HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-04-30MINUTES
SPECIAL JOINT MEETING OF THE PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL,
PALM DESERT REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY, AND
PALM DESERT HOUSING AUTHORITY
FRIDAY, APRIL 30, 2010 — 1:00 P.M.
Administrative Services Conference Room —
PALM DESERT CIVIC CENTER - 73510 FRED WARING DRIVE
Palm Desert, California 92260
I. CALL TO ORDER
Mayor/Chairman/Chairman Finerty convened the meeting at 1:00 p.m.
II. ROLL CALL
Present:
Mayor Pro Tem/Vice Chairman/Vice Chairman Jim Ferguson
Councilman/Member/Member Richard S. Kelly
Councilman/Member/Member Robert A. Spiegel
Mayor/Chairman/Chairman Cindy Finerty
Excused Absence:
Councilmember/Member/Member Jean M. Benson
Also Present:
John M. Wohlmuth, City Manager/RDA Executive Director
Justin McCarthy, ACM for Redevelopment
Stephen Y. Aryan, Assistant to the City Manager
Rachelle D. Klassen, City Clerk
Paul S. Gibson, Director of Finance/City Treasurer
Janet M. Moore, Director of Housing
Mark Greenwood, Director of Public Works
J. Luis Espinoza, Assistant Finance Director
Ruth Ann Moore, Economic Development Manager
Kristy Kneiding, Marketing Manager
Ryan Gayler, Project Administrator
Donna Gomez, Visitor Information Center Manager
Veronica Tapia, Redevelopment Accountant
Aaron Kulp, Associate Engineer
David Hermann, Management Analyst
III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
None
MINUTES
SPECIAL JOINT MEETING OF THE
PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL,
PALM DESERT REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY, AND
PALM DESERT HOUSING AUTHORITY
IV. NEW BUSINESS
APRIL 30, 2010
A. CONSIDERATION OF THE PRELIMINARY CITY MANAGER'S FINANCIAL PLAN
FOR FISCAL YEAR 2010-2011: COMPLETION OF FOLLOW-UPS FROM
APRIL 26, 2010, MEETING FOR PUBLIC WORKS ITEMS AND THE
REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY (includes Housing, Marketing, and Visitor Center).
Following is a verbatim transcript of the discussion and action occurring at this meeting.
Key:
JMW John M. Wohlmuth, City Manager/RDA Executive Director
MG Mark Greenwood, Director of Public Works
RAS Councilman/Member/Member Robert A. Spiegel
RSK Councilman/Member/Member Richard S. Kelly
JF Mayor Pro TemNice ChairmanNice Chairman Jim Ferguson
CF Mayor/Chairman/Chairman Cindy Finerty
PSG Paul S. Gibson, Director of Finance/City Treasurer
JM Justin McCarthy, ACM for Redevelopment
VT Veronica Tapia, Redevelopment Accountant
JMM Janet M. Moore, Director of Housing
RAM Ruth Ann Moore, Economic Development Manager
KK Kristy Kneiding, Marketing Manager
DG Donna Gomez, Visitor Information Center Manager
Public Works - Street Resurfacing (contd. from April 26. 2010)
JMW Thank you. First thing is...you asked us to bring back the pavement and the street
condition. We...put $1.9 million into the budget, into this year's budget. You have a
project that will be going out to bid soon that's in the current year budget, and we have
1.9 in the current year?
MG Right.
JMW So, and we put in 1.9 in the upcoming budget. You asked us, or you asked Mark what
would it cost, or what should we be putting in, I think was, essentially, the question.
RAS Is that a, no, the question was is that enough?
JMW Is that enough? Mark's resp-...
RAS That was I asked a question.
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SPECIAL JOINT MEETING OF THE
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PALM DESERT REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY, AND
PALM DESERT HOUSING AUTHORITY
JMW Mark's response as a good Public Works Director was, "No."
RAS No.
(Laughter)
RSK He'II never have enough.
APRIL 30, 2010
JMW So...the...over the last couple of days, we worked on...a report to you, and if you would
go to the third page on the...street, which is a chart with bands of color on it. If you look
at the 1.9, which 1.9 is in your budget, which is the dotted blue line. The condition of the
pavement goes down into the yellow, which is a yellow would be overlay condition.
A...peach, or whatever, below 40 would be a restri-, resurfacing condition, where we
would...grind the whole road and...
JF Grind and replace.
JMW ...replace. The blue is slurry, and the green is no...'cause it's a, nine, or 85 and above,
no slurry, no resurfacing, that's good condition.
CF Okay, so if we go down to the bottom of this chart where it has the years?
JMW Yes.
CF We don't start to decline until...
JMW We go...
CF ...the end of year 1?
MG Right. This assumes...an influx of $1.9 million. That money gets applied during that year,
so that brings the overall average up. But then it turns right around and...starts
deteriorating again.
CF Okay, but next year would be the year where we would start to decline, correct? Or not,
wh-, let me go back. Where we're talking about the new fiscal year starting July 1 of this
year, which would get us to year 1. And then Fiscal Year 2011 is where the decline would
start if we don't infuse more money, correct?
JMW Correct.
MG Yes.
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SPECIAL JOINT MEETING OF THE
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PALM DESERT HOUSING AUTHORITY
APRIL 30, 2010
CF So then we're okay this year by doing the 1.9, and we've not lost anything.
JMW We haven't lost ground in this year.
CF But we need to look at it for next budget, the following year's budget.
JMW Well, the...if you take a look at the black dashed line, that would...increase the condition
of the pavement and stabilize over a 10-year period, which is $4.5 million — that'd be
2.6 million into reserve.
CF Okay, but from the top of the dotted line, the 1.9 million line...
JMW Mmm-hmm.
CF ...to the top of the black line, what...kind of a degrade in service is that? Is that like from
78 to 74?
MG Yeah, roughly, I think it's 73 to 79.
CF Seventy-three to 79?
MG Right.
CF So can we wait another year and hope the economy returns without having a disaster on
our streets, according to this?
MG We can wait, but we'll have to put more money in the second year.
CF Okay, so...
MG We won't...get, if we're gonna' put only two million in this year...
CF Mmm-hmm.
MG ...we can't put four million in...
RSK There's a problem here. Problem is, you start up in the blue and show the deterioration.
But Ironwood, as an example, should be startin' down here in the red.
MG Right. This is an overall City average, it's not...
RSK Yeah.
MG ...gonna' apply to any one street.
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SPECIAL JOINT MEETING OF THE
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PALM DESERT REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY, AND
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APRIL 30, 2010
RSK So, well...so I'm thinkin'...you know, it's overall City average, but...seems like you would
need to be a little more specific. Like, and also show...how many years, 20 years, I think
if you do a...complete rebuild. If you do a complete reconstruction, it's gonna' last 20
years. But when I asked about Ironwood, you said, "Well, the County did that job," and,
so, well we've been a City for 30-some years; that means that street is over 30 years
old...
MG That's correct.
RSK ...since it was last, 30-plus, you know, we probably, 40. And so, this is kinda', I'm not
sure this tells the story very good.
JMW Well, there are...
RSK The question the Mayor just had was about, you know, well, hey, look, we can wait,
because it won't all deteriorate in one year. Well, wait...a minute, it, a lot of 'ern are
already deteriorated. I mean they're way past time.
