Indio City Council certified the general election during a recent meeting, swore in the council for a new term, and approved funding for park improvements and communication upgrades for the police department.
Waymond Fermon, who served as mayor this year, Oscar Ortiz, mayor pro tem, and Councilmember Elaine Holmes all sought re-election.
“Both Oscar and Waymond did not have challengers, so we just chose to appoint them to the position,” Councilmember Glenn Miller told Coachella Valley Times. “Elaine won her election. So it's the same council.”
Councilmember Glenn Miller
| Indio.org
During the meeting, held at 5 p.m. on Dec. 7 in the council chambers at 150 Civic Center Mall, the council administered the oath of office to Fermon, Ortiz and Holmes to their new terms and elected Ortiz as mayor and Councilmember Lupe Ramos Amith as mayor pro tem.
“So we did a changing of our council leadership,” said Miller, who in addition to serving on Indio City Council, is also a community leader and businessman who has lived in the desert for more than three decades, according to his website. He also is district director for former State Sen. Melissa Melendez (R-Indio), who represented the 28th Senate District.
The council meets on the first and third Wednesday of each month, and the sessions are open to the public and also are streamed online via Zoom. The meetings can be viewed on a live stream that can be accessed on the city’s website, YouTube or Facebook Live.
The council also approved $1.6 million to upgrade the city’s South Jackson Park and Davis Field Park.
“It’s something that the community has been talking about and discussing for a long time with the upgrading of two of our larger and most used parks,” Miller said. “We agreed to and signed a contract.”
The work is set to start immediately, according to Miller, and will include new fields, parking lot and equipment for the baseball and soccer fields. New playground equipment will be purchased for other parks.
“It's a great opportunity for us to invest back in our community,” Miller said.
The council also reached a six-year, $1.5 million agreement on a new communication system for daily and wireless communication used by the city’s police department.
“This is used not only for our PD, our public safety, but through the whole Coachella Valley, it’s our system that we utilize when there's an emergency,” Miller said. “So the cities, public safety -- police, fire, sheriff and any of the other agencies -- can all communicate at the same time on the same channel.”
With concerts and other events, as well as being in a fault area, city officials thought it was imperative to ensure effective communications in case of a disaster.
“If we were to have a natural disaster or an emergency of some kind, we would need to make sure that all of our jurisdictions and public safety are able to communicate,” Miller explained.
And living in an area prone to earthquakes made the decision even more important.
"If there was unfortunately any kind of natural or another kind of disaster, we would be prepared,” he said. “It's great to get that kind of investment, and not only just for us, but for the whole Coachella Valley."
Looking forward, Miller said he believes the biggest issue facing the city is homelessness.
“The city itself is doing well, the budget as well, in terms of income coming in and new buildings, new business and new homes. But the homeless epidemic is crippling the state of California, and also the United States as a whole.”
Miller added that there are other issues the city must face, including the price of housing, but that is an issue that cannot be solved by any one community.
“But the homeless issue in Indio is starting to continue to have negative effects, not just only on our community, but in appearances,” he said. “You’ve seen shopping carts and stuff, and when you start seeing that in multiple locations, it starts to give people the illusion, which is not true, that the place isn't safe.”
Miller added that compassion also is important, by making sure that the homeless get the help they need, including for mental health and drug issues.
When the council meets again on Wednesday, Jan. 18, Miller said it will likely discuss a permanent location for the Tamale Festival, as well as planning for next year’s Coachella Music Festival and the Stagecoach Country Western Music Festival.