ON THE AGENDA: Twentynine Palms City Council, May 27, 2025
Presentations from nonprofits, a City Manager's salary increase, budget reports, and more...
This upcoming Tuesday, May 27, 2025, the Twentynine Palms City Council will hold a workshop at 5:15 pm on “Nonprofit Grant Applicant Presentations,” followed by a regularly scheduled meeting at 6 pm in which they will hear an abundance of presentations, consider a 2.5% pay raise for the City Manager, receive more two-year preliminary budget reports, and then adjourn to closed session in which they will, yet again, cover the City Manager’s Public Employees Performance Evaluation.
The 252-page agenda packet is linked here, and coverage of the May 13 City Council meeting is available here. Coverage of the May 19 closed session is forthcoming.
WORKSHOP
1. 2025/2026 Nonprofit Grant Applicant Workshop Presentations
The lengthy agenda packet is due in part to the inclusion of full grant applications from 11 nonprofit organizations competing for a pot of $50,000 in funding. In a first for the City, all applications are followed by vetting performed by Community Services and Parks and Recreation Director Kary Minatrea. The staff report asks Council to be actively engaged as the applicants present their proposals:
The City Council open the applicant presentations, actively listen and engage by asking questions regarding the organizations’ programs, services and funding requests.
The staff report is vague as to whether a Council vote will be taken to allocate funding in the workshop which is taking place prior to the meeting and is not listed as a discussion and action item. While public comment is mandatory per the Brown Act, it’s unclear where that will take place in workshop.
Desert Trumpet has been advocating for the City to vet nonprofit organizations prior to their making presentations to City Council for several months. We are pleased to see the City listening. However, a few applications that would appear to have failed the vetting process are still included in the presentation list. We take a further look into these organizations.
Below is a summary of the applications that appeared to pass the vetting requirements and the three that have issues:
Organizations that passed vetting:
The Hope Center / Community Learning Equipping Project, Inc.: $10,000 to add literacy and financial management programs, strengthen community outreach and offer personal and professional development opportunities.
Girls on The Run: $10,000 to enhance physical and mental health through running based exercise for girls in the 3rd - 8th grades, funds go toward hiring coaches and other expenses needed to bring the program to Twentynine Palms.
Ready4Reading Book Club / High Desert Community Foundation: $3,000 to assist students at Oasis and Palm Vista Elementary, two schools with low test scores, by ensuring they have books during school breaks.
Inspiration's Edge: $10,000 to fund bringing a mobile stage to communities where live theater isn’t otherwise accessible, partnering with local organizations and offering extensive ticket discounts.
Morongo Basin Unity Home: $16,000 to pay for the replacement of the septic tank at the shelter, where survivors of domestic abuse and their children reside.
Reach Out Morongo Basin: $20,000 to support senior activities at the Senior Center and underwrite the assisted transportation program.
The 29 Palms Community Food Pantry: $30,000 for emergency food services for community members who are not able to meet their basic food needs. While their DOJ Charitable Registry document still indicates delinquency, it also includes a letter dated September 2024 stating that the delinquency has cleared plus submissions of 990 Tax Returns that specify a correction was accepted. As we reported in March, it is likely the cleared suspension is still processing in the DOJ system.
Theatre 29: $20,000 to improve the quality of live productions while sustaining and improving aging infrastructure.
Organizations with vetting issues:
29-PSP: $3,800 to support complimentary transportation for active duty military and their families for traveling while on leave between the 29 Palms Marine Base and Palm Springs and Ontario airports. Vetting issue: All nonprofits are required to register with the DOJ Registry of Charitable trusts — 29-PSP has yet to register.
29 Palms 29ers: $6,970 for “annual events” and “community engagement.” Vetting issue: All nonprofits are required to register with the DOJ Registry of Charitable trusts — 29 Palms 29ers has yet to register.
Molding Hearts: $10,000 to provide support to those struggling with addiction, mental health and homelessness, including individuals in 29 Palms, through housing and support services. Vetting issue: Molding Hearts has not cleared the delinquency with the Department of Justice (DOJ) Registry of Charitable Trusts that we reported on March 16. It appears 990 returns were submitted and rejected as incomplete. This is likely due to Molding Hearts’ filing returns with blank balance sheets, making those returns incomplete.
Why do balance sheets matter? A balance sheet shows all the assets and liabilities of a business. In other words, the amount of money in the bank and owed debts against those funds. On their 2023 990 return, the most current return available publicly, Molding Hearts reported $92,117 in excess income, and a zero balance in their bank account, zero assets and zero liabilities. So who has $92,117? Where did it go?
