CITY COUNCIL
MINUTES
Study Session
Wednesday, January 12, 2022
3:00 PM
Pursuant to AB 361. This meeting was conducted by videoconference. • CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order at 3:00 PM by Mayor Ernesto Gutierrez. • ROLL CALL
Attendee Name Title Status Arrived
Ernesto Gutierrez Mayor Remote
Rita Lamb Mayor Pro Tem Remote
Mark Carnevale Councilmember Remote
Nancy Ross Councilmember Remote
Raymond Gregory Councilmember Remote
• AGENDA FINALIZATION
1. COUNCIL ACTION
A. Continuation of Teleconference Meetings
Recommendation: To adopt a resolution authorizing the City Council and Commissions to meet via teleconference pursuant to
Assembly Bill (AB) 361.
City Manager Charles McClendon stated that pursuant to AB 361, in ord er to continue to authorize the City Council and Commissions to meet via teleconference, the City Council will have to adopt a resolution authorizing teleconference meetings and making findings that there is imminent risk to the health and safety of those attending in person.
Reso 2022-01
A motion was made by Councilmember Gregory and seconded by Councilmember Carnevale to adopt a resolution authorizing the City Council and Commissions to implement teleconference accessibility for conducting public meetings pursuant to AB 361.
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RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Raymond Gregory, Councilmember
SECONDER: Mark Carnevale, Councilmember
AYES: Gutierrez, Lamb, Carnevale, Ross, Gregory
2. OATH OF OFFICE - MAYOR PRO TEM RITA LAMB
City Clerk Tracey Martinez adminis tered the O ath of Office to Rita Lamb, who was appointed to serve as Mayor Pro Tem for a period of one-year.
Councilmember Mark Carnevale congratulated Mayor Pro Tem Rita Lamb. He stated that she has brought so much strength to this Council and what she h as done is phenomenal. He feels all the constituents are in good hands.
Councilmember Raymond Gregory stated that he is so happy that Mayor Pro Tem is at this point in her Council career and feels she will have a great year. He also stated that he is happ y to share an office with her and always learns so much from her. He is looking forward to this upcoming year.
Councilmember Nancy Ross stated that Mayor Pro Tem is her colleague and her friend.
She concurs with Councilmember Raymond Gregory that they hav e learned s o much from Mayor Pro Tem Rita Lamb. She believes she will enlighten us and bring together good programs and projects and can’t wait to further collaborate. She congratulated her and thanked her for being such an intricate part of the City Council.
Mayor Ernesto Gutierrez congratulated her on her great success and feels she has done an amazing job for the City. He hopes all the residents appreciate all she does. He stated that it is an honor to be able to serve with her. He is looking forward to a great year.
3. PUBLIC COMMENT
There were no members of the public that wished to speak.
4. CLOSED SESSION
City Attorney Eric Vail announced that the City Council will meet in Closed Session to discuss the following items on the Agenda.
A. Conference with Labor Negotiator Pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.6
Agency Negotiator: Charles McClendon, City Manager
Represented Employees:
AFSCME - The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees CCPOA - Cathedral City Police Officers Association
CCPMA - Cathedral City Police Management Association
CCPFA - Cathedral City Firefighters Association
CCFMA - Cathedral City Fire Management Association
The City Council recessed to Closed Session at 3:15 p.m.
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The City Council reconvened at 3:56 p.m.
City Attorney Eric Vail announced that the City Council met in Closed Session to discuss item 4A. Conference with Labor Negotiator, AFSCME, CCPOA, CCPMA, CCPFA, and CCFMA. There was no reportable action taken.
5. STUDY SESSION
A. Short Term Vacation Rental Update
Recommendation: This item is presented for information, discussion and direction only.
Police Chief George Crum provided an annual recap of the Short -Term Vacation Rentals Compliance Team progress from the period of November 13, 2020, to November 28, 2021. He presented the following points:
• Number of short-term vacation permits by month
• Licenses in HOA and non-HOA areas
• Call for service
• Citations issued
• Hearing Dispositions
• Top 8 residence that accounted for 63.8% calls for service
Councilmember Raymond Gregory inquired on what the City is doing to collect outstanding fees.
City Manager Charles McClendon responded that the City could place a notice of pendency on the property, send to collections, or place a lien on the property.
City Attorney Eric Vail provided further clarification on the options laid out by the City Manager to collect the outstanding fees. He feels that revoking their license is the biggest penalty that the City can impose on violators.
Mayor Ernesto Gutierrez inquired if the City can add legal fees to a judgment.
Eric Vail responded in the affirmative. He indicated that the City can ask the court to include these fees, typically the courts have allowed us to collect court and filing fees not attorney fees.
