Jun 05, 2026 Special City Council Meetings

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FOR YOU. GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYBODY. WELCOME TO THE CITY OF COACHELLA. SPECIAL CITY

[Call to Order]

[Approval of Agenda]

THANK YOU. ANY WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS? NONE. NO, NONE. SO AT THIS TIME, WE HAVE THE

[New Business]

PENALOZA. SIX WILL BE MARTIN PEREZ, SEVENTH WILL BE ISAAC ZEPEDA, EIGHTH WILL BE IVONNE ZAPATA, NINTH WILL BE EVA LARA, AND 10TH WILL BE ANDREW GALLEGOS. AND. BUT BEFORE WE BEGIN TO INTERVIEWS, WE WILL START WITH PUBLIC COMMENTS. IF THERE IS ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS AT THIS TIME, WE WILL HAVE INDIVIDUALS AND THEY WILL HAVE THEIR THREE MINUTES TO BE ABLE TO DO THEIR PUBLIC COMMENT. AND THEN, OF COURSE, THE COMMENTS ARE DIRECTED AT THE CITY COUNCIL. IF YOU DO HAVE A QUESTION THAT YOU ARE RECOMMENDING THE CITY COUNCIL ASK CANDIDATES, YOU CAN ALSO GIVE THOSE TO THE CITY CLERK AS WELL. WE CAN TAKE THOSE INTO CONSIDERATION AS WE CONTINUE IN THE INTERVIEW PROCESS. WITH THAT, WE WILL START WITH THE FIRST PUBLIC COMMENT. BUENAS TARDES. GOOD AFTERNOON. I JUST GOT A QUESTION FOR THE NEW MEMBERS THAT WOULD LIKE TO BE THE ON THE COUNCIL WAS THERE THINKING ABOUT FROM NOW TO NOVEMBER. DO THEY HAVE ANYTHING PLANNED TO RUN FOR THE NEXT COUNCIL SEATS? THAT'S ALL I WANT TO KNOW. THANK YOU. LORETTA PEREZ. OKAY, SO I WANT TO SEE IF YOU CAN ASK, WHAT ARE YOUR TOP THREE PRIORITIES FOR OUR CITY IN THE NEXT SIX MONTHS? WHAT IDEAS DO YOU HAVE TO HELP SENIORS AND OUR MOST VULNERABLE, SUCH AS A SPECIAL NEEDS COMMUNITY AND CHILDREN OF OUR CITY? AND DO YOU SUPPORT FLOCK CAMERAS IS ANOTHER QUESTION. AND THEN WHAT KIND OF SUGGESTIONS DO YOU HAVE TO HELP THE CITIZENS GET SOLAR PANELS OUTSIDE OF THE AREA? BECAUSE I KNOW THAT WE ALREADY HAVE THAT FOR THEM, BUT OUTSIDE OF THE AREA. OKAY. THANK YOU, CLAUDIA GOMEZ. HI. MY QUESTION TO THE CANDIDATES WOULD BE. HOW MANY YEARS HAVE YOU LIVED IN THE CITY OF COACHELLA? AND DO YOU HAVE ANY LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE? WHAT IS THE BIGGEST

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ANY APPOINTMENT, ANY APPOINTEE WITH FINANCIAL TIES TO STRONGHOLD LINKED ENTITIES, SUPERVISOR PEREZ URBAN FUTURE INC OR ANY PARTY CONNECTED TO THE FEBRUARY 11TH, 2026 VOTE MUST BE DISCLOSED ON THE RECORD BEFORE ANY APPOINTMENT IS MADE. LAST NIGHT, THIS COUNCIL TOOK A HISTORIC VOTE. PERMANENT DATA CENTER BAN, FULL EXIT FROM THE STRONGHOLD AGREEMENT. THAT WAS THE RIGHT DECISION. DO NOT UNDERMINE IT. WITH THE CONFLICTED APPOINTMENT TODAY, THE INVESTIGATIONS ARE ACTIVE. THE PUBLIC RECORD IS BUILDING. THE COMMUNITY IS WATCHING EVERY VOTE FROM HERE FORWARD. AND THIS IS ALSO PRESSURE TO THE DA TO FOLLOW UP ON MY COMPLAINTS.

IT'S ON THE PUBLIC RECORD NOW. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. JOANNE RAMOS. HERE'S MY EMAIL TO CONFIRM RECEIPT FROM THIS IS MY EMAIL TO THE D.A. THESE ARE THE RECEIPTS THAT MY FPPC RECEIVED, MY COMPLAINTS. AND HERE'S EMAIL CONFIRMATION THAT THEY WERE RECEIVED. HELLO AGAIN. MY NAME IS JOANNE LOMAS. WE'VE RECENTLY SEEN THE DANGERS OF NOT READING ALL THE INFORMATION PROVIDED ON AGENDA ITEMS BEFORE VOTING ON THEM BOTH AT THE CITY COUNCIL LEVEL AND AT THE PLANNING COMMISSION LEVEL. I WOULD LIKE TO ASK THE NEW COMMISSION OR THE NEW COUNCIL MEMBER IF THEY ARE COMMITTED TO READING ALL OF THE INFORMATION PROVIDED ON AGENDA ITEMS BEFORE COMING TO CITY COUNCIL, AND NOT SOLELY RELYING ON SUMMARIES PROVIDED BY STAFF OR CITY ATTORNEY. I'D ALSO LIKE TO ASK HOW THE NEW COUNCIL MEMBER WOULD APPROACH INTERACTING WITH THE NEIGHBORING UNINCORPORATED COMMUNITY OF THERMAL TO ENSURE WE'RE BEING GOOD NEIGHBORS, AND I THINK IN CASE NOBODY ASKS IT, WHAT IS THAT? CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS PLAN FOR CONTINUING THE WORK TO BAN DATA CENTERS AND MOVE THE MORATORIUM FORWARD. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU.

JAMES RODRIGUEZ. GOOD EVENING COUNCIL. JAMES RODRIGUEZ, COACHELLA CITY RESIDENT. I HAVE FOR A LONG TIME BEEN COMMENTING, SENDING WRITTEN OR ATTENDING ZOOM RECENTLY STARTED ATTENDING IN PERSON. AND I THINK THAT'S PROBABLY THE BEST COURSE OF ACTION FROM HERE ON OUT. SO I ENCOURAGE EVERYBODY TO CONTINUE TO COME. IT'S KIND OF DISHEARTENING TO NOT SEE VERY MANY PEOPLE HERE AS THERE WERE FOR OUR PREVIOUS MEETINGS. BUT WHAT I WANT TO ASK AND STATE ABOUT THAT IS HOW OFTEN, HOW FREQUENTLY, AND WHAT ISSUES HAVE BEEN AT THEIR. DISCUSSIONS WITH YOU IN THE PAST. HAVE THEY EVER COME TO THE CITY COUNCIL WITH ANYTHING BEFORE? HAVE THEY EVER SAID, I SUPPORT THIS PROJECT? I DON'T SUPPORT THAT PROJECT. HAVE THEY INDICATED

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SEEING NONE, WE'LL MOVE ON TO THE FIRST. I THANK EVERYBODY FOR THEIR COMMENTS AS WELL AND THE QUESTIONS THAT THEY WOULD THE SUGGESTION QUESTIONS TO BE ABLE TO ASK CANDIDATES. AND WITH THAT, WE'LL MOVE ON WITH THE FIRST CANDIDATE APPLICANT. MR. JONATHAN ZAMBRANO, IF YOU CAN, PLEASE. AND EVERY CANDIDATE WILL HAVE 15 MINUTES. AND SO THEN WE WILL BE TIMED OR SO WE'LL LET YOU KNOW WHERE YOU'RE AT. SO THAT WAY YOU KNOW HOW MUCH TIME YOU HAVE. SO WE'LL MOVE ON. AND SO, MR. JONATHAN, THE FLOOR IS YOURS. WELL GOOD AFTERNOON COUNCIL.

FIRST AND FOREMOST, I WANT TO QUICKLY THANK YOU GUYS FOR EVERYTHING THAT YOU GUYS HAVE DONE FOR THE BETTERMENT OF COACHELLA. MAYOR FRANK FIGUEROA, THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY OF ALLOWING ME TO INTERVIEW YOU AND ASK YOU QUESTIONS THAT THE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN WONDERING AND ASKING. SOME SAY THAT I DIDN'T ASK YOU A LOT OF HARD QUESTIONS, BUT I WAS JUST TRYING TO UNDERSTAND YOU AND UNDERSTAND THE COUNCIL ON CERTAIN DECISIONS. THANK YOU. I WANT TO I'M HERE BECAUSE I'VE BEEN TALKING TO A LOT OF THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS. THEY'VE RAISED A LOT OF CONCERNS TO ME. AND YEAH, I. I FEEL LIKE THIS IS THE ONLY THING THAT I CAN DO RIGHT NOW. THIS IS MY I FEEL THE RESPONSIBILITY TO COME AND DO WHAT I'M DOING BECAUSE OF ALL THE THINGS THAT I'VE BEEN HEARING THROUGH ALL THE PEOPLE. I'VE GOTTEN A LOT OF SUPPORT, BOTH THROUGH ONLINE AND IN PERSON. I WAS HERE YESTERDAY, GOT A LOT, A LOT OF SUPPORT. I UNDERSTAND THAT I DON'T HAVE THE EXPERIENCE THAT ALL THESE PEOPLE HAVE ARE HERE, AND I CAN COMMAND EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU GUYS FOR COMING UP AND DOING THIS. AND I DON'T MEAN TO DISRESPECT YOU GUYS BY COMING UP HERE. UNEXPERIENCED, YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN WORKING FOR ALL

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AND TO ANSWER THE GENTLEMAN'S QUESTION BACK THERE, IN MY INITIAL VIDEO THAT I HAD POSTED, I SAID THAT I WAS NOT GOING TO CONTINUE TO TO, TO RUN AFTER THIS IF I DON'T GET THE JOB.

BUT AGAIN, THROUGH, THROUGH THE TIME THAT I'VE BEEN TALKING TO ALL THESE PEOPLE, I DECIDED THAT IF I DON'T GET THIS JOB THIS TIME, I WILL RUN AND I WILL GO AHEAD AND DO THE RIGHT THING FOR FOR WHAT THE PEOPLE BELIEVE IS RIGHT. IT IS NOT SOMETHING I FEEL COMFORTABLE DOING. AS YOU CAN SEE, I'M NOT THIS IS NOT MY ELEMENT, BUT I'M HERE PUTTING MYSELF IN THIS BECAUSE AGAIN, I'VE BEEN TALKING TO ALL THE PEOPLE AND AGAIN, IT'S JUST I FEEL LIKE I HAVE I HAVE THE RESPONSIBILITY TO DO SO BECAUSE EVERYBODY JUST TALKS ABOUT CHANGE, TALKS ABOUT CHANGE, TALKS ABOUT THIS, TALKS ABOUT THAT, BUT NO ONE IS ACTUALLY GOING AHEAD AND DOING IT. DO I JUST KEEP ON TALKING OR HOW DOES THIS WORK RIGHT HERE? SORRY. YEAH. NO NO NO, I WAS CONFUSED. SO SO YEAH. SO THE, THE STRUCTURE WILL BE, WILL GIVE YOU YOUR INTRODUCTION AND THEN WE'LL ASK YOU SOME. OH SORRY. BECAUSE YOU GUYS LOOKED AT ME. NO, NO SORRY. SORRY ABOUT THAT. YEAH. OKAY. I DIDN'T DO THE STRUCTURE ON THAT. SO WE'LL, WE'LL LET YOU DO A YOUR INTRODUCTION AND THEN IN YOUR WHY AND THEN WE'LL ASK YOU SOME. GOT IT. OKAY. SO COOL. SO NOW COUNCIL MEMBERS, IF YOU HAVE SOME QUESTIONS TO ASK, MR. ZAMBRANO, I OPEN THE FLOOR FOR YOU ALL TO BE ABLE TO ASK HIM QUESTIONS. I'LL START. THAT'S MY APOLOGY FOR. NO, NO WORRIES.

YOU GUYS GAVE ME THE FLOOR AND I WAS LIKE, ALL RIGHT, AGAIN, FIRST TIME HERE. THIS IS NOT MY ELEMENT, BUT THANK YOU GUYS. THANK YOU GUYS FOR ALLOWING ME TO BE HERE. THANK YOU. I'LL START OFF AND BEFORE I ASK MY QUESTION, I DO WANT TO COMMEND YOU FOR BEING HERE AND TAKING THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO IT. WHEN YOU SAY THIS IS NOT MY ELEMENT, I THINK THAT MEANS A LOT TO A LOT OF PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE A LOT OF US SITTING UP HERE, OR AT LEAST I FEEL THAT WAY. IT'S NOT MY ELEMENT EITHER, AND I'VE ALWAYS FELT IT. SO IT IS A LITTLE DIFFICULT TO KIND OF, YOU KNOW, PUT YOURSELF OUT THERE. IT'S NOT EASY. SO THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. THANK YOU.

THE FIRST QUESTION I'LL ASK IS WHAT OPPORTUNITIES DO YOU SEE FOR IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF LIFE IN OUR COMMUNITY? THERE'S A LOT. THERE'S A LOT. BUT THERE'S A THERE'S A FEW ISSUES THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE BEEN BRINGING UP TO ME RIGHT NOW, IT'S JUST HOMELESSNESS, I THINK DIRECTING THAT THAT PROBLEM DIRECTLY WOULD WOULD IMPROVE A LOT THE QUALITY OF LIFE HERE IN COACHELLA BECAUSE IT'S GROWN. I HAPPEN TO RUN A LOCAL NEWS NETWORK HERE, AND I'VE BEEN ON THE STREETS A LOT MORE LATELY THAN I HAVE EVER. AND COACHELLA AND INDIO HAPPEN TO BE THE MOST FREQUENT PLACES THAT I'VE BEEN VISITING, AND I'VE BEEN. I'VE LIVED HERE MY WHOLE LIFE. THE LAST 25 YEARS I'VE BEEN HERE. I HAVE NOT SEEN IT THIS BAD, OR MAYBE JUST BECAUSE I HAVEN'T BEEN OUT AS MUCH. BUT IT'S BEEN INCREASE SINCE THE LAST FEW YEARS. AND I THINK THAT'LL, THAT'LL BE A BIG PROBLEM TO, TO, TO GO AND SOLVE. THANK YOU. COUNCILWOMAN PEREZ. YES. YOU SAID SOMETHING THAT YOU YOU DON'T HAVE SOME OF THE EXPERIENCE THAT SOME OF THE OTHER CANDIDATES HAVE. BUT I CAN TELL YOU ONE THING RIGHT NOW THAT IT'S THE HEART AND LAS GANAS THAT PEOPLE HAVE THAT WANT TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE TO ACTUALLY CHANGE THINGS. OKAY.

YOU CAN HAVE ALL THE EXPERIENCE AND NOT BE ABLE TO DO ANYTHING OR NOT DO ANYTHING, BUT IT'S THE HEART THAT YOU PUT INTO IT TO, TO MAKE, TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE AND CHANGE. I HAVE A QUESTION. WHAT WOULD YOU DO TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY, QUALITY OF LIFE FOR OUR YOUTH AND OUR SENIORS? WHAT SERVICES WOULD YOU OFFER OR BRING FORWARD THAT ARE NOT BEING OFFERED YET? WE'RE ACTUALLY THE LOCAL NEWS NETWORK. I KNOW THAT'S ALSO ANOTHER TOPIC OF CONVERSATION, BUT BEHIND THE SCENES, WE'RE CURRENTLY WORKING ON A NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION THAT DIRECTS TO THE LOCAL THE LOCAL YOUTH STUDENT ATHLETES SPECIFICALLY. I GREW UP A STUDENT ATHLETE, AND I FEEL ON THIS SIDE OF THE VALLEY DOESN'T HAVE JUST THE VALLEY IN GENERAL, DOESN'T HAVE THE RESOURCES THAT THAT BIG CITIES LIKE LA, MIAMI, NEW YORK, THAT BIG SPORTS HUBS HAVE. SO WE'RE BUILDING A NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION IN WHICH HELPS STUDENTS EITHER HELP GRANTS, EITHER PROMOTE THEM TO TRY TO GET THEM TO, TO BIGGER SCHOOLS, SCHOLARSHIPS, SCHOOL

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WHAT I CAN TELL YOU IS THAT I HAPPEN TO HAVE. I BUILD A NETWORK OF PEOPLE AND I'VE BEEN ABLE TO TALK TO A LOT OF PEOPLE SO I CAN BE ABLE TO REACH OUT AND TALK TO HIM AND COME UP WITH A, WITH A SOLID CONCLUSION ON THAT REGARD. THANK YOU. OKAY. COUNCILWOMAN DELLA, SO I CAN ASK CLARIFICATION. YEAH. WITH THE STRUCTURE IS SO WE'RE INTERVIEWING. SO THEY'RE COMING UP IN THREE MINUTES. AND EACH OF US WILL DO MAYBE TWO QUESTIONS EACH OR SO. YEAH. SO ANY FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE. SO WHAT WOULD YOU RUN AROUND AND WE'LL GO TO ANOTHER ROUND. YEAH. SO TWO QUESTIONS EACH. DON'T BE DON'T BE NERVOUS. WHERE YOU'RE STANDING IS WHERE WE ALL STAND. SO MANY. SO SAID, CAN YOU HEAR ME BETTER NOW? IS THAT GOOD? I SIT AND LISTEN TO ALL THE CANDIDATES TOO. IS DON'T BE NERVOUS EXACTLY WHERE YOU WHERE YOU STAND. YOU STOOD SO MANY TIMES AND WE'VE MADE ALL THE NOTES PREPARING OURSELVES FOR THE INTERVIEWS. WE'VE DONE EVERYTHING THAT YOU'RE DOING NOW. WE'VE GONE THROUGH ALL THE, YOU KNOW, STRESSES AND ANXIETIES TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE AS PREPARED AS WE CAN BE.

AND THE REALITY IS THAT COUNCILMAN PEREZ SAID IT'S WHERE YOUR HEART IS, AND THAT'S WHAT IT IS. WHAT DO YOU SEE? OR HOW DO YOU SEE THE CITY OF COACHELLA CHANGING IN THE NEXT TEN YEARS? IT COULD BE DEVELOPMENT, IT CAN BE POPULATION. ANYTHING THAT YOU FEEL WE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT WHAT YOU SEE THE CITY GOING IN IN THE NEXT TEN YEARS? THAT IS A VERY GOOD QUESTION. AND AGAIN, I HAVE NO, NO, NO KNOWLEDGE IN ALL THESE THINGS. I'M JUST GETTING INTO IT. THE DAY THAT I APPLIED WAS THE DAY THAT I ENDED UP TAKING EVERYTHING ON, ON TOP OF MY WORK, ON TOP OF THE LOCAL NEWS NETWORK THAT I GOT. SO IT IS VERY, VERY HARD TO BE ABLE TO GIVE YOU AN ANSWER RIGHT NOW. BUT AGAIN, I BUILT A BEAUTIFUL NETWORK OF PEOPLE THAT AROUND THE COACHELLA VALLEY, NOT ONLY HERE, BUT PEOPLE THAT ARE VERY, VERY INTERESTED IN HELPING ME OUT BECAUSE THEY SEE THE HUNGER, THEY SEE THE MOTIVATION, THEY SEE EVERYTHING BEHIND ME. AND, AND THEY JUST WANT TO HELP OUT. A LOT OF PEOPLE WANT TO HELP OUT. I'VE BEEN TALKING TO A LOT OF PEOPLE. EVERYONE'S INTERESTED IN, IN WHAT WE GOT GOING ON. I'VE HAD COUNTLESS MEETINGS WITH LOTS OF PEOPLE, LOTS OF MAYORS, LOTS OF LOCAL POLITICIANS, POLITICIANS FROM OUTSIDE OF THE RIVERSIDE COUNTY. EVERYONE'S PAYING ATTENTION TO US RIGHT NOW. SO AGAIN, I DON'T HAVE AN ANSWER FOR THAT RIGHT NOW. BUT WHAT I CAN DO IS, AGAIN, TALK TO EVERYONE THAT I HAVE THE, THE AVAILABILITY TO AND BE ABLE TO GIVE YOU A BETTER ANSWER. AND I CAN'T MAKE ANYTHING UP RIGHT NOW. THAT WAS AN HONEST ANSWER. THANK YOU. SO I HAVE MY QUESTION FOR YOU IS HOW DO YOU HANDLE DISAGREEMENTS? SO AS YOU YOU KNOW, WE'RE A GROUP OF FIVE AND WE ALL HAVE OUR OWN OPINIONS. SO HOW DO YOU HOW DO YOU WORK TO BE ABLE TO CREATE CONSENSUS? YOU KNOW, WHAT IS THAT? HOW WOULD YOU DO THAT IN, IN BEING PART OF THIS BODY? I, I LOVE TALKING, I LOVE IDEATING, I LOVE BEING ABLE TO COMBAT IDEAS. I, I'M, I'M OPEN.

I'M NOT SOMEONE WHO'S VERY, WHO'S NOT CLOSE MINDED. IF, IF YOU'RE ABLE TO PROVE ME WRONG AND YOU'RE ABLE TO GIVE ME THE, THE, THE, THE PROOF OR WHATEVER IT IS THAT YOU HAVE TO, TO BE ABLE TO SAY THAT YOU'RE, YOU'RE WHATEVER YOU'RE SAYING IS BETTER THAN I AM, THEN I'LL BE ABLE TO OPEN AND SAY, YES, I'M WRONG. YOU'RE RIGHT. AND LET'S MOVE FORWARD WITH THE BEST DECISION. AND AGAIN, AT THE END OF THE DAY, IT'S IT'S WHATEVER'S IN THE IN THE COMMUNITY'S BEST INTEREST. THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN, FOR YOUR SECOND QUESTION. THANK YOU, MAYOR AND COUNCIL. YES. REAL QUICKLY, WE ARE AT 11 MINUTES FOR THIS APPLICANT. THANK YOU.

