The Palm Springs City Council voted Jan. 14 to authorize two professional services agreements totaling $2,072,000 to advance design coordination, public engagement and implementation planning for a Convention Center district connector project.

Staff presented the package that includes a $1,500,000 contract with MELC (urban planning) and a $572,000 contract with Multi Studio (district branding/marketing). Chief economic development officer Wayne Olsen said the work is funded by Measure J with reimbursement expected from future project debt and that the action does not authorize construction — it covers design coordination, stakeholder engagement and implementation planning.

Multiple councilmembers questioned the breakdown of fees. Mayor Pro Tem Reddy and Councilmember DeHart flagged that a substantial portion of the MELC contract (~$700k by staff description) and the Multi Studio contract (roughly $320k) was allocated to community engagement and visioning rather than to producing final design options. “So long and short of it is approximately $708,100 in assess[ment] and public engagement, and only 500 or so is, in essence, gonna be what they produce for some options,” Reddy said, urging closer scrutiny of duplication and overlap with existing tourism and hospitality stakeholders.

Procurement manager Tabitha Richards said staff audited consultants’ proposed hours and rates, aligned scope with the stakeholder group’s schedule and included what the city believes are the maximum number of meetings needed up front to avoid repeated contract amendments. Staff also said an interim owner’s representative (Conventional Wisdom) will manage the consultants until a permanent owner’s rep is selected through a subsequent RFP; Rick Schmidt will be the interim point person.

Council members requested that staff monitor travel and scope overlap, keep close oversight of engagement deliveries, and ensure the stakeholder list (PS Resorts, Palm Springs Hospitality Association, the Chamber, Visit Greater Palm Springs) is integrated rather than duplicated. After discussion about coordination and the project budget (a $25,000,000 connector budget was cited), the council moved and approved the agreements.

Staff said the contracts will be monitored closely and that regular updates will be provided to council as the work progresses.