Dear Indio Neighbors:
It is April, so it must be time for the Coachella and Stagecoach Music Festivals! These two music festivals are widely reputed to be the largest and best of the year. As you know, people from all over the world are talking about Indio each April. It enhances our reputation and there is no doubt that many of our growing business opportunities are fostered by the Coachella and Stagecoach Music Festivals.
In every respect, these festivals are “hosted” by our entire community. There are marvelously positive effects from these concerts, and there are also some not-so-marvelous traffic and noise impacts on our patient neighborhoods. I thought that in this month’s newsletter I would point out some of the positives in hope that it might offset some of the negatives this community so graciously endures.
And I do mean gracious! Many of you will recall that last year we had unusually strong winds blow into the Coachella Valley on the Wednesday before weekend two of Coachella. Thousands of campers started arriving on Wednesday night, ready to “load in” very early on Thursday and Friday. But the wind gusts topped 90 MPH, creating an environment where tent stakes could have blown through the air like daggers. Event promoter, Goldenvoice, widely found it necessary to keep the camp grounds closed until the winds subsided. Indio served as temporary host to thousands of young people looking for something to do on that windy day. That was where Indio residents and businesses came forward to create the legendary day known in some circles as "Walmart-Chella"! The stories shared online were remarkable. The Indio Walmart opened its parking lot to the campers. City parks were turned into venues for all-day football games and ad-hoc three-on-three basketball tournaments. We even had one resident who invited sixty young people over to her home for a pool party and barbecued hot dogs. Indio businesses opened their doors and called in extra help. All the stories were positive. (Some of our neighboring cities did not fare so well in the blogs, but Indio has a big heart.) The gates to Coachella eventually opened and these festival goers left Indio remembering not only Beyonce’s high tech performance, but also a spontaneous day interacting with a great community.
Thanks to Goldenvoice and the Empire Polo Club, the music festivals net the City of Indio budget approximately $3 million in direct revenues each year. And whether one likes short term rentals or not, the Transient Occupancy payment we get from Airbnb now exceeds $2 million per year. These revenues make a lot of City services possible in Indio each year. To put this into context, our entire annual Sales Tax revenue is only $12 million. So this annual three-week event allows us to pay for a lot of City services. All of our City Police and Public Works costs are reimbursed over and above the revenues cited above.
I have been very pleasantly impressed by the length that Goldenvoice and our City team goes through during and preceding the festivals to address every residential or HOA concern. During the festivals there is an army of officials out in the streets addressing every conceivable complaint. You should see the contingency plans they prepare in advance relating to security, safety and community relations.
Again, all of us at City Hall are grateful to our community for your graciousness during Coachella. I hope that most of you enjoy the concerts and our community’s association with them. I also thank Goldenvoice and the Empire Polo Club for their ongoing citizenship role in our community not only during April, but all year long.
Beyond festival season, good things are happening all around Indio these days. It is a great time to be City Manager here. I look forward to doing these columns each month. Please tell me what you would like me to talk about in the future.
By the way, if you want to see something remarkable and inspiring, stop by the Shadow Hills High School gym (easy parking) on Saturday, May 18, 2019 between 9-11 a.m. to see the Red Hot Ballroom competition featuring a gymnasium full of the most impressive middle school students you will ever see. The event is free to the public and an absolute validation of the quality of our youth and the instructors, teachers and parents who are guiding them. No kidding.
Sincerely,
Mark Scott
Indio City Manager
P.S. Send me the name of your favorite local business and let me acknowledge them in this space. I ate at Unique Bites Eatery on Jackson & Avenue 42 this week. Home cooked food served or take-out, ran by a great local family.
P.P.S. Yes, I pay full price!
