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· LAFCO Hearing—regrettably this past week’s newspaper article does not depict the sense of what really happened at LAFCO’s Sphere of Influence Hearing. While the headline is accurate, that LAFCO acted to approve our application to expand our Sphere from Rio Del Sol to be just short of Washington Street, the story is written in a way that leads the reader to believe that most were opposed to the action of the LAFCO Board, when it fact it was just the opposite. In this regard, after what I believe were convincing presentations by Don Bradley, Andy Hall, Bill Soqui, and myself as to the reasons LAFCO should support their staff’s recommendation and should not delay taking action, we were followed by four representatives of Thousand Palms organizations who each spoke strongly in favor of LAFCO approving all of Thousand Palms becoming a part of Cathedral City’s Sphere. First was Bill Swedeen, who spoke as a representative of the Thousand Palms Chamber of Commerce and of the Tri-Palms HOA and reported that both organizations were strongly in favor of the Sphere expansion. He emphasized that he believed Cathedral City’s word has been good, that we have followed through with what we said we would do, and he felt it was now time to resolve this matter by LAFCO approving our application. Barbara Smith spoke next and introduced herself as the representative of the Ivy Ranch HOA and stated that it was clear Palm Desert was not going to want jurisdiction over Thousand Palms and that their HOA was in favor of Cathedral City’s Sphere being approved to include all of Thousand Palms. Patricia Saleh next spoke on behalf of the Thousand Palms Community Council and reported that the Council had voted in support of the Cathedral City application. She went on to report some of the dynamics that have occurred related to this application but urged that LAFCO act that day and not postpone their decision. Don Donnelly was then the last speaker in favor and reported that he had been opposed to the original Cathedral City proposal, but he had changed his position and was now in full support. He expressed that by joining with Cathedral City, it would keep Thousand Palms whole and after working with representatives from Cathedral City, he was currently very supportive of the comprehensive plan Cathedral City has for the area. He too urged the LAFCO Board to reject the requests for continuance, believing that there had been more than adequate time for the various parties to address whatever concerns they had. Those in opposition then spoke and included the Community Development Director from Palm Desert, an attorney who is also a Board member from the Burger Foundation, and the Riverside County Fire Chief. I believe there was also one or at most two letters from individuals from Thousand Palms that had been received in opposition and were read into the record. Mike Gialdini representing John Benoit also spoke but identified the Supervisor’s position as neutral. Therefore, as you can see, other than the letters from at most two individuals and the three people who spoke against our application, the testimony that the Board heard from other than Cathedral City’s representatives came from Thousand Palms citizen representatives who were, in effect, representing many others who were supportive of our application. Importantly, they spoke as representatives of the primary organized groups of HOAs, residents, merchants, and the Thousand Palms Community Council that exist in Thousand Palms, clearly showing it was a strong cross-section of the entire community that had come together over the last three years to consider and now support our application. Clearly, not all from Thousand Palms would support this decision, including the one citizen quoted in the article, but when comparing those who spoke in favor versus who were against at the Hearing, the sentiment of support, as expressed by the Thousand Palms citizen representatives who were representing the many others, was overwhelming in favor. This, together with what I believe was a very compelling presentation on our part, and all the background work that had been done by the Mayor and Council members, particularly the subcommittee of Bud England and me, and staff particularly Andy and Leisa Lukes, led to the unanimous decision to approve our application and not delay it to a later date. Needless to say though, this decision is not the end but merely the beginning of working on what I believe will prove to be one of the most significant milestones in the histories of both Cathedral City and Thousand Palms as we continue to nurture relationships and further develop partnerships for the economic betterment of our communities.
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