ON THE AGENDA: Twentynine Palms City Council Meeting, Tuesday, October 22, 2024

Kennel and restroom doors are the hot topics in front of the City Council this week

Councilmember Octavious Scott rides in this weekend’s Pioneer Days parade. (Photo Kat Talley-Jones)

Over the weekend, City Councilmembers enjoyed themselves at the Pioneer Days parade, waving from old school transportation like classic cars and the back of a horse. A good time, it seems, was had by all.

The last City Council meeting was held nearly a month ago (recap here), on September 24, and this is the last Council meeting before the general election on November 5. (New council members take office on January 6, 2025.) The agenda includes a closed session and a long list of consent calendar items, no public hearing, and only one discussion and action item. The real meat of the meeting will likely be in the community’s public comments.

The 114-page agenda packet is linked here.

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.

CLOSED SESSION

A closed session is taking place before the council meeting that, according to the agenda, discusses a possible lawsuit that has yet to be filed.

 AWARDS, PRESENTATIONS, APPOINTMENTS AND PROCLAMATIONS

Presentations include recognition of:

• The Interact Club for their Participation in the Cash for Trash and Recycling Program

• Kurt Schauppner by Reach Out Morongo Basin upon his retirement from the board of directors

• Inland Empire Special Olympics

• Proposition 68 audit results. This proposition authorized $4 billion to fund projects that plan, develop, and implement climate adaptation and resiliency projects, including those that create or rehabilitate state or local parks, provide flood protection, protect natural resources and water supply, and improve water quality. It was authorized in 2018.

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. For this meeting the calendar consists of:

5. Waiving the Reading of Ordinance and Approve the Reading by Title Only.

6. Approval of Minutes of the City Council Meeting Held on September 10, 2024. (Pages 23-27 of the agenda packet linked here; it is not possible at the moment to make a direct link for this and other agenda items)

7. Treasurer's Report - FY 2024-25 Quarter 1 (pages 29-31 of the agenda packet)

8. Approval of Warrant Register Totaling $2,434,923.94 (pages 33-39 of the agenda packet)

9. Purchase of a New Code Enforcement Vehicle. The purchase of the Chevrolet 1500 Silverado was approved at the June 25, 2024, City Council meeting. (The budget for the purchase will need to be increased form $50,000 t0 $55,000 (Pages 41-55 in the agenda packet.)

10. Accept the High Crash Unsignalized Intersections Project as completed for a total cost of $370,144.24. (Page 57 in the agenda packet.)

11. Animal Shelter Gate Replacement and New Freestanding Kennels. The City Council authorize payment to Gator Kennels in the amount of $64,390 for the purchase of 61 new gates, 14 freestanding kennels with gates, and the hardware components necessary for installation. Approve the payment of Use tax to the State of CA. (Pages 59-72 of the agenda packet.)

Gator Kennel doors like the new ones to be installed at the animal shelter. (Photo from the agenda packet)

12. Accept the Safe Route to School-Infrastructure Implementation Project as completed for a total cost of $1,072,989.60. (Pages 73-75 in the agenda packet.)

13. Approve the submission of the 2025-2026 Fiscal Year Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Application. The project will complete the (non-ADA portion) of the parking area at 74362 Joe Davis Drive. (Pages 77-96 of the agenda packet.)

PUBLIC HEARINGS

Unusually, there are no public hearings being held at this meeting.

DISCUSSION AND POTENTIAL ACTION ITEMS

14. Securing Freedom Plaza Bathrooms. (Pages 98-114 in the agenda packet linked here.)

Entrance to a restroom at Freedom Plaza (from the Staff Report)

Freedom Plaza, completed in 2019, revitalized a formerly quiet retail area into a vibrant Downtown space. The facility's layout poses safety concerns, especially regarding restroom access. Restrooms, shared between the gymnasium and kitchen, are located in an outside hallway accessible to anyone, making it difficult to monitor usage and creating potential safety risks.

To address this, City Staff proposed installing locking doors at both ends of the hallway. These doors would restrict access, allowing only those passing through the kitchen or gym's front desk to use the restrooms. Doors would be unlocked during the Twentynine Palms Farmers Market and other events. This change would improve safety, prevent illegal activity, and reduce vandalism risks. The necessary structural preparations are already in place, and installation is expected within 90 days after Council approval, pending door availability and contractor scheduling.

FUTURE COUNCIL INITIATED ITEMS

1. Revisit allocated funds for the portable showers and Navigation Center.

2. Discussion on the General Plan Update.

3. 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.

4. Shade structures around Freedom Plaza and a possible art fixture with "Freedom Plaza" announcing the location.

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