Coachella City Council meeting cancelled hours before start

COACHELLA, Calif. (KESQ) - Wednesday's Coachella City Council meeting has been cancelled with just a few hours before it was set to start.

The city announced the cancellation shortly after 3:10 p.m. in an email and on the city page.

"Due to unforeseen circumstances, the April 29, 2026 City Council Special Meeting is cancelled," the city's email reads.

City officials confirmed the meeting was cancelled due to a family emergency for a councilmember. Mayor Frank Figueroa told News Channel 3's Shay Lawson that he wanted to make sure every councilmember was in attendance, so he made the call to cancel.

All previously scheduled agenda items will be continued to a future Special Meeting time, according to the city.

Wednesday's meeting was set to start at 5 p.m.

The meeting was set to be Dr. Frank Figueroa's first official meeting as the city's new mayor. Figueroa was appointed mayor during last week's meeting following a contentious back-and-forth between the four-person council.

Check Out: Dr. Frank Figueroa talks transition, priorities in first interview since being named mayor

Figueroa replaces Steven Hernandez, who was convicted of conflict of interest last month.

The city still needs to fill its vacancy on the council.

Councilmembers were also set to discuss the future of the city manager position. Last week, they were originally set to appoint Gabriel A. Gonzalez as City Manager. Gonzalez has been working as the interim city manager. However, the vote was tabled to April 29 as councilmembers wanted to discuss the appointment further.

At the very end of the meeting, Gonzalez withdrew his name from consideration.

There was no word on what would happen next with the position.

Stay with News Channel 3 for continuing updates.