HomeMy WebLinkAboutPortola Cmnty Ctr Office Space Lease - Friends of the Dsrt Mtns CITY OF PALM DESERT
SPECIAL PROGRAMS DEPARTMENT
MODIFIED STAFF REPORT
REQUEST: Authorize Friends of the Desert Mountains to Occupy Office
Spaces 1 and 2 at the Portola Community Center on a Permanent
Basis and Direct Staff to Update the Portola Community Center
Leasing and Operating Policy and Investigate Budget Saving
Measures
SUBMITTED BY: John Wohlmuth, City Manager
Frankie Riddle, Director of Speciat Programs
DATE: September 24, 2009
CONTENTS: City Council Meeting Minutes of July 9, 2009
Recommendation:
By Minute Motion,
1. Authorize Friends of the Desert Mountains to occupy o�Fice spaces 1 and 2 at the
Portola Community Center on a permanent basis; and
2. Direct staff to update the Portola Community Center Leasing and Operating
Policy; and
3. Investigate the interest of the tenant(s) to undertake the operation (secretarial,
scheduling, janitorial services, landscaping, etc.) of the facility and terminate the
Coachella Valley Recreation & Parks District Agreement ($53,000/yr) relative to
the Portola Community Center's operation.
Discussion:
At its meeting of July 9, 2009, City Council approved the leasing of finro additional office
spaces at the Portola Community Center to Friends of the Desert Mountains on a
temporary basis and directed staff to review the current Portola Community Center
Lease Policy. As noted above, staff's recommendation is to permanently lease office
spaces 1 and 2 to Friends of the Desert Mountains at an annual cost of$5,130.00. At
this time, staff does not have an amended lease policy; however, staff is requesting City
Council direction relative to items 2 and 3 noted above in order to better implement long
term changes and cost savings that are beneficial to the tenants, facility users, and the
City.
Currently, the City pays for all of the utilities (i.e. gas, electric, water, trash) as well as
the costs associated with staffing the facility, building maintenance, and landscaping.
CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
SEPTEMBER 24, 2009
PAGE 2
The annual operation costs have been estimated at approximately $80,000. Staff
believes there is potential savings if the tenants provide the City and the community
some of the services to operate the Portola Community Center such as custodial,
secretarial, and community room reservations. Therefore, recommendation 3 should be
reviewed and considered and brought back for Council action.
Staff requests that City Council authorize Friends of the Desert Mountains to occupy
office spaces 1 and 2 at the Portola Community Center on a permanent basis and direct
staff to update the Portola Community Center Leasing and Operating Policy and
investigate budget saving measures.
Submitted By: Approval:
�
-`�--�--LJ
Franki i dle hn M. Wohlmuth
Director of Special Programs ity Manager
CiTY COUNCILAC�ON
.APPROVED DENiED_ -
RECEIVED ��
MEETI G DATE " �
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AB3TAINs
VERIFIED BYs �
Ori�inAl on FHte w►ttb Cit� rk's Ot�i�
* By Minute Motion, authorized Friends of the Desert Mountains
to occupy Office Space Nos. l and 2 at the Portola Co�unity
Center on a permanent basis and to leave the policy and fee
structure as it is presently. 5-0
` ' � MINUTES
REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING JULY 9, 2009
D. REQUEST FOR EXTENSION AND AMENDMENT OF CONTRACT WITH
COACHELLA VALLEY PRINTING GROUP FOR PRINTING OF TEN (10)
ISSUES OF THE BRIGHTSIDE NEWSLETTER FOR FISCAL
YEAR 2009-2010 (CONTRACT NO. C27841).
Councilman Kelly moved to, by Minute Motion: 1)Approve a one-year extension of
the subject contract for printing of the BrightSide newsletter for a total amount not to
exceed $60,480 for FY 2009-2010; 2) amend the contract to reduce the number of issues
from 12 to 10; 3) authorize the Mayor to execute said contract — funds are available in
Account No. 110-4417-414-3610. Motion was seconded by Benson and carried by a 3-1
vote, with Ferguson voting NO and Spiegel ABSENT.
