Regular City Council Meeting, May 21, 2026

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AI transcript text.

[00:00:14] Speaker A: Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to the regular scheduled City Council meeting. It's Thursday, May 21st, 2026, 1:00 PM. This is the regular meeting of the Rancho Mirage City Council and Community Services District Energy Authority House Housing Authority, Joint Powers Finance Authority, Library and Observatory, and Redevelopment Successor Agency Boards. We're glad you're all here. Would you please stand for the flag salute and join me? I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Madam Clerk, may we have roll call please?
[00:01:14] Speaker C: Council Member Downs.
[00:01:16] Speaker D: I'm here.
[00:01:16] Speaker C: Council Member Fromberg-Edelstein.
[00:01:18] Speaker E: Here.
[00:01:19] Speaker C: Council Member Weil.
[00:01:20] Speaker F: Here.
[00:01:20] Speaker C: Mayor Pro Tem O'Keefe.
[00:01:22] Speaker G: Here.
[00:01:22] Speaker C: Mayor Mulatto.
[00:01:24] Speaker F: Here.
[00:01:27] Speaker A: Before we get started this afternoon, I'd like to take a moment, um, I want to take a moment to acknowledge the devastating attacks at the Islamic Center of San Diego earlier this week. Three men, Amin Abdullah, Mansour Kazeeha, and Nadir Awad lost their lives in an act of senseless, hate-fueled violence. Our hearts go out to their families, to the children who were present that day, and to the entire Muslim community who are mourning as they enter one of their holiest seasons. No one should ever fear for their safety in a house of worship That is true in San Diego, and it is true here. To our Muslim neighbors and residents, you are valued part of this community, as all members of faith are, and you do not stand alone. Okay, please keep these people in your hearts and prayers and thoughts. And remember, in this crazy world, we only have each other. Thank you. It's now time for presentations, and we are acknowledging our Rancho Mirage High School 2026 valedictorian, salutatorian, and I'm going to ask that Councilmember Eve Fromberg Edelstein lead this presentation.
[00:03:06] Speaker B: Thank you.
[00:03:06] Speaker I: I believe the principal and the students are Here they are.
[00:03:12] Speaker A: They're in the back.
[00:03:13] Speaker E: As I knew they would be. Okay, remember, I'm still gunning for your job, Mr. Hendra, so take it easy. Okay, it is my pleasure to welcome Rancho Mirage High School Principal Brian Hendra and recognize the outstanding student leadership and academic achievements within the Rancho Mirage High School community. I would like to thank outgoing Associated Student Body President Olivia Aparicio. Close enough.
[00:03:41] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:03:42] Speaker E: For her dedication, leadership, and service to the school community. Please come down.
[00:03:45] Speaker B: Thank you. Sorry.
[00:03:47] Speaker E: Throughout the past year. And welcome to the incoming Associated Student Body President, Cadence Castillo, and wish her great success in the upcoming school year. Well done, ladies.
[00:04:00] Speaker I: I love women in leadership.
[00:04:01] Speaker E: We are delighted to recognize, uh, anyways, stay up here. And I— do we have the two gentlemen?
[00:04:09] Speaker K: Malachi is technically parking right as we speak.
[00:04:12] Speaker B: Okay, okay.
[00:04:13] Speaker E: Well, why don't we take—
[00:04:14] Speaker G: sweating.
[00:04:14] Speaker E: Let's take a moment to congratulate you ladies. Uh, what were your observations as outgoing, and what are your desires as incoming? Outgoing first.
[00:04:23] Speaker H: Outgoing.
[00:04:25] Speaker L: Uh, well, it was a pleasure for me to serve as board representative for Rancho Mirage High School. Um, this is my first year as representative, and I've learned so many different things, um, as to collaborating with others Communication skills, work ethic, and a lot of problem-solving skills. Again, this was an amazing opportunity for myself, and I cannot wait to take these skills that I've learned here at this position and go into the real world as I go into college.
[00:04:51] Speaker E: Are you graduating?
[00:04:52] Speaker L: Yes, I am.
[00:04:53] Speaker E: And where are you attending in the fall?
[00:04:54] Speaker L: UC Santa Barbara.
[00:04:56] Speaker E: Congratulations.
[00:04:57] Speaker L: Thank you so much.
[00:04:58] Speaker I: Oh, you make me cry.
[00:04:59] Speaker A: Thank you.
[00:05:01] Speaker E: And to our incoming president and the burdens that she's left you, how do you feel?
[00:05:04] Speaker L: Yeah, um, I've been working with Olivia Aparicio since my freshman freshman year. So we've both been like together learning, understanding what it takes to be a school leader and just not even just a school leader, but a representative in general. And as a representative, we have Chloe as our school board representative. So she's— she'll be here soon. But yeah, so following into her footsteps, it's like a— it's an amazing way to represent Rancho, knowing the possibilities of her and like knowing how far you can go, but not just the school, but with the community and just with students in general, like just becoming all and just understanding what it takes to be a leader.
[00:05:41] Speaker E: Are you gonna be a senior next year?
[00:05:42] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:05:43] Speaker L: Wow.
[00:05:44] Speaker A: Big.
[00:05:44] Speaker I: This is a big deal.
[00:05:45] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:05:45] Speaker E: Well, I hope that this isn't the last time I see you in a city hall or in a government building doing the people's work. It's the youth of like this that inspires the rest of us that this country is gonna be left in great hands. So thank you, ladies.
[00:05:59] Speaker L: Thank you so much.
[00:05:59] Speaker E: Stay close by, 'cause then we're gonna do some photos.
[00:06:01] Speaker H: Yeah.
[00:06:02] Speaker E: Okay, uh, we are delighted to recognize the extraordinary accomplishments of the Rancho Mirage High School Class of 2026 valedictorian Malachi Davis and salutatorian Carlos Garcia. Their hard work, commitment, and academic excellence are truly commendable, and we look forward to all they will accomplish in the future. Malachi is an exceptional student who excels in academics, athletics, and leadership. This year's valedictorian with a— take a moment— 4.89 GPA.
[00:06:31] Speaker C: All right, Stars.
[00:06:33] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:06:34] Speaker E: He maintained straight A's in rigorous courses while also standing out as a basketball player and serving as homecoming king, which is so hard. Very difficult. Known for his positive attitude, leadership, and determination, Malachi leads by example and truly embodies an I can do mindset. He will seek his higher education at UCLA. Carlos Garcia has distinguished himself as an exceptional student and leader at Rancho Mirage High School, earning the honor of salutatorian with an outstanding—
[00:07:05] Speaker B: so close—
[00:07:05] Speaker I: 4.88 GPA.
[00:07:09] Speaker E: Oh, that had to hurt a little. It's okay, still amazing. A dedicated student athlete in football and track, Carlos is known for his strong work ethic, leadership, and positive attitude as well. This week he will continue his—
[00:07:22] Speaker A: this—
[00:07:22] Speaker E: I'm sorry, this fall he will continue his education at UC Riverside. Where he will undoubtedly continue to excel.
[00:07:29] Speaker I: The UC system is lucky to have all three of you.
[00:07:33] Speaker E: At this time, I would like to ask Malachi and Carlos to join me and the City Council at the podium for the presentation and the photo. Congratulations. Incredible.
[00:07:54] Speaker H: Thank you so much. Thank you. So proud of you.
[00:07:59] Speaker I: Congratulations. Well done.
[00:08:02] Speaker F: Congratulations.
[00:08:05] Speaker H: Well done. Congratulations. Thank you so much. Thank you so much.
[00:08:17] Speaker I: Before we take the photos, I would like to present Malachi and Carlos with certificates of recognition from the city on your achievements, your accomplishments, and our best wishes into the future that you have in front of you, which is going to— oh, did I have them reversed? I'm so sorry—
[00:08:35] Speaker E: which is going to be bright, shiny. And again, I can't wait to see where you both end up and where you're headed. And we're leaving the future in very good hands if there's children like you. So thank you.
[00:08:48] Speaker J: All right, Council, let's have you line up here.
[00:08:50] Speaker M: You guys should be in the middle, then we'll do a group shot here.
[00:08:55] Speaker H: Council member, can we have you over on this side? All right, Carlos, would you step out for a minute? One with Malachi. Put you back in. Girls, you're back in. Then the whole group. Thank you. Congratulations. Good job. Thank you. This is just a curtain. Thank you from our theater department for helping with that.
[00:10:07] Speaker E: Oh my gosh, thank you so much. I love it.
[00:10:09] Speaker H: It'll go in my office.
[00:10:11] Speaker I: Thank you.
[00:10:11] Speaker E: Thank you all.
[00:10:27] Speaker A: It's hard getting into this chair. I feel like Lily Tomlin in one of her characters. Oh my goodness, the next presentation, Coachella Valley Community Association Institute presentation, and we'd like to welcome Holly Smith, the executive director, and Bruce Lotta, the president.
