ON THE AGENDA: Twentynine Palms City Council Meeting, Tuesday, November 12, 2024
Trash abatement, non-profits, and the unhoused are on this week's City Council agenda.
This Tuesday, November 12, 2024, the Twentynine Palms City Council is set to meet with a packed 15-item agenda. The entire 347-page agenda is linked here. Agenda highlights include a proposal to address the local homelessness situation, a potential City partnership with a religious nonprofit, updates to the Theater 29 lease agreement, updates on a local property abatement, and more.
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 them prior to 2 p.m. 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.
AWARDS, PRESENTATIONS, APPOINTMENTS, AND PROCLAMATIONS
Following an invocation by Reverend Casey Orndorf of First Assembly of God Church, the meeting will kick off with a series of presentations, including an update by Reach Out Yucca Valley on their current projects, a recap of 29 Dines event and Restaurant Week organized by Terence Latimer, and a presentation by Suzy Dick of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints on an upcoming crèche festival. “Crèche festivals” are typically held in December with themes of nativity and religious connotation, with displays depicting the birth of Jesus Christ.
Financial Audit Report. Council will then be presented with the City’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) for FY 2023-24 and Audit of Federal Awards.
The 166-page financial audit is a lot to chew on for anyone lacking an accounting or finance degree. Some key takeaways from the report include:
For FY 23-24 the City of Twentynine Palms had a general fund balance of $11,103,632, which is well within operating parameters for current general fund expenditures.
This last fiscal year, the City saw an increase in the General Fund of approximately $416,000 as a direct result of increased property tax assessments. Some properties increased in assessed value, which meant their property taxes to the City increased.
The City spent $2 million more this year than last year, with a large chunk of that money going toward a revamped San Bernardino County Sheriff’s contract, remodeling of Luckie Park pool, employee benefits, and cost of living adjustments for City staff.
Presentation by the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department on the new Flock Camera system. San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department has recently contracted with Flock Safety for implementation of a license-plate reading camera system. Flock Safety also contracts with Redlands and Upland police departments. Their surveillance tech can track vehicles traveling at excessive speeds and creates a driver profile, or a unique thumbprint, for each vehicle it detects, regardless of whether a car has a license plate attached to it or not. The technology is also purchasable by the average citizen, adding a sense of big-brotherly security to certain neighborhoods, private properties, and HOA communities as cars coming and going on two-lane street roadways get their activity logged. The tech is used by police departments to deter and investigate crimes and pinpoint vehicle activity in areas of interest.
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.
Routine consent calendar items include approval of the City’s Warrant Register (to the tune of $919,200.54) and minutes from the previous two City Council meetings (September 24 and October 22.) Other items highlighted on the consent calendar include:
10. Modify the Theatre 29 License Agreement to Allow the City to Assume Responsibility for Routine Maintenance and Minor Repairs of the Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning Systems.
This consent calendar item seeks to clarify overlapping language that exists in the City’s license agreement with Theatre 29. Currently, the City of Twentynine Palms, which owns the building, leases the Sullivan Road property to Theatre 29 for $1. There is conflicting language in the agreement with regards to the maintenance and upkeep of the building’s air conditioning system. This authorizes the City Attorney and City Manager to clarify this licensing agreement language so the City is solely responsible for maintenance, upkeep, and replacement of the A/C units and not the “Licensee,” Theatre 29. A copy of the license agreement, first drafted in 2006, is attached in the staff report.
11. Award the Cholla Avenue Widening Project.
12. Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Community Leaning [sic] Equipping Project Inc. (CLEP)
“The City Council approve the Memorandum of Understanding with the Community Learning Equipping Project Inc. (CLEP), otherwise known as the "the Hope Center." This organization is the non-profit branch of the Sanctuary Church.”
As part of the national Inflation Reduction Act, the Environmental Protection Agency is offering $2 billion in federal grant money to “disadvantaged communities through projects that reduce pollution, increase community climate resilience, and build community capacity to address environmental and climate justice challenges.”1 To qualify for this EPA grant, the City must partner with a “community based nonprofit,” per the grant guidelines and has a grant application deadline of November 21, 2024.