E. REQUEST FOR APPROVAL OF AMENDED PORTOLA COMMUNITY
`��� CENTER LEASE AGREEMENT.
Councilman Ferguson stated he noticed in the last issue of the Brightside the
City was advertising for applications to lease space. It was his
understanding the Portola Community Center was currently fully occupied.
Ms. Riddle responded the Council awarded two offices on a temporary basis
to Friends of the Desert until June 30, 2009, and that's what staff was
advertising for. Further responding, she said Council made the decision to
award on a temporary basis in November.
Councilman Ferguson asked if staff was under the impression that Council
meant to kick Friends of the Desert out.
Ms. Riddle answered yes, because the two offices were awarded on a
temporary basis until June 30, 2009.
Councilman Ferguson stated he would like to revisit that decision.
Councilmember Benson thought it was given to the Historical Society with
the Friends of the Desert having an office there.
Ms. Riddle said Friends of the Desert already had three permanent offices
there and two additional offices were awarded on a temporary basis for a
total of five offices. She said the building had a total of seven offices, and
it was her understanding or policy that the Community Center was supposed
to be provided to as many nonprofit organizations in the community as
possible.
Councilman Ferguson questioned if thatwas a Council decision, because the
Henderson Building was supposed to be available to as many nonprofit's as
possible,yet it was largely dominated by the Chamber of Commerce. Friends
of the Desert Mountains raised valuable funds that bought up space and
saved City money. At a minimum, he thought Friends of the Desert should
15
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� MINUTES
REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING JULY 9, 2009
have been contacted before advertising. He said the City had three buildings
that could be rented out to nonprofit groups; the Brothers Building, Portola
Community Center, and the Henderson Building. He didn't mind that
something as valuable as the Chamber took up a majority of the space at the
Henderson Building or that Friends of the Desert Mountains took a
disproportion amount of space in the Portola Community Center. He would
like to revisit the discussion to whatever was said in November.
Mayor Pro Tem Finerty recalled it was a fight to allow Friends of the Desert
to get into the temporary offices, but they were vacant at the time. She
thought staff would have at least contacted someone and asked if they
wished to continue using those offices, and then allow Council to decide
weather to allow them to stay or open it up for other nonprofit organizations
instead of just advertising on an assumption. She asked Ms. Riddle if
someone had contacted Friends of the Desert to ask if they wished to stay.
Ms. Riddle answered no. Further responding regarding the advertisement,
she said one application was received, but the organization didn't qualify.
Councilmember Benson suggested that staff not receive any more
applications until it checked with Friends of the Desert to see if they wanted
the two offices.
Mayor Pro Tem Finerty stated that perhaps this matter could be continued
to the meeting in August, and in the meantime direct staff to contact Friends
of the Desert and return to the Council with their answer, and then allow the
Council to make a decision.
Ms. Riddle responded staff could do that, but the item on the agenda was
just to amend the lease to include the City's recycling policy. The Council
could still make a decision as far as the two offices, but it shouldn't hold up
the approval of the amended lease.
Mayor Pro Tem Finerty stated what caught her eye was the information on
page two of the staff report, where staff indicated they had advertised for the
two offices occupied by Friends of the Desert Mountains in the July/August
Brightside issue.
Ms. Riddle stated thatwas meantto be additional information forthe Council,
but had nothing to do with the recommendation for this item.
Councilman Kelly stated approval on this item would amend the leases to
include recycling for the Community Center.
16
1
' MINUTES
REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING JULY 9, 2009
Counciiman Kelly moved to, by Minute Motion, approve: 1) Amended Portola
Community Center Lease Agreement; 2) Amended Leases with Friends of the Desert
Mountains and the Palm Desert Historical Society for the Portola Community Center
(Contract Nos. C29140 and C29150, respectively}, with further directed staff to return to
the City Council on August 27, 2009, with a policy for the rental of office space at Portola
Community Center. Motion was seconded by Ferguson.
Councilman Ferguson asked what was the City doing with the recycling
program at the Portola Community Center.