YES. MY NEXT QUESTION IS PROBABLY SOMETHING WE DON'T ALWAYS THINK ABOUT. AND IT'S MORE ABOUT TIME AND COMMITMENT. SO ARE YOU ABLE TO COMMIT THE TIME NECESSARY FOR COUNCIL MEETINGS, STUDY SESSIONS, TRAINING AND CONSTITUENT ENGAGEMENT. AND SO IMPORTANT QUESTION, BECAUSE I KNOW A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T REALLY THINK ABOUT THAT. BUT THE COUNCIL MEMBER POSITION IN ITSELF IS CONSIDERED PART TIME, MEANING OUR POPULATION ISN'T AS BIG AS

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SOMEWHERE AROUND THERE. SO IT'S, IT'S KIND OF LIKE AN EVERYDAY THING. SO JUST KIND OF PUTTING IT OUT THERE SO THAT YOU AND ALSO THE COMMUNITY ARE AWARE, THE TIME COMMITMENT THAT IT TAKES. SO TO MY QUESTION, YOU KNOW, ARE YOU READY FOR THAT ENGAGEMENT, FOR THAT COMMITMENT AND THAT TIME RESTRAINT THAT YOU'LL, YOU'LL KIND OF END UP HAVING? SHORT ANSWER. YES. OKAY.

THANK YOU. COUNCILMEMBER PEREZ. WHAT ARE THE THREE IMPORTANT ISSUES FACING OUR CITY RIGHT NOW OF THOSE THREE ISSUES THAT YOU BRING UP? HAVE YOU BROUGHT ANY OF THEM UP TO A COUNCIL MEETING? WHAT SOLUTIONS WOULD YOU OFFER AT THIS MOMENT IN TIME? THREE SPECIFIC ONES THAT THAT ARE THE BEST ONES I DON'T AGAIN HAVE AN ANSWER TO, I WISH I DID, I JUST STARTED THIS, THIS, THIS JOURNEY A WEEK AGO, AND I'VE JUST BEEN TAKING CALLS AND CALLS AND CALLS. SO NOT REALLY BEING ABLE TO NECESSARILY DIG INTO. AND THE OTHER QUESTION, NO, I HAVE NOT.

I HAVE NEVER DONE IT. I WAS FORCED INTO THIS. I WAS NOT NECESSARILY FORCED INTO THIS. I WAS DRAGGED INTO THIS WORLD BECAUSE OF WHAT I'VE BEEN DOING. SO IF YOU DON'T KNOW ME, I RUN A LOCAL NEWS NETWORK, DAILY DUNES. AND SO WE COVER A LOT OF LOCAL MEDIA A LOT. EVERYTHING THAT THAT HAPPENS HERE. AND LORETTA, I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR INVITING ME TO THE CVUSD BOARD MEMBERS MEETING, BECAUSE THAT WAS EXACTLY THE THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT GOT US INTO IT.

AND THE EVERYTHING THAT'S GOING ON THAT THAT NECESSARILY THE PUBLIC ISN'T AWARE OF. AND IT MADE ME ANGRY. IT MADE ME ANGRY TO SEE EVERYTHING THAT'S GOING ON THAT THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T HAVE THE VOICES FOR. AND SO AGAIN, I'M JUST HERE TO BE ABLE TO BE THE VOICE FOR THE PEOPLE. THANK YOU. AND I'M TRYING TO GET TO MAYBE SOME OF THE QUESTIONS WHERE YOU MIGHT HAVE MORE EXPERIENCE IN. AND ONE OF THE CONCERNS FROM SOME OF THE FOLKS HERE IN THE QUESTIONS THAT THEY'VE ASKED IS, HOW WOULD YOU PREPARE YOURSELF IF APPOINTED AS A CITY COUNCIL MEMBER AND CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS, AND THEN ALSO IN POLICY DECISION MAKING? AGAIN, I'VE BEEN BLESSED WITH THE OPPORTUNITY THAT I'VE BEEN BUILDING A LOCAL NEWS NETWORK.

AND EVERYBODY WHEN I MEAN EVERYBODY, EVERYBODY IS REACHING OUT AND EVERYBODY WANTS TO TALK, AND EVERYBODY'S BEEN GIVING ME SO MUCH ADVICE, SO MUCH ADVICE, SO MUCH THAT I CAN'T TAKE EVERYTHING. BUT I'VE BEEN TAKING NOTES. AND AGAIN, IT'S I HAVE A GOOD A LOT OF GOOD PEOPLE IN MY CORNER GUIDING ME AND TELLING ME HOW TO GO ABOUT THIS. SO YEAH, I, I WILL CONTINUE TO DO THE RESEARCH AND CONTINUE TO LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE THAT, THAT ARE IN MY CORNER. YOU'RE HERE. SO THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THE LAST QUESTION, I HAVE TWO A TWO PART QUESTION FOR YOU. WHAT IS YOUR COMMITMENT TO THE RESIDENTS OF THE CITY OF COACHELLA, AND WHAT WOULD YOU TELL THEM IS, IS YOUR IS YOUR WHY AND THAT YOU'VE MENTIONED IT, BUT THE WHY OF, OF WHAT OF WHAT TRULY DRIVES YOU, RIGHT? WHAT IS THE REASON THAT DRIVES YOU WHEN YOU WAKE UP EVERY DAY IN THE MORNING AND WHAT YOU DO EVERY DAY? AND SECONDLY, IF APPOINTED, WOULD YOU APPROVE A FULL BAN OF A DATA CENTER? THE SECOND QUESTION, YES, I WILL. I'VE BEEN DOING MY PART ONLINE TO BE ABLE TO BRING PEOPLE OUT HERE AND SHOWCASE WHAT'S GOING ON AND TELL THEM THE THE SEVERITIES OF THESE TO THE FIRST QUESTION, CAN YOU REPEAT THAT FIRST QUESTION AGAIN? SORRY. IS IT. YEAH, THAT'S FINE. I DIDN'T WRITE IT DOWN AND USE SOME OF THE COMBINATIONS OF WHAT PEOPLE ASKED ME. SO WHAT WOULD YOU TELL PEOPLE THAT YOU'RE COMMITTED TO AND LIKE, WHAT'S YOUR WHY TO THE COACHELLA WHEN YOU WAKE UP EVERY DAY? I'M FULLY COMMITTED, MAN. I'M FULLY COMMITTED. THE LAST SEVEN MONTHS I'VE BEEN WE'VE BEEN DOING EVERYTHING THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING ONLINE FOR FREE, NOT TAKING ANY MONEY FROM ANYBODY. IT IS FOR FREE. AND IT WAS. IT'S JUST ONLY TO INFORM THE PEOPLE. WE HAVE NOT TAKEN ANY ADVERTISEMENT DEALS. WE'VE BEEN CONTACTED BY MANY, MANY, MANY, MANY PERSONAL INJURY LAWYERS WHO WANT A PIECE OF US. AND WE HAVE NOT BEEN WE HAVE NOT GIVEN THAT UP. SO I'M FULLY COMMITTED AND NOT INTERESTED IN THE MONEY THAT THAT THAT COMES WITH. THE OTHER PART WAS THE OTHER PART THE WHAT THE ANSWER WAS. YEAH. THAT'S IT. THANK YOU. YEAH, YEAH. AND IF THERE IS NO OTHER QUESTIONS, WE'VE COME TO THE PART OF THE END OF THE INTERVIEW FOR THIS CANDIDATE COUNCIL. AND SO WITH THAT I'D LIKE TO SAY THANK YOU. MR. MR. MR. JONATHAN, FOR JOINING US THE INTERVIEW AND AND IF YOU WANT TO TAKE A SEAT AND WE'LL

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I CAN TAKE PUBLIC COMMENT AT THE END AS WELL. AGAIN. RIGHT. MR. CITY ATTORNEY, FOR PEOPLE THAT SHOWED UP LATE, IS THAT YOUR DISCRETION? SO I WILL TAKE PUBLIC COMMENT AGAIN FOR THOSE THAT DIDN'T MAKE IT ON TIME FOR THE FIRST ROUND OF PUBLIC COMMENT SO THEY CAN MAKE PUBLIC COMMENT. BUT IF YOU'VE ALREADY SPOKEN, YOU CAN'T GO AGAIN. OF COURSE, SAME RULES APPLY. SO SO THAT WOULD HAVE JOSE TORRES IS THE NEXT CANDIDATE THAT WILL BE INTERVIEWING. FLOOR IS YOURS SIR. GOOD EVENING MAYOR, COUNCIL MEMBER. MY NAME IS JOSE TORRES. I'M A 25 YEAR ARMY VETERAN AND I'VE DONE THREE YEARS GOVERNMENT SERVICE AT FORT ORD, CALIFORNIA. THAT'S WHERE I USED TO WORK. I WAS BORN HERE IN COACHELLA ON THIRD STREET, APARTMENT, THIRD STREET, BACK IN THE DAY, WHICH IS KIND OF FUNNY, RIGHT? SO I'M ACTUALLY A COACHELLA, LIKE REALLY BORN HERE. SO I HAVE 25 YEARS ARMY EXPERIENCE. I DID ALL THAT NINE YEARS WAS ENLISTED AND THE OTHER REMAINING YEARS WAS ALSO ARMY WARRANT OFFICER. SO I WAS A. A 915 ECHO, WHICH IS AUTOMOTIVE MAINTENANCE WARRANT OFFICER. SO AT THE END, I ADVISED MY BATTALION COMMANDERS AND MY BRIGADE COMMANDERS ON THE MAINTENANCE OF THE OF OUR FLEET.

SO I'VE BEEN TO IRAQ TWICE, AFGHANISTAN, ONCE KUWAIT, ONCE SAUDI, ONCE I WAS STATIONED IN GUATEMALA FOR A YEAR AT THE EMBASSY. SO AND THE LEADERSHIP POSITIONS BASICALLY AFTER I MADE SERGEANT ALL MY TIME WAS BEING A LEADER AND LEADING SOLDIERS AND. AND THEN THAT'S IT. I MEAN, THAT'S THE QUICK NUTSHELL THAT I HAVE AS FAR AS MY BACKGROUND, MY JOB IN FORT IRWIN. I'M A BASICALLY I'M A MAINTENANCE OFFICER. I JUST DO LOGISTICS IN A NUTSHELL. AND NOW I'M KIND OF TRYING TO BE QUICK, CONCISE AND TO THE POINT. SO THANK YOU, COUNCILMEMBER. IF YOU WANT TO START WITH THE QUESTIONS. YES. I'M ACTUALLY GOING TO GO OFF OF SOMETHING THAT YOU PROVIDED ON YOUR APPLICATION. OKAY. AND ONE OF THE QUESTIONS WAS, WOULD YOU WHAT VISION DO YOU HAVE FOR THE FUTURE OF THE CITY OF COACHELLA? AND YOU MENTIONED BUILDING A STRONG PARTNERSHIP WITH THE COUNTY AND ALSO WITH THE STATE TO, TO ASSIST IN FUNDING SHORTFALLS. SO DO YOU ARE YOU AWARE OF SOME OF THE CHALLENGES THAT WE'VE BEEN FACING IN THE CITY WHEN IT COMES TO SOMETHING SPECIFIC, AND IF SO, WHERE DO YOU THINK WE CAN GET ASSISTANCE FROM THE STATE OR FROM THE COUNTY TO ASSIST WITH THAT? ONE OF THE OTHER ONE, THE ONE THAT WAS REALLY LIKE ALWAYS IS THE ONE THAT JEFF GONZALEZ HAS BEEN WORKING WITH IS THE IHS, I GUESS, WHERE THEY'RE TRYING TO CUT THAT ONE. AND I KNOW TO ME THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT'S ONE OF THE ONES BECAUSE ONE OF MY MY DAD WAS STILL ALIVE. THAT WAS ONE THING THAT WAS HELPING MY, MY DAD BECAUSE MY MOM WAS TAKING CARE OF MY DAD. SO AND I KNOW WHEN THEY'RE, WHEN THEY WANT TO CUT THAT, I THINK IT WOULD BE TO BRING, KEEP BRINGING THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE TO SAY, HEY, WE DO NOT WANT TO GET THIS CUT. WE WANT TO CONTINUE TO FUND THE HEALTH CARE, ESPECIALLY FOR SENIORS, BECAUSE I'M HERE ALSO TO FOR MY MOM. MY MOM'S A SENIOR. SHE'S AT THE SENIOR CENTER IN COACHELLA. AND I KNOW THERE'S, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE STUFF, THE WHAT WE COULD DO HERE, YOU KNOW, I THINK SOME PROGRAMS, VOLUNTEER PROGRAMS WHERE, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES WHEN WE'RE SHORT MONEY, YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHEN WE SHOULD DO VOLUNTEER PROGRAMS. YOU KNOW, WHAT OTHER CITIZENS HERE IN THE CITY WANT TO, YOU KNOW, STEP UP AND, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, DO SOME VOLUNTEER WORK EITHER WITH THE YOUTH OR WITH OUR SENIOR CITIZENS, YOU KNOW, GO OUT AND PLAY LOTERIA WITH THEM. BE THE ONE, YOU KNOW, COUNTING THE, YOU KNOW, LIKE LA MANO, LA ESTRELLA AND STUFF LIKE THAT, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE SOME STUFF, WHEN WE'RE SHORT ON MONEY, WE HAVE TO FIND THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX, YOU KNOW, AND SOMETIMES WE COULD, YOU KNOW, ESTABLISH VOLUNTEER PROGRAMS. THANK YOU. AND I APPRECIATE THAT. AND FOR THOSE THAT HAVEN'T HEARD OF IHSS, IT'S IN-HOME SUPPORTIVE SERVICES. I KNOW A LOT OF OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS ARE ABLE TO BENEFIT FROM THAT. IT'S THROUGH THE STATE AND THROUGH THE COUNTY. AND ESSENTIALLY WHAT IT IS, IS IF YOU HAVE A FAMILY MEMBER THAT NEEDS ASSISTANCE WITH TAKING CARE, BEING TAKEN CARE OF AS A FAMILY OR A NEIGHBOR, WHATEVER, YOU CAN ACTUALLY GET PAID TO BE ABLE TO HELP THEM, WHETHER IT IS TO BUY GROCERIES,

[00:35:05]

YES, I THINK YOU ANSWERED SOME OF THE QUESTION, BUT I'LL SAY IT AGAIN. WHAT WOULD YOU DO TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR OUR YOUTH AND OUR SENIORS? WHAT SERVICES ARE NEEDED IN OUR CITY THAT ARE NOT BEING OFFERED YET, AND HOW WOULD YOU BRING THAT FORWARD? SO GOING BACK TO MY MY ARMY TIME, WE HAD A PROGRAM CALLED BETTER OPPORTUNITIES FOR SINGLE SOLDIERS. SO I THINK WE WOULD MIRROR SOMETHING LIKE THAT FOR OUR YOUTH HERE. EVEN EVEN SOMETIMES WE ALWAYS THINK ABOUT THE CERTAIN YOUTH AGE, BUT SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW, THAT'S MORE FOR LIKE OUR YOUNG TEENS.

AND THIS IS WHERE WE COULD DEVELOP PROGRAMS WHERE WE COULD EITHER HAVE FIELD TRIPS FOR THEM, YOU KNOW, MOST OF THE TIME, ESPECIALLY IN THE SUMMER WHEN THERE'S STUFF LIKE NOT REALLY GOING ON, WHAT ELSE CAN WE DO TO KEEP THEM, YOU KNOW, EITHER EMPLOYED TO GO EITHER TO LIKE DISNEYLAND OR UNIVERSAL STUDIOS, BUT, YOU KNOW, BUT THAT WILL TAKE, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, REQUESTING PROBABLY LIKE NOT FUNDS, BUT PROBABLY DONATIONS FROM, YOU KNOW, FROM, FROM EITHER LOCAL BUSINESSES OR, YOU KNOW, OR GOING OUTSIDE THE COMMUNITY, YOU KNOW, LIKE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT PARTNERSHIP WITH THERMAL, YOU KNOW, WHY CAN'T WE DO A JOINT PARTNERSHIP WITH THAT TO HELP SOME OF OUR TEENS, YOU KNOW, TAKE THEM OUTSIDE THE VALLEY. YOU KNOW, MOST OF THE TIMES WHEN I WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL, THAT WAS ONE THING THAT MY MY TEACHERS ALWAYS TELL US, YOU KNOW, DON'T JUST RESIDE IN THE VALLEY, LEAVE THE VALLEY, GO OUTSIDE. I TRAVEL THE WORLD, YOU KNOW, NOT THE BEST PARTS OF THE WORLD. AND, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE IT WAS IN COMBAT. BUT AT THE SAME TIME, IT'S, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT CAN WE DO TO, YOU KNOW, BRIGHTEN THE FUTURE FOR THEM TO SEE SOMETHING OUTSIDE OF THE VALLEY, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING THEY COULD SHOOT TO, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, I THINK MOVE THE STATE. BUT NO, I LEFT THE STATE, BUT I CAME BACK BUT SO THEY COULD SEE THERE'S MORE TO, TO, TO THE VALLEY THAN JUST COACHELLA AND, AND MAKING THEM MAKE THEM UNDERSTAND THAT WHATEVER THEY GO OUT TO ASPIRE TO BE, THEY COULD ALWAYS COME BACK AND AGAIN, BRING IT BACK TO THE COMMUNITY AND THEN MAKE THE COMMUNITY BETTER. THANK YOU.

AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE. THANK YOU FOR SOMEONE WHO GREW UP IN THIRD STREET. YOU'VE SEEN A LOT OF CHANGES SINCE THEN OVER THE LAST FEW DECADES. WHAT FURTHER CHANGES WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE IN THE CITY OF COACHELLA? WELL, I THINK ONE OF THE CHANGES I THINK WILL BE IF THERE'S ANY ANY BAND IN BUILDINGS, IS FOR US TO COME UP WITH A PLAN TO, YOU KNOW, EITHER RENOVATE THEM AND EITHER LEASE THEM, YOU KNOW, OR BRING REVENUE BACK. THERE'S GOT TO BE SOMETHING BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES YOU SEE LIKE BACK IN THE DAY, I THINK IT WAS LIKE AN AUTO PARTS STORE. AND SO, YOU KNOW, BACK IN THE DAY, YOU KNOW, IF YOU REMEMBER FOSTER FREEZE, LIKE RIGHT UP THE STREET, YOU KNOW, I GUESS THAT'S CALLED CASTANEDA'S. THERE'S ALWAYS BEEN ONE THERE. I REMEMBER MY DAD USED TO GO THERE TO GET PARTS, AND EVERY TIME I PASS BY THERE, WHEN I GO TO MY MOM'S HOUSE, IT'S ALWAYS LIKE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S ALWAYS, YOU KNOW, SOME HOMELESS THERE, BUT IT'S GOING TO BE WHAT CAN WE DO TO KIND OF LIKE, YOU KNOW, I SAY, YOU KNOW, LIKE WE USED TO SAY, YOU KNOW. PUT MAKEUP ON A PIG TO MAKE IT LOOK BETTER, BUT ACTUALLY FIX THE PROBLEM AND NOT JUST MAKE IT LOOK LIKE IT'S JUST A, YOU KNOW, MAKE UP ON A PIG. THANK YOU. QUESTION FOR YOU IS, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE THIS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE. AND, AND REALLY, HOW DO YOU HOW WOULD YOU TAKE THAT EXPERIENCE YOU'VE HAD IN LEADERSHIP AND TAKING IT TO SERVING ON THE BODY OF FIVE PEOPLE AND WORKING TOGETHER WHEN SOMETIMES CONFLICT ARISES AND, AND HOW DO YOU TAKE THAT LEADERSHIP SKILLS THAT YOU'VE HAD TO BE ABLE TO, TO FIND COMPROMISE? WELL, I THINK WHEN WE, WHEN WE TRY TO FIND COMPROMISE, WE GOT TO FIND THE, YOU KNOW, LOGICALLY, WE GOT TO FIND WHAT'S, WHAT'S THE BEST OUTCOME WITHOUT, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, WITHOUT, WITH WITHOUT ASSUMING TOO MUCH RISK. AND THEN I THINK THAT'S ONE OF THE MAIN THINGS WHEN WE TALK ABOUT COMPROMISE, YOU KNOW, WE, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES COMPROMISING DOES NOT MEAN, YOU KNOW, GOING FAR RIGHT OR GOING FAR LEFT. WE GOT TO FIND SOMEWHERE IN THE MIDDLE WHERE WE CAN ACTUALLY SAY, HEY, THIS IS THE BEST OPTION. AND THIS IS THE RESIDUAL RISK THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE WILLING TO TAKE. AND IF WE'RE NOT LOOKING AT THE RESIDUAL RISK AND THE SECOND AND THIRD ORDER EFFECTS OF THE DECISION, THEN, YOU KNOW, THAT'S THAT'S WHEN WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THOSE ISSUES. YOU KNOW, EVEN EVEN IF, YOU KNOW, MAKING, MAKING LIKE WE ALWAYS SAY, IT'S NOT EASY. IT'S EASIER TO MAKE THAT EASY RIGHT, THAN THE HARD LEFT. THANK YOU. COUNCILMEMBER, AGAIN. AND MY SECOND QUESTION IS, HOW WOULD YOU ENSURE THAT RESIDENTS FEEL HEARD AND REPRESENTED? SO I THINK FOR THAT, I THINK WE HAVE TO EITHER COME UP WITH AN ONLINE POLLING BECAUSE I THINK THERE'S THERE'S AN ISSUE WHEN WE TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, YOU YOU IF YOU WANT TO GET AS MUCH MAXIMUM PARTICIPATION, YOU CAN HAVE EVERYBODY OUTSIDE SHOUTING. THERE'S GOT TO BE A BETTER CONTROLLED WAY TO HAVE EVERYBODY'S VOICES HEARD BESIDES JUST BEING OUT THERE AND YELLING, BECAUSE AT THE SAME TIME, IT'S, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T WANT ANOTHER. JANUARY 6TH MOMENT. YOU KNOW, WE WANT TO HAVE EVERYBODY HAVE THEIR VOICE HEARD. BUT I THINK WE DO SOME TYPE OF ONLINE POLLING, BUT MAKE IT OR, YOU KNOW, IN PERSON, YOU KNOW, POLLING. BUT IT'S I THINK IT'S THAT'S A HARD

