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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1992 - MINUTES - 6/23/1992 CITY OF PALM SPRINGS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES JUNE 23, 1992 An Adj. Meeting of the City Council , of the City of Palm Springs, California, was called to order by Mayor Maryanov in the Council Chamber, 3200 Tahquitz Canyon Way, Tuesday, June 23, 1992, at 2:30 p.m. ROLL CALL: Present: Councilmembers Hodges, Lyons, Reller, Schlendorf, and Mayor Maryanov Absent: None REPORT OF POSTING OF AGENDA: Report of City Clerk: Agenda postpd in accordance with Council procedures on June 19; 1992. COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY: Mayor also convened as the Community Redevelopment Agency (see its Minutes for separate actions) . 1. PLAZA THEATER FUNDING: Refer to Community Redevelopment Agency Minutes of this date for discussion; after which, Resolution 17893, City Council counterpart action, re allocation of benefit to, (124- and transfer of debt from, various project areas to fund 074) the Plaza Theatre improvements, was presented; after which, it was moved by Lyons, seconded by Reller, and carried by the following vote, that R17893 be adopted: AYES: Reller, Lyons & Maryanov NOES: Hodges & Schlendorf ABSENT:, None APPROVAL OF MINUTES: It was moved by Schlendorf, seconded by Reller, and unani- mously carried, that the Minutes of May 12 and 26, 1992 be approved. PUBLIC COMMENTS: (Note: Two public comments were made during the "public comment" portion of the Study Session agenda, and reflected here as they related to adjourned meeting agenda matters) a) Jeremy Crocker, asked that a copy of the DDA with John Wessman be made available to the public; Assistant City Manager noted, that the document was very lengthy, in partial draft stages, and would be available as soon as it is totally packaged, in the City Clerk's Office on June 24. b) Sandy Bock, reemphasized her comments in support of the commercial traffic enforcement police officer. c) George Goldberg stated his opinion that Mr. Wessman is a "partner" of the Mayor, and that the Mayor should not have participated in discussion of the item. (Note: The Mayor did not participate in any discussion on the matter at this meeting, and stated he would abstain due to client relationship - refer to CRA Minutes this date). Council Minutes 6-23-92 Page 2 LEGISLATIVE ACTION, 1. PSDRCVB - FUNDING On June 17, Council continued discussion and/or direction concerning funding of the P.S. Desert Resorts Convention & Visitors Bureau. Mayor reported that the "convention" hotels, excluding the Autry, have endorsed an .8% increase in the T.O.T. which has been endorsed by the Bureau; that Desert Hot Springs will be cancelling its participation in the JPA, and will pay its final year dues, and will not participate in the increase as it does not have any convention hotels; that he would like to accept the proposal , subject to approval of all Bureau cities, except Desert Hot Springs, and assurance of legal counsel that the tiered application of the tax is possible. Councilmember Lyons reported that the Visitor & Promotion Board was not opposed to the compromise; that, personally, for however long it is in effect, the CVB should be looked at closely in terms of accountability and to demonstrate that the funding produced measurable, positive results; and that he did not want to hear later than they could not do it, or that a worse condition would have occurred had they not spent more money. Mayor stated that there are assurances that there will be follow-up, and that he felt if room occupancy goes (050- up materially, then he will consider it a good job, and 008) if it goes down, regardless of referrals or leads, he would not be happy about the job that was done. Councilmember Schlendorf stated that the Council should expect an increase in occupancy from LMI efforts, as well as the Visitor & Promotion Board and staff; that city employees have gone through the budget line-by-line, but she has not seen anything from the CVB in that regard; that she did not favor increasing funds when there has not been any concrete evidence of production from previous funding; that raising the T.O.T. makes the city less compet- itive; and that she favored moving one year from now to a pay for specific, performance/production basis. Councilmember Reller agreed that an increase in the tax will make the city less competitive, and that she was concerned about the duplication of effort regarding tourism, the amount being paid, and that there could be savings through consolidation; and that it is the hotelier, who must face the tourist as to what they owe. Mayor stated that the CVB offered to make a full presenta- tion, but he asked that it be delayed