Come meet the Mayor and City Council and celebrate Palm Springs neighborhoods and all the wonderful things that make our City a great place to live, work and play when the Palm Springs Neighborhood Involvement Committee, (PSNIC), hosts its 4th annual Neighborhood Picnic & Expo on Saturday, May 7 at Sunrise Park.

Come meet your neighbors and city officials at this fun-filled picnic and BBQ, driven entirely by a group of hard working volunteers, said Mayor Steve Pougnet.

Notice the "and BBQ" phrase that I've underlined. According to Lee Bonno, Director of Neighborhood and Community relations, "lunch is free to Palm Springs residents who live within one of our 26 organized neighborhoods or those who we are working with to organize their neighborhoods".  It appears the Mayor's BBQ invitation wasn't really meant for everyone.

The Palm Springs Neighborhood Involvement Committee (PSNIC) is an official city organization created to foster better communications between "organized" neighborhoods and city departments and officials. PSNIC has amassed considerable political clout and evidence of that includes their recent Town Hall meeting regarding the proposed Whitewater Jail Facility. A free BBQ probably counts as additional evidence of their favored status. Those who live in one of the 26 organized neighborhoods clearly represent the chosen elite among city residents. Realtors should probably add that note to their property listings.

PSNIC doesn't represent a majority of the residents and homeowners, and extremely few Homeowner Associations (HOA) are part of the group. But that hasn't deterred Palm Springs officials from according PSNIC neighborhoods the red carpet treatment. That raises a few relationship questions in need of answers including: (1) Should the City of Palm Springs be sponsoring an organization designed to serve the needs of an elite segment of the community; (2) Should the City of Palm Springs be sponsoring free BBQ picnics for a favored group of residents; and (3) Is it an appropriate use of taxpayer funds to sponsor PSNIC activities and events?

Bond Shands
Palm Springs

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