh
[00:26:13] obviously is the is the city but it also
[00:26:17] requires approval by the state division
[00:26:21] of
[00:26:22] aeronautics. Most people are not aware
[00:26:24] of uh of this requirement. It's a It's a
[00:26:28] statute. And anyway, just uh be aware
[00:26:31] that uh uh any landing of aircraft, I'm
[00:26:35] not sure what that chapter says about
[00:26:38] landing of aircraft. If the staff member
[00:26:41] has that information, I'm kind of
[00:26:43] curious.
[00:26:46] We can't respond to your questions.
[00:26:48] Okay. I'm sorry. Anyway, just uh kind of
[00:26:51] curious about landing and let city know
[00:26:54] that there are requirements of the state
[00:26:58] uh to allow landing of aircraft uh uh
[00:27:04] not at an airport. Thank you. Thank you.
[00:27:09] Is there anyone else who would like to
[00:27:10] speak? That was the last speaker. All
[00:27:13] right. Uh, mayor, uh, if you wouldn't
[00:27:16] mind, I'd like to ask, uh, Ben Torres,
[00:27:18] our planning manager, to,
[00:27:21] uh, address the public comment. Um, so
[00:27:24] the section that, uh, you were referring
[00:27:26] to regarding the landing aircraft, uh,
[00:27:29] the only modification we're doing is
[00:27:30] just adding or as determined by the
[00:27:32] development services director. uh but uh
[00:27:34] for landing of aircraft uh we take a
[00:27:36] look at uh FAA regulations to make sure
[00:27:39] that they have proper u authorization
[00:27:41] for any landings.
[00:27:43] Council members, if I can also add that
[00:27:45] we're not changing or um it doesn't
[00:27:48] affect any state regulations. It's just
[00:27:50] our local municipal code that's um being
[00:27:53] slightly modified.
[00:27:55] So they have to meet state regulations
[00:27:57] and our local municipal code. Correct.
[00:28:02] Thank
[00:28:04] you. Any other uh comments? Uh council
[00:28:11] comments. If there are no other council
[00:28:13] comments, I'll ask for a motion.
[00:28:17] I'll be happy to do the motion, but I
[00:28:18] have a question. Uh is it possible for
[00:28:20] me instead of reading all of this to
[00:28:22] simply refer to the staff's
[00:28:24] recommendation? Is that acceptable? You
[00:28:26] may. Okay. Then I will make the motion
[00:28:29] that we approve the uh om omnibus
[00:28:32] ordinance as as uh recommended by staff.
[00:28:39] I'll second. There's a motion and a
[00:28:41] second. Please vote.
[00:28:49] Waiting for one vote. Still
[00:28:53] touch your screen. There you go.
[00:28:56] Motion carries. 50.
[00:28:59] Thank you. That motion is approved.
[00:29:02] We will now go to
[00:29:04] um 5B, extension of time case number
[00:29:11] ET25-LE1, and that will be presented by
[00:29:14] Joy Sai, our senior planner. Joy, if you
[00:29:17] would, please.
[00:29:21] Thank you, mayor. Good afternoon, mayor
[00:29:23] and members of the city council. for
[00:29:25] your consideration. Today is an
[00:29:27] extension of time case number
[00:29:32] ET25-00001 for tenative track map number
[00:29:36] 38224. This is the first time extension
[00:29:39] request for this map. The applicant team
[00:29:42] has been working on final map uh
[00:29:44] submitts. This time extension would
[00:29:47] allow the project team additional time
[00:29:49] to coordinate with the Imperial
[00:29:51] Irrigation District to work on solutions
[00:29:53] regarding the electrical capacity issues
[00:29:55] in the district's service territory and
[00:29:58] to work on fulfilling the remaining
[00:29:59] final map requirements through city
[00:30:03] engineering. The project site is located
[00:30:05] in section 30 at the northeast corner of
[00:30:07] Via Hosaphina and Ginger Rogers
[00:30:12] Road. Tenative track map 38224 proposes
[00:30:16] to subdivide 4.77 acres into nine single
[00:30:20] family residential lots and common lots
[00:30:23] for a private street and landscape
[00:30:25] retention basins. This tenative map was
[00:30:28] approved by the city council in February
[00:30:34] 2023. As a part of this extension
[00:30:36] request, staff is recommending changes
[00:30:38] to the conditions of approval.
[00:30:41] The first is to revise condition of
[00:30:43] approval number three to reflect the new
[00:30:45] approval expiration date. The second is
[00:30:48] to add condition of approval number 11
[00:30:50] stating that the grading permits shall
[00:30:52] not be issued prior to vertical
[00:30:54] development entitlements unless approved
[00:30:56] by the public works or development
[00:30:58] services
[00:31:01] director. Staff has not received any
[00:31:03] outside correspondence or comments
[00:31:05] regarding this request. On April 24,
[00:31:09] 2025, the planning commission
[00:31:11] recommended that the city council one
[00:31:14] approved the filing of a notice of
[00:31:15] exemption pursuant to SECA guidelines
[00:31:18] section 15162 for subsequent ERS and
[00:31:21] negative declarations and two approve a
[00:31:25] 2-year extension of time for tenative
[00:31:27] track map number case number
[00:31:32] TTM22-00003 subject to the conditions of
[00:31:34] approval and based on the content and
[00:31:36] findings in attached staff report. This
[00:31:39] concludes my presentation and I would be
[00:31:41] happy to address any questions the
[00:31:42] council may have. Thank you. Thank you,
[00:31:44] Joy. Are there any uh public comments? I
[00:31:48] did not receive any speaker cards for
[00:31:49] this item. Is there anyone who would
[00:31:51] like to speak regarding this public
[00:31:52] hearing item? No speakers. Thank you.
[00:31:56] I'll ask for any council comments
[00:31:59] regarding this item.
[00:32:03] Seeing none, uh, I'll entertain a
[00:32:06] motion, please.
[00:32:08] I'll make the motion, Mr. Mayor. Move to
[00:32:11] approve the filing of notice of
[00:32:13] exemption pursuant to the California
[00:32:16] Environmental Quality Act guidelines
[00:32:18] section 15162 subsequent ERS and
[00:32:21] negative declarations and two approve a
[00:32:24] 2-year extension of time
[00:32:28] ET25-00001 for tenative track map case
[00:32:31] number
[00:32:35] TTM22-00003 TTM
[00:32:38] 38224 subject to the conditions of
[00:32:40] approval and based on the content and
[00:32:42] findings in the attached staff report.
[00:32:44] And I'll second. There's a motion in a
[00:32:47] second. Please vote.
[00:32:53] Motion carries 5.
[00:32:57] Next item. Also, uh Joy is in her
[00:33:01] position ready to speak on environmental
[00:33:04] assessment case number
[00:33:09] EA22-01. If you would, Joy. Thank you
[00:33:12] again, mayor. Um, for your consideration
[00:33:15] today is a city initiated general plan
[00:33:18] text amendment to amend the city's
[00:33:20] safety element by incorporating the
[00:33:22] adopted local hazard mitigation plan
[00:33:24] update by reference in accordance with
[00:33:27] assembly bill
[00:33:30] 2140. AB 2140 is an optional state
[00:33:33] incentive to help cities become more
[00:33:35] resilient to natural hazards. Compliance
[00:33:38] with this bill would make the city
[00:33:39] eligible for additional recovery or part
[00:33:43] or all of its local share costs on
[00:33:45] eligible public assistance funding
[00:33:47] provided by the state through the
[00:33:49] California Disaster Assistance Act in in
[00:33:51] the event of a
[00:33:54] disaster. This slide here shows the
[00:33:56] steps that must be completed before the
[00:33:58] California Governor's Office of
[00:34:00] Emergency Services can deem the city in
[00:34:02] compliance with AB2140.