CF That's why we had asked, I thought, for a list of streets to say where are they in the
scheme of things.
MG And that's where the, well, these, the following three aerial photographs show, the first
one, the 8'/z x 11 is the 2009-2010 Budget. This is what we're gonna' do with the money
that we currently have in this year's budget.
RAS That's 3.8 or 1.9?
MG One point nine.
JMW One point nine. This will go out to bid...in the next month, or somethin'...
RAS Yeah, yeah.
JMW ...and it'd be constructed...
RAS The year's over.
JMW ...in the summer.
MG Then the next sheet, the 11 x 17 sheet that says $2 million at the bottom, these are the
streets we will do into the 10-11 money if we have $1.9 million.
CF Those are the streets that we're gonna' do. But what, where are the streets that we
wouldn't do that would start to deteriorate?
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APRIL 30, 2010
MG They're distributed throughout the entire City, and every street's in...different condition.
CF You know how we have an inventory of our trees?
MG Yes.
CF Would it be helpful to have an inventory, or maybe we do...
MG We do.
CF ... of... o u r streets.
MG We do.
CF And do we have it by street to say when they're to be slurried, when they're to be...you
know, resurfaced, and when they're to be overlaid or reconstructed, whatever your terms
are? Do we have a list like that to show street and what year the various applications are
to apply?
MG We have a block -by -block rating of the cond-, condition, Pavement Condition Index.
CF Mmm-hmm.
MG So we can apply, we can determine what the appropriate maintenance method is from
that list. I don't think we currently have it broken down to slurry this particular street or
overlay that street. We don't, generally we deal in year one and...do the streets we can
do with the money we have. What this report generally's trying to say is that...overall, our
streets are aging. And overall, if you look at a five-year piece of time rather than a one-
year piece of time, it's saying that we are not putting enough money into our streets. Any
one year you can put less money in, but it just means the next year you need to put...
CF More in.
MG ...more in, and more than the money you saved the previous year, because all of your
streets have gotten a year older.
RAS Is there money always spent a year behind? I mean this was passed last...
MG Because...
RAS ...July.
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SPECIAL JOINT MEETING OF THE
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PALM DESERT REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY, AND
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APRIL 30, 2010
MG ...of our desire to construct in the summer, generally, the money doesn't get spent until
the following summer, be-, because it's too, there's not enough time from the time we get
the money in July 1st to be able to spend it by August.
RAS And what is ev-, whatever's approved for next year, can we begin spending that now?
MG I think on your direction we could.
RAS I mean, we could do it in the summer, let's do it in the summer.
CF But...and...I guess, following up on Bob's comment, we really are delaying it by a year,
then. If we approved the money last year, and we're not gettin' it done `til this summer,
we've already waited a year. So the streets, in effect, have already deteriorated the year
that you're talking about, correct?
MG Well, it's been that way for many years, though, that the, that...that's just the...funding
cycle and the paving cycle causes this...nearly-a-year delay.
RAS That's the history.
MG So there's not a new delay.
(Unclear)
RAS And we don't want it done in season.
MG This...
JMW If your direction is to spend the 1.9 in the current year and 1.9 in the future year, Mark
says that we could do it this summer, so we'd put 3.8 in this summer, and that wouldn't...
CF So then half of the streets, or whatever was programmed for next year would get done
this year and would be done sooner. But, and we'd still be within budget, correct?
MG That would also...
JMW Correct.
MG That would also give us time to have this objective Pavement Condition Rating
completed, and I think we would feel better about exactly what the condition of our
streets...
CF I would. I would feel a lot better if we had that, so I'd, personally, would like to see the
1.9 from last year's budget, the 1.9 from next year's budget get spent this year. And
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SPECIAL JOINT MEETING OF THE
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PALM DESERT REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY, AND
PALM DESERT HOUSING AUTHORITY
APRIL 30, 2010
maybe if we spend it all, we can get better jobs when we go out to bid, because we have
such a huge amount. Maybe we'll get more bang for our buck.
JMW So if that's the direction, this year you would see the program that we've already planned
on, which is the 8% x 11 sheet of paper...
CF Right.
JMW ...plus the...
CF This one.
JMW ...two million...
MG Two million.
CF The 2 million...
JMW ...dollar one...
CF Yeah.
MG The...
JMW ...which is a list of streets that includes...
CF Right.
JMW ...Shadow Mountain and Ironwood.
CF So, we're still in budget, but we're being proactive in not waiting a year, we're getting it
all done at once, we might get more money, or better bids. And then at the same time,
you go back and do a list of your Pavement Condition Index, and then come back to us.
Does that sound reasonable?
RSK Do it all this summer.
CF That's what he said.
RSK I know.
CF Oh, okay.
RSK That's what I been sayin'...
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SPECIAL JOINT MEETING OF THE
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PALM DESERT REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY, AND
PALM DESERT HOUSING AUTHORITY
APRIL 30, 2010
RAS (Unclear)
RSK ...for about two years.
RAS Well, that's what I said this year, so there we go.
CF Okay, so, we're good?
RAS We're all tryin' to take credit for it.
JMW We can do that?
PSG Yeah.
JMW Okay.
CF Well, the good news is we're agreed upon on what we do now, that's right?
RAS I would think so.
CF As a Council, so that's the good news.
IPublic Works - President's Plaza (contd. from April 26. 2010)
CF Okay, President's Plaza Parking Lot.
JMW President's Plaza - we started our...having our City Attorney research President's Plaza.
There's some challenges. The Easement, the current Parking Easement is not...a
hundred percent accurate, so he's looking into it. We may have to work on...expanding
that Easement. We cannot, because I think the current, it was developed in 1943,
President's Plaza East and West, 1943, so the Easements currently don't reflect the
entire parking areas, so he's working on that. Mark also took a look at...some of the
things he knows and some of the things he doesn't know about President's Plaza, and
we're estimating that...to do it right for East and West would be $5 million. That's 500,000
for Engineering, 1.5 million for Pavement, $1 million to relocate the utilities that are too
close to the surface right now...ADA and Sidewalk is a half a million, 500,000,
Landscaping 750,000, and Trash Enclosures 750,000, for a total of $5 million for
President's Plaza East and West.
RAS Can we use Redevelopment Money for this?
JF That was my question.
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JM We think so.
JMW We can't use it for maintenance, but certainly, you know, for...
RSK We're gonna' rebuild it, we're not gonna' maintain it.
JF Yeah.
RSK This is not maintenance, this is, what it needs is a complete rebuild.
JF Right. Can we use Recycling money for the trash enclosures and...
(Unclear)
JMW Yes.
APRIL 30, 2010
RSK The other thing is, you know, we just did the, a couple years ago we did the area back
of...Tony Roma's and...Carl's Jr., that parking lot there. We did that, right? We did that
with Redevelopment Funds, fixed it all up. Well, you know, just because this has
a...Maintenance Assessment District, it doesn't make sense for us to fix a parking lot up...
that has no...Maintenance Assessment District, and we're gonna' put in a good parking,
a parking lot, which we should do, and then turn around and say, "Well, this is an
Assessment District, so we can't do it." That doesn't make sense. So, you know,
my...druthers, my thinkin' is that...this is such an important, critical part of
El Paseo...that...we need to do it, and it appears to me that it oughtta'
be...Redevelopment Funds that does it.
CF I would agree.