Per a March 3 email to the Desert Trumpet from the California Attorney General’s Press Office, “Generally, a charitable organization’s registration must be in good standing to operate; delinquent organizations are not in good standing and may not solicit or disburse charitable funds. (Code Cal. Regs., tit. 11, section 312.)”
PUBLIC COMMENT
You can comment on agenda items and issues important to you at every City Council meeting. Comments on agenda items take place during discussion of that item, while comments on non-agenda items take place near the end of the meeting. The Brown Act prevents Council from commenting on non-agenda items. To comment, just pick up a green or gold form at the entry desk, fill it out, and hand it to the Clerk, who usually sits just in front of the Council bench toward the right.
Here's the list of Council email addresses to write if you can't get to the meeting — be sure to email by 2 pm on the date of the meeting so they have time to read your email prior to discussion. You can also copy the clerk at cvillescas@29palms.org and ask that your letter be made part of the public record, although lately the Mayor has opted to summarize or skip reading emailed comments.
AWARDS, PRESENTATIONS, APPOINTMENTS AND PROCLAMATIONS
Twentynine Palms High School TASHA, Teens Against Sexual Harassment and Assault, Club will be commended for their participation in the Cash for Trash and Recycling Program followed by a presentation from Southern California Edison. Followed by a presentation from the Finance Director on City Grant Funding agreements (reviewed below), two community events grants recipients—Friends of the Twentynine Palms Library and Mil-Tree Veteran’s non profit—will present on events they hosted recently that were sponsored by the City of Twentynine Palms.
4. Grant Funding Agreement Presentation
To improve transparency and accountability and to manage its budget, the City’s Finance Department created a new policy for grant recipients. Anyone receiving City funds must report how the money is used—if they do not follow the rules, they won’t be eligible for future grants.
The City wants to see that projects are finished on time, unused funds are returned, and reports show clear results. However, some rules only apply to nonprofits, even though individuals and businesses can also receive grants. For example, checking nonprofit status doesn’t apply to everyone. Recipients must submit detailed reports within four weeks and keep records for three years.
This presentation is merely informational—no City Council action is necessary at this time.
CONSENT CALENDAR
The Consent Calendar consists of routine items usually approved with a single vote. The public is given a chance to make public comment on these items prior to the Council motion. Again, fill out a comment form if you wish to address any of the items on this meeting’s Consent Calendar
Items on the Consent Calendar include approval of last meeting’s minutes and the City’s Appropriation’s Limit for Fiscal Year ‘25-’261. This is mandated by the State via Proposition 13, and requires municipalities to set limits the amount of tax revenue they can spend within a given year.
PUBLIC HEARING
9. Ancillary Activities, Businesses, and Entertainment
This item amends a portion of Article 5 of the City development code and also creates a new and separate code. Talks started in September 2024 with a discussion on entertainment permits, and has slowly evolved over time to include ancillary business activities, special event entertainment permits, and more. The Desert Trumpet took a closer look at this Development Code Amendment in our April 15, 2025 Planning Commission agenda preview.
Planning Commissioners, Community Development Director Keith Gardner, and business owners have been hashing out this policy over the last nine months, which has also included study sessions, workshops, and City Council discussion.
Set definitions for terms like "Live Entertainment,” “Ancillary Live Entertainment,” “Ancillary Commercial Activities,” “Live Entertainment Venue,” and “Live Entertainment Special Event” were approved by Planning Commissioners at their April 15 meeting, but no set figure was determined for the cost of these ancillary activity licenses and event permitting fees at that time.
Community Development Director Keith Gardner is suggesting a permit start-up fee of $550 that gets tacked on to business licenses:
Instead of a land use permit, the City would implement a licensing program whereas Live Entertainment would be added to an existing business license. Based on assumptions on the number of hours it would take to process the application, along with two safety inspections a year, the application fees are proposed to be $550, with annual renewals at $380.
The staff report claims this Development Code modification “will ease the burden on small businesses” and “facilitate economic development by helping Twentynine Palms become more of an arts and entertainment destination.”2
At the April 15 Planning Commission meeting, business owner and Secretary of the Downtown Business Association, or Rediscover 29, Sara Lyons emphasized the importance of fees being affordable for businesses, suggesting the City grant businesses a grace period during the slow summer season before requiring the payment of new fees.
City Councilmembers will vote on whether or not to accept this amendment as proposed.
DISCUSSION AND POTENTIAL ACTION ITEMS
10. Preliminary 2-Year Project Phoenix Funds and Sewer Fund Budgets FY 2025-26 & 2026-27
This suggested two-year budget for the Project Phoenix Funds and Sewer Fund is part of wider budgetary discussions the City is holding prior to the new ‘25-’26 Fiscal Year. The final budget must be approved by Council before July 1.
