One PS - February 2024 Meeting

Vista Las Palmas Neighbors Foundation One PS Meeting

ONE-PS February 2024 Meeting

Greetings neighbors,

The ONE-PS meeting was held Tuesday afternoon, February 13th at the Palm Springs Police Training Center. Your neighborhood rep from Vista Las Palmas was present virtually.

City Librarian  Jeannie Kays.. You don’t have to be a Palm Springs resident to have a PS library card. PS Library members are able to view New York Times online through: palmspringsca.gov/government/departments/library  The Desert Sun from 1938 – 1985 has been digitally archived.  Over 17K eBooks and 5K magazines.

Architects will be present at ONE-PS picnic to answer questions about new library. The 34K sqft footprint will remain the same. Library built in 1975. Very dated infrastructure like no fire sprinklers. Needs to be seismically retrofitted. Needs new HVAC. Over $2M to fix cracked concrete that has rusted rebar. Construction will take 2 years. Library will be closed during construction. Community outreach programs will be run while library is closed for construction.

Friends of PS Library established circa 1971 to support various programs/services.

PS Library Public Library Foundation establish approximately 7/8 years ago to support various infrastructure type initiatives.

Mayor Jeffrey Bernstein – Hired contractor to update City zoning. Extend moratorium on new cannabis licenses for 4 years. Lowered city tax from 10% to 5% to align with other Coachella Valley communities. Presently there are 36 cannabis licenses. 

City added $1M for tenant assistance like rental deposit or utility bills. Thus far program has helped over 200 Palm Springs families. Palm Springs will receive between $2M to $3M over 10 years from opioid settlement. Will step up code enforcement at various stalled projects like Orchard Tree, Serena Park (abandoned golf course at end of O’Farrell), and the Historic Racquet Club.

City nixed plans for a Starbucks at North Palm Canyon and Racquet Club primarily due to its drive through focus. Very few seats would be provided at this location. Starbucks is now focusing more on the drive through concept for its stores. Palm Springs Disposal seeks to hire people out of the Navigation Center.

Still working on Airport master plan. Plan 1A chosen. (Keeps original Wexler concourse). Plan to double capacity in 20 years. 1/3 of PSP passengers are local. (Airport isn’t just for tourists)

College of the Desert (COD) expected to break ground this summer. Hope to enroll students in 2027. 97% of Palm Springs students qualify for a free or reduced cost lunch. (This is a metric to measure poverty.) Will have a culinary program and the only casino management program in CA. COD plans a 5 year architecture program with Cal State Poly.

City Manager Scott Stiles – Sometime between April & June 2024 the new location for Fire Station #1 will be presented to City Council. How should old station be repurposed?

Mr. Stiles introduced Mr. Dana MacAllister who oversees Building & Inspection. His team: eliminated a 700 building permit backlog! There is a new online app. Public and City staff still working with a learning curve. Contact info:

Scott.Stiles@palmspringsca.gov (760) 322-8362

Dana.MacAllister@palmspringsca.gov (760) 422-9585

PSPD & PSFD – Lt. Mike Villegas & Fire Chief Paul Alvarado:

Over 8,000 people participated in Tour de Palm Springs. No major incidents. National Police from Costa Rica visited for cross training purposes. One focus was narcotics investigation. The number of transients in Palm Springs has been reduced from 300 to 130. There will be 55 beds at the new Navigation Center exclusively for PS homeless.

City approved a new 105 foot ladder fire engine. Over 175 overdose calls in 2023. PSFD has administered narcan (Nalaxone) over 100 times. 1/3 of PSFD is brand new. February is National Can Food month. Good time to put together your emergency response package.

Office of Neighborhoods, Manager Denise Goolsby – City has hired a new Marketing & Communications employee. Please check out Palm Springs new website engagepalmsprings.com ! The work in progress website is a resource for residents to ask questions and receive updates about various City projects. Comments/suggestions are welcomed.

 The 15th Annual ONE-PS Picnic will be Saturday, March 23rd from 11am to 2pm. There will be free lunch and many neighborhood and city groups. There will also be fun events for dog owners. The PS Library will have architects on hand to answer questions about the library remodel. Come out and meet your Palm Springs neighbors and officials!