[00:40:06]

SO GROWING UP, THAT'S ALWAYS BEEN, YOU KNOW, ONE THING I REMEMBER THAT THEY WERE ALWAYS TRYING TO PUSH. I THINK PUSH WAS THE HOSPITALITY PROGRAM. SO THE HOSPITALITY PROGRAM WAS TO ME WAS, IN MY VIEW, WAS IT'S A GOOD PROGRAM. BUT AT THE SAME TIME, IT'S IT'S ONLY GOING TO GET YOU ONE STEP OF THE WAY TO GO, YOU KNOW, WORK AT THE RESORTS IN THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY. BUT FOR HERE IN COACHELLA, IT'S THE ONLY THING THAT WE HAVE THAT THAT I REMEMBER WAS AGRICULTURAL. SO UNLESS WE BRING SOME TYPE OF AGRICULTURAL. FIELDS BACK, WHICH I DOUBT IT SINCE EVERYTHING'S ALREADY KIND OF BEEN TORN DOWN, WE JUST HAVE TO COME UP WITH WHAT ELSE CAN WE DO? AND THAT'LL BE JUST A THING, A SUBJECT THAT WITHIN THE COUNCIL WE WILL HAVE TO, YOU KNOW, JUST BRAINSTORM AND HAVE A SESSION AND JUST FIGURE OUT WHAT ELSE CAN WE BRING KNOW BECAUSE I KNOW LIKE THE SEASONAL STUFF WILL BE LIKE STAGECOACH AND COACHELLA, BUT EVEN ON THOSE ITEMS, IT'S I DON'T SEE THAT MANY PEOPLE COMING INTO THE CITY BESIDES SMALL. IT'S MOSTLY ALWAYS IN INDIO, LA QUINTA, PALM DESERT, YOU KNOW, AND THEN THE, THE AIRBNBS, YOU KNOW, MY MY NEIGHBOR, MY, THE HOUSE NEXT TO MINE, IT'S AIRBNB. SO I THINK IT'S, IT'S A, IT'S A, IT'LL BE MORE OF A, OF A GROUP, A GROUP, A THINK TANK THAT WE WILL HAVE TO DEVELOP AND PROBABLY GET INPUT FROM THE CITY AS WELL FROM THE, THE COMMUNITY WILL BE A GOOD DEVELOPMENT FOR, FOR JOBS. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? IF THERE IS NO OTHER QUESTIONS, MR. TORRES, THANK YOU FOR TAKING YOUR TIME THIS AFTERNOON AND JOINING US IN APPLYING FOR THE THE CITY COUNCIL ROLE. CAN I JUST SAY ONE LAST THING? YES, YOU CAN. YOU KNOW, FOR FOR ALL THE CANDIDATES, IT'S AGAIN, IT'S,

[00:45:04]

SO, YOU KNOW, MY HAT'S OFF TO EVERYBODY BECAUSE THAT THAT SELFLESS SERVICE AND PERSONAL COURAGE AND IT TAKES, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE TO, TO COME UP AND STEP UP THEIR GAME AND JUST SAY, HEY, I'M GOING TO, I'M GOING TO DO SOMETHING. SO AGAIN, YOU KNOW, MY HAT'S OFF TO YOU GUYS. THANK YOU, THANK YOU. NEXT WE WILL HAVE MR. JUAN MARTINEZ. WELCOME MR. MARTINEZ AND. VECINOS. GOOD EVENING, MAYOR, COUNCIL MEMBERS AND OF COURSE, THE COMMUNITY. FULL TRANSPARENCY. I DID FILE MY COMMITTEE FORMS. THIS IS RIGHT BEFORE THE APPLICATION TO RUN FOR CITY COUNCIL ON 2020 6TH NOVEMBER. SO I DID FILE THAT AS PART OF THE PUBLIC RECORDS OF THE CITY. AND OF COURSE, IT'S ALSO THE APPLICATION. OKAY. ANOTHER THING ALSO TO BEGIN, I WANT TO ADDRESS SOMETHING THAT I PUT IN MY APPLICATION. MY APPLICATION STATES THAT I HAVE LIVED HERE IN COACHELLA FOR THE PAST TWO YEARS, AND THAT IS CORRECT. HOWEVER, COACHELLA HAS BEEN PART OF MY LIFE FOR MUCH LONGER THAN THAT. WHEN I FIRST CAME HERE IN THE UNITED STATES IN 1990, THIS IS WHERE MY MOTHER LIVED. SHE HAD TWO JOBS AND SHE SAVED ENOUGH MONEY TO BROUGHT US HERE. AND THIS IS WHERE OUR JOURNEY STARTED. OKAY. I REMEMBER, YOU KNOW, LIVING AND MOVING IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE CITY, LIKE AVILA, CAMACHO AND CALLE ROJO. AND OF COURSE, WHO CAN FORGET CHIHUAHUA MARKET? BECAUSE THAT WAS THE ONLY PLACE THAT MY MOM WILL LET ME GO. AND YEARS LATER, I PURCHASED MY FIRST HOME HERE IN COACHELLA, TIERRA DEL SOL. ALTHOUGH MY BUSINESS, YOU KNOW, EVENTUALLY LED ME TO LIVE IN INDIO FOR A PERIOD OF TIME, I NEVER LEFT COACHELLA. I HAVE CONTINUED, YOU KNOW, TO WORK HERE, SERVE FAMILIES HERE AND INVEST HERE IN THE COMMUNITY. AS A REAL ESTATE BROKER, ONE OF MY THINGS THAT I'M MOST PROUD OF IS HELPING FAMILIES HERE IN COACHELLA BECOME HOMEOWNERS. AND EVEN THOUGH THE MARKET CRASHED BACK IN 2028, I WAS THERE TO HELP HIM, TO GUIDE THEM BECAUSE THERE WAS A LOT OF FRAUD GOING ON. SO I HELPED MANY, MANY TEACHERS FROM THE COACHELLA VALLEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT TO KEEP THEIR HOMES. AND I FEEL VERY PROUD OF THAT. SO NOW WHEN A CURRENT RESIDENT FOR TWO YEARS HERE, MY CONNECTION WITH THE COMMUNITY, ITS COMMITMENT TO SERVE, AND WHATEVER COACHELLA GIVES ME BACK, YOU KNOW, I WANT TO GIVE BACK TO THE COMMUNITY AND THAT'S PART OF MY LIFE. AND I WILL BE HONORED TO SERVE AND CONTINUE SERVING FOR A GREATER AND A GREATER CAPACITY. MY EDUCATION. I WENT BACK, I GO BACK TO 1994. THAT'S WHEN I GRADUATED FROM CITY HIGH SCHOOL. AND AGAIN, THANKS TO MY MOM, YOU KNOW, AFTER THE, YOU KNOW, TESTING POSITIVE FOR TB, I HAVE TO WAIT X-RAYS AND ALL THAT. BUT THEN THANKS TO MY BUSINESS, YOU KNOW, I EDUCATED MYSELF AND I'VE BEEN SERVING THE COMMUNITY FOR 20 YEARS. AND THIS INDUSTRY THAT I WORK, YOU KNOW, HAS REQUIRED VERY STRICT CODE OF ETHICS, PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS, TRANSPARENCY, ACCOUNTABILITY, AND FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY ON EVERY SINGLE TRANSACTION. SO THE MORE WE DISCLOSE WHEN WE'RE SELLING A PROPERTY, THE BETTER FOR US. SO I UNDERSTAND THAT AND VERY DEEP AND HOW IMPORTANT IT IS. AND NOWADAYS FOR OUR COMMUNITY AND TO SERVE AS A CITY COUNCIL. AND WITH THAT, YOU KNOW, I LIKE TO TAKE SOME QUESTIONS FROM THE COUNCIL.

COUNCILWOMAN. THANK YOU. START OFF WITH MY FIRST QUESTION. WHAT OPPORTUNITIES DO YOU SEE FOR IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF LIFE IN OUR COMMUNITY? THAT'S A REALLY GOOD QUESTION. THERE ARE SO MANY OPPORTUNITIES. IT IS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT COACHELLA IS ONLY DEVELOPED 40% WITHOUT 60%.

SO I THINK IF WE CAN CONNECT WITH FROM WITH THE COUNTY, FROM THE STATE, AND WE CAN GET SOME HELP AND ACTIVATE PROGRAMS THAT BENEFITS THE LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY. AND I WANT TO SHARE THAT I PARTICIPATED ON THE APPROVAL OF THE MIDDLE CLASS ACT OF 2026, WHICH IS GOING TO HELP BUYERS, FIRST TIME HOME BUYERS WITH A 20% DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE, AND WITH THE CONNECTIONS AND THE ADVOCACY THAT WE DID AT A STATE LEVEL IN SACRAMENTO, WE CAN FOCUS ON BRINGING THOSE PROGRAMS TO THE CITY OF COACHELLA. THANK YOU, COUNCILMEMBER PEREZ. THANK YOU THAT YOU'RE ALSO YOU ALSO ATTENDED COACHELLA RESIDENT ACADEMY. I DID ATTENDED THE ONE IN INDIO. YES, I DID WHEN I WAS A RESIDENT IN INDIO. I ATTENDED THE ONE IN INDIO. YES. I CHAIR THE GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS COMMITTEE FOR MY ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS, AND I'M ALSO A STATE

[00:50:03]

THE STATE ASSIGNS A ASSEMBLYMAN TO WORK AND FOLLOW HIM THROUGH EVERY EVENT, EVERY POLICY THAT HE'S WORKING ON. SO I'M ASSIGNED TO JEFF GONZALEZ. SO IF YOU SEE ME NEXT TO JEFF GONZALEZ, IT'S NOT BECAUSE I WORK WITH THEM, IT'S BECAUSE THE ASSOCIATION HAS ASSIGNED ME TO HIM. AND BASICALLY, IT'S JUST SO TO MAKE HIM ACCOUNTABLE. AND IF THERE'S A POLICY THAT IS GOING TO AFFECT, YOU KNOW, HOMEOWNERSHIP OR ANY REAL ESTATE LOSS, WE CALL THEM, WE TEXT THEM, AND YOU GOT TO OPPOSE TO THIS, YOU GOT TO VOTE ON THIS. SO THAT'S HOW WE WORK, YOU KNOW, WITH THE ELECTED OFFICIALS THAT WE PUT IN OFFICE IN SACRAMENTO. THANK YOU. AND MY QUESTION IS, WHAT ARE THE THREE IMPORTANT. MY APOLOGIES. SORRY. YOU UNMUTE YOUR MICROPHONE. SORRY. WHAT ARE THE THREE IMPORTANT ISSUES FACING OUR CITY RIGHT NOW? THOSE THREE IMPORTANT ISSUES THAT YOU BRING UP, HAVE YOU BROUGHT ANY OF THOSE UP TO CITY COUNCIL, AND WHAT SOLUTIONS WOULD YOU OFFER? WELL, IT IS REALLY DIFFICULT TO BRING AN APPROACH, THE CITY COUNCIL. AND BECAUSE ONE OF THE ISSUES THAT WE HAVE IS THE TRUST. OKAY. I FEEL LIKE THERE'S A TRUST, YOU KNOW, THAT THE COMMUNITY LOST AND THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION. SO SOMETIMES IT'S HARD FOR ME TO APPROACH A CITY COUNCIL MEMBER OR THE MAYOR, BECAUSE I DON'T WANT THE COMMUNITY TO BELIEVE THAT, OH, THEY'RE TOGETHER, THEY'RE PLANNING SOMETHING. SO THERE'S A LOT OF MISCOMMUNICATION AND MISUNDERSTANDINGS OUT THERE. SO SOMETIMES IT'S REALLY HARD TO GET TO REALLY CLOSE TO YOU BECAUSE SOMEBODY'S GOING TO TAKE A PICTURE AND THEY'RE GOING TO SAY, OH, THEY'RE WORKING TOGETHER, THEY'RE PLANNING SOMETHING. SO I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS, ONE OF THE BIGGEST ISSUES RIGHT NOW IS THE TRUST, THE TRUST IN HOW WE CAN FIX IT. I SUGGESTED THIS TO HAVE A COMMUNITY, A COMMUNITY AGREEMENT, A COMMUNITY AGREEMENT. MAY OUR COMMUNITY RESPONSIBLE TO SHOW UP FOR OUR MEETINGS JUST LIKE THEY WANT TO HOLD US ACCOUNTABLE. THEY WANT TO HOLD US ACCOUNTABLE. WE CAN WORK BOTH WAYS. AND WORKING TOGETHER IN MY INDUSTRY, THAT'S THE BEST WAY THAT WE CAN MAKE THINGS HAPPEN. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. YOU TALKED A LOT ABOUT YOUR BACKGROUND AND FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY, AND YOUR EXPERIENCE IN THE PROFESSIONAL LEVEL IS WHAT, WHAT THREE CONTRIBUTIONS WOULD YOU LIKE POSITIVE CONTRIBUTIONS WITHIN THE COMMUNITY, WITHIN THE CITY OF COACHELLA? WHAT POSSIBLE CONTRIBUTIONS CAN I BRING? YEAH. OKAY. WELL. WITH WITH MY WORK AT A STATE LEVEL, YOU KNOW, I, WE TALKED TO MANY DEVELOPERS, WE TALKED TO MANY STAKEHOLDERS AT A STATE LEVEL THAT WE CAN CONNECT AND RECONNECT AND BRING THE OPTIONS TO THE CITY. OKAY.

AND I THINK I LOST A LITTLE BIT. CAN YOU REPEAT THE QUESTION? SURE. THREE POSITIVE CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE COMMUNITY, THREE POSITIVE CONTRIBUTIONS. I CAN CONTRIBUTE MY TIME BECAUSE AT A STATE LEVEL REPRESENTING THE ASSOCIATION, WE DON'T GET PAID. WE DON'T GET PAID. SO THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I WILL DONATE MY TIME AS WELL IN THE COMMUNITY AND POSITIVE CONTRIBUTIONS, OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, DO CASE STUDIES ON, ON THE ITEMS THAT WE NEED, LIKE, YOU KNOW, THE SENIORS, THE YOUNG, YOU KNOW, CAREER OPPORTUNITIES, YOU KNOW, ON, ON A PROFESSIONAL LEVEL, INVITE, YOU KNOW, PROFESSIONAL TEAMS FROM SOCCER. WE ARE REALLY BIG ON SOCCER. WE CAN CONNECT WITH PROFESSIONAL TEAMS. SO WE CAN BRING THAT POSITIVE CONTRIBUTION AND WE HAVE THE CONNECTIONS. THANK YOU. THANK YOU IN YOUR APPLICATION, PEOPLE FORGET THAT IN OUR SEAL, THE CITY OF COACHELLA IS THE CITY OF ETERNAL SUNSHINE AND THE GATEWAY TO THE SALTON SEA. AND I THINK FOR US IS HOW DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN THIS ROLE, RIGHT? ON THE SHORT TERM, WHAT IS THAT SHORT TERM GOAL THAT YOU HAVE OF CREATING THE CITY OF ETERNAL SUNSHINE? SHINE AGAIN, SHINE AGAIN. WELL, THAT'S I, I LOVE, I LOVE THE QUESTION BECAUSE I ALWAYS USE THAT, YOU KNOW, EVEN IN MY ADVERTISING, YOU KNOW, THE CITY OF ETERNAL SUNSHINE. WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO DO IS CONNECT WITH YOU GUYS, YOU KNOW, SHARE THE IDEAS THAT I HAVE, YOU KNOW, TO MAKE OUR CITY SHINE, YOU KNOW, NOT AGAIN, YOU KNOW, MAKE THEM SHINE. AND THEN WITH ALL THE COMMENTS, YOU KNOW, FROM OUR NEIGHBORS, YOU KNOW, SAYING THAT WE DON'T KNOW WHAT WE'RE DOING AND, YOU KNOW, WE NEED THIS, WE NEED THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO WORK TOGETHER, SHARE IDEAS, AND I CAN SIT WITH YOU AND I CAN SHARE SO MANY IDEAS THAT WE HAVE THAT WE CAN KEEP OUR MONEY HERE. BECAUSE I BEEN LIVING HERE IN COACHELLA, I SIT

[00:55:05]

THEY ALWAYS STOPPING AT LA QUINTA AND INDIO AND THEY'RE COMING BACK HOME. OKAY? AND THEN THEY'RE SO TIRED FROM THE WORK THAT THEY DON'T WANT TO GO OUT. THEY DON'T WANT TO INVEST IN THE CITY. SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I WILL IMPLEMENT THAT IS BY COACHELLA, KEEP COACHELLA, KEEP THE INCOME HERE IN COACHELLA SO WE CAN HAVE THE MONEY TO BETTER PARKS, BETTER SERVICE, BETTER SENIOR CENTERS, BETTER, YOU KNOW, COMMUNITY OUTREACH. SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, I WILL IMPLEMENT TO AS WELL. I WANT TO MAKE THE CITY SHINE. AND, YOU KNOW, I KNOW WE HAVE A GREAT OPPORTUNITY. YOU KNOW, WE CAN RUN STUDIES, YOU KNOW, WITH THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, YOU KNOW, ABOUT HOW CAN WE, YOU KNOW, MONETIZE OUR NAME. I KNOW, YOU KNOW, THERE'S LEGAL ISSUES THAT WE CAN HAVE WITH GOLDEN BOYS, BUT WE OWN CITY OF COACHELLA, WE CAN MONETIZE AND WE CAN KEEP TAXES HERE IN OUR CITY. WE CAN JUST HAVE FIND, FIND A WAY. AND I HAVE GREAT IDEAS THAT I WOULD LIKE TO SHARE WITH YOU AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, OF COURSE, BECAUSE I KNOW IT'S A. COUNCILWOMAN. YEAH. MY SECOND QUESTION, IT'S A QUESTION THAT THE COMMUNITY BROUGHT FORWARD DURING PUBLIC COMMENT. AND SO I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO, TO TAKE A TURN AND KIND OF ASK SOME OF THOSE TWO. DO YOU SUPPORT US BRINGING FLOCK CAMERAS TO THE CITY? I'M NOT SAYING I SUPPORT IT. I'M ASKING THE QUESTION. AND IF YOU NEED A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND, LET ME KNOW. BUT DO YOU SUPPORT BRINGING FLOCK CAMERAS? NO I DON'T OKAY, NO, I DON'T BECAUSE IF I CAN DO A LITTLE CONTEST, YOU KNOW, I'M AN IMMIGRANT AND I KNOW WHAT THEY'RE USING THE CAMERAS FOR AND I'LL LEAVE IT AT THAT. THANK YOU.

COUNCILMEMBER PEREZ. WHAT WHAT INVESTMENTS ARE NEEDED TO PREPARE THE CITY FOR FUTURE GROWTH INVESTMENTS? WELL, WE HAVE TO GO OUT THERE AND SEARCH. I, I LIKE THE FACT THAT COUNCIL MEMBER DELGADO WENT TO THE CONFERENCE IN LAS VEGAS. AND THAT'S THE ONLY THAT'S THE WAY WE CAN CONNECT, YOU KNOW, TO BRING THE BUSINESS INTO THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT HERE IN THE CITY, YOU KNOW, PRESENT OUR CITY AS THE CITY OF, YOU KNOW, ETERNAL SUNSHINE SO WE CAN BRING THE INVESTORS, YOU KNOW, WE GOTTA LET THE WORLD KNOW THEY KNOW OUR NAME. YOU KNOW, COACHELLA IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS AND THIS IS WHAT WE CAN DO FOR FOR YOU. AND THIS IS WHAT WE CAN WORK TOGETHER. THANK YOU. YOU TALKED A GREAT DEAL ABOUT THE DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS THAT YOU SERVE ON YOU. YOU TALKED A BIT ABOUT THE DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS THAT YOU SERVE ON. AND, YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT'S AT THE STATE LEVEL OR THE LOCAL LEVEL OR THROUGH THE BUSINESS LEVEL, WHAT OTHER TYPES OF ORGANIZATIONS COULD YOU BUILD RELATIONSHIPS WITH TO HELP YOU IMPROVE THE COMMUNITY? I, I HAVE CONTACTS WITH SENATOR ROSALIO OCHOA. I AM A MEMBER OF THE COMMITTEE FOR THE HOUSING ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR GREG WALLACE IN INDIAN WELLS. SO I HAVE GOOD CONNECTIONS THAT WE CAN WORK TOGETHER WITH THEM, AND WE CAN BRING A LOT OF HELP TO THE CITY OF COACHELLA. THANK YOU. YEAH. THANK YOU. WHAT DID YOU WANT TO CONTINUE? OH, YEAH.

I JUST WANT TO SAY THAT. SELECTING A MEMBER AND, YOU KNOW, GOING INTO PUBLIC, YOU KNOW, IT'S REALLY, REALLY, REALLY HARD, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU ARE A, AN IMMIGRANT, YOU KNOW, JUST A LITTLE BIT BACKGROUND, YOU KNOW, WHEN I RUN BECAUSE I HAVE TO RUN FOR A STATE DIRECTOR AND I HAVE TO RUN FOR A LOCAL DIRECTOR OF MY ASSOCIATION, I RUN BECAUSE I, I WANTED TO SEE A CHANGE. WE DIDN'T HAVE REPRESENTATION FROM THE EAST SIDE OF THE VALLEY.

