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Desert Recreation District reports strong participation but flags higher maintenance costs for Cathedral City parks
Summary
DRD staff told Cathedral City council they are maintaining six city parks and running growing programs (kids clubs, summer feeding, aquatics) but warned utility and maintenance costs mean the city may exceed its initial park-maintenance budget for FY 2025–26.
The Desert Recreation District (DRD) told the Cathedral City City Council on July 22 that its first full year of operations in the city is producing strong community participation but higher-than-expected maintenance costs.
Anne Ambrose, who introduced the update, said the city and DRD signed a services agreement and a tax-exchange agreement on Feb. 12, 2025, but annexation has not occurred and the city is operating under a direct-bill model. “We in the services agreement outlined what our initial costs and budget were and DRD is directly billing us for those services provided,” Ambrose said, adding that the city had budgeted $1,798,000 for FY 2025–26 and that expenditures through May showed roughly $1,420,000 in park maintenance and $248,000 for recreation programming.
DRD’s community service coordinator, Anna Velasquez, provided participation counts for programming: the kids craft club is drawing about “30 to 45 kids” per session, the summer feeding program served “about 20 to 25 children and their families” in June and July, and the Water Day partnership with the fire department saw about 300 children this year. Velasquez also described new offerings—adaptive swim, lifeguard training, senior “coffee and conversation” programs—and said DRD has hired local residents to staff city programs.
Scott Cyr, DRD’s public information and legislative affairs officer, described the agency’s maintenance priorities across six parks (Dennis Keeys Soccer Park, Panorama Park, Ocotillo Park, Century Park, Esperanza Park and Patriot Park): daily visibility, restroom cleaning, repair-first approaches and coordination with public safety. “One of our main goals this year is being communicated on when we’re going to be shutting down the parks for receding because I know that’s a big impact to the community,” Cyr said, adding DRD will “shut it down” where equipment poses a safety risk.
Council members praised the programming and responsiveness but pressed staff on budget trajectory and outreach to Spanish-speaking residents. Ambrose and DRD staff said the city will continue quarterly updates and work on a multiyear services agreement: “Now that we’re into our second year, and we haven’t fully gone into annexation, we will be working with them to identify those costs,” Ambrose said.
Next steps: staff and DRD will return with more detailed fiscal assessments and proposals to adjust service levels and possible budget tweaks; council requested a more detailed financial discussion at the August follow-up meeting.
