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December 12, 2010

DHS Community & Cultural Affairs Commission - December 8

The audio recording of this meeting of the Desert Hot Springs Community and Cultural Affairs Commission is available here.

Public Comments

Bruce Montgomery came on behalf of the Family Resource Board. He was seeking funds for a festival on Wednesday, April 20, 2011. This will be the Family Resource Center "Day Of The Child Celebration." The county has cut funding.

Elsa Bernstein, Community Programs Specialist for the Family Resource Center, has lived in DHS for 19 years. Last year there was the "Linking Hearts To Community Resources," before that it was the annual resource fair. She worked on the first "Day Of The Child" thirteen years ago. The festival will run about 4 hours.

Chair Dot Reed suggested they write a letter to City Manager Daniels and possibly Mayor Parks and explain that they are a 501(c)3 organization. The CCAC has no budget. She also suggested that they get this added to the Chamber calendar.

Alternate Commissioner George Fisher suggested they check into Project Find in Indio as a source of very inexpensive food for the festival.

Downtown Festival

Alt. Commissioner Fisher said he thought it went really well, for the first one. Commissioner McDaniels said "It would have been nice if drinks and food had been made available."

Chair Reed said that vendors won't show up for a 2-hour festival unless they get paid in advance. Mr. McDaniels said he wondered if the high school would be able to sell canned soda and hot dogs. Mr. Fisher that when there is free food provided by the Chamber in the Visitors Center, it makes it difficult for someone else to try to sell food. Maybe next year will be different, he said. Ms. Reed said that with a longer festival we might have a better chance of getting vendors. She said Russ Augustine, President of the Chamber, visited with all the businesses who had shown an interest in vending, but hadn't wanted to go through the application process. He got them to bring food to the Visitors Center where it was given away. More than 350 people were fed.

Next year there will be a different sound system, Ms. Reed said. Another suggestion was to have some bright light on the stage. Mr. Fisher said the JROTC didn't show up, so we didn't have a flag. Not all of the toys that were going to be given away showed up in time. The fire department was out on a call, so Santa and Mrs. Claus had to arrive by police car.

Holiday Lighting Contest

Judging starts on Monday the 13th, 6 to 9 PM. Mr. Fisher thinks the entire city can be surveyed in two nights. Keep your eyes open for the flying judgemobile! He is seeking a source for small bells that he could put the city seal on. First, Ms. Reed suggested looking at the Hallmark Store, but Commissioner Jussila said it was closed. Then Ms. Reed suggested Michael's in Palm Springs.

Art In Public Places

Chair Reed shared photos of the sculpture that Tim Brophy plans to donate to the city. A meeting with Rudy Acosta, the commissioners and Mr. Brophy will be scheduled. The paperwork for AIPP donations is appropriate for developers, but not designed for a donation from an individual. Commissioner Jussila suggested that the school district's form could be used as a template.

The sculpture is granite, about 4½ feet high. Mr. Brophy has also offered to pay for the base.

Reports

Alt. Commissioner Fisher said that he spoke with the high school band director who told him that if any part of the band is needed for a community event, he would love to bring them.

Ms. Reed said that she is working on an idea for a "concert in the park" with the high school band or other bands.

Ms. Reed met with Relay For Life staff who want to repeat the Desert Hot Springs event. They promise to provide more support this year. There will be an event on January 5 with more information.

Councilmember Jan Pye came to the podium. She said that Grace Church has offered to donate their sound system for next year's downtown festival. She said the high school jazz band has performed at the Elks. They cannot be paid directly, but they can accept tips to support the band.

Filed under Desert Hot Springs | permalink | December 12, 2010 at 02:37 PM

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