EVERY SINGLE DIRECTOR SITTING AT THE BOARD. IT WAS FROM INDIAN WELLS, RANCHO MIRAGE, LA QUINTA. THERE WAS NO REPRESENTATION WHATSOEVER. AND THE LATINO COMMUNITY AND THE REAL ESTATE LATINOS THAT HAVE REAL ESTATE OFFICES HERE IN COACHELLA AND INDIO, NO REPRESENTATION. SO I HAD A CONVERSATION WITH MYSELF AND I SAID, IF I WANT TO SEE THE CHANGE, I HAVE TO BE THE CHANGE. SO I RUN AND, AND THE WAY IT WORKS, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE 45,000 RESIDENTS HERE, PROBABLY ONLY 3000, YOU KNOW, VOTE IN THE ASSOCIATION IS THE SAME. WE HAVE 3500 MEMBERS AND ONLY 10% OF THEM VOTE THE REGISTERED TO VOTE. SO WHAT I'M TRYING TO GO

[01:00:01]

I DON'T HAVE A CHANCE. SO WHAT I HAVE TO DO, I HAVE TO PROVE THE ENTIRE ASSOCIATION, THE IDEAS AND WHAT WE CAN DO TO REPRESENT OUR SIDE OF THE COACHELLA. AND MY FIRST THING THAT I DID WHEN I WON THE ELECTIONS, I IMPLEMENTED THE DEI COMMITTEE DIVERSITY, INCLUSION AND INTEGRITY. AND ON 2023, MY BIGGEST ACCOMPLISHMENT AS THE DEI CHAIR IS THAT I PUT TWO ASSOCIATIONS TOGETHER ON SPRINGS AND PALM DESERT, AND I WAS ABLE TO MAKE THEM PARTICIPATE ON THE PRIDE PARADE OF 2025. AND THAT WAS VERY, VERY PROUD OF DOING THAT. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, MAYOR AND COUNCIL, WE ARE AT 15 MINUTES. OKAY. I HAVE A QUICK QUESTION. JUST BEFORE, WOULD YOU SUPPORT A PERMANENT BAN ON A DATA CENTER? YES. OKAY. THE WELL, MY LAST QUESTION FOR YOU WOULD JUST BE, WHAT WOULD YOU WANT TO TELL THE PEOPLE OF COACHELLA TODAY IF YOU WERE TO WERE APPOINTED? AND, AND WHAT WOULD YOU PROMISE THEM TODAY? BELIEVE ON US. TRUST. TRUST THE PROCESS. IF YOU DON'T TRUST THESE PEOPLE, TRUST THE PROCESS.

THAT'S WHAT I WOULD TELL THEM. IF YOU DON'T TRUST ME, TRUST THE PROCESS BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE EVERYTHING HAPPENS. AND YES, WE CAN SIT AT THE TABLE. WE CAN HAVE HARD CONVERSATIONS, WE CAN HAVE DISAGREEMENTS. BUT ONE GOAL IN MIND, OUR COMMUNITY, THAT WILL BE OUR GOAL. THANK YOU, THANK YOU. WITH THAT, WE WILL HAVE OUR NEXT SPEAKER, DOCTOR SANDRA LUIS HERNANDEZ ARELLANO. LET ME KNOW WHERE TO SHORT. OKAY. HELLO. THANK YOU FOR THE INVITE TO BE HERE TODAY.

MY NAME IS SANDRA HERNANDEZ ARELLANO AND I AM A SCHOOL TEACHER. I'M A SPECIAL ED SPECIAL ED AND ART TEACHER. AND BECAUSE I'M A TEACHER, I'M, I'M STARTING TO WADDLE AWAY FROM THE MICROPHONE. WHY AM I HERE? I AM HERE BECAUSE I HAVE SERVED STUDENTS BUT HAVE NOT HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE THE COMMUNITY. I HAVE BEEN HERE ALL MY LIFE, 58 YEARS. I JUST GAVE UP MY MY AGE AND I HAVE SEEN CHANGES. I HAVE SEEN THE BEAUTIFICATION, I HAVE SEEN THE, YOU KNOW, MAYORS COME AND GO, COUNCIL MEMBERS COME AND GO. BUT. THINGS HAPPEN FOR A REASON.

AND THE DAY THAT I CAME UP TO THE CAME UP ON THE APPLICATION, I SAID, HEY, WHAT HAVE I DONE FOR THE COMMUNITY? THIS IS MY OPPORTUNITY. AND THAT'S WHERE I SAID, THIS IS MY YOU KNOW, THIS IS THIS IS MY REASON TO MOVE FORWARD. I HAVE NOT EVER SERVED ON A CITY COUNCIL. I HAVE SERVED SERVED ON A STUDENT COUNCIL. I HAVE SERVED ON A SCHOOL SITE COUNCIL, BUT NEVER ON A CITY COUNCIL. AND I SAID, YOU KNOW WHAT, TAKE THAT OPPORTUNITY, APPLY. WHO KNOWS? AND I'M GOING TO SAY THAT I AM NOT A POLITICIAN AND I WILL NOT CLAIM TO KNOW EVERYTHING, AND I WILL NOT CLAIM TO KNOW ALL THE ANSWERS. BUT I KNEW I DO KNOW THAT I HAVE. WHAT COUNCIL MEMBER PEREZ SAID IS I HAVE THE GANAS, I HAVE THE GANAS TO HELP THE PEOPLE HERE WITH ME. I HAVE FAMILY, I HAVE FRIENDS, I HAVE COWORKERS WHO ARE HERE TO SUPPORT ME BECAUSE WHEN I TOLD THEM, HEY, GUESS WHAT? I APPLIED FOR CITY COUNCIL MEMBER. THEY WERE LIKE, SANDRA, YOU WOULD BE GREAT. DO IT RIGHT. AND I MANY TIMES I FELT LIKE SAYING, HEY, NO, YOU KNOW WHAT? YOU BETTER NOT DON'T, DON'T DO IT. BUT THEN WHEN WHEN I HEARD THEM AND ENTHUSIASM, YOU KNOW THAT DRIVE, THEY HAD TO PUSH ME FORWARD. I SAID, WHY NOT JUST LIKE YOU HAVE EDUCATED YOURSELF

[01:05:04]

AND THEY ENJOY THAT. THEY ENJOY THAT YOU ARE VISIBLE WITH THEM AND THEY ENJOY THAT COLLABORATION WITH YOU GUYS. AND THAT MAKES ME VERY HAPPY BECAUSE SHE WAS A PERSON WHO JUST STAYED HOME ALL THE TIME. AND JUST HAVING THOSE, THOSE PLACES FOR PEOPLE, AND IN THIS CASE, THE CITIZENS TO GO TO THIS IS AWESOME. AND IF WE COULD FURTHER THAT, THEN THAT WOULD BE GREAT. AND SO WITH THIS, I LEAVE YOU TO GO AHEAD AND ASK ME THE QUESTIONS.

COUNCILMEMBER. I'LL START OFF BY SAYING THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE, SANDRA. AND I REALLY LIKE AND APPRECIATE YOUR ENTHUSIASM AND YOUR ENERGY. YOU HAVE VERY GOOD ENERGY. SO THAT I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE CAN FEEL RIGHT AWAY. SO THANK YOU FOR THAT. MY FIRST QUESTION WILL BE. WHAT OPPORTUNITIES DO YOU SEE FOR IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF LIFE IN OUR COMMUNITY? WHAT OPPORTUNITIES? I WOULD SAY, I WOULD SAY THAT HAVING MORE, YOU KNOW, AS YOU WERE ASKING THAT QUESTION, I THOUGHT ABOUT IT TOO, A LITTLE MORE FURTHER. AND I SAID, YOU KNOW WHAT? MY MOM JUST MENTIONED THAT SOMEONE, A SENIOR JUST PASSED AWAY. AND I SAID, WHY NOT HAVE LIKE A, A WELLNESS CHECK IN FOR THESE PEOPLE? WHY NOT HAVE.

PROGRAMING THAT HELPS. AND YOU KNOW, WHEN I'M SPEAKING TO YOU, NOT KNOWING MUCH OF IT BECAUSE I'M A TEACHER IN THE DAYTIME AND I'M A TEACHER IN THE NIGHT TIME. SO A LOT OF MY TIME, I, I ALSO TEACH AT THE ADULT SCHOOL. OKAY. SO. HAVING PROGRAMING TO HELP OUT PEOPLE WHO, WHO ARE HAVING TROUBLE, LIKE PAPERWORK, DOCUMENTATION, BECAUSE BEFORE I, I WAS A PUBLIC NOTARY AND I ALSO FILLED OUT. I ALSO DID INCOME TAXES. AND SO A LOT OF THESE PEOPLE HAVE NO KNOWLEDGE OF, OF HOW TO FILL OUT PAPERWORK. YOU KNOW, THAT SOME OF THEM ARE ILLITERATE, SOME OF THEM JUST DON'T SPEAK THE LANGUAGE. AND SO I FOUND MYSELF DOING A LOT OF THAT. AND SO WHY NOT OFFER SOMETHING LIKE THAT TO IMPROVE, YOU KNOW, THE BETTERMENT OF AND PEOPLE BEING ABLE TO, I DON'T KNOW, GO OUT THERE AND NOT BE AS AS AFRAID TO SPEAK UP WHEN THEY NEED TO SPEAK UP. AND THAT'S THAT'S IT. THANK YOU. COUNCILWOMAN PEREZ, SAME QUESTION AS THE PRIOR CANDIDATES. WHAT ARE THE THREE IMPORTANT ISSUES FACING OUR CITY RIGHT NOW? AND OF THOSE

[01:10:06]

YEAH, MISS. THEY WERE VERY EXCITED. AND IT'S A GOOD FEELING TO SEE THE YOUTH. AND SO A FEW YEARS BACK, I WAS ABLE TO BRING A GROUP OF STUDENTS TO THE SENIOR CENTER TO SPEND TIME, SPEND THAT TIME WITH THE SENIORS AND JUST SEEING THEIR FACES, YOU KNOW, INTERACTING WITH THE SENIORS AND LOTERIA DOING CERAMICS, PAINTING THE KICK THEY GOT OUT OF THE PEOPLE WHEN THEY WERE UPSET. OH, DID YOU SEE THAT? THE KIDS THAT THE OLD PEOPLE GOT UPSET OVER, YOU KNOW, NOT WINNING, IT WAS JUST A GOOD, GOOD FEELING BECAUSE AT FIRST I THOUGHT I WAS RELUCTANT TO BRING THEM BECAUSE I THOUGHT THEY WERE NOT GOING TO LIKE THE IDEA OF COMING TO THE SENIOR CENTER. BUT THEY REALLY LIKED THAT. AND I AND IT, IT'S A GOOD FEELING AS A TEACHER TO SEE THE STUDENTS INTERACTING AND NOT JUST THE SENIOR CITIZENS, BUT, YOU KNOW, THE COMMUNITY IN GENERAL DOING ACTIVITIES THAT THAT WILL BOOST THEIR CHARACTER AND THEIR, THEIR. THEIR.

ENGAGEMENT MORE, MORE ENGAGEMENT IN THE SCHOOLING. AND THEY'RE WANT TO CONTINUE ON INTO FURTHER EDUCATION. AND SO I WORK AT THE LA FAMILIA. AND SO WE HAVE A LOT OF AT RISK YOUTH THERE. AND SO MAYBE DOING SOMETHING LIKE THIS FOR THESE STUDENTS WILL ALSO HELP OUT.

THANK YOU. MA'AM. THANK YOU FOR YOUR DEDICATION TO EDUCATION AND LITERACY. IT'S A IT'S A IT'S CLOSE TO MY HEART. SO I THANK YOU FOR THAT. YOU'VE SHARED A LOT OF YOUR COMMITMENT TO CIVIC SERVICE. WHAT ARE THREE THINGS THAT YOU THINK IN THE CITY CAN BENEFIT FROM? ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT? IT LOOKS LIKE I, I HAVE A LOT OF HOMEWORK TO DO. I HONESTLY, I, I, LIKE I SAID, I'M NOT A POLITICIAN AND, AND I HAVE DEDICATED MY LIFE TO BUILDING LESSON PLANS AND BUILDING CURRICULUM AND ENGAGING MYSELF AND ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING TO, OF STRATEGIES AND, AND ACCOMMODATIONS WITH THE SPECIAL NEEDS AND ALL OF THAT THAT I HAVE. I HAVE FORGOTTEN ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE OUTER WORLD, BUT I CAN SHARE THAT CURRENTLY MY HOME IS BEING BUILT AND THAT'S HOW I MY EYES WERE OPENED UP TO OTHER POSSIBILITIES. I SAID, WHAT'S HAPPENING HERE? WHEN THINGS DON'T GO THE RIGHT WAY? HOW. SOMETHING WAS BROUGHT UP ABOUT THE SOLAR PANELING. AND I WAS LIKE, YOU KNOW WHAT? THESE ARE SOME THINGS THAT I NEED TO DO SOME HOMEWORK ON CURRENTLY, AND SO WHY NOT LOOK INTO IT? SO I, I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING THAT HELPS HELPS THE COMMUNITY. THE ONLY THING IS I

[01:15:06]

OKAY. SO WE'LL BE QUICK. I'LL ASK YOU THE QUESTION THAT I'VE ASKED EVERYONE, ALMOST EVERYBODY. WOULD YOU SUPPORT A PERMANENT BAN OF THE DATA CENTER IN OUR CITY OF COACHELLA? YES, I WOULD, AND YOU KNOW, MY OTHER QUICK QUESTION IS, YOU MENTIONED YOU'RE NOT A POLITICIAN AND, YOU KNOW, YOU'VE GIVEN YOUR SERVICE TO EDUCATION. AND I THINK WHAT WOULD YOU SEE AS AND, YOU KNOW, YOU YOU'VE YOU SAID YOU LIVED IN COACHELLA FOR 58 YEARS OF THAT CHANGE. YOU'VE SEEN. WHAT DO YOU THINK IS STILL MISSING IN COACHELLA THAT THAT THE RESIDENTS WOULD THAT YOU WOULD WANT TO GET INPUT FROM RESIDENTS? WHAT IS IT THAT THAT YOU THINK RESIDENTS WOULD THINK IS NEEDED STILL IN THE CITY OF COACHELLA? I THINK THAT THE COMMUNITY, THE PEOPLE WANT TO SEE THAT TRANSPARENCY THAT. YOU KNOW, I HATE TO TO HEAR, OH, THEY SAY THEY'RE GOING TO DO THIS AND THEN THEY LIE. AND, YOU KNOW, THE NEGATIVITY. I WOULD LIKE TO SEE MORE TRANSPARENCY AND THEM. BE ABLE TO TRUST US AS A TEAM. HAVE A SAY WHEN THERE'S THE OPPORTUNITY. YEAH, BE MORE OPEN WITH, WITH ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING THAT ANY DEVELOPMENTS OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, THAT THAT THEY'RE ON THE TABLE TO MAKE THEM PART OF IT. YOU KNOW, IF THEY ARE ALLOWED TO BE INVITED, WHY NOT MAKE THEM BE PART OF IT? THANK YOU. ANYBODY HAVE ONE LAST QUESTION FOR DOCTOR SANDRA THAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO ASK AT THE LAST TWO MINUTES. IS THERE ANYTHING THAT YOU WANT TO CLOSE WITH SANDRA THAT YOU WANT TO SHARE THAT I WANT TO SHARE WITH YOU? I HAVE SO MANY THINGS. WELL, ONLY THAT, YOU KNOW, MY HEART IS IN HELPING PEOPLE. IT'S IT'S, YOU KNOW, THEY TELL ME I HAVE THIS HARD CHARACTER, BUT YOU'RE A GOOD PERSON. AND, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES I BELIEVE IT AND SOMETIMES I DON'T. BUT I'M ALWAYS FOR HELPING OUT. I'M ALWAYS FOR BEING A TEAM PLAYER.

I'M ALWAYS FOR. AND THE CHANGE. I'M ALWAYS FOR BEING THAT HARD WORKER. IF IT'S IF IT TAKES ME HOURS AND HOURS TO WORK, THEN I'M THERE. IF I SAY I'M I'M COMMITTED TO DOING IT, I'M GOING TO BE THERE. AND SO YEAH, THAT'S WHO I AM. I, I'M, I'M A PERSON WHO LIKES TO HELP OUT AND GIVE MY INPUT AND, YOU KNOW, NOT IN AN AGGRESSIVE WAY, BUT BE, HAVE THAT KNOWLEDGE, HAVE THAT KNOWLEDGE BY DOING THE HOMEWORK, OKAY. BECOME KNOWLEDGEABLE BECAUSE WE CAN'T EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE DOCTORATES. RIGHT. DOCTOR FRANK, EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE DOCTORATES, DOESN'T MEAN WE KNOW EVERYTHING. YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A SPECIALTY, BUT BEING ABLE TO COLLABORATE WITH, WITH A GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO ARE HELPING OUR COMMUNITY, WHO ARE TRYING TO MAKE CHANGE, I AM ALL FOR IT AND I WILL INVEST THE TIME THAT'S NEEDED. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. THAT WE WILL GO ON TO OUR NEXT INTERVIEWEE, SALEM PENALOZA. THANK YOU.

FIRST, I WANT TO THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR ALL YOUR TIME AND FOR ALLOWING ME TO BE UP HERE. MY NAME IS SALEM PENALOZA. I'M 29 YEARS OLD. I WAS BORN IN GUADALAJARA. I CAME TO THE STATES WHEN I WAS THREE YEARS OLD. I BECAME A U.S. CITIZEN LAST YEAR IN FEBRUARY. THE REASON I WANT TO BE A COUNCIL MEMBER IS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOR MY COMMUNITY, FOR MY FAMILY, MAKE THE CITY A BETTER PLACE FOR MY SISTER AND MY FUTURE KIDS. I DO NOT HAVE KIDS. I AM NOT MARRIED. MY COMMITMENT WOULD BE HERE TO THE CITY COUNCIL TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE. I AM NOT INVOLVED WITH ANY POLITICAL GROUP OR ANY ORGANIZATION. I'M HERE. I WANT TO LEARN AND I WANT TO BE MOLDED, MOLDED INTO WHAT YOU, WHAT THE COMMUNITY NEEDS AND

[01:20:06]

PROGRAMS TO BETTER THE YOUTH. I FEEL LIKE IF THEY HAVE BETTER JOBS, THEY CAN CONTRIBUTE MORE TO THE COMMUNITY AND MAKE THE CITY A BETTER PLACE, GIVEN MORE VALUE, KEEP THE MONEY HERE IN THE COMMUNITY, KEEP THE PEOPLE THAT GO TO COLLEGE, STAY HERE AND DEVELOP HERE AND WANT THEIR FAMILIES HERE. I DO SEE THAT THE STREETS WE MIGHT NEED TO FIX SOME OF THE STREETS, MAKE MORE HOUSINGS FOR FOR OUR SENIORS, HELP. HELP THE COMMUNITY. THANK YOU. THANK.

THANK YOU. YOU MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE SOME OF THE STREETS, RIGHT. AND SOME OF OUR FUNDING COMES FROM STATE FUNDING. AND AND HOW WOULD YOU GO ABOUT IN CREATING THOSE COLLABORATIONS? RIGHT? LIKE, HOW DO YOU SEE THE CITY GROWING AND THE CONDITIONS OF OUR ROADS AND, AND AS SOMEONE THAT'S LIVED HERE, HOW DO YOU SEE THE CITY BEING ABLE TO, TO FIND FUNDING FOR THAT? WHAT IS YOUR PERSPECTIVE ON THAT? YOU KNOW, FROM KIND OF WHAT YOU'VE SEEN AND SEEN? WHAT DO YOU THINK AND HOW DO YOU THINK WE CAN GET MORE FUNDING? RIGHT? THERE'S

[01:25:04]

THEY SEE ME EVERY DAY. THEY HAVE MY PHONE NUMBER, THEY CALL ME, AND I, I'M I'M NOT PARTYING.

I DON'T I'M NOT ON ANYBODY'S SIDE. I'M JUST HERE FOR THE BETTER OF THE COMMUNITY. AND I FEEL LIKE I CAN LISTEN TO THEM AND LISTEN TO WHAT WE'RE WHAT WE'RE DOING, DO MY HOMEWORK, INVESTIGATE WHAT WOULD BE BETTER FOR THE COMMUNITY. THANK YOU. COUNCILMEMBER, WE STILL HAVE TIME. OKAY. WHY ARE YOU INTERESTED IN SERVING AS A CITY COUNCIL MEMBER? I WANT TO SERVE BECAUSE I WANT TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOR MY COMMUNITY. LIKE I SAID, MY SISTER, SHE'S 19 YEARS OLD AND SHE'S SHE DOESN'T KNOW A LOT OF THINGS. AND I WANT TO GIVE HER ALL THE KNOWLEDGE I GET FROM HERE, GIVE IT TO ALL OUR ALL THE YOUTH HERE, AND MAKE THE CITY A BETTER PLACE FOR MY FUTURE KIDS AND FOR MY FUTURE FAMILY. THANK YOU. THE CITY OF COACHELLA IS IS FACING SOME FINANCIAL CHALLENGES. WHAT APPROACHES WOULD YOU DO TO TRY TO REDUCE THAT SHORTFALL? WHAT I WOULD DO IS CREATE BETTER JOBS. LIKE I SAID, PARTNER UP WITH DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS, DIFFERENT BUSINESSES THAT ARE HERE. WHEN I DIDN'T GO TO COLLEGE. SO WHEN I WHEN I WENT OUT TO THE REAL WORLD TO START WORKING, THERE WAS A LOT OF THINGS THAT I DIDN'T KNOW. WHEN I WENT TO THE CASINO, I DIDN'T KNOW THERE WAS A POSITION FOR CASINO HOST. I DIDN'T KNOW THAT THERE WAS DIRECTORS AND MARKETING DIRECTORS AND DIFFERENT AREAS.

I FEEL LIKE IF WE IF WE DO GIVE ALL THAT KNOWLEDGE TO OUR YOUTH, THAT CAN BETTER OUR COMMUNITY.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU. I HAVE TWO QUESTIONS AND THEN WE'LL GIVE YOU SOME TIME AT THE END.

