City of Cathedral City
68700 Avenida Lalo Guerrero
Cathedral City, CA 92234
(760) 770-0340

Commissioners, Council probe possibilities

Traffic Commissioners and City Council members huddled together in a two-hour meeting last Thursday in search of a long-term solution to easing the traffic flow along East Palm Canyon Drive.

Should the city’s main thoroughfare be widened? No, they reasoned. It would not be in keeping with the original design – to create a pedestrian-friendly downtown. The whole idea is to slow traffic down to a speed safe for pedestrians, not to create a freeway.

How about Perez Road? It is intersected by a web of driveways providing access to businesses in the back. To create a busier thoroughfare along Perez would pose traffic safety problems, warned Police Chief Stan Henry.

Maybe use Officer David Vasquez Drive as an alternate? Commission Chair Jim Navarro and other commissioners favored this idea. Its advantages, they said, include proximity to downtown, not too far to discourage motorists from using it as an east-west alternative. Also, it would create another front door for shops and expand the downtown retail core, not compete with it.

In planning for the future, Council asked staff to begin determining the land use, traffic and environmental ramifications, along with estimated costs, and come back with a full report and recommendations on feasible configurations.

Who better to brand the City?

The first meeting of the newly appointed City Marketing Committee will be held Tuesday, Jan. 17. This exceptional group is comprised of:

Now here’s an inspiration

Martha Graff Novick is Cathedral City’s nominee in the valley-wide Senior Inspiration Awards, to be held March 30 at the Palm Springs Convention Center. At the age of 93, Martha still works three days a week at Scandalous Salon in Cathedral City. She has volunteered for years at the Desert Aids and the City of Hope thrift shops. Even though legally blind, she lives alone, cooks for herself and others and .travels solo across the United States to visit family and friends.

Watchdog volunteer honored

Jacques Lefebvre, a resident of the Rio Vista neighborhood, has received an award from the City Council for the time he donates to help keeping that area of the city safe. He drives around in a yellow golf cart, serving as a watchdog and an extra set of eyes and ears for the Police Department to ward off criminal activity. He has also joined COPS.

Employees hailed

Justin Hilderbrand, who is the city’s Information Technology Department, has received the annual Police Chief’s award plus recognition from the City Council for his efforts at keeping computers, telephones, fax machines and other electronic equipment running in all departments.

Others who received kudos for outstanding service at the last Council meeting were Fire Department employees Code Enforcement Officer Sandra Martinez, who is focusing on the Dream Homes area through a cooperative program with the Housing Office, Anika Sanchez, who keeps things running smoothly in the office, and Capt. Stephen Tumir, in charge of the EMS division, the department’s website and computers.

Clear cell phone messages aid response

There was quite a glut of media attention to a recent fire at Montage at Mission Hills, a housing tract located in Cathedral City at Gerald Ford and DaVall. The bottom line is that although the initial caller gave no address and subsequent cell calls were routed to the CHP center in Indio, the Fire Department’s response time nonetheless met the department’s standards. Remember, in addition to the type of incident, when reporting a crime or emergency from a cell phone, give the exact address, including the name of the city, because all 9-1-1 calls made from a cell phone are automatically connected to the CHP, not to the nearest local agency dispatch center.

New vehicles to the rescue

A total of 21 aging dump trucks, pick ups and water trucks in the Public Works Department will be replaced over the next three years, increasing efficiency and reducing down time. Annual maintenance for the dilapidated fleet is topping $45,000. Only $28,000 of the $905.000 cost will come from the General Fund; Measure A, Gas Tax and Air Quality funds will shoulder the lion’s share. Many of the vehicles are from seven to 10 years old, with one 18 years old and another 20 years old.

Cleaning up the neighborhood

At the direction of City Council, the Code Enforcement Division is implementing a zero tolerance policy toward code violations. These include illegal signs, visual blight, growth of weeds, housing code violations, lack of landscaping, abandoned vehicles, parking on landscaping and lack of address identification, to name a few. Division Chief Mike Hatfield said any extensions of time for compliance will be closely monitored and judiciously provided based on the circumstances.

Any ideas for Town Hall meeting?