RECAP: Twentynine Palms City Council, June 9, 2026
A debt forgiven behind closed doors, a public records fight in the open, and the sales tax clock starts ticking
The June 9 Twentynine Palms City Council meeting wrapped in just over an hour with a full agenda and no pulled consent items.
Beneath the brisk pace was real substance. Right out of the gate, Mayor Daniel Mintz announced that in closed session the Council had voted to forgive a debt the public had not previously known existed. The agenda moved efficiently from there. Discussion items included a resolution backing a state public records bill, direction on a 1% sales tax measure headed for the November ballot, and a solid waste rate adjustment, all passing 5-0.
Relevant links:
A debt forgiven in closed session raises more questions than it answers
Reported out of the closed session by Mayor Mintz was a decision that the City
…not take formal action to pursue collection of the amount of $31,982.08 due to the City by Morongo Basin ARCH related to the former agreement related to the City’s Elm Avenue property.
The vote was unanimous, with Councilmember McArthur Wright abstaining, citing a conflict of interest; the basis for the conflict was not stated. The nature of the debt was likewise not disclosed.
The reference is to a project with a long history at City Hall, involving Morongo Basin ARCH, a local nonprofit that has operated in the basin since 2008, providing emergency shelter, rapid rehousing, outreach, and eviction prevention services. In December 2021, the Council accepted a Community Development Block Grant–Coronavirus (CDBG-CV) Homekey award of more than $713,000 from the California Department of Housing and Community Development to purchase and rehabilitate four units at 6937–6943 Elm Avenue as permanent housing for very low-income residents. As then-City Manager Frank Luckino described it, the City would facilitate the grant while Morongo Basin ARCH would operate and maintain the units, leaving the City with “no long-term annual costs.” ARCH president Astrid Johnson appeared before the Council that night to outline the nonprofit’s approach.
The staff report, however, identified the risks of that arrangement in writing. The grant carried a 55-year affordability commitment; ARCH would need to remain a functioning operator for that period, or the City would have to “find another organization or run it ourselves”; and the General Fund would “backfill any shortfalls” if the nonprofit could not meet its obligations. Councilmember Joel Klink questioned whether the planned $5,000 annual replacement reserve was adequate and asked about a memorandum of understanding allowing the City to inspect the units.
By the time the Council formally closed out the project on March 23, 2026 — the same evening it rejected the E-Group solar proposal — the operating structure had changed. The completed units are now covered by a Housing Assistance Payments contract between the City and the Housing Authority of the County of San Bernardino and reserved for HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing referrals, with case management provided by the VA. Morongo Basin ARCH did not appear in the close-out record. The project’s final accounting showed roughly $713,000 in grant funds and about $108,000 in City General Fund money, the latter driven in part by the federally required relocation of an income-ineligible tenant and a subsequent major rehabilitation of one house.
What remains unexplained in the public record is what the $31,982.08 represents, and when and why the City’s “former agreement” with ARCH ended. Neither the figure nor the nonprofit appears in the project’s close-out documents, leaving the June 9 decision as the first public indication that the arrangement concluded with a balance the City has now chosen not to recover.
Anna Stump named 2025 Arts Advocate of the Year
On a warmer note, Public Arts Advisory Committee (PAAC) Vice Chair Sarah Lyons presented a slightly belated 2025 Arts Advocate of the Year award to Anna Stump, a former PAAC chair who played a key role in landing a Levitt grant funding free concerts for the city. Lyons called Stump “an outstanding representative for the arts in 29 Palms, as well as the greater Morongo Basin” and “a pillar of our creative community.” Stump expressed her appreciation for the Council’s recognition of how important the arts are to the community’s overall health, happiness, and economic prosperity.
Council Comments: Graduations, a food bank, and the mysterious Pelican Club
Councilmember Wright gave the dais a run for longest council comment, clocking just over four minutes on topics ranging from food banks to happy birthdays. Councilmember April Ramirez still holds the 2026 record at nearly seven minutes.
Graduations were a universal theme: every member of the dais mentioned attending at least one end-of-year school celebration.