[00:10:47] Speaker H: He's not coming.
[00:10:49] Speaker A: Bruce is shy. We don't bite, really.
[00:10:54] Speaker B: Good afternoon. I want to thank you for letting me come and speak to you today about the Community Association Institute. Um, real brief, uh, introduction about myself. I've been 25 25 years in the property management industry. I have 11 managing HOAs and 5 of those leading a team of community managers myself. Um, so being here in this role isn't just about a job or coming from a nonprofit side. I've lived the industry and I have a good pulse on what's going on. And, um, so I've been very honored to be able to lead our team into a future. Community Association Institute was founded in 1973 to support the common interest development industry. We have 65 chapters worldwide, including obviously here in the Coachella Valley. We're a 501 nonprofit membership association, and we are primarily for education and advocacy on a federal, state, and local level. And we serve managers, board members, and partners and public organizations. There we go, forgot about this. Um, We here in the Valley, we were established in 1981. We offer education, which is free board member workshops, monthly educational programs, and many trade shows. We are including now an annual legal expo that will include all members of Coachella Valley who are interested in learning about HOAs. We also offer credentials for managers such as myself. I have a PCAM, which is the highest designation that you can get through CAI, which is a professional community association management designation. We also even offer a designation or some credentialing for board members as well if they want to take the course. The resources and tools that we offer, aside from our monthly educational programs and board member workshops, are— we have a monthly digital magazine that we publish every month and is free to all of our members. We encourage people to forward it on to other people who may be interested. We have a membership directory. We just put that back out in print since COVID So that's a new thing that we've added this year, which is a nice desk resource for our members. We also have a national bimonthly magazine as well as an online collection of many tools, resources, videos, and publications that our members can access. And best of all is we also actually have a medallion program. And this is something for our HOA communities that fill out a question questionnaire, and it's about best practices. And once they complete the application and we can verify that they are using best practices to manage their communities, they're awarded a medallion that they can put at the front of their clubhouse or gates. Just kind of a prestigious thing to show that they've gone above and beyond for their communities. And why this matters to your city, because in the Coachella Valley, 80% of our rent Residents live in an HOA, so they're not just part of your community. They, they're not an extension. They are part of your community. Sometimes most people don't even know what it's like to live in an HOA. They don't even realize. I know for myself, when I bought my first home, I didn't even know it was an HOA to like 2 weeks before escrow closed. And yeah, so it's very important that they understand that they have governing documents and different things that they need to abide by when they move into these communities, as well as finding a community that fits their lifestyle, because not every community will. Um, infrastructure and responsibility. So a lot of times there's a lot of questions between what does a city handle and what an HOA handles, and that can be a very confusing line for homeowners. And then those challenges then become your concerns as well. The reality today is that HOA leadership is becoming increasingly complex, especially with the laws here in California. We've got insurance issues, rising costs, water usage and compliance issues, aging infrastructure and legislation. And there's a lot of high-stakes decisions that are made by these communities that they're not educated enough to do. And then on top of that, our homeowner expectations become even higher. So what the gap is, is that most board members are not formally trained and homeowners don't know the HOA process. And that is what we are here to do, is to help them work through that. There's no required education for board members, and there's no homeowner guidance either. There's limited governance, governance understanding on both parties, which leads to conflict and frustration for residents and for the city. So our solution is a city workshop. What this is, is a free educational workshop that we partner with you and the departments of your city, and we focus on governance and best practices. We try to draw the line for the homeowners to know what the HOA is supposed to maintain and when to call your city. So this education is brought directly to your community, and it demystifies the boundaries of city and HOA responsibility. The benefit to the City of Rancho Mirage: it makes better informed decisions, reduce complaints to the city offices, stronger self-sufficient associations, Increase trust with residents and proactive versus reactive solutions for everyone. So we would love to partner with you to host a CAICV board and homeowner workshop. We would open up to all members of a homeowner community, not just board members, but any homeowner. It'll be no cost, minimal staff coordination, and we know that when the HOA leaders succeed, we all thrive. I want to thank you very much.
[00:16:57] Speaker A: Thank you for your, um, your presentation. My day job, I'm a realtor, and so I deal with property managements, and they are really a very complex but very necessary, um, uh, part of any— of, of a, a gated community, if you will. When you put on a class like this, do you reach out to the respective HOAs in inviting them to come to?
[00:17:28] Speaker B: What we try to do is we don't have necessarily always a comprehensive list of all the HOAs within the cities, so we do ask to work with the city to try and put the message out, whether it's through our emails, newsletters that you might put out to your city, putting it on your city calendar, and just making, you know, using all the resources you have that you would make people aware of events in your community, the same for the workshop.
[00:17:54] Speaker A: Terrific. And we can, we can help with that as far as announcing dates and, and locations and what have you. Um, if you would make certain that you leave your contact information, I'm sure we probably have it because you're on the agenda.
[00:18:07] Speaker B: I have a packet that I gave, uh, put together for everyone to review, and it has all the information about our organization and my personal contact.
[00:18:15] Speaker A: Well, you're the unsung heroes. It's not easy to be part of HOA management. It's not easy to go to an HOA meeting. Um, I understand. And for the points that you, you described. It's limited knowledge and a limited understanding of how the dynamics work. And it's always helpful if you have a cooperative HOA versus a combative or adversarial. Does anyone else?
[00:18:41] Speaker M: I do. Thank you, Madam Mayor. So I have a special reason for saying thank you to these people from CAII for, for being with us today. So as Steve Shue, who's with you, knows, I spent 6 years as president of my association, so I know just how difficult, but also how rewarding it can be. So thanks for being with us today.
[00:19:00] Speaker B: Thank you very much.
[00:19:01] Speaker A: Is there any other comments? Thank you so very, very much for being here.
[00:19:05] Speaker B: Thank you, Mayor.
[00:19:07] Speaker H: Okay.
[00:19:10] Speaker A: The next presentation on the agenda is from CAL FIRE, Riverside County Fire Department update, and we have Chief Cody Wright. That'll be reporting. Good afternoon, Chief.
[00:19:23] Speaker K: Good afternoon, Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem, and City Council. I'm your Fire Chief Cody Wright, and I'm going to give the third quarter statistics for 2026. So I'll cover the months of January through March of this year. Additionally, we've had some changes in our department of our upper management, so I kind of wanted to give a high-level overview of those changes and now the people that are overseeing all of us. So on the presentation there on the left, we have Robert Fish. He's our new fire chief. He oversees all of CAL FIRE and the whole unit in Riverside County here. Alongside him is Chief Deputy Jeff Pemberton. He oversees the county assets for their county. So basically they work side by side. They're equal partners overseeing the whole union and county together. Chief Fish, prior to that, was Deputy Chief of Eastern Operations. So he basically moved up the chain now. And if you realize that, recognize the next person for Eastern Operations is Chief Beverlin. So he previously had this position. So basically he moved up and now he oversees the Eastern Operations of the county, which basically is from Beaumont out to Blythe. And then myself as your new division chief as of January here in the city. So for, kind of wanted to go over our fire protection in Rancho Mirage here. Currently we have 2 battalion chiefs. We have Battalion 12A, which is currently vacant. We just went through a hiring process, and we'll— I'm confident they'll be in place by July 1st of this year for that position. Our next is Battalion 12B, which was Mike Whitaker. He currently was on loan to us as, as a relief personnel. He liked it here so much that he put a transfer in, and he'll be here for the next 2 years. So we're glad to have him. He's a high performer. On the right side, we have our fire marshal, Cole Hetrick, and then our fire safety specialist, Jacqueline Garcia. So I want to go over our fire stations and our fire station daily staffing at Engine 50. Our Station 50, we have Engine 50 and Medic 50. So currently we have a captain, an engineer, and a paramedic on each day. For Medic 50, we have an engineer and a paramedic. For Station 69, which is on the north side of the city, we have Engine 69, which has a captain, engineer, and paramedic, and then also Medic 69, which has an engineer and paramedic. And then Medic 52, which is a new addition, which has an engineer and paramedic on it as well. On the right side of the screen, you'll see some of the guys doing some training there where they're doing a rescue over the side operation where they're actually trying to train to rescue people in dynamic situations. So for our service calls for January through March of this year, we had 1,826 calls for service. Our average response time was 4.6 minutes, which is great. Our, our goal is 5 minutes, so we're significantly under that. Engine 69 had 805 calls, Medic 69 had 667 calls, Engine 50 had 509 calls, Medic 50 had 489 calls, and Medic 52 had 438 calls. Additionally, I'd like to point out that 82 calls went to nurse navigation, and what that is, is when someone calls 911, depending on how they answer the questions to our dispatch center, they've determined that sending a fire engine and the ambulance code 3 to their house isn't the appropriate response. A lot of times we use these calls for mental health, or sometimes people just need a refill on prescriptions, or they just need a transport to the hospital, or even just talk to a psychiatrist over the phone. So we've tried to lower our call volume in that by not having a response go out to their house every single time. It's been very successful, and in all the calls that we've ran, only 3% of the time have we— after they've gone down the nurse navigation route, have we had to then send a fire engine and ambulance. So it's almost 100% successful. They're getting the care they need without getting a fire engine and ambulance to their house. On the right side of the screen, you can see our call breakdown. Approximately 80% of our calls are medical aid in nature, so it was 1,478. We did have 78 public service assists, 150 false alarms, and 54 traffic collisions for the majority of the calls. Here's a response map for those— for the 3 months there, and you could kind of see the blue dots represent the medical calls. The red ones represent fires or other various calls. So kind of in the north side of the city is a lot of our calls, and then the south side of the city as well. So here are your firefighters participating in the Mini Muster for the COVID communities here. They had a great time. I'll play a short video here. The pictures are great, but I figured the video is worth a thousand words. Here in the city of Palm Desert, where we get the local schools to come in for a mini muster where the students learn fire safety and fire prevention. It's great for our firefighters because it gets them involved in the community, and the community can see the firefighters who are working for them. It's, uh, great for kids to have interactive fire safety because what we found out is that when kids learn fire safety from a young age, it sticks with them through their adult years and the rest of their life. It's our pleasure to be out here today. We're glad to be out working with the kids and involved with the community.
