Valley mayors provide city updates at the 8th Annual Mayors and Tribal Luncheon

Coachella Valley mayors were in attendance at the 8th Annual All Valley Mayors and Tribal Chairpersons Luncheon hosted by the Greater Coachella Valley Chamber of Commerce.

The mayors discussed topics that affect residents across the valley like tax policies, emerging industries, job creation and new business regulations.

City of Indio

Mayor Oscar Ortiz of the city of Indio said that boosting the local economy continues to be a top priority.

Mayor Ortiz pointed to the expansion of Downtown Indio as a result of the city's investment in small businesses.

The mayor said his goal is to drive more money into the area and to keep his promise to Indio residents who want to see more job opportunities in their city.

“One of the big business opportunities coming is downtown...we have seven new restaurants coming in. We signed similar contracts with all seven of them, all local to the Coachella Valley, and they're going to be bringing in more opportunities for restaurants, entertainment, arts, and hopefully bringing back year round jobs in Downtown Indio," said Mayor Ortiz.

City of La Quinta

Mayor Linda Evans of the city of La Quinta reflected on the infrastructure changes that prevented major damage to the city after Tropical Storm Hilary.

Mayor Linda Evans said that the city has invested millions of dollars since a flood that damaged many residences and businesses in 2014.

The Mayor said the city's infrastructure improvements could serve as a roadmap for other cities that experienced the worst of the flood damage.

“We're pleased that with the exception of a couple of water crossings, which we're working on now, we really didn't have damage to homes and businesses like we experienced in 2014… we have slowly continued to improve areas, we still have about 10 million more to go and some pockets that we've seen that are still rising water. But for the most part, we made that work. I'm very proud that we took that initiative.,"said Mayor Linda Evans.

City of Coachella

Mayor Steven Hernandez of the city of Coachella said there are plenty of positive changes coming to the city.

Mayor Hernandez said that the city is focused on improving the lives of working class families.

"We have over 600 units of housing that have been constructed and 300 at an affordable market rate, we continue to invest in our infrastructure…we have a new city annex, that's coming…new parks that are also going to be under construction, new businesses that are moving into Coachella..."said Mayor Steven Hernandez.