to a future study session; that the subject matter is different from the remainder of the CVB budget and that people who will be paying are the people who are asking for the increase; and that new members will be able to join without; fee for the first year, in order to discover the benefits of belonging to the Bureau. yakCouncil Minutes 6-23-92 Page 3 1. PSDRCVB FUNDING (Continued) Councilmember Hodges stated that the proposal is contingent upon all hotels accepting it; that it does not appear that it is 100% supported by the hotels; that she agreed with the concern about duplication of effort; that the May report from LM1 shows 5 leads from the CVB in one month, and 53 in eleven months; that the City is paying $400,000 and she did not consider so few a number of leads an equal benefit; that a T.O.T. of 11% would place the City at the highest end of the market, since most are between 8-9%; that the additional, 1% may be enough to send people to other places; that it is difficult to compare Palm Springs with Scotsdale, San Diego or Phoenix, yet it seems to be what happens; that , he is very concerned what the State Legislature may do'si.n„ terms of severely impacting the City's budget, and the T, O.T. may be needed to keep city fire and police personnel on the streets; and that the tax is not a hotel is money, rather is that of the tourist, collected by the hotel to be paid to the City; that it could be used by the City to pay for other matters, and an increase even on a voluntary basis could lead to a reputation of having a high room tax. Eric Langman, President of the P.S. Hotel Association, stated that it has been a divisive issue, and that the larger meeting room hotels feel they can absorb the addi- tional costs, and it is a good investment for their properties; that other non-meeting room hotels are opposed since it is a self-tax, and those who want to donate more to the CVB are free to do so; that there was some discussion that whether all meeting room properties should be forced into participation; and that there may be some properties which are non-meeting room hotels who may also want to participate. He stated that the Association supports the .8% increase, since it will only impact those members who are asking for its imposition. Herb Rafetto reported that collectively the large hotels have endorsed the .8% increase; that he did not contact The Autry, nor The Ramada International . Councilmember Hodges stated that she did not have a problem with the hotels wanting to increase their contribution in some way other than the Room Tax. Councilmember Schlendorf stated that she believes a market- ing unit is needed for the entire Valley, but each city has tourism divisions, chambers of commerce, advertising dollars, and Palm Springs, additionally, has the Visitors & Promotion Board, Convention Center Board, and LMI with marketing crews; that it is all a related issue; that she would like to see something more uniform, and on a formula basis to cover marketing and promotion, which would prevent duplication of service, because the Council would select what it wanted to use and wanted to pay for; that small and larger hotel properties cannot be marketed together; that under a production based system, the CVB would have earned $100,000 for the leads it provided; that she favored a more entrepreneurial approach; and that she would like to ask the Tourism Manager to work with the Visitor & Promotion Board and the CVB Executive Director to work out alternate funding that could be given to the JPA Board to work towards in the future: that in raising the tax, she wanted to make certain the room rate would not be lowered to compensate for the increase; that the tax was originally imposed to promote avid advertise Palm Springs through a local convention and visitors bureau; that the money has been used for other purposes; that she wanted to make certain the city remained competitive, OT' Council Minutes 6-23-92 Page 4 1.. PSDRCVB FUNDING (Continued) and also recognized that promotion of the entire valley serves to also promote Palm Springs, and vice versa; that she did not think the funds could be used for other purposes, e.g. , streets; and that the higher the tax becomes, the more difficult it is to collect. Mayor stated that he was not adverse to exploring alternate means of funding, however, the CVB must adopt its budget, and needs to know whether to proceed with 'the same amount as last year, or that amount plus the additional advertising dollars; that a one year' s payment is required to cancel participation in the JPA; and that he would favor some ability to not have to pay based on the additional advertising funding, if such a decision were made at the end of a year. Councilmember Lyons stated that he did not