[00:34:05] The city has already completed the first
[00:34:07] two steps last year. The fir the current
[00:34:10] local hazard mitigation plan has been
[00:34:12] approved by FEMA and was adopted by the
[00:34:14] city council in September. Today's
[00:34:17] request is step number three, which is
[00:34:19] to amend the safety element by
[00:34:20] incorporating the adopted LHMP by
[00:34:23] reference and adding a link to the LHMP
[00:34:26] on the city's
[00:34:28] website. Staff has not received any
[00:34:30] outside correspondence or comments
[00:34:32] regarding this request. On April 24,
[00:34:35] 2025, the planning commission adopted a
[00:34:38] resolution recommending that the city
[00:34:39] council adopt resolution number next in
[00:34:42] order for the following. A find that the
[00:34:45] adoption of the updated safety element
[00:34:47] is not subject to SQA pursuant to SQA
[00:34:50] guidelines section
[00:34:53] 15061B3 general rule common sense
[00:34:55] exemption and B approve general plan
[00:34:58] text amendment case number GPTA
[00:35:02] 24-00001 incorporating by reference the
[00:35:05] 2023 LHMP into the safety element in the
[00:35:08] city's general plan in accordance with
[00:35:11] AB2140.
[00:35:13] This concludes my presentation and staff
[00:35:14] is available for questions. Thank you.
[00:35:17] Thank you, Joy. Are there any public
[00:35:19] comments regarding this item? I did not
[00:35:21] receive any speaker cards. Is there
[00:35:22] anyone in the audience who would like to
[00:35:24] speak on this public hearing item? No
[00:35:26] speakers.
[00:35:28] Okay. I'll ask for any council
[00:35:33] comments. All right. Since everybody's
[00:35:36] speaking at once, uh I will entertain a
[00:35:40] motion. Please be happy to make the
[00:35:42] motion that we adopt the resolution
[00:35:44] number 2025 next in order finding that
[00:35:47] the adoption and the safety element of
[00:35:49] the city's general plan is exempt from
[00:35:52] the California Environmental Quality Act
[00:35:54] SQA pursuant to SQA guideline section
[00:35:59] 15061B3 and approving general plan text
[00:36:02] amendment case number
[00:36:06] GPTA24-00001 incorporating by reference
[00:36:09] the 2020 23 local hazard mitigation plan
[00:36:12] into the safety element in the city's
[00:36:14] general plan in accordance with assembly
[00:36:16] bill 2140. Second. There's a motion and
[00:36:21] second. Please vote.
[00:36:26] Motion carries 5-0.
[00:36:29] Thank you. The next item up 5D is a
[00:36:34] updated fire hazard severity zone map.
[00:36:39] That'll presented by Tyler Folks, our
[00:36:41] senior management manager analyst.
[00:36:44] Tyler, if you would, please. Thank you,
[00:36:47] mayor. Good afternoon, mayor and members
[00:36:49] of the city council. I just want to make
[00:36:51] sure that Perfect Presentation's up
[00:36:54] there. This item concerns the adoption
[00:36:56] of the updated fire hazard severity
[00:36:59] zones map for the local responsibility
[00:37:01] area of Ranch Mirage as required by the
[00:37:04] California Department of Forestry and
[00:37:06] Fire Protection under state law.
[00:37:09] The California Department of Forest,
[00:37:11] Forestry and Fire Protection is
[00:37:13] responsible for classifying areas of the
[00:37:15] state into three categories of wildfire
[00:37:17] hazard moderate, high, and very high.
[00:37:21] These classifications are based strictly
[00:37:23] on natural factors such as vegetation,
[00:37:25] topography, and weather patterns. It is
[00:37:28] important to note that this map created
[00:37:30] by the state reflects wildfire hazard,
[00:37:32] which is not the same as risk. Hazard
[00:37:35] measures environmental conditions that
[00:37:37] influence how a fire behaves. Risk would
[00:37:40] also take into account development, fire
[00:37:42] prevention efforts, and firefighting
[00:37:44] capabilities, which are factors that are
[00:37:46] not included in this
[00:37:49] mapping. On March 24th, 2025, the city
[00:37:52] of Ranch Mirage received the finalized
[00:37:55] fire hazard severity zones map for its
[00:37:57] local responsibility area. In compliance
[00:38:00] with California law, we are required to
[00:38:02] adopt this map within 120 days,
[00:38:05] establishing a deadline of July 22nd. To
[00:38:08] ensure transparency and public
[00:38:09] engagement, the updated map was posted
[00:38:12] to the city's website on April 15th and
[00:38:14] was featured in multiple editions of the
[00:38:16] RM weekly newsletter. Public comments
[00:38:18] collected during the review period are
[00:38:20] included in today's agenda packet for
[00:38:22] your consideration. The updated fire
[00:38:24] hazard severity zones map identifies
[00:38:27] portions of the city of Rancher Mirage
[00:38:29] as falling within the moderate hazard
[00:38:31] classification. Notably, there are no
[00:38:34] areas within the city limits that have
[00:38:35] been designated as high or very high
[00:38:37] hazard.
[00:38:40] The Riverside County Fire Department,
[00:38:42] which provides fire protection services
[00:38:43] to Ranch Mirage, has reviewed the fire
[00:38:46] hazard severity zones map and has not
[00:38:48] recommended any changes to the
[00:38:49] designations provided by the California
[00:38:52] Department of Forestry and Fire
[00:38:53] Protection. Their assessment supports
[00:38:55] the conclusion that the moderate
[00:38:57] classification is appropriate based on
[00:38:59] current conditions. While local
[00:39:01] jurisdictions are permitted to adopt
[00:39:03] more restrictive classifications, such
[00:39:05] as reclassifying an area from moderate
[00:39:07] to high, they may not reduce a
[00:39:10] designation set by the state. Increasing
[00:39:13] a designation would also trigger
[00:39:14] additional regulatory requirements,
[00:39:16] including stricter building codes,
[00:39:18] expanded defensible space rules, and
[00:39:20] mandatory real estate disclosures. At
[00:39:23] this time, staff does not believe these
[00:39:25] increased requirements are necessary
[00:39:26] given the city's environmental
[00:39:28] conditions and fire mitigation
[00:39:30] capabilities. Accordingly, staff
[00:39:33] recommends that the city council adopt
[00:39:35] the updated fire hazard severity zones
[00:39:37] maps as provided by the California
[00:39:39] Department of Forestry and Fire
[00:39:40] Protection with no modifications or
[00:39:43] additions. This action will ensure the
[00:39:45] city's continued compliance with state
[00:39:47] regulations. There's no direct fiscal
[00:39:50] impact associated with the adoptions of
[00:39:51] the updated map. In conclusion, adopting
[00:39:54] the updated fire hazard severity zones
[00:39:56] map supports ranch commitment to public
[00:39:58] safety and wildfire preparedness while
[00:40:00] aligning with the legal requirements of
[00:40:02] the state of California. Staff are happy
[00:40:04] to answer any questions the council may
[00:40:05] have.
