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1993 04 26 CC & CSC Minutes Special Joint Meeting I~ . Reports & In~ational Item: b COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMISSION MIN9TES APRIL 26, 1993 CALL TO ORDER A joint meeting of the Community Services Commission and La Quinta City Council was called to order at 7:00 P.M. by Mayor Pena, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL: PRESENT: Commissioners Bernard, Best, Dickens, Francis, Nard, Seaton, Chairperson Kennedy ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: Clint Bohlen, Parks & Recreation Manager Patti Devery, Temporary Department Secretary APPROVAL OF MINUTES It was MOVED by Commissioners Bernard/Nard that the CSC Minutes of April 12, 1993 be approved as submitted. MOTION CARRIED. PUBLIC COMMENT - None CORRESPONDENCE AND WRITTEN MATERIALS - None JOINT MEETING WITH LA QUINTA CITY COUNCIL 1. REVIEW OF ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING THE COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMISSION. a. Discussion of Role of Human Services Committee. b. Discussion of Council's Concept of the Role of the CSC. There was a brief review of Ordinance No. 109 which created the Community Services Commission. Chairperson Kennedy advised that the Commissioners are looking for direction from the City Council as to what they see as the Commission's role. The Commissioners would also like to share some ideas with the Council. . . CSC Minutes 2 April 26, 1993 As an introduction, Chairperson Kennedy advised that the committees are composed of the following individuals: culture and Fine Arts Norris Bernard Aldine Dickens Larry Best Sharon Kennedy B.J. Seaton Susan Francis Nancy Nard Human Services Parks & Recreation 2. ROLE OF HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE. Mayor Pefia advised that this committee evolved from a need to be sensitive to a diverse population within our community and to assure City Council's awareness of this diversity. Since that time, many things have happened in the Coachella Valley and Los Angeles so we need to be sensitive that there is diversity out there and find ways to deal with it. The Human Services Committee might look at ways to promote those things that may encourage diversity and interaction amongst different groups in our community. Commissioner Dickens advised of the Committee's concern regarding a health needs assessment for the community and the Commission's role in seeing that La Quinta residents benefit from the available programs and services that are or will be out there. Council Member Bangerter agreed that the health care issue is important along with the family-oriented support groups and programs. She suggested that schools would be a valuable resource in helping to identify families with special needs. She felt that it's important that the citizens are aware that they can approach the Commission with concerns and that it's important to bridge the gap between the community and government. Mayor Pefia believed that the City should act as an information referral service (liaison between the public and the health community) to point people in the direction of those who de provide health services. He _suggested that the Commission could be very helpful in getting the word out to the communitl about services, such as health fairs that occur at either ne charge or a minimal fee. Council Member McCartney supported a Commission who would de a needs assessment of not just health concerns, but overall social issue concerns that the people of La Quinta feel arE important. Out of that would come a list of priorities that . . CSC Minutes 3 April 26, 1993 would then direct the Commission and also be helpful to the Council to discover what those issues are. The survey should be relatively inexpensive. He wished to see a feedback loop set up between the Commission and Council/Commission and community. Council Member Sniff expressed concern about how deeply they could become involved due to the limited finances. The issues should be examined and the needs identified through some type of a survey, or by contacting other agencies for feedback, or developing a list of resources that could deal with those needs. Chairperson Kennedy agreed that outside resources should be identified and utilized. After the Commission has put together the criteria determining the method and developing the list of resources, the Human Services Committee wants to communicate their progress to the Council, prior to making their final recommendation. Commissioner Bernard related he spoke with Marilyn Smith, Senior Center Coordinator, who said they do a health assessment for seniors every two or three months through the Riverside County Health Department. She also advised that due to budget constraints of the County, she doubted we could get a health assessment for low income families within our community. 