JMW We'll do that. We'll look into it and start working on some design work for it, and bring it
back to you.
RAS All right, as soon as possible before The Gardens opens up.
JMW Okay.
CF Okay, so, go...ahead. Okay.
MG But just to clarify on starting as soon as possible, this is...gonna' be a multi -year job.
There's a million dollars in utilities that need to be worked on, that alone will take a year,
then the City's work would start.
RSK Use contractors.
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MG Well, that is with contractors.
APRIL 30, 2010
RAS Well, yesterday I went to the opening of the Don and Peggy Cravens Building over at
COD, and they had $20 million in their budget for that building, and it ended up costing
'ern 17, because of what's out there right now. So we might find that we can save some
money.
JMW We'll get on it and see how fast we can move on President's Plaza East and West.
IRedevelopment Agency
Project Area #1 - Legal - p. 61
CF Okay, so we can start at page 61. Is this...Justin?
JM Yes.
RAS This is Richard Watson, page 61?
JM Yes.
RAS All of it?
VT All of it with the exception of the... Damage Settlement. That was the Settlement that we
have to pay bills against (inaudible)...
JF Speak up a little bit.
VT The... Damage Settlement money at the bottom, that isn't Richards Watson, that's actually
a Settlement that we have to pay over the next couple of years.
JF Is that an existing Settlement?
VT Yes.
JMM Indian Springs.
RAS Which Settlement?
JF Indian Springs.
JM Mmm-hmm.
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APRIL 30, 2010
JMM Indian Springs. It's in addition to the five million.
JF Okay.
RAS Indian Springs, okay, ohhh. Okay.
Project Area #1 - Administration - D. 62
CF Okay. Next page, 62. Salaries - I know that Dick's going by the number of employees.
RSK I would think they'd be, had that all at the tip of their tongue by now.
(Laughter)
VT In RDA there are 16.
RSK How many?
CF Sixteen?
VT Sixteen.
JF Sixteen.
RSK Sixteen.
VT Correct.
CF Okay.
JM That is down from a peak of 19.
CF Thank you.
RAS The dollars are about the same as they were in 2008-2009.
CF Yup. I see other things have gone up. Actual, okay. What's the difference between
"Professional - Other - Administration," and "Professional - Other?"
VT "Professional - Other - Administration" is the reimbursement of staff time to the City for
any jobs that they're doing on behalf of RDA.
CF And the "Professional - Other?"
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APRIL 30, 2010
VT That would be...appraisal services...we use that for any type of...financial consulting
services or any consulting services that the Agency needs to implement any of the
programs.
JF Like Leonard Wolk, would he...
VT Yes.
JF Okay.
CF Okay, and we're adding to "Office Equipment" because?
VT That is in order to...provide assistance to...the City on a various office equipment
that...actually come out of the General Fund. RDA's picking up its portion, actually from
09-10 forward.
CF Any other questions?
RAS Nope.
JF Nope.
Business Center - p. 63
CF Okay, 63. What are the "Advertising Media Buys?"
RAM The..."Advertising Media Buys" were when the, we reviewed the Marketing Program's
Budget...we determined that there were...some programs within that that lend themselves
more towards business.
CF So are they coming out of the Marketing?
RAM So they're coming out of the Marketing; 15,000 of it will be for the magazine...13,000 is
for restaurant promotions, and we had one... just in January, we're gonna' continue those.
CF Mmm-hmm.
RAM And 12,000 we're working on a program with the...retailers and the hotels to do...to
offer...specials and incentives on the website.
RAS What about Fashion Week, where does that come in?
RAM Fashion Week is still in the Marketing...Budget.
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APRIL 30, 2010
CF And what are "Facility Fees?"
JM That is the...rent that we have budgeted in the event that we are to relocate to...El Paseo.
CF Okay.
JM We would make a notation, given the adjustment in location...
CF Mmm-hmm.
JM ...that that would probably be changed to about 64,000 as opposed to 60,000. So
we'Il...make that correction.
CF Okay. Any questions?
JF Yeah. Do we have any money set aside to do something with the lot on Larkspur in the
event that Bill DeLeeuw doesn't come through with his five-star hotel?
JM We...haven't identified...any specific project there. Contemplating like, you know, kind
of a landscape upgrade or something of that nature...
JF Yeah.
JM ...to make it more...attractive. You know, we could look at that and then...you know, bring
back a...budget adjustment or an appropriation for the type of consideration.
RAS Yeah, I think it's a good idea. They've got the one telephone pole there that goes along,
it looks crazy, and, it's a crummy-lookin' lot.
CF Okay.
JF It's the only criticism I got from Fashion Week was the lot was pretty crappy. The tent
was great, everything else was great...
JM Mmm-hmm.
JF ...but if...we're gonna' own the, we own the property, we're not gonna' get a hotel, in my
opinion, so we may as well grade it, landscape it, and make it useful for special events
and other types of things like the Golf Cart Parade, Fashion Week, and whatever else we
wanna' do.
RAS Good point.
RSK Didn't we, did we kinda' agree to do somethin' with that...
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JF Mmm-hmm.
RSK ...a year ago?
APRIL 30, 2010
JF Yeah, but then we decided to give Wi-, Mr. DeLeeuw another year to try and do his hotel,
which is, should be up at the end of this fiscal year, if I remember correctly.
JM He...has a few months on it. I mean, there are some people that have expressed some
interest. I think they're kind of waiting for that agreement to burn off. But no matter what
would happen, there would probably be at least an intervening couple of years...
RAS So let's do it.
JM ...that..you know, so we'll take a look at it and see if we can come up with a plan, run it
through the Landscape Committee, and bring it back for the Council's consideration.
JF Well, it's not just landscaping. I think it needs to be graded flat and, you know, generally,
kind of what we did at Desert Willow with that ancillary parking lot.
JM Mmm-hmm.
RSK Is that homeowners' association, appears that they're cleanin' up...theirs, their...property
line there right now. As I drive by there every day, and...it looks to me like
that...homeowners' association for that little condominium project right to the east
side...is...like they've been cleaning that all out, and it's gettin' near the end of the road.
So...
JM We talkin' about the oleanders?
RAM The oleanders that died.
RSK Yeah, they've been really workin' on it lately.
RAM Mmm-hmm.
JM Right.
RAM Yeah.
RSK So, it'd be a good time to check in with them to see what kind of a...what we might work
out with them, because seems to me that they're gonna' wanna' wall or something up
there. I mean, it's wide open right now, and I'm sure that's not what they wanna' finish
up with. And so, they may be doing something, gettin' ready to put a wall in there right
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now themselves, for all we know. Seems like we need to contact
exactly what they're doing, and maybe we can work with them to do
JM We'II make contact with them.
CF Okay, any other comments on page 63?
RAS Hmmm-uhhh.
Office of Energy Management - P. 64
CF Okay, 64.
APRIL 30, 2010
them and find out
it better.
JM Just...to note that we...have not yet...identified a tenant improvement budget on the
prospective relocation. So when we do, we'll bring that back as part of the consideration
of a lease or something of that nature for a new Visitor Center.
JF Okay.
CF Okay. Okay, 64. Number of employees?
VT There are actually...
RSK Justin, before you leave, check with me, will ya'? I need to talk to you about a little
problem.
JM Sure.
RSK Separate problem.
VT There are actually two and a half staff people charged to this budget.
CF Two and a half?