WOULD YOU SUPPORT A PERMANENT BAN OF A DATA CENTER IF APPOINTED? YES. OKAY. THE ONE QUESTION, YOU KNOW, HOW WOULD YOU YOU TALKED ABOUT LIKE COMMUNITY, BUT HOW WOULD YOU COLLABORATE WITH OTHER THE UNINCORPORATED COMMUNITIES AROUND THE COUNTY AND, AND HOW DO YOU CREATE THAT, THAT, THAT RELATIONSHIP, RIGHT? BECAUSE AS PART OF OUR JOBS IS, IS OTHER THAN GOING TO CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS, WE HAVE TO CREATE RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHER CITIES AND BECOME PARTNERS. BECAUSE AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE WORK WITH THE WHOLE COACHELLA VALLEY.

WE WE HAVE THE OVERSIGHT OVER OUR JURISDICTION. BUT HOW WOULD YOU WORK IN COLLABORATION WITH OTHER CITIES AND OTHER GOVERNMENT AGENCIES? BUT BUT NOT JUST OTHER CITIES, REALLY THE UNINCORPORATED COMMUNITY THAT'S REPRESENTED BY ONE INDIVIDUAL. BECAUSE HOW DO YOU CREATE THAT RELATIONSHIP? BECAUSE IT'S REPRESENTED BY ONE INDIVIDUAL. BUT THERE'S COMMUNITY COUNCIL. SO OUR NEAREST NEIGHBOR IS THERMO VISTA, SANTA ROSA. AND HOW WOULD YOU CREATE THAT RELATIONSHIP TO ENSURE THAT? THEY'RE COMMUNICATED WITH? I, I DON'T HAVE AN ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION. YEAH, I, I REALLY DON'T KNOW. THANK YOU. IN CLOSING, IF YOU WANT TO HAVE ANY CLOSING STATEMENTS. NO, THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY.

THANK YOU. THANK YOU.

JUST GOING TO ADJUST THEIR. NEXT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE DOCTOR MARTIN PEREZ JOIN US NEXT. WELCOME. BUENAS TARDES. GOOD AFTERNOON. FIRST OF ALL I WANT

[01:30:09]

AND SO ONE OF THE REASONS WHY I'M HERE TODAY IS KIND OF THIS IDEA THAT SPARKED IN ME, SINCE FOR THE PAST YEAR AND A HALF THAT SINCE I RETURNED FROM MEXICO AND THAT I WAS THINKING ABOUT MASLOW'S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS, WHERE YOU PICTURE THE PYRAMID AT THE BOTTOM, IT'S LIKE THE BASIC NEEDS OF LIFE. AND THEN THE NEXT LEVEL IS, I THINK IT'S SAFETY. THE NEXT LEVEL IS BELONGING. AND THEN THE THIRD, THE FINAL ONE IS SELF-ACTUALIZATION. SO WHEN YOU PICTURE THAT PYRAMID, I THINK THAT THE CITY COUNCIL DOES THAT. I THINK THAT WHAT YOU DO IS TO TRY TO HELP THE RESIDENTS TRY TO REACH SELF-ACTUALIZATION, WHERE THE RESIDENTS OF COACHELLA HAVE THE BASIC NEEDS THAT ARE BEING MET. CLEAN WATER, UTILITIES, YOU KNOW, FEELING SAFE, FEELING LIKE THEY BELONG IN THE CITY OF COACHELLA IS SOMETHING THAT I THINK THAT WE IS SOMETHING THAT THAT I THINK OF WHEN I THINK OF CITY COUNCIL. BUT LATELY OF LATE, I THINK A LOT OF THE PROJECTS, A LOT OF THE PUBLIC POLICY ISSUES THAT ARE COMING DOWN THE CITY OF COACHELLA PERTAIN TO HEALTH. AND I THINK THAT MY BACKGROUND IS IN CLINICAL RESEARCH AS WELL AS HEALTH CARE CAN HELP THE COUNCIL COME, COME TO BETTER CONCLUSIONS AS TO HOW TO ADDRESS THEM AND BE COMMUNICATE THEM TO THE PUBLIC. I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO ALSO ANSWER SOME OF THE QUESTIONS THAT WERE ASKED. I THINK THE FIRST ONE WAS ASKED IN SPANISH. SOMEBODY ASKED, WHAT WILL YOU DO NOW UNTIL NOVEMBER AS A IF I'M A APPOINTED FOR THIS POSITION, I'M PRIVILEGED. I THINK THE FIRST THING THAT WE SHOULD TACKLE IS I DON'T THINK THAT THE BOARD IS HAVING A TRANSPARENCY ISSUE. I THINK IT'S MORE OF A PERCEPTION ISSUE. SO I THINK IT'S EDUCATING THE PUBLIC AS TO WHAT WE DO, HOW IT'S DONE, AND KIND OF JUST ELIMINATE THE PERCEPTION THAT EVERYBODY HAD ABOUT THE PRIOR ADMINISTRATION AND KIND OF REVITALIZE THIS NEW ONE WITH NEW IDEAS AND NEW PROJECT ENGAGEMENT. THE SECOND THING THAT I WOULD DO IS TO TACKLE ON VERTICAL HOUSING VERSUS HORIZONTAL HOUSING. I THINK THAT THE CITY OF COACHELLA IS GROWING AT A RAPID PACE. AND I THINK THAT WHAT WE DO, WHAT WE DECIDE ON NOW IS GOING TO HAVE AN EFFECT FOR THE NEXT 10 TO 20 YEARS OR SO. THE AVERAGE RESIDENT, I THINK I SAW A QUOTE ON DATA THAT THE AVERAGE AGE FOR A RESIDENT HERE IN COACHELLA IS 33, AND THE AVERAGE INCOME IS ABOUT 65000, WHICH MEANS TELLS ME THAT PEOPLE ARE LIVING PAYCHECK TO PAYCHECK. BY THE WAY, I DON'T MAKE THAT MUCH MONEY, SO I'M ALSO LIVING PAYCHECK TO PAYCHECK. SO I KNOW WHAT THAT FEELS. SO I THINK THOSE ARE THE TWO MAIN THINGS THAT I WOULD BE WORKING ON FOR FROM NOW UNTIL ELECTION TIME. SOMEBODY ASKED. THEY ASKED, WILL YOU BE SEEKING A REELECTION IN NOVEMBER? AND THE ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION IS, I DON'T KNOW. I DON'T THINK SO. I THINK THAT RIGHT NOW MY INTEREST IS TO HELP THE COUNCIL. I THINK THAT'S MY FOCUS, IS TO RECEIVE THE DATA, ANALYZE IT. I LOVE TO READ AND TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THE BEST FEEDBACK. I'M NOT INTERESTED IN A CAREER IN POLITICS. I DON'T WANT TO BECOME MAYOR. I RATHER JUST WANT TO HELP SERVE THE PUBLIC.

AND WITH THAT, I THINK I'LL OPEN IT UP TO QUESTIONS WITH THE DRY MOUTH HERE. COUNCILMAN.

NO. MY QUESTION FOR YOU IS GOING TO BE WHAT OTHER PROFESSIONAL AND I THINK YOU MENTIONED THIS ALREADY IN YOUR IN YOUR OPENING STATEMENT, BUT WHAT OTHER PROFESSIONAL VOLUNTEER OR PERSONAL COMMITMENTS DO YOU THINK COULD POSSIBLY AFFECT YOUR SERVICE HERE? SO I THINK THIS IS TALKING MORE ABOUT TIMING AND COMMITMENT. SURE. SO AS PEOPLE GOT TO SEE THE MY APPLICATION, I CURRENTLY WORK AT EISENHOWER AS AN A PER DIEM BASIS, AND I

[01:35:04]

SO IF I YOU CAN REPEAT THE LAST PART OF THE SENTENCE OF YOUR QUESTION SO I CAN MAKE SURE I GOT IT. I THINK YOU I THINK I GOT IT ANSWERED THE QUESTION. YEAH. THANK YOU. OKAY. SURE.

COUNCILWOMAN PEREZ, HOW WOULD YOU ENCOURAGE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT? OH, YES. YOU KNOW, CHILDHOOD OBESITY IS, WAS, IS SOMETHING THAT'S GROWING. AND PARTICULARLY I NOTICE HERE IN THE VALLEY AND IN THE HOSPITAL, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I WOULD LOVE TO DO IS TO HAVE COMO EL DIA DEL NINO, BUT KIND OF LIKE A CHILD'S DAY WHERE WE INVITE ALL THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS IN THE CITY OF COACHELLA TO COME TOGETHER, THAT THE LOCAL PARK, YOU KNOW, AND HAVE EVERYBODY HAVE AN ACTIVITY DAY WHERE THEY RUN, THEY DO ACTIVITIES AND IT'S, YOU KNOW, PUBLICIZED AND THE PARENTS GET INVOLVED. I THINK THAT WOULD BE A WONDERFUL WAY TO PROMOTE ACTIVITY, MAYBE EVEN HAVE LIKE A LITTLE TABLE WHERE SOMEBODY'S TALKING ABOUT NUTRITION, SOMEBODY'S TALKING ABOUT HEALTH MATTERS. I THINK THAT WHEN I THINK ABOUT THAT AND THE CHILDREN RUNNING OUTDOORS, I THINK IF WE KIND OF NEED TO GO BACK TO THAT, BECAUSE ALL I SEE IS KIDS DOING THIS ON THE PHONE AND THE TABLETS AND YOU KNOW, HOW TO GET THEM AWAY FROM THIS IS, IS SOMETHING THAT'S DIFFICULT. BUT THAT'S ONE OF THE WAYS THAT I WOULD ENCOURAGE THAT. THANK YOU.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMITMENT TO HEALTH CARE AND WELLNESS. THANK YOU FOR THAT. YOUR EXPERIENCE IS A GREAT DEAL IN THE HEALTH INDUSTRY. HOW WOULD YOU CONTRIBUTE THREE THREE THINGS TO THE CITY OF COACHELLA WIDE LEVEL WHEN IT COMES TO WELLNESS? YEAH. SO FOR WELLNESS, I'M I REALLY I WAS AWAY FROM IN MEXICO FOR ABOUT SIX YEARS FOR MEDICAL SCHOOL AND MY INTERNSHIP AND SOCIAL SERVICE TO THE COUNTRY. AND WHEN I GOT BACK, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I REALLY LIKED THAT I SAW HERE WAS THE PARKS, THE BEAUTIFICATION. ONE OF THE WAYS THAT I WOULD ENCOURAGE IS TO. I REALLY LIKE THIS WHOLE THING OF THE, THE RUN THAT THAT FIVE K RUN THAT'S DONE HERE IN THE CITY PROMOTE THAT I WOULD REALLY ENCOURAGE THE DAY OF THE CHILD ACTIVITY WHERE CHILDREN ARE RUNNING OUT. SOMETHING THAT I REALLY. AND I'M KIND OF GOING OFF ON A TANGENT HERE, BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I ALSO WANTED TO MAKE SURE NOT TO FORGET TO MENTION IS SOMETHING FOR OUR SENIORS. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I SEE IN HEALTHCARE IS THAT THERE'S A LOT OF PATIENTS OF THE ELDERLY AGE THAT HAVE MISSED APPOINTMENTS, AND THE REASON WHY THEY HAVE MISSED APPOINTMENTS IS BECAUSE THEY COULDN'T GET A RIDE, BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T WANT TO BOTHER A FAMILY MEMBER TO TAKE THEM TO THE HOSPITAL FOR THEIR APPOINTMENT WITH THE DOCTOR. I THINK IF THE CITY CAN PARTNER UP WITH UBER COMPANIES OR THESE MEDICAL TRANSPORTATION COMPANIES TO KIND OF GIVE THEM A STIPEND, TO GIVE THEM A REDUCED FEE FOR TRANSPORTATION TO AND FROM THEIR APPOINTMENT, I THINK THAT WOULD BE A GREAT IDEA TO ENCOURAGE, TO HAVE. I WOULD BE INTERESTED IN SEEING SOMETHING LIKE THAT. SO I DON'T KNOW THAT I ANSWERED YOUR QUESTION, BUT I WENT OFF ON A TANGENT. NO, YOU'RE FINE. THANK YOU FOR THAT. SO, YOU KNOW, YOU GREW UP IN COACHELLA AND IN THE CITY OF COACHELLA HAS A SPHERE OF INFLUENCE AND AS A AS A SPHERE AND A SPHERE OF INFLUENCE. AND FOR PEOPLE THAT DON'T KNOW WHAT THE SPHERE OF INFLUENCE IS, IT'S IT'S AREAS WHERE THE CITY OF COACHELLA HAS AN INTEREST BUT ALSO HAS SERVICE, RIGHT? OUR WATER LINES GO OUT ALL THE WAY TO VISIT SANTA ROSA, AND WE PROVIDE SERVICE. AND SO THE CITY HAS THAT. BUT ASIDE FROM THE SPHERE INFLUENCE, HOW DO YOU HOW WOULD YOU SEE YOURSELF, YOU KNOW, IN THE IN THE INTERIM, IN THIS ROLE, BEING ABLE TO, TO CREATE PARTNERSHIPS WITH OTHER AREAS IN OUR IN OUR CITY, TO BE ABLE TO BRING KIND OF SOME PROGRAMS THAT ALREADY EXIST OUT THERE AND USING PROGRAMS IN OTHER CITIES THAT YOU THINK WOULD BE IMPLEMENTABLE HERE, THAT WE DON'T HAVE THOSE SERVICES. AND, AND YOU COULD SEE THEM BEING BENEFICIAL HERE. AND EVEN IF IT'S THE INITIATION OF THE PROJECT, RIGHT? HOW WOULD HOW WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT HERE? I WOULD UTILIZE YOU, YOU, YOU'RE THE MAYOR. I WOULD UTILIZE YOU. YOU'RE THE VOICE. YOU'RE THE FACE. I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO GO OUT THERE AND GET THE LEADERS FROM THOSE ORGANIZATIONS AND ACTUALLY BRING THEM TO THE TABLE. LET'S HAVE A DAY WHERE WE CAN HAVE MEET WITH CITY COUNCIL OF COACHELLA, SEE WHAT'S WORKING OUT THERE, SEE WHAT YOU'RE DOING OUT THERE, AND MAYBE LET'S COME TOGETHER AND SEE WHAT WE CAN BRING TO THE TABLE HERE. I THINK YOUR INFLUENCE IS

[01:40:01]

BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I WOULD ALSO WANT TO DO IS MAYBE ON THE COACHELLA WEBSITE, HAVE A LINK WHERE RESIDENTS OF COACHELLA COULD PUT IN THEIR CONCERNS OR COMPLAINTS, HEY, THERE'S AN ISSUE IN THIS DOWN THE STREET, THERE'S A A WALL THAT NEEDS TO BE FIXED RATHER THAN CALLING CITY CONTROL OR ANY OF THAT HAVE A DAY IN THE QUARTER WHERE COUNCIL MEMBERS GO OUT TO THE CITY AND LOOK AT THE ISSUES, KIND OF DO LIKE A WALK THROUGH, BECAUSE THAT WOULD GIVE THE SHOW THE PUBLIC THAT YOU GUYS ARE REACHING OUT TO THE PUBLIC AND ACTUALLY WALKING DOWN THE STEPS AND SEEING THE ISSUES THAT ARE AFFECTING THEM, AS OPPOSED TO HAVING THE PUBLIC WHO WORKS OFTEN TWO JOBS CAN'T MAKE IT TO CITY COUNCIL APPOINTMENTS, CAN'T JOIN A ZOOM, DOESN'T KNOW TECHNOLOGY. ALTHOUGH I HAVE A HARD TIME BELIEVING THAT ONE, BUT CAN'T ATTEND THE MEETINGS AND VOICE THESE CONCERNS. IF IF YOU GUYS IF I'M PART OF THE COUNCIL AND I SEE THAT THERE'S A LIST OF PLACES WHERE I NEED TO GO TO THE CITY OF COACHELLA, TO ANY AREA AND VISIT, I WOULD GLADLY GO MEET WITH THE PUBLIC, MEET WITH LA SENORA ALICIA AND HEAR WHAT SHE HAS TO SAY ABOUT THIS AND THAT. WRITE IT DOWN, AND THEN MAYBE EVEN PROVIDE A RESOLUTION FOR IT AFTERWARDS. YEAH. THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN RIORDAN. THANK YOU. DO YOU WATCH ANY OF OUR COUNCIL MEETINGS, OR HAVE YOU ATTENDED ANY OF OUR COUNCIL MEETINGS IN PERSON? I HAVE NOT ATTENDED, BUT I DEFINITELY DO WATCH THEM. I WATCHED THEM BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, OH, BY THE WAY, I HAVEN'T MENTIONED. SO MY WIFE IS ROSEMARY BAUTISTA. SHE'S AN ATTORNEY. SHE'S ALSO A BOARD MEMBER IN THE USDA HOUSING COALITION OR COACHELLA RURAL HOUSING COALITION. I'M SORRY. SORRY, HONEY. COALITION AND I, SHE'S ALSO A BOARD MEMBER OF THE USE CAL BERKELEY OF THE DESERT, BY THE WAY. CONGRATULATIONS THAT YOU'RE GOING TO BERKELEY. AND WHAT SHE DOES IS SHE HELPS STUDENTS THAT ARE FROM THE EAST END OF THE VALLEY GET INTO BERKELEY, WHICH IS PHENOMENAL BECAUSE WE NEED MORE STUDENTS GOING TO TOP UNIVERSITIES IN THE STATE. SHE'S A LOT SMARTER THAN I AM. SHE'S A LOT MORE PREPARED. AND SO I DEFINITELY UTILIZE HER KNOWLEDGE FOR FOR THE GREATER GOOD. BUT YEAH, I JUST WANTED TO MENTION THAT. THROW THAT IN THERE. THANK YOU. YEAH. WHY ARE YOU INTERESTED IN SERVING AS CITY COUNCIL? BECAUSE RIGHT NOW I, I BELIEVE THAT I CAN BE OF BEST USE FOR YOU, THE COUNCIL MEMBERS. I THINK THAT RIGHT NOW, THE TWO BIGGEST ISSUES THAT ARE AFFLICTING, AGAIN, IT'S NOT TRANSPARENCY. I THINK IT'S JUST PUBLIC PERCEPTION THING. I THINK WE COULD REJUVENATE AND GIVE A NEW FACE TO THE NEW ADMINISTRATION THAT'S COMING. I ALSO WELL, THIS IS A CITY THAT I GREW UP AND THIS IS A CITY THAT I LOVE. THIS IS HOME. I SPECIFICALLY CHOSE TO COME BACK TO HOME BECAUSE THIS IS WHERE I IS GOING TO BE, WHERE I WANT TO PRACTICE MEDICINE ONE DAY AND BE ABLE TO PROVIDE SERVICE TO THE PEOPLE, MY NEIGHBORS. YEAH, YEAH, YEAH. WITH OUR BUDGET SHORTFALL, WHAT ARE THREE WAYS THAT YOU CAN IMPROVE IT? NOT IMMEDIATELY, I THINK THAT MULTI-GENERATIONAL HOUSING IS SOMETHING THAT I SEE A LOT OF WHAT I MEAN BY THAT IS THAT WE SEE A LOT OF COUSINS, FAMILY MEMBERS, SISTERS, BROTHERS, ALL LIVING IN THE SAME HOUSEHOLD BECAUSE THEY CANNOT AFFORD TO BUY A HOME. I THINK THAT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE TO CONTINUE WORKING ON IS TO PROVIDE, I LIKE THESE APARTMENTS THAT ARE THAT WERE BUILT. I LOVE THAT IDEA. MAYBE MORE OF THAT AND MAYBE EXPAND HOUSING PROJECTS IN THE IN THE AREA AND MAYBE FROM TAXATION REVENUE. I THINK THAT WE CAN GET THE MONEY THAT WE NEED TO MAINTAIN IT. IT'S NOT A QUICK SOLUTION, BUT I'M NOT HERE TO PROVIDE NECESSARILY ALL THE ANSWERS. I'M HERE TO BRAINSTORM AND READ ALL THE SUBJECT MATTER AND PROVIDE YOU THE BEST FEEDBACK THAT I CAN. THANK YOU. YEAH. AND I'M GONNA HAVE TWO QUESTIONS FOR YOU. YEAH, YEAH.

WOULD YOU SUPPORT A PERMANENT BAN OF THE DATA CENTERS? ABSOLUTELY. SECOND, I THINK YOU TALKED ABOUT HOUSING AND, YOU KNOW, YOUR BACKGROUND IN HEALTHCARE, I THINK. IF SELECTED, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR ONE THING THAT, YOU KNOW, IF YOU DIDN'T RUN AGAIN, AS YOU MENTIONED, RIGHT, WHAT WOULD BE THE ONE THING THAT YOU REALLY, TRULY WANTED TO GET DONE IN THE NEXT FIVE MONTHS, IF APPOINTED IN THE NEXT FIVE MONTHS, MORE HEALTH FAIR INITIATIVES. AND WHAT I MEAN BY THAT IS HAVING LOCAL HOSPITAL REPRESENTATIVES COME TO THE CITY OF COACHELLA TO INFORM ON CLINICAL RESEARCH TRIALS THAT ARE BEING DONE AT EISENHOWER, FOR EXAMPLE, WE

[01:45:03]

YEAH, YEAH, THAT IF YOU HAVE ANY CLOSING COMMENTS, CLOSING COMMENTS. YEAH, LET ME USE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO HOPEFULLY ANSWER SOME OF THE QUESTIONS THAT WERE ASKED. AM I COMMITTED TO READING THE WHAT'S AS OPPOSED TO READING THE SUMMARY? YES, I AM COMMITTED TO READING THE THE ENTIRETY OF THE PROPOSALS, THE RELATIONSHIP WITH THERMAL. YEAH. I'M NOT TOO FAMILIAR WITH THE RELATIONSHIP WITH THERMAL, BUT I THINK THAT BECAUSE I'M NOT FAMILIAR WITH IT, I THINK I NEED TO BE EDUCATED ON THAT. SO I APOLOGIZE FOR FOR THAT IN REGARDS TO I HAVE NO YEAH, NO CONFLICT OF INTEREST WHATSOEVER. I AM REALLY MUCH INTERESTED IN SEEING HOW I CAN BE BEST OF USE TO YOU GUYS FOR THE NEXT COMING MONTHS, AND I'M EXCITED TO DO SO AND READY TO DO SO. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU MARTIN. NEXT WE WILL HAVE ISAAC ZEPEDA. WELCOME, MR. ZEPEDA, COUNCIL.

