SOME HOPE FOR THE END TO THE SAGA OF THE BELEAGURED TWENTYNINE PALMS FIRE DEPARTMENT

The Twentynine Palms City Council will hold a joint meeting with the Twentynine Palms Water District Monday, December 7, to work out an agreement on the future of the city’s fire department. A joint ad hoc committee of the two agencies met last week to work out details acceptable to both agencies. The biggest issue is the fire department’s unfunded liability, which stands at about $3 million. Under the proposed agreement, the Local Agency Formation Commission would create a new service zone that follows the current water district boundaries; the water district would pay $40,000 a year from its cell phone tower lease to pay the minimum amount to keep the Public Employees’ Retirement System plan inactive for five years (with the option to terminate the plan if bond rates reach a certain level); the city would buy the Adobe Road fire station for $250,000 and buy out Fire Chief Jim Thompson’s contract for about $125,000. The cost of the proposal would come out of the City’s unrestricted reserves, which are currently at $10.8 million. The meeting is set for 5 p.m. in City Hall on Adobe Road.