VT
CF
They are, however, included in the RDA 16.
Okay. Then why would we show, so you'd add the 190,000, actually should be added to
the RDA Budget?
VT Right.
CF Okay. (Pause) Okay.
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APRIL 30, 2010
JF Are we...planning, at some point, I know we have a subcommittee to study this, but we
may as well bring it up in the Budget...gonna' use some of our interest income from the
811 Loan Program to retire the cost of administering the Office of Energy Management?
JM Well, we...could. Can...I do that...? Do we have to, do we have any interest income as
yet?
JF Not a lot.
PSG No.
JM Okay.
PSG And right now, it's all dedicated to the two loans that we have, or three loans we have
outstanding right now: City, RDA, and the Wells Fargo one. And we do need to establish
a reserve; that was the other...
JF Right.
PSG ...vision, which we have very little for that purpose at this point...
JF Right. But...
PSG ...so, we can discuss it at the Committee level.
JM I...think as, as it accrues, and as you kind of get a sense of what kind of reserve you
would want to have, I mean, as we've observed, there is a spread between cost and what
we're charging.
JF Right.
JM And, but I would imagine that not a lot of money has come in yet in terms of any
assessments or anything...
JMW (Unclear)
JM ...of that nature. So, there's gonna' be a lag time before you would have a build-up...
JF I understand that. I'm talkin' about visionary, you know, when we...get that 15 million fully
loaned...
JM Sure.
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SPECIAL JOINT MEETING OF THE
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APRIL 30, 2010
JF ...we're gonna' get $960,000, roughly, a year in interest, and we'll allocate a certain part
of that to a reserve. But my goal would be to have this thing pay for itself through the
program and not from our General Fund.
JMW And we could do that.
JF Okay.
CF Okay. Any other comments on page 64? Page 65.
Community Promotions - pp. 65-66
JM Do you have any questions on "Community Promotions?"
RSK Well, 65, although, winds up with this 66, doesn't it?
CF Right.
PSG Yes.
RSK So we're doin' 65, you need to really use 66?
CF We sure do.
RSK So, I have some questions.
KK Behind 65 is a list of the, does everyone have that?
CF Yes.
KK If not, I brought some extra copies, which makes up the..."Community Events."
JM Most of the...savings that you might observe were after going through the kind of the
historical budgets that we've had for these various programs. Kristy identified a number
of places where we thought there were...a little bit more than maybe we needed and that
we were able to...accrue some savings. So, we're not really cutting back on anything, are
we Kristy?
KK No. In fact, if you look at some of the additional events for consideration, those would be
new this year. But we're...not really cutting back. " Open Call" for...the McCallum was
actually part of Outside Agency Funding.
RSK Well, I have some questions to...
18
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SPECIAL JOINT MEETING OF THE
PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL,
PALM DESERT REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY, AND
PALM DESERT HOUSING AUTHORITY
APRIL 30, 2010
JM Sure.
KK Mmm-hmm.
RSK First one is...the "Tree Lighting." It looks like we've, what's...our, "Wreath Lighting," that
we're not, planning on not doing that, is...that right?
KK Correct. If there's a change in location...
RSK Hmmm?
KK If there's a change in location of where we hold the event.
RSK But can't we find someplace to do, I know in the past we've done it on El Paseo, and right
in front of The Gardens we have some nice...decorations, and it seems like that's
something special - a tree lighting event - and we ought to be able to do it without
spending much money? Just...
(Unclear)
RSK ...we're gonna' Tight `em anyway, aren't we? And so, just somebody...
KK Sure.
RSK ...comes there and officially, the Mayor, officially...
JF Plugs it in.
RSK ...turns on the lights to start the Christmas Season.
CF It shouldn't cost $8,000, though, did you (unclear)?
RSK It, well it ought to be able to do it...for twenty-five bucks or...
CF I would think so.
(Laughter)
KK If you wanna' have refreshments or any kind of...
RAS Well, if you remember at one time, this...was for the kids, and we were doing it in Civic
Center Park. And then when we built the Visitor Center, we moved it over there and did
a Wreath Lighting with the kids. And this is a kids' thing, this is...what it's for.
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PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL,
PALM DESERT REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY, AND
PALM DESERT HOUSING AUTHORITY
APRIL 30, 2010
RSK We got a lot of different places, so...
RAS I know that, but the question is do we want to do something...
RSK Yup.
RAS ...for the children at...the Holiday Season?
RSK I just think it's a good thing.
RAS Well I do too. And it could, instead of a wreath, it could be a tree on the stage at, in the
Park.
CF But we need to have a...
RSK We even planted a tree...we even planted a tree with...that looked like a Christmas tree
and would, the idea being that as it grew, we'd be bigger, bigger, and we'd have some
really great Tree Lighting...
JF (Unclear)
CF (Unclear)
RSK ...things for the kids, and I don't know what, I guess...Spencer let that tree die or
somethin'
JF Spencer...cut it down.
(Laughter)
JM Well, I guess...
JF It shouldn't even be there.
(Laughter)
JM ...would it be reasonable for us to maybe keep that there as a contingency and identify
a, an appropriate...wreath or tree lighting opportunity?
RSK That'd be, I think that'd be...
RAS That'd be good.
RSK ...great.
20
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PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL,
PALM DESERT REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY, AND
PALM DESERT HOUSING AUTHORITY
CF But not for $8,000.
JF Well...
JM Is...there...a proposed budget that we should consider?
RAS Why don't you come back to us with one?
JM Okay.
KK Okay.
JM All right.
RSK And then I have a...that's not my only one.
JF Oh, I'II bet not.
APRIL 30, 2010
RSK Did, am I seein' here that we're going to discontinue any contribution to the RSV Pro-, VP
Program?
KK Yes. Typically, we've sponsored that luncheon; however... no one in the City uses RSVP
as a resource. We...just don't use that in any way, so...
RSK We don't use them; on the other hand... how many people are there that actually live in
our City that...volunteer through that program? And...how many of those, even though
those, even though it's not our City, I know it's not the Visitor's Center, or COPS, or some
of ours, but it's organizations all over our City, and...when...we think about...volunteers
and how much work they produce...it just seems like a couple thousand dollars to help
support a luncheon to thank them for what they do is not an unreasonable thing to do.
RAS And we're not gonna' sponsor "Open Call" anymore?
KK They were part of Outside Agency Funding last year.
CF Kristy? Going up under "City -sponsored Events," -3062, it says "Choreography Festival -
McCallum - Outside Agency Funding," yet it's still showing 10,000.
KK Yes...last year they were actually budgeted in Special Events as well as Outside Agency
Funding. So we...l think Paul and I discussed keeping one in this Ev-, Event Budget and
then having the other come through Outside Agency Funding.
CF Okay. So it's in addition to...
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PALM DESERT REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY, AND
PALM DESERT HOUSING AUTHORITY
KK So we chose, yeah...
CF Okay.
APRIL 30, 2010
KK ...we chose to keep the "Choreography Festival" in the Special Events Budget but let
"Open Call" be funded through Outside Agency."
CF Okay.
RSK I didn't finish, by the way.
CF Sorry. Go right ahead.