MY NAME IS ISAAC ZEPEDA. I AM THE PROUD SON OF IMMIGRANTS. I AM 20 YEARS OLD. THAT'S THE SAME TIME I'VE BEEN LIVING HERE IN THE VALLEY. I WAS BORN AND RAISED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT MYSELF. I. I RECENTLY GRADUATED FROM COLLEGE OF THE DESERT WITH THREE WITH THREE DEGREES, ONE IN POLITICAL SCIENCE, A SECOND IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE, AND A THIRD IN HUMANITIES OF LIBERAL ARTS AND HUMANITIES. THAT WAS BY ACCIDENT. I DON'T KNOW HOW I GOT THAT ONE, BUT I'M GRATEFUL I GOT IT. DURING MY TIME AT COLLEGE OF THE DESERT. IT'S TRULY WHERE I FOUND MY LOVE FOR ADVOCACY FOR HIGHER EDUCATION. AND OF COURSE, AS A STUDENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, YOU YOU GET ATTACHED TO PUBLIC SERVICE AND YOU SEE THESE PUBLIC FIGURES LOCALLY AND DOMESTICALLY, INTERNATIONALLY. AND YOU YOU TEND TO WANT TO REPLICATE THAT. AND WHEN I SEEN THIS POSITION OPEN, I WAS ENCOURAGED BY A LOT OF FAMILY MEMBERS TO, TO APPLY. I ACTUALLY APPLIED LAST MINUTE.

IF YOU LOOK AT MY APPLICATION, IT'S EXACTLY AT 5 P.M. SO I'M GRATEFUL I'M EVEN HERE. DURING MY TIME AT GOING BACK TO COLLEGE OF THE DESERT, I HELPED KICKSTART WITH A A GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS. WE STARTED THE POLITICAL SCIENCE CLUB AND THAT'S WHERE I REALLY LEARNED TO BE AN ADVOCATE FOR ENCOURAGING ALL INDIVIDUALS TO BE INVOLVED IN POLITICS, WHETHER IT'S AT THE MUNICIPAL LEVEL, AT THE STATE LEVEL, WHICH IS IMPORTANT, OF COURSE.

I FOR LEADERSHIP ROLES THERE, I, I WAS THE ICC REP REPRESENTATIVE. I SERVED AS THE INTER COUNCIL. SO I LEARNED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT STUDENT GOVERNMENT. OF COURSE, THAT ISN'T CERTIFICATE OR SOMETHING THAT MAKES ME QUALIFIED TO BE COUNCIL MEMBER OF THE CITY OF COACHELLA. BUT IT'S, IT'S IN THAT POSITION WHERE I LEARNED HOW TO USE MY VOICE AND HOW TO BE A VOICE FOR, FOR THOSE WHO AREN'T HEARD, AS THE GENTLEMAN SAID, I WILL BE ATTENDING THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY IN THE SPRING OF 2027. I WASN'T ACCEPTED AS A FALL APPLICANT, BUT I WAS ACCEPTED AS A AS A SPRING APPLICANT. AND WITH WITH THAT, I, I LEAVE THE FLOOR TO YOU AND I LOOK FORWARD TO ANSWERING ALL YOUR QUESTIONS. THANK YOU. COUNCILMEMBER.

YOU'RE VERY YOUNG. OH, YES. AND YOU HAVE A LOT OF GREAT EXPERIENCE. MY QUESTION TO YOU.

WELL, FIRST, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. AND THANK YOU FOR HAVING THE COURAGE TO TO SUBMIT AN APPLICATION. IT TAKES A LOT. IT REALLY DOES. AND THE FACT THAT YOU'RE HERE AND YOU'RE, YOU'RE DOING THAT, IT IT JUST SHOWS. SO IT'S A, YOU'RE PRESENTING A REALLY GOOD

[01:50:02]

AND I THINK THAT'S A GOOD THING. I, I, I SEE A LOT OF LAND ACROSS THE RAILROAD TRACKS THAT COULD BE UTILIZED. SO TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION BRIEFLY, LOWER INCOME HOUSING IS SOMETHING THAT INTERESTS ME A LOT FOR THE BETTER QUALITY OF LIFE FOR THE RESIDENTS OF COACHELLA. THANK YOU. YOU'RE VERY WELL VERSED IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, SO CONGRATS ON THAT. THANK YOU.

COUNCILWOMAN PEREZ. THANK YOU. AT YOUR YOUNG AGE, YOU'VE ACCOMPLISHED A LOT. I KNOW THAT YOU WERE ALSO DOING AN INTERNSHIP WITH WITH THE CITY. I, I FOR MY BACKGROUND, I FORGOT TO ADD THAT I SERVED AS A SUMMER INTERN INTO IN THE PREVIOUS YEAR WITH THIS CIVIC CENTER. SO I WAS AN INTERN FOR THE CITY OF COACHELLA. WHAT WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE ARE THE THREE MOST SIGNIFICANT ISSUES FACING OUR CITY TODAY? SO OF COURSE, WE'VE SEEN RECENTLY THE DATA CENTERS. BUT WE. WHAT I'VE. I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO ANSWER. ONE WOULD BE THE WAY WE READ THESE. THE. THE MOTIONS THAT ARE BROUGHT FORWARD TO COUNCIL. I HATE TO PUT YOU ALL ON THE IN THE SPOTLIGHT, BUT I THINK BEING CAREFUL WITH WHAT WE'RE READING AND HOW WE VOTE ON CERTAIN PIECES OF LEGISLATION. LEGISLATION IS IMPORTANT. ALSO, ANOTHER THING THAT INTERESTS ME IS GOING BACK TO COUNCIL MEMBER IS LOWER INCOME HOUSING. AND SECOND WOULD BE THE SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS WITH THE CAMERAS. SO THOSE ARE MY MY, MY THREE INTERESTS. THANK YOU. DID THAT DID THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION? YES. THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.

THANK YOU. AND ALL YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS AT SUCH A YOUNG AGE. THANK YOU. SOME OF THE OTHER CANDIDATES I'VE I'VE ASKED IS WHEN DRIVING THROUGHOUT THE CITY OF COACHELLA, AS YOU DRIVE THROUGH IT, WHAT ARE THREE THINGS THAT YOU CAN SEE THAT WE CAN IMMEDIATELY BENEFIT FROM? WELL, SOMETHING THAT'S NOTABLE, OF COURSE, IS OUR, OUR ROADS. IF YOU GO TO THE, YOU KNOW, MORE WEALTHIER CITIES IN THE VALLEY, INDIAN WELLS, LA QUINTA, PALM DESERT, WE SEE THAT THEY HAVE NICER ROADS. SO MAYBE MORE OF MORE PAVEMENT WOULD BE APPRECIATED. THAT'S WHAT I SEE WHEN I DRIVE THROUGH THROUGH THE CITY AGAIN, GOING WITH THE.

I WOULD LIKE TO SEE MORE MORE HOUSING. AND WE'VE BEEN SEEING THAT THROUGH VAN BUREN AND ALL THROUGHOUT THE VALLEY. WE'VE SEEN HOUSING, WHICH IS GREAT FOR DEVELOPMENT. BUT THE ROADS AND MORE MORE SMALL BUSINESSES. AS SOMEONE WHO WANTS TO BE AN ATTORNEY, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE SMALLER BUSINESSES LIKE YOU. TAKE A LOOK AT INDIO, YOU GO DOWN HIGHWAY 111 AND YOU SEE ALL TYPES OF SMALL LAW FIRMS, RIGHT? THEY'RE SMALL. THEY'RE NOT BIG LAW FIRMS. BUT I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THAT ONE DAY IN THE FUTURE THAT WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, MORE AND MORE LAW FIRMS, SMALLER LAW FIRMS, AND, YOU KNOW, REAL ESTATE AGENTS AND, AND SUCH, LIKE WE SEE IN VAN BUREN AND AVENUE 50, WE THAT CORNER THE VAN BUREN PLAZA. I WOULD LOVE TO SEE MORE OF THAT

[01:55:01]

I MET YOU WHEN YOU WERE INTERNING AT THE CITY. MY QUESTION FOR YOU IS YOU TALKED ABOUT. REALLY, YOU KNOW, HOW DO YOU SEE YOURSELF MAKING AN IMPACT, RIGHT, SERVING OUT THIS, THIS REMAINDER OF THIS TERM? RIGHT. AND I THINK THAT'S REALLY WHAT IS THAT IMPACT THAT YOU WANT PEOPLE TO REMEMBER YOU WHEN YOU WHEN, IF, IF, IF APPOINTED, RIGHT? WHAT IS THAT ONE THING THAT PEOPLE ARE GOING TO SAY THAT WAS HIM, THAT HE DID THAT WHEN HE GOT APPOINTED.

AND THAT'S THE, THAT'S THE THING PEOPLE WILL REMEMBER. YEAH. SO I KNOW WE HAVE A VERY SHORT TENURE. IT'S ONLY GOING TO BE ABOUT 5 OR 6 MONTHS, WHOEVER GETS ELECTED. BUT IN THAT SHORT TIME, I WOULD LOVE, IF APPOINTED, THAT AT THE END THE RESIDENTS COULD SAY THAT I WAS A VOICE FOR THEM AND A VOICE FOR TRANSPARENCY. AND I WANT, IF ELECTED, THE RESIDENTS TO FEEL THAT I VOTED WITH THEM AND WITH ONLY THEIR BEST INTEREST IN MIND, AND THAT THAT'S THE MAIN THING THAT I THINK OF, THAT I HOPE RESIDENTS THINK OF ANYONE, WHOEVER GETS ELECTED, THAT THEY VOTED WITH THEIR BEST INTEREST IN MIND. THANK YOU. MY LAST QUESTION.

WHAT QUALITIES, WHAT QUALITIES MAKE AN EFFECTIVE COUNCIL MEMBER? WELL, GOING BACK TO THE TOPIC OF OF TRANSPARENCY, I THINK I KNOW WE'RE NOT ALL TECH FANATICS. I KNOW I AM NOT, BUT MAYBE BE BEING MORE ACTIVE WITH MEDIA, MAYBE NOT THE, YOU KNOW, THE LARGER MEDIA BECAUSE THEY'RE, THEY'RE BUSY COVERING OTHER STORIES, BUT WE, WE TEND TO SEE AND I, I KNOW ONE OF THE CANDIDATES, THE SMALLER MEDIA, RIGHT? THE MORE LOCAL MEDIA THAT TENDS TO FOCUS ON CERTAIN CITIES, ON CERTAIN SUBJECTS, BEING MORE ACTIVE WITH THEM IS ALWAYS A GOOD QUALITY IN A COUNCIL MEMBER, MAKING SURE THAT THEY'RE TRANSPARENT WITH THE RESIDENTS, WITH THE CONSTITUENTS. I THINK THAT'S A GREAT QUALITY OF ANY POLITICIAN BEING MORE TRANSPARENT. THANK YOU. AT YOUR AGE, WHY ARE YOU INTERESTED IN SERVING AS CITY COUNCIL MEMBER. SO I KNOW I'M LIKE I SAID, I'M 20 YEARS OLD. I NEVER ASPIRED TO BE A POLITICIAN. I THINK IF ELECTED, I THIS WOULD ONLY BE THE ONLY OFFICE I WOULD HOLD UNLESS I BECOME A JUDGE, BUT I, I DON'T SEE MYSELF BECOMING A CAREER POLITICIAN. I, I. YOU KNOW, IT WAS SUCH A FASCINATING THING WHEN I, WHEN I GET A TEXT MESSAGE FROM MY MOM SAYING, LOOK, THE A POSITION OPENED UP AT THE CITY, YOU SHOULD APPLY. I TOLD HER NO, BECAUSE YOU KNOW THE CITY. IT'S NOTABLE THAT WE'VE BEEN UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT OF THE MEDIA. AND I, I, I DON'T LIKE THE COVERAGE. RIGHT. I'M I'M NERVOUS. I WOULD BE SCARED TO BE INTERVIEWED. BUT I, I TOLD MYSELF THAT IF THIS IS A ONCE IN A LIFETIME OPPORTUNITY, I DON'T THINK THEY'LL EVER BE ANOTHER RESIDENT. APPOINTED TO THE COUNCIL BY INDIRECT ELECTION. SO I, I WAS TOLD AND PERSUADED BY MY FAMILY TO, TO, TO APPLY. SO TO MAKE A LONG STORY SHORT, THE. THE. THE LOVE FOR, FOR, FOR MY CITY. THAT'S WHY I'M DOING THIS. AND THE LOVE FOR AGAIN, I, I KNOW I'M SAYING THE WORD AGAIN A LOT, BUT TRANSPARENCY. CONSIDERING SOME OF THE BUDGET SHORTFALLS THAT THAT WE HAVE. WHAT ARE THREE THINGS THAT YOU FEEL HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THE SHORTFALLS? CONTRIBUTED TO THE TO THE TO THE LOCAL ECONOMY, TO, TO THE SHORTFALL? SO WE HAVE A CURRENT DEFICIT IN OUR BUDGET. WHAT ARE THREE THINGS THAT YOU FEEL OR BELIEVE THAT HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THAT SHORTFALL? WELL. MAYBE

[02:00:04]

AND FOR ME, YOU KNOW, JUST COMING BACK INTO HIGHER EDUCATION, THAT MADE SENSE BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF LANGUAGE THAT I DON'T UNDERSTAND. AND I AM A BLENDED FAMILY. I WAS VERY BLESSED TO ADOPT FOSTER CHILDREN. I HAVE FIVE DAUGHTERS AND SEVEN BOYS.

AND YOU KNOW, RIGHT THERE I SAY, LET ME BE AN EXAMPLE FOR MY CHILDREN. BORN AND RAISED IN CITY OF COACHELLA, THE BEST MEMORIES THAT I HAVE IS MY MOM WAS A MARIACHI SINGER, AND MY GRANDFATHER WOULD HAVE HER HERE IN THE CITY OF COACHELLA PARK AND SINGING HER WITHOUT A MICROPHONE. AS YOU COULD TELL, WE'RE LOUD ZAPATAS. SO IT WAS AMAZING TO JUST HAVE THAT THE

[02:05:02]

HOW DO YOU STAY INFORMED ABOUT COMMUNITY CONCERNS AND PRIORITIES? AND MY SECOND QUESTION TO THAT IS, DO YOU ATTEND OR WATCH ANY OF OUR COUNCIL MEETINGS? I HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO WATCH THE COUNCIL MEETINGS. THANKFULLY. YOU KNOW, AFTER COVID, WE'VE LEARNED THAT ZOOM IS A BEAUTIFUL TOOL THAT WE CAN USE TO OUR ADVANTAGE. FOR US THAT HAVE BUSY LIVES OUTSIDE OF EMPLOYMENT, CHILDREN, NIECES, NEPHEWS, WHATEVER THE CASE MAY BE. SO IT'S IMPORTANT TO STAY EDUCATED AND INFORMED WITH THE PLATFORMS THAT ARE AVAILABLE AND NOT MAKE THE EXCUSES THAT WE DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO IT. THE OTHER PART IS, FOR ME, ATTENDING CITY MEETINGS, I WAS PART OF THE CITY OF COACHELLA RESIDENT ENGAGEMENT COHORT.

THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY BECAUSE THAT ALLOWED ME TO UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENT LEVELS OF THE DEPARTMENTS AND UNDERSTAND THAT THERE ARE APPLICATIONS ON OUR PHONES ACCESSIBLE THROUGH THE WEBSITE THAT WE CAN UTILIZE TO VOICE AND SEE WHAT'S HAPPENING IN OUR CITY. AND THAT'S IMPORTANT TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF WITHIN AS A PERSON IN THE COMMUNITY. AND CAN I BOTHER YOU TO SAY THE FIRST PART ONE MORE TIME? YOU I DID, YOU GOT IT. YOU GOT ALL OF IT. YEAH. THANK YOU. SO YOU MEANT YOU MENTIONED OUR SENIORS, YOU MENTIONED YOUTH. SO WHAT SERVICES ARE NEEDED IN OUR CITY THAT WOULD ASSIST BETTERING THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR OUR YOUTH AND OUR SENIORS THAT ARE NOT BEING OFFERED RIGHT NOW? FROM MY EXPERIENCE IN HAVING A TRAVEL TO THE CITY OF PALM DESERT, BIG BROTHERS AND SISTERS WAS A BIG, HELPFUL TOOL TO MY FAMILY. YOU KNOW, MY DAUGHTER, AS I HAD SHARED, I WAS A PRIVILEGE TO BE A FOSTER PARENT, AND I WAS CHALLENGED WITH UNDERSTANDING MY DAUGHTER, WHERE SHE WAS COMING FROM, BECAUSE IT WAS A DYNAMIC THAT SHE WAS DEALING WITH MENTAL HEALTH CHALLENGES. SHE WAS DEALING WITH IDENTITY CHALLENGES. AND I FOREVER GRATEFUL FOR THE BIG BROTHER SISTER PROGRAM THAT MENTOR HER. HER BIG SISTER WAS ACTUALLY FROM THEIR FAMILY ROOTED HERE WITH THE DATES. THEY WERE VENDORS OUT HERE, THEY HAVE RANCHES AND SHE WAS ABLE TO DO A INTERNSHIP PROGRAM THROUGH THEIR BUSINESS. SO SHE WAS ABLE TO UNDERSTAND ACCOUNTING AND ALL THAT PART, WHICH, YOU KNOW, IS SCARY. AS SOMEONE WHO'S 16 TO 18 YEARS OLD, BEING MENTORED INTO THESE, THESE OPPORTUNITIES THAT CAN BE SCARY. MATH IS SCARY. HAVING SOMEONE TELL YOU THAT YOU COULD BE BIGGER THAN WHAT YOU THINK IS SCARY. SO I'M GRATEFUL THAT THAT WAS ONE FOR SENIORS. I WAS PRESENTED WITH THE SUBSTITUTE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE A RESIDENT COORDINATOR ROLE IN THAT ROLE. I WAS A PERSON POINT OF CONTACT FOR SENIORS FOR APPOINTMENTS. MY BACKGROUND IS IN MEDI-CAL WITH THE COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE, SO I WAS ABLE TO UNDERSTAND THE ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS. I WAS AN AUDITOR FOR RIVERSIDE COUNTY. THROUGH QUALITY ASSURANCE, I WAS ABLE TO MENTOR ELIGIBILITY TECHNICIANS. ONE AND KNOWING WHAT IS REQUESTED AS A MANDATORY VERIFICATION AND WHAT REALLY ISN'T. BECAUSE AT THE END OF THE DAY, WHEN I HAD TO LEAVE THAT JOB BECAUSE OF MY FAMILY DYNAMIC GROWING AND NOT BEING, YOU KNOW, JUST YVONNE, NO CHILDREN TO NOW HAVING CHILDREN, I TOOK THE OPPORTUNITY TO HELP OTHERS AND I'VE BEEN ABLE TO ASSIST MY COMMUNITY AND BEST FRIENDS AND FAMILY MEMBERS UNDERSTAND THAT LANGUAGE FOR THESE PROGRAMS THAT ARE AVAILABLE, BUT THEY CAN BE STRESSFUL TO NAVIGATE, TO UNDERSTAND OR EVEN APPLY FOR. AND THAT'S THE PART THAT BREAKS MY HEART. THANK YOU. HI. GOOD EVENING YVONNE, HOW ARE YOU? YOU WENT THROUGH THE RESIDENT ACADEMY, AND THROUGH THAT PROGRAM YOU GET TO HEAR FROM THE DIFFERENT DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS. AND BASED ON THAT ACADEMY, WHAT ARE THREE THINGS THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO IMPLEMENT OR CHANGE BASED ON THAT EXPERIENCE? THE AWARENESS OF THE OPPORTUNITY. I THINK THAT WAS A BIG ONE. I LOVE THAT IN AS I SHARED, WE'RE A BIG BLENDED FAMILY. I HAVE A VILLAGE OF SUPPORT. SO BETWEEN THE TIAS AND THE COUSINS, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A FAMILY CHAT AND WE JUST PROVIDE WHAT'S

[02:10:01]

