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: