Scott Matas -- HIS LEADERSHIP

In my first campaign for City Council I outlined my issues and what I wanted to accomplish in my first term.  My term was a special election due to the untimely death of Councilman Gary Bosworth.  As a person passionate for my community I knew if I won the election I could make a difference in Desert Hot Springs.   Many people talk about what should be done and what people would like to see, but in the next few paragraphs I will outline what I have accomplished.  These accomplishments took vision, pride and forward thinking.  Each and every achievement took a collaborative effect from community leaders, citizen, staff and a very productive Council.

April 2007 - I studied the CVMSHCP (Coachella Valley Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan) and after a long review decided to support the plan. One reason was to form an alliance with other Coachella Valley cities Not being a part of this plan would cause us to continue to be an outcast as we had been for many years.  My second reason was for development and annexation to continue we would have to be in the plan.  The plan is not fair. I don’t think we were represented well in the past, and because of this much of our developable land has been taken. I cannot change the past and so I had to make a decision that would be best for our city from the time I was elected forward.  Because of the city’s willingness to be part of the plan, we have less resistance from other cities and/or agencies, and projects are starting to develop. In the long run we will have protected the largest area of land within any city in the Coachella Valley.

May 2007 - Our city has been lacking in serious code enforcement, both commercial and residential.  I worked with Supervisor Marion Ashley and his staff to develop an aggressive clean-up of the outlying areas of Desert Hot Springs. We obtained a grant was for $80,000.00 and a program that lasted for approximately 9 months.  Half of the officers’ time was granted to Desert Hot Springs to utilize as needed.  We focused on commercial code enforcement in the downtown.  Due to this grant, county code enforcement has continued to clean up and cite litter dumps in the county area surrounding Desert Hot Springs.

September 2007 - I was appointed to an Ad Hoc Committee to make recommendations on selecting a new city manager.  I co-chaired this committee with Mayor Pro Tem Stephens and came up with a strategy that would involve community, county and Coachella Valley leaders.  The committee agreed to first search locally for a city manager to see if any names would stand out.  At that time two names surfaced, one being our current city manager.  The Ad Hoc Committee made recommendations to the City Council and Rick Daniels was hired.

September 2007 - I worked with the Palm Springs Unified School District Visual and Performing Arts Coordinator Louisa Castrodale to develop a mural program in the city.  We had no Art in Public Places at that time and this was a positive step forward in helping teenage kids in our community have a positive activity that enhanced the look of our city.

October 2007 - AYSO and Little League are been two programs that have been a positive organization for our youth.  But neither organization had a contract with the city for exclusive use of our parks.  I organized and help each organization obtain a contract that will protect out parks and youth using these programs.

November 2007 - I became Chairman of a newly appointed Police Ad Hoc committee and worked under the great leadership and guidance of Police Chief Pat Williams.  The committee focused on the parolee issues that faced Desert Hot Springs.  We meet with many legislators, both State and County.  After approximately 9 months we made recommendations to the City Council. As a result of the work of this committee we have a parolee multi-service center in the works, and future legislation is being developed to cap the parolee population per capita for cities over whelmed with crime along with a better tracking system for parolees.  This is a large step toward making our city safer.

January 2008 - I was appointed by the Mayor to following Committees and Commissions:

1.       Coachella Valley Association of Governments (CVAG)

    a.       Public Safety Committee

    b.      Transportation Committee (Elected Vice Chair in June 2008)

2.       Parks Committee, Chairman

3.       Homeless Committee, Vice Chair (as of May 2009 renamed Human Resource Committee)

4.       Liaison to Chamber of Commerce - 2008

5.       Liaison to Little League

6.       Liaison to AYSO

7.       Liaison to Public Safety Commission

8.       Liaison to Cabot’s Museum Foundation - 2009

9.       Mayor Pro Tem 2008

10.   Tri-City Collaboration (DHS, Palm Springs, Cathedral City)

April 2008 - I saw the need for a Business Expo and with the help of city staff and the chamber of commerce we organized and produced “Discover Desert Hot Springs.”  The event was a huge success which highlighted Desert Hot Springs’ businesses and the progress of Desert Hot Springs.

September 2008 - I was appointed by the City Council as Parks Committee Chairman.  During the first few months we worked on identifying the needs and challenges or our community.  The committee was formed from citizen volunteers and key appointments.  After a budget review, 1.2 million dollars was found and the committee proposed how best to use this money to the City Council. To this date we have renovated Wardman Park, are in the process of a renovated and expanded Mission Springs Park, began the process to hire a person to finish a Parks Master Plan for the community, the cleaning of all public park restrooms and the development of new parks.

September 2008 - Appointed by Mayor to Riverside County Transportation Commission (RCTC)

January 2009 - Worked with Cabot’s Museum Foundation to continue the Cabot’s Campus Master Planning.  This collaboration between city staff, the foundation, and the City Council will capitalize on the tourism essential for our community.

January 2009 - Traveled to Sacramento with Chief Williams and other Council members to lobby to solve our Parolee issues.  Over the two days we met with four Legislators and many staff members.  We laid the ground work for such items as the first Parolee Multi Service Center in Riverside County.

February 2009 - I have been working to staff our empty fire station in the Skyborn neighborhood for two years.  On July 1, 2009 Riverside County Fire Department will occupy this fire station at a shared cost to the city.

You have just read some of the highlights of my first two years on the Desert Hot Springs City Council. As a Council member I have been very fortunate to work with a City Council that is unified.  Even when we disagree we find we are all moving in the right direction, just looking at different paths to get there.  My theory of cooperation comes from my experience putting out fires.  Fire is a Triangle: one side is heat, second side is oxygen and the third side is fuel.  You remove one and the fire goes out.  I believe we have the same triangle in Desert Hot Springs, one side is the City Council, the second side is Staff and the third side is leadership from the community. All three sides have been working together very well for the past 2 years and if you were to remove one side we could and most likely would fail again.  Desert Hot Springs needs stability and I feel I am a strong piece of that.  Thank you for taking the time to read about my leadership in the city I love.  Please continue to read the other pages on this site.