Fourth District Update December 2019

 Met with the owners of Vallarta Hispanic Grocery Store for the lease signing of the Jackson Street store in Indio. Remodeling work has begun on the 60K square foot site which is slated to open in late March 2020. This will be a $5M capital investment and has plans to employ over 100 people. Workforce Development will conduct a “job fair” and provide possible On the Job Training services.  Met with the owner of Robledo Winery from Sonoma who wants to bring his line of fine wines to Riverside County. A follow up meeting will be scheduled with the company executives in December 2019.  Facilitated and attended the joint newly formed Blythe Chamber of Commerce and Palo Verde Valley Economic Alliance Meeting in Blythe. Great progress is being made with new business outreach and city cleanup efforts. The Alliance “Wings” project located at the Community Center is finished and attracting outside of the area visitors.  Met with the Lundin Development Group and the Denny’s restaurant chain representative at the new site at Washington Street and Avenue of the States in Palm Desert. The EVC originally worked with the parties to fill the site with the restaurant when a “drive thru” Starbucks project fell through. There will also be a small strip center located behind the Denny’s. Construction fencing is up and construction is scheduled for December.  Attended the annual CVEP Economic Forecast Summit at the Palm Springs Convention Center.  Coordinated, planned, and attended the RC AG/Summit at UCR Palm Desert. This year’s event concentrated on “real time” agricultural issues. Highlights include: 1. A presentation by the California Secretary of Agriculture and; 2. A panel presentation from agricultural industry experts including Riverside County Ag Commissioner Ruben Arroyo discussing topics affecting the industry.  Facilitated and attended the Eastern Coachella Valley Business Alliance Meeting at Fantasy Springs Resort. Sunline Transit Authority made a presentation focused on the future of transit in the Eastern Coachella Valley.  Attended the monthly Growing Coachella Valley Board of Directors meeting as the RC representative member.  Met with a development group of land owners at the Bermuda Dunes Airport who are interested in planning and building out the available land surrounding the Bermuda Dunes Airport. The ED team will be working closely with them to navigate the RC planning process. The next meeting is scheduled for the first week of December.  Worked with Workforce Development on the follow-up to the recent K-Mart closure Rapid Response program and interviewed 23 candidates eligible for services and forwarded them to program assistance.  Worked with the French Rotisserie Café and their plans to open a new site in Palm Desert. Workforce Development will be brought in to offer a mini-job fair and possible OJT services.  Participated in the Workforce Development OJT process for 3 job positions at Buzzbox International.

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