The grant was first proposed in April 2024 by Women of Color Global 29, a local nonprofit that hosts the annual Juneteenth celebration in Twentynine Palms, to construct a climate resiliency center on a City-owned parcel within the Project Phoenix area. With $20 million in grant funding available, in the wake of Hurricane Hilary, but prior to unprecedented flash flooding this monsoon season and monumental heatwaves, WOCG 29 proposed the City partner with them and use the grant monies to build a climate resilience center, including use of solar-powered Climate Emergency Resiliency vans. When the proposal returned to the Council in May, the City opted to move forward with pursuing the grant but did not commit to coordinating with WOCG 29 as a nonprofit partner due to issues with their State filing requirements. Now the EPA grant is on the discussion board again, abandoning the original proposal of climate resiliency and with a different non-profit partner in mind.
The Community Learning Equipping Project Inc. is the official name for the Sanctuary Church Hope Center, the religious based nonprofit wing of the Twentynine Palms church, located at 4751 Adobe Road. According to Find Food Bank, the organization offers food distribution services every Tuesday from 5 to 6 pm. Aside from food distribution service hours listed, their website also boasts a religious studies program as well as Christian counseling services.
According to the staff report, the City hopes to use this grant funding to complete the remainder of the Channel Trail project and build a new 5,000 square foot “Resilience Center” that CLEP will operate. The Memorandum of Understanding, which sets the terms for the City’s partnership with the religious nonprofit, states:
Within this center will be classrooms in which CLEP may conduct their activities. Computers, office supplies, desks, and other materials would be provided by the City and funded by the grant.
Listed in the MOU are services CLEP would provide to disadvantaged community members if awarded this EPA grant including:
Financial literacy classes
Job training
Parental training classes
Food and school supply distribution
As required by law, 990 tax forms filed by the CLEP nonprofit organization are available for years 2015 through 2018. Currently, per the IRS Website, because the organization reports less than $50,000 in annual revenue, the organization now files postcards which fulfill the 990 IRS requirement but lack financial details. CLEP has not filed with the California Department of Justice State Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, which is required should the organization have charitable assets such as cash in a bank account or non-cash donations such as food.2 This makes it unclear if CLEP has assets or if the Sanctuary Church is funding the Hope Center’s activities listed in the staff report, which cites “a proven record of conducting self-help classes, distributing school supplies to needy students, and other worthwhile activities.”
PUBLIC HEARING
13. Adopt Resolution 24- __ Confirming the Costs of Abating a Vacant Parcel APN: 0624-161-19-0000, Full of Trash, Debris, Abandoned Motorhome, an Illegal Dumping Ground that was Declared a Public Nuisance and Cleaned under the Direction of the Planning Commission.
One man’s trash is another man’s tax burden. In April of this year, the Twentynine Palms Planning Commission declared a 12-acre parcel on East Highway 62 to be a public nuisance after it had become an illegal dumping site filled with dead cars, trash, appliances, and a motorhome. According to the staff report, as far back as 2017, a number of violation notices issued by the City had been ignored by the derelict property’s owner. In April of this year, the Planning Commission addressed a number of eyesore properties, declaring this 12-acre property with a Redlands owner by the name of Russell Ronald (now deceased) to be a public nuisance. This was done to begin the procedures necessary to bring the property into compliance with City Code and was the first of many legal steps the city must take for this arduous bureaucratic process.
Total costs for the City to clean the property, which included removal of all vehicles and over 20 tons of trash by Burrtec, were $17,976.68. The property was purchased for $18,000 back in 2015. Accepting this abatement cost allows the city to take the appropriate legal steps necessary to now place a Special Assessment against the property.
DISCUSSION AND POTENTIAL ACTION ITEMS
14. Molding Hearts' Proposal to Provide Housing and Rehabilitative Services for Unhoused Twentynine Palms Residents
Following a heartfelt and heated Housing & Homeless Committee session on Monday, November 4, where the committee was presented a proposal from Molding Hearts CEO and founder Lakita Johnson, the recommendation was made to move forward with a modified proposal to Council. Molding Hearts is an Inland Empire based nonprofit organization that works with San Bernardino County Department of Behavioral Health, Adult Protective Services, and San Bernardino County Sheriff’s resources to assist with housing needs, rehabilitation services, homelessness services, and employment opportunities for the unhoused and formerly incarcerated individuals with operations throughout San Bernardino County, including Yucca Valley and the Victor Valley regions.
