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Meilani MacDonald
Public Information Associate
Phone: 760.329.5169 x118 Fax: 760.329.2482
May 17, 2007
MSWD Sponsors Water Conservation Poster Contest; Wins Golden Apple Award
Desert Hot Springs, CA – Mission Springs Water District recently hosted a poster contest for 4th – 6th grade classrooms in Desert Hot Springs in observance of Water Awareness Month, May 2007. The contest theme was “Conservation – It’s A Way Of Life.” Over 100 poster entries were submitted by teachers and students from Julius Corsini Elementary, Desert Springs Middle School, and the California Virtual Academy.
Prizes for First, Second and Third place posters will be awarded to the winning classrooms’ teachers and students by the MSWD Board of Directors at their next regular meeting on Monday, May 21st, beginning at 3pm. The top four posters are on display in the District’s customer service lobby at 66575 Second Street in Desert Hot Springs, and an additional 29 Honorable Mention posters are on display in the boardroom at the same location. The posters may also be viewed on the District’s Web site at www.mswd.org.
The First Prize poster came from Mr. Mike Sugarman’s 2nd period Earth Sciences class at Desert Springs Middle School. Mr. Sugarman’s students earned a $200 gift certificate for classroom supplies and a pizza party with their prize-winning poster. The Second Prize poster is from Mrs. Maribeth Petro’s 5th grade Language Arts class at Julius Corsini Elementary School, and earned the class a $100 gift certificate for classroom supplies and a pizza party. Two posters tied for Third and both garnered their respective classrooms a $50 gift certificate for classroom supplies and a pizza party. The Third Prize posters came from Mrs. Denise Engberg’s 5th grade Reading class and Mr. Nate Allen’s 5th grade class, both from Julius Corsini Elementary School. Meilani MacDonald, Public Information Associate, MSWD; Marilyn McKay, Administrative Officer, MSWD; Marge Cook, Director, Desert Hot Springs Groundwater Guardian Team; and Nancy Wright, Director, MSWD Board of Directors, were the judges for the contest.
The students and teachers who participated in MSWD’s Water Conservation Poster Contest were not the only winners, however! MSWD has subsequently been chosen to receive the prized Golden Apple Award from the Palm Springs Unified School District at their board meeting on Tuesday, May 22nd at 6pm at 980 E. Tahquitz Canyon. MSWD’s Meilani MacDonald, who organized the poster contest, and Nancy Wright, Marilyn McKay and Marge Cook, who were judges, will be on hand to accept the award.
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Meet the new Desert Hot Springs City Attorney
Ruben Duran, a member of Meyer, Nave Law Firm's public law and redevelopment groups, brings significant legal experience as counsel to public entities.
He has advised elected officials and city and redevelopment agency clients on all
municipal law matters includin
Ruben's redevelopment experience includes serving as the lead counsel on project teams that negotiated with property owners, developers, tenants and
businesses, on projects including large commercial and retail developments, affordable housing, and in areas including prevailing wage compliance, owner participation
requirements and relocation requirements. Ruben also has extensive land use, planning and CEQA experience, which includes advising planning commissions and assisting staff
and consultants with general plan amendments and zoning ordinances. In this capacity, he provided input on CEQA documents, from initial studies to full-blown EIR's. In
addition, Ruben drafted statutory development agreements with developers and provided training to staff on land use law and CEQA implementation. A
former Coro Fellow in Public Affairs, Ruben received his J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, and a B.A. in Political Science at the
University of California at San Diego. He is a member of the California Redevelopment Association, the Los Angeles County Bar Association, the City Attorneys' Association of
Los Angeles County and the Mexican American Bar Association of Los Angeles County. He serves as a Chapter Chair for the California Municipal Law Handbook Committee and was a
panelist at the League of California Cities Mayors and Councilmembers Academy. 
g redevelopment, land use, CEQA, affordable housing,
environmental law, Brown Act, Public Records Act, elections, tort liability, gaming and conflicts of interest. Ruben has recently been assistant city attorney for
the cities of La Puente and Pico Rivera and previously served as the assistant city attorney for the cities of Bell Gardens, Monrovia,
Ruben DuranBarstow, La Habra Heights and
Beverly Hills. He has also provided special counsel to the City of Pasadena. As assistant general counsel for the Big Bear City Community Services District, Ruben advised
staff on general transactional matters and an endangered species consultation with the U.S. Forest Service, California Fish and Game and neighboring jurisdictions.