[00:25:25] Speaker O: Yep.
[00:25:26] Speaker K: So as you can see, it was a great time. Maybe the only complaints was that the kids got a little bit of muddy and a little bit of wet, but they had a really good time. What was interesting to me, though, is when I was talking with a lot of the parents and people that were out there, some of them actually grew up in the community here and remember themselves going to the Mini Muster and say that some of their fondest memories going through school. So it was a, it was really great time. Here I'll highlight Medic 52, which is a new addition to our fleet. It was fully staffed as of January 5th of this year. And we had some community engagement as well. We did the— we participated in the Tunnel to Tower Celebrity Golf Tournament at Rancho Mirage. They were gracious hosts. It was a great time. We got to meet many wonderful people there. It was really good. And that concludes the presentation. If you see this wonderful picture of myself, I was assigned to Station 50 back in 2015 and 2016. So I like to show this picture to all the people who work for me, say, to teach them hard work and everything. I'm here waxing the top of Medic 50, and of course, when I tell them that, that I don't expect anything that they wouldn't do, they say, well, yeah, that's why the Medic 50 has a big dent in the top of it. That's what you get. So I'm open for questions.
[00:26:41] Speaker A: Do we have any questions for the Chief?
[00:26:44] Speaker M: I don't have any questions. I just want to say thanks so much for being with us, Chief. And I see Lieutenant Ternes in the back of the room as well, so we are very well served in Rancho Mirage by our friends from Cal Fire and by our law enforcement from the Sheriff's Department. So thanks so much for being with us today.
[00:26:56] Speaker O: Agreed.
[00:26:57] Speaker K: Thank you.
[00:26:57] Speaker A: We thank you for all that you do.
[00:27:00] Speaker F: Thank you, Chief.
[00:27:01] Speaker K: Thank you guys very much.
[00:27:02] Speaker E: I hope that day with those kids inspires some new firefighters.
[00:27:05] Speaker K: It was great. I think we got a few, for example.
[00:27:09] Speaker H: Yep.
[00:27:11] Speaker A: Love the bucket brigade.
[00:27:12] Speaker K: Yep, it was, it was really good. Thank you guys.
[00:27:14] Speaker E: Thank you.
[00:27:15] Speaker F: Thank you.
[00:27:19] Speaker A: Next item on the agenda is council member comments and reports, and we'll start with Council Member Eve Fromberg Edelstein.
[00:27:26] Speaker E: Thank you, Mayor. A few things. CVAG— I am the public— I am on the Public Safety Committee for CVAG, and we had not had a meeting for a bit and finally had one last week, and it was a really great meeting. First of all, there's a— we were given a report about a new risk in the community. There's a drug.
[00:27:48] Speaker I: The natural form of it is called kratom. There's a synthetic form called 7-OH. It is a, um, kratom comes from a leaf, but 7-OH is, is, is a diverted product from it through a chemical process. It is similar to an opioid. It traditionally has been used for pain relief, but 7-OH has shown to have tendencies of opioid addiction and some of the issues that come along with it. Some of the cities that were there have already passed ordinances regarding the prohibition of distribution of kratom at certain concentrated levels, or the 7OH product at certain concentrated levels, and preventing addiction. And there's also been incidents of death that's on the rise in our county. We've got some information from Riverside County and some bills that the supervisors are considering in prohibiting the sale of it at smoke shops and convenience stores. La Quinta and Palm Desert have already passed their ordinances. So I've passed the information on for city staff to evaluate what we will determine our reaction and course of action will be in response to a new public threat. It was very informative.
[00:29:04] Speaker E: They—
[00:29:04] Speaker I: we had a presentation by an expert in the area that is now working in the county and at the state level about addressing this, and there is a current assembly bill about also the prohibition of the sale of this product.
[00:29:16] Speaker E: So It is timely and of topic. The second was we met at the Palm Springs Police Department for this meeting. Normally we meet at the CVAGS location, but we did it because we had a tour of the Real Time Crime Center at Palm Springs Police Department. Very impressive room.
[00:29:36] Speaker I: The day that we were there, we also saw that there were Agua Caliente staff there also running real-time crime um, center work regarding tribal lands as well, since Palm Springs is so much tribal land, as do we.
[00:29:50] Speaker E: Was very interesting. There was a lot of—
[00:29:53] Speaker I: some demonstrations of the use of drones and Flock technology working together, the Flock cameras.
[00:30:00] Speaker E: Um, and there were a lot of really interest— interesting information that came out of it.
[00:30:05] Speaker I: The amount that the city is using this now for crime prevention, that now the threats For crime are coming from outside of our area. So there's a lot of people coming from all over Riverside County and other counties and coming here to commit crime. So we've become more of a target for property crime, theft, burglary. Um, the drones are on the scene faster than the officers can get there, so it shortens the response time to evaluate the situation. It also allows for, um, the officers to know what they could be walking into. Really interesting when we talk— we did talk about active shooter situations. and they're working on protocol using these drones regarding active shooter. They showed, um, a situation I believe that happened at Desert Hot Springs High School regarding a possible active shooter a few months ago.
[00:30:54] Speaker E: It was really interesting. Um, the other, uh, beauty of this technology is the ability to observe a lot of open land.
[00:31:03] Speaker I: So Palm Springs, Cathedral City have a lot of undeveloped open area where we know that there are things that occur there other than crime. Rescue situations, safety issues, people not using the land in the correct way and violating the land ordinances. And so they use it for those, and it allows them to cover those lands that they would not have necessarily the ability for an officer to, to be able to do effectively. And for rescue, to quickly find victims that were lost on trails or in open desert, which happens here so much, especially as the heat rises and people don't completely evaluate what the risk is to go hiking when it's 120.
[00:31:42] Speaker E: Um, so that's really incredible. Obviously, uh, CAL FIRE can use it to track fire and to update fire information.
[00:31:49] Speaker I: Um, and in addition, they talked about, uh, number one, that there's safety measures in place regarding the use of the flock cameras and drone information, how long that information is stored, um, parameters in those systems around no racial identifying Uh, there's other evidence used to identify situations and figure out what the crime is and where it's going in real time and how to address it.
[00:32:14] Speaker E: Um, and then a really interesting story that Palm Springs Police Department informed us about was that they had a call—
[00:32:20] Speaker I: this, I'm, I'm not sure when this happened, but they had a call of youth in a park with a gun. They sent the drones out in response first to get there faster, and the drones showed footage that the kids were actually had a BB gun. And it completely changed the way that the Palm Springs Police Department addressed that issue. Those children were said, hey, you can't have that. But it clearly wasn't, um, an active shooter situation. It wasn't with a, with a live weapon. And I think what became, what could have been a, uh, overreaction to a situation became a learning lesson for those kids and kept those, um, members of their law enforcement safe and de-escalated the situation before the situation even started to be addressed in real time. Um, it was very impressive, and I know that, um, there are other cities looking into adding this technology, uh, for their police departments. For us, it would be through the county sheriff. So that was, that was the day, and it was really helpful. And I just wanted to report out what happened because I thought it was really informative and people need to know. And then on the last note is that I wish everyone a safe Memorial Day weekend. So thank you.
[00:33:27] Speaker A: Thank you. Councilmember Ted Weil.
