Not your tax dollars at work
Judging from emails sent to the City’s webmaster, it appears some people
do not realize that local residents Marc and Patti Breslow paid for the
sunflower safety signs on the back of 40 stop signs throughout the city.
“Why doesn’t the city spend its money on police and fire?” some wonder.
It does. No city funds were spent on the new sunflower signs. The Breslows
came up with the idea, offered to donate the signs to the community and the
City Council approved them in a test program to determine citizen reaction.
To tell the Council what you think, just log on to www.cathedralcity.gov.
Trees removed to save water
Six Sycamore trees on Avenida Maravilla and five on Tachevah have been
taken out to make way for installation of desert landscaping, rocks and art
for the Panorama Park water conservation project. The Sycamore trees along
Calada Road and Peladora Road by the park’s basketball courts will remain at
this time. If a grant can be secured from the state, these trees may also be
taken out and replaced with an alternative shade tree that does not shed so
much.
A moisture-sensing system is being installed at both parks to reduce
watering and irrigation run off.
Chiefs hit a home run
From all accounts, the California Police Chiefs Conference ending this
week in Palm Springs was a huge success, running smoothly, drawing raves and
fostering collaborative efforts among agencies.
Luna leading SED
Sergeant Julio Luna is now heading up the Special Enforcement Detail,
working with Officers Dan Anes and Jon Enos and under the direction of Lt.
Laura Hanlon. They are currently focusing on stolen vehicles and gang
activity, as well as following up on outstanding felony warrants. They’ll
also be establishing further goals this year.
More help coming in MIS
Ted Codon reports to work on Monday as a systems engineer in MIS. He has
been systems administrator with Robert Half Technology in Ontario and IT
manager of the Agua Caliente Casino and St. JON Laboratories in Harbor City,
along with holding other similar posts. Justin Hildebrand of MIS will be off
work next week attending re-certification training for Cisco systems. Upon
direction of City Council, the MIS operation will be moving from the Police
Department to Administrative Services, under Tami Scott.
It’s budget time again
Worksheets are being prepared for the two-year budget process.
Accountants Bob Pacholke and Jack Sliwoski from the Finance Department will
be contacting all departments next week to launch the budget preparation
process.
City logo on cars, trucks
Decals featuring the new city logo have arrived for vehicles in the Fire
Department and the Public Works fleet will soon follow suit.
Condition of streets surveyed
Public Works Inspector Shawn Maddox is conducting a survey of all city
streets (that’s 200 miles) and areas plagued with drainage problems so that
City Engineer Bill Bayne can explore possible solutions. Maddox will
identify streets that should be slurry sealed, those that could get by with
crack sealing and those that need to be reconstructed. There are funds left
in some of the assessment district tracts that could be used to fix streets
in those areas. Bayne will also consider remedies for nuisance water, such
as inverted siphons and dry wells, that could help to address the standing
water problem.
Sweeping coming to an end
Funds for street sweeping of residential neighborhoods runs out in June.
The federal program that paid for the sweeping has not been renewed and
funds that pay for Cathedral City’s share will be gone in five months.
Concert Friday night
Reminder, the monthly Friday night concert takes place Feb. 3, starting
at 7 p.m. in Town Square.
Weekly
Briefs