Selection and Recruitment of the Desert Hot Springs City Attorney
The City Council of the City of Desert Hot Springs has announced a selection in the recruitment and appointment of a City Attorney.
In a special closed session of the City Council held Monday, September 25, the City Manager reported the results of a comprehensive Request for Proposal (RFP) process for services. The City Council has selected Mr. Eric Dunn, of the firm Aleshire & Wynder, Irvine as the successful candidate.
"The three city Council members attending Closed Session voted unanimously to direct the City Manager to finalize a professional services agreement with the firm based upon the firm's response to the RFP when responses to the RFP were received. "Six firms were interviewed by the City Council," stated the City Manager. "Two finalists - Aleshire & Wynder, Irvine and Meyers Nave, Los Angeles - were requested to submit supplemental information for several categories of legal support, including general services, special services, litigation and third party contracts."
"It was a very thorough process," stated Mayor Pro-Tem Mary Stephens. "The two finalists are both extremely capable firms, with sound experience. But in the last analysis, it became an issue of a full service firm, which understands the issues facing DHS in the Coachella Valley."
Councilmember Yvonne Parks stated, "My particular interest was in the area of personnel risk management, particularly police personnel litigation. It is essential that the City Attorney present a strategy to reduce our exposure to personal litigation."
"The City Attorney is a critical member of the City policy team," commented Councilmember Hohenstein. "I think Eric and his team both embrace the DHS vision and will complement our City's community development strategy.
The City anticipates that a final agreement for services will be submitted to the City Council for action within two weeks.
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Time Warner Cable Subscribers Without Services
A fire was responsible for the severe damage done to a Southern California Edison utility box which also carried the television and service cables for Time Warner of Desert Hot Springs. Saturday afternoon football was interrupted while repair personnel rushed to the site of the damage.
Upon contacting Director of Public Affairs, Kathi Jacobs at Desert Hot Springs Time Warner, The Valley Breeze was told it would be all day and possibly the next before repairs were completed on the damage done to cable lines, since this unit is the main distribution point for Desert Hot Springs and Sky Valley.
Due to an efficient Time Warner team, working closely with Southern California Edison, televisions in Desert Hot Springs were running by 6:30 am Sunday morning on south Palm Drive. When televisions were turned on they responded.
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City Manager Speaks on Layoffs at Mayors Breakfast
Held in the Mirage East and Mirage West rooms, it
was standing-room only as an estimated 200 people filed into the two rooms which had to be expanded
with extra chairs and settings to accommodate the unexpected crowd of Desert Hot Springs citizens
and visitors. They were there to hear what might be
done about the budgetary shortfall facing Desert Hot Springs and what we all might do to help get
the City back on track. City Manager Ann Marie
Gallant explained that it takes a budget of $2.5 million to keep all required services open and
operating. She also explained that the City of Desert Hot Springs is in a better place than it
might be, because much of our services are outsourced, thereby resulting in less people being laid
off. As it is, many of the positions being suspended were those with no actual people; or in other
words, jobs that were unattended or vacant.
The total number of lay offs came to 20, including
Edna Wells, Curator of Cabot’s Pueblo Museum, a few police officers, as well as all Code Enforcement
officers. The City Manager’s plan to “tighten our
belts” is a 24 month plan; “new development will generate more revenue, but it’s going to be a
little lean at city hall.” The immediate layoff of
some staff is necessary to have the funds for normal operation. Ms Gallant says the City will
implement the 4-10 Plan, operating 7:00 am to 6:00 pm, reducing or re-deploying staff. As for Cabot’s Museum, it will remain open and
operating 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. The police will still
be out there “busting bad guys” and there will be no reduction in Fire Department, due to the fact
that the City has a highend contract with the Riverside County Department of Forestry, and “Desert
Hot Springs is blessed to have them.” In the realm
of Animal Control, a topic that has for years, been very close to the hearts of many of Desert Hot
Springs residents, Police Chief Walt McKenny has a plan for bettering the operation of the shelter.
