After nearly three years, Cathedral City hosted its first in-person State of the City since the pandemic began.
“The State of the City is a way to let business owners know what’s going on in our city,” Cathedral City Mayor Ernesto Gutierrez said. “A lot of people do not know. They just hear a little here and there, but this is a way to put everything together and tell people what’s going on.”
And a lot is going on.
Some of the biggest highlights include celebrating one year of Agua Caliente Casino, improving the city’s infrastructure, especially with the completion of the Ofelia Bringas Bridge happening in just one month, and finalizing the highly anticipated project of College of the Desert’s Roadrunner Motors in the heart of Cathedral City’s Auto Center.
On top of that, Cathedral City has been listed in the top 50 safest cities in California for the second year in a row.
That’s thanks to improvements in public safety.
“We are increasing to 52 officers or sworn staff which is the highest we’ve ever had,” Council Member Raymond Gregory said.
Another high point was the city’s economic growth, especially with new business in the area.
“I wanted to open a little, tiny restaurant and it’s been so successful that we are booked almost every night and it’s a lot busier,” Salt Flats Owner Michael McVay shared. “I’m really, really thrilled to have this kind of positive response from the community.”
But, there’s still some work to be done.
That includes helping house the homeless which they have started doing after receiving grant money to house veterans.
“We do whatever we can to make their lives a little bit easier, but the main thing is try to get them help so they can get back into a regular home and their regular lives,” Mayor Gutierrez said.
Cathedral City is also trying to reduce its carbon footprint by looking to put bike lanes on East Palm Canyon Drive and creating multi-use sidewalks along Cathedral Canyon Drive.
Overall, there’s a lot to look forward to in the year ahead.
“Actually attending the event really opened my eyes to the potential for this town,” McVay shared. “It really seems like it’s at some sort of blossoming point and it’s really starting to come into its own.”