RSK I notice we don't do anything for the National Date Festival anymore, and it seems to me
like that is...that's not just a County event for the people ou-, outside cities. That's
a...something that belongs to everybody in the County and every city, and that...it's
a...really...attracts a lot of people to the Coachella Valley, and it's a real asset that they
hold it here and don't hold it in western Riverside County, and that we could do
something, and I was...talkin' to City Manager about that. Maybe if we can't
contribute...dollar-wise, that we could make a in -kind contribution, such as...providin'...our
Bicycle Patrol...there for the, during the Date Festival, or something like that, which we
would probably never miss and would be very helpful to them.
JF Well, my understanding was when about 10 years ago when we st-, first started giving
them money, pretty significant money - I think 50,000 was our first contribution - it was
when it was being fairly poorly managed, and it wasn't making money.
RAS It was because Marlboro was selling cigarettes out there, and we wanted to get rid of
Marlboro.
JF Right. But my understanding is it...actually makes a profit now.
RSK Well...
JF So if they're makin' money, I don't know why it's...
JMW That's my understanding. Last year we did get a request for additional police, and we
didn't have it in the Police Budget. But...Councilmember Kelly is correct. We...
could...allocate our Strike Team with Segways or bicycles to the...Date Festival - that's
where they need help. They don't need money, because they are ma-, is my
understanding they are making a profit.
RSK Well...but even when...even if they make money, Jim...if they make money, then that,
they have some money to improve it.
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PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL,
PALM DESERT REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY, AND
PALM DESERT HOUSING AUTHORITY
JF Yeah.
APRIL 30, 2010
RSK And so...you know, I...see...that, that there are a lot of things they could do to improve it.
If they had more money, they could improve it and make it even better, or they could
make it better. And so even if they make some money, I don't see that as...l see that they
can still use our help, and I think they're a very, it's a big benefit to the Coachella Valley.
RAS When they start helping us, I'II agree to help them.
RSK So, that be okay to do that?
JF Well, can we discuss a couple others?
RSK Hmmm?
JF Can we discuss a couple others and maybe do a little horse -trading?
(Laughter)
RAS I may not vote for anything at that (unclear)...
RSK Well let's...try do what we think is right, whatever that is. If it's right...
JF Well...
RSK ...then it's right.
JF ...I notice, if I'm reading this correctly, we're eliminating funding for After School Program
Event expenses?
KK It's not being eliminated, it was transferred to "Special Projects," since it's
Frankie's...under Frankie's direction. So it really just got moved.
JF So we're still taking care of that?
KK Correct. Yes.
JM We've tried to rationalize how some of these items were carried in the budget, and there
was a little, you know, things were a little mixed up, and so, we've tried to make things
that seemed to be logically consistent, hopefully, in the right places.
RSK So we're tryin' to help you right now.
JM Thank you.
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PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL,
PALM DESERT REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY, AND
PALM DESERT HOUSING AUTHORITY
JF Well, it's just hard for me to tell...
APRIL 30, 2010
RAS What's going on.
JF ...where we're cutting...
JM Sure.
KK Yeah.
JF ...stuff and where we're just shifting it in the Budget. And that one was...
KK I believe that's the only shift here.
RAS And one that we haven't done, because they don't have it, really, anymore is Wildlights
at...The Living Desert.
JF The Living Desert?
RAS But they do have a lot of events over there that seem to be sponsored...
(Unknown) It's...
RAS ...by Indian Wells and not by the City of Palm Desert.
KK I think what..The Li-, Wildlights is still there.
RAS Well, they don't have the, maybe the same set-up or whatever it is.
(Unknown) (Unclear)
KK Yeah.
RAS Or maybe I'm thinking of Howl-O-Ween, I don't know.
KK I think they did de-, they did get rid of Howl-O-Ween.
JMW They...still do Wildlights and Halloween.
RAS And we don't give 'em anything.
KK We have in previous years.
JMW We...(unclear)
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SPECIAL JOINT MEETING OF THE
PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL,
PALM DESERT REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY, AND
PALM DESERT HOUSING AUTHORITY
APRIL 30, 2010
KK That was something that was selected to be cut last year. Things listed under "Additional
Events" were just the ones that we had went through last year, each event, and those
were excluded. So I wanted to make sure that you recognized that last year we didn't
budget for it, and we didn't this year, but give the opportunity to.
JF Okay. I have a question for Councilman Kelly. You're okay with eliminating the fly -over
on Veterans Day?
RSK We...eliminated that fly -over.
JF You're okay with it?
RAS Last year they didn't (unclear).
RSK Hmmm?
JF You don't mind that?
RSK I mean, it's an expensive part of it, and we did it without it last year, and it was very...
JF Nobody noticed?
RSK ...successful, very well done.
CF Mmm-hmm.
JF Okay.
RSK And that...where that lists there that..."Junior/Senior Golf Tournament," that's out.
KK That's out, yeah.
RSK Yeah, that's out. Nothin' happenin', nothin' happenin' there.
CF So we're not spending a thousand dollars there?
RSK No. It's doesn't sh-, it shows something over here, it...shows a Budget Request...
(Unknown) But...
RSK ...but they've, there should be no request.
CF Okay.
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SPECIAL JOINT MEETING OF THE
PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL,
PALM DESERT REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY, AND
PALM DESERT HOUSING AUTHORITY
JF Okay, so we'll (unclear)...
APRIL 30, 2010
CF So we'd have a thousand dollars that can go somewhere.
RSK Well, yeah...that...
CF Can we put that thousand into your...
RSK ...where is that, what is it, I can't find it now all of a sudden.
CF ...RSVP Lunch?
RSK Oh, right there, it's...definitely out. It's not required.
JF Oh, okay, gotcha'.
CF Can we move that to your RSVP Lunch?
RSK To the what?
CF The RSVP Lunch?
RSK Yeah, that would be good.
CF Will that be good?
JF Yeah, that'd be fine with me.
CF Okay. So, the "Wreath Lighting" ceremony is gonna' come back to us at a lesser amount
with...
JF Modest budget.
CF ...an appropriate location. "Junior/Senior" thousand goes to RSVP. "Date Festival" we're
do some sort of in -kind contribution with Segways or Bicycles.
JF Law enforcement.
CF Yeah. And the "After School Prog-Event" has been transferred to Frankie's. Any other
questions on...
JF Sixty-six?
CF Yeah.
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SPECIAL JOINT MEETING OF THE
PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL,
PALM DESERT REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY, AND
PALM DESERT HOUSING AUTHORITY
RSK What...what's being proposed here for...the "Golf Cart Parade?"
at requested 40,000, and then it, so it's less 40-, 14,965, what...
KK Correct.
RSK Interpret that for me.
APRIL 30, 2010
Is that, because it says
KK Last year we had budgeted the 54,965, which included staff overtime, and their, our
contribution actually was only $25,000 to the Golf Cart Parade, plus staff time. So, we
reduced it by about 15,000, assuming that the, we maintain the same $25,000...
RAS Twenty-five thousand dollars.
KK ...sponsorship, plus...
RSK So we're still supporting it (unclear).
KK ...overtime. We're still supporting it.
RAS They asked for 35-, we'll give 'em 25-.
KK Yeah.
RSK Good.
CF But we're reflecting it more on what the actual was.
RSK That's okay, right?
KK That is the actual, mmm-hmm.
CF Okay.
RAS Yeah, it's okay (unclear).
KK So we saved. Last year we saved almost $15,000 (unclear).
CF Good.
RAS (Unclear)...they're making money on their trips through China.