The Desert Hot Springs Animal Shelter has been called one of the better operated facilities in the
valley, if not the best, with an outstanding, professional director in June Parker. The people at city hall are willing to work at
correcting our problems and City Manager Gallant says she expects most of them to be placed in
positions by Halloween. She also suggested we need a
to develop a community network to cover the populace when there is an emergency. Desert Hot Springs
is in a location that can be isolated in the event of earthquake or flood. Colleen Farber asked, in a Q&A session who do we call in case of an
emergency. She was told that Steve Mendoza, the Community Director would be the person to contact
and who would respond. He is also the new Webmaster for the City’s website, making it much easier to
get updated information. Mark Harley of Land Tours
spoke on the firing of Edna Wells from Cabot’s Museum, where he conducts his visitor’s tours, saying
that the museum was one of the highlights of his tours and part of the reason he started his
business. He was reassured that in this regard, nothing would change. Gloria Nelson, of the Chamber of Commerce thanked the attendees after
closing remarks by Mayor Alex Bias and the meeting was dismissed with many citizens hopefully more
informed.
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CITIZENS RALLY ‘ROUND CABOT’S MUSEUM
When citizens of Desert Hot Springs learned that Cabot’s Pueblo Museum would be without a manager due to the recent city layoffs, they came out in force Wednesday night to offer help. At a meeting of the Cabot’s Museum Foundation board, 20 concerned residents attended, and many expressed their desire to help the museum through its current transition.
During the public comments section of the meeting, representatives of the Desert Hot Springs Historical Society expressed their wish to discuss merging with Cabot’s Museum Foundation to provide a broader view of DHS history. Other individuals came forward offering their expertise in advertising, public relations and other museum-related skills.
The museum is a property of the City of Desert Hot Springs, and the Foundation is a separate non-profit organization for fundraising and promotion purposes. City Manager, Ann Marie Gallant, stated that the City still has adequate funds for capital improvements at the museum, but that the “people energy” was needed from volunteers. She encouraged the merging of the 2 historical entities, and also proposed that two board members consider applying to the Community and Cultural Affairs Commission to maintain close liaison with the city.
A volunteer work party calling themselves “Cabot’s Cleaners” will meet to begin a general cleaning of the museum and grounds on September 9, at 7:30 a.m. Persons interested in volunteering either for the cleaning or for Docent or other roles may contact Marsha Perez at 329-0222.
Contact: Alta Hester, Secretary, DHS Historical Society, 251-4549
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DHS City Councilmembers Reject MSHCP in Letter to CVAG
Although stating the hope that ongoing
negotiations and discussions the past days, regarding the Multi Species Habitat
Conservation Plan, would result in major resolution of the issues facing Desert Hot
Springs, the two Council Members, Mary Stephens and Yvonne Parks put forth in a
letter to Supervisor Marion As In outlining a response they wrote:
"During the past months, we believe that numerous issues on this plan, negatively
impacting our City, have been outlined. The City has expended hours in negotiations,
meetings and discussions. We have hired independent consultants, analysts and
biologists. We have held lengthy public meetings and forums.. These efforts have
merited no solution for our City under this plan as written. Absent the plan, Desert
Hot Springs is affected minimally by a limited number of presently listed, endangered
species. Under the plan, we are negatively impacted by sixteen additional,
non-endangered species; a 1200 ft. biological corridor that accommodates these
species; an uncertain and loosely defined CVCC major amendment process; not to
mention numerous issues on economic development, private property rights and future
annexations." Thus they accepted the CVAG
Executive Committee decision of June 26, to proceed with re-circulation of the EIR,
excluding Desert Hot Springs. Although they disagreed with the decision, they
promised to be following with interest, the environmental process, in determining the
impacts it will have on our city regarding future economic viability and community
development. The letter was signed by
Councilmembers Yvonne Parks and Mary Stephens, with copies to Mayor Alex Bias, City
Manager Ann Marie Gallant and Councilmen Hank Hohenstein and Gary Bosworthhley and John Wohlmuth of
CVAG, that they have determined that further negotiations would not merit the desired
and essential concessions on this plan so necessary to our City. The women stated
that there seems to be as much uncertainty now, as ever before.
Desert Hot Springs City Council Stands By Its Guns
The Desert Hot Springs citizens owe a big debt of gratitude
to the Desert Hot Springs 3 for standing up for what they believe to be the right thing to do for the city
and community.
With a 3 - 2 vote, the Multi-Species Habitat Conservation Plan was put down, with Mayor Alex Bias and Councilman Gary Bosworth voting to approve the plan as stated. Council members Mary Stephens, Hank Hohenstein and Yvonne Parks are to be commended for their NO votes and their stance on this devastating plan.
