RECAP: Tourism Business Improvement District Meeting, August 14, 2025
Promotions, social media contractor selection, grant guidelines revamped, and budget approval
The Twentynine Palms Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID) gathered last Thursday, August 14, for a meeting that ran nearly two hours, weaving through updates on promotions, an overview of the process of choosing a social media agency, spirited debate over grant funding rules, and a final vote on next year’s tourism marketing budget. Our preview is here and the meeting’s agenda is here.
Four TBID Board members were present: Vice-Chair Ashton Ramsey, Maria Madrid, Ben Uyeda, and Liz Shickler. Chair Rakesh Mehta had an excused absence, Vice-chair Ramsey ran the meeting in his absence.
Kicking Off: Events, Promotions, and a Volkswagen Joyride
The meeting opened with routine business followed by updates from TBID and Visit 29 Palms Marketing Director Breanne Dusastre. She reported that the lineup of city-sponsored events through December is now finalized, with promotions spanning from the Area 29 Galactic Gathering to stargazing nights at Sky’s the Limit.
TBID has been pushing visibility through Visit 29’s multiple channels: blog posts, social media, email newsletters, and targeted ad campaigns. The organization also launched a new media press page to archive the wave of national attention local businesses have been receiving. Reset Hotel, Sky’s the Limit, and other venues have recently been spotlighted by travel writers, Dusastre noted, and now that coverage has a permanent home online.
Visit California, the state tourism agency, partnered with Volkswagen to create a three-part video series, California Joyride, starring comedian Will Forte, his mother, and the new electric VW camper van. The mother-son road trip features stops across the state, and Twentynine Palms’ own Reset Hotel was chosen as the desert region’s showcase. The series is expected to debut later this fall.
Public Comments: Centennial Dreams, Levitt Grant Hopes, and Lingering Concerns
Public comment brought a mix of celebration, opportunity, and pointed critiques. Many spoke to the revised guidelines for grants awarded by TBID, outlined in the agenda packet, that would remove the requirement that events take place in Twentynine Palms or its sphere of influence and opens the grants to programming occurring anywhere in the Morongo Basin.
Freddie Bi, representing Discover Inland Empire, announced that Governor Gavin Newsom’s office appointed him to the California Route 66 Centennial Task Force. While Twentynine Palms is not directly on Route 66, Bi noted that “80% of California’s Route 66 runs through San Bernardino County.” He framed the Centennial as a chance to boost tourism, small business, and local tax revenues. But he also used his three minutes to air a grievance: Bi claims DiscoverIE has unpaid invoices from Visit 29 Palms dating back eight months. “We want to make sure our partnership is appreciated,” Bi said. The Desert Trumpet spoke to the TBID Board and they state that this is a misunderstanding.
Local artist Audrey Philpot announced that the 29 Palms Music Series, an affiliate of the Basin Wide Foundation, cleared the first round of the competitive Levitt Foundation grant process to bring free concerts to Freedom Plaza. Out of 300 applicants nationwide, 100 advanced to the next stage. The next hurdle is public voting, running September 5–15. If successful, Twentynine Palms could become one of 50 cities awarded funding to host free outdoor concerts. “We’re doing our darndest to make it happen,” Philpott said.
Beginning September 5, there will be two easy ways for the public to cast their vote: online at vote.levitt.org or via text to 877-409-5525 with keyword 29PALMS.
Susan Peplow urged the TBID to prepare for a potential gap in event sponsorship timelines if the Levitt grant succeeds. She also raised concerns about Visit29 vacation rental outreach, noting that new short-term rentals aren’t being welcomed or listed properly on the Visit29 website. “It seems problematic,” Peplow said, especially since grantees are expected to direct visitors to the site.
Patrick Zuchowicki, organizer of the 29 Palms Book Festival, struck a celebratory note. He sees visitors increasingly coming for Twentynine Palms itself, not just as a gateway to Joshua Tree. He said that July sales this year were up 40% over last July.
I organize the book festival. I see that our efforts are much, much easier than they were last year, because in LA, in Palm Springs, within the publishing industry, within the entertainment industry, more people are becoming aware of 29 Palms as a destination.
“We are here to fight for one brand,” Zuchowicki said, urging the TBID to keep grant funding focused within city limits.
Other commenters such as Paul Razo, Chair of the Public Arts Advisory Committee echoed that theme. Sun of the Desert owner Jimmy Brower warned against expanding event grant eligibility to the wider Morongo Basin, arguing it would “increase competition against your own community” while diverting dollars away from local nonprofits and small businesses. In an email read aloud Grnd Sqrl owner Mike Usher was more blunt, calling the proposal a “catastrophic error” that would “end any confidence I have in the program.”
The message was consistent: grant dollars should stay in Twentynine Palms.
Social Media Contract: Choosing Creators Over Agencies
After issuing an RFP for a part-time social media contractor, the TBID received 15 proposals. Vice Chair Ashton Ramsey and Board member Ben Uyeda reviewed them in detail. Uyeda explained that many agency submissions amounted to “content mills” with little actual storytelling power. The standout, he said, was Camrie Rounds (@camrietravels), a creator whose travel videos have racked up millions of organic views. Browns specializes in short-form, vertical video—a gap in Visit 29 Palms’ current content strategy.
