Cathedral City Council approves fees, grants and event contracts; awards HSIP traffic contract

Cathedral City’s City Council voted on multiple administrative and contracting items at its April 23 meeting, including allocation of anticipated federal CDBG funds, adjustments to fee schedules, awards for signature city events and an HSIP traffic signal construction contract.

Key outcomes at a glance - Consent agenda: Council approved routine consent items, including minutes and project closeouts. Motion: Mayor Pro Tem Gregory; second: Councilmember Carnivale. Outcome: approved, unanimous vote (5‑0). - AB‑mandated vacancies presentation: The council received and approved the annual report on vacancies, recruitment and retention measures. Motion: Councilmember Gutierrez; second: Mayor Pro Tem Gregory. Outcome: approved 5‑0. - CDBG FY 2025–26 Annual Action Plan: Council approved staff’s draft allocation approach and submission of the annual action plan to HUD. Staff noted HUD had not yet posted the final allocation but anticipates an amount similar to last year (about $530,000). Proposed public‑improvement funding would continue pavement reconstruction work in the Whitewater neighborhood (approx. $424,000 proposed; final award will be adjusted to HUD allocation). Motion: Councilmember Lam; second: Mayor Pro Tem Gregory. Outcome: approved 5‑0. - City user/regulatory fee schedule: Council held a public hearing and adopted updates to user and regulatory fees (building, planning, fire, police, etc.) reflecting cost‑of‑service calculations and administrative changes. Motion: Councilmember Gutierrez; second: Councilmember Lam. Outcome: approved 5‑0. - Development impact fee (DIF) inflation update: Council adopted an 18‑month, 2.97% inflation adjustment to the city’s DIF schedule (ENR construction index), a timing catch‑up to align the fee schedule with the fiscal year; staff estimated a $60,000 revenue impact on a like‑for‑like development year. Motion: Mayor Pro Tem Gregory; second: Councilmember Lam. Outcome: approved 5‑0. - Signature events contracts: Council approved multi‑year event production agreements for three events and authorized the city manager to execute documents: - State of the City (Hawker Productions) — recommendation approved. Outcome: approved 5‑0. - Taste of Jalisco (SoundSkills Inc.) — recommendation approved. Outcome: approved 5‑0. - Cathedral City LGBT+ Days (Montage Agency) — recommendation approved. Outcome: approved 5‑0. Staff described budgets in line with the communications and events allocation and noted optional renewals tied to performance. - Cathedral City International Hot Air Balloon Festival: Council approved a three‑year agreement with SoundSkills to operate the festival (Friday–Sunday format), with budget adjustments that reallocated Taste & Sounds and communications professional services funds to support balloon festival production in the current biennium. Motion: Mayor Pro Tem Gregory; second: Councilmember Lam. Outcome: approved 5‑0. - HSIP Cycle 9A traffic signal improvements (12 intersections): Council awarded the construction contract to Elecnor Belco Electric as the lowest responsive bidder and approved a 23% contingency. Contract amount: $850,888; total encumbrance with contingency: $1,051,400. Motion: Mayor Pro Tem Gregory; second: Councilmember Gutierrez. Outcome: approved 5‑0. - SB‑821 Bicycle and Pedestrian Facilities Program grant application: Council authorized staff to submit an application for a Class III bike route on Avenida Maravilla. Project estimate: $763,000; local match proposed at 50% ($381,500) paid from traffic safety funds. Motion: Councilmember Gutierrez; second: Mayor Pro Tem Gregory. Outcome: approved 5‑0.

Other business - The council received an informational update on the state fire hazard severity zone maps from Fire Chief Contreras; staff said Cathedral City contains only moderate zones under the April 2025 maps and described planned outreach on defensible‑space and home‑hardening programs. That item was informational; no ordinance adoption occurred that night.

What this means Taken together the approvals maintain planned pavement work, update fees to reflect cost studies and construction‑cost inflation, secure event production vendors for signature gatherings through multi‑year agreements, and fund a multi‑intersection HSIP safety project. Council and staff repeatedly emphasized the projects are within the adopted biennial budget or will return with contract awards for construction and HUD allocations once those amounts are finalized.