[00:33:30] Speaker F: Thank you, Mayor. On Wednesday, May 20th, my fellow council members and I enjoyed returning to Rancho Mirage High School to once again celebrate the Do the Right Thing Award ceremony and the positive impact it continues to have by recognizing students who demonstrate leadership, character, and good citizenship. It was also a time to celebrate this year's award recipients and recognize their accomplishments and commitment to making a difference. Programs like Do the Right Thing are an important reminder of the value of encouraging and celebrating our youth and the positive example they set for others. We are especially proud to congratulate the Rancho Mirage High School award winner, Rancho Mirage High School junior Diego Serna. Diego is being recognized for the outstanding achievement of graduating a full year early, with graduation, graduation set for June 3rd. Diego completed his graduation requirements ahead of schedule while balancing College of the Desert courses and earning an impressive 4.1 GPA. He has also remained involved with the Rancho Mirage High School soccer program as a team manager and plans to continue his education at either Cal State San Marcos or Cal State Long Beach. His dedication, hard work, and determination make him truly deserving of this recognition. Congratulations, Diego. We, as a council that attended this event yesterday, were extremely proud to be there. One other point I'd like to make is that, uh, I had the opportunity to attend the second signature Speaker Series event of the season on Wednesday, May 20th, featuring Scott White, President and CEO of Visit Greater Palm Springs, and Sean Smith, an alumni of Rancho Mirage, Director of Economic Development, for an engaging discussion on the Coachella Valley Economic Development Strategic Plan. The presentation highlighted tourism trends, regional growth strategies, and the initiatives helping drive visitation and long-term economic development throughout the Coachella Valley. It was encouraging to hear how our region continues to evolve and the opportunities these efforts create for our local business community. The Signature Speaker Series continues with upcoming events on June 17th, July 15th, and August 19th. I encourage residents and business leaders to visit the Chamber's website at ranchomiragechamber.org to register for one or all of the remaining events, as these conversations provide valuable insight into the future of our region and economy. You will be impressed, you will be motivated, and you will see that we're going in an absolutely outstanding direction. Thank you, Mayor.
[00:37:28] Speaker A: Thank you, Councilmember Steve Downs.
[00:37:32] Speaker M: Thank you, Madam Mayor. So I too want to talk about do the right thing, but first I'm going to read a letter that I think all of my council colleagues received. It's a little off in its timing, and after I read it, I'll tell you why. But it says, dear council member, we are writing to let you know how much we enjoy and appreciate the Friday morning farmers market in Rancho Mirage. It's such a nice way to share community and support local Coachella Valley farmers and ranchers. Please help publicize and promote the farmers market. So I hope that helps do that. These letters, letters written by Rancho Mirage residents Julian, Rusty, Austin. Now here's why it's a little off. It's closed. It's closed until October over the hot summer months. But when October rolls around, please remember the farmers market. It's a great way to spend a Friday morning. So do the right thing. I too wanted to talk about do the right thing. So thank you for starting that conversation, Ted. I am wearing a do the right thing lapel pin today. It just fell off. But in any event, I'm wearing a Do the Right Thing lapel pin today. You can't see it, but it says, "Do the right thing." Now, why is this a great thing to support? So it focuses on students in primary, middle, and high schools. It helps to foster self-esteem, reinforces positive behavior, and encourage students to be positive role models for their peers. Each month, Do the Right Thing recognizes a small group of students for doing the right thing in their high school or middle school or primary school community, and they receive recognition and a swag bag full of goodies. So there are a couple of photos up here. Here's a photo that I think Ted had, one of these photos up there. The photo down here in the lower— let's see, as you're looking at it, it's the lower left-hand corner— is you see the back of Chief Andy Mills, who is on the board of Do the Right Thing. And those photos were taken yesterday at Rancho Mirage High School. Now, in its first 3 years, Do the Right Thing has recognized some 5 5,000 Coachella Valley youth. So, so thank you for all that the DTRD does to help recognize our young people. And two of Rancho Mirage's own serve on the board of directors. Terri Kettover, she's the president and the chairman of the board, and she's also the founder of Do the Right Thing. And our own Senator Barbara Boxer serves on the board. So yesterday's recognition awards took place, as I said, at Rancho Mirage High School. Uh, Diego Serna, as Ted mentioned, was recognized as a Student of the Month. But also, DTRT gave away $95,000 in scholarship money to 86 graduating seniors. $95,000 to our youth. So great job for Do the Right Thing in recognizing our youth. So it's a great program that recognizes our young people to be good, productive contributors to society. And if you are searching for an organization to support by volunteering or contributing, or simply by spreading the word. Do the Right Thing might be the right thing for you. Thanks, Madam Mayor.
[00:40:15] Speaker A: Thank you. Mayor Pro Tem.
[00:40:17] Speaker G: Thank you, Madam Mayor. Uh, good afternoon, everyone. I want to say a few words today about the quality of life in Rancho Mirage. You know, what makes our hometown so special isn't just the beautiful surroundings. It's our shared commitment by all of us to promote a high standard of living. For example, public safety is our number one responsibility, and we show that clearly. 50% of our city budget goes directly into keeping our community safe. That investment supports policing, fire control, emergency healthcare, emergency preparedness, and much more. Our dedication to the infrastructure is just as strong. Our public parks, Trails, buildings are clean, modern, and welcoming. And our streets aren't just well maintained, they're the best in the valley. You know, we have beautiful medians that have beautiful landscaping, so no matter what direction you're driving from, you know when you're driving in Rancho Mirage. Currently, our Public Works Department is sealing the cracks in the asphalts, and then later this year, uh, they will use a special asphalt emulsion slurry seal that makes the driving smoother and quieter and simply more enjoyable. No other city does this. Rancho Mirage is a cultural center in the Valley. Our cultural programs bring people together through art, music, education, and community events. The library, the observatory, The Amphitheater, Sunnylands, the Tolerance Center, the Children's Discovery Museum, the Farmers Market, and soon the Global Wildlife Discovery Museum all contribute to making our city a center of art, science, discovery, and entertainment. All of these things make our city great, but today I would like to focus on something else. I want to focus on the history of our city. Our respect for the history of Rancho Mirage runs deep. Rancho Mirage has a unique, colorful, and wonderful story about the people who lived here and how they lived. So I'd like to give a shout out to one of the city commissions I think that deserves a little extra attention today. I recently tagged along with the Historic Preservation Commission on a field trip. They were inspecting a home that was being considered as a historic designation, and I was genuinely moved by the commissioners' intelligence and their passion for this work. I think I have a pretty good eye for good art and good architecture, but I learned a lot that afternoon with these commissioners. Their knowledge of the architecture and their knowledge of local history is remarkable, and they have a sharp, uncompromising eye for architectural integrity, detail, and authenticity. Combine that with the work of the excellent Preservation Mirage, this commission is not just preserving buildings, they're protecting the spirit of Rancho Mirage and making sure that our story is carried forward with truth, honesty, and care. As the late, great Frank Gehry once said, Architecture should speak of its time and place, but yearn for timelessness. In Rancho Mirage, we agree. Our city is special because we choose to make it special. Safety, infrastructure, culture, preservation. Together we honor our past while building a future that reflects the very best of who we are. And folks, That is why we enjoy our quality of life right here in Rancho Mirage. Thank you, Madam Mayor.
[00:44:10] Speaker A: Thank you. Okay, first and foremost, I owe a debt of gratitude for Mayor Pro Tem for sitting in for me at the last meeting. Thank you very, very much. Secondly, I sit on the Sunline Transit Board. I'm the chair. This particular year, and I wanted to remind people that Sunline Transit has a community survey that was initiated in January, taking— asking the public for their input on rides, routes. It's called Rides Reimagined. We're now going into Phase 2 of those surveys, and they are available online at sunline.org. If you don't have access to a computer, let City Hall know. We do have those surveys. It's very important that we, we get your input, especially now that gas prices are escalating. You may not want to drive as much as we normally do, but what Sunline's trying to do is figure out, as our communities have grown exponentially, especially since COVID needs desires, places to go. How do you get to the market? Maybe how do you get to the grocery store? Some of our community has transitioned into subsidized housing. Maybe they don't drive anymore. Maybe it's a student that needs to get to school or someone that needs to get to work. We— Sunline is inviting everyone to participate. Or maybe you don't need the bus, but you have a vision. Please take the survey and get it into sunline.org. Um, it's a year-long process for accessing this information, reevaluating it, designing a plan, and we should be wrapping up that plan by the 1st of, uh, 1st of, uh, 2027. So please, this is— we, we do want your input. Also, I'd like to mention that, uh, Councilmember Fromberg-Edelstein and I have been doing some community updates in HOAs, and this is something that all of our council members have provided our residents, because not everybody can get to a council meeting and, or they just have busy lives. So Eve and I went to Mira Vista Country Club this last month, Del Webb Ranch Mirage, Lake Mirage, and just this week, Bayshire Senior Living. And boy, they were a vibrant group. And I have a standing date to play bingo. If, um, if, if I want to, I guess so. They play a lot of bingo. They're not real big on puzzles. It's not exciting for them. But boy, what a, what a great welcoming we've had from all the HOAs and the residents, and we thank you. Um, it happens to be— and this is where you folks come in— um, it happened to be at Mira Vista. They were trying to get an election pulled together and they didn't have a quorum, and They were doing electronic voting, and every HOA has had those challenges over the last couple of years. So it was, it was fascinating to watch. But what a welcoming reception both Eve and I've received from those community organizations, and we're, we're very grateful for the opportunity to share this, uh, our city's information. Uh, last Friday night I had the opportunity to represent the city at the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians' 150th anniversary of being recognized as a tribe. Agua Caliente Band is just a marvelous community. They're great community partners.