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New Train Stop Coming
to Indio
Founded as a Southern Pacific Railroad stop in 1876, Indio will once again regain its rightful place as a major transportation and economic hub of the Coachella Valley with the construction of a new train station platform at the Indio Transit Center located near downtown at 83100 Indio Boulevard. The need for rail service has been advocated by residents and local leaders for decades, and the success of the Coachella and Stagecoach music festivals that bring in more than 300,000 people every April has created a demand for alternative forms of transportation. The train platform is expected to be constructed by Spring 2020. The $8.6 million dollar project is funded by the California State Transportation Agency and State Rail Assistance Program funded by the gas tax. The Riverside County Transportation Commission is overseeing the project and working closely with the City of Indio. Efforts continue to develop a long-term San Gorgonio-Coachella Valley Rail Corridor Service that proposes two daily round-trips using Amtrak service between Los Angeles and Indio. To provide feedback on this project or to propose other ideas to improve mobility in Indio and the region, go to
rebootmycommute.org
.
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2019 Festival Road Restrictions
The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival will be held at the Empire Polo Club on April 12, 13 and 14 and April 19, 20 and 21, 2019 and Stagecoach California’s Country Music Festival on April 26, 27, and 28, 2019 at 81-800 Avenue 51.
Starting April 3rd, 2019 Ave 50 between Madison & Monroe Street will experience intermittent closures & delays. Full closures will occur Friday thru Sunday, April 12th-14th, 19th-21st & 26th-28th. Streets will reopen to normal traffic on May 4th. For more detailed traffic information, visit
www.indio.org/news/
. For concert questions or problems, please call 760-391-4112 or email to
[email protected]
.
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Veterans Expo Comes to Indio
The 9th Annual Veterans Expo will be held on Saturday, April 6, 2019, at the Fullenwider Auditorium on the Riverside County Fairgrounds in Indio. The event is free and sponsored by the Salvation Army. The Expo begins at 8:00 a.m. with a spectacular flag-raising ceremony and fly-over. There will be more than 70 booths offering information about medical benefits, education, and job opportunities. There will be tributes to veterans, active duty military, ROTC students, and first responders. There will also be a Gallery of Heroes exhibit and plenty of activities for the kids. For more information, call or e-mail Captain James Parks at 760-324-2275
[email protected]
or Bill Young at 760-861-0037
[email protected]
.
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Indio Welcomes New Leadership Conference
Eventscape International is proud to present its inaugural event entitled The Mobius Conference being held Thursday, April 18, 2019. The one-day conference will bring together thought leaders, artists and policy makers to engage, connect and share thoughts on evolving topics centered around art, politics and culture.
The City of Indio has been named the host city and will welcome the Youth Empowerment Hub to the Indio Performing Arts Center (IPAC) located at 45-175 Fargo Street, Indio. Over 200 area high school and college students will be invited to engage and interact with select speakers ranging from elected officials, actors and musicians.
“We are so excited to be a part of this inspiring event, we love bringing new and exciting things to our city, especially those that foster youth engagement,” said Lupe Ramos Amith, Mayor of Indio. “We look forward to growing this event for our community and beyond for years to
come.”
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Woman's Club of Indio Serves the Community for More Than 100 Years
Founded in 1912, the Woman's Club of Indio is the oldest civic organization in the Coachella Valley with a mission to enhance the community through active, committed and civic minded participation. The group is involved in many community programs related to education, arts, community affairs, historical preservation, and health and public safety. Examples of their service includes helping women in domestic violence situations, helping the homeless through the Coachella Valley Rescue Mission, guiding teen girls through the Ophelia Project, assisting the Coachella Valley Historical Museum, awarding scholarships, and participating in the Read Across Indio program. For more information and to join the Woman's Club of Indio, go to
womansclubofindio.org
.
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Another Successful Community Clean Up Day in Indio!