[00:40:07] Thank you, Tyler. Excellent
[00:40:09] presentation. And uh likewise we had an
[00:40:13] excellent presentation on this subject
[00:40:15] by CalFire at our last meeting who was
[00:40:18] here again. Thank you for your
[00:40:20] attendance today as well. Uh are there
[00:40:23] any public comments regarding this item?
[00:40:26] Yes. I have one speaker card from Brad
[00:40:27] Anderson.
[00:40:33] Hi Brad Anderson. Currently live in the
[00:40:36] city of Anarrage. I have I believe this
[00:40:39] is a public hearing item too. Uh
[00:40:42] according to agenda, I did submit some
[00:40:44] written comments uh um concerning this
[00:40:47] matter. Uh I'm all in favor of it.
[00:40:49] Again, I think Calire had no no other
[00:40:53] recourse except to do this because of
[00:40:56] Sacramento and our polit politicians or
[00:40:59] representatives that work up there. Uh
[00:41:02] it's uh it's more detail over another
[00:41:05] detail map. So, it's it's fine. Uh I
[00:41:08] just uh I made some recommendations in
[00:41:10] my written comments uh to the city uh of
[00:41:14] the risk that they have uh threats uh of
[00:41:18] possible fire or fire dangers. Um and I
[00:41:21] have I have photographs of of certain
[00:41:24] areas that I I think are heightened uh
[00:41:27] and should be uh made aware of. These
[00:41:29] are city city properties that under city
[00:41:31] control and and uh hopefully you can
[00:41:35] address those items before anything
[00:41:37] happens and that's all I have. Thank
[00:41:39] you. Thank you for your comments. Is
[00:41:41] there anyone else who would like to
[00:41:42] speak on this public hearing
[00:41:44] item? No additional speakers. Thank you.
[00:41:47] Are there any council comments regarding
[00:41:49] this item? I'd like to make one, Mr.
[00:41:50] Mayor. Yes. This plan as presented to us
[00:41:53] was also presented at the CEAG public
[00:41:55] safety committee meeting and there was
[00:41:57] extensive conversation about it amongst
[00:41:59] all the cities. But what was really
[00:42:00] important was something that we also
[00:42:02] discussed uh at our meeting was this
[00:42:05] affecting insurance rates within the
[00:42:07] state of California and the work that
[00:42:11] CalFire is doing to communicate to the
[00:42:14] insurance commission and the other
[00:42:16] agencies that help assist with keeping
[00:42:18] those rates down about this map and what
[00:42:21] are the real fire risks to property and
[00:42:24] residents. And I just want to commend
[00:42:26] CalFire for their work and advocacy on
[00:42:28] behalf of all of us because as was
[00:42:30] announced this week, State Farm is
[00:42:32] allowed to raise 18% starting in June.
[00:42:35] Uh I think it's uh 30% for rental
[00:42:38] properties uh possibly higher. And this
[00:42:41] is only going to continue to happen as
[00:42:43] the Pacific Palisades fire payouts,
[00:42:45] which I think total 30 billion as of
[00:42:48] today, uh begin to uh continue to
[00:42:51] escalate. So, I want to thank CalFire
[00:42:53] for this work and for using it uh to
[00:42:56] advocate for all the residents of this
[00:42:58] county, city, and state.
[00:43:02] Any other comments? You know, along
[00:43:04] those lines, if I may, I heard a
[00:43:07] statistic the other day that of the
[00:43:10] thousands of homes that were
[00:43:13] destroyed so far, there have been a
[00:43:16] total of
[00:43:18] seven, that's seven total building
[00:43:22] permits issued since the fire. That's
[00:43:26] how far behind they are and how
[00:43:28] difficult it is to
[00:43:30] replace. Again, I'll ask for additional
[00:43:33] comments from my
[00:43:37] colleagues. Saying none, I will ask for
[00:43:40] a motion, please. I'll make the motion,
[00:43:43] Mr.
[00:43:44] Mayor. Uh motion to introduce ordinance
[00:43:47] number next in order, first reading,
[00:43:49] adopting the fire hazard severity zones
[00:43:51] as recommended by the California
[00:43:52] Department of Forestry and Fire
[00:43:54] Protection pursuant to government code
[00:43:55] section 51178.
[00:43:58] I'll second.
[00:44:00] There's a motion in a second. Please
[00:44:02] vote.
[00:44:06] Motion carries. 5-0.
[00:44:09] Thank
[00:44:10] you. We will now go to the action
[00:44:14] calendar. And the first item
[00:44:17] 6A is solid waste and recycling
[00:44:21] collection and disposal rates. and that
[00:44:24] will be handled by Jessica Pollon, our
[00:44:28] deputy sustainability. Jessica, if you
[00:44:31] would, please. Thank you. Good
[00:44:33] afternoon, Mayor, Mayor Proim, and
[00:44:34] council members. I'm here today um
[00:44:37] seeking a resolution addressing the
[00:44:39] adjustment of solid waste and recycling
[00:44:41] collection and disposal rates for the
[00:44:43] upcoming fiscal year. As part of our
[00:44:46] annual routine, the city council reviews
[00:44:48] and sets the maximum rates using
[00:44:49] specific rate setting parameters that
[00:44:51] are outlined in our contract with BERT.
[00:44:55] I do also want to acknowledge today that
[00:44:57] we have BERT present. We have uh Clara
[00:44:59] Vera, municipal marketing manager, and
[00:45:02] Ken Stevens, district environmental
[00:45:04] coordinator. I want to thank them for
[00:45:06] being here. Um I will go ahead and go
[00:45:08] over our proposed rate changes, and then
[00:45:10] I'm going to invite Clara up to give a
[00:45:12] year in review for council.
[00:45:16] Our current contract with BERT was
[00:45:18] ratified in 2022 by council. It
[00:45:20] established the initial maximum rates
[00:45:23] for services. The setting of these rates
[00:45:25] was done doing very very thorough
[00:45:28] assessments by a contracted third party
[00:45:31] um which was hired by the city. The
[00:45:33] assessments included infilled
[00:45:35] evaluations, root audits, and a
[00:45:37] meticulous review of Bertex financial
[00:45:39] statements.
[00:45:41] Currently the standard single home in
[00:45:43] Ranch Mirage is paying 29.80 per month
[00:45:45] for twice a week walk up trash service
[00:45:47] organics collection as well as the
[00:45:49] processing of recycling as required by
[00:45:52] the state. This rate is a combination of
[00:45:55] collection processing and disposal fees
[00:45:57] which are subject to annual adjustment
[00:46:00] based on CPI a reconciliation of the
[00:46:03] previous year's actual disposal costs by
[00:46:05] BERT and commodity market pricing for
[00:46:08] recyclables.
