An interview with Palm Springs Mayor Moon ahead of state of the city
Mayor Robert Moon is again set to deliver this year’s State of the City address Thursday at the Palm Springs Convention Center.
Moon took a walking tour of downtown with News Channel 3’s Jeff Stahl where he said, “I always love to talk about our city of Palm Springs because it’s such an incredible place.”
The mayor says exciting new offerings continue to develop downtown. “The next phase includes residential downtown behind the Kimpton, as well as a new grocery store downtown,” said Moon. “We don’t know who it will be yet,” he added.
When we spoke to the mayor last year just before his address, the excitement was all about the Kimpton the Rowan Hotel. It was just a couple of months from its grand opening. It’s now open. And the mayor says there’s a lot more to talk about than just downtown Palm Springs.
“I’m emphasizing things like the new park that’s going in, the Palm Springs Art Museum, and the theaters we have in Palm Springs, and arts and culture,” said Moon.
The mayor is now looking forward to the historic Town and Country Center’s planned revamp saying, “It’s going to be a gateway a segue between the new downtown over here, and the park, and all the shops downtown and the new cultural center the tribe is building and we’re all very excited about.”
Last year during his speech, the Mayor called the Hyatt Andaz Hotel project “Stonehenge” because it wasn’t going anywhere. But he also said he’d been promised work would begin soon. It has. Moon said, “It’s going great guns. I talked to the general manager who is going to be running the hotel. They say they’re going to be open in February. I think that’s a little aggressive, but it’ll definitely be open the first part of the year.”
On Homelessness, the mayor says after last June’s closure of Roy’s Desert Resource Center, getting people into housing first is now the priority so they can get them back on their feet.
Is the city living up to the challenge? Moon said, “We’re doing a lot better. The city I believe is spending $1.3 million on the effort, the Desert Healthcare District is spending a lot of money on it. So is the Coachella Valley Association of Governments.” Moon says the state will also need to do more on this statewide problem.
On Marijuana and the new Measure E tax, Moon says the city has the infrastructure and is ready for the industry as it’s set to grow. “I understand there are plans for a few marijuana lounges to go in downtown. But there are very strict rules on those,” Moon said. He cites rules for outside design, lighting, ventilation, visibility, and access restricting minors adding, “as long as all those requirements are met, they should be a fine addition to downtown.”
The mayor says the recently enacted Measure D half-cent sales tax is also paying off on its focus on public safety greatly helping with the purchase of 25 police vehicles, 3 fire engines and a lot of equipment to go in them. Moon says Measure D made the difference. “We would have been hard-pressed to be able to afford that equipment for our public safety officers for all these things without Measure D,” said Moon.
The mayor is moving away from the Palm Springs corruption scandal involving former mayor Steve Pougnet and two developers Richard Meaney and John Wessman. Their trials have yet to begin after more than a year of bribery charges being announced. Moon said, “We’ve moved beyond that. I think we’ve restored the integrity of the council and of the mayor’s office.” On improving city transparency, Moon touts the numerous public meetings offered by the city and the public availability of city information on the web.
The city council has also put 11 million dollars into in a set-aside account to address pension funding deficits, according to Moon. The city has estimated its annual pension and retiree health care obligations could jump to $25 million dollars by 2022.
On short-term vacation rentals, the mayor said the recent controversy has simmered following a public vote he supported. In June, residents voted to allow short-term rentals to continue in the city. Moon says STR permits have gone down slightly this year, he believes due to city’s increased licensing requirements and enforcement. Moon continued, “we have a system that so far is working and we intend fully to make sure it continues to work.” Nine people are working to manage the city’s STRs. There are also public monthly meetings held where anyone can discuss any concerns about them.
The public is invited to hear the mayor’s state of the city address Thursday at noon at the convention center.
A luncheon kicks off at 11:30 a.m., with FREE seats for those who only want to attend the
speech.
There will also be video updates from each city council member on other important ongoing city projects.
To reserve a spot for the event, visit www.pschamber.org or call (760) 325-1577.
Download the KESQ & CBS Local 2 app on iTunes or Google Play for up-to-the-minute breaking news alerts & more
More: I-Team and Stands for You investigations
Find us on Facebook: KESQ News Channel 3 & CBS Local 2
Follow us on Twitter for breaking news updates: @KESQ & @Local2
We’re on Instagram! @KESQ_News_Channel_3 & @CBSLocal2
Noticias en español: Telemundo 15
