CITY COUNCIL
MINUTES
Study Session
Wednesday, May 24, 2023
3:00 PM
City Council Chambers
68-700 Avenida Lalo Guerrero
Cathedral City, CA 92234
• CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order at 3:00 PM by Mayor Rita Lamb. • ROLL CALL
Attendee Name Title Status Arrived
Rita Lamb Mayor Present 3:00 PM
Mark Carnevale Mayor Pro Tem Present 3:00 PM
Nancy Ross Councilmember Present 3:00 PM
Raymond Gregory Councilmember Present 3:00 PM
Ernesto Gutierrez Councilmember Present 3:00 PM
• AGENDA FINALIZATION
There were no changes to the agenda.
1. PUBLIC COMMENT
There were no members of the public who wished to make public comment.
2. STUDY SESSION
A. Introduction of the City's FYs 2024-2028 RMRA (SB-1) Projects.
Recommendation: City Staff will introduce the City’s FYs 2024-2028 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Projects funded by Senate Bill 1 (SB-1): The Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017, for review and discussion only.
Armando Garcia Baldizzone, City Engineer, provided an overview of the FY 2024-2028 Road Repair and Accountability Act (RMRA) Projects funded by Senate Bill 1. The following points were presented:
• Background of Senate Bill 1
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• The City's Obligations
• Past and Upcoming CIP Projects Funded by Senate Bill 1 • Next Steps
This presentation was for information and discussion only, there was no formal action taken by the City Council.
B. Vehicle Tow Service Franchise Agreement
Recommendation: That the City Council provide direction to City Staff on the following policy decisions:
1. Should the City have an ordinance that codifies the
process for selecting non-exclusive tow contracts to provide towing services on behalf of the City?
2. Does the City Council wish to continue to operate a
tow rotation franchise with tow operators? If so, does the City Council want to recover the entire cost of operating a tow rotation program?
3. Does the City Council want to eliminate the
requirement that the tow company impound yard and tow
business must be within the city limits? If so, what
reasonable distances or metrics does the City Council wish to adopt?
Staff recommends that City Council adopt an ordinance to codify a tow rotation program that includes policy direction provided by Council.
Police Chief George Crum provided an overvie w of the proposed Vehicle Tow Service Franchise Ordinance. The following points were presented:
• Policy Discussion and Staffs Recommendations
• City Attorney's recommendations
• Contract History
• Operational Changes Proposed in the New Tow Agreement • History of Incurred Costs, Revenue Collected, Franchise Fees, Franchise Fee Per Operator, and Total Paid by Franchisees
• Annual Tows
• Operator Performance
• Proposed Franchise Fee for FY 2023/2024
• Coachella Valley Cities Tow Programs
Jesse Mojica, Moh ica Towing, stated that he does not have a problem with the City having multiple tow companies as long as they are required to have a tow yard within the City. He stated that he has the equipment to move heavy equipment, however , there is a fee. He express ed his concern of the cost to operate.
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Jared Mojica, Mohica Towing, expressed his concerns with the proposed ordinance as presented and provided some suggested changes. He also expressed his concern with some of the figures presented. He feels there need s to be a tow agreement in place, but not at the proposed rates.
Joel Mojica, Mohica Towing, feels the city will need to do an RFP specifically for tow and storage of vehicles for evidence. He expressed concern with the inability to see the rotation list, like he is able to do on the CHP website.
Myles Bois, Southwest Towing, expressed his concern with comments made about fees they did not pay in previous years. He expressed his embarrassment for the calls for service his company has missed and feels the Police Department should have reached out to them. He also expressed his concern with extending the ETA to 30 minutes, which he feels will be problematic. He also feels having a tow yard within the City should be a requirement. He also expressed his conce rn with the figures presented.
The City Council provided their feedback and asked clarifying questions which were responded to by staff. After discussion, it was the consensus of the City Council to direct staff to bring back a proposed ordinance for cons ideration, that includes options for full cost recovery, and no formal requirement that operators have a tow yard within the City limits, but to give preference to those operators that are closer to the City limits.
3. CLOSED SESSION
Eric Vail, City Atto rney, announced that the City Council will recess into Closed Session to discuss the following items listed on the agenda for the remainder of the meeting. He will report out on any action taken at the Regular Meeting of May 24, 2023, which will be reflected in the minutes of May 24, 2023.
A. Conference with Real Property Negotiator Pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.8.
Property Location: Approximately 1.8 acres, Parcel 3 of Tract No. 28339 Negotiating Parties: Unspecified Parties
Property Owner: City of Cathedral City
Under Negotiations: Price and Terms for potential sale of real property B. Conference with Real Property Negotiator Pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.8.
Property Location: Approximately 13.5 acres south of East Palm Canyon Drive at Date Palm Drive
Negotiating Parties: City of Cathedral City as the Successor Agency to the former Redevelopment Agency and the City Urban Revitalization Corporation Property Owner: City Urban Revitalization Corporation
Under Negotiations: Price and Terms for potential sale of real property
ADJOURN
The City Council recessed into Closed Session at 4:58 p.m.
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Mayor, City of Cathedral City City Clerk, City of Cathedral City