[00:46:11] Displayed now is the proposed rate
[00:46:14] adjustment. Breaking it down, the
[00:46:16] collection component allows for an
[00:46:18] annual increase based on the CPI. Uh
[00:46:20] it's capped at 5% in our contract. So
[00:46:23] regardless if the CPI goes over this, it
[00:46:25] cannot go by more than 5% per year,
[00:46:27] which protects the cost for our
[00:46:29] residents and gives them a baseline.
[00:46:32] This year CPI increased by 2.61% 61% and
[00:46:35] this uh resulted in 68 cents increase to
[00:46:40] the collection component. The disposal
[00:46:42] fee uh which is linked to Riverside
[00:46:45] County's charges for solid waste
[00:46:47] disposal increased from
[00:46:49] $72.98 per ton to
[00:46:52] $75.83 per ton. Um this was a good size
[00:46:56] increase. Um and this came down to 57
[00:46:59] cents per customer. Overall, we've been
[00:47:02] watching this and our customers haven't
[00:47:03] seen a huge jump here because they have
[00:47:05] continued to reduce landfill volume um
[00:47:08] and using their organic. So, the green
[00:47:10] carts are being used and that is
[00:47:12] resulting that even though it costs more
[00:47:14] to get rid of the trash, we're not
[00:47:16] producing quite as much of it.
[00:47:19] Additionally, there was an increase uh
[00:47:21] to the credit that we receive of 29
[00:47:23] cents for the recyclables that are
[00:47:25] diverted, which just shows that our
[00:47:27] residents are continuing to recycle. And
[00:47:30] um you know, we're just really grateful
[00:47:31] for the continued recycling efforts by
[00:47:33] our residents. Taking all of this into
[00:47:36] account, the total residential rate will
[00:47:38] rise from the current rate of 29.80 to
[00:47:41] $30.93 per month. and this represents
[00:47:44] about a 3.7% increase uh for the
[00:47:47] standard level of residential service.
[00:47:49] Um the comprehensive listing of all the
[00:47:51] residential and commercial rates is
[00:47:53] attached as an exhibit A to the
[00:47:55] resolution. And at this time, I'd like
[00:47:57] to ask Clara to step up to the podium
[00:48:00] and she will go ahead and provide a year
[00:48:01] and review at which time um we'll then
[00:48:04] take any council questions or
[00:48:08] comments. A little shorter. Good
[00:48:11] afternoon, distinguished mayor, council
[00:48:13] members, staff, members of the audience.
[00:48:16] I'm Clara Vera, and we're going to be
[00:48:17] talking a little trash today, or
[00:48:19] organics, I should say. Um, but really,
[00:48:22] we're here to thank you for allowing us
[00:48:24] to provide services and programs to a
[00:48:27] distinguished city like Rancho Mirage.
[00:48:29] I'm also here today with Steve or Ken
[00:48:32] Stevens, who's our iconic industry. He's
[00:48:36] been your dedicated district
[00:48:37] environmental coordinator who works
[00:48:39] alongside the outstanding programs that
[00:48:42] Jessica and her team provide to our
[00:48:44] businesses and to our residents. And
[00:48:47] that collaboration together really
[00:48:49] showcases all of the information that I
[00:48:51] will provide to you today. It's that
[00:48:53] collaboration between us together that
[00:48:55] really promotes the services and
[00:48:58] programs. Um, so we're just going to
[00:49:00] have a brief presentation. I I think
[00:49:02] it's a wonderful look at the year in
[00:49:05] review of how outstanding and performing
[00:49:07] we are as a city um residents and
[00:49:10] businesses. So we'll talk about that
[00:49:13] public education and outreach and SP
[00:49:16] 1383 compliance which is a big portion
[00:49:19] of what Jessica leads along with Ken and
[00:49:22] the rest of us here. Um so big year for
[00:49:25] us 2024 year in review. This is really
[00:49:28] just meant to be a snapshot to give you
[00:49:30] an overall look at what we do out there
[00:49:32] in the community. So, residents helped
[00:49:35] divert uh
[00:49:36] 1,589 tons of organic materials from the
[00:49:40] landfill. Businesses help divert
[00:49:44] 5,829 tons of organic material from the
[00:49:47] landfill.
[00:49:49] recycling, which is our dry recycling
[00:49:51] right now with SB1383, which is the most
[00:49:55] epic environmental legislation that we
[00:49:57] have to date. Um, it's one of the most
[00:49:59] epic ones, as we've talked about over
[00:50:01] the last 5 years, that the state has
[00:50:03] produced um statewide. And so now we
[00:50:06] refer to recycling when you see the blue
[00:50:08] as dry recyclables because recycling is
[00:50:11] also diver um referred to as organics.
[00:50:14] But for the purpose of uh dry
[00:50:15] recyclables, which is your blue
[00:50:17] container, one uh
[00:50:19] 1,561 tons of recyclable materials were
[00:50:22] diverted from the landfill. Businesses
[00:50:24] helped divert
[00:50:26] 4,232 tons from the landfill. And just
[00:50:29] as a side note, um just going back to
[00:50:32] the outstanding work that Jessica and
[00:50:34] the team and the city and Bertekch does,
[00:50:36] we are up residential dry recycling from
[00:50:39] the 2023 year 10%. That is a big huge
[00:50:44] number. I know it doesn't sound like a
[00:50:45] lot, but that's probably more than the
[00:50:47] weight that I've lost over the last
[00:50:48] year. But 10% is really the number that
[00:50:51] we're going for right here. Residential
[00:50:54] organics, another big big number, which
[00:50:57] really talks about the change in the
[00:50:59] behavior in the systems and the way that
[00:51:02] our residents and our businesses are
[00:51:03] using the programs.
[00:51:06] 19% organic increase in residential
[00:51:10] behavior in that green cart which is a
[00:51:12] real big number for us here in the city
[00:51:15] and as a valley. So thank you for
[00:51:17] setting that trend the outstanding
[00:51:19] communications that are provided to our
[00:51:21] residents and our businesses because
[00:51:23] those are the numbers that we really
[00:51:24] like to see. commercial organics as
[00:51:27] well. Um commercial participation is up
[00:51:30] 47% in organics from our commercial
[00:51:33] sector which really showcases the
[00:51:35] participation and um the monitoring that
[00:51:38] like Ken does and talks to our
[00:51:40] businesses in doing the right
[00:51:42] thing. Next slide here we have our I'm
[00:51:45] sure many of us here take advantage of
[00:51:47] our bulky item curbside program. Thank
[00:51:50] you for for doing that. It really keeps
[00:51:52] our community clean and beautiful. Last
[00:51:54] year 2024 we had
[00:51:58] 5,172 services provided. Um that means
[00:52:01] that residents are really taking
[00:52:02] advantage of that bulky program which is
[00:52:05] also included in that rate. Uh recycling
[00:52:08] outreach. This is the work that the
[00:52:10] city, Jessica, um, and her team and Ken
[00:52:13] and all of us do every time that we do
[00:52:15] an assessment, which is phone, um, a
[00:52:18] direct site visit, email, contact, any
[00:52:22] kind of activity that we do to help a
[00:52:24] business reduce its impact to the
[00:52:27] landfill. We did
[00:52:30] 2,215 outreach attempts to our business
[00:52:33] community. That's outstanding. 2024, we
[00:52:36] kept 541 mattresses from hitting any one
[00:52:39] of the streets here in the community.
