|
City of Cathedral City
68700 Avenida Lalo Guerrero
Cathedral City, CA 92234
(760) 770-0340
|
| |
June 23, 2005
Upgrades, hotel
downtown
Angel View Thrift Shop will be remodeled and upgraded,
as a result of recent actions by the charity’s board of directors.
Starwood Hotels, parent company of Westin and
Sheraton, has enough confidence in the project to purchase $2 million in
bonds that are being sold to finance construction of the new 300-room
Sheraton at Desert Cove Resort. Sheraton will be operator of the hotel and
conference center, which will be owned by a non-profit corporation, similar
to the financing package at the Sacramento Sheraton.
Construction of the hotel will require removal of the
downtown recycling operation on the south side of East Palm Canyon, which in
the past few years has saved an estimated $400,000 in transportation and
tipping fees at the dump. Concrete, demolished buildings, asphalt and other
materials have been deposited there for recycling by the Redevelopment
Agency. Plans call for the operation to be moved temporarily to the Desert
Hills Mobile Home Park after the tenants are relocated.
July
27 meeting canceled
Although the regularly scheduled City Council meeting
on the second Wednesday in July has been canceled, a special meeting may
have to be called toward the end of the month for business concerning the
Sheraton Hotel that cannot wait until August.
No rockets red
glare
Safe and sane fireworks go on sale by non-profit
organizations throughout Cathedral City June 28. Dan Coover at the Senior
Center needs volunteers for their booth. Anyone who can lend a hand should
call him at 321-1548.
For the first time, police officers will team up with
firefighters to apprehend (cite and maybe book) violators who set off
mortars, firecrackers and other prohibited explosives. They will also be
looking for anyone who is selling fireworks illegally, taking them across
state lines (a Federal offense) or selling to minors.
Power outage
planned
The power will be turned off at Civic Center tomorrow,
Friday, June 24, from about 7:30 to 11 a.m. while work continues on the
solar panel project in the Parking Garage. Also, this weekend, the
Management Information Systems (MIS) department will be working on
reconfiguring the Finance system for the coming fiscal year and on the
computer Outlook program, which has irritatingly been locking up
periodically throughout the day.
Taking the
bite out of burglary
Marketing consultant Mark Wasserkrug is volunteering a
full day a week to serve as a technical reserve officer with the Police
Department to curb stolen property traffic. He is checking with merchants
who sell jewelry, scrap gold, computers, electronics, and other items often
found among stolen property to determine if they have a Secondhand Dealer or
Pawnbroker License. Such licenses and controls by law enforcement assure
that property can be traced not just within the city but from area to area
and that clandestine sales of stolen property often coming from burglaries
can be stopped.
Lieutenant
process continues
Sergeants Chuck Robinson and Laura Hanlon and three
applicants from the outside are still vying for two lieutenant positions in
the Police Department. The next step is for the candidates to be
interviewed by two oral boards, one of professionals in the field and the
other made up of people from the community
Police Officer Kelley Nava is out on maternity leave.
Fire engine
maintenance
Fire Chief Steve Sowles is looking at options for
maintenance of the department’s fleet. In September two engines and two
ambulances go off warranty. He would rather not continue to haul fleet
vehicles to Corona for maintenance and major repairs.
Neighborhood
Watch
Neighborhood Watch Groups are forming in La Posada, Rio
Vista Village and Cathedral Palms, which will be focusing on the Crime Free
Housing program.
Look at these
credentials!
The City Council has reappointed Sonja Marchand and
appointed for the first time retired planner Lee Stark and retired business
owner Bill Cunningham to the Planning Commission. Stark retired this month
after 38 years as a planner with the Los Angeles County Department of
Regional Planning. He has been involved in updating the County’s General
Plan, serving as hearing officer for the Regional Planning Commission and
preparing L.A. County’s first Housing Element. He is a resident of Cimarron
Cove.
Before moving to Cathedral City, Cunningham was a
member of the Huntington Beach City Council for 17 years, served as Mayor
for four years, was on the Huntington Beach Planning Commission for five
years, was chairman of the Redevelopment Agency there, and was a member of
the Board of Directors of the League of California Contract Cities. He was
in the mortuary business for 43 years.
James Reynolds, Donald Hair and Jim Mewes were
appointed to the Board of Appeals. Two positions remain vacant on the
five-member board that meets as needed for appeals to the building
official’s interpretation of building codes.
Reynolds works part
time as an attorney. His is past president of the Los Altos Chamber of
Commerce, founder of the Los Altos Community Foundation and past president
of the Los Altos Kiwanis Club. Hair is a retired educator. Mewes is
western regional sales manager for architectural specifications for a
lighting company, with a background in industrial relations
Dance program
Saturday
Saturday, June 25, Kim
Lewis, who teaches dance at the Community Center, will present her students’
Big Dance Program in two performances at 1 and 7 p.m. at Palm Springs High
School Auditorium. Let’s turn out and support her and the students’
efforts.
|
|
