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HomeMy WebLinkAboutContibution COD Foundation - Man About TownSUBJECT: CITY OF PALM DESERT CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE AGENDA REPORT Consideration of Providing a Financial Contribution of $25,000, as Part of the College of the Desert Foundation "Man About Town" Fundraising Event, Benefiting the College of the Desert Public Safety Academy. SUBMITTED BY: Stephen Y. Aryan, Assistant to the City Manager DATE: February 22, 2007 ATTACHMENTS: 1. College of the Desert Foundation Correspondence RECOMMENDATION By Minute Motion: 1. CONSIDERATION of a $25,000 donation to the College of the Desert Foundation, benefiting the College of the Desert Public Safety Academy. BACKGROUND The College of the Desert (COD) Foundation has a fundraising venture where three distinguished men within the community will compete for the title of "Man About Town." Each of the candidates will be raising money for a different program at the College of the Desert. At a Grand Finale Event on March 24, 2007, votes will be case to see who wins the title of Man About Town. Palm Desert City Manager, Carlos L. Ortega, is one of these candidates and will be fundraising for student needs and instructional equipment, for the new Public Safety Academy at the College of the Desert. The COD Foundation indicated that such financial support would subsidize tuition costs, thereby increasing program enrollment and attracting more local candidates to be employed within the Coachella Valley's law enforcement agencies. The Foundation's goal is to raise $275,000 for the Public Safety Center. Mr. Ortega respectfully requests that Coachella Valley cities and Riverside County help reach this goal by contributing a minimum of .50 cents per permanent residents. If these local government agencies contribute this minimum amount, approximately $200,000 would be donated. The remaining $75,000 will be raised from private contributors, through attendance at three fundraising events. Based on the City of Palm Desert's population of 49,539, the requested financial contribution is approximately $25,000. ^ITY COUNCIL ,ACTION: APPROVED ✓ DENIED RECEI _ THER /Pk MEET G DATE AYESNOES : 1 . D Submitted by: Stephen Y./Aryan Assistant to the City ager ABSENT : ABSTAIN: J VERIFIED BY : J/ ' X. tYh t Driginal on File w City Clerk's Off MAN ABOUT TOWN Campaign to benefit College of the Desert Public Safety Academy January 1, 2007 Mayor Richard S. Kelly City of Palm Desert 73-510 Fred Waring Drive Palm Desert, Califomia 92260 Dear Mayor Kelly: On behalf of College of the Desert Foundation Auxiliary, I am heading a campaign to raise money for student needs and instructional equipment at the Public Safety Academy. The Academy, initiated at the College in 2001, provides a valuable service to the cities of the Coachella Valley and the County of Riverside. Local "home grown" cadets now attend the Academy, and after graduation they find jobs with local law enforcement. "Home grown" cadets means less turnover for our police departments. The graduates know the area, the people, and the climate. In addition, the ability of our police departments to hire POST certified candidates in our own back yard will mean significant savings to all cities. The cost of attending a full-time police academy is an expensive endeavor. Adding tuition, meals, housing and equipment, the costs for a municipality to pay for a new police officer to attend an academy can easily exceed $10,000. Historically, cities within Riverside County have sent their new officers to the Riverside County Sheriffs Department Clark Training Center in Riverside to accomplish this training. Students attending the COD Public Safety Academy can spend over $3,000 for training. The academy staff continuously look for funding to assist in reducing the cost for their students. They do this by asking for a multitude of donations to help students enrolled in the program complete their training. For example, a donation of $20,000 was needed to purchase bullet- proof vests, which are now used to outfit students during their training in the use of firearms. Our cities' participation in this campaign will help reduce this cost, and will help increase enrollment in the program in the future. This year, all our cities will benefit when ground is broken for the construction of the dedicated facility for the academy. The 29 million dollar facility is to be constructed in two phases and will be built on the Palm Desert campus using proceeds from the bond issue authorized by District voters in 2004. However, we must remember that money is still needed since the bond issue does not provide sufficient funds for student needs nor instructional equipment. I am certain you will agree with me that having a public safety training center is a win -win for our cities. First, it offers the ability to have our own valley residents trained; and second, it offers substantial savings on training costs. The academy has identified a list of needs that I am enclosing. Such needs total $275,000. I am asking the cities in the valley and the county to contribute a minimum of $.50 cents per permanent resident. Based on the valley population, this will amount to a total of $200,000. In addition to the amounts being asked from the cities, a citizen committee is organizing three events to raise funds from private sector contributors. The goal of that effort is to raise the rest of the funds needed. At the conclusion of this valley -wide campaign, we hope to have sufficient contributions to fully fund the needs of the Public Safety Academy program at College of the Desert. I sincerely hope your city is able to help in this endeavor that will benefit all of our communities. If you would like a meeting with me and/or the director of the Public Safety Academy to discuss this in more detail, please let me know. If you have any questions, please call me at (760) 776-6305. Sincerely, 6a4,44.. O er CARLOS L. ORTEGA PViLFC SAFETY ::... AEI ley Items Needed Include The Following DEFENSIVE TACTIC ITEMS Foam Batons Handcuffs Training Mats Lap Top Computers PHYSICAL FITNESS ITEMS Physical Fitness Uniforms Six foot Training Wall Training AudioNisual Equipment PT Barricades Computers/Printing Equipment Dummy Drag Training Equipment SCENARIO TESTING ITEMS Scenario DUD Library Training DUD's Multimedia Projectors Lap Top Computers Scenario Testing Props $31,000 $34,000 f27,000 FIRE TECHNOLOGY TRAINING ITEMS $45,000. Fire Technology Training Ladders Fire Technology DVD Library Cadet Uniforms Staff Uniforms Storage Containers Lap Top Computers Miscellaneous Training Equipment COMMUNICATION TRAINING ITEMS Portable Radios Communication Equipment Communication Supplies Training AudioNisual Equipment STUDENT ITEMS/GRANTS Uniforms Live Scan/Finger Print Checks Emergency Vehicle Operation Fees Ammunition for Range Leather Gear GENERAL TRAINING ITEMS Lap Top Computers (10) Safe for Weapons Safe for Testing Material Supplies for PSA Award Ceremony Portable Barricades Staff Desk and Chairs $34,000. $42,000, $35,000 RANGE EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES $27,000 Targets Lap Top Computers/Printers AudioNisual Equipment Shotguns Ammunition Multimedia Projectors Storage Cabinets Safe for Ammunition and Weapons