Both Councilmember Steven Bilderain and Mayor Pro Tem Octavious Scott reported attending the Pelican Club dinner, with Scott adding that the dinner was well attended. The Pelican Club was established in 1950 by a local businessman to bridge the considerable distance between the Morongo Basin and the seat of San Bernardino County government by providing an informal forum for local business owners and other interested parties to meet with County officials. Why Pelican? The businessman had brought the idea with him from an Orange County beach city organization, hence the club’s name.
City Manager Kevin Cole keeps it moving
In his City Manager report, Kevin Cole highlighted summer programming (swim, day camp, and a free pet adoption program), reported that Public Works had striped Utah Trail that evening, and noted that a grant-funded sidewalk project is two-thirds complete.
Cole asked Council for support in opposing AB 1383, a state bill that would lower the retirement age for public safety employees under CalPERS. The change would increase retirement liabilities for fire and police, and for cities like Twentynine Palms that contract with the County Sheriff, those costs get passed through in higher contract rates. Cole raised this item in response to a question Councilmember April Ramirez asked at the May 26 meeting.
Consent Calendar passes without comment or objection
The consent calendar passed 5-0 with no discussion, no public comment, and no items pulled. That included the raising of Council monthly pay to $700, a $2,424,428.26 warrant register, an emergency well repair at Luckie Park, the FY 2026-27 SB1 road project list, and a three-year Granicus subscription for the Visit 29 Palms Twentynine Palms Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID). For more detail on the full calendar, see our agenda preview.
The evening's only public hearing, a resolution placing Burrtec's solid waste service charges on the County property tax roll with a rate increase of $3.18 per month, followed the same pattern: 5-0, no questions, despite Burrtec representatives standing by to answer them.
The City backs a CPRA reform bill while its own compliance is challenged
The Council voted 5-0 to support AB 1821, a state bill that would extend the time agencies have to respond to public records requests. City Manager Cole introduced the item by noting the burden the California Public Records Act (CPRA) requests place on City resources, and cited Prop 42's elimination of state reimbursement and a 2020 California Supreme Court ruling restricting agencies from recovering staff time for producing records.
The vote still carried some tension. Desert Trumpet Editor-in-Chief Cindy Bernard spoke during public comment about the City's handling of an active CPRA request filed March 16 seeking documents related to the E-Group solar project. Bernard told the Council that ten weeks into the request, after the City had confirmed responsive records existed and set a June 10 production date, staff emailed asking her to provide specific keywords to "refine the search" or the request would be closed within five days. The language, she said, echoed direction she had previously described as coming from a councilmember: exact-keyword-match searches rather than the reasonable-search standard required under Government Code section 7922.530.
"I don't believe the staff handling our requests are the problem," Bernard said. "They are trying to do their jobs. The problem is the direction they are being given." She asked the Council to direct staff to apply the reasonable-search standard and to honor the June 10 production date.
A 1% sales tax measure takes shape, and the clock is ticking
Twentynine Palms isn’t the first city to consider a sales tax to bolster revenues. Neighboring cities including Yucca Valley, Palm Desert, Indio, and Cathedral City have already passed similar measures. City Manager Cole was direct: the city faces a “severe and increasing structural deficit.” Without new revenue, Cole warned, “cities may be forced to reduce or eliminate key quality of life services.”
Clifford Moss representatives Joshua Emeneger and Amanda Clifford joined the meeting by video, the second time that outside consultants arrived prepared to answer public questions and received none.
Mayor Pro Tem Scott framed the Council’s role simply: “City council is not the one that’s going to put a tax on our residents. Only the voters can do that.” Clifford Moss rep Amanda Clifford reinforced that framing: “You don’t impose taxes on your voters, they have the opportunity to make that choice for themselves.”
The proposed measure is a general tax, requiring only a simple majority to pass rather than the two-thirds supermajority needed for a specific tax, a distinction Wright raised and which we flagged in our agenda preview. Ramirez noted that post-election state mandates would likely increase the City's costs regardless, and Cole added that a general tax would give the City discretion over how the revenue is spent.
The City is working against a firm timeline. June 23 is the next scheduled discussion, with a Council vote targeted for July 28. The state deadline to place a measure on the November ballot is August 7.
