City of Cathedral City Wins Prestigious 2026 Helen Putnam Award for Excellence

The Dream Homes neighborhood waited decades for a park. When it finally came, more than 1,000 residents had a hand in designing it.

The City of Cathedral City has received a 2026 Helen Putnam Award for Excellence from the League of California Cities, the organization's most prestigious award for city government, recognizing Esperanza Park and the decade of community engagement that shaped it.

The award was presented Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026, at the Cal Cities Annual Conference & Expo in Anaheim. Cathedral City was honored in the category of Enhancing Public Trust, Ethics, and Community Involvement - one of 12 cities recognized statewide. The program draws entries from cities across California each year; the 2025 winners were selected from 202 submissions, up from 184 in 2024 and 142 in 2023.

Councilmembers Rita Lamb, Nancy Ross and Christina Gordon accepted the award on the city's behalf, joined by Assistant Engineer Andres Perez, who managed the Esperanza Park project from concept through construction.

"It takes courage to invest in a neighborhood that has waited too long, and trust that the work being done today will lift this community tomorrow," said Mayor Raymond Gregory. "Esperanza Park is what that looks like. Parks like this one transform lives."

Dream Homes is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Cathedral City and in the Coachella Valley. For decades it had nearly everything a community needs except a place to gather, and children played in the street while playgrounds opened in other parts of town.

"This park started from a blank slate," said Public Works Director John Corella. "Residents sat down and told us what they wanted, and a decade later that is what got built - not a version of it. There were stretches where nobody could say where the funding would come from, and this neighborhood never once wavered."

When planning began, the city ran into a problem familiar to local governments across California: traditional outreach kept drawing the same faces. Retirees, homeowners and residents with free evenings came to community meetings. The working parents and young children who would actually use a park stayed home. Then the pandemic closed in-person meetings entirely, just as the design phase began.

So the city went where the community already was - school. Working with Agua Caliente Elementary School, staff folded park planning into the school's distance-learning schedule. For eight days, students in grades one through five spent part of each day discussing what belonged in a park. Teachers led the sessions. Parents listened from kitchen tables. City staff shared design concepts over video calls and gathered feedback through online surveys and social media.

More than 1,000 comments came back - far more than any workshop in a community room had produced, and from precisely the households the city had been missing.

"The best ideas in that park came from the neighborhood itself," said City Manager Andrew Firestine. "Once the conversation moved into classrooms and living rooms, participation went up tenfold. That changed how we think about reaching people, and we have carried it into other projects since."

What those families asked for is what was built. Large and small dog parks. Soccer and basketball. Shade throughout, because a desert park without shade is a park no one visits in July. Cultural details reflecting the neighborhood's heritage. And a connection to the CV Link regional pathway, so residents can reach the park without a car.

The name came from the neighborhood, too. Members of the city's Parks and Community Events Commission went door to door collecting suggestions. Surveys went to every household, with drop boxes at City Hall and the public library. Students, teachers and the principal at Agua Caliente Elementary weighed in. Nearly 500 responses came back, and one word kept surfacing: esperanza - hope.

"This is something that they want, and it's come full circle through hope," said Evett PerezGil, a Dream Homes resident who also represents the Desert Healthcare District. "Through hope of a community that has been able to stick together and build resiliency."

The 7.5-acre park opened May 22, 2025, at a total cost of $11.6 million. Roughly $8.5 million came from California's Statewide Park Program, secured with the help of then-Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia, with the city funding the remaining $3.1 million. A partnership with the Desert Recreation District, made possible after voters approved Measure W with 74% support, keeps programming running year-round.

Helen Putnam winners are given a booth in the Partners Village at the conference expo, where attendees can learn about each program directly from the people who built it. Director of Communications & Engagement Ryan Hunt and Assistant Engineer Andres Perez are staffing Booth 266 through Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, walking officials from cities across California through Cathedral City's engagement model and distributing a step-by-step guide other cities can adapt for their own neighborhoods.

The work has also continued at home. In 2026 the city launched Esperanza Rising, a four-part community art and culture series on the park grounds funded through Arts in California Parks - one of 30 projects selected from more than 200 applicants statewide. Rooted in Hope, a 30-foot mural by Coachella Valley artist Autumn Martino, was chosen by a vote of Dream Homes residents from 58 concepts and painted by neighbors this month. It will be unveiled Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026, at the final event in the series.

About the Helen Putnam Award for Excellence

Established in 1982 and named for the League of California Cities' first female president, who also served as mayor of Petaluma, the Helen Putnam Award for Excellence recognizes innovative solutions by city governments that deliver measurable results. It is given annually in 12 categories. Winners are honored at the Cal Cities Annual Conference & Expo, featured in Western City magazine, and recognized at their own city council meetings.

About the City of Cathedral City

Cathedral City is the second-largest city in the Coachella Valley, serving more than 52,000 residents. With a thriving downtown arts and entertainment district, diverse and inclusive community, and year-round events, Cathedral City is one of the region's fastest-growing communities. The City continues to invest in housing, economic development, public safety and quality-of-life improvements. For more information, please visit cathedralcity.gov for city services and meeting agendas or discovercathedralcity.com for news, events, and attractions.