RECAP: Twentynine Palms City Council, May 14, 2024
RECAP: Twentynine Palms City Council, May 14, 2024
The restoration and relocation of the 29! sculpture garnered the most discussion at last week's City Council meeting; the new City Manager brokered a compromise
Please note that City Council has stopped reading public letters at Council meetings. If it received any letters, they were not read, and we were unable to report on them. Feel free to bcc us at editor@deserttrumpet.org if you would like us to quote from your public comment letters.
After being congratulated by Mayor Steve Bilderain on her acceptance into the U.S. Naval Academy, Twentynine Palms high school senior Elizabeth Marshall reported on student activities. This was one of nearly a half dozen awards, recognitions, and proclamations that took place at the beginning of this week’s City Council meeting, the first meeting featuring new City Manager Stone James.
The San Bernardino County Fire Department Battalion Chief Bill Villarino gave an overview of County fire operations and reported that staff levels remain low: “We've had some major staffing shortages over the last few years after COVID. We ran into almost 100 vacancies within our organization.” It has been difficult to recruit and retain officers, Villarino said, including the challenge of hiring paramedics with the desired training.
Public Arts Advisory Committee (PAAC) member Sara Lyons reported on the success of Workshop 29 funded by the $100,000 Creative Corps grant the PAAC received in 2023. She screened a short video that highlighted the programs’ activities:
We were able to engage with our local ecology through dance with Ryan Heffington. We inspired inclusive storytelling focused on our black indigenous POC and LGBTQ plus communities with Douglas Blanc and T Hammidi. We encouraged voter activism through music and singing with Carolyn Pennypacker Riggs and the High Desert Choir. And we also motivated emotional transformation through sculpture with Jai Knight.
Several of the program’s mentees are already moving forward with working on future arts programming that is going to serve and enrich our community. That includes a Queer Film Festival, an upcoming craft exhibition and a potential after school arts program for our local teens. Overall, we just feel that that grant really has helped us to empower a future generation of arts leaders here in Twentynine Palms.
In other PAAC news, artist Xárene Eskander was approved as a new member of the PAAC board.
CONSENT CALENDAR
The Council accepted the Consent Calendar with the exception of item 12, Repeal of Chapter 15.10 of the Municipal Code, Wastewater Services. Councilmember Scott requested clarification of why the this code element was repealed. City Manager Stone James provided clarification prior to passage of the item:
This was put into place in anticipation of establishing a wastewater treatment facility. And given the lack of state funding, and the fact that it was first sufficient and then insufficient, it became a mountain that is going to be too great to overcome. So we're going to put that on hold for the time being, given that there's no reason to have this as an ordinance anymore. In fact, we're going to begin about a five-year journey with the USGS to examine the status of our groundwater. And so really, by virtue of that this is not necessary.
DISCUSSION AND POTENTIAL ACTION ITEMS
Development Code Amendment and General Plan Status Report
Community Development Director Keith Gardner reported that in adopting Chapter 19.90, Dedications and Improvements (reported here and here): “It's all pretty much cleanup language, including the deletion of references to a street in the street improvement impact fee and replacing that with a development impact fee, which was already studied last year.”
On the General Plan, Gardner said, “This is an annual report that we have to do that the planning commission reviews and forwards on to the city council giving the the status of the General Plan and the goals thereof. We had one general plan amendment that we completed last year, which was the equity and social justice element. Other than that, there were no other amendments to the general plan.”
Councilmember Scott clarified that “there is a future-initiated item regarding the general plan. This is not a substitute to that. So we still have that on the books.”
There was no public comment on either item. Council approved both, 5-0.
29! Sculpture Location
The PAAC seeks to revitalize Chuck Caplinger’s landmark sculpture, "29!" with a focus on accessibility and preservation. Two main options have been considered: restoring it in its current location on Donnell Hill or relocating it to Freedom Plaza. Restoring in situ requires $3,000 to $4,000, while making it ADA compliant and creating a parking lot would cost $92,000. Moving it to Freedom Plaza involves a $10,000 relocation fee and similar restoration costs. (We’ve reported on restoring and moving the sculpture several times, here, here, and here, among other occasions.)
