Desert Hot Springs mayor declares turnaround year

Public Record, The, Feb 08, 2005 by Kleinschmidt, Janice

Mayors love their cities - and sometimes their cities love them back. Desert Hot Springs Mayor Matt Weyuker falls into that category.

The city's mayor since 1999, Weyuker received no less than two standing ovations at his Jan. 26 state-of-the-city address. The first came before he began speaking and was an acknowledgment from the full house of his perseverance, not only through the city's financial struggles, but also for his grace through an undiagnosed neurological condition that has left him in a wheelchair and slowed and slurred his speech.

His sense of humor, however, remains intact. Upon calling for the "slide show" (PowerPoint) operator, the mayor began, "This is what I did on my summer vacation."

Getting down to business, the mayor said 2004 "was a transition year for our city, yet it was a metamorphic time for us.

"Major strides" he continued, "were taken to assure the residents of our great little city with the big heart a future."

First and foremost, the city emerged from bankruptcy in 2004 not a small task given the $9 million debt it faced after losing a lawsuit filed by a developer. The mayor lauded city staff and the city council for hard work and creativity, but singled out Vice Mayor Mary Stephens for "unswerving perseverance."

Alluding to his slow speech, the mayor then explained that he asked Stephens to assist him in reading his state-of-the-city address so the luncheon audience would not be there until dinner.

Stephens began specifics with community safety, which has a 2004-2005 budget of $4,577,608, including police, fire, code enforcement and animal control expenses. In October, the city council approved a $490,854 increase to the police department budget of $2.7 million for additional staffing, equipment and operational costs. In January, the council approved a further increase of $17,244. The additions pay for three more officers (for a total of 27 sworn officers), additional overtime and replacement of a police car.

Also in January, the council approved a $183,624 bump in its contract with Riverside County to increase staffing from two to three firefighters. 'This increase has been long overdue for one of the busiest, unsung departments in all of Riverside County," Weyuker said.

Code enforcement was budgeted at $305,467. Animal control expenditures were budgeted at $260,343. "We've gone from having one of the worst shelters in the county and euthanasia rates to one of the best in Southern California," the mayor said.

Nearly $4 million has been budgeted for "long back-burnered capital improvement projects," Stephens said, enumerating street repairs and repaving, sewer pavement rehabilitation, recycling, replacement of city vehicles (possibly CNG models) and new Desert Hot Springs Civic/Community Center. Completed projects include street rehabilitation, traffic signals, a BMX park under construction north of Hacienda Avenue between East and West Arroyo drives, a Veterans Memorial Park just south of Mission Lakes Boulevard and west of Palm Drive, the comprehensive master plan update that started in September and land acquisition for the new civic center.

Several 2004 capital projects were completed under budget (by $10 to $28,000), including traffic signal, drainage, road and sidewalk improvements. The comprehensive master plan update is budgeted at $350,000.

Congressman Jerry Lewis was credited with helping the city secure $1.2 million in federal funds to design, engineer and begin construction on the new civic center. "But we'll need about $12 million more to bring the project to completion by 2008," Stephens added. The City Hall/Civic Center Project comprises new facilities for City Hall departments, a park, amphitheater, Olympic-size pool, 20,000-square-foot Boys & Girls Club and 20,000-square-foot community center.

In the 2004-2005 budget, the city council approved creation of a reserve of more than $1.9 million. "Much of this figure is due in part to all of the new growth, although much of it is spoken for," Weyuker said. More than $200,000 has been set aside to repair damage to streets caused by January rains. Other reserves are earmarked for vehicle replacement ($75,000), bankruptcy bond payments ($495,000), emergency medical services ($75,000), and increased employee benefits ($500,000), as well as $225,000 for unknown liability claims, $250,000 for economic uncertainty and $260,000 for future programs.

Desert Hot Springs set a record in 2004 with $171 million in building permits issued, including 1,086 single-family residences valued at $146.4 million. The city has approved 16 housing developments, totaling more than 10,000 additional singlefamily homes. "Some of these large projects include golf courses and other amenities," Stephens said. Stone Ridge comprises 2,200 homes, and Highland Falls comprises 3,500 homes, two golf courses, a clubhouse and restaurant.

Additionally, there are several commercial projects in the works: (1) Guardian Self Storage, a 96,000-square-foot storage facility consisting of 13 buildings on 10 acres east of Little Morongo Road, north of Two Bunch Palms Road; (2) an office/light industrial development on 15 acres in the same area; (3) light industrial facilities on 9 acres east of Little Morongo Road, south of Avenue 15; (4) an office/retail/restaurant center with 67,760 square feet on 6.6 acres at Mission Lakes; (5) an office/retail center with 13,920 square feet on .9 acres at 13125 Palm Drive; and (6) a 6,452square-foot Starbucks at Two Bunch Palms and Palm drives.