[00:52:42] 702 white goods. That's an old industry
[00:52:45] term if you're wondering what white
[00:52:46] goods are. Um back in the historical
[00:52:49] days, um our our laundry machines, our
[00:52:52] refrigerators were all white goods. And
[00:52:55] so for our purpose, they're all metal
[00:52:57] goods, which means that they're
[00:52:58] recyclable. So 702 white goods were also
[00:53:01] kept off of the community streets. 80
[00:53:05] sharps containers were delivered. Thank
[00:53:07] you for all the residents for ensuring
[00:53:09] that um our staff at our material
[00:53:11] recovery facility centers are kept safe
[00:53:13] by using that sharp container program.
[00:53:16] And 212 gallons of used oil. That means
[00:53:18] that we have residents who still like to
[00:53:20] enjoy to change the oils in their cars
[00:53:23] at home.
[00:53:26] Public education and outreach. This is
[00:53:28] still one of those huge impacts to the
[00:53:30] city, to residents, as it relates to
[00:53:33] Senate Bill 1383, which is a requirement
[00:53:36] to provide um not only monthly
[00:53:38] education, but quarterly, semi um
[00:53:42] semianually, and annually information to
[00:53:44] businesses as required by SP 1383. So,
[00:53:47] here you see a snapshot of of all of the
[00:53:49] outstanding um resources that we mail
[00:53:52] provide on site or email to our
[00:53:56] residents and to our
[00:53:58] businesses. And public education and
[00:54:00] outreach continued. Um city
[00:54:02] sustainability events. We've had two so
[00:54:04] far. Um, I'd like to take a moment to
[00:54:07] really thank the city of Rancho Mirage
[00:54:09] and Jessica and Ken and the team for
[00:54:12] your commitment to sustainability as a
[00:54:14] city, not only city, but regionally. You
[00:54:17] guys had one of the best Earth Day
[00:54:19] events. It was well populated. A lot of
[00:54:22] people attended. It had a special
[00:54:24] attendance by Bert the Recycler. Um I
[00:54:27] know it had a lot of great initiatives
[00:54:29] but really setting the tone for not only
[00:54:31] the city but for the region on what
[00:54:34] Earth Day means for us as residents and
[00:54:37] as businesses. Along with that, we also
[00:54:40] showcase programs such as grow together
[00:54:43] Rancho Mirage, which really creates an
[00:54:45] initiative for residents to work
[00:54:47] together and to use the compost and do
[00:54:49] gardening to go green um compost
[00:54:52] programs for businesses. And your CND
[00:54:55] program, which is one of the which is
[00:54:57] one of the finest CND programs that we
[00:54:59] have here in the valley that we work
[00:55:01] really hard for. And big kudos to the
[00:55:03] Coutino project who is at about a 64%
[00:55:07] diversion. That is incredible diversion
[00:55:10] for a construction and demolition
[00:55:12] project of that size to be at 64% and we
[00:55:15] really applaud DMB um general
[00:55:18] contractors. The work that uh Jessica
[00:55:21] and the team do in monitoring and
[00:55:23] ensuring that they're complying not only
[00:55:25] with Senate Bill 1383, but wanting to do
[00:55:28] the right thing. 64% is an incredible
[00:55:30] number for a pro for a pro a project
[00:55:34] that still is not even near completion.
[00:55:37] So big kudos to Cotino, Ken, Jessica for
[00:55:40] the work that they do in providing the
[00:55:43] consistent monitoring and communication
[00:55:45] and dedication to make sure that we
[00:55:47] divert. I I'm telling you, I'm a
[00:55:49] construction baby and to get a general
[00:55:51] contractor to to maintain that quality
[00:55:54] of diversion is u really second to none.
[00:55:56] So big kudos there. um outreach. We
[00:55:59] provide Senate Bill 1383 outreach Earth
[00:56:02] Day. Again, thank you for for setting
[00:56:04] the tone and the the exemplary programs
[00:56:07] that are model programs to a lot of our
[00:56:09] other cities. Uh recycling right holiday
[00:56:12] recycling and every new resident that we
[00:56:14] welcome into the city of Rancho Mirage
[00:56:16] is provided a welcome kit which um helps
[00:56:19] them to understand the city's new color
[00:56:21] scheme as required by Senate Bill 1383.
[00:56:24] So, they get all kinds of resources um
[00:56:27] there. And then we get to the business
[00:56:29] component factor of Senate Bill 1383.
[00:56:32] Congratulations. You continue to stay at
[00:56:35] 100% compliance in your commercial
[00:56:38] sector. And that is again a showcase of
[00:56:40] the commitment of your business
[00:56:42] partnerships, how they view your
[00:56:44] programs, and how they willingly want to
[00:56:46] participate. So, thank you um Ken for
[00:56:48] all of your extraordinary work that you
[00:56:50] do out in our shopping centers, Jessica,
[00:56:52] for the programs that you develop. Um
[00:56:54] that is a really a natural way that you
[00:56:56] really want businesses to participate in
[00:56:58] those programs. Um still lots ahead in
[00:57:01] Senate Bill 1383. Um one of the big ones
[00:57:04] that we'll work with the city and
[00:57:05] Jessica on is um recovered organic
[00:57:08] product material which is compost and
[00:57:10] mulch. Um we we are now required by the
[00:57:13] state to to um recover 100% of that
[00:57:16] mark. um we are trending to work towards
[00:57:19] that but again Senate bill is is still
[00:57:21] not gone and we are still working
[00:57:23] monthly on a lot of initiatives. Just a
[00:57:26] highlight view here of all of the
[00:57:27] resources that are provided to our
[00:57:29] residents in the last year and in in the
[00:57:31] current year. And with that, thank you
[00:57:33] for keeping the city of Rancho Mirage
[00:57:36] clean and very beautiful. Thank you.
[00:57:38] Happy to answer any questions that you
[00:57:39] may have. Thank you. Excellent
[00:57:42] presentation. Uh are there any
[00:57:45] questions? Any comments? Well, we thank
[00:57:48] you for being here. Well, thank you. You
[00:57:50] know, Bertr provides a outstanding
[00:57:53] service. We get u excellent comments
[00:57:56] from our uh from our residents and so
[00:57:59] thank you for the good service. Thank
[00:58:01] you for allowing us to serve. Of course.
[00:58:04] Thank you.
[00:58:06] Uh are there any public comments
[00:58:08] regarding Yes. Brad Anderson.
[00:58:16] Hi. Hi. Again, I'm going to have to move
[00:58:18] seats. I think uh my name is Brad
[00:58:19] Anderson. I currently live in the city
[00:58:20] of Ranch. Wanted to speak on item number
[00:58:23] 6A and that's concerning the increase
[00:58:25] for u uh trash and recycling and
[00:58:28] collection and disposal rates for the
[00:58:30] city. U I believe the presentation was
[00:58:33] 2.61% increase, but I believe it's 3.71
[00:58:37] altogether. Uh that's what I read in the
[00:58:39] report, but I could be wrong. uh uh
[00:58:43] which is I guess an increase all the
[00:58:46] same. Uh I I actually protested this uh
[00:58:50] contract when it first originated a few
[00:58:52] years ago and and since then I've had
[00:58:56] nothing but issues with the uh with the
[00:58:58] uh uh with Bert and
[00:59:01] uh just let me go. That's all I got to
[00:59:04] ask. But um I'm just
[00:59:07] uh I think I'm I'm just disappointed in
[00:59:10] the city of SB what is 1383 I believe. I
[00:59:14] used to know that by heart but um it's
[00:59:17] just uh it's extreme. It's an extreme
[00:59:19] piece of legislation out of Sacramento
[00:59:22] and and and I think the county is not
[00:59:24] even on board yet. So I I believe the
[00:59:26] city really didn't have to enter that
[00:59:28] contract so readily as they did and
[00:59:31] which costs everybody in the city just
[00:59:34] millions of dollars including equipment
[00:59:36] for Burk and we got tipping fees too for
[00:59:39] the county. So everything's gone up.
