Cathedral City's cleanup of mud from Hilary cost $2.9 million less than planned

Ani Gasparyan, Palm Springs Desert Sun
·2 min read
Photos from Nov. 6, left, and Nov. 15 of 2023 show the mounds of dirt that were made and later hauled away by crews after the powerful storm Hilary swamped a Cathedral City neighborhood with mud.
Photos from Nov. 6, left, and Nov. 15 of 2023 show the mounds of dirt that were made and later hauled away by crews after the powerful storm Hilary swamped a Cathedral City neighborhood with mud.

Last year, Cathedral City expected it to cost $4 million or more to remove debris left behind by Hilary, a major storm that devastated part of its Panorama neighborhood by burying it under several feet of mud in August.

But the city recently announced some welcome news: The removal cost less than half that much. That leaves almost $2.9 million, some of which will pay for other public services and some of which will go to city reserves.

In September, city council members green lit a contract to remove debris for $3,967,966.80, with a 15% contingency of $595,195.20 to pay for any cost overruns. But City Manager Charlie McClendon said at the time that the cost could be less since the price is calculated per cubic yard.

This ended up being the case, with the removal costing $1,681,813 and leaving the city with $2,881,349 left over.

About $1.7 million of that will go to pay for needs including additional overtime in the fire department, contract support for plan check and inspections, clean-up of homeless encampments, CalPERS unfunded liabilities, and the repair and maintenance of public art, said Ryan Hunt, the city's communication and events manager. The other $1.2 million will go back to the city’s reserves, he added.

The leftover cleanup money will only cover those extra costs this year, so to pay for them next year, the city council voted in late April to authorize a spending increase of $396,000 in the upcoming 2024-25 fiscal year. The bulk of that, $250,000, will go to ambulance operator overtime, with another $70,000 to clean up homeless encampments.

Also, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services are expected to provide some reimbursement to the city for the debris removal, but Hunt said this has yet to be approved.

A city worker surveys the mud damage on Horizon Road in Cathedral City on August 22, 2023.
A city worker surveys the mud damage on Horizon Road in Cathedral City on August 22, 2023.

Ani Gasparyan covers the western Coachella Valley cities of Desert Hot Springs and Cathedral City. Reach her at ani.gasparyan@desertsun.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Cathedral City saves $2.9 million on mud cleanup post-Hilary