Cathedral City has endured some difficulties over the last decade, often caused by Mother Nature—first and foremost the 2019 Valentine’s Day flash flood and 2023’s Tropical Storm Hilary, both of which caused extensive infrastructure damage in the city.
On the other hand, there have been numerous community improvements, including the development of the city’s downtown Festival Lawn, and the neighboring Cathedral City Community Amphitheater. These spaces now host some of Coachella Valley’s most popular annual traditions, including the Cathedral City International Hot Air Balloon Festival, and the annual Taste of Jalisco festival. In recent years, residents have enjoyed new open spaces and amenities in the Ocotillo and Esperanza parks, and increased public safety resulting from the new fire station at Date Palm Drive and Buddy Rogers Avenue.
The man who’s overseen all of these projects over the past 11 years is City Manager Charles (or Charlie, as he prefers to be called) McClendon. He recently announced his retirement, and his final day on the job will be Sept. 19.
During a recent interview with the Independent, we asked McClendon which accomplishments brought him the most satisfaction.
“In the area of public works, I would say the new park projects that we got built,” he said. “We built and opened Ocotillo Park and, most recently, Esperanza Park. Also, we built and opened the community amphitheater, and being able to see people enjoy those facilities is very, very satisfying.”
Of course, he did not remember the aforementioned storms fondly—especially Tropical Storm Hilary, which brought a mud flow into the Panorama Park neighborhood.
“I felt like we had done a good job preparing for rain and the things that we normally experience when a rainstorm comes,” McClendon said. “We had sandbags available, and we put out barricades … but what actually occurred was unprecedented. I think our first responders did a great job getting out there quickly and making sure that people were safe. … Our fire department had to get creative and actually use equipment from (sanitation company) Burrtec to help. Then we had to deal with what the expectations were, in terms of what the appropriate city response should be.”
McClendon said the storm was a learning experience.
“There are still those who would say that we didn’t do a good enough job on that, and we’ve spent a lot of time over the last year revising our emergency operations plan to make sure we are adequately prepared,” McClendon said. “But I feel like our departments, from top to bottom, dedicated themselves to solving that problem and addressing the issues that happened. All the streets are rebuilt now. We’re working with the feds on the final piece, which is rebuilding Date Palm Drive from Interstate 10 down to 30th Street.”
As for the most difficult deals to close, McClendon mentioned two: the restoration of bridges on Ramon Road, Date Palm Drive and Cathedral Canyon Drive; and the recently finalized agreement with the Desert Recreation District (DRD) to maintain six city parks and offer programming.
He said the bridge projects involved securing rights-of-way and arranging for Cathedral City’s portion of the funding for the projects.
“On the Ramon Road Bridge, we had to work with the city of Palm Springs,” he said. “It’s really their project. The Date Palm and Cathedral Canyon bridges were ours. But anytime you’re dealing with federal funding, you have to follow all the requirements that are necessary to get it. Now, fortunately, I had staff in public works who handled most of the detail on that.”
While it may have required a sizeable investment of time and energy to finalize the DRD parks deal, it is already adding value to the quality of life of Cathedral City’s residents, particularly families, McClendon said. According to the Desert Recreation District website, the agency “is the largest park and recreation district in California, covering 1,887 square miles and serving over 432,000 residents across the greater Coachella Valley. Our mission is to work closely with municipalities to ensure that every community, regardless of economic status, has access to quality recreation services. DRD manages and maintains more than 49 parks and recreation facilities, offering a wide range of programs, services and classes.”
McClendon called the partnership with DRD “really, really important and really valuable.”
“I’m really, really proud that we got that put in place,” he said. “We had no parks and recreation program. We had parks, and we maintained them the best we could with our crews, which were mainly people who worked on streets most of the time, but we had … recreation classes and no recreational events that we could offer to the community. Now we’re able to do that. Already, even over the summer, we’ve had two or three events that the DRD put on. There’s going to be a full slate of events and classes that our residents can take advantage of starting this fall.”
McClendon said the advantages of the partnership for Cathedral City residents extend beyond the city limits.
“Being part of the DRD, our residents can take advantage of the DRD programs wherever they are within the district at the district resident rate, which is much less costly than having to pay the full freight,” he said.
The City Council in May 2017 voted 3-2 in favor of becoming a “sanctuary city.” Since then, McClendon has worked to support and protect the rights of undocumented residents living within its boundaries. Even today, with the federal administration’s opposition to sanctuary jurisdictions, McClendon said he believes strongly in Cathedral City’s ongoing responsibility to those undocumented residents.
“In practical terms, the 2017 resolution just formalized what our policies already were, and what state law requires cities’ policies to be,” McClendon said. “That is, we don’t assist federal officials in terms of immigration enforcement, but neither do we interfere … which we’re not allowed to do by law. … I don’t believe how we’re operating is inconsistent with the requirements of law.”
Cathedral City also has a long history of recognizing and embracing the contributions of its LGBTQ+ community. McClendon said the city should continue to value LGBTQ+ rights, despite the Trump administration’s opposition to all things “woke.”
“We’re not a wealthy city. We’re not awash in cash. Our residents look to neighboring cities, which often are wealthier than we are, and they expect the same type of services. It’s really a challenge for us to do that in a fiscally responsible manner.”
Charlie MCClendon, Cathedral City’s City Manager
“A significant portion of our community identifies as LGBTQ+,” McClendon said, “and we have a number of events and other activities that help champion our commitment to equality in that regard. I certainly support that continuing, and I believe it will.”
As McClendon entered his final days on the job, he reflected on the issues facing Cathedral City and its 52,000-plus residents.
“I think the most serious issues for us, and really for any city, continue to be providing the services that the people of our community want and deserve, in a financially responsible manner,” McClendon said. “We’re not a wealthy city. We’re not awash in cash. Our residents look to neighboring cities, which often are wealthier than we are, and they expect the same type of services. It’s really a challenge for us to do that in a fiscally responsible manner. We have not, and we are not, going to mortgage the future (of the city) to do it.”
McClendon said the most personal impact the job has had on him is the fact that when he’s in the city, he’s never “off-duty.”
“That can be from small, simple things—like if I’m driving to the grocery store, and I notice that a traffic signal is on flash mode, and I’ve got to get somebody to go take care of that—to the much bigger things, like worrying about whether we have our police positions filled adequately to where we can provide necessary protection,” he said. “It’s always thinking about those details and, to an extent, worrying that we need to do what the community expects us to do.”
What will stay with McClendon as he moves on to the next phase of his life?
“I think the fondest memories will be of the relationships that I’ve developed with people in the community,” he said. “That’s through our boards and commissions, through some ad-hoc study committees that I’ve worked with people on, and just regular day-to-day interactions. I expect I’ll continue to benefit from that, because I run into people almost everywhere I go that I’ve had some relationship with in the city. That’s very rewarding.”
McClendon said he plans to remain in the area during his retirement.
“Initially, I’m just going to take some time to relax and refresh,” he said. “I will, I’m sure, in the upcoming months and years, find places where I can apply my skills and abilities to benefit the community in a different way than as city manager.”
Will he still be calling Cathedral City’s traffic department when he sees blinking signals?
“I will,” he said with a laugh. “I have them on speed dial.”
As a 20+Cathedral City resident, i vomited when i read your story about the corrupt & incompetent Charlies retirement. This city has become a hellhole of incompetence, immorality, & horrible decisions. I cant think of a single thing Mr McClendon has done to improve my or my familys life. Lawsuits, scandals, & embarrasement is more like it. Shame on your paper