[00:59:41] Everything's always going to go up. Um I
[00:59:43] applaud anybody that compost. I actually
[00:59:46] do it and um I've been very successful
[00:59:48] and uh I'm just amazed how easy it is.
[00:59:51] So uh uh so anyway um I guess I just
[00:59:55] wanted to bring that attention to
[00:59:56] everybody that lives in the city.
[00:59:58] There's going to be an increase. Palm
[00:59:59] Desert had an increase a few years ago
[01:00:02] which they really did tell the residents
[01:00:04] about. Um but um so that's it. Thank you
[01:00:08] very much for allowing me to speak.
[01:00:10] Thank you. That was the only speaker
[01:00:12] card. Is there anyone else who would
[01:00:14] like to speak on this item? That was the
[01:00:16] only speaker.
[01:00:18] Okay. I'll ask for any council comments
[01:00:20] regarding this item if I may. Thank you.
[01:00:24] I'd like to thank Bertech for their
[01:00:26] continued partnership with the city of
[01:00:28] Ranch Mirage in keeping us flying
[01:00:31] straight in the stewardship in
[01:00:33] sustainability. Um Ken, thank you for
[01:00:36] being at I believe were you at our Earth
[01:00:39] Day? Yes, you were. So, uh overheard a
[01:00:43] lot of residents making comments on that
[01:00:46] particular day. It was nice to see not
[01:00:48] only uh representation from the farmers
[01:00:51] market and and a variety of
[01:00:53] representation but specifically the
[01:00:55] partnership that the city has with
[01:00:58] rancher mirage. So we appreciate all
[01:01:00] your efforts. We thank you for your hard
[01:01:02] work with Jessica and u look forward to
[01:01:05] the future.
[01:01:07] Thank you Mayor
[01:01:09] Prom. Any other comments? I do Mr.
[01:01:11] Mayor. So first Clara thank you uh for
[01:01:14] being here today to as you say talk
[01:01:15] trash. So thanks for that. Um so I do re
[01:01:19] want to remind everybody and I thought I
[01:01:20] think Clara talked briefly about it that
[01:01:22] the state of California has instituted
[01:01:24] some fairly significant regulations with
[01:01:27] respect to the collection and separation
[01:01:28] of trash which resulted in significant
[01:01:31] expense for BERT uh in terms of barrels
[01:01:34] that we all now have as we know three
[01:01:36] barrels in our at our homes to collect
[01:01:38] various kinds of of uh refues. And of
[01:01:41] course, uh, BERT also had to spend
[01:01:42] considerable amount of of money to
[01:01:44] retrofit trucks to pick up those
[01:01:46] different barrels. And they also had to
[01:01:48] find a way to institute a different
[01:01:50] collection cycling. So, uh, all of us in
[01:01:53] this city now have two collection
[01:01:55] cycling, one for regular trash and the
[01:01:57] other for uh either uh recycle or for u
[01:02:01] for composting. So uh so I salute uh
[01:02:04] Bertech and the city for doing our best
[01:02:05] to find ways uh to control costs uh as
[01:02:10] uh as the uh requirement to conform with
[01:02:13] these state requirements uh has become
[01:02:16] quite expensive over the years. So thank
[01:02:18] you for for being here to talk trash uh
[01:02:20] and thank you for your relationship with
[01:02:21] the city. That's all I have, Mr. Mayor.
[01:02:23] Thank you. Thank you, Council Member DS.
[01:02:26] Uh uh city
[01:02:28] manager has a comment about this. Yeah,
[01:02:32] I just wanted to brag on our staff for a
[01:02:34] second. Uh so Cal Recycle is the state
[01:02:36] agency that oversees uh our compliance
[01:02:41] with uh all the recycling rules and uh
[01:02:44] SB 1383, which was a very significant uh
[01:02:48] change uh to how we recycle and what
[01:02:51] we're recycling. And so, uh, Cal Recycle
[01:02:55] reached out and they asked our staff to
[01:02:57] come present to other cities as a model
[01:03:00] for our implementation. And so, I just
[01:03:03] wanted to, uh, congratulate Jessica,
[01:03:06] Jess, and Ken. Uh, it is a nice blend
[01:03:09] between your city staff and our service
[01:03:12] provider. And uh it's not only
[01:03:15] recognized locally within the numbers uh
[01:03:17] that was just shared, but also the state
[01:03:20] regulatory agency uh recognized it as
[01:03:23] well and is having them come present
[01:03:24] what they do so that hopefully other
[01:03:26] cities will copy it. So great job. Well,
[01:03:30] let me say this. Your bra is more than
[01:03:33] justified and uh I've commented
[01:03:36] before. Uh, I hope Jessica's head
[01:03:38] doesn't gets too too swelled, but um,
[01:03:43] uh, she takes an awful lot of u, a load
[01:03:46] off of us on the city council when it
[01:03:49] comes to questions regarding uh, whether
[01:03:52] it be trash, uh, energy or any of those
[01:03:55] areas. Um, we defer immediately
[01:04:00] uh, to her. our uh our lack of ignorance
[01:04:04] is made up by her efficiency and makes
[01:04:07] us look very good. So again, Jessica,
[01:04:10] thank you loads. Uh any other
[01:04:14] comments? Uh if not, I'll entertain a
[01:04:17] motion, please. I'll be happy to make
[01:04:19] the motion, Mr. Mayor. So, I uh propose
[01:04:21] that the council adopt resolution number
[01:04:23] 2025 next in order establishing solid
[01:04:26] waste and recycling collection and
[01:04:27] disposal rates for all classes of
[01:04:29] customers within the jurisdiction of the
[01:04:31] city of Ranch Mirage effective July 1,
[01:04:34] 2025.
[01:04:36] I'll second. There's a motion and a
[01:04:38] second. Please vote.
[01:04:42] Motion carries. 5-0.
[01:04:45] Excellent.
[01:04:48] Looks to me like we might have a change
[01:04:50] of uh
[01:04:52] uh well, let me let me say this.
[01:04:57] Um the uh the next item is the fiscal
[01:05:02] year 20
[01:05:04] 2526 levy of assessments for landscaping
[01:05:07] and lighting
[01:05:09] uh maintenance district number 87-01.
