HomeMy WebLinkAbout2001 - MINUTES - 4-24-2001 WORKSHOP (2)Council Workshop
04-24-01, Page 1
WORKSHOP
CITY OF PALM SPRINGS
APRIL 24, 2001
CALL TO ORDER
A. ROLL CALL – All Present
B. REPORT POSTING OF AGENDA: City Clerk reported the Agenda was posted
in accordance with Council procedures.
C. PUBLIC COMMENTS:
Howard Lapham, resident, gave handout to Council, copy attached, and read
same.
Tom Suitt, resident, stated that the PSEDC was formed to advance economic
issues for the City; that a diverse economy is needed to include light green and
high tech industry; that the City needs to join in a public/private partnership to
provide for marketing efforts; that a task force could be formed to include the
Indians to focus on promoting Palm Springs; and that the PSEDC wants to assist
the City and help it in its vision plans.
Christine Hammond, stated that a lot of discussion is needed and should include
the business and residential communities; and that as the plan is prepared and a
vision is formalized input is needed.
John Stiles, stated that the support by the City for economic development is
evaporating; that the City has a policy for obtaining low-income jobs, but one is
needed for high-end jobs; that the BREP program was a good example of
support by the City until the program goals were to be implemented; that the City
Attorney at that point determined that the person selected to so the marketing
would not do the job; that the momentum has been lost for the program; that
marking takes time; that it is a constant battle to support the effort; that the
bottom determination is if the Council is business friendly and is the Planning
Department cooperative is helping to get businesses started; and that the City
needs a good program for marketing its assets.
Ernie Noia, stated that there are two items that need to be considered; that
employees in this area are not trained for high-tech jobs and there are no
incentive packages to lure business to the City; that the City needs incentives to
entice businesses to locate here; and suggested that other incentive packages
be reviewed to determine what Palm Springs can offer.
Joy Meredeith, stated that a balance needs to be found between business
development and quality of life; that some of the qualities that entice people to
move to Palm Springs are now gone; that it is difficult to balance between
bringing people to the City through tourism and maintaining the level of quality of
life the residents want; and added that most of the actions thus far by the Council
are thoughtfully considered and fully supported by the merchants.
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MEETING CONVENED IN WORKSHOP MODE: Comments by Members of the Council
are summarized and combined.
Toni Graphos, self-introduction and added that the time set may not be enough time to
get to where the Council wants to go; that typically interviews are held before a
workshop is conducted, but that some issues will come out; that the floor could be
opened to list general and specific areas of City government that affect residents,
Councilmember and staff relationships; that the role of stakeholders in the process
would be discussed and those groups that are impacted during the planning process.
Summary of Council: Residents, tourists, business community; employees, investors,
administrative staff, Tribe, seasonal and permanent residents, seniors, youth, school
district, kids, minorities, women, racial, gay, Hispanic, a various assortment of ethnic
groups.
Facilitator: How is input given at this time.
Council: EDC, neighborhood groups, commissions and boards, task forces, ad-hocs,
volunteers.
Facilitator: Right away see a whole bunch of people who will be impacted by any
priorities set by the Council; that the Council should now focus on issues that directly
relate to the residents.
Council: Quiet enjoyment and cost of living; there are certain elements that can’t be
changed; that all is relative when it come to the determination of quiet enjoyment; that
the community changes and the boundaries change, that safety, healthcare are issues.
Facilitator: Cost of living may include taxes, rents, utilities, schools, property values,
transportation; availability of services and quality of life are what?
Council: Variety of commercial and social services, recreation, night skies, libraries,
airport, transportation for ground, rail, air, bus, taxi, life long learning, jobs, training in
vocational, higher education and traditional; entertainment, churches, residents want
respect and to be treated fairly, to have a voice and be acknowledged as a stakeholder.
Audience: Issues are peace and quiet, night skies, visual enjoyment, positive
relationship with City government, parks, open space, trails, landscaping.