Ms. Riddte responded that containers similar to what the City had were put
in there, and staff was educating the tenants on the City's recycling program
and trying to get them to participate because of AB839. Staff was trying to
carry it out in all the city-owned buildings and facilities. Further responding,
she said staff already started the implementation, but the lease had to be
amended to include the recycling program with the Historical Society and
Friends of the Desert.
Councilman Ferguson suggested doing nothing until Friends of the Desert
was contacted, because he's seen organizations be bumped out. He didn't
like the current policy, which was why he firmly believed one needed to be
set, and he was willing to do that on August 27, 2009.
Mr. Wohlmuth recommended Council approve amending the leases for
recycling and direct staff to look at the polices at the Portola Community
Center in terms of leases, because the City significantly subsidized leases
in that building with energy, maintenance, custodial,secretarial, reservations,
and landscaping services. He said staff will return with a policy for Council
to review on August 27, 2009. However, he was in possession of the City
Council minutes of November 20, 2008, where Council specifically granted
Friends of the Desert Mountains a month-to-month stay and not go pass
June 30, 2009. He said perhaps that was one of the reasons staff went out
to advertise.
Mayor Pro Tem Finerty stated she recalled it was supposed to be month-
to-month through June 30 and then Council was going to take a look at it.
Mr. Wohlmuth replied that was not what the motion reflected.
Councilman Ferguson reiterated that's why he wanted to revisit that decision
this evening, and he was not blaming staff at all. He said Coachella Valley
Association of Governments (CVAG) occupied a majority of the space at the
Brother's Building, but it was an important institution and valuable to have
there. He felt the same about the Chamber of Commerce taking a
disproportion amount of space at the Henderson Building, but why the
Council gave Friends of the Desert temporary quarters as opposed to
permanent was beyond him, but he will go back and look at his notes.
17
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` � MINUTES
REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING JULY 9, 2009
However, at a minimum, given all that the Friends of the Desert had done,
check to see what would work best for them before going out and advertise.
In his opinion, it appeared the City was snubbing them and running an ad to
replace them. He thought a better policy was needed for the Portola
Community Center.
Mayor Pro Tem Finerty called for the vote and it carried on a 4-0 vot�
F. CONSIDERATION OF INFORMATIONAL REPORT R GARDING
LAFCO 2009-04-4, THE REORGANIZATION TO INCLUDE
ANNEXATION 89 (INDIO TRAILS) TO THE CITY OF INDIO AND
CONCURRENT DETACHMENTS FROM THE RIVERSIDE COUNTY
WASTE RESOURCES MANAGEMENT DISTRICT.
Councilman Ferguson stated he represented Indio Trails two years ago and
didn't believe he had a legal conflict, but probably an appearance of one. He
said he would abstain on this item and left the Council Chamber.
Assistant Planner Missy Grisa stated the City occasionally received notices
from Riverside Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) for the
opportunity to either comment or request more information. The City had
requested to reattached Sun City to Palm Desert's sphere of influence at the
request of Sun City residents, and the proposed annexation of Indio Trails
was directly north of Sun City Palm Desert. Staff was neither in favor nor
against this project; this was strictly a policy decision. Staff was simply
looking to see if the Council had comments so it could respond. If there were
none, this will just be an informational report to the Council.
Councilman Kelly noted Sun City had an active board and wondered if staff
had asked them if they had any comments.
Ms. Grisa responded it had not, but agreed to do so.
Councilman Kelly said it seemed this whole annexation was set up to satisfy
the people in that area because the annexation included five acres of
commercial. He said the City needed to make sure Sun City residents were
comfortable.
Ms. Grisa pointed out that comments were required to be returned by
July 30, 2009. She offered to contact the board of Sun City and either return
to Council with their comments or forward them directly to LAFCO.
Responding to question,she said ifthere were no comments to offer, nothing
would be filed.
Mr. Wohlmuth stated the City received many notices from LAFCO on
potential annexations by other cities, and the City normally didn't comment.
