RECAP: Twentynine Palms City Council, April 14, 2026, Part 2
In general public comment, residents warn about the potential closing of an elementary school, and a Councilmember faces pushback
In Part 1 of our April 14 recap, Council passed a series of 5-0 votes on housing-forward initiatives — joining the San Bernardino Regional Housing Trust Joint Powers Authority (JPA) with $1.75 million in Regional Early Action Planning (REAP) funds on the line, and authorizing lease negotiations with the Joshua Tree National Park Association for workforce housing on a 17-acre city-owned parcel near Theatre 29.
Also approved: a $21,483.92 audio/video upgrade to bring Council chambers into compliance with SB 707 by the July 1 deadline, and continuation of the countywide Measure I transportation sales tax. Council's most contentious discussion was over letterhead policy.
Councilmember April Ramirez's attempt to reopen the E-Group Solar Project discussion died for lack of a second. Her other two future agenda items — on Prop 36 and Code Enforcement and the annexation of two parcels, one being the location of Set Free Ranch — were seconded but lacked clear context.
General Public Comment
The Council meeting was close to two hours long when public comment on non-agenda items started. Upcoming events and concerns about the potential closing of Palm Vista Elementary School, Councilmember accountability and support for the HOPE Center would wake up a fatigued public. Two residents spoke in opposition to Flock cameras, a common topic at recent meetings.
Did a Councilmember attempt retaliation?
We are publishing Heather Huguenor‘s comments at length as they are a particularly well-spoken response to abuses of power, not just at a local level, but nationally. She prefaced her statement by saying “Notes on a City Council meeting, March 23, 2026”:
… people in power always seem to prove they can’t be trusted with power. And it turns out things are no different here in little 29 Palms. What’s worse than people in power winning? People in power losing. You see, it makes them angry, and then they have to find a way to remind themselves and other people of their power.
First, they find someone to blame and lash out. And if that doesn’t go their way, they’ll resort to all kinds of underhanded things, like trying to get that someone fired in a hush, hush behind the scenes kind of way.It’s predictable like clockwork, almost, how power corrupts, and in the case I just described, a direct violation of the First Amendment, which states that we have the right to publicly express our opinion without censorship, interference, restraint or retaliation. Letterhead or no letterhead, I smelled a clear case of retaliation…
You see, where power always goes wrong is when it assumes that my voice is worth less less than any one of yours. It assumes the one who got the title must know best. I find the one who gets the title is usually just louder and willing to step on a few toes. Because somewhere along the line, polite society decided that’s how it wanted things to work, and from our tiny town to the White House, it certainly explains the circumstances that we all find ourselves in today.
So let me be clear, no one, no matter who, will successfully silence any one of my comrades, and no one will silence me. We keep us safe.
Anyway, can you all believe it’s April already? All power to the people.
The Desert Trumpet has confirmed that Huguenor’s remarks were inspired by an interaction between Councilmember April Ramirez and resident Heather Drake over the Flock camera issue that occurred after the March 23 City Council meeting and then appeared to escalate the next day.1 On the morning of Tuesday, March 24, Ramirez emailed Drake’s employer, Groundwork Arts, with an “urgent” request for a meeting. The email was obtained by the Desert Trumpet through a Public Information Request.
When reached by the Desert Trumpet, Groundwork Arts leadership confirmed that they were contacted by the Councilmember about Drake, but since they were unable to discuss an employee, the conversation shifted to other business.
Did a Councilmember get inside information or is she grandstanding?
Elliot Balsley, who had spoken on the Council letterhead item, returned to the podium with a different example of potential overstep to illustrate his Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) and Brown Act violation concerns:
Over the weekend, I observed some disturbing comments on social media from Councilmember Ramirez regarding the Geneva solar project. These comments conflict with the public record that has been presented at the recent meetings.
She says, “the fact is, I have inside knowledge that the project was already approved before it even went to the city.” That’s a pretty strong statement with no evidence of any kind. And this, this worries me, because if, if you have inside knowledge that you’re not sharing with the council, but you’re using it to make your own decisions, I mean, that’s just that’s not how government should work.