[00:47:57] Speaker B: But what—
[00:47:58] Speaker A: yes, you know, we have the casinos in the cities and we have the show which provides entertainment. They certainly contribute to our economic development as we, as we grow throughout this valley. But I'll tell you what I really love is the fact that Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians continues to, to provide the opportunity to learn about their culture, their arts, their legacy. And we are so very, very happy to be partners with the band of Indians. The tribal council's always been wonderful. They have a special place in their heart for all their cities, but I was told especially for Rancho Mirage, which made my heart sing. So it was a wonderful event. It was held at the Cultural Center in Palm Springs, and probably about 300, 400 people attended that night, and they had vendors that were doing stranding beads. They had the birdsong singers and the birdsong dancers, and what was really heartwarming was to see the youth the children of the tribe jumping in and participating as bird singers or bird dancers and sharing that culture with their peers. If you get a chance, go to the Cultural Center in downtown Palm Springs. It's a marvelous, marvelous museum, an homage to the thousands of years. I think they— in fact, when they were building the Cultural Center, they came upon relics from that were aged over 8,000 years old. So they've had a place in our community for quite some time. Please do take advantage of that if you would. It's really remarkable. All right, let's move on. City Manager comments. We have Assistant City Manager Ryan Stendahl sitting in for Isaiah Hagerman.
[00:49:52] Speaker P: Good afternoon, Mayor. I have no comments this afternoon. If you don't mind, I'll roll right into the consent calendar.
[00:49:56] Speaker A: Please do.
[00:49:57] Speaker P: All right, on your— honorable mayor and council members, on your consent calendar today, you have 3 items for your consideration. Item 5A is the recommendation for approval of the May 7th, 2026 regular city council meeting minutes. Item 5B are your contracts, and 5C are your demands. If the council has any questions or comments, I'd be happy to help get those answered for you. That concludes my report.
[00:50:22] Speaker A: Okay, do I have a— do we have any comments?
[00:50:23] Speaker C: I can take public comments really quick. I have one speaker card from Brad Anderson.
[00:50:33] Speaker A: Good afternoon, Mr. Anderson.
[00:50:35] Speaker N: Good afternoon. Uh, thank you for allowing me to come up and address you. I wanted to speak on item 5, is the consent calendar, 5A, 5B, and 5C. First is the, uh, May 7th, uh, city council meeting minutes. I did write comments today. They should be in the public record concerning these items. Um, I'm just, uh, I'll state it again, I'm just really concerned about how the minutes are recorded now, meaning that my public comments will not be recorded at all, and, um, at all, at all in the public record. There was talk earlier about the history of the Ransom Mirage, and the historical history is being lost because public speakers— Mr. Downes gone into reports of how he learned about the city in the beginning, and he learned a lot of that, I suspect from the city council meetings minutes from those previous meetings from years and decades ago. So I hopefully, hopefully you can address this. This is best practices in California, not the way you do it. I think it's probably political the way you're doing it to silence any discourse in the community, and I really don't agree with it. So, and the contracts I would— hopefully you can address that in open session because we're talking about $18— no, $28 million in contracts for Riverside County and Cal Fire, of course, and another organization. So I— a lot of people won't even know about it, and this is just a renewal contract, but it's a lot of money and people should know about that. And it's not a consent item when it's $28 million. Um, and this demands— this is what normally what the city pays out, and, and there's a lot of issues. If you want to see my detailed report, please look at the, uh, the, uh, submitted comments that I, that I have, uh, submitted. And thank you very much.
[00:52:28] Speaker B: Thank you.
[00:52:30] Speaker C: Is there anyone else who would like to speak on the consent calendar? That was the only speaker.
[00:52:35] Speaker A: Okay, do we have a motion to approve the consent calendar?
[00:52:38] Speaker F: I'll second that.
[00:52:39] Speaker A: Please vote.
[00:52:49] Speaker C: Motion carries 5-0.
[00:52:50] Speaker A: Great. We're now moving to the action calendar. Number 6A, Rancho Mirage Amphitheater Master Plan. And Gabe Cotting, Director of Marketing, will be reporting on this. And I'd just like to make a comment before we— we— Mr. Cotting makes his report. This is informational. It's an exploration. And I'm glad that we have a lot of people here because there are some marvelous details. We are learning, and we're glad that you're here to learn with us, and we'll figure out what path we might go down to sometime.
[00:53:26] Speaker J: Thank you, Madam Mayor. Good afternoon, members of the council and public. Uh, thank you for the opportunity to present the Rancho Mirage Amphitheater Master Plan this afternoon. Today we're asking the council to consider 3 specific actions that will established the policy direction for the city's amphitheater and its next direction. The amphitheater opened in 2015 as a resident-focused venue, and over the past decade it's grown into something this community really values: symphonies, theater, youth programs, and entertainment under the desert sky. As we hit the 10-year mark, city leadership asked a simple question— not what's broken, but What, what does the next decade look like, and how do we keep this place relevant and connected to the people it serves? That's what led to the master plan in front of you today, built on staff analysis, subcommittee review, and an independent market evaluation. At its core, it does 4 things: preserves our resident-first mission, explains programming strategically, expands programming strategically, moves towards a nonprofit-supported operating model, and outlines a phased path to financial stability and facility improvements. The city commissioned an independent expert market evaluation, an outside objective look at our operations compared to similar venues throughout California and the nation. Let me walk you through the 4 areas that we looked at. First, operations. The evaluation took a look at how we run the venue and where we stand in the market.
[00:55:03] Speaker H: It.
[00:55:04] Speaker J: The good news is we have strong community standing, but there are opportunities, particularly around programming capacity and cost recovery, and that we know— that we know we can improve. Second was finances. The, the analysis identified opportunities to diversify revenue through sponsorships, ticket revenue, philanthropic support, premium programming. These are areas that haven't been fully tapped yet, Third, programming. When we look at similar venues— when we looked at similar venues, we, uh, we certainly have untapped capacity. The community appetite is there, and so is the regional demand for more than what we currently offer. And fourth was stakeholder engagement. Throughout all of this, one principle stayed front and center: residents come first. Every recommendation was tested against that standard. The result is a plan that's data-driven and community-grounded and sets us up well for the next decade. Let's review, let's review the full policy framework we're asking for you to adopt today. The Rancho Mirage Amphitheater Master Plan is organized around 5 core policy areas: purpose and vision, guiding principles, a formal policy framework, an implementation framework, and provisions for City Council oversight. Let me take you through each one. The Master Plan's purpose is straightforward. It's a long-term policy framework to guide how we operate, program, partner, and invest in the amphitheater, all while keeping our resident-first mission intact. The vision statement is on the slide and worth a moment to read, but the phrase I'll draw your attention to is "while evolving." This isn't a plan to change what the amphitheater is. It's a plan to grow what it can become without losing the identity that's made it the special it's made it this special into the community. Rooted is where we've been, but building towards what comes next. The master plan is anchored in by 4 guiding principles that acted as a filter for every recommendation in this plan. First, as we've said previously, residents come first. Programming prioritizes resident access and community benefit above everything else. For an example, residents get first booking window opportunities before anyone else. Second, financial responsibility. We need to operate sustainably, diversify our revenue, and be good stewards of public funds. Over time, the goal is to stabilize without sacrificing programming quality. Third, community and regional balance. Expanding our regional reach doesn't mean pushing residents aside. A stronger, more recognized amphitheater actually serves residents better and supports the city's broader tourism and economic development goals. And fourth, thoughtful growth. Thoughtful growth. Any enhancements, whether to programming, operations, or the physical facility, happen through a deliberate process that comes back to Council for approval. The heart of the Master Plan is a 5-pillar policy framework. These are commitments that guide all future decision-making about the amphitheater. Pillar 1, again, residents first. The amphitheater continues to serve as a community-focused cultural asset. Priority access, civic events, arts and live entertainment programming, all preserved. Pillar 2, the operating model. Through the subcommittee and staff analysis, we support evaluating a nonprofit-supported framework to improve flexibility, sponsorship capabilities, and efficiency. The Library and Observatory Foundation is our preferred partner, and they're a natural fit. They already deliver over 400 free educational, art, and community programs annually. The infrastructure and community trust are already there. Pillar 3: Programming. Thoughtful expansion to increase utilization and broaden community impact. More community events, specialty programming, art partnerships, and expanded family programming. Pillar 4: Financial sustainability. Sponsorships, philanthropic development, premium ticketed event opportunities, all aligned with our tourism and economic development goals. And Pillar 5: Facility enhancements. Priority to safety and accessibility, eventually infrastructure modernization, food and beverage improvements, all phased, all coming back to council for capital approval. Adopting this plan today does not transfer operations, change organizational structure, commit capital, or authorize anything— any specific partnership. It simply establishes policy direction only. What it does do is set up a phased framework for how we get there, and every phase comes back to this council. Phase 1 is the homework phase— organizational evaluation, nonprofit partnership planning, operating structure development, and legal review. Phase 2 is programming and operations. Once the foundation is in place, we move to expanding programming, building a sponsorship strategy, developing a fundraising framework, and planning the operational transition. Phase 3 is facility enhancements, again with a focus on safety, accessibility, modernization, and the guest experience upgrades. This is a long-term roadmap. Staff respectfully requests 3 actions from the City Council. Action 1: Adopt the Rancho Mirage Amphitheater Master Plan, establishing the framework for future operation, programming, and strategic evolution of the amphitheater. Action 2: Identify the Rancho Mirage Library and Observatory Foundation as the city's preferred nonprofit implementation partner for future operating model transitioning planning. This is a preferred partner designation. The actual partnership structure and governance will return to council as a separate item for review and approval. Action 3: Direct staff to return to city council with implementation recommendations consistent with the adopted master plan. Staff will develop a roadmap and come back to you before any implementation begins. Nothing operational changes today. You are setting a policy direction and directing staff to do the work to figure out how to get there. In conclusion, the Rancho Mirage Amphitheater has given this community 10+ extraordinary years, even navigating COVID. Symphony nights under the desert sky, kids taking their first bow on a real stage, neighbors gathering for a shared evening out. It's become part of who we are. The master plan before, before you charts a path forward that honors everything this venue has been while setting it up to become even more. More sustainable, more connected to the region, and more capable of delivering the kind of programming this community deserves. It's a defining asset for the city, and with your adoption of this plan today, it'll stay that way for years to come. Thank you for your time and consideration, and staff's happy to answer any questions you may have.