RSK (Unclear)
CF Okay. Anything else for 66? Okay, 67.
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SPECIAL JOINT MEETING OF THE
PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL,
PALM DESERT REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY, AND
PALM DESERT HOUSING AUTHORITY
APRIL 30, 2010
Marketina - D. 67
JM (Unclear) the supplemental.
KK Yeah. Did everyone receive the extra pages that were the more detailed...
RAS Yeah I did (unclear).
KK ...budget from this breakdown?
CF No.
JM We...handed 'em out under a cover memo, so we have extras that we'll hand out. It's just
intended to be...supplemental to your budget numbers.
CF It's probably in the mail that I picked up.
RAS While we're doin' that, Paul, not being part of the BID, how much money is the City saving
in Marketing? Not being part of the BID next year...
PSG Yes.
RAS ...or being part of the BID next year, how much money is the City saving in Marketing?
PSG In...the (unclear)?
RAS (Unclear) in what we used to give the CVA versus what we're giving 'em this coming year.
JF What's our TOT reduction?
PSG It, well, it's a reduction in expenditure. It went from 850- contribution this year to 225-
next year.
RAS Two twenty-five?
PSG So that's roughly about 625-.
CF Excellent.
KK Did you have that?
RSK Well, I've lost it.
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SPECIAL JOINT MEETING OF THE
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PALM DESERT REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY, AND
PALM DESERT HOUSING AUTHORITY
APRIL 30, 2010
KK Oh, I have another one.
JF Yeah, I don't have it either.
RSK I have it here somewhere, I think, but I can't find it.
RAS I got it.
KK Okay.
JM It's...
RSK I got it mixed up with all this...flimflam that...Mark Greenwood was givin'.
RAS So...
KK Does anybody else need a copy?
RAS ...we're goin' from, how much now we're goin'...
PSG Eight fifty to 225-.
RSK Oh, there it, that's...
RAS So we're saving $625,000.
RSK This the same thing as this?
KK Ah-...
RSK This is the same thing, huh?
KK The front page is the specifics of your budget worksheet, and the second page is a
breakdown of the media buys.
JMW The answer is "Yes."
KK Oh, okay.
RAS And how does this total compare to years, last year's?
KK Last year...after mid-, before or after mid -year cuts?
JM Just from last year.
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SPECIAL JOINT MEETING OF THE
PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL,
PALM DESERT REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY, AND
PALM DESERT HOUSING AUTHORITY
APRIL 30, 2010
KK Just from last year.
JM It was about 29% down.
KK Yeah.
RAS Twenty-nine percent less?
JM Yes, sir.
RAS And we're saving $625,000 from CVA promoting the City.
JM Well, that's, it's my understanding, though, that that is sort of already integrated into the
budget, so...
RAS I don't know what that means.
CF It's used elsewhere.
JM The...I think the major changes, you know, in this budget is a...reduction in...a couple of
the...significant contracts that we had, and a refocus of our media buys to focus in on our,
primarily our drive -to market. Couple of years ago we went through a process, you may
recall, the strategic planning where we wanted to do more...promotional PR and branding.
I think that has run its course. The intent of this budget is to, basically, focus on
driving...people to Palm Desert, you know, filling our hotels. It's targeted to San Diego,
Los Angeles, and Orange Counties. I believe it's the...CVA analysis says that about 70%
of our market comes from those locales, and so we've tried to shape the budget...to be
responsive to that while also reflecting some, you know, significant savings. One area
where we're really looking to try to maintain some expenditure is in the online activity.
That's an area where it's in the process of...developing; we're learning about it, but it also
has a great deal of what we call, what?
KK Technical
JM Technical, technical requirements, and also a great deal of...accountability. I mean
there's a lot of metrics that we can get in terms of, okay, people clicking through, you
know, contacting, coming to our websites and things like this. And so, you know, that is
still a work -in -progress, but it seems to be where a lot of marketing is going to, and you
get kind of a bigger bang for your buck. So there is a...request for some...consulting
services, a retainer to...provide those services. One area where we haven't reflected
here, and we've actually pulled back from it and going to rely on the CVA to kinda' take
care of that super -regional or national, or extra -national, but, given the experience that
we've been seeing out in the community with the exchange rate between...the Canadian
Loonie and the American Dollar, you know, at some point in time, if that continues, you
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PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL,
PALM DESERT REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY, AND
PALM DESERT HOUSING AUTHORITY
APRIL 30, 2010
know, looking at would it make sense to expand or allocate dollars in...a much more
meaningful way, you know, towards sort of north of the Canadian border to some target
markets there. Right now I think we're just gonna' rely on the CVA to do that. Are we,
do we have some co-op money from that, Kristy?
KK We have, we do. That's part of their Air Service Campaign — they're reaching out to
Canada through that, which is included in our...within those media buys.
CF Okay.
KK And that's $25,000 for that campaign.
CF Twenty-five thousand, okay.
RAS Well my question is this.
JM Yes, sir.
RAS You know that Ruth Ann is setting up meetings for John with the hoteliers...
JM Yes.
RAS ...and then also the retailers to see if we can do anything to help them improve their
business. If we come up with some ideas, where we gonna' get the money to do it?
JM Well, we will have to review our budgets and...make decisions. I think that much of their
market is the drive -to market; it is that 70% that comes from our three counties. We think
we're...in the right three regional locations. We think we're in the right media...and there's
a great deal of collaboration now with the marketing arms of our hotels. So...it's not like
we're operating in isolation.
(Audio tape change.)
RAS (During audio tape change - sees lots of ads from Rancho Mirage marketing its
restaurants) paying for that either, whether it's the City of Rancho Mirage or whether it's
The River. But anyway, if, in fact, their restaurant business has been very successful
because of promotion like that, I don't know why we wouldn't want to look at something
like that.
JM Do we have any discretionary money?
KK Well, and if you look under Special Events, there's $12,500 in that line item but, you know
Fourth of July we're no longer publicizing Fourth of July, people know it happens. We do
have our concerts and movies that do need some publicity to go along with it, 'cause
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PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL,
PALM DESERT REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY, AND
PALM DESERT HOUSING AUTHORITY
APRIL 30, 2010
they're, more, not quite the national holiday that...Veterans Day and Fourth of July are.
So there's...some dollars there that could be allocated towards that type of promotion.
In addition to that 40,000 that, well, 12-, it went...
RAS But there's no reason after the meetings if something comes up that makes a lot of
sense, that John can't bring it back and add to what you've already got.
JF Right.
JM Council always has the discretion, and we can...look at those things. We have...
JMW There is...on the Marketing Plan on page 2 of the specifics, the purple or lavender line at
the bottom is "Miscellaneous Opportunities"...
CF "Miscellaneous Opportunities," yeah.
JMW We could...
RAS So that's the money (unclear).
JMW ...that could be an opportunity with retail and hotels.
KK We were also looking at using those dollars for a lot of times...remnant sales come up.
For example, Hemisphere Magazine is United Airlines' in-flight magazine. A one-time
half -page, or one-time ad in there could be $40,000. Occasionally, they'll call and say,
"Artwork fell through, they loved our ad, we can give you a half -page for $6,000." Well
we have no way of knowing some of the opportunities that might present themselves that,
you know, would be kinda' too good to pass up, so, that's that line item.