The only reason this item was on the agenda was because the Council
18
CITY OF PALM DESERT
COMMUNITY SERVICES DEPARTMENT
STAFF REPORT
REQUEST: Request for City Council Direction Pertaining to Leasing of Office
Space to Friends of the Desert Mountains and Fee Structure at the
Portola Community Center
SUBMITTED BY: Frankie Riddle, Director of Special Programs
DATE: September 24, 2009
CONTENTS: Cost Breakdown
Recommendation:
By Minute Motion,
1) Provide direction to staff relative to one of the following options:
a. Restrict the number of office spaces that one organization may occupy to
a maximum of three (3); or
b. Do not place a restriction on the number of office spaces that one
organization may occupy and allow Friends of the Desert Mountains to
occupy five (5) offices within the Portola Community Center; and consider
2) Providing direction to staff relative to one of the following options:
a. Direct staff to review existing fee structure for tenants and users of the
Portola Community Center and return for City Council consideration; or
b. Retain existing fee structure.
Discussion:
Recently, a request was made by Friends of the Desert Mountains to occupy additional
offices at the Portola Community Center left vacant by the relocation of the Desert Cancer
Foundation. This brought about discussion regarding the existing procedure restricting the
number of offices any one organization may occupy within the Portola Community Center.
The original intended use of the Portola Community Center was, in essence, to serve as an
incubator for non-profit organizations in the start up phase of their operation. As such, the
facility has assisted many non-profit organizations over the years to become established. In
the past, other organizations have requested additional office space after moving in to
accommodate their increased need for space but none have been allowed to occupy more
than three offices. Leasing of office space was restricted to three offices in order to
accommodate as many organizations as possible while providing sufficient space to meet
start up needs.
CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
SEPTEMBER 24, 2009
PAG E 2
Outlined below are some pros and cons of allowing one organization to occupy an unlimited
number of offices vs. imposing a maximum occupancy of three offices by any one
organization:
PROS: CONS:
❑ Fewer organizations occupy building ❑ Narrowing of the community benefit
❑ Less administrative time ❑ Significant subsidizing of one organization
❑ Same revenue regardless of the ❑ Will only benefit one or finro organizations
number of organizations leasing space ❑ Elimination of incubator office spaces
for non-profits
Prior to this issue, staff reviewed the operation costs associated with the Portola Community
Center and considered proposing an increase in the lease rate as well as implementing a
flat fee for temporary use of the facility; however, staff felt that with the economic downturn,
proposing a fee increase at that time would have caused financial stress on the non-profits
at a time when donations were very low. Given the proposed change in the number of
offices an organization may occupy, staff felt that City Council should be aware of the
financial cost to the City.
To give Council an idea of the City's expenditures and revenue pertaining to the Portola
Community Center, staff has prepared the following breakdown:
There are currently two (2) tenants (Friends of the Desert Mountains and the Palm Desert
Historical Society) that lease office space and approximately 31 other non-profit
organizations and community groups that utilize the two large conference rooms at the
Portola Community Center.
Lease revenue and expenses of the Portola Community Center:
REVENUE:
1. Friends of the Desert Mountains currently pays an annual lease rate of $12,150.00
for five office spaces; and
2. The Palm Desert Historical Society currently pays an annual lease rate of $2.00 for
two office spaces.
3. Temporary use of the facility's two large community rooms by non-profit
organizations and community groups is provided free of charge.
Total Annual Revenue to the City: $12,152.00
EXPENSES:
The approximate annual cost to operate the Portola Community Center is
$80,000.00 (i.e., utilities, landscaping, building maintenance, and CVR&P District
staff/Agreement).
TOTAL DEFICIT TO OPERATE THE PORTOLA COMMUNITY CENTER:
$67,848.00 Annually
CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
SEPTEMBER 24, 2009
PAGE 3
As an example, staff prepared an analysis of expenses vs. use (attached) to determine the
actual fee that tenants would pay for its actual use of the facility. The attached analysis only
addresses the tenants of the facility, not the temporary facility users; however, if directed by
City Council, staff would review the appropriate flat rate fee to establish for these users as
well.
Staff requests that City Council provide direction relative to the options noted in the
recommendations above.
Submitted By: Approval:
,
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Franki�µRiddle J n M. Wohlmuth
Director of Special Programs ty Manager
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