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Coachella council extends preapproved engineering contracts and approves downtown lease for El Trandia restaurant
Summary
The City Council approved amendments to extend several preapproved engineering contracts (each with a $200,000 annual cap) and voted to lease a downtown city building to restaurateur Oscar Ventura (El Trandia) for a project staff described as the "Heart of Coachella." Council said most engineering costs will be billed to specific capital projects or grants rather than the general fund.
The Coachella City Council on Feb. 11 approved an amendment extending a set of preapproved engineering/consultant contracts and separately authorized a lease of a downtown city building to local restaurateur Oscar Ventura.
On‑call engineering contracts: staff described the item as an extension of preapproved consultant lists that the city uses to respond quickly to project needs. Staff said the pool — which includes firms such as Dudek, Michael Baker and TKE — originally produced 21 responses and the city uses about eight regularly. The amendment sets a maximum of $200,000 per year per consultant and staff testified that most work billed to these consultants is charged to specific capital improvement projects, Measure A, SB1 or developer plan‑check fees rather than the General Fund. Council approved the amendment on a roll call vote.
Downtown lease: staff (Selena) presented a proposal to lease the former Chamber of Commerce building (about 6,098 sq ft) to Oscar Ventura of El Trandia; the concept, described in the application as "Heart of Coachella," would add an expanded restaurant/cafe presence downtown. Staff said the lease rate is $2 per square foot; the proposal estimated start‑up investments of about $150,000–$200,000 and noted that some rent relief or incentives were included in the economic development terms. Ventura told the council his business model emphasizes family service and community access and said existing programming (including the popular "dollar taco") draws regular and visiting customers.
Council members praised Ventura’s community involvement and supported activating the downtown property; the lease motion passed on a roll call vote.
What’s next: staff will finalize lease language and minor changes before execution and will continue to bring individual consultant purchases to council on an as‑needed basis when costs affect the General Fund or require separate approvals.