RAS Well, the CVA might come to you and say, "We're running some ads in Los Angeles..."
JM Mmm-hmm.
KK Uhhh-huhh.
RAS ..."and you can tie in with us for a very cheap price."
KK Mmm-hmm.
CF Justin, I appreciate targeting San Diego, LA, and Orange County, and certainly in the
peach -colored section under "Media Buys Plan," we're advertising in Los Angeles
Magazine, Orange Coast Magazine, and San Diego, Magazine. How does advertising
in Palm Springs Life and Sunset Magazine help us?
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PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL,
PALM DESERT REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY, AND
PALM DESERT HOUSING AUTHORITY
APRIL 30, 2010
KK Mmm-hmm. Well, I could address that. The Palm Springs Life actually, the maj-, a large
majority of their subscriptions are out of the area, believe it or not. Some of those people
do have second homes here, but Ruth Ann, do you know the break down? It's something
like 60% might be out of the area; I can get that figure for you, if you'd like. And Sunset
Magazine is the same. That's a...regional buy, so...it kind of hits one of
our...demographics of a...they have a 52 is the median age, their average net worth is
over a million dollars, their average income's about $65,000, and it skews female; and
typically, the female is the person making the travel arrangements.
RSK Also, that 60% is going to, since they're people that's already have connections here, they
know the difference between Palm Springs and Palm Desert and La Quinta. Therefore,
when you advertise Palm Desert there, you're gettin' the people that know the area, and
you're sayin', "Hey, Palm Desert is the place to go when you come next time."
KK And this is actually a significantly reduced buy...
RAS Or they're wealthy people that know the area too.
RSK Yeah.
KK It's a significantly reduced buy, that's where we did find some cost savings by not
advertising as frequently. And I think as Justin was mentioning, we're going less of a
branding and more of an action -oriented...
CF Mmm-hmm.
KK ...so it will be "Come here to do this."
CF Okay.
KK And so I think we'll...find that our response is even better.
CF Okay. You gave four, you said female, 65K for the income, 52 median age, and I didn't
get the last one.
KK Oh, their average net worth...
JF A million dollars.
KK ...was over a million dollars.
CF Thank you.
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PALM DESERT REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY, AND
PALM DESERT HOUSING AUTHORITY
APRIL 30, 2010
KK Seventy percent married, 47% college grad; and the interesting thing about Sunset is
they're our highest...total audience of over 1.1 million, so our ad reaches all those people,
which is actually...our largest distribution.
CF Okay. Thank you for that complete answer.
KK Mmm-hmm.
RAS Okay.
CF Anything else?
RAS No.
KK Could I just (unclear) the Bright Side...
JM Oh, sure.
KK ...do you mind? Could we, plea-, I just want to make sure it's clear on the newsletter, the
Bright Side.
JF Mmm-hmm.
KK We budgeted for six editions a yea-, this year, which is a change in service from last year
of 10 editions.
CF So which ones will be left out?
KK We're gonna' do every other month. So, if you look, we're not going to prod-, last year
we didn't produce a July nor an August. So this year we're looking at July, September...
CF I see.
KK ...as outlined, yeah.
CF Yeah, I see it now.
KK And by doing that, we're gonna' reduce some of the information on the inside, those four
pages of Community Information will provide more just contact information, and we'll be
able to use the other two pages for...additional content. As you know, the Bright Side's
full every month, so we think we can successfully produce half as many and still make
sure that all the content's in there.
CF Okay. Thank you.
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PALM DESERT REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY, AND
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JF Good idea.
CF Sixty-eight.
KK Oh, I'm sorry.
(Laughter)
APRIL 30, 2010
KK I just wanna' make sure the other one that's...quite a change is the annual calendar. I
just wanna' make sure that direction's clear on that, as well. Typically, that's a $40,000
line item, and this year we looked at about 25,000. We mail them all out, and the
expense is not in the...mailing, it's in the printing.
CF Mmm-hmm.
KK So, we were recommending that we print 25,000 calendars, which is, you know, about
two-thirds of what we printed before, and just have them available for pick-up at various
locations — maybe even the concierge at The Gardens and the Mall, the Visitors Center,
here, the Library, and have them, Desert Willow, and have them...
RAS If somebody wants its, we'll tell 'em about it in the Bright Side.
KK Right, and it's free, still.
CF Right. Sure.
KK But, however, it would not be mailed to every resident and business.
CF Good.
KK So that's that.
RSK Sounds like a good plan.
JF Yeah, makes a lot of sense too.
KK That's okay? Okay.
CF Makes a lot of sense. Okay, 68. Number of employees?
Visitors Information Center - D. 68
(Unknown) Donna.
35
MINUTES
SPECIAL JOINT MEETING OF THE
PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL,
PALM DESERT REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY, AND
PALM DESERT HOUSING AUTHORITY
APRIL 30, 2010
DG We have four. We were reduced by one.
(Unknown) One?
CF So total of four now?
DG Total of four now.
CF Okay.
DG Mmm-hmm.
RSK How many volunteers do you have there?
DG We have about 11 right now.
RSK Eleven.
DG Yes.
RSK That's good, isn't it?
DG It is. We can always use more, though.
CF Okay.
RSK Some day when I retire, I'm gonna' volunteer for Visitor Center.
(Laughter)
JM Aren't you looking forward to that (unclear)?
(Laughter)
DG Retire? What's that?
RSK Really excited you, huh?
(Laughter)
DG I'll be waiting.
RAS You got the "Cost of Goods Sold," but you don't have the Revenues. Where do they go?
36
MINUTES
SPECIAL JOINT MEETING OF THE
PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL,
PALM DESERT REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY, AND
PALM DESERT HOUSING AUTHORITY
APRIL 30, 2010
DG Umm...
PSG That's in our Revenue Sheet, Bob.
RAS Hmm?
DG Separate line item.
JM Paul doesn't let us claim it.
DG Right.
RAS I see.
JM We just get the expense.
RAS You gotta' pay for it, but you don't put...
JM Right.
PSG Yeah.
DG He's usually pre-, pretty conservative with his...estimates, but...
RAS So we'll buy $70,000 worth of merchandise, and we sold?
PSG Think it was 120- we budgeted for next year, is what I believe is in the budget.
DG This year we're looking at over 150,000 in Revenue.
RAS Okay, but then you may have to have more than 70,000.
DG Well, that's what we're bringing in this year with the 70,000 in "Cost of Goods Sold."
RAS But...with the new location...
DG Right.
RAS ...assuming you move...
DG Mmm-hmm.
RAS ...you're gonna' have more traffic. You have more traffic...
37
MINUTES
SPECIAL JOINT MEETING OF THE
PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL,
PALM DESERT REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY, AND
PALM DESERT HOUSING AUTHORITY
APRIL 30, 2010
JF You're gonna' get more sales.
RAS ...you're gonna' have more sales. You have more sales, you have to buy more goods.
(Laughter)
RAS It just goes that way.
JM But...that's a good...
DG We expect to have less...display.
RAS The last 42 years I learned that.
(Unclear)
JM That's...a good problem.
(Unclear)
RAS I'm just saying that that may not be enough. ...
PSG At mid -year they could always, we alw- could bump it up again (unclear).
DG Mmm-hmm.
RAS Okay.
CF Okay. Any questions?
RAS No.
CF No, okay?
JF Well, ...
