One PS - October 2022 Meeting

Vista Las Palmas Neighborhood Organization One PS Meeting
October 11, 2022

Hello neighbors,

The October ONE-PS meeting was held Tuesday afternoon October 11th in person at The Pavilion and virtually via Zoom.  Your neighborhood representatives from Vista Las Palmas were present. 

Below are the highlights from the meeting so that you can be fully informed about important issues.

Peter Sipkins - Chair of ONE-PS reported ONE-PS will brown bag lunches starting October 20th in the City Hall’s large conference at 11:30am. Palm Springs Disposal services will be discussed. Three council seats are up (including D3 which includes VLP). The election is Tuesday, November 3rd. NORGs cannot endorse candidates.

Mayor Lisa Middleton was absent due to travel disruptions. She was out of town and her flight back to Palm Springs was rescheduled.

Teresa Gallavan – Assistant City Manager – City Council continues discussions on potential revisions to the short term vacation rental rules. Various stakeholders (both pro and anti-rental) within the community have been meeting to hammer out potential updates to current rules and regulations. One potential recommendation is a cap on the total number of city wide rentals. 2,500 STR has been suggested. In addition, the possibility of putting a cap on the number of STR within a given neighborhood has been discussed. The committee is scheduled to report to City Council. The parklet program (outdoor city dining) continues. The City’s Commercial Façade program returns. Businesses can receive up to a $4,500 matching grant to beautify their street presence. A $500 grant for security cameras is forthcoming. The City is closer to awarding a contract to widen the Indian Canyon Bridge at the railroad tracks. The Dog Park at City Hall will be closed for its annual maintenance between October 28th and December 12th. Residents are advised to use the dog park at Demuth Park during that period. There are new restrooms and shade structures at James O Jesse & Demuth Parks. The Palm Springs Library has received a $6.5 million matching grant (for a total of $13M) that will be used to begin its renovations. 

Captain Nathan Gunkel   PSFD - Reiterated recent hiring statistics: just hired 6 more firefighters. PSFD is moving toward a four person fire engine crew. This complies with national safety standards. Presently Palm Springs firefighting crews are only 3 in size. The department’s current 3 person firefighter crew size hinders the department’s efficacy in fighting fires. Furthermore, a 4 member team will better ensure the safety of our firefighters. This will be the first time since 1936 that Palm Springs has been aligned with the national 4 crew member standard. Recently fielded more than 1,000 calls. 80% medical related whereas 20% are fire. 

Captain Mike Kovaleff PSPD — is still recruiting and building out the force. Continue with Operation Clean Streets with a focus on the Downtown corridor. 3 major homeless encampments: Dinah Shore wash in Cathedral City (by Palm Spring city line), Vista Chino & Sunrise and East Palm Canyon by Rimrock. In addition, people have been expressing frustration with the non-emergency phone number.

Bob Farran, the ONE-PS event chair — The October 15th city-wide house tour during mini-Modernism has sold out. They sold 340 tickets (Their initial 300 ticket allocation plus an additional 40 tickets). They expect to raise $16K for ONE-PS. 

LP from Sustainability & Liz Hernandez from Palm Springs Disposal Services - Organic waste recycling has begun. New carts have been delivered. [If you have not received your green cart, contact PS Disposal. @ (760) 327-1351.] They encouraged us to attend the Brown Bag @ City Hall on October 20th to discuss

October 15th (8am - 12noon) e-waste/shredding event scheduled at PS City Hall Parking Lot. October 22nd bulky items may be dropped off at PS City Hall parking lot between 8am and 2pm. e-waste/shredding will occur simultaneously until noon on the 22nd as well. 

Denise Goolsby - Manager, Office of Neighborhoods – There will be a city-wide yard sale on October 22nd from 9am – 3pm at the Community Center.  Donations accepted up to October 21st. All Proceeds go to benefit Demuth Park youth center.

Xochit Pena - Desert Water Agency — An extra $2 million has been allocated to DWA’s grass removal program to replace grass with drought tolerant plants.  DWA will reimburse residential homeowners $3 per sqft. Both front and back yards are eligible. There is no minimum or maximum amount.  You can apply through DWA’s website: DWA.org/save.

Steve Orr and Gustav Swanson