Mayor Ernesto Gutierrez inquired if there is a breakdown of the outstanding fees by category.
City Manager Charles McClendon responded that he does not have that information at this time, however, he will have staff work on providing that information to the City Council.
Mayor Ernesto Gutierrez inquired if the response time is the same for calls to the hotline and the Go Request app.
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Police Chief George Crum responded that there can sometimes be a slight delay with Go Request submissions, however, the response time is typically the same.
Mayor Ernesto Gutierrez inquired what is the top violation that the hearing officers have dismissed.
Police Chief George Crum responded that advertising violations where the top violation dismissed by the hearing officers.
Councilmember Raymond Gregory inquired if the options laid out by staff for collecting outstanding fees will be discussed, worked on , and moved forward in the upcoming sessions.
City Manager Charles McClendon responded in the affirmative.
Mayor P ro Tem Rit a Lamb requested clarification on the process for placing a lien on a property prior to a property being sold.
City Attorney Eric Vail provided clarification on the options staff has to try and collect the fees. He stated that the City can plac e a Notice of Pendency on the property, place a lien on the property, or put a lien on the tax roll.
Councilmember Nancy Ross inquired why fees were not collected or a lien placed on the property mentioned by staff , which had outstanding fees that was sold.
City Manager Charles McClendon responded that the City was not at that point with the legal team to be able to act prior to the sale of the property, however, everyone was happy that this particular property was sold due to the amount of staff time and resources it used up.
Sandra Richter provided an overview of her experience with the short -term rental near her home , which has been sold. She thanked the City Council for their support and efforts. She urged the City Council to make all those who do business with the City provide a valid street address.
Tony Michaelis, President of Montage at Mission Hills HOA, informed the City Council that they enforced restrictions on short -term rentals in 2018. One of the homeowners sued the HOA, Brown vs. Montage at Mission Hills, and prevailed due to Civil Code section 4740. He urged the City Council to change the ordinance to protect HOAs from this situation.
Doug Evans thanked the City Council for giving his neighborhood back. He urged the city to be more aggr essive in suspensions and non-renewals and to keep an eye on the illegal operators moving forward. He would like the City to amend the zoning ordinance to prohibit short-term vacation rentals in R1 and R2 zones.
The Following individuals submitted public comments v ia email and were read into the record by City Clerk Tracey Martinez:
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Joan and Andy Braunstein expressed their gratitude to the City Council for their support and execution of Measure B , which has returned their neighborhood back into a communi ty of resi dents. They hope the violators continue to be enforced and cited.
Pattie Hagedorn thanked staff and the City Council for their efforts to enforce the new ordinance. She also thanked the residents that stood up and spoke up.
Ed Emond-Worline congratulated the City Council and staff for the success of the STVR program to date. He urged the City to continue to enforce rules and regulations harder.
City Manager Charles McClendon stated that this item was for information and discussion only and no action is needed. There will be an item on the January 26, 2022, Agenda to discuss some recommended changes and receive feedback from the City Council on additional recommendations to the STVR Ordinance.
B. Update on FY 2021-2022 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program Substantial Amendment and Five-Year Consolidated Plan Recommendation: Update on FY 2021-2022 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program Substantial Amendment and Five-
Year Consolidated Plan. This item is for discussion and direction only, no formal action will be taken.
John Corella, Director of Engineering and Public Works, introduced Darrell Stamps from the Ramsey Group and Andrew Lee, Assistant Engineer for the City.
Darrell Stamps and Andrew Lee provided a presentation o n the Comm unity Development Block Grant (CDBG) FY 2021 -22 Substantial Amendment and Five-Year (2022-27) Consolidated Plan.
Darrell Stamps requested that the City Council provide their feedback related to potential five-year priorities.
Councilmember Ros s would li ke to see resources to help parents return to the workforce after leaving the workforce due to their children being out of school during the pandemic.
Councilmember Raymond Gregory suggested that staff provide more information and examples of wh at this funding can be used for in order to be able to provide their feedback.
Councilmember Mark Carnevale concurs with Councilmember Gregory.
Mayor Ernesto Gutierrez concurs with Councilmember Gregory and Councilmember Carnevale.
City Manager Charles McClendon stated that staff will bring back an item to educate and provide examples to the City Council so that they may provide input on the Five-Year Consolidated Plan prior to taking action in May.
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This item was for information and discussion only and no action was taken by the City Council. The CDBG FY 2021 -22 Substantial Amendment will be brought back to the City Council for further discussion and/or action at the February 9, 2022, City Council meeting.
ADJOURN
Mayor Ernesto Gutierrez adjourned the Study Session meeting at 5:18 p.m.
Mayor, City of Cathedral City City Clerk, City of Cathedral City