[01:02:14] Speaker A: Does council have any questions?
[01:02:17] Speaker C: I could take public comments?
[01:02:18] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[01:02:19] Speaker C: Michael Harrington.
[01:02:26] Speaker A: Good afternoon, Mr. Harrington.
[01:02:28] Speaker O: Uh, good afternoon, Mayor and Council. Um, I did want to raise a— just a couple of points that are separate than what I put in writing. I did a little more research. I wanted to add in addition to my written comments. Um, I'm concerned that the city is contemplating or going to vote apparently to adopt a resolution or agreement with— no, there's no vote today? Oh, okay. I could go on and then we could answer later. Okay. I'm concerned about identifying the Rancho Mirage Observatory Foundation as the city's preferred nonprofit implementation partner. I'm concerned about that because if any of the council or mayor sits on the board of the nonprofit, the 501, I believe says here Mayor Lynn Mulatto— I just downloaded this this morning— does sit on the board. So my concern is there's a City of Rancho Mirage conflict of interest policy adopted in 2024 rather well known because it made the news. I don't have a clock running, but it made the news, um, because someone left during the meeting, um, resigned. A councilperson did, um, and it, it's a business that's defined broadly. It can include a nonprofit. I'm just highlighting it. Um, it could be an arrangement A contract is very broad, could be oral. Financial interest is very broadly interpreted, could just mean it compromises the city officer's, um, the unqualified devotion to public duty. Could be an in-kind exchange or the hope of getting something, maybe a free ticket, anything. So it's very broadly written, and it prohibits the city from getting involved in a contract among other things, with such an entity where a councilperson is part of that entity. And it also requires a conflict notice from the entity itself. I didn't see anything posted that would state that I understand you're wanting to do something with my entity, and I want to disclose that a member of your council is on the— sits on our board or is part of our entity. That is also required. So So I'm just asking that this needs to be further reviewed, um, by the city attorney and see if, you know, if there's any issue here. That was my specific concern, but I did in general— I see I have 26 seconds. You're going up against Acresure, um, Agua Caliente, in an area that they excel. They make their money doing that. They would not survive if they didn't do it great. You're using our money to pay for this. Our taxpayer money. Not the same thing. I don't know if you're qualified or getting in over your head on something you just feel you want to do on a lark or something, you know, spend our money on your ideas. All right, well, thank you.
[01:05:36] Speaker A: Thank you.
[01:05:37] Speaker C: Next speaker is Brad Anderson.
[01:05:45] Speaker N: Oh, I left this up here. Uh, thank you again. Brad Anderson, currently in the city. I wanted to speak on item 6A, which is we're talking about. Uh, I'm, I'm with the previous speaker. Uh, I'm opposed to this at this time just because this type of a action— well, you said it's informational, but I understand it to be an action item. Uh, I would say that, uh, maybe a town hall. Those are really successful now. Maybe having more people know about this and being involved in this type of action, because this is public resources. This is a city venue. Uh, and, and I understand the principle behind the master plan, but also I disagree with the, uh, the proposed foundation taking a leadership role in that at this time. Uh, there's better avenues, and I think we really, as a city, meaning more than just a few people, decide this. And, uh, that's all I have. Thank you. And I did write some comments Thank you.
[01:06:48] Speaker A: Thank you.
[01:06:49] Speaker C: That was the last speaker card. Is there anyone else who would like to speak on item 6A? That was the last speaker.
[01:06:56] Speaker A: Do we have any council comments?
[01:06:57] Speaker M: I do, if I may, Madam Mayor. So I'd like to speak to this because, um, it was, uh, Councilmember Michael O'Keefe and myself who, uh, formed the subcommittee to work with staff on this matter. The amphitheater is an important cultural enrichment center for Rancho Mirage residents, and it's 10 years old. So I think this seems like an appropriate time to stop and take a review of programming. Now, what we talked about today, what Gabe outlined today, is not a specific operating plan. It is designed to establish a framework for future operation. And Gabe outlined some basic policy framework ideas. First, resident first. Second, non-supported— nonprofit-supported operating evolution. and we have a group in Rancho Mirage that's more than capable of doing that. Expanded programming, fiscal sustainability, and phased over time physical enhancements. So this is policy. This is intended to provide staff with general policy guidelines. What we want to accomplish is increased use from about 20 nights a year to maybe double that if we can do it. Programming, programming that conforms with the Rancho Mirage demographic. The CV Symphony and Broadway Under the Stars are great examples of programming that appeals to the Rancho Mirage demographic. Yet let's use an existing resource for programming, and the Library and Observatory Foundation Board is an excellent use, is an excellent organization to use for that purpose. They sponsor programming year-round at our library, and our library is filled with programming that is sponsored by that organization during the year. They are experienced fundraisers. Their goal last year was to raise about $500,000. They raised $1 million. So you know how to do that. We have 3 members. I see 3 members of the Foundation Board in the chamber today. So thank you for your hard work. We appreciate that. And lastly, Michael and I talked with, with staff about finding a way to manage the budget. We spend a considerable amount of money annually to operate the amphitheater. If there is a way to do this less expensively, let's find a way to do that. That's policy. That's what we are asking. Staff to do. That's our direction to them. Over time, they will come back to us with specifics about what we're going to do, how we're going to program, and that sort of thing. So today is simply a policy discussion, and I'm in favor of this, and I'm going to vote yes. Thank you, Madam Mayor.
[01:09:19] Speaker A: Mayor Pro Tem.
[01:09:19] Speaker G: Thank you, Madam Mayor. Um, I too served on the subcommittee with Councilmember Downs. I also have been on Cultural Commission for a few years before joining the Council, and I'm also— excuse me, but I'm sure I'm the biggest fan of Desert Theatrical productions at the amphitheater. You know, I never miss one. It is a big deal. Our amphitheater is an asset to our community. And as far as audience demand, I will just say this past week, weekend, Frozen, the youth theater program, attracted almost 2,000 people over the weekend to that venue. So there is demand and it is a wonderful place for us to go and have entertainment. My goal, and along with Steve's goal during this discussion on the subcommittee, is simply this: I would like to expand the use of our amphitheater to include more programming. I'd like to do it in a cost-effective way, and I certainly want it to be transparent and legal about the way that we raise and utilize money for this valuable resource. So I will be voting yes today.
[01:10:39] Speaker A: Are there any other comments?