At the homeless committee meeting, residents, non-profit operators, volunteers, and the unhoused expressed concerns about language in the initial proposal, with Planning Commissioner Alex Garcia labeling the language as “aggressive.” Airing their concerns for a local homelessness initiative but also seeing the need to address this issue urgently with winter fast approaching, the committee moved forward with the recommendation in a 3-2-2 vote with Planning Commissioners Krushat and Cure having excused absences from the meeting and Commissioner Garcia and Committee member Andrea Keller voting against the proposal.
Included in the revised proposal and not part of the initial proposal on November 4, are four letters of recommendation in favor of Molding Hearts, one written by Dr. Sharon Green, the Chair of the San Bernardino County Homeless Provider Network and Executive Director of the Victor Valley Family Resource Center, and another from former District 3 County Supervisor (and now Assemblyperson) James Ramos.
Also included in the revised proposal is a resume listing Johnson’s experience and certifications, IRS and Franchise Tax Board statements confirming the organization’s tax-exempt status and that they are in good standing, and a clarification on the organization’s registry status with the California Department of Justice. It was previously reported by the Desert Trumpet that the organization was not registered with the California State Registry of Charitable Trusts. The updated proposal now states that after inquiring with the DOJ on the matter, Molding Hearts has opted to register with the registry with an application submission date of November 5, 2024.
990 forms indicate the organization had excess revenue of $520,100 in 2022 and $92,117 for 2023, yet reported assets and fund balances of $0 on their 2023 990 front page summary (pictured above) and balance sheet. The organization’s balance sheets also show $0 balances in all categories in 2021 and 2022, and the President / CEO’s salary is not declared as required by the IRS on any of the filed returns.3
Staff recommendation is to move forward with the Molding Hearts proposal, which requests an ask of $24,500 to cover start-up costs for housing and homelessness services to the unhoused of Twentynine Palms.
15. Planning for a Brighter Future: Aligning Future Goals with Present Day Actions.
Per the staff report, “The City Council authorize the City Manager to negotiate and enter into a contract for professional services with Moore Iacofano Goltsman, Inc. (MIG) to conduct a comprehensive long-term strategic planning initiative for an amount not to exceed $36,360.00.”
With a website that boasts a rolodex of large California cities, including Berkeley, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Jose, and San Diego as well as out-of-state urban metropolises of Seattle, Brooklyn, Portland, and San Antonio, securing contracts with large municipal transportation companies and Bay Area tech companies like Clipper and CalTrans, MIG means business. Whether or not MIG’s strategic planning initiatives will meet the character, fit, and charm of small-town Twentynine Palms will be up to City Council to determine this Tuesday.
Examples of MIG’s strategic municipal projects can be found on their website. The company most recently contracted with the City of San Antonio Department of Planning to develop its own 4-year strategic plan initiative with an emphasis on economic prosperity, environmental mitigation and ecosystem preservation, maintenance of local water sources, and equity.
FUTURE COUNCIL INITIATED ITEMS
Revisit allocated funds for the portable showers and Navigation Center.
Discussion on the General Plan Update.
Discussion surrounding (i) costs to maintain dirt roads verses paved roads; (ii) what is a City maintained dirt road, a non-maintained dirt road, a road that has been accepted by the City, a road that is private and not accepted by the City; (iii) the City's ability and liability associated with the City periodically maintaining non-maintained roads, and (iv) ways residents can bring non-maintained and non-accepted dirt roads to paved-rural-road standards ready for acceptance into the City's accepted-and-maintained road list.
Shade structures around Freedom Plaza and a possible art fixture with "Freedom Plaza" announcing the location.
A review and discussion of fees as it relates to Site Plan Reviews for Barber Shops in existing buildings.
Discussion on increasing the City Council compensation.
The City Council next meets on December 10, 2024.
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Non profit analysis provided by Desert Trumpet Editor Cindy Bernard and Assistant Editor Kat Talley-Jones. Bernard has 40 years of non profit accounting and Board experience including working for a CPA and directing the art and music organization SASSAS for 20 years. Talley-Jones has written and reviewed numerous grant proposals for organizations such as the Institute for Museum and Library Services and the Getty Trust. She currently serves on the Board for an organization educating at-risk youth in Los Angeles.