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1993 04 26 CC Minutes LA QUINTA CITY COUNCIL MINUThS APRIL 26, 1993 JOINT SESSION WITH COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMISSION Special meeting of the La Quinta City Council was called to order at 7:00P.M. by Mayor Pena. CITY COUNCIL ROLL CALL: PRESENT: Council Members Bangerter, McCartney, Perkins, Sniff, Mayor Pena ABSENT: None COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMISSION ROLL CALL: PRESENT: Commissioners Bernard, Best, Dickens, Francis, Nard, Seaton, Chairperson Kennedy ABSENT: None 1. BRIEF REVIEW OF MUNICIPAL CODE ESTABLISHING TIIE COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMISSION. a. Discussion of Role of Human Services Conimittee. 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. As an introduction, Chairperson Kennedy advised that the committees are composed of the following individuals: Human Services Norris Bernard Aldine Dickens Parks & Recreation Larry Best Sharon Kennedy B. J. Seaton Culture and Fine Arts Susan Francis Nancy Nard BIB] 01-20-96-U01 01:13:43PM-U01 CCMIN042693-U02 BIB] 01-20-96-U01 01:13:43PM-U01 CCMIN042693-U02 City Council Minutes 3 April 26. 1993 2. PRIORITY OF PARKS DEVELOPMENT. 3. PALM ROYALE PARK DEVELOPMENT FUNDING. 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 in 1993/94 FY if it were to be done in phases. Mayor Pena commented on the importance of making the public aware that the. park would be done in phases and keeping them apprised of the progress. 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 o 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 advisory body which can take recommendations directly to the Council, where the decisions will be made. Mayor Pena 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 public exposure. The Mayor explained that the public mistakenly believes that the downtown park belongs to the City, where in fact, it belongs to the Coachella 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. BIB] 01-20-96-U01 01:13:43PM-U01 CCMIN042693-U02 City Council Minutes 4 April 26, 1993 4. DISCUSSION OF ISSUES SURROUNDING DETACHMENT FROM THE CVR&PD. 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 obtainin? cost and time estimates on which to base their decision. Mayor Pena believed that the biggest issue will be cost. There is no assurance the City will get the money from the State that the District currently receives. In order to fund and support a full service department, some sort of tax would have to be levied. 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 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 tax roll.... similar 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 awav 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 BIB] 01-20-96-U01 01:13:43PM-U01 CCMIN042693-U02 City Council Minutes 5 April 26.1993 the sports programs are self-sufficient and are run by volunteers. Commissioner Best said be 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. 5. DISCUSSION OF CREATING CUL-DE?SAC STREETS TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL 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 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. 6. DISCUSSION OF POSSIBLE FUTURE PROGRAMS. a. La Quinta Pageant 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 recognition 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. BIB] 01-20-96-U01 01:13:43PM-U01 CCMIN042693-U02 City Council Minutes 6 April 26, 1993 Council Member Sniff questioned the story-line of such a pageant and Commissioner Francis said that a story doesn't necessarily have to be told.... 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 Pena 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. 7. COMMISSIONERS INVOLVEMENT IN SELECTION OF COMMISSIONERS. Chairperson Kennedy explained the Commission's wishes to be involved in the 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 interviews, 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 Pena and Council concurred and asked the Commission to present a recommendation on this issue. 8. DISCUSSION OF INCLUSION OF REPORT OF COMMISSION ON COUNCIL AGENDA. Commissioner Best asked if it would be worthwhile to have a Commissioner at:end Council meetings to be able to highlight any special issues. Mayor Pena said perhaps the Commissioners could attend Council meetings on a rotating basis and report back to the Commission. 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. BIB] 01-20-96-U01 01:13:43PM-U01 CCMIN042693-U02 City Council Minutes 7 April 26, 1993 Mayor Pena said that he was supportive of Commissioners attending conferences where they could network with other Commissioners and bring back ideas that are workin? in other communities. 9. 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 Pena 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. 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 Pena said that could be arranged through Mr. Reynolds and/or Mr. Genovese. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned. AUNDRA L. JUHOLA, City Clerk City of La Quinta, California BIB] 01-20-96-U01 01:13:43PM-U01 CCMIN042693-U02