Council: Some valley cities have only one church; we have a significant aspect in
community; that the churches are a part of the city and help bring the community
together; that religion and spiritual diversity is prominent.
Facilitator: Audience is indicating sensible and sensitive growth and development; that a
lot of what was said applies to both the seasonal and perm resident; these are broad
categories and there may be specific needs; and questioned what do the stakeholder
have in common.
Council: Need of affordable housing, investors see a need for positive experience in
building, planning and with City Attorney. childcare issues, parking, downtown, economic
health of City, City finances, arts and cultural issues.
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Facilitator: What’s responsibility in dealing with residents, can Council and staff do it all?
What is obligation?
Council: Listen and care, do what we are empowered to do, be policymakers, staff
implements vision via City Manager.
Facilitator: What works.
Council: Allow Council as a body to direct City Manager, power of Council is equal to all,
can talk to staff, but not direct staff, City Council represents residents.
Facilitator: How is voice of residents heard.
Council: Through boards and commission, informal, and one on one contact.
Council: Part of issues is each member is elected, and your decision is based on who
you are and how you think, that the public is listened to and determination is made by
the voters if they feel they are being heard.
Audience: Feel are being heard, but no action is being taken; one problem is
communication between the business community and residents; that Council has not
brought its business plan for the community forward, and the private sector is willing to
put up bucks to support the economic marketing of the City.
Facilitator: Sounds like with all the methods that the City has, something is lacking to
get things accomplished.
Audience: There is a lack of understanding; that the City is no longer a quaint little
village; but there is no emphasis by the Council for the business community and the
Council to work together if one is not on a board or commission.
Council: The Council works through and with ad-hocs, task forces and boards and
commissions; when those bodies are appointed that they should report to the Council
with direction and recommendations; that the Council sometimes embraces the
recommendations and sometimes not; that there has been ad-hocs for economic
development; that the result is always the same, more city financial support is requested;
that generally the City can not afford the request, and economically it is a downfall.
Audience: Right now the City is spending $400,000 plus for economic development and
getting no bang for the buck.
Council: Accountability is needed.
Audience: If a President doesn’t perform you get rid of them, if a Councilmember
doesn’t perform they do not get re-elected.
Council: The Council is in a constant state of evaluation; that the goals and objectives
are reviewed and when not achieved, they hold themselves responsible.
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Audience: Why can’t the Council listen to the people who deal with the City; all that is
asked for is a task force to get a working plan for the City together and to go forward;
that a neighborhood program is trying to be established, that it will be a good vehicle for
residents to express concern; and that the neighborhoods will be specifically
represented.
City Manager: The City is trying to do most of what is being mentioned, the Office of
Neighborhood Involvement is being formed; that all are components of a problem that is
not difficult to be solved; that as each piece will pick up momentum, a result will happen;
the City does need economic incentives, and the parking issues are being solved, little
by little.
Audience: Successes of the City need to be made known.
City Manager: Successes are small; the Council not only deals through the democratic
process, but also must face political and personal agendas.
Facilitator: Even though the time is limited, the issues should not be diluted; that the
Council needs to deal in a realm of consensus and balance and the priorities need to be
known.
City Manager: All comes a full circle; the Council sets the priorities and brings it to the
table; whether it is a quality of life issue or a parking issue.
Council: Community ownership is needed; that if a plan is not satisfactory to all it will not
be supported or agreed to; that input is needed to be added to the development of the
plan; that everyone in the room loves Palm Springs and their own view of what should
be is the right view; that part of the balance needed is for everyone to understand what it
feels like to be the final decision maker.
Facilitator: There seems to be a sticking point, a clog between people being heard and
policy determination; that there is needed to be accountability to establish priorities and
for staff to implement them; that somewhere in the process is a clog from the
stakeholder to the Council or the Council to the staff.