CF Yes, you have a question? Sixty-nine.
Proiect Area #2 - Lepal - D. 69
JF What's our "Legal" for Project Area 2?
VT That's gonna' be anything associated with like Desert Willow, any of the projects that are
out there or any of the...implementation of the Project Area...Plan.
38
MINUTES
SPECIAL JOINT MEETING OF THE
PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL,
PALM DESERT REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY, AND
PALM DESERT HOUSING AUTHORITY
CF So why if our Projected Actual is 15,000, why are we doubling that?
APRIL 30, 2010
VT We have a lot of projects going on — we have the Kitchen that'll be going on next year,
the... Lakeview Terrace, the Parking Lot, there's gonna' be a lot...going on. So we thought
we would need to keep it at that level.
CF Got it.
Proiect Area #2 - Administration - p. 70
CF Page 70. And so, apparently not much we can do there.
Proiect Area #3 - Leaal - P. 71
RAS We do a lotta' legal stuff on page 71, that's all we got.
CF Mmm-hmm.
(Unclear)
CF I guess we don't have much going on in Project Area 3. Okay, so we'll take Project, or
page 72.
Proiect Area #3 - Administration - p. 72
CF That's pretty standard.
Proiect Area #4 - Leaal - D. 73
CF Seventy-three.
Proiect Area #4 - Administration - p. 74
CF Four. Pass -through to Agency.
Proiect Area #1 - Debt Service - p. 75
CF Seventy-five.
Project Area #2 - Debt Service - p. 76
CF Seventy-six.
JF It's all just Debt Service.
39
MINUTES
SPECIAL JOINT MEETING OF THE
PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL,
PALM DESERT REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY, AND
PALM DESERT HOUSING AUTHORITY
Project Area #3 - Debt Service - p. 77
CF Seventy-seven.
Proiect Area #4 - Debt Service - D. 78
CF Seventy-eight.
Housing Fund - p. 79
CF Okay, so 79 - Housing. Employees?
JMM Five.
CF Five?
JMM Five.
CF Thank you. Any questions on Housing?
RSK What was the number of employees?
CF Five.
JF Five.
CF Any questions? Nope, okay.
RAS They do a fine job.
Housing Authority - p. 80
CF Page 80.
Budget Comparison - All Properties - P. 81
CF Okay, 81.
JMM Pages...
JF I have a question.
CF On what page?
APRIL 30, 2010
40
MINUTES
SPECIAL JOINT MEETING OF THE
PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL,
PALM DESERT REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY, AND
PALM DESERT HOUSING AUTHORITY
JF Umm, I have 80.
CF Uhh-huh.
APRIL 30, 2010
JF Paul, can you tell me, 'cause we've got so many line items through here that say, "Legal,
Legal, Legal," and it's 30,000 here, 50,000 here, 15,000 here, what's our total Legal
Budget General Fund.
PSG For General Fund?
JF Yeah.
PSG Strictly? Not RDA?
JF No, let's do RDA, I'm sorry.
PSG Ahhh - I'II have to ask Veronica, she...that's her...
VT You know, there's a $15,000 Retainer from along their bill. But collectively, I'II have do
the math, because I don't have it with me right now.
JF If you could just give me a memo, that's fine.
VT Okay.
CF Okay, page 81.
JMM Pages 81 through 95...
(Unclear) Do you have it?
CF Mmm-hmm.
JMM ...are the...page 81 is actually the summary of all of the Housing Authority Properties.
The rest of...them are actually, feed back into this page, giving detail about each property.
CF Okay.
JMM If you look at it, the properties individually, you may see certain things go up, certain
things go down, but then in another property, they do exactly the opposite. So, it's easier
to...go through the All -Property Budget Comparison.
CF Mmm-hmm.
41
MINUTES
SPECIAL JOINT MEETING OF THE
PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL,
PALM DESERT REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY, AND
PALM DESERT HOUSING AUTHORITY
JMM If you'll notice...Revenues are down...
RAS Why?
APRIL 30, 2010
JMM ...for the Housing Authority, because Revenue, or rents in the marketplace right now are
down, and I mean across the board in the real market. Market rents at some of
the...premier properties are much less than they've been in the last five years. They are
offering free rent. They are offering three months free on a six-month lease. We've
actually had transitional folks move from our properties into one of those, because they've
done the math for the entire six months, and it's been less. Several properties
are...offering big screen TVs, things like that. So, what we've found is that our residents
at maybe the higher end of low are actually moving to other locations because they can
afford it. It is very similar to what our rents are, so we're having to accommodate our
lower incomes in our properties, and our rents, obviously, are taking [sic] down by that.
It's down by 71/2%. What we asked the Management Company to do, and we went
through with a red pen and said try to see what we can do to offset. We were able to
offset 5.6% of that reduction. That, some of the things at the properties, to be honest with
you, are just n-, uncontrollable, which is...utilities and, actually, maintenance and repairs.
They're just, they're set.
RAS Are we paying more to RPM?
JMM No. RPM has not raised their fee in two years. They employ all of their own staff;
however, they have as...they've watched what the City has done, they have employed
some of those same responsibilities to their own staff. They have not...filled vacancies
unless it was a crucial position. They have looked at that to see what they can do. But
they are fairly, what I'II say, budget -conscious on that aspect anyway. So, other than that,
I'd be happy to answer any other questions you may have. At the bottom of the page
there's Capital Expenses and Reserve Expense. The Capital Expense is the only big
item besides renovations that we may decide at a later time, and Carlos Ortega Villas is.
We need to repair a driveway at the property that's right over here that we can see,
Neighbors, it is cracked, and it is causing a problem. So we will be looking at repairing
sections of that concrete. The 444,000 in Reserve Expense is really the expenses that
are the deferred maintenance. The HVAC systems...some interior renovations, I think
on our Tour we saw how we go in and renovate the interior of a unit - that's what that is
for. Roof repair and maintenance and appliances, and that's typically what that is. If
anybody has any questions. But that does take you through page 95, I believe.
CF Mmm-hmm.
RAS Good report.
CF Yup. Very thorough, thank you.
42
MINUTES
SPECIAL JOINT MEETING OF THE
PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL,
PALM DESERT REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY, AND
PALM DESERT HOUSING AUTHORITY
APRIL 30, 2010
JMM Thank you.
VT Can I just answer Jim's question really quickly?
CF Oh, sure.
VT On the Legal - RDA has 118- total budgeted, 118,000. Housing has 135-, and Housing
Authority has 50,000, for a total of 303-.
JF Okay.
CF Could you go through that one more time? One eighteen...
VT One eighteen, 135-, and 50.
CF Thank you. Okay, any other questions? You guys are good to go?
JF An hour.
CF Cool. All right.
RSK That's easy. That was a good plan.
CF Thank you very much.
PSG Thank you.
JF Darn near worth the cost of cookie-...
(End of audio tape.)
V. ADJOURNMENT
With City Council/Agency Board/Authority Board concurrence, Mayor/Chairman/Chairman
Finerty adjourned the meeting at 2:0? p.m.
/
CINDY FINERT1, MAYOR/CHAVRMAN/CHAIRMAN
ATTEST:
RA HELLS D. KiSS J CITY CLERK/SECRETARY/SECRETARY
CITY OF PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA/PALM DESERT REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY/
PALM DESERT HOUSING AUTHORITY
43