[01:05:14] It was going to be presented by Ryan
[01:05:17] Stendelle, our assistant manager, city
[01:05:20] manager. I don't see him necessarily
[01:05:24] sitting in the crow's nest seat. So, uh,
[01:05:28] assistant manager, how are you going to
[01:05:29] handle it? Uh, thank you, honorable
[01:05:31] mayor. I'd be happy to have Lassley, our
[01:05:34] assistant public works director, who
[01:05:36] shoulders the load on this item, uh,
[01:05:38] take the staff report. Uh, I was uh
[01:05:41] hoping you would use the title that
[01:05:42] Isaiah had teed up for me today, but
[01:05:44] we'll we'll just get to Ian's talk. And
[01:05:47] by the way, Ian, you look good in a
[01:05:49] suit. Oh, thank you very much.
[01:05:55] Okay. Uh, good afternoon, mayor and city
[01:05:57] council members. The item before you
[01:05:59] today is the initiation of the levy
[01:06:00] process for fiscal year 2025 and 2026
[01:06:04] for the city's landscape and lighting
[01:06:06] districts. The city currently maintains
[01:06:08] five special benefit zones which were
[01:06:10] established through development
[01:06:11] agreements between property developers
[01:06:13] and the city as well as one citywide
[01:06:16] median zone under landscape and lighting
[01:06:18] district
[01:06:20] 87-01. These districts exist for the
[01:06:24] purpose of maintaining landscaping and
[01:06:25] lighting within their respective zones.
[01:06:28] Each Jo zone is assessed on a cost
[01:06:30] recovery basis with parcel owners being
[01:06:32] assessed only for the maintenance costs
[01:06:35] specific to their zone. The citywide
[01:06:38] zone which covers all medians within the
[01:06:40] city is assessed to all parcel owners
[01:06:42] citywide. In contrast, five special
[01:06:44] benefit zones have are assessed solely
[01:06:47] to the parcels that receive direct and
[01:06:49] special benefits from improvements and
[01:06:51] maintenance. The engineers annual levy
[01:06:54] report provides a detailed breakdown of
[01:06:57] the revenues and expenses for each zone
[01:06:59] and outlines cost recovery estimates for
[01:07:01] each. This report includes is included
[01:07:04] in your presentation package. The
[01:07:07] recommendations contained in the
[01:07:08] engineers report are based on full cost
[01:07:11] recovery for each model zone. Staff
[01:07:14] recommends that city council approve the
[01:07:16] attached resolutions declaring the
[01:07:18] city's intent to levy assessments
[01:07:20] setting and setting a public hearing
[01:07:22] date for June 5th, 2025. This concludes
[01:07:25] my presentation. I'd be happy to answer
[01:07:26] any questions you might have.
[01:07:29] Thank you. Are there any public
[01:07:31] comments? Yes, Brad Anderson.
[01:07:39] Great. Thank you again, Brad Anderson.
[01:07:40] Uh currently live in the city. I wanted
[01:07:43] to speak on action item 6B. Um uh I have
[01:07:48] submitted written comments like I said
[01:07:49] before uh for everything that I'm
[01:07:51] speaking on today. Um more detailed uh
[01:07:54] than I'm going to in my 3 minutes or two
[01:07:59] minutes or one minute uh of speaking. Um
[01:08:02] this item here, I just hopefully uh the
[01:08:04] residents in those uh special benefit
[01:08:07] assessment districts
[01:08:09] uh uh from ourselves or just um I can't
[01:08:13] even talk today. I'm sorry. I don't talk
[01:08:15] to anybody usually. Uh but uh uh just uh
[01:08:19] I'm I'm concerned of maybe the city
[01:08:22] having other um items on those light
[01:08:25] poles and on the city rightways and and
[01:08:28] items such as surveillance devices,
[01:08:31] automatic license plate recognition
[01:08:33] cameras and so forth. Not that they do,
[01:08:36] but if they do have any devices uh
[01:08:38] sponsored by the city, could be for any
[01:08:40] other department or or county sheriff or
[01:08:43] fire or anything like that that uh the
[01:08:46] the the people that pay that benefit
[01:08:48] assessment are aware of that so they can
[01:08:50] make adjustments to their bill uh of any
[01:08:53] or any type of service work that's done
[01:08:56] on those devices. And that's all I have.
[01:08:57] Thank you. Thank you for your comment.
[01:09:00] Is there anyone else who would like to
[01:09:01] speak? That was the only speaker.
[01:09:04] Thank you. Uh I will now ask for any
[01:09:08] council comments regarding this
[01:09:12] item. Seeing none, uh I'll call for a
[01:09:15] motion.
[01:09:17] I'll make the motion that number one, we
[01:09:20] adopt the resolution number 2025 next in
[01:09:23] order initiating proceedings for the
[01:09:25] annual levy of assessments for the ranch
[01:09:28] consolidated landscaping and lighting
[01:09:30] maintenance assessment district number
[01:09:33] 87-01 for fiscal year 25 2025
[01:09:37] 2026 and number two adopt resolution
[01:09:40] number 2025 next in order declaring its
[01:09:43] intention to levy annual assessments for
[01:09:46] the Rancher Mirage Consolidated
[01:09:48] Landscaping and Lighting Maintenance
[01:09:50] Assessment District number
[01:09:52] 87-01 for fiscal year 2025 2026 and
[01:09:58] three adopt resolution number 2025.
[01:10:01] Next, in order for preliminary approval
[01:10:03] of the engineers annual levy report for
[01:10:06] the ranch consolidated landscaping and
[01:10:08] lighting maintenance assessment district
[01:10:10] number
[01:10:11] 87-01 for fiscal year 2025 2026.
[01:10:16] I'll second. There is a motion and a
[01:10:19] second. Please vote.
[01:10:23] Motion carries 5.
[01:10:27] That uh con completes the um
[01:10:31] uh the action calendar. I will now go to
[01:10:34] non-aggenda public
[01:10:36] comments. Uh if you would Christie.
[01:10:41] Thank you. This is the time for anyone
[01:10:42] to speak on something that is not on
[01:10:44] today's agenda. First speaker is Brad
[01:10:46] Anderson.