With a balance of $1.1 million is the Project Phoenix affordable housing fund. This was required as part of the Project Phoenix revitalization project . These dollars, which remain untouched and are specifically earmarked for affordable housing.
The Project Phoenix Housing fund has a fund balance of $1.1M which is comprised of $660K from bond proceed reserves and $456K from the sale of the hotel property at Project Phoenix and related accumulated interest. These funds can only be used to fund affordable housing efforts, including legal fees associated with the projects.
According to the report, the City needs $100,000 in matching funds for a long-requested United States Geological Survey (USGS) study that would determine the overall quality of the Twentynine Palms water table, presence of potential septic permeation on groundwater sources, and feasibility or necessity of a Citywide sewer and wastewater system.
11. Preliminary Two-Year Special Revenue Funds Budget for Fiscal Year 2025-26 & 2026-27
According to the Finance Department, “Special Funds are established to collect money that must be used for a specific project or purpose.”
The 36-page preliminary report is available here. Major projects set to take place this year are the Hatch/Sullivan Road Bike Path, Split Rock Bridge project, and the widening of Cholla Avenue. These projects are funded via state and federal grants and Measure I funds, a half-cent sales tax first approved by San Bernardino County voters in 1989 for infrastructure and transportation improvements.
12. First Amendment to City Manager Employment Agreement
After discussing this topic in various closed sessions since March 11 of this year and pulling the agenda item from the last meeting, Council has placed finalizing the reappointment of the City Manager back on their docket.
The City is considering a 2.5% salary increase for City Manager Herbert Stone James. Unlike James’s predecessor, Frank Luckino, the Council is also considering allowing James to cash-in unused administrative leave time.
Right now, James has an annual base salary of $176,425.60 not including benefits, which was negotiated into his first employment contract dated March 26, 2024.
If the 2.5% increase is approved, the City Manager will receive $180,836.24 with an additional 2.5% cost of living adjustment based on the new salary amount in July resulting in an total increase to $185,357.15, not including benefits. The cost of living adjustment is applicable to all staff.
James’s contract was signed in March 2024. City Staff is recommending this contract amendment be applied retroactively to March 26, 2025, the anniversary of that start date, so that back pay will received by the City Manager.
This salary increase consideration follows a presentation at the last City Council meeting where City Finance Director Abigail Hernandez Conde warned Council about increased administrative staffing costs, and projected the City’s budget surplus to decrease significantly over a two-year period.
Justifying the City Manager salary increase, the staff report prepared by the City Clerk states the following:
Note that the City Manager’s salary is currently the lowest of all city managers in San Bernardino County. Implementing the Personnel Subcommittee’s recommendation would bring the City Manager’s salary more in line with salaries for his position in the County.
The staff report does not mention James is a first-time City Manager, which may account for that difference. After his first year as City Manager, James’s predecessor Frank Luckino received a total salary increase of only $2,745 and decreased the amount of personal benefits withdrawn from the City each year until resigning from the position after eight years in 2023.
Also within Luckino’s contract was the stipulation— “Accrued but unused administrative/personal leave may not be rolled over to the next year and may not be sold back to the City.”
According to U.S. Census data estimates for 2024, the average per capita income in Twentynine Palms is $29,241, nearly $4,000 less than the Countywide average of $33,180.
FUTURE COUNCIL-INITIATED ITEMS
Discussion on the General Plan Update.
Shade structures around Freedom Plaza and a possible art fixture with "Freedom Plaza" announcing the location.
Discussion on abandoned homes in the community.
Discussion on reorganizing the Homeless and Housing Committee.
Discussion on partnering with the Boys and Girls Club.
Discussion on reviewing policies for non-profits who receive funding from the City.
Discussion of a policy regulating the use of City Attorney resources.
Discussion on Reach Out Yucca Valley.
Discussion on exploring a partnership with Jamboree for affordable housing.
Maintained Roads vs. Non-Maintained Roads
Discussion on exploring a partnership with Neighborhood Partnership Housing Services (NPHS) for an owner-occupied rehab program.
ADJOURN TO CLOSED SESSION
PUBLIC EMPLOYEES PERFORMANCE EVALUATION, CITY MANAGER
Any public comment on Closed Session items will be taken before the Closed Session.
The last closed session on the City Manager’s public employee’s performance evaluation took place Monday morning, May 19. The Council had nothing to report following the session’s adjournment.
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“The appropriation limit for Fiscal Year 2025-26 should be set at $83,739,276 which is above the City's projected appropriations for FY 2025-26” (Staff report).