Although Supervisor Marion Ashley was disappointed, saying, "I think Desert Hot Springs made a big mistake..." the council who voted not to accept the plan as written, were disappointed in Ashley, as well.
During Tuesday night's City Council meeting, the debate drolled on, after hearing from the public's overwhelming stance against the plan, until the audience began groaning at Mayor Bias to stop talking and vote. This came on the heels of Councilwoman Yvonne Parks' call for a vote.
On KPSI Radio am, Wednesday morning, Councilwoman Parks was the guest of host Steve Kelly, as she discussed why she voted not to accept the MSHCP. Mrs. Parks represents Desert Hot Springs in a strong and meaningful way. The city voters made a wise decision when they opted to put her into office.
Supervisor Ashley, who represents Desert Hot Springs, now says he would like to see the plan rewritten to leave the city out of the plan. This is a bit of a controversy, since Ashley represents Desert Hot Springs.
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Charles Victor Nawroth, 78 passes on to his reward
Friend of Desert Hot Springs, Charles Nawroth, passed away May 11, 2006, at home in Cathedral City. "Chuck", as he was known to his many friends in Desert Hot Springs was a good-natured, friendly, but quiet man, who dearly loved his wife Pauline, who was at his side at his passing and throughout their marriage since July 18, 1966, when they were married aboard the M.S.S Nili in the Port of Miami, in Miami, Florida. In healthier times, Charles was a real estate broker for 17 years with Marilyn Perlin Realtors and was active with Cabots Museum, Save A Pet, the Chaparral Garden Club and the Desert Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce. He was also a friend of Pegasus. During World War II, Chuck served as a Radio Operator in the United States Army.
He is survived by his wife, Pauline, a longtime community activist in Desert Hot Springs, who did much over the years, attempting to enrich and to better the city and community. He is survived also by his daughter, Teddine Smith of Orange, California.
Private arrangements are under the direction of Rose Mortuary of Desert Hot Springs. The family suggests memorials to Odyssey Hospice, Rancho Mirage, California.
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New City Manager for Desert Hot Springs
After a closed door se
ssion on February 28, 2006, the Desert Hot Springs City Council finally selected a new city manager by a 3-2 vote, with Councilwomen Mary Stephens and Yvonne Parks casting the two votes opposing the appointment. The City Manager is Ann Marie Gallant, who interviewed at a previous city manager public forum in mid- 2005.
One reason she was selected was due to her being able to communicate with the community and the city hall staff. Gallant will have a salary of $155,000 and benefits the same as city employees. She had tried to negotiate for better benefits but this was turned down by the City Council members. Gallant is due to start in her new position in 30 days or so, and will discuss details of her resignation as
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Just north of Palm Springs, in the shadow of the Little San Bernardino Mountains, is the city of Desert Hot Springs.The dramatic mountain views and geographical segregation from the desert cities "mainland" imparts a sense of peace and quiet to this community of about 19,300 residents.
Minnesota homesteader Cabot Yerxa founded Desert Hot Springs in 1913. After settling down in the desert, he hit pay dirt with the accidental discovery of the now-legendary natural hot springs, a driving force of the city’s economy. Yerxa also constructed Cabot’s Old Indian Pueblo Museum, a 35-room Hopi-style adobe that is a popular tourist attraction.
Thousands of visitors make Desert Hot Springs their getaway destination to partake in the magnificent spa resorts and experience the "medicinal powers" of the natural mineral springs. Famous Miracle Springs Resort and Spa boasts eight natural hot mineral pools and a luxurious swimming pool framed by majestic palm trees. Two Bunch Palms Natural Hot Springs Resort and Spa is an exclusive hideaway set on a 256-acre natural desert oasis. Many claim to have bumped into a celebrity or two during a stay at either spa.
The Water
The city is also home to another celebrated resource — its award-winning municipal drinking water. When judged for flavor, odor and aftertaste, it consistently receives awards in the top 10 rank at international competitions. In 1999, the city proudly received the award for "Best Drinking Water in the World."
Desert Hot Springs is ever-evolving with the urbanization of its downtown area and the addition of many new housing developments.The locals need not travel far to enjoy popular restaurants, take in a movie, visit a park or shop at a major retail store. Desert Hot Springs is ready to support the new frontier of residents that have discovered this unique, friendly and history rich community