oppose proceeding, but also wanted a closer scrutiny and more information; that it is not appropriate for the CVB to staff a visitor center, which it advertises on the billboard on the Highway, yet no such sign is evident at the Atrium location; that the proposal is a result of efforts to work out a compromise funding mechanism, and was agreed to by the hoteliers. It was the consensus of the Council that the subject should be reviewed on an annual basis. It was moved by Lyons, seconded by Relle,r, and carried by the following vote, that the Council approves the concept of applying a .8% increase in TOT to "convention" hotels to be defined, for a trial period of one year, to be effective July 1, 1992, subject to legal counsel opinion concerning validity of imposing varying tax rates to separately defined types of hotels, and to concurrence by other city members of the Palm Springs Desert Resorts Convention & Visitors Bureau; and to condition that such an increase in participation in the PSDRCVB will not increase the base upon which final payment is calculated in the event the City desires to provide notice of cancella- tion of membership in the PSDRCVB; and directs the city staff to prepare the necessary ordinance, and other matters as may be required to effectuate these changes: AYES: Hodges, Lyons, Reller, & Mayor NO: Schlendorf ABSENT: None 2. 1992-93 BUDGET On June 17, Council continued adoption of the 1992-93 budget, to permit full Council participation in the decisions. Director of Finance distributed a revised schedule showing the net effect of changes discussed during the budget (061- review, noting that with the additional transfer of $38.4,000 014) from the PERS Fund, and revenue increases from proposed new fees, there would be a net cash balance;, over reserves, of $52,899; that the total operating funds (General and Community Promotion) is $34,347,132, and that the resolution adopting the budget, identifies the total appropriations for all other funds, e.g. , all enterprise funds, capital projects, debt service, internal services, etc. 0311 Council Minutes 6-23-92 Page 5 2. 1992-93 BUDGET (Continued) Assistant City Manager reported that the commercial traffic enforcement officer in the Police Department will remain in the Allocated Plan, but will not be funded, and that the Police Chief will analyze the situation whether revenues will offset the cost of the officer, and if so, the Director of Finance provide the appropriate transfer; and that the Director of ,Aviation has found $150,000 that can be appropriated to install a 6-foot sidewalk on the east side of Farrell Drive, from the DMV Building north to Vista Chino, which will address the concerns of providing handicapped access along the street in that area. Councilmember Hodges stated that if the narcotic task force officers are not per-Forming duties very much in Palm Springs, perhaps the funds would ' ,4:e better spent in support of the commercial traffic officer, where there is a possibility of retrieving some of the costs; and that perhaps all departments should review any position where changes are being made, if there is uncertainty whether it should be retained. Mayor stated that he did not feel such a decision should be made at this late date, rather that the Chief should proceed with the analysis; and that he anticipated early budget reviews for the coming year to begin in January. Councilmember Lyons stated that the chief will be asked to come back with recommendations, and the commercial traffic officer can be put back on patrol , likewise the narcotic task force, if that is necessary; that the budget is not a static document, and there will be on-going review; and that he would like to see long-term budget projections, not necessarily a single year. Resolution 17894 adopting the budget, as recommended, including Airport Fund appropriation of $150,000 for side- walk on Farrell Drive as noted, was presented; after which, it was moved by Reller, seconded by Schlendorf, and unani- mously carried, that R17894 be adopted. 3. CDBG - RIVERSIDE COUNTY OFFICE EDUCATION On June 17, Council continued consideration of Sub-recipient agreement with Riverside County Office of Education for $12,650 job training program in Desert Highland, under CDBG 91-92 - A3119. Assistant City Manager reported that (085- the agreement has been signed by the Office of Education. 001) Minute Order 5033, approving agreement, as recommended, was presented; after which, it was moved by Schlendorf, seconded by Reller, and unanimously carried, that MO 5033 be adopted. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, Mayor declared the meeting adjourned to June 29, at 2 p.m. , Large Conference Room, to continue board/commission applicant interviews. c J JUDITH SUMICH City Clerk