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Home My WebLink About22 Res 2021-09 Mayors Monarch PledgeResolution No. 2021-09 STAFF REPORT CITY OF PALM DESERT DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT MEETING DATE: April 22, 2021 PREPARED BY: Jennifer Nelson, Management Analyst REQUEST: Request Mayor Kathleen Kelly to sign the National Wildlife Federation’s Mayors’ Monarch Pledge Recommendation 1. Waive further reading and adopt Resolution No. 2021-09, authorizing the City of Palm Desert to enter into the National Wildlife Federation’s Mayors’ Monarch Pledge on or before April 30, 2021. 2. By Minute Motion, authorize staff to work in collaboration with the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens to carry out the three specific actions listed below within the next year: a. Install a monarch butterfly mural within the City; b. Present a proclamation at a future City Council meeting proclaiming the City’s Monarch Day Pledge; and c. Plant and maintain a monarch and pollinator-friendly demonstration garden in Civic Center Park. Strategic Plan This action has no impact on the Strategic Plan. Background Analysis The monarch butterfly is known for the migration it makes every year from Canada and the eastern, central and western United States to the central mountains of Mexico. Palm Desert is on the west coast fly-way for monarchs heading to and from Mexico. Unfortunately, the monarch butterfly is disappearing and scientists indicate that the population has declined by 90% over the last twenty years. Like all butterflies, monarchs lay their eggs on select plants, called “host plants”; the only plants their caterpillars can eat. For monarchs in Palm Desert, desert milkweed (Asclepias Subulata) is their host plant. Studies show that milkweed across the United States declined by 58% from 1999 to 2010, which has critically affected the monarch population. The City has been approached by The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens requesting that the Mayor take a pledge to take on a project that will create public awareness and increase the number of monarch butterflies in Palm Desert and the Coachella Valley. Increasing the number of monarchs in the Coachella Valley is important because they are significant pollinators for local fruit, nut and vegetable growers. April 22, 2021 - Staff Report National Wildlife Federation’s Mayors’ Monarch Pledge. Page 2 of 3 If the Mayor takes the Pledge, City staff will work with The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens to carry out the commitment. The City will be asked to complete a simple reporting form regarding the garden on an annual basis. This information will be used by the National Wildlife Federation to track the collective outcomes and impacts of this action. After careful review of the pledge options and working with The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens, City staff came up with the three options of presenting a proclamation to proclaim the City’s commitment to the monarch pledge, work with the Art in Public Places (AIPP) Commission to install a monarch mural within the City and create and maintain a monarch garden in Civic Center Park. At a recent meeting, AIPP recommended/approved that staff explore locations for a monarch butterfly mural within the City and bring the location options back to the Commission. Staff will work to find some location options, bring back to AIPP approval and will report the progress to City Council at a future meeting. In addition, the preliminary plan is to place the butterfly garden in Civic Center Park in front of the newly named Marman Bridge which connects Civic Center Park to San Pascual Avenue. The garden will be made up of an approximate six-foot path of different plants of varying color and heights with the main plant being the native milkweed. Staff will continue to keep City Council and the Parks and Recreation Commission informed of the progress on this project. Staff will continue to explore ways to implement additional pledge actions and looks forward to working with The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens to create awareness and appreciation for monarch butterfly habitats in Palm Desert should the City Council approve entering into this pledge. Fiscal Analysis As time is of the essence to have the pledge signed by April 30, 2021, staff will need to review the fiscal analysis of the mural project and return to the City Council for an update in the near future. The proclamation and the butterfly garden will have no fiscal impact on the budget. The garden creation and maintenance are included in the City’s landscape maintenance contract. April 22, 2021 - Staff Report National Wildlife Federation's Mayors' Monarch Pledge. Page 3 of 3 N/A �� Robert W. Hargreaves City Attorney Eric Ceja, Director of FINANCIAL REVIEW �c+�r,,r.�'?'y!. ?'yloo2� Interim Janet M. Moore Director of Finance ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER .�lndy �'irestine Andy Firestine Assistant City Manager Development Services City Manager, L. Todd Hileman: L. TDOIOI Ft��evu.Giv� ATTACHMENT: 1. Resolution No. 2021-09 CITY COiTivCIL�C`TION � , APFROVED � DENiED RECEIVED OTHER MEETI��1G D E U� �7� �� AYES:�� " l-� � P J�Gf1�J�l'!ill�{��l�t/ NO�S: �%�� ABSENT: �`�C�rl� ARSTAIN: �1m� VI?RIFII:D BY� �� Original on rile with City Clerk's Office LEGAL REVIEW DEPT. REVIEW [This page has intentionally been left blank.] RESOLUTION NO. 2021-09 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA, AUTHORIZING THE CITY TO ENTER INTO THE NATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION MAYORS’ MONARCH PLEDGE WHEREAS, the large and brilliantly colored monarch butterfly is among the most easily recognizable of the butterfly species that call North America home; and WHEREAS, the monarch butterfly population has declined by approximately 90 percent since the 1990s. Monarch butterflies face habitat loss and fragmentation in the United States and Mexico; and WHEREAS, Mayors and other local executives are taking action to help save the monarch butterfly; and WHEREAS, through the National Wildlife Federation Mayors’ Monarch Pledge, U.S. municipalities and other communities are committing to create habitat for the monarch butterfly and pollinators, and to educate citizens on how they can make a difference at home and in their community; and WHEREAS, as part of the Mayors’ Monarch Pledge, the City is required to take at least three action items. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Palm Desert, California: SECTION 1. The Mayor is hereby authorized to issue a Proclamation pursuant to Pledge Action Item under Communications and Convening in Exhibit A of this Resolution on behalf of the City to raise awareness about the decline of the monarch butterfly and the species’ need for habitat. SECTION 2. The City Manager or designee is hereby directed to utilize the appropriate City staff and departments to accomplish at least two of the Pledge Action items listed in Exhibit A. SECTION 3. The City Manager or designee is hereby encouraged but not required to utilize appropriate City staff and departments to accomplish additional Pledge Action Items listed in Exhibit A beyond those required in Sections 1 and 2 above. PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Palm Desert, California, at its regular meeting held on the 22nd day of, April, 2021 by the following vote, to wit: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: RESOLUTION NO. ______ 2 ABSTAIN: KATHLEEN KELLY, MAYOR ATTEST: GLORIA SANCHEZ, ACTING CITY CLERK CITY OF PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA Exhibit A Exhibit A Exhibit A Exhibit A Exhibit A Exhibit A Exhibit A