In the early morning of Saturday, February 16, 2019, nearly 100 volunteers gathered at Cahuilla Park to clean up the Indio Terrace Neighborhood located West of Golf Center Parkway and North of Avenue 44. Approximately 17.5 tons of large bulky items, tires, and trash were collected throughout the neighborhood made up of 189 homes. Residents were notified earlier in the week about the event and placed items for pick up at the curb. City Council Members, staff, and community volunteers used strength in numbers to load old furniture and appliances into Burrtec garbage trucks as they combed through every street in the neighborhood. Prior clean ups resulted in the collection of 45.1 tons of trash from the John Nobles Neighborhood in November 2017 and 18.7 tons of trash in the Nairobi Neighborhood in March 2018. Special thanks to the Indio Police Department, Code Enforcement, Public Works and Burrtec for coordinating and sponsoring the event. As you do your own Spring cleaning, feel free to contact
Burrtec
about bulky item pick up and other trash services at 760-393-0635.
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Indio Youth Advisory Council Update
In late March the Indio Youth Advisory Council joined about 200 other teens from Riverside and San Bernardino Counties in Idyllwild for Riverside County Friday Night Live ACTIVE Youth Leadership camp. Indio was well represented as Amistad and Shadow Hills High School students were among those in attendance. Teens built on their communication skills, collaborated to identify agencies in their local area that they can work with; as well as learned how to better tap into local resources to help their peers. The theme of camp this year was to Pause, Breath, Smile (PBS).
As an added bonus the Indio Youth Advisory Council also won the Lip Sync Battle for their performance of Aretha Franklin ‘RESPECT.’ The group will be performing once again at the Friday Night Live Awards Banquet on May 24, 2019 in Riverside.
Finally, the Indio Youth Advisory Council will begin to recruit for the 2019/20 term in mid-April. Membership is open to high school students with a G.P.A. of 2.5 or better, who reside in the City of Indio. Teens must be willing to commit time and interest in learning about local government, actively participate in numerous community activities; as well as a desire to represent Indio youth. Applications will be available at the Indio Teen Center in mid-April and for more information, email
[email protected]
.
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Spring Break Camp with Desert Recreation
Help your kids stay busy during their spring break by enrolling them in to Desert Recreation's Spring Camp! Camp will run April 15-19, 2019 7:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Campers' week will be full of exciting, structured activities sure to interest both new and returning campers. Each day, the true camp experience begins as staff leads the group in fun, lively camp games and songs. Campers will learn new skills and build self-esteem through sports, activities, scavenger hunts, creative arts and tons of group games. All activities are carried out under the watchful eye of our camp staff. Spring into fun and enroll your camper today.
Cost is $110 per week or $25 per day. Please pack a lunch each day for your child. For more information, please call 760-3417-3484 or visit the Desert Recreation District
website
.
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SAGE Initiative Opens Indio to Provide Free Dental Care
On Monday, March 4, 2019, the Greater Coachella Valley Chamber of Commerce along with the City of Indio and other community leaders celebrated the opening of SAGE Initiative at 82900 Avenue 42, Suite B 103 in North Indio. SAGE Initiative is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing free comprehensive dental care to low-income individuals, veterans, and undocumented immigrants. The organization believes that dental health is a right and should be offered to all regardless of insurance or dental coverage since a healthy smile improves overall health, enhances relationships, and increases confidence. The SAGE (School-Aged Gap Elimination) Initiative was founded in 2013 by Dr. J, a dentist and Air Force Lt. Colonel, who had a passion for public service and serving the most in need. Since opening in Feburary 2019, the Indio dental clinic has served 277 patients, 450 patient encounters, and provided $97,176 worth of free dental treatment. For more information, go to
sageinitiativeiv.org
.
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Third Year for Summer Musical Theater Camp
KidsWorks Summer Musical Theatre Camp returns for its third year, this time with openings for 300 youths between the ages of 6-19. Registration will open mid-April 2019. The camp runs Mondays-Fridays from June 17 – July 28, 2019 and has three different age groups. Each age group will be performing a musical at the end of camp:
Ages 6-8 will perform Winnie the Pooh from July 23-24
Ages 9-12 will perform Frozen Jr. from July 27-28
Ages 13-19 will perform Newsies from July 20-21
Kidsworks has partnered with Elite Academic, and as a result every camper who applies through Elite Academic can attend camp at no cost to them. For information about the program, volunteering, or to purchase tickets, visit
Kidsworks.org
or call 760-980-1455.