To share information like this in social media is basically just a rumor. If this is real, it needs to be shared publicly and on the record.
Balsley was referring to a lengthy Facebook thread started on April 11 in which Councilmember Ramirez was an active participant. As of Thursday, April 16, there were 313 comments. The Desert Trumpet made screenshots of the conversations in which Ramirez participated2. The statement quoted in Balsley’s public comment is just one of numerous posts made by Ramirez implying knowledge about state approval of the project prior to the Council vote. However there is no legal mechanism for the California Energy Commission to pre-approve a project.
Concerns about Palm Vista’s future
Stacy Smith, Elizabeth Rodrigo and Heather Drake addressed the potential closure of Palm Vista Elementary School on Baseline Road in Twentynine Palms. The Morongo Unified School District Enrollment Committee, formed in January 2026, has been meeting to review declining enrollment throughout the district — down from approximately 10,000 students at its peak to around 7,300 today — and to consider potential school closures. At the committee's April 9 meeting, as reported by the Hi-Desert Star, Superintendent Patricio Vargas presented alternate scenarios, one of which would close Palm Vista, Landers, and Morongo Valley elementary schools with students reassigned to the closest campuses.
Palm Vista Dean of Students Elizabeth Rodrigo urged residents to attend the MUSD Board meeting on April 21 at the new Joshua Tree Elementary School and the next enrollment committee meeting on April 29. Teachers Stacey Smith and Heather Drake both spoke to what Palm Vista means to the community.
Stacey Smith, on what Palm Vista has become:
My first year at Palm Vista, I realized that Morongo Unified School District thought of us as the nothing place. Teachers who couldn’t make it came to our school, kids that couldn’t make it came to our school. And in the last five years, we’ve gone from, in my opinion, the dumping ground to a shining star.
Is the E-Group partnering with the HOPE Project?
Shanese Risper, Community Outreach Director for the HOPE Project, spoke about the organization's Feed the Need program, which she said serves an average of 700-plus families and over 1,500 individuals monthly through weekly food giveaways. She described a current operational challenge — the program's only truck is in the shop, forcing them to rent a replacement at added cost — and said the organization is seeking a refrigerated truck to sustain the program long-term.
Risper closed by publicly thanking E-Group, the developer of the contentious solar project that was recently rejected at City Council. She described them as a "key community partner." She noted their contributions of $4,000 to Feed the Need and $3,600 toward an upcoming Color Run — a total of $7,600. E-Group's attorney had previously cited the identical donations as evidence of community benefit at the March Planning Commission meeting — raising questions about the relationship between the contributions and the HOPE Project’s and the Sanctuary Church’s public advocacy on E-Group's behalf.
Risper did not disclose her role as ordained Evangelist at the Sanctuary Church, whose nonprofit arm CLEP operates the HOPE Project.
Announcements: 29 Palms Art Gallery, the Basin Bike Path Initiative, Action 29 events
Mark Spangenberg announced that the 29 Palms Art Gallery is celebrating its 70th anniversary with a reception on May 2, 5–8 pm. There is an admission fee. Refreshments, dancing, and artwork will be on offer.
Eric Linnert (Yucca Valley) introduced the Basin Bike Path initiative, a long-term effort to connect the Morongo Basin with a multi-use path from Yucca Valley to 29 Palms, potentially looping through the National Park. He cited the Coachella Valley’s 40-mile CV Link as a model, noted the city’s channel-wide trail work as an encouraging parallel effort, and invited city staff to connect.
LeeAnn Clarke reported on several recent Action 29 Palms and 29 Palms Ministerial Association events including the signing of the restored “large lizard” by Chuck Caplinger. Clarke closed by thanking City Manager Stone James for his service to the community, noting “we understand you’re going to be moving on in a couple of months.”
City Manager Stone James resigned last Thursday, but is remaining for another 60 days to assist with a transition to a new City Manager, once hired.
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Phone conversation with Heather Drake on Friday, April 17
Disclosure: Councilmember Ramirez threatened to sue the Desert Trumpet in the same thread.