Palm Springs mayor responds to COD’s feasibility study results

Palm Springs Mayor Lisa Middleton is responding to College of the Desert's needs assessment conducted for the school’s long-planned West Valley Campus in Palm Springs.

The plan has been in the works for more than a decade. The campus would be built at the location of the former Palm Springs Mall near the intersection of S Rafael Drive and E Baristo Road.

The school made a bid for the land in April 2014 using funds from Bond Measure B, which was approved by voters in 2004

The project continues to be in the works but it came to a head last month when then Palm Springs Mayor Christy Holstege called into a COD Board meeting to share residents' worries regarding west valley projects.

Holstege said she, along with residents of Palm Springs, is worried “about how COD is operating and have questions about how decisions are being made.”

Holstege cited the $22 million dollars in taxpayer funds that COD used to purchase the property intended for the Palm Springs expansion, which now sits vacant. 

This came after COD planned to relocate the Roadrunner Automotive campus from Cathedral City after years of planning.

COD officials stated that the West Valley project continues to move forward despite years of delays.

On Friday, Dr. Martha Garcia, COD's recently appointed Superintendent/President, sent an email to Middleton alerting her to the needs assessment conducted for the campus.

You can see the entire plan below:

In the interest of transparency, the City of Palm Springs provided the public with Mayor Middleton’s email response to Dr. Garcia

Dear President Garcia,

Thank you for sending this along. While I have yet to fully review the assessment,
my initial review confirms what the City of Palm Springs has believed all along—that
prior College of the Desert administrations have taken all of the steps necessary to
bring to fruition the West Valley Campus.

The West Valley Campus was promised to the voters of the Coachella Valley when
they approved Measures B and CC. The leadership of our region and my city came
together in support of the broad vision for College of the Desert that would be
inclusive of the entire Coachella Valley. As we all know gaining and sustaining
support for public education is as important as it is difficult. One of the many unique
features of our region has been the long-standing broad support for public
education and higher education across the region and across the political
spectrum.

As an elected leader, I would be negligent were I not to be clear that the broad public
support that the College of the Desert has earned and held for many years is at risk.
Public trust is at issue.

The City of Palm Springs remains committed to taking all action necessary to see
that the promises made are kept. The approved vision of the West Valley campus
was a transformative community college campus. A campus that would provide our
region’s community college students learning experiences and opportunities
typically found only in university settings. It is a campus that builds on the unique
synergies of Palm Springs and the west valley. We hope that the current College of
the Desert administration shares this vision and will work with the City of Palm
Springs and leaders across our region in those efforts.

Sincerely,
Lisa Middleton
Mayor, City of Palm Springs