Imperial council holds planning session
IMPERIAL — Upcoming projects, the city’s budget and strategic plans for the future of the city were discussed during a special work session meeting Saturday morning.
“Failure to plan is planning to fail,” City Manager Dennis Morita said.
The meeting served as a simple review and brainstorming session, as city management collected the thoughts of the Imperial City Council. Councilman James Tucker was absent from the meeting.
Major projects in the pipeline for the city include the La Brucherie Widening Project, which is set to be complete by March, and the Aten and Clark roads Widening Project, which will be completed by February.
The Barioni Pipeline Project, which has closed off the intersection of Barioni Boulevard and Highway 86 for some time now, is to be completed by the end of this month.
One project still in the works is the Aten Road Bike Path, which will create a bike path along the north side of Aten, from Dogwood Road to Puerto Vallarta Avenue.
The project has a total cost of $459,000 and is expected to be completed by May.
While he questioned how many people would actually use the bike path, Mayor Pro Tem Geoff Dale said was pleased to hear the project’s total cost, as he expected a project like this in California would be at least $1 million.
Council members also discussed the possibility of planting trees along the path.
For park projects, the Freddie White Fencing Improvements Project is set to be completed sometime between the spring and summer.
The splash pad at Eager Park is projected to be completed sometime this fiscal year.
The new Imperial Community Park has a completion date of March 2022.
The Paseo Del Sol Park improvements project is tentatively scheduled to be completed before the end of this spring.
As the city considers its future amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it spent about $1.8 million in 2020, which was a decrease from the about $1.9 million it spent in 2019.
In 2019-20, the city spent 31 percent of its municipal budget on its police department.
It spent 14 percent on administrative services, 11 percent on both fire and public services and 9 percent on the city manager department.
The rest was divided among community development, community services and parks.
One of the most-discussed topics during Saturday’s meeting was the possibility of a new Police Department facility.
The current Imperial Police headquarters is linked with the City Hall on Imperial Avenue.
Assistant City Manager Alexis L. Brown noted that anybody walking through City Hall and the Police Department “can see it falling apart.”
Dale said he felt the city “absolutely” needs a new city hall.
The city has looked into one option of spending approximately $8.6 million to demolish and rebuild City Hall, with the addition of a second story.
With this option, the Police Department will completely take over the facility, and City Hall will be relocated elsewhere in the city.
Mayor Karin Eugenio didn’t agree with spending $8.6 million for a new facility, especially amid the pandemic.
Eugenio said she felt the city would receive some backlash from the public if it did so.
She said she would feel better about the proposed project if the facility offered amenities and training, such as a community center, to the public.
“It will not be a Taj Mahal,” Brown clarified of the proposed $8.6 million remodel.
One topic discussed during Saturday’s meeting was featuring new painted murals in downtown Imperial, as the city some time ago passed a resolution deeming this area to be an “arts district.”
The possibility of establishing a set color scheme for buildings along the Highway 86 corridor, where the colorful Ray Mun Loo Pediatrics building and the green-tinted March and Ash building are located, was also discussed.
City leaders also discussed the possibility of offering a second cannabis use permit to a business. March and Ash currently holds the city’s one and only permit.
Dale said he felt that, based on Imperial’s population, a second permit would not be viable.
Eugenio agreed. “Keep the one,” she said.