[01:10:42] Speaker F: Well, I'll make a comment that obviously— and this is actually redundant that the amphitheater and the library, of course, are just incredible assets of the city and assets for our community. The entertainment that's provided, uh, and most of it at no cost to the public, is phenomenal. And that's what we hear about all the time. And what we're doing today is merely establishing a roadmap to proceed. We're not voting on a specific plan. This is the roadmap. And I think that it makes sense. And all we're going to be doing in the future is expanding the opportunity that presently exists. So I'm all for it, and I look forward to the opportunity to increase the exposure, uh, for this incredible asset. Thank you, Mayor.
[01:11:53] Speaker A: Thank you.
[01:11:55] Speaker I: I echo the sentiments of my fellow council members, and I appreciate the transparency with which we are approaching this— the development of this plan. And the partnerships that we're exploring and the opportunities available for an asset that is ours. It is here. It provides a lot today. What it can provide in the future is— could be unlimited. Our residents appreciate it and they use it, and it's our job to steward it into the future. That is better than dealing with a reactionary to a problem with it, is to be proactive into solutions for what we may see coming, especially when it comes to improvement and maintenance of an asset that is ours. So that's my two cents.
[01:12:43] Speaker A: I concur. May I have a motion, please?
[01:12:45] Speaker M: I will be delighted to make the motion that the council, number one, adopt the Rancho Mirage Amphitheater Master Plan establishing the framework for the future operation, programming, and strategic evolution of the Rancho Mirage Amphitheater. Number two, 2, identify the Rancho Mirage Library and Observatory Foundation as the city's preferred nonprofit implementation partner for future operating model transition planning. And number 3, direct staff to return to city council with phased implementation recommendations consistent with the adopted master plan.
[01:13:20] Speaker G: Second.
[01:13:20] Speaker A: Please vote.
[01:13:26] Speaker C: Motion carries 5-0.
[01:13:32] Speaker A: Now it's time to open non-agenda public comments. This is an opportunity for the public to speak on issues not on the agenda for a maximum of 3 minutes per speaker.
[01:13:45] Speaker C: Thank you. The first speaker is Donald Zavadnik.
[01:13:50] Speaker A: Good afternoon.
[01:13:52] Speaker F: Good afternoon.
[01:13:53] Speaker D: I'm Don Savadnik. I, I live at 30 Mirage Cove Drive in Rancho Mirage in the Mirage Cove development behind you. I've lived there for 30 years and I'm here to talk about the airplane noise. I know it's a common issue in the valley, but I'm actually inviting every member of the council to join me or any, any home in Rancho Mirage because the quality of life in our development has been significantly impacted. There are planes, particularly during Coachella, the constant noise that occurs as a result of the increase in traffic has really become untenable. So you were talking about quality of life, it's impacted our community. And I understand, we understand, call the FAA, If any of you have dealt with the FAA or the IRS, you know what that's like, right? So one of the questions I have as a community member is, does the city have a position with regard to these flight paths? I understand the flight path has been changed in 2025 without any open discussion, but is the city going to do anything or sponsor anything or take any legal position with regard to this issue of quality of life and its impact on our community. Now, it's easy for us to say, move it across the other side of 111. But it really seems to us it would be— make sense to spread it, spread the pain around, maybe sometimes on one side of 111, maybe sometimes on the other side. But it's directly impacting the way we open our doors. I have to turn my volume on my TV up constantly, especially during Coachella. And we understand the traffic that's coming in is coming into the valley as a whole, and there's other cities involved with the same problem. My question for the, the council is, does the city have a position, and are they willing to help the HOAs in this process. So I'll leave it open for discussion at some point, but we'd like to get some feedback from the council about what should we do next as an HOA and as individuals in our development.
[01:16:26] Speaker A: Thank you.
[01:16:27] Speaker C: Patrick Glory.
[01:16:40] Speaker O: Good afternoon.
[01:16:42] Speaker Q: The Firebirds lost, doggone it. So I'm wearing my red shoes for the last time, sad to say, but it was a good game. A couple of things here. I haven't heard a word from you folks in regard to the town hall meetings, your opinions, what you felt was going on, but the community really spoke out about it. So it's unfortunate we're not hearing from you. Uh, secondly, something has been eating away at me, probably unfairly, but eating away at me. And it had to do with the idea that Mr. Downs suggested, which that there should be unlimited contributions for candidates. To me, I still can't figure out where that came from. Now, we operated with a $5,900 limit, I think, on contributions. Correct me if I'm wrong. And you settled on, okay, we're not gonna do unlimited, we'll do $7,500. But again, why? What is going on here? Generally you have limitations on contributions, especially in small towns because, well, let's say it in, in tough words, you can be bought. So I kept looking and looking going, it's just too unusual. So I went to the State of California's Fair Political Practices Commission. And lo and behold, there's Mr. Downs being investigated. Now here's what I got back from them on public information request. 161 pages I've got to go through to figure out what these allegations are and what the responses were. Could be nothing, could be a whole heck of a lot. But anyway, it's frustrating to, to listen to this kind of stuff and then realize that if we don't get we don't get our acts together in the way we manage this city, we're not gonna go much further into the future. And I say that to you too, Mr. O'Keefe. I appreciate your comments and the way you see the city. I see the city 10 years forward. I don't care much about the past other than the fact that it's there and I've gotta deal with it. But going forward, I think we've got some tough times. You're telling me you've got $8 million in the hole, you gotta find $8 million. How you gonna find it? Now I'll give you a quick thought I have here on art. I don't wanna go on with this because this is serious stuff I'm talking about and it really bothers me. Again, unlimited contributions being suggested. The fact that you guys can sit in those chairs forever is wrong. Okay? But let me make one thing to you on art, Mr. O'Keefe, because you and I probably share A bit of that, and certainly in my education. What's the biggest enemy of art? Taste. Thank you.
[01:19:21] Speaker C: Wally Meléndez.
[01:19:51] Speaker R: Good afternoon, everybody. Well, we are in a pull swing Excuse me. We are in full swing of the midterm elections. Thank God. So, We are trying to vote out the MAGA Republicans. Regular Republicans are okay. MAGA Republicans are dirt. So, so We are lucky, we are lucky that we have midterm elections and that the president's term is for 4 years and they can come in very strong, hell-bent for leather, like Trump to destroy the country. But with this midterm elections, if we win the House and the Senate and the justices, that will diminish his power. He will be somewhat of a lame duck. Wait. Yes. Well, yes and no. We still have the elections. We're just having the primaries for the, for Election Day. To replace the House and the Senate and the justices. So we're doing good. And let's hope and pray that we don't have to go through this nightmare again. We're lucky that the president term is for 4 years. Consider Mexico. Their president is a 6-year term. I definitely would not want that.
[01:22:48] Speaker A: Thank you, Mr. Meléndez.
[01:22:49] Speaker C: Brad Anderson.
[01:22:58] Speaker N: Hi again, thank you. Brad Anderson, City of Esmeralda. Just a few items I want to speak about a lot of stuff, but I'll just keep it momentarily, just a few. I did submit some written comments, some non-agenda public comment concerning the town hall meeting, the Zoom platform meeting, which I was not allowed to be, uh, participate in for whatever reason. The city didn't allow me to enter that and participate over the Zoom connection, and I'm sure I probably would have been the only one but, uh, that's a concern. And, and this transparency of the city operations is just really highly important to me. Uh, Mr. Downs mentioned a subcommittee that he formed, uh, of two people or two council members. It's just, it's just would be very great to know how many subcommittees are active right now in the city. And, and apparently these are acted upon and, and approved without any council oversight, I guess. No public oversight for sure, 'cause I don't know about it. And apparently this has been going on for a while. So, and then just one more comment concerning the Public Safety Committee at CVAG, which I used to participate in, but they took really strict notions, just like the city has, of limiting or eliminating public participation if they can. And I'm not as easily brainwashed by CVAG staff reports, but they are biased and opinionated. And drones are great if they are used with the right people and the right purpose. Palm Springs is really a surveillance-type city now. Not that it's a bad thing, but it could be. So, and I know we spent, or the city spent, roughly $300,000 on the demands. I don't wanna go backtracking, I don't wanna make anybody mad, but $300,000 on the Flock safety devices again. And this is just a 1-year lease. This is an ongoing expense, and I was caught up in that not that long ago where I was pulled over by 3 police because of the license plate readers, and I wasn't really that appreciative of it. So it happens. So let's just maybe be as transparent and informative and maybe as honest and ethical as possible. Thank you.
[01:25:28] Speaker A: Thank you.
[01:25:29] Speaker C: Susan Ragsdale.