Pat Flanagan spoke in favor of moving 29! to Freedom Plaza, “I'm thinking about all of the planning that was done for Freedom Plaza, and how much we talked about art being in Freedom Plaza and how at the moment it is not, it is essentially art empty. Art in public places brings people in and helps them to stay engaged and to spend their money.”
Patrick Zuchowicki said, “Moving Chuck's sculpture to Freedom Plaza will help promote what I consider Twentynine Palms’ biggest asset, the Freedom Plaza Community Center.”
Mary Jane Binge objected that “it’s going to be exposed to abuse in Freedom Plaza and kids climbing on it will be a liability issue. Also, when you enter Twentynine Palms, you come over Donnell Hill, there's the sign 29 Exclamation, which is like you have arrived into Twentynine Palms.”
Long-time resident Robin Schlosser advocated for the Donnell location because it serves as a welcoming beacon for locals and a marker of downtown Twentynine Palms.
PAAC Chair Anna Stump said, “I like to think of it as just weaving itself into the actual, workable fabric of the community—of kids being able to say I remember running around the statute during the farmers market or using it as wayfinding to say, you know, when I got lost, my dad told me wait by the 29 sign, I'll come find you. There are ways that it can be worked into the actual day to day use of our community.”
Councilmembers Scott liked the idea of moving the 29! sculpture to Freedom Plaza. “It just seems like it's a natural fit there,” Scott said. We do need some art there. And it is probably going to be one of our most important pieces of real estate in the in the city. And so we should try to figure out a way to to add more value to that space, especially when it comes to the arts.”
Councilmember Wright agreed. He visited the sculpture with artist Chuck Caplinger and observed, “we took several pictures together. One of the pictres we tried to take, we actually couldn't take because we couldn't get good footing in front of the side because of the slope. And so that was a selling point for me.”
Councilmember Dan Mintz had recused himself because his wife has a business in Freedom Plaza; however, Councilmember Klink and Mayor Bilderain both spoke in favor of the Donnell Hill location, and the mayor suggested that funds could be allocated for new art projects downtown.
A vote broke 2-2, with Councilmembers Scott and Wright voting to move the sculpture, and Councilmembers Klink and Bilderain going on record on having it remain on Donnell Hill. City Planner James suggested breaking out the two issues, voting on restoration now with further study of the existing site and the true cost of improving the facilities there “and then take that back to council and see if the council is interested in making that investment.” The Council voted 4-0 to restore the sculpture.
City Fee Waiver Policy
Kary Minatrea of the City’s Parks & Recreation Department spoke about the department’s proposed policy (reported here), which proposes a three-day fee waiver to nonprofits and public organizations.
Writer Jonathan Hume, speaking on behalf of the Desert Trumpet, suggested modifications to the policy that would allow for a nonpartisan candidate forum to take place in September. Current language suggests that this forum would not be allowed, even though the Desert Trumpet has nonprofit status. “Candidate forums provide an obvious and crucial community benefit,” he said.
He also proposed that fee waivers to nonprofits only, including nonprofits operating under a fiscal receiver: “this unequivocally eliminates the need for several of the provisions listed under an ineligible fee waivers.” He also suggested that the number of fee waiver days not be capped.
“Since Parks and Rec has not been operating under this old policy for several years, at least, we really don't know whether it works or not. So we suggest leaving the policy in place for the remainder of 2024 as a trial period, then in 2025, reevaluating the need for a cap. If an organization abuses the policy with an unreasonable number of facility rentals, only then would a cap be justified.”
Councilmember Scott and City Attorney Patrick Muñoz objected to any kind of political activity taking place at a City facility, despite Theater 29, which is owned by the City, having hosted previous candidate forums. After discussion, the Council voted 5-0 in favor of the three-day waiver with no rental credit.
Approval of the City Budget
Chief Financial Officer Abigail Hernandez-Conde presented the preliminary general fund budget revisions for the fiscal year 24-25. “We have updated revenue estimates,” she said, “including property taxes, sales tax forecasts, and building permit revenues, based on the latest available data.”
Hernandez-Conde reported projections indicating a balanced budget with a surplus of approximately $160,000, with top revenue sources being property taxes, vehicle license fees, sales tax, and building permits.
The City Council 5-0 voted to accept the budget.
Public Comment
There was no public comment and no email messages or letters were read.
The meeting adjourned after 8 pm, two hours after it started.
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