One PS - March 2023 Meeting
Vista Las Palmas Neighborhood Organization One PS Meeting
ONE-PS March 2023 Meeting
Greetings neighbors,
The ONE-PS meeting was held Tuesday afternoon, March 14th in person at the Palm Springs Police Training Center. Your neighborhood representatives from Vista Las Palmas were there via Zoom. Below are the highlights from the meeting so that you can be fully informed about important community issues
Mayor Grace Garner – Wants to bring more tourism to town. Invest in our community: parks, library, community centers and outdoor bathrooms. Many facilities haven’t been updated in decades. She wants to improve day to day quality of life.
ONE-PS Chair Peter Sipkin – COD Trustee Fred Yont will resign effective March 31st due to health reasons.
Council Member (Mayor Pro Tem) Jeffrey Bernstein – Recently the City has been busy with several different diverse events: Modernism Week, Bear Week, Black History Month and APEC (Asian Pacific Economic Community) which had over 800 people.
Scope of work approved for library. $6M of funding is from the State of CA. Work from this funding source must be completed by March 2026. The remaining funding comes from Measure J. Total of $16M to date has been budgeted for the library renovation which includes HVAC, plumbing and seismic improvements.
More discussion regarding Pacaso home share ordinance. The city has restricted them as time shares, and now they have come back with some voluntary restrictions. However, the city council is concerned about how that would be enforced. This story is ongoing.
City council to issue $20M in bonds to purchase and rehab Sunny View Villa Apartments off North Indian Canyon Dr. The project will be subject to affordable housing restrictions. 24 residential units will have a mid-century modern look. Repairs include new windows, roofs and updated interior features. Racquet Club still seeks a buyer. The 69-unit Villa Roma condo complex in South Palm Springs was granted Historic status. It is a fine and intact example of a modernist “lifestyle” condo complex. James Schuler Associates designed it in 1963.
City Manager Scott Stiles – Introduced himself. Previous city manager for Cincinnati for 27 years and more recently he was the city manager for Garden Grove for 7 ½ years. He and his family plans to buy a home in Palm Springs and live here. Will tour the city’s various districts to better learn Palm Springs. Mr. Stiles worked with setting up Garden Grove’s homeless outreach program. “One size does not fit all.” He will ”work feverishly” to get the Navigation Center up and running. Stressed the need for accountability while showing compassion. Plans to work on policy with city council to build affordable housing. In addition, he worked on tourist initiatives with the City of Garden Grove which he plans to bring to Palm Springs as he talks with the hospitality industry and small business owners.
ONE-PS picnic organizer Joy Brown Meredith - Saturday March 25th will be the ONE-PS picnic @ Ruth Hardy Park from 11am to 2pm. It will be a chance to showcase the neighborhoods. 1,000 free lunches will be provided. No selling (products or services) is allowed at the picnic. Now up to 12 neighborhoods will have booths. $35/booth. Contests (including dog contests) and prizes. Dog treats. Mark your calendars now.
PSPD Lt. Mike Villegas & Chief Andy Mills - Updated us on Operation Relentless Sun which is Palm Springs efforts to address the unhoused problem.
Initially identified 52 camp sites where people are living in the Dinah Shore wash. PSPD has now identified 340 unhoused individuals in the city. Up from 266 people last month. Insufficient resources. PSPD continues to get their arms around the problem by taking down stats: how long people are here, (if they have a) parole status, their location etc. PSPD tries to relocate and give them access to services. PSPD has now been able to relocate 14 people to other areas outside the Coachella Valley. PSPD made 30 misdemeanor arrests and 8 felony arrests.
Christy Smith is the daytime code compliance contact regarding homeless encampments:
PSPD will continue to focus on 4 micro homeless hot spots:
(1) Vista Chino & Sunrise
(2) Downtown – South near museum and new park
(3) Crossley & Ramon
(4) East Palm Canyon & Sunrise
PSPD response will be “measured, compassionate and firm”. Will not “coddle” nor “enable people to be destructive”.
“Run for Ike” 5K held annually in memory of PS Police K-9 who was killed in line of duty in 2011 was a great success and thanked all for their support.
Sustainability, LP McCloy -
1) City renewed franchise contract with PS Disposal. There is now a rate 15% discount for up to 550 low-income residents. Application is like CARE for SoCal Edison.
2) April is Earth Month. There will be a shredding and e-waste event at City Hall South Parking Lot (Enter drop off area via El Cielo Rd.) Saturday, April 22nd from 8am – Noon.
April 17th-21st PS Disposal will pick up 2 bulky items. Please place items at curbside.
Office of Neighborhoods, Manager Denise Goolsby – Reminder to mark your calendars for the 85th anniversary of the city of Palm Springs on Saturday, April 8th! There will be a parade of cars. There will be a car for each year from 1938 to 2023.
…And to reiterate, if you are interested on being on Denise’s mailing list, please do reach out to her directly at denise.goolsby@palmspringsca.gov .
City of Palm Springs’ Park & Recs Department and the Demuth Community Center present World Art Day Festival, Saturday, April 15th in Demuth Park. From 3PM-6PM Art Starts Here! Followed by Art in the Park in the Dark from 6pm-9pm. For more information call (760)320-6430 or ONE-PS Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/onepalmsprings
Gustav Swanson and Steve Orr