TRANSPORTATION FOR SERVICES IS CHALLENGING NOT JUST FOR SENIORS, FOR YOUTH, FOR SINGLE PARENTS, FOR, YOU KNOW, BLENDED FAMILIES. SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S BIG THAT WE NEED TO, TO WORK A LITTLE BIT BETTER. ON. THE OTHER ONE I FEEL ALSO IS AIR QUALITY. I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT FOR ME AFFECTS AS AN ASTHMATIC, SINCE I WAS TWO YEARS OLD AND NOW HAVING MY TWINS THAT ARE ASTHMATIC, AND I LOVE THAT. OUR ASSEMBLYMAN, JEFF GONZALEZ, HAS PRESENTED AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE A DIRECT COLLABORATION WITH SOMEONE WHO CAN MAKE IMPACT AND BRING THE STATISTIC, BRING THE DATA TO BRING THE FUNDS TO HELP US GET THIS UNDERSTANDING OF HOW DO WE ATTACK THIS AIR QUALITY ISSUE THAT WE HAVE IN OUR VALLEY. AND LASTLY, I FEEL ALSO THAT I THINK OVERALL MENTORSHIP. I LOVE THAT OUR CV, LADY ARABS HAVE MADE A STAPLE NAME FOR OUR CITY. THAT WAS BEAUTIFUL. AS WOMEN, YOU KNOW, IT'S HARD FOR US TO STAND OUT IN A MALE DOMINATED, NOT JUST SPORT, BUT IN EVERYTHING. SO I'M VERY I'M VERY GRATEFUL THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE JUST MAKING SMALL STEPS WITH BIG, BIG IMPACT. THANK YOU. TALKED ABOUT YOUR SOCIAL WORK PROJECT THAT YOU DID WITH THE WHAT IS THAT? WHAT IS THAT DRUG CALLED? CREAK, CREAK, KRATOM, KRATOM, WHICH IS MAKING ITS WAY TO THE PUBLIC SAFETY AS AN AGENDA ITEM ON MONDAY. AND I SERVE ON THAT COMMITTEE. WITH THAT EXPERIENCE THAT YOU'VE HAD, CAN YOU TALK TO ME ABOUT WHAT YOUR VISION IS FOR CREATING POLICY AND, AND WHAT WOULD BE ONE POLICY THAT YOU'D WANT TO BRING IN IF APPOINTED IN THE, IN THE, IN THE NEXT SIX MONTHS? I TO THE CITY THAT YOU WOULD REALLY WANT TO WORK ON THAT WOULD BE BENEFICIAL FOR FOR THE COMMUNITY. I THINK OUR BIGGEST HOT TOPIC RIGHT NOW IS THE DATA CENTER. I FEEL THAT FOR ME IN MY HEART, AFTER BECOMING MORE AWARE OF THE DISADVANTAGES OF SOMETHING SO HUGE AFFECTING OUR COMMUNITIES, IT SHOULDN'T BE BROUGHT HERE. THERE'S OTHER AREAS THAT THEY CAN DESIGNATE THAT. AND, YOU KNOW, AS A WOMAN OF FAITH, STRONGHOLD DOES NOT HAVE ANY TYPE OF POSITIVE CONTEXT TO IT. SO I FEEL THAT AS A COMMUNITY, WE NEED TO WORK TOGETHER COLLABORATIVELY TO JUST GET THAT TO WHERE IT NEEDS TO BE STOPPED HERE, AND THEN MAYBE REFIGURE OUT WHAT OTHER POSITIVE THINGS WE CAN IMPLEMENT, EVEN THOUGH IT WILL TAKE COMMUNITY WORK. AND I ALWAYS TELL MY KIDS, NOTHING COMES EASY. AND IF IT DOES, RETHINK IT BECAUSE EVERYTHING IS WORK. AND FOR ME, THE BIGGEST POLICY WOULD BE THAT OVERALL, THE SECOND ONE WOULD ALSO BE THE EFFECTS OF EASY AND ACCESS, YOU KNOW, USE OF DRUGS. I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO TO ONE OF THE LOCAL BUSINESSES TO WHERE THEY MAKE THESE DRUGS LOOK LIKE CANDY. YOU KNOW, I HAD IT FROM ENERGY DRINK. I WAS ABLE TO VIEW IT AS SOMETHING THAT LOOKED LIKE MATCHA. AND THAT'S SCARY BECAUSE RIGHT NOW, MY NEW AGE, MY KIDS LOVE SUSHI, MATCHA COFFEE. AND IT'S LIKE, THIS IS NOT OKAY. THIS IS OUR FUTURE GENERATION AND WE NEED TO BE MORE PREVENTATIVE AND PROACTIVE TOGETHER TO GET FOUNDATION GOING SO THAT THIS ISN'T SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THAT WILL LATER DELIVER TO MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS IN THE FUTURE. THANK YOU. AND MY LAST QUESTION, WHAT QUALITIES DO YOU BELIEVE MAKE AN EFFECTIVE COUNCIL MEMBER? HONESTY IS ONE HOLDING TRUE VALUES NOT JUST FOR YOURSELF, BUT A COMMUNITY AND EMPOWERMENT. AS A SOCIAL WORKER, YOU KNOW YOU ARE A VOICE. YOU'RE NOT TO PUSH ANYTHING OR NO AGENDAS, AS I CONTINUE TO HEAR IN CONVERSATIONS, BUT YOU ARE TO EMPOWER YOUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO UTILIZE THEIR VOICE. AND AS YOU'VE SEEN IN THE RECENT MEETINGS, YOU KNOW, WE'RE USING PLATFORMS IN SOCIAL MEDIA, NEWSPAPER OUTLETS. I UTILIZE OPPORTUNITY AT COLLEGE OF THE DESERT TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS THAT ARE HARD CONVERSATIONS, BUT THEY TRULY MATTER AND THEY MAKE IMPACT. THANK YOU. MY LAST QUESTION IS, WHY ARE YOU INTERESTED IN SERVING AS A CITY COUNCIL MEMBER FOR THE CITY OF COACHELLA? CITY OF COACHELLA IS MY HEART. FROM THE RESIDENT ENGAGEMENT OPPORTUNITY. I DID HEAR THAT A LOT OF US PURSUE HIGHER EDUCATION AND DON'T COME BACK BECAUSE OF THE STIGMA ASSOCIATED WITH COACHELLA. THERE'S NO OPPORTUNITY. WELL, I DECIDED TO BE THE ONE THAT DECIDES TO STICK IT OUT IN COACHELLA AND PROVE THAT THERE IS OPPORTUNITY I WANT EVERYONE TO SEE. I WANT MY KIDS TO SEE THAT NO MATTER WHERE YOU COME FROM, YOU MAKE WHAT'S AVAILABLE.

[02:15:02]

THANK YOU. THE SMALL BUSINESS COMMUNITY HAS ALWAYS BEEN SOMETHING THAT'S BEEN VERY NEAR AND DEAR TO ME. MOST OF OUR SMALL BUSINESSES ARE FAMILY OWNED BUSINESSES. WHAT COULD YOU DO TO SUPPORT AND HELP AND PROMOTE THEM? I LOVE RECENTLY THAT I'VE BECOME MORE FAMILIAR.

I DON'T KNOW IF EVERYONE'S HEARD OF DAVE RAMSEY, BUT IT'S ALSO PART OF BEING A FINANCIALLY EDUCATED. I THINK FOR US, ONCE WE COME ACROSS A LITTLE BIT OF MONEY, WE DON'T KNOW HOW TO MANAGE IT AND IT BECOMES MISMANAGED FUNDS. AND IT'S IMPORTANT THAT IF WE'RE BUILDING GENERATIONAL WEALTH AND CONTINUITY OF GROWTH AND WANTING THE EXPECTATION, YOU KNOW, I THINK I LOVE THAT I'VE SEEN DURING COVID, I WAS A BIG SUPPORTER OF KIM KIM SHRIMP AND A BIG SUPPORTER OF OUR TACO, SEVEN, SIX ZERO. AND I LOVE WHAT THEY'VE BEEN ABLE TO DO FOR THEMSELVES, COMMUNITY AND FOR OTHER PEOPLE. YOU KNOW, THEY'RE PRESENTING EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES AND THAT'S IMPORTANT AS A SMALL BUSINESS, GET AWARE OF WHAT'S AVAILABLE.

AND IF THERE ISN'T AVAILABLE FINANCIAL, YOU KNOW, RESOURCES IN OUR CITY, WHAT CAN WE BUILD OR WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM WHAT'S ALREADY BEING PROVIDED IN OTHER COMMUNITIES THAT ARE CLOSE TO US? YOU KNOW, COACHELLA VALLEY ASSOCIATION GOVERNMENT BOARD IS SOMETHING BIG THAT WE CAN UTILIZE TO OUR ADVANTAGE. AND I'VE SEEN THAT, YOU KNOW, ALL IT TAKES IS TO SHOW UP AND CONNECT. THANK YOU. IN YOUR APPLICATION, YOU TALK ABOUT THAT YOU WORKED IN A DIVERSE TEAMS AND COMMUNITY, RIGHT? AND IF YOU WERE TO BE APPOINTED, YOU'D JOIN A GROUP OF FIVE. AND WE ALL HAVE OUR OWN BACKGROUNDS AND OUR OWN STYLES. AND HOW DO YOU HOW WOULD YOU MANAGE WORKING WITH PEOPLE WITH DIFFERENT STYLES, DIFFERENT PERSONALITIES IN ORDER TO GET TO THAT GREATER GOOD AND ENSURING THAT AT THE END OF THE DAY, YOU STAY TRUE TO WHO YOU ARE AND THE COMMUNITY OF COACHELLA. SO HOW WOULD YOU HANDLE THAT AND SHOWCASE YOUR LEADERSHIP TO THE PEOPLE? THE BEST OUTCOME FROM MY TIME WITH RIVERSIDE COUNTY WAS NOT JUST THE RELATIONSHIPS I WAS ABLE TO BUILD, BUT THE FACT THAT THEY INVESTED IN THEIR EMPLOYEES WITH GALLOP STRENGTH FINDERS. SO I KNOW THAT IN MY IDENTITY, I HAVE I LEARNED FROM HISTORY, I LOVE TO RESEARCH. I'M RESPONSIBLE. AS I SHARED, I'M A BIG ON ADVOCACY.

I WAS GOD GIVEN A VOICE THAT IS LOUD ENOUGH TO NOT NEED A MICROPHONE. AND I PLAN AND I INTEND TO USE THAT IN ALL AREAS OF MY LIFE, NOT JUST FOR MY CHILDREN, NOT JUST FOR MY FAMILY, BUT OTHER INDIVIDUALS IN MY COMMUNITY. AND GO PAST THAT BECAUSE AS SOON AS, YOU KNOW, THE PURSUIT OF OF SOCIAL WORK, BACHELOR'S IS DONE. THE END GOAL IS LICENSED CLINICAL SOCIAL WORKER. BECAUSE AT THAT POINT, YOU KNOW, THE NEXT LEVEL WOULD BE BEING THE VOICE IN SENATE AND POLICY BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE EVERYTHING IS HAPPENING AND HAS IMPACT TO OUR, OUR, OUR SIDE OF THE THE VALLEY. THANK YOU. WITH THAT, YOU HAVE ANY CLOSING COMMENTS FOR US? NO, THANK YOU FOR. WELL, YES. THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE HERE. I AM VERY PROUD OF ALL THE REPRESENTATIVES HERE THAT HAD DECIDED TO DO THE APPLICATION PROCESS. IT WAS INTIMIDATING. BUT AGAIN, WE HAVE SO MANY OUT THERE CONSTITUENTS OPENING WHEN THE OPPORTUNITY PRESENTS ITSELF. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE COULD BE BIG CRITIQUERS AND CRITICIZERS ON THE SIDELINES, BUT CITY COUNCIL MAYOR NEEDS SUPPORT AND WE NEED TO GIVE FRESH VISION. WE NEED TO GIVE FRESH OPPORTUNITY, AND WE NEED TO GIVE A FRESH RESPECT FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT ARE ON THIS PLATFORM. AND I THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME, YOUR COMMITMENT AND YOUR DEDICATION THAT YOU DO FOR US. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. MR. 621 NEXT SPEAKER IS MISS EVA-LOTTA. DID WE HEAR FROM HER? DID ANYBODY GET RESPONSE? SHE CONFIRMED, EVERYONE CONFIRMED. SHE'S NOT ON ZOOM. MAYBE IT WAS IN PERSON. RIGHT? DELIA? YES, IT WAS A PERSON. OKAY, SO NEXT IS MR. ANDREW GALLEGOS, BUT HE'S NOT ARRIVING UNTIL 630, SO I'M GOING TO CALL

[02:20:06]

AND NOW I SERVE AS A CHAIR OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION. SO I'M HERE TO TO APPLY FOR, YOU KNOW, CITY COUNCIL IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR ME. WELL, I ALSO WOULD HAVE TO PREFACE THAT I DO WORK FOR OR VOLUNTEER FOR THE CHURCH. I THINK FOR ME, THE CHURCH IS EVERYONE THAT KNOWS ME KNOWS THAT I'M VERY SPIRITUAL IN NATURE. AND WITH THAT, I FEEL LIKE I DO HAVE A LOT OF INTEGRITY. I PUT THAT FORWARD, AND I THINK PEOPLE THAT KNOW ME KNOW THAT I'M VERY COMPASSIONATE AND EMPATHETIC, AND I'VE HELPED WITH THE MINISTRY FOR THE PAST, I BELIEVE, THREE YEARS AND THEN, YOU KNOW, LEARNING HOW TO BE A CATECHIST, TO TEACH CHILDREN FOR THE FIRST COMMUNION. I BELIEVE THAT HELPING CHILDREN AND HELPING THE PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY THROUGH THE CHURCH IS MY, MY PASSION. SO I'M HERE. AND IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, THANK YOU. THANK YOU, EVA. MISS COUNCILMEMBER VAN, THANK YOU AND THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.

MY QUESTION IS, TELL US ABOUT A TIME YOU BUILT CONSENSUS AMONG STAKEHOLDERS WITH DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES. I HAVE NOT BUILD ANY STAKEHOLDERS WITH WITH DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES. OH, I GUESS THE STAKEHOLDER WOULD BE LIKE, LIKE DEVELOPERS. I WOULD SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, WHENEVER THEY COME, DO COME IN WITH THE PROJECT. SOMETIMES AT WORK, I DO GIVE THEM DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES IN TERMS OF THEIR JOB, IN TERMS OF THEIR PROJECT. SO THAT'S, THAT'S A WAY OF, OF, OF, OF, OF DOING THAT. YEAH. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN PEREZ, WHY ARE YOU INTERESTED IN SERVING AS A CITY COUNCIL MEMBER? JUST EVERYTHING THAT I'VE BEEN SEEING FROM FROM THE PAST WITH THE PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATION AND JUST THE FACT THAT I DO WANT TRANSPARENCY AND TRUST. I AM A PERSON WHO I AM A TRUSTFUL PERSON. I LOVE TRUST AND HONESTY. I THINK EVERYONE THAT KNOWS ME KNOWS THAT. AND SO IT'S MAINLY THAT ALSO TO TO HELP THE COMMUNITY, TO HELP AND NOW MOVE IT FORWARD AND NOT JUST, YOU KNOW, BE STUCK IN

[02:25:07]

THANK YOU. AS A RESIDENT OF THE CITY OF COACHELLA, AS YOU DRIVE THROUGH THE CITY, WHAT ARE THREE THINGS THAT YOU SEE THAT THE CITY CAN BENEFIT FROM? DEFINITELY THE STREETS. I DO SEE THE STREETS. THEY NEED SOME WORK. I UNDERSTAND THAT WE NEED GRANT FUNDING IN ORDER TO TO BUILD STREETS. IT IS. IT'S VERY EXPENSIVE TO BUILD STREETS. I DON'T THINK PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THAT. SO I THINK IT COULD HELP IN THAT WAY. HELPING CITY COUNCIL OR BRINGING IDEAS TO STAFF TO HOW WE CAN MOVE ABOUT THAT. ANOTHER WAY IS ALSO, I'M VERY DEDICATED IN AFFORDABLE HOUSING. I KNOW THAT MOST OF OUR RESIDENTS ARE STILL, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE LOW INCOME HOUSING. SO JUST BRINGING MORE AFFORDABLE HOUSING TO THE CITY. ANOTHER WAY IS, IS FOR YOUTH. I FEEL LIKE SOME PEOPLE CANNOT AFFORD AFFORDABLE OR CANNOT. WHEN THEY APPLY, THEY THEY DON'T THEY DON'T ALLOW THEM TO HAVE AFFORDABLE OR HAVE AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNIT BECAUSE THEY MAKE A LITTLE BIT TOO MUCH. SO THEN THAT WOULD BE LIKE MARKET RATE HOUSING AS WELL FOR PEOPLE WHO, WHO NEED IT AROUND THE CITY. SO THAT'S, THAT'S ANOTHER THING. IT'S HOUSING STREETS AND ALSO. LIKE YOU SAID, DRIVING AROUND. YEAH. WHEN YOU SEE, WHEN YOU DRIVE AROUND ON THE CITY, YOU SAID STREETS AND YOU SAID HOUSING. WHAT'S. YEAH, I THINK YOU SEE WE CAN IMPROVE ON. JUST, I BELIEVE, OVERALL DEVELOPMENT AND MORE IN MY IN MY PERSPECTIVE, I THINK WE SHOULD BRING DEVELOPMENT TO THE CITY WHERE WE COULD ALLOW PEOPLE TO BRING GRANTS IN ORDER TO HELP LOCAL BUSINESSES TO HELP WITH THEIR BUSINESS, ALSO TO HELP PEOPLE THAT HAVE OR HAVE BUSINESS IDEAS TO BE ABLE TO HELP THEM WITH GRANTS TO BUILD A BUSINESS IDEA. THAT WAY WE KEEP MONEY WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY. I KNOW THAT A LOT OF IT GOES OUT SO THAT THOSE ARE THINGS THAT I DO NOTICE AROUND THE CITY. THANK YOU MA'AM. THANK YOU. RESIDENTS STRONGLY OPPOSE A THIS IS A SCENARIO BASED QUESTION. RESIDENTS STRONGLY OPPOSE A PROJECT THAT STAFF RECOMMENDS APPROVING. WHAT FACTORS WOULD GUIDE YOUR VOTE FACTORS. I THINK FOR NOW IT WOULD BE COMMUNITY, THE COMMUNITY, WHAT WHAT THEY'RE VOICING, WHAT THEY DESIRE, AND ALSO JUST OVERALL, IF THE PROJECT WILL BENEFIT THE COMMUNITY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU.

MY SECOND QUESTION IS HOW DO YOU SEE THE CITY CHANGING IN THE NEXT TEN YEARS? I DO SEE THE CITY. SOMETHING THAT I'VE NOTICED IS, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A CITY OF IMMIGRANTS. OUR PARENTS, YOU KNOW, LIKE MY PARENTS WERE IMMIGRANTS AND A LOT OF THEM HAD CHILDREN. SO THAT'S FIRST GENERATION. AND WE'RE HERE, AND I THINK WE'RE BEING MORE ENGAGED WITH THE COMMUNITY.

IT'S GROWING WITH WITH FIRST GENERATION MEXICANS OR LATINOS. AND SO JUST GROWING IN THAT ASPECT OF, OF. KEEPING OUR CULTURE IN THE COMMUNITY AS THE GENERATIONS PASS AND MAYBE THE LATINO COMMUNITY, YOU KNOW, WE. WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY IS. I THINK IT'S GROWING. WE'RE NEARING THE GENERATIONS GROW. AND SO AS THE GENERATIONS DO GROW, WE, WE, WE GO AWAY FROM OUR, OUR CULTURE. AND I THINK IT'S A PART THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD KEEP EVEN EVEN AS, AS YEARS, YEARS DO PASS. I DO FEEL LIKE IT'S GROWING IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, INFRASTRUCTURE AS WELL AND STREETS. SO THAT'S, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I SEE IN THE NEXT TEN YEARS. YOU SAID YOU'RE IN IN PLANNING. WHAT EXPERIENCE DO YOU HAVE WITH POLICY DEVELOPMENT, STRATEGIC PLANNING OR GOVERNANCE? CAN YOU REPEAT THE QUESTION, PLEASE? SO WHAT, WHAT, WHAT EXPERIENCE DO YOU HAVE WITH POLICY DEVELOPMENT, STRATEGIC PLANNING OR

[02:30:04]

SO RIGHT NOW, AS OF RIGHT NOW, WE'RE ALSO DOING THAT, WORKING ON CHANGING THE ORDINANCES. AND, YOU KNOW, ALSO IN, IN, IN MY, IN MY, IN MY ROLE AS A PLANNING COMMISSIONER. ALSO BEING ABLE TO, TO BRING, YOU KNOW, THE TYPE OF GOVERNANCE TO OR THAT TYPE OF. YEAH, GOVERNMENT TO THE, TO THE, TO THE CITY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. BECAUSE YOU HAVE A DEVELOPMENT BACKGROUND, WHAT ARE THREE WAYS THAT YOU THINK THAT YOU CAN HELP IMPROVE THE BUDGET? YES. SO ONE WAY WOULD BE HELPING. WELL, WORKING WITH STAFF, ESPECIALLY WITH STAFF, THE WAY THEY'RE MANAGING MONEY. I THINK AT THE END OF THE DAY, IT'S IT ALL COMES TO THAT ALSO, AS IN MY PERSPECTIVE FOR COUNCIL BEING VERY AWARE OF HOW BUDGETING WHERE THE MONEY IS GOING, RIGHT? BECAUSE I KNOW WE'RE LIMITED AND. AND, AND LOOKING AT OTHER CITIES AS TO HOW THEY'RE DOING, HOW THEY'RE MANAGING THEIR BUDGETING AS WELL, HOW THEY'RE GROWING AND KIND OF IMPLEMENTING THOSE INTO, INTO OUR, OUR CITY. THANK YOU. WHEN IT COMES TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, RIGHT, YOUR BACKGROUND IN PLANNING, HOW DO YOU MAKE THE DIFFERENTIATION WHEN A ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND PLANNING THE PROJECT IS A AN ACTUAL COMMUNITY, IT'S GOOD FOR THE COMMUNITY OR IT'S GOOD FOR THE DEVELOPER WHO COMES. HOW DO YOU MAKE THAT DIFFERENCE AND HOW DO YOU ENSURE THAT WHEN YOU MAKE A VOTE, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THE CITY COUNCIL LEVEL, THE BUCK STOPS HERE UNLESS THE VOTERS. IT BECOMES A VOTER ITEM, RIGHT? LIKE WE WE DO A LOT OF POLICY AND IMPLEMENTATION. HOW DO WE ENSURE WHEN WE'RE REVIEWING ITEMS THAT THAT THAT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IS GOING TO BE GOOD FOR THE CITY? LIKE THERE'S, THERE'S THE GOOD PART, BUT THEN MAKING SURE WE'RE MAKING THAT, THAT RIGHT CHOICE AT THE END OF THE DAY, RIGHT. I THINK AT THE END OF THE DAY, IT ALSO COMES DOWN TO LIKE HOW MANY EMPLOYERS THAT ACTUAL PROJECT IS GOING TO, HOW MANY EMPLOYEES THAT ACTUAL PROJECT IS GOING TO BRING INTO THE JOBS IT'S GOING TO BRING INTO THE CITY. I KNOW THAT SOME LARGE PROJECTS COULD BRING UP TO 900 EMPLOYEES, SO THAT'S A REALLY GOOD WAY OF DETERMINING THAT. ALSO, IF THEY'RE DOING KIND OF LIKE A DEVELOPMENT WHERE IT'S IT'S LITTLE UNITS. LIKE FRONT FRONT COMMERCIAL UNITS AND OTHER SMALL BUSINESSES CAN COME IN AND RENT THOSE UNITS TO, TO BUILD THEIR BUSINESS AND DO THEIR BUSINESS OUT OF THERE. I THINK THAT'S A REALLY GOOD WAY OF LIKE JUDGING WHETHER THAT WOULD BE GOOD FOR THE COMMUNITY VERSUS JUST A DEVELOPER. DO YOU HAVE ANY CLOSING COMMENTS? AND I THANK YOU. THE OPPORTUNITY FOR, FOR, YOU KNOW, FOR THE INTERVIEW AND YEAH, THANK YOU. THANK YOU WITH THAT. THANK YOU.