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Rotary Club's Math Field Day
The Rotary Club of Indio along with Desert Sands Unified School District (DSUSD) is proud to announce the date of the 2019 Coachella Valley Middle School Rotary Math Field Day (RMFD). This year’s event will take place on Saturday, May 4, 2019 at John Glenn Middle School in Indio. This event will run from 8:30am to 3:00pm.
Students compete in individual and team competitions by grade level. The competitions include elements of a balanced mathematics program such as computational and procedural skills, along with conceptual understanding and problem solving.
For more information about RMFD, to volunteer to assist with the event, or to make a monetary donation to help support this community project please contact
[email protected]
or
Facebook/IndioRotary
.
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FIND Foodbank Distributes Food at College of the Desert's Indio Campus
To address the food insecurity facing many college students and the community, the College of the Desert has partnered with FIND Foodbank to distribute food. The distribution has been taking place on the first Thursday of every month since February and will continue through May 2019 at COD's Indio Campus at 45524 Oasis Street in downtown Indio. There are no income restrictions for those receiving food. The event takes place on the East parking lot of the Indio campus building from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. or until the food runs out. If you plan to attend, please bring heavy duty bags and a push cart or wagon since some items are large and bulky. For more informtion, go to
collegeofthedesert.edu
or call 760-776-7200.
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April Is Your Last Chance to Discover Indio Art Installations
Do not miss your last chance to see some amazing art installations in Indio before the summer heat sets in! The temporary art installations, The House That Art Built, can be viewed through April 29, 2019 and are located throughout downtown Indio and features each artist’s concept of a “house.” The artwork pieces are at the following locations:
Delos Van Earl – Site 1: Near the southeast corner of Jackson Street and Requa Avenue
Marnie Navarro – Site 2: Near the southeast corner of Miles Avenue and Smurr Street
Tim Shockley – Site 3: East side of Oasis Street approximately 330 feet north of Bliss Avenue
Cathy Allen – Site 4: East side of Oasis Street approximately 250 feet north of Bliss Avenue
Chris Sanchez – Site 5: East side of Oasis Street approximately 330 feet north of Bliss Avenue
For a map to locate each art piece, click
here
.
Another art installation you do not want to miss in downtown Indio is Desert X 2019 which is on display through April 21, 2019. Indio is a large part of this bi-annual temporary art installation and features two Desert X art installations!
"Wormhole" by Cinthia Marcelle is located at 45-088 Oasis St., Indio with coordinates of
33.720797, -116.220658.
"Recapturing Memories of the Black Ark" by Gary Simmons is located at 3143 Jackson Street, Indio
with the coordinates of 33.734986, -116.217000.
This exhibit is located in the former Indio Armory building and is open to the public for free on Saturdays and Sundays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
If you are looking for more information, visit the Desert X Hub located at 82-713 Miles Avenue in Downtown Indio. It is open Thursday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For more information on Desert X, visit their
website
.
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The City of Indio is the 30th Fastest Growing City in America with more than
with more than 89,000 residents. Nearly 1.4 million people visit Indio every year to attend its world famous arts, food, and music festivals. With nationally recognized public safety services, exceptional schools, great parks and senior and teen centers, no wonder more than 3,000 new housing units are in construction or being planned throughout the city in addition to new hotels, restaurants and retailers. Indio was the first city incorporated in the Coachella Valley on May 16, 1930, and is governed by an elected City Council that employs a City Manager. The City of Indio embraces its diversity and provides outstanding municipal services to enhance the quality of life for its residents, visitors and business community.
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City of Indio |100 Civic Center Drive | (760) 391-4000
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