Second choice was Paul Martinez (@paulthemde) of Joshua Tree followed by Colorado Studios. PAAC Chair Paul Razo, speaking in public comment, praised Colorado Studios’ work. After brief discussion, the Board voted unanimously to approve Rounds as the top choice.
Should Grant Money Leave City Limits?
The heart of the meeting, and the most contentious debate, centered on proposed updates to the sponsorship and event grant guidelines. Dusastre explained that the revisions aimed to clarify rules, incorporate new city reporting requirements, and add a scoring rubric for transparency. But one change in particular drew fire: expanding eligibility for events beyond Twentynine Palms city and sphere of interest boundaries.
Stakeholders lined up to oppose the move. Brower, Usher, and others warned it would dilute the city’s brand, hurt small businesses, and funnel tourism tax dollars to neighboring communities. “Keep Visit 29 events in 29,” Brower urged.
Cindy Bernard commented that:
the grant program needs to be reexamined top to bottom so it can take into account the need for improved TBID infrastructure for potential applicant education and outreach as well as the vetting of applications, and for developing consistent marketing for the funded projects.
She also voiced her concern that the level of funding isn’t sustainable as indicated by the cut in funding this year and noted that the TBID has only $357,000 in projected revenue next year. “It's difficult to keep funding grants at $200,000 or $150,000 per year on that level of revenue,” she said.
Caitlin Gill, co-owner of Joshua Tree Astronomy Adventures, struck a more nuanced note. She praised the clarity of the guidelines but agreed now was not the time to expand beyond city borders.
For now, while these ties [between larger organizations and small businesses] are still growing, many small businesses are still young, many lodging partners are just getting their roots down in the ground. The time now should be utilized to focus on growing those relationships between the businesses serve one another….Once those feel solid, I think we have a really exciting opportunity to grow, but that time isn't here yet.
“Once ties are firmly established, then maybe we can look farther afield,” Gill said. For now, she urged the TBID to focus on helping profitable, experienced event producers succeed in Twentynine Palms.
Board members appeared to agree. Uyeda suggested postponing the change entirely until a one-page set of clear rules can be developed. “This needs to be done in concert with evaluation criteria and eligibility,” he said. Ramsey acknowledged his own support for flexibility had been too open-ended. “If we open it up too wide…people will flood us,” he admitted.
In the end, the Board voted to approve other guideline updates, such as post-event reporting requirements, but struck the location expansion.
Budget and Marketing Report 2025–26
The Board then turned to next year’s tourism marketing plan and budget. Dusastre walked through the numbers, highlighting a more conservative revenue projection of $350,000 in TBID assessments, plus $200,000 from reserves. The overall budget comes to roughly half a million dollars.1
Notable changes include doubling contract services to cover a full year of social media support and setting aside funds for possible work with Civitas on district conversion. Event grant funding was reduced by $50,000, from $200,000 to $150,000, to free up more dollars for advertising, including experiments with streaming TV and expanded billboards.
The Board approved the budget unanimously.
City Manager’s Report: Rediscover 29, Shuttle Service, and Pioneer Days
City Manager Dr. Stone James closed the meeting with an upbeat report. He praised the growth of Rediscover 29, a group of local business owners who work to promote Twentynine Palms, now with more than 60 members, and highlighted the group’s “creative energy” in hosting the Area 29 Galactic Gathering—a weeklong series of alien-themed events across the city.
James also announced that the Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians2 has launched a long-anticipated shuttle service. Two vans now run hourly loops from the Marine base to Freedom Plaza, with potential to add a stop at Historic Plaza in the future. The service operates Fridays through Sundays, timed to bring Marines downtown and to the casino, which has recently seen a staff layoff.
Finally, James touched on the city’s upcoming strategic plan draft (scheduled for review by the City Council at its August 26 meeting) and previewed the 89th annual Pioneer Days, now under the leadership of new Parks and Recreation Acting Director Haywood Adams.
Takeaways and Next Steps
This TBID meeting underscored a recurring tension: how to welcome growth while protecting Twentynine Palms’ identity as a destination distinct from its neighbors. Public speakers and Board members alike reinforced the need to keep grant dollars focused locally, even as regional collaborations beckon.
The Board’s decisions, to invest in targeted digital storytelling, to tighten accountability for event funding, and to cautiously trim budgets, show a welcome shift toward sustainability. Still to come: accountability for marketing dollars spent and grant funds awarded.
The next round of grant applications and event sponsorships will test whether the refined rules can deliver on that vision.
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The Desert Trumpet will take a closer look at the marketing report prior to its presentation to the City Council in September.
Corrected from “29 Palms Band of Mission Indians” after publication 8/17/25
Why have I not seen any publicity for the decades-old Annual Basketball Tournament, where teams from around the state come here to play over the weekend? Why can't we have periodic girls' fastpitch or coed softball tournaments on any of our fields at Luckie Park and Knott Sky Park? What happened to the annual soapbox derby races down Adobe Road? One idea that was put forth by the now-defunct Economic Development advisory committee was to have all tattoo shops set up in one location to create an artists community of tattoo artists that could be advertised outside of the community. I once obtained national news coverage of our Outhouse Races during the Pioneer Days, but it appears there are many events that could be sponsored by local businesses to draw in foot traffic downtown.
Any movement on economic growth and stability apart from tourism?