3. PRIORITY OF PARK DEVELOPMENT. Regarding Palm Royale Park, Commissioner Best expressed his concern about starting construction drawings and holding public forums, thus raising the community's expectations of construction going forward on the park and the City not being able to meet these expectations. Mr. Genovese stated that the City had before them 74 projects involving $80-$90 million worth of improvements. Part of the difficult decisions that had to be made was to prioritize the parks, and Fritz Burns Park has been, for some time, a number one priority. In trying to decide how to move forward with Phase I of this park, there had to be some kind of funding shift. After the funding shift, Palm Royale Park became a 1994/95 project, due to the fact that remaining funds were $140,000. Palm Royale Park could move forward 1993/94 FY if it were to be done in phases. Mayor peiia commented on the importance of making the public aware that the park would be done in phases and keeping them apprised of the progress. . . CSC Minutes 4 April 26, 1993 Council Member Perkins expressed his thoughts about caution in committing a start date to the public. He suggested verbiage such as, "hopefully we can start." Along with the other Council Members, he expressed his feeling that it would be helpful to the Commission, as a liaison between the Council and public, if they were more visible and accessible to the public. Council Member Sniff agreed that promises should not be made to the public which may not (due to shortfall of funds) be able to be met. He said that more publicity needed to be given to the Commission in order for the public to feel they can contact them. He advised that the public should be aware that the Commission is a strong recommendation body which can take recommendations directly to the Council, where the decisions will be made. Mayor Pefia suggested that the Commission and Planning Commission could attend the planned community forum at the Mayor's Breakfast in June, which would give the Commission publi~ exposure. The Mayor explained that the public mistakenly believes that the downtown park belongs to the City where in fact, it belongs to the Coache1la Valley Recreation and Park District. Perhaps sometime in the future, a member of the Commission and a Council Member could go to the park during the morning hours and talk to the users about their concerns with parks. Chairperson Kennedy asked for a discussion on risk management issues in the detachment from CVR&PD and if this is a serious consideration. Mr. Genovese advised that the matter of detachment has been discussed for a couple of years. After a joint meeting with the Recreation & Parks Board, the Council felt that perhaps the services were not being delivered to the City residents in the most effective manner, or were not quite the services this community needs. There is a strict legal process that must be followed to detach. It has to go before the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO), and you have to have in place services you can offer and show that your detachment will not cause harm to the District. Council Member Sniff believed that it's important to the eventual success of The Village that the park be recovered and used as a cornerstone to its development; however, the Council has not made any firm decision in this regard. They are currently obtaining cost and time estimates on which to base their decision. . . CSC Minutes 5 April 26, 1993 Mayor peiia believed that the biggest issue will be cost. There is not assurance the City will get the money from the State that the District currently received. In order to fund and support a full service department, some sort of tax would have to be raised. He asked if the Commissioners had any particular feelings on the matter. Chairperson Kennedy said that if we could keep the $200,000 the District currently derives from the City, we could run the park more effectively than it's currently being run. She asked if the state can take part of the assessments for La Quinta that are going into Parks and Recreation. Mr. Genovese advised not. When the City considers the de- annexation issue, the concern is that currently, the monies they get are an ad valorem tax....they are off of the property roll....simi1ar to our property taxes that have been slowly eaten away by the State. One of the concerns is how much of that money will be taken away from the District and, therefore, available to transfer over to us. One of the reasons the District is looking at putting together an Assessment District is because they are concerned the State will continue to take portions of that ad valorem tax which will eat away at their funds. Council Member Bangerter expressed her support for de- annexation and said she felt there are many programs that do not require City funds, but just need to be overseen and for them to be overseen by the City rather than a large District would be more successful. Also, programs that are run by the City will attract more volunteers. Even businesses will put money into programs they know will be in the community. Most of the sports programs are self-sufficient and are run by volunteers. Commissioner Best said he was a proponent of de-annexation, mainly because he feels the City has to take control of an asset that is being managed by somebody else. He said if the City is not assertive regarding this, it will see dwindling services and more assessment districts. 