Council: Some in the City thinks things are going fine; those who are saying they aren’t
being heard are just not getting what they want.
Facilitator: How does the Council judge items?
Council: Not sure, most things are done as they are needed, but the City does not have
the money to do all it wants; more economic development, tourists and development in
downtown is needed; that when more tourists are brought in, some of the residents get
angry; that it is one thing to try to strengthen the economy, and another to get revenue to
support the service levels that are demanded by the residents; that ways are sought to
try to increase revenue to balance against those quality of life issues; that some are
festivals, those who live where the festivals are held, don’t want festivals; that a new
aspect of economic development needs to be found, that when tourism takes a dump,
the City will take a dump; that the Council is trying to get businesses to come to the City;
that the real drive is revenue generation for quality of life issues; that there are some
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revenue sources that are viewed to destroy quality of life in some opinions; that some
Cities like the City of Industry, do not even have quality of life.
Facilitator: How do stakeholders help determine the increasing of revenue.
Council: Plans are brought to the Council, it queries if the project was reviewed by
organizations, like Main Street, and the business community; that the impact is
reviewed; that the Chamber reviews the proposals; and that dialogue is interfaced
thought both bodies.
Facilitator: What is the City’s source of revenue.
Council: TOT, Sale, property, utility taxes and franchise fees; with the key generator as
TOT.
Facilitator: Are there other sources of revenue.
City Manager: Yes, but the City has chosen to derive its income mostly from TOT.
Facilitator: TOT increase means more bodies, sales tax is fixed rates, to increase
means more stores and more people, we can build more, do annexations and increase
property values; that the utility tax is fixed.
Audience: Another source of revenue is grants.
City Manager: Realistically when the grants end, the City takes the hit to continue to
provide for the service.
Council: Grants empower funding to be increased; that the Tribe donates generously to
the City, for bricks and mortar, not to the general fund for expenses. That COMMUNITY
OWNERSHIP OF INCREASE REVENUE VS QUALITY OF LIFE is the focus. That it is
a firm belief that one should buy Palm Springs first; that the residents need to be
educated to that mode.
Facilitator: Are the tourists different now than they have been, is it the judgment of the
Council to keep the profile of the tourists the same; does service need to be kept the
same level or changed and are judgments reflected in policy.
Audience: The downtown is going well, people are coming back to Palm Springs, and
there is three major box deals that will be coming to town.
City Manager: The issues facing the City are not difficult, that it is just a matter of
determining resources and the policies established by Council.
Council: With a $40 million budget the City should be able to do all.
City Manager: There are ways to consolidate services, such as combining police and
fire services; but, when one looks at cost cutting, the efficiency must also be examined;
that with incentives, such as early retirement, 50 people could be cut, and replaced with
25 with the impact to the citizens as non-existent.
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Facilitator: Is there a mandate to cut?
City Manager: My role is to make any cuts transparent to the citizens.
Council: Over the next two years the budget will be back in balance; that the staff is
looking for direction of what the Council wants to do; that the method used by Council is
step by step, progressional change in the downtown was implemented, investment and
reinvestment started, then when the change got to the mall, the entire project stumbled.
Facilitator: Who are the experts in the downtown?
Council: Chamber, hospitality groups, Jerry Ogburn.
Facilitator: Satisfied with results?
Council: No, yes, No, not happy with the structure, the City Manager only knows what is
going on by osmosis, we lean towards one direction, then change direction; we are not
sure of the parts of economic development, we have a director of economic
development, director of redevelopment, downtown director, all a part of economic
develop, but don’t know where one starts and one stops, how are they interconnected
with the business community; when someone comes to make an investment in the
community, they are first directed to a department that is compliance and regulatory, that
is not the place to start; the three directors seem to have overlapping duties, they kind of
fall over each other.
Facilitator: Who determines City structure?
City Manager: My role, intention is “not to throw the bums out”, but determine who does
what and priorities of the Council.