Future agenda items: three trimmed, one questioned
The 14-item future agenda list received a light pruning. Scott requested removal of Item 6 (guidelines for elected and appointed officials’ use of City Hall meeting rooms), saying he had discussed it with the City Manager. Cole resolved two more without further Council action, noting that existing policy already covers Item 4 (new federal holidays vs. the City holiday schedule) and that Item 13 (cooling center hours) would be handled administratively.
The remaining items, including the Flock camera study session, the $1.3 million housing reallocation question, and the Set Free Ranch annexation, remain in queue. See our agenda preview for the full list.
Flock cameras continue to dominate public comment: “Privacy issues are democracy issues”
General public comment brought six speakers, including some new faces, and two written submissions. The dominant theme was Flock surveillance cameras, many speakers beginning by thanking Mayor Pro Tem Scott for scheduling the upcoming July 9 community roundtable.
Chris Carraher of Wonder Valley said the cameras had generated genuine anger among neighbors and framed routine surveillance as incompatible with a free citizenry, calling for further transparency and for the city to take the cameras down altogether. “Just because we could use it doesn’t mean we should use it,” Carraher said.
Beth Sheffield noted that camera numbers had continued to increase despite persistent community opposition, and cited California surveillance rules including California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA 2020) and SB 34: “Privacy issues are democracy issues,” Sheffield told the Council:
Arguing that you don't care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don't care about free speech because you have nothing to say.
Stacey Solie, who has spoken on Flock at previous meetings, raised concerns about the data being privately owned, about access by ICE and federal authorities, and about potential violations of California state law. Solie asked when the contract expires and whether the City could end it or physically cover the cameras.
Mayor Mintz read into the record a written submission from Heather Huguenor, who opposed AI surveillance in all forms as well as tax increases from a government Huguenor described as lacking transparency and ignoring the will of its residents.
A General Plan proposal, a farewell, and a question about Set Free Ranch
Paul Nugent raised the overdue General Plan update, proposing that the Council authorize the Planning Commission to establish a citizens advisory committee to assist with the process:
The city’s general plan is overdue for an update, and I think it’s important that residents have meaningful opportunities to participate in that process. Our community includes individuals with valuable expertise and experience who can provide insight on land use, zoning development, and other planning issues, and for that reason I would like to suggest that the city council authorize the planning commission to establish a citizens advisory committee to assist with the general plan update. When the general plan was last amended, the city created a 12-member general plan advisory committee to help gather community input and provide recommendations. A similar approach would ensure that the current update benefits from broad public participation and the diverse perspectives of our residents.
It was the first time a member of the public brought the idea to City Council, though the same proposal was raised at the June 2 Planning Commission meeting.
Mayor Mintz read a letter from BreeAnna Sullivan of the MUSD Nutritional Services Department, thanking the City and community partners for their support of their successful third annual summer meal kickoff event. Pastor LeeAnn Clarke offered warm words for Anna Stump, and bade farewell to Community Events Coordinator Scott Clinkscales, whom Clarke described as someone who “always brought excellence to the table” and would be tremendously missed.
Desert Trumpet Editor-in-Chief Cindy Bernard also spoke during general public comment, raising concerns about Future Agenda Item 9, the proposed annexation of two parcels occupied by Set Free Ranch, a church running a Christian discipleship program. Bernard told the Council the county had confirmed that the parcels are non-contiguous and not on the city border, and the state confirmed that Set Free holds no license to operate a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program, despite what is described as rehabilitative activity taking place there. Bernard questioned whether the annexation was worth staff time and raised separation of church and state concerns.
Bernard tied these concerns to the evening’s recurring theme:
We talk about the amount of money that’s being spent, and we’re talking about staff time, and I’m just asking that we really think thoroughly about what that staff time should be spent on.
The Brown Act prohibited Council from responding to any of the general public comments.
The next meeting is on June 23, 2026, the 1% sales tax will again be discussed. Looking to the summer, City Council is cancelling July 14 and August 11 meetings.
Run for City Council! Districts 3 (Mintz), 4 (Scott), and 5 (Wright) are up for election. The nomination period for candidates begins July 13, 2026 and ends on August 6, 2026. Contact City Clerk Cindy Villescas for details and check out our article on How to Run for City and Town Council for general guidelines.
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