4. CUL-DE-SACING OF STREETS TO CREATE GREENBELTS. Council Member Perkins said there is a plan before the Council to cul-de-sac several streets. He expressed concern in that traffic would then be diverted to another street in a residential area and traffic would be heavier for those residents. His other concern was that as greenbelts are developed, manpower and money are diverted away from other . . CSC Minutes 6 April 26, 1993 areas. Somebody has to install, pay and care for the greenbelt. If funds were plentiful, greenbelts would be fine, but they are expensive to maintain. 5. OTHER PROGRAMS. Commissioner Francis discussed the La Quinta pageant concept, explaining that her vision is to tell the historical story of La Quinta via drama, song, dance and acting. La Quinta residents have the talent to put on this type of production. It would be a collaboration of writers, historians, poets, lyricists, composers, actors, etc. It would provide the opportunity for young people to get the experience of professional theater. The economic impact of an outdoor event such as this can be very significant. The usual process for establishing an outdoor pageant includes the sponsorship of local groups, community leaders and government officials. A mission statement for this pageant would be "celebrating La Quinta's rich multi-cultural heritage, to showcase the multi- talented citizens of La Quinta and the valley, to celebrate the community spirit that is La Quinta and to increase our recogni tion on a national level. This proposal is in the early stages of conception. It needs to be developed into a concept that can be formally presented. At a future date, she will present a detailed pro forma to the Council. The Council expressed their support of such a pageant. Council Member Perkins expressed his feeling that anything the Council can do from a cultural standpoint to identify the City, even more than it is, is something the council should do. He asked where the pageant would be held and Commissioner Francis said there are several possibilities including the new Civic Center amphitheater, the Tennis Club at La Quinta Hotel, or at the top of the Cove. She believed that it would take two years to be ready for stage. Council Member Sniff questioned the story-line of such a pageant and Commissioner Francis said that a story doesn't necessarily have to be to1d....an historical pageant can be produced with lots of music and production numbers. The story can be the evolvement of the area, done in episodes. Mayor Pefia believed that the pageant concept was a wonderful idea and encouraged Commissioners Francis and Nard to look into it further and return to the Council at a future date. . . CSC Minutes 7 April 26, 1993 5. COMMISSIONERS INVOLVEMENT IN SELECTION OF COMMISSIONERS. Chairperson Kennedy explained the Commission's wishes to be involved int he selection of new commissioners. Commissioner Best suggested three options: 1) The Commission could act as a screening body, 2) a Commission representative could sit in on the interview, or 3) the Commission could give Council a written recommendation. Council Member Sniff believed that the Commission's involvement could pose a problem in dealing with reappointments. He felt that having their involvement in the interviews would dilute the Council's authority and responsibility. He did not have a problem with the Commission acting as a screening body, or giving Council a written recommendation. Mayor peiia and Council concurred and asked the Commission to present a recommendation on this issue. Commissioner Best asked if it would be worthwhile to have a Commissioner attend Council meetings to be able to highlight any special issues. Mayor peiia said perhaps the meetings on a rotating Commission. Commissioners could attend Council basis and report back to the Chairperson Kennedy commented on the importance of staying in close communication with the Council regarding the projects undertaken by the Commission, so that there are no surprises. Mayor Pefia said that he was supportive of Commis!lioners attending conferences where they could network with other Commissioners and bring back ideas that are working in other communities. 6. OTHER CommisSioner Nard asked if there was anything else under Culture and Fine Arts the Council would like to see the Commission work on. Mayor peiia replied that he would like to see the continuation of the Public Art Program. The Commissioners can help people to understand that this program is funded by the developers, not the City, via an article in the newsletter. He wished to see them active and in the public eye. . . CSC Minutes 8 April 26, 1993 Council Member Sniff felt that they should be creative, but not discouraged if the Council does not seize everything brought to them. Chairperson Kennedy asked if the Commission could tour the new Civic Center and Mayor Pefia said that could be arranged through Mr. Reynolds and/or Mr. Genovese. There being no further business, the meeting was adj ourned to committees. -)~ CLINT ~OHLEN 'park- & \Recreation Manager ~ l PATRICIA DEV Y Temporary Department