Indio City Council adjourns to closed session over 4.22-acre property negotiation and possible litigation

The Indio City Council convened Feb. 4 and promptly adjourned into closed session to discuss two items on its agenda: real property negotiations concerning a 4.22-acre parcel listed by APN in the agenda and the potential initiation of litigation under a cited provision of the Government Code.

According to the agenda read into the record, Item 3.1 concerns negotiations over a 4.22-acre portion of property identified by the APN as printed in the agenda and described as located on Avenue 43 and an east-side street. The agenda lists the negotiating parties as the City of Indio, City Manager Brian H. Montgomery and Indio Northgate LLC; the city said price and terms are “under negotiation.”

Item 3.2 was announced as a conference with legal counsel regarding the possible initiation of litigation under the Government Code citation read aloud; the agenda stated there is one potential case. The council did not disclose details of the subject matter of the potential litigation during the public session.

Before adjourning to closed session, the presiding officer opened the public comment period for items not on the agenda and staff reported there were no public comments. No formal motions or votes were taken in the public portion of the meeting; the council recessed into closed session to consider the two items as posted.

Short remarks were made during roll call and at the opening of the meeting; no substantive discussion of the closed-session items occurred in the public record. The council’s next publicly stated step was the adjournment to closed session, at which time discussion and any actions on the listed items would occur out of public view in accordance with state law.