The Executive Committee opposed adding DWR and Riverside County LAFCO meetings as standing compensable events and did not support adding a ticketed Desert Hot Springs wellness retreat. The October 20 board agenda includes an already-budgeted Environmental Compliance Coordinator position that must be added to the salary chart before it is filled, plus a proposed sale of part of a Whitewater Mutual easement.
The board adopted an AI policy requiring human review and agency-procured tools for staff and directors. It extended Palm Springs International Airport’s non-functional-turf irrigation deadline to January 1, 2030; the airport plans to remove roughly 330,000 square feet. Staff outlined limits on the agency’s authority over AI data centers and new requirements for water supply assessments and certain facility-related infrastructure costs.
The conservation baseline covers fiscal years 2023–24 through 2025–26; the report for its final baseline year is due January 1, 2027. Staff are processing 201 Ordinance 80 turf self-certifications ahead of January 2027 enforcement for applicable properties; qualifying school district properties have an extension. Preliminary two-week readings at the new CIMIS station were about 6–7% above Indio 2, potentially raising the agency’s urban water use objective.
Board adopted Resolution No. 1377 authorizing the General Manager to submit a state financial assistance application for the Cathedral City Lakeview Villas septic-to-sewer project (just over 100 connections), with costs reimbursed by the state. Staff updated the Board on Pinyon Pines dissolution interest, and the GM plans to return with a future agenda item. Board also adopted the 2027-2028 legislative and policy platform.
The board adopted Ordinances 82 (Water Shortage Contingency Plan, 4-1) and 83 (water waste enforcement, 5-0), setting penalties at $100/$500/$1,000 for first through third violations and formalizing first-penalty waivers. Staff discussed rate-design software to model conservation-driven rate impacts, and directors discussed challenges funding turf conversion and HOA financial impacts.