Council: In some instances, the structure is working, City government needs someone
to sell the City; we have bureaucrats, we need the bureaucrats, but also need
salesperson; there are two things that are unsatisfactory, Council has not given direction
for structure to City Manager, but need funding to complete the direction and need
accountability.
Facilitator: Goals are 1) be efficient in City costs/function & budgets; 2) enhance
revenues 3) protect quality of life, 4) involve people in the process, 5) be clear about the
process, 6) evaluate outcome and have accountability.
City Manager: Can get lean & mean, but eventually get a lean as one can, and come to
the point where demands can not be met, more revenue is needed to provide service
demand.
Facilitator: If need is to increase revenues, then the priorities come in; need more
bodies, need more development; where do we go with that and still protect the quality of
life, one way to keep residents happy is to involve them in the process.
Council: Mean & lean won’t continue quality of life, that means the cutting of services;
that the filter should be for anything we do is to use the drive to increase revenue and
protect the quality of life; if the project does not meet the criteria, we get rid of it, if we
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have accountability for each project and be honest in evaluating outcomes, we will be
able to look at why we are getting nowhere.
Facilitator: In today’s world, non-profits are not just given funding, it has to show how
the funding will affect the bottom line, more services have to be given to more people, or
the job has to be done better or cheaper.
City Manager: One accountability for Council is the supplemental budget that the
departments will be preparing to include with the budget indicating service levels.
Facilitator: What are benchmarks?
City Manager: The benchmarks are developed with standards, at the end of the year the
questions is, were they met.
Council: At the next session need to set up filters for departments.
Facilitator: Not familiar with City government standards; will need info on how Cities
establish accountability; there should be standards available, will work with City Manager
to obtain the information.
Council: If go through all the process we are accused of being slow, if model is a series
of steps it must be balanced so that in the end the deal is not killed, need to streamline
the process, need help to get there.
Audience: This is good beginning, will take time to get a process in place, once the
process is sold to the residents, things will move more quickly.
Council: Both fear barriers, the residents should not be thinking them and us, we
represent everyone in the City, we on Council do not all think alike, we are not finished
here, the City Manager needs to get intentions for next workshop to Council and input of
citizens is appreciated.
City Manager: Sitting in the middle is the budget work that needs to be done.
Council: Workshop will ultimately drive the budget issues; but this work should not stall
the present budget.
Facilitator: Need concrete things in a budget; also want to include accountability;
Council sets policy for increased revenue and quality of life issues; revenue is where
economic development, environmental, business community comes in, Council says
need to determine policy, need to bite the bullet and proceed, some toes may be
stepped on, but ultimately need to stand by decision of consensus of buy-in; when
getting advise from Boards/Commissions/neighborhood groups, how do they get
expectations so high to believe recommendations will be endorsed by Council.
Council: Advise Board/Commissions that not all recommendations may be accepted by
Council, groups do not dictate Council actions; it is Council’s ultimate decision that
stands; reality is the groups are advisory only.
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Audience: Board/Commissions are support function to be good advisors, but need to
understand short and long term vision of City to understand why changes are proposed,
if don’t know what the vision is and provide a recommendation that is not approved it
results in anger.
Council: Hear the point, if the vision is clear, the Board and Commission will work
towards that vision, but there are some issues, where folks are more invested, and feel
strongly, no matter the vision.
Facilitator: Hearing something with the perception that if people don’t get way and are
unhappy, there is something wrong with that, is the priority then, that people be less
unhappy? If council sets up a group and gives them a charge, but the reality is the issue
is not important, then frustrating; what is the accountability of the Council in that case.
Council: Some felt that was the case of the Charter Review Committee, but in the end
the focus was to see how to use the Charter to the City’s advantage; the report back was
valuable to the City, but there were no recommendations the Council could use.
Facilitator: Will meet with City Manager to prepare for next workshop and get possible
dates for it.
ADJOURN