[01:10:53] Hello again Brad Anderson. Uh city of
[01:10:55] Marage. I want to speak on number seven
[01:10:57] now as non-aggenda public comments and I
[01:11:00] just want to voice my concerns again
[01:11:02] about this item being moved towards the
[01:11:04] end of the meeting versus where it's
[01:11:06] always always always been at the
[01:11:08] beginning of the meeting since the
[01:11:09] meeting since the city's constructed the
[01:11:11] city since the city's been constructed
[01:11:13] and since you had uh public uh meetings
[01:11:17] of this nature uh so I think it's a
[01:11:21] political aspect to silence to people
[01:11:23] but I don't know that for sure I would
[01:11:25] highly you suggest if maybe the uh
[01:11:27] council comments be towards the end of
[01:11:29] the meeting if not at the end of the
[01:11:30] meeting before close session like other
[01:11:32] items or I think county does that uh and
[01:11:35] that way maybe that could you know be uh
[01:11:39] another effective way to censor
[01:11:41] everybody but u that being set aside I
[01:11:45] wanted to speak
[01:11:48] on oh at a at a recent city council
[01:11:51] meeting Mr. DS reported or or stated
[01:11:54] that council member DS stated that uh
[01:11:57] only one person uh can bring any agenda
[01:12:01] uh any item to be set for agenda agenda
[01:12:05] wise I guess on any any public meeting
[01:12:08] council meetings and I never knew that
[01:12:10] that was news to me and I appreciate you
[01:12:12] being so candid to release that. I am
[01:12:15] concerned I have written statements too
[01:12:17] of this what I'm speaking about today
[01:12:20] but I am concerned about maybe the
[01:12:22] possible um I want to say corruption but
[01:12:24] that's too strong a word I think maybe
[01:12:27] three people three council members
[01:12:29] should really have an open discussion
[01:12:31] towards the end of the meeting when
[01:12:33] council comments are stated if that's
[01:12:35] something that's going to happen and
[01:12:37] they could suggest that an open public
[01:12:39] forum of putting things I think uh Palm
[01:12:42] Springs does it that way Palm Springs
[01:12:43] city council
[01:12:44] uh and allow u public public to uh
[01:12:49] uh I guess review what the city council
[01:12:51] is doing and having more than one
[01:12:53] council person bring something to agenda
[01:12:56] uh means uh it's more transparent is the
[01:13:00] word I'm using uh but uh while I'm
[01:13:02] thinking of it really quick u I noticed
[01:13:04] uh I did go on your website I did look
[01:13:07] up an address for cell coverage and
[01:13:09] apparently where I live there's no good
[01:13:11] cell coverage according to your map uh
[01:13:13] which I'd have to disagree with, but I
[01:13:16] see a lot of disclaimers on that uh that
[01:13:20] web page, too. And those are the same
[01:13:22] disclaimers that I put uh in public
[01:13:24] form. Not that it will be recorded
[01:13:26] anywhere, but I I brought up those uh
[01:13:29] comments too. So, uh so I think maybe
[01:13:33] you should let people Well, you have I
[01:13:35] guess if you go to those websites, but
[01:13:37] that that's one item that I wanted to
[01:13:39] address and that's I guess that's really
[01:13:41] it. And uh thank you. Thank you, Wally
[01:14:06] Melendez. Uh, good afternoon, uh, city
[01:14:09] council.
[01:14:10] um um
[01:14:15] administration. I'd like to start
[01:14:18] with a a re uh re
[01:14:22] reiteration of somebody
[01:14:26] somewhere adding to the pledge of
[01:14:29] allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the
[01:14:32] flag of the I pledge allegiance to the
[01:14:37] and the constitution of the United
[01:14:40] States of America.
[01:14:49] And so the words that caught my
[01:14:52] attention at the
[01:14:55] beginning
[01:14:56] was the um housing
[01:15:01] authority and um so
[01:15:07] uh to re reiterate again from other
[01:15:11] times I mentioned
[01:15:14] And that in instead of a rental
[01:15:18] agreement that
[01:15:19] the that housing to be
[01:15:24] uh made available
[01:15:27] to homeless
[01:15:31] people that that there would be one way
[01:15:34] for homeless people to get up in the
[01:15:37] world.
[01:15:39] Of course, what I'm talking
[01:15:42] about is probably a partnership with
[01:15:45] government and uh private enterprise uh
[01:15:49] to make uh to to to work up that uh that
[01:15:58] project. So, so, so, so you get my
[01:16:00] drift. government and private
[01:16:02] partnership to
[01:16:04] provide listen very
[01:16:08] carefully
[01:16:09] equity participatory agreements instead
[01:16:14] of I know I'm saying this again I know
[01:16:17] I'm repeating myself instead of rational
[01:16:21] agreements to uh help people get up from
[01:16:25] the from the poverty hole that they're
[01:16:28] in and I want to re and and and and to
[01:16:33] add to
[01:16:34] that, I I think that Raj
[01:16:39] Mirage should start a
[01:16:43] university beginning with a school of
[01:16:47] law.
[01:16:51] Because as we all
[01:16:55] know, even if you're just talking about
[01:16:58] agreements, that's part of the
[01:17:01] law.
[01:17:03] So that's what I want to leave you with.
[01:17:07] So that that's the words that caught my
[01:17:09] attention today. At the beginning, the
[01:17:12] housing authority. There you go.
[01:17:17] Thank you for your comments. Is there
[01:17:19] anyone else who would like to speak on
[01:17:21] something not on today's agenda? That
[01:17:23] was the last speaker.
[01:17:27] Okay, that concludes the
[01:17:31] um the non-aggenda public
[01:17:33] comments. We are going to uh recess to a
[01:17:37] close session. Mr. Mayor, we have a
[01:17:40] request to speak on the close session.
[01:17:42] Okay. Brad Anderson.
[01:17:53] Thank you again, Brad Anderson, city of
[01:17:54] Answer. I'm losing my voice. I'm talking
[01:17:56] so much today. So anyway, uh just
[01:17:59] concerning a close session topic of I
[01:18:01] guess employee uh city manager
[01:18:04] uh performance uh evaluation from the
[01:18:08] city council. Um I think this happens
[01:18:11] every year. Uh I I would hope that this
[01:18:13] year maybe we can have a more open
[01:18:15] process. uh meaning uh transparency. Uh
[01:18:20] I think the vector control district has
[01:18:22] a more transparent way of knowing how
[01:18:24] the city managers evaluated from the
[01:18:26] city council and uh how that process is
[01:18:30] completed and uh and and that would be
[01:18:33] just enlightening for people like me
[01:18:35] that uh don't know what goes on in those
[01:18:38] close session meetings. And um and I I'm
[01:18:42] guessing this is what's going to be
[01:18:43] talked about. I have it in front of me,
[01:18:45] but I didn't hear the report again uh
[01:18:48] this week uh prior to me being uh
[01:18:52] instructed to submit my comments and
[01:18:54] vert comments. Um so I'm guessing that's
[01:18:57] what you're going to talk about. I'll
[01:18:58] wait to hear what the city attorney has
[01:19:01] to say. Uh but uh I just want to I guess
[01:19:04] a more transparent process. Uh and and
[01:19:08] I'm all for paying people well that live
[01:19:10] here and operate or work in the city. uh
[01:19:13] but we need to know what they do and how
[01:19:15] they do it and what the goals are and
[01:19:17] achievements and and all that aspects uh
[01:19:19] before we just randomly uh give money
[01:19:22] away and that's all I have or just give
[01:19:24] money away is the wrong word to u
[01:19:27] reimburse people what they're worth.
[01:19:28] Thank you. Thank you.
[01:19:32] Is there any other speakers? No
[01:19:35] additional speakers.
[01:19:37] All right.
[01:19:38] Um before we go into close session, I
[01:19:41] will ask our council to review those
[01:19:44] items under
[01:19:45] consideration. Thank you, mayor. We'll
[01:19:47] be convening in a close session for the
[01:19:49] item before you listed as 8A, conference
[01:19:52] with legal council public employee
[01:19:53] performance evaluation pursuant to
[01:19:55] California government code section
[01:19:58] 54957, public employee being city
[01:20:01] manager/executive director.
[01:20:04] Thank you. We're We are now recessed
[01:20:07] into close
[01:20:18] session. We are back in session. Uh I
[01:20:22] will now ask the city attorney to review
[01:20:25] anything that was covered in the close
[01:20:27] of session. Thank you, mayor. No
[01:20:30] reportable action taken today.
[01:20:32] That concludes the meeting is now
[01:20:36] closed.