[01:25:43] Speaker S: Hello everyone, I'm very pleased to see you. It's nice to see you smiling. I missed you last time. I think a lot about what I want to say here, and I always used to write something because It's nerve-wracking for me to stand up and just speak my mind. I'm not used to it. However, the only reason I have been doing this over and over again for all these years is because I am completely innocent, and I was victimized in serious crimes and extreme misogynist elder abuse by the city council and the city manager. I'm not talking about Ryan. The city has put me into the very uncomfortable and unwelcome position of having to toot my own horn and tell you who I really am. You know, I'm Fluffy White, cat supermodel. When you have an alter ego, I'm an artist, so I'm different, and I love it. I have a fun life, lots of imagination. I'm able to create so many different things. I was born with a gift. I had no clue I even had this until my senior year in college when I decided to change to the art department at UCLA. And then we put our work up and I went, "Whoa, mine stands out." I thought everybody could do artwork, but when I was, uh, first came to Rancho after my mother died and I started living in affordable housing here, Um, I was hired to be the property— the live-in property manager at Santa Rosa Villas. And this happened really like a fluke, and it was just because the supervisor had an intuition where she noticed me as someone special who could do a fantastic job. I have to say, I'm a natural-born diplomat. Although in this environment, nobody has any idea about this. I'm always positive and very loving. It's just my natural way. Not only that, but in 1974, I became completely dedicated to serving God, and that means serving people. I have never in my entire life been hostile, threatening, or harassing to anyone. I want to just give you something. I don't mean to push my stuff on you. Um, I offered the city my artwork. I don't have a personal agenda about it. I'm leaving this with you. This background could be separated from the cat and blown up as big as this building the way I created it. I also I'm gonna just run over about 3 seconds. For 10 years, I painted watercolors for a man in Italy. This is a photograph of one. I'm giving this to you. I have a few copies of this, just so you can see. I mastered watercolors by doing 150 of them. I also have—
[01:28:58] Speaker E: I'm gonna leave.
[01:29:00] Speaker S: I have paperwork for you. You can— I didn't want to make too many copies.
[01:29:04] Speaker I: It's—
[01:29:05] Speaker S: these were extras I had. Just take a look at what I went through. It's all Hagerman's hogwash and that terrible property manager Mrs. Cabrera's fault.
[01:29:15] Speaker A: Thank you, Mrs. Rexell. Thank you.
[01:29:22] Speaker C: Wayne Avershaw.
[01:29:23] Speaker A: Mr. Avershaw, it's your turn.
[01:29:25] Speaker T: Yes, thank you, Mayor Mulatto. Good to see you. Um, Mr. Lowry made an interesting and important point. Mr. Downs, are you under investigation by the State of California Fair Political Practices Commission?
[01:29:40] Speaker M: Inappropriate for us to engage in back and forth conversation. I'm sure you know that.
[01:29:43] Speaker T: I will just share with you, I just looked on my phone, that appears to be the case. There is an open and pending case, uh, 2026-00 85. I'm reading it from my phone, Mr. Downs, so if I'm off the number, forgive me. But you did not file this— a statement on your economic interest, a non-reporter. So that's serious stuff. I mean, we can talk about, uh, you know, Mr. Caudy did a great job on the amphitheater, but corruption in government— if these are allegations, Mr. Downs, and you're certainly entitled, and I hope you will have a legal defense, and I Hope you share that with the people of Rancho Mirage and your colleagues, because to be investigated by the State of California— well, Mr. Downs, that's serious. And let me explain. The state FPPC receives complaints, and complaints sometimes are not, you know, they're just not serious and they go away and they're in a wastebasket and they're not important. And per the webpage, you've had multiple complaints. But when they open a case, it moves to a different level. So, Mr. Downs, if you're being investigated by the state on economic interests or forms or whatever it may be, I think you owe your colleagues, uh, you owe everybody in Rancho Mirage an explanation. So, Mr. Downs, you can do it today. I hope you do. If you want me to come back, Steve, I'll do a little more legal research here and ascertain exactly what's going on. But, um, I hope— I know Mr. Kirkpatrick can comment on this, but this is not a city matter. It appears to be an individual matter, so the city really should not be involved. Should be no public funds involved. So, Mr. Downs, sunlight is the best disinfectant when there's any charges of allegations of wrongdoing, and you have a legal defense to state your case and explain what happened and why the charges are valid or not. So thank you all. We look forward to hearing back from Mr. Downs. Thank you.
[01:31:58] Speaker A: Thank you.
[01:32:04] Speaker C: Steve Shui.
[01:32:10] Speaker A: Hello, Mr. Schuett.
[01:32:12] Speaker U: Good afternoon. My name is Steven Schuett. I happen to be a resident in Palm Springs, but I served the community here as a member of JPL Church, and I'm the former general manager of Desert Island just down the street. I served at Desert Island for 33 years. I had the opportunity to meet with a number of councils at times. Through what's going on there. And Alan Seaman, when he was alive, asked me if I would join one of the commissions here. So I've proudly been a member of your Traffic Safety Commission. I don't think I've looked at or been around a city council quite as good as you. You folks are wonderful. And the way it has been, from my case, over 40 years, the various council members that have come and gone has been great. This still is a great city. You may have people who come and attend council meetings who don't appreciate what you do and don't agree with your decisions. But I have to tell you, for all the people I talk to, you're doing great. Thank you very much for all the service you provide. And the same goes for council and staff. Thank you very much.
[01:33:14] Speaker A: Thank you. Are there any more?
[01:33:19] Speaker C: Is there anyone else in the audience who would like to speak on something and not on today's agenda? Okay, please step up and state your name.
[01:33:28] Speaker O: Michael Harrington. So it occurred to me, and I got some feedback, maybe I should make a few comments, you know, regarding the issue of transparency. And I don't want to say public corruption. Maybe I use that word because I also am a lawyer. But, you know, I could speak to— I spent a year A few years ago, I spent a year of my career working on public corruption, and somehow they got me into this role, and my eyes were really opened. So it's so— you know, and a lot of it I can't talk about. It doesn't have anything to do with you, but it eats— corruption, or let's call it lack of transparency, or anything that affects— I'm sorry, you're Thirsty. Yeah, he's a very animated man, Mr. Stendahl. But, um, I'm sorry, but earlier he was shaking his head and communicating to me and didn't put it on the record that it was him that I was responding to. This is Mr. Stendahl. Um, but anyway, public corruption and transparency is vital, and I don't want to pick on anyone. If I ever file a complaint, I put my name on it. I don't do anything anonymous, so So some people ask me that I file an anonymous complaint. I do not do that. Um, but regarding, you know, transparency, there's so much more to law enforcement than, than simply what, uh, Miss Edelstein referred to. And I think that's great that she went there, the intelligence. But you start— what I've seen also, the Intelligence Center on a local level, but you start to see also when you get into a other agencies and see what they do. There's a whole nother level that blends into what Ms. Edelstein saw. And sometimes, you know, outside influences, white-collar crime gets involved with our public officials in ways we don't see. And it doesn't get very much attention. If someone, you know, steals something from a liquor store and there's a high-speed chase, KSEQ was all over it. But with public corruption, white-collar crime, a lot of that is so boring to most people. You know, it doesn't make good B-roll on the TV news. So we don't pay enough attention to it. And I'm just, you know, I'm kind of giving spontaneous remarks, but I'm saying how important it really is that you all be transparent. You appreciate that people are coming here not to pick on you personally or to say we have a bad city, but it's an important role that we speak out and ask, 'What are you doing?' And that you explain what you're doing and cherish the fact that we can do that in our country. Other countries, you can't do that. You know, you can be hung or shot or whatever just for speaking out or wearing the wrong thing on your shirt or what, you know, anything like that. So let's consider that. And I hope you all have a very safe and happy Memorial Day weekend. Okay, well, thank you. Thank you for listening.
[01:36:38] Speaker A: Thank you, Mr. Harrington. Are there, are there any other?
[01:36:41] Speaker C: I don't believe so. Is there anyone else who would like to speak on something not on today's agenda? That was the last speaker.
[01:36:47] Speaker A: Thank you. Public comments are now— non-agenda public comments are closed. We have no closed session today, but sir, I'd like to just make a comment now that public, uh, non-agenda public comments— thank you. Are, are closed. With regards to the FAA, all the cities are aware of it. We've received comments and complaints, and as you stated, getting through the federal government, especially with all the cutbacks, is most difficult. However, I want you to know that there is an effort that is ongoing to reach the FAA with comments, complaints. Uh, in our neighboring city, there's been an effort to start those conversations to see if we can get the flight path turned around. I know, sir, not yet. It's not, it's not an agendized item, but I just wanted to let you know this city too has conveyed those concerns, and we conveyed them to our local congressman as well. Okay, yeah, and we appreciate it. We're trying.
[01:37:55] Speaker O: Thank you.
[01:37:56] Speaker A: You're very, very welcome. With that said, uh, June 2nd is voting day. You can drop your ballots in our foyer. There's a ballot box. If you prefer not to mail your ballots, please do so. And at this time, it is now 2:38. This meeting's adjourned.