YES. AND AS IT WAS STATED BEFORE, AS ANDREW HAS PULLED HIS APPLICATION. SO THAT CONCLUDES THE INTERVIEWS. I AM GOING TO OPEN PUBLIC COMMENTS. IF THERE WAS ANY OTHER PUBLIC COMMENTS THAT WERE RECEIVED, WE HAD WE TOOK PUBLIC COMMENTS ON THE TOP OF THE HOUR AND THEN THERE WAS ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS RECEIVED AFTER THE FACT. I WILL TAKE THOSE NOW. WE DID RECEIVE ONE STEPHANIE AMBRIZ. I. I REVIEWED THE APPLICATIONS FOR THE APPLICANTS TONIGHT, AND I WAS EXCITED TO READ IN AN APPLICATION A FOCUS ON COMMUNITY CENTERED DEVELOPMENT LIKE WALKABLE PUBLIC SPACES AND FOR THE CITY OF COACHELLA TO GROW IN A BALANCED AND THOUGHTFUL WAY. I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT IS MISSED. OFTENTIMES WITHIN LOCAL GOVERNMENT. WE FOCUS A LOT ON BIG DEVELOPMENTS. THE ECONOMIC IMPACT, AND I THINK IT MISSES SOME BACKGROUND WHEN WE FOCUS ON DEVELOPMENT IN THAT WAY. FOR EXAMPLE, OUR EXISTING RESIDENTS

[02:35:04]

OUR COMMUNITY DOES HAVE EXISTING NEEDS. I AM THE FIRST IN MY FAMILY TO HAVE GRADUATED FROM COLLEGE, TO HAVE EARNED MY MASTER'S, AND I CANNOT AFFORD TO BUY A HOME. I THINK THAT'S THE CASE FOR MOST OF MY FRIENDS. I WAS A SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER FOR YEARS, AND I HAD TO STEP AWAY FROM THE CLASSROOM BECAUSE THERE WAS NO WAY THAT I COULD AFFORD HOUSING OR TO SURVIVE IN COACHELLA. SO I THINK IT'S FRUSTRATING SOMETIMES WHEN WE HEAR ABOUT DEVELOPMENT IN OUR COMMUNITY FOR THE SAKE OF DEVELOPMENT. IT'S IT'S NOT, THERE'S NO INTENTION IN THAT. AND SO I KNOW THAT THIS APPLICANT WILL ONLY BE IN THE POSITION FOR A FEW MONTHS. AND I THINK SOMEBODY SAID IT ACCURATELY WHEN THEY SAID THAT THEY WON'T HAVE ALL OF THE SOLUTIONS. THEY WON'T. BUT I THINK THAT PERSPECTIVE IS MISSING ON THIS COUNCIL. I THINK MOVING FORWARD, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE MORE OF THAT PERSPECTIVE TAKEN BY YOU GUYS. IT IT'S IT'S MISSING IN A LOT OF OUR LOCAL GOVERNMENT THAT WE THINK TO THE FUTURE AND HOW DO WE BRING MORE TOURISM? HOW DO WE BRING MORE PEOPLE, BUT WE'RE NOT EVEN ABLE TO PROVIDE OR ADDRESS THE NEEDS OF OUR EXISTING RESIDENTS. SO BEFORE YOU JUMP TO TOURISM HOTELS THAT DEVELOPMENT, LET'S TRY TO ADDRESS THE EXISTING NEEDS. WE HAVE A WATER ISSUE.

THERE ARE WAYS TO ADDRESS THAT TO WITHIN EXISTING POLICY. THERE ARE SOLUTIONS. IT'S NOT EASY, BUT I DO ENCOURAGE US TO TRY AND TAKE THAT PERSPECTIVE MOVING FORWARD AS A COMMUNITY.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU. ANY OTHER PUBLIC COMMENTS? YES. NEXT UP WE HAVE KARLA FLORES. GOOD EVENING EVERYONE. BUENOS A TODOS MI NOMBRE ES LA FORMA PARTE DE LA CIUDAD DE COACHELLA.

HOY COMENTARIO EN ESPANOL. YO CREO AUNQUE I TORRES PARA HACER ESO ES MUY IMPORTANTE TAMBIÉN MI ME PERSPECTIVA CON MIS PROPIAS PALABRAS VERDAD COMO VEN MUCHOS PERO LO VOY A HACER EL DIA DE HOY. TENGO UNOS COMENTARIOS Q ME GUSTARIA HACER COMENZANDO CON ALGUNAS DE LAS COSAS Q ESCUCHA. POR EJEMPLO, ME ESCUCHAR VARIOS DE LOS CANDIDATOS Q MENCIONA NO, NO, NO ES SER POLITICOS POR TODA SU VIDA VERDAD YO CREO Q PUES ES UNA BUENA INTENCION DE TENER EN CUENTA NO SOLAMENTE PORQUE VINO DE PARTE DE ELLOS DE SU PROPIA MENTE. VERDAD. PERO SINO TAMBIÉN PARA LAS PERSONAS TENEMOS AQUI ENFRENTA NOSOTROS PORQUE ES IMPORTANTE LA OPORTUNIDAD A LOS MAS Y ESTO ES UN BUEN MOMENTOS PARA DARNOS CUENTA DE ESO. HABLAMOS MUCHO DE SER TRANSPARENTES. YO CREO Q ES ALGO MUY IMPORTANTE. HEMOS ESCUCHADO MUCHAS COSAS A TRAVÉS DE ESTAS JUNTAS EN ESTOS MESES DE KAN HA PASADO AQUI Y YO QUIERO DARLES LA OPORTUNIDAD A LAS PERSONAS NUEVAS AQUI DE Q TENGAN EN CONCIENCIA, PORQUE LO ESCUCHADO DE LA COMUNIDAD USTEDES MISMOS VAN DICHO HA VENIDO DE SU PROPIA BOCA TAMBIÉN TENGAN CONSIDERACION LAS PERSONAS CUESTAN AQUI SE QUEDARON PARA ESCUCHAR TODOS LOS COMENTARIOS. ESO ES MUY IMPORTANTE PORQUE LOS FUERON NO DICE. LA COMUNIDAD NO VAN A SABER. QUÉ TIENEN EL MENTE SI LOS CANDIDATOS O NO SIEMPRE A SU. COMO A SU INTERIOR. GRACIAS. MUCHAS GRACIAS. CLARO LO VOY UTILIZAR MAS. OKAY. OTRA COSA Q ESCUCHA ME ENCANTA ESTA PREGUNTA ES LA PREGUNTA A ALGUIEN Q Q Q Q CONTRIBUYEN A NUESTRO LO NUESTRO AQUI EN LA CIUDAD DE COACHELLA A MI ME GUSTA ESCUCHAR ESO USTEDES PORQUE USTEDES ESTAN EN ESA POSITION YO MISMA DESPUÉS UNA 30 POR CIENTO. BUENO CASI 80% EL BUDGET DE LA CIUDAD DE COACHELLA SIENDO PARA Q ES LA VERDAD CONTRATOS Q TENEMOS CON SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT SI ESTAMOS GASTANDO TANTO. POR QUÉ LO ESTAMOS GASTANDO Y NO SE ESTA UTILIZADO PARA HACER NUESTRO PROPIO. DEPARTAMENTO DE POLICIAS. VERDAD ANTES LO TENEMOS Y NO ME GUSTA COMPARAR. PERO YO ESTOY HACIENDO DE ESTA SIENDO EL FINAL DE RIVERSIDE COUNTY AYUDANDO EN DIFERENTES COSAS PORQUE ME GUSTA EL

[02:40:07]

AND THEN WE'D GO BACK TO THE ORIGINAL MOTION. OKAY. SO UNLESS YOU UNLESS YOU AS COUNCIL OPT TO TAKE ONE MOTION AT A TIME. OKAY. AND IT WOULD REQUIRE A THREE VOTE, RIGHT? THAT'S CORRECT. MARY WOULD REQUIRE THREE AFFIRMATIVE VOTES FOR THE APPOINTMENT. OKAY.

FIRST OF ALL, I'D LIKE TO THANK ALL OF THE CANDIDATES FOR SHOWING UP FOR SPEAKING UP FROM THE YOUNGEST ONE TO THE OLDEST ONE TO THE MOST, THE ONE WITH THE MOST EXPERIENCE. THANK YOU.

THANK YOU. BECAUSE IT DOES TAKE A LOT. IT DOESN'T JUST TAKE, YOU KNOW, EXPERIENCE AND LAWS.

IT TAKES, YOU KNOW, THE WILLPOWER AND DETERMINATION TO WANT TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE, TO SHOW UP AND TO FIGHT FOR WHAT YOU BELIEVE IS RIGHT. SO I COMMEND ALL OF YOU GUYS FOR, FOR TAKING YOUR TIME AND FILLING IT OUT. AND TO THOSE WHO DON'T GET SELECTED, DON'T STOP THERE. CONTINUE. PLEASE CONTINUE. AND WE DO HAVE ELECTIONS IN 2026. AND YOU GUYS HAVE, I BELIEVE TILL AUGUST. NOT THAT I AM ADVERTISING IT OR SUGGESTING IT, BUT PLEASE, YOU KNOW, IF YOU GUYS ARE HERE AND YOU GUYS REALLY WANT TO CONTINUE TO FIGHT FOR THE CITY OF COACHELLA AND FOR THE PEOPLE, THERE'S ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY COMING UP. SO THANK YOU TO ALL.

IT'S VERY HARD BECAUSE WE HAVE VERY GOOD CANDIDATES. IT IS VERY, VERY, VERY HARD TO ME. I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A NOMINATION. I WOULD LIKE TO NOMINATE MISTER JUAN MARTINEZ. FOR A SECOND TO THAT MOTION. I WANT TO COMMENT A COUPLE OF THINGS TOO. AND JUST TO ECHO WHAT COUNCILMEMBER PEREZ JUST MENTIONED, IT DOES TAKE A LOT TO TO COME AND APPLY IN SOME OF YOUR APPLICATION AND PROVIDE COMMENT. IT'S NOT EASY. IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO PUT YOURSELF OUT THERE AND, AND IT DOES TAKE A LOT IN. YOU ALL DID A REALLY PHENOMENAL JOB SPEAKING AND SHARING AND, AND PROVIDING YOUR COMMENTS. SO I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR THAT TOO. AND ALSO TO ECHO WHAT YOU DID

[02:45:02]

AND I TO THAT I WOULD LIKE TO SECOND THAT MOTION OF NOMINATING MISTER JUAN MARTINEZ FOR THIS VACANCY. OKAY. THERE'S A FIRST AND A SECOND. ANYONE? I STILL HAVE SOME DISCUSSION OR ANY OTHER SUBSEQUENT MOTIONS ON THE FLOOR. I DON'T HAVE ANY COMMENTS. I'LL ECHO WHAT SOME OF MY COLLEAGUES HAVE ALREADY SHARED. YOU KNOW, I LOOK AT ALL OF YOU AND IT TAKES SO MUCH COURAGE AND YOU'VE ALL COMMITTED SO MUCH OF YOUR TIME ALREADY. YOU SPOKE ABOUT MANY OF THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT YOU WORK FOR, FROM EDUCATION TO HEALTH CARE. AND, YOU KNOW, YOU'VE GONE TO CIVIC DUTY WITH THE RIVERSIDE COUNTY AS WELL. AND SO YOU ALL HAVE SO MUCH TO CONTRIBUTE, SO MUCH ATTRIBUTES, SO MUCH THAT WE CAN LEARN FROM, FROM SO MUCH THAT YOU CAN PROVIDE TO THIS COMMUNITY. AND SO I CAN'T THANK YOU ENOUGH FOR TAKING THE COURAGEOUS STEP TO EVEN APPLY. I MEAN, WE IN THE BEGINNING, WE'RE THINKING LIKE, THERE'S GOING TO BE 70 APPLICATIONS. WELL, HOW DO WE, YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE DIVVY IT UP? HOW DO WE INTERVIEW EVERYBODY? AND WE'RE LIKE, WELL, MAYBE 50, YOU KNOW, AND THE CLERK WAS LIKE, WELL, I'M GOING TO NEED SOME TIME TO PUT ALL THESE APPLICATIONS UP. AND IT JUST SHOWS YOUR COMMITMENT, YOU KNOW, AND YOUR COURAGE TO BE ABLE TO COME THROUGH. AND THE FACT THAT YOU'RE COMING THROUGH IS BECAUSE YOU HAVE THE EXPERIENCE AND YOU KNOW THAT YOU ARE READY TO GO INTO THIS ROLE IMMEDIATELY. AND WITH ALL THE CHALLENGES THAT WE'VE BEEN SEEING, WE DO NEED SOMEONE WHO'S READY, READY TO HIT THE GROUND RUNNING, WHO'S GOING TO CONTRIBUTE THE MOST THAT THEY CAN WITHIN THE SHORT TIME THAT WE'RE HERE. UNFORTUNATELY, WE'VE BEEN HEARING A LOT OF THE, YOU KNOW, CRITICISM AND RIGHTFULLY SO, AND A LOT OF THE TURNAROUND WITHIN THE CITY. BUT WE ARE A GREAT CITY. WE REALLY ARE. AND WE HAVE GREAT WORKING CLASS PEOPLE. WE HAVE SO MANY PEOPLE COMMITTED TO COMING OUT AND PUTTING US IN OUR PLACE. AND, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO BE PUT ON OUR PLACE. IT'S JUST WE WORK FOR YOU AND WE GOT TO BE REMINDED OF IT. SO THERE IS A LOT OF CONTRIBUTION THAT ALL OF YOU ARE PROVIDING TO US. BUT I, I HOPE THAT WHEN WE'RE DONE WITH THIS APPOINTMENT, THAT WE CAN STILL CONTINUE TO MOVE FORWARD AND COLLABORATE AND PARTNER TOGETHER IN WHATEVER CAPACITY THAT IS. THERE'S SO MUCH THAT WE CAN DO TOGETHER TO GROW AND TO CONTINUE TO. ENSURE THAT OTHER PEOPLE THROUGHOUT THE VALLEY AND WHATEVER CITY IT IS, KNOW THAT IN THE CITY OF COACHELLA, WE ARE A GREAT CITY, WE ARE A GREAT CITY, AND WE CONTRIBUTE AND WE DO A GREAT DEAL TO MANY, MANY THINGS THAT IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF LIFE, FROM PARKS TO WELLNESS TO ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION, TO PUTTING THAT BRIDGE FINALLY OVER THE AVENUE 50 CANAL, TO MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE MORE BRIDGES THAT GO UP OVER THE 86.

WE KNOW ABOUT THE FATALITIES THERE. AND THAT'S THESE ARE REAL SITUATIONS AND REAL ISSUES THAT ARE GOING ON IN THE CITY OF COACHELLA. WE DO HAVE, YOU KNOW, THE CHROMIUM SIX, AS MANY OF YOU HAVE HEARD OF. AND YOU'VE ALSO HEARD ME TALK ABOUT OUR DEFICIT QUITE A BIT. AND THAT'S THE REALITY OF WHERE WE SEE AT. WE HAVE MULTIPLE THINGS THAT WE HAVE TO LOOK INTO. WE HAVE 89 EMPLOYEES. I SHARED ALL THE TIME. I VALUE THEM A GREAT DEAL. WE HAVE 89 EMPLOYEES FOR 45000 RESIDENTS, AND WE CANNOT APPLAUD THEM ENOUGH AND THANK THEM FOR THEIR COMMITMENT TO ALL OF YOU. BUT SO THESE ARE SOME OF THE STUFF THAT WE NEED TO ADDRESS, AND ALSO PROVIDING THEM THE SUPPORT THAT THEY NEED. AND THEN ALSO IMPROVING, STRENGTHENING OUR OUR FINANCES, OUR BUDGET. SO WITH THAT, I DO BELIEVE THAT THE PERSON WHO, WHO WOULD BE ABLE TO GO INTO THAT SEAT IMMEDIATELY IS MR. JUAN MARTINEZ. THANK YOU. SO, YOU KNOW, I'LL MAKE SOME COMMENTS. AND I THINK IT'S HARD. I THINK WE SAT HERE AND WE HAD SOME REALLY GREAT CANDIDATES.

AND AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE ARE. YOU KNOW, FOR ME, THERE WAS A LOT, YOU KNOW, I REALLY ENJOYED OUR DISCUSSIONS AND OUR CONVERSATIONS WITH PEOPLE. MR. YOU KNOW, YOU REALLY GAVE YOU A

[02:50:02]

RIGHT. IT TAKES OUR TIME. AND I UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS A WHAT THEY CALL A SHORT TERM APPOINTMENT. AND WE DO HAVE A, A BUDGET DEFICIT THAT IS HAS TO BE ALLEVIATED IN DIFFERENT WAYS.

AND HOW DO WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THAT? AND BUDGET DEFICITS DON'T GO AWAY AFTER ONE YEAR. THEY THEY'RE AN ONGOING. AND THEY CAN CREATE A SNOWBALL EFFECT. AND, YOU KNOW, AND. MR. I REALLY ENJOYED LISTENING TO YOU AND AND REALLY TALKING TO YOU ABOUT, YOU KNOW, YOUR PERSPECTIVE AND, AND THE GOALS THAT YOU'RE GOING TO GO LONG PLACES, SIR, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE A, JUST A CONVERSATION WE HAD OUTSIDE ABOUT DIFFERENT TYPES OF CAPITALISTIC SOCIETIES.

RIGHT? AND IT'S VERY INTERESTING IN THAT. AND, AND I THINK. IT'S JUST A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE. RIGHT. AND I THINK. THERE'S A MOTION. THERE'S A SECOND, YOU KNOW, IF I WOULD HAVE ANOTHER MOTION, I DON'T KNOW IF IT WOULD DIE. SO. BECAUSE CLEARLY THERE'S A CONSENSUS AND THEY'RE JUST WAITING FOR ME TO, TO HAVE THAT DIALOG AND, AND REALLY SEE WHERE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE NEED BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, BUT WITH THAT, I WILL MAKE ANOTHER MOTION TO AND IF IT DIES, IT DIES. WHERE'S MY NOTES? I WOULD MAKE A MOTION TO NOMINATE MR. MARTIN PEREZ, BUT IF I HAVEN'T RECEIVED NO SECOND, THEN I UNDERSTAND. IS THERE A SECOND TO THAT MOTION? OKAY. SO WITH THAT, OKAY, WE MOVE TO THE YES. SECOND ON THAT MOTION DIES. WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND ON THE FLOOR. YES, WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND TO APPOINT TO JUAN MARTINEZ. I'LL GO AHEAD AND TAKE ROLL. COUNCIL MEMBER PEREZ. YES. COUNCIL MEMBER.

DELGADO. YES. COUNCIL MEMBER I MAYOR FIGUEROA. THE WAY I'M GOING TO VOTE IS TO ENSURE THAT WE HAVE CONTINUITY IN THE CITY. AND BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO HAVE DISRUPTION ON OUR ON OUR DAIS. AND WITH THAT, I VOTE YES. AND I WELCOME MR. MARTINEZ AS THE NEXT CITY COUNCIL MEMBER.

BUT YOU CAN'T LEAVE YET BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO SWEAR HIM IN. THAT'S RIGHT. MAKE ANY STATEMENT AT ANY POINT. NOT AT THIS TIME. I FIND IT WEIRD THAT THE CITY. SO MAYBE WE COULD JUST BE RESPECTFUL PUBLIC STATEMENTS OVER INVITING SOMEBODY. THAT'S KIND OF WEIRD TO ME. OKAY, MR. MARTINEZ, IF YOU CAN PLEASE RAISE YOUR RIGHT HAND AND REPEAT AFTER ME. I STATE YOUR NAME. I, JUAN MARTINEZ, I, JUAN MARTINEZ, DO SOLEMNLY SWEAR OR AFFIRM. DO SOLEMNLY SWEAR AND AFFIRM THAT I WILL SUPPORT AND DEFEND, THAT I WILL SUPPORT AND DEFEND THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES, THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES, CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, AND THE CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, AGAINST ALL ENEMIES, AGAINST ALL ENEMIES, FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC, FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC. THAT I WILL BEAR TRUE FAITH AND ALLEGIANCE, THAT I BEAR TRUE FAITH AND ALLEGIANCE TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES, TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, AND THE CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA. THAT I TAKE THIS OBLIGATION FREELY, THAT I TAKE THIS OBLIGATION FREELY, WITHOUT ANY MENTAL RESERVATION, WITHOUT ANY MENTAL RESERVATION OR PURPOSE OF EVASION OR PURPOSE OF EVASION. AND THAT I WILL WELL AND FAITHFULLY, AND THAT I WILL WELL AND FAITHFULLY DISCHARGE THE DUTIES. DISCHARGE THE DUTIES UPON WHICH I AM ABOUT TO ENTER. I'M ABOUT TO. I'M ABOUT TO ENTER.

CONGRATULATIONS. THANK YOU. WITH THAT, THE MEETING I

* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.