Listen here:
Last night, Twentynine Palms hosted the annual ‘State of the City’ event at the community center at Freedom Plaza where Outgoing Mayor Karmolette O’Gilvie reviewed the 2022 accomplishments before a small crowd.
Outgoing Mayor Karmolette O’Gilvie, a nurse by trade, began last night’s ‘State of the City’ address by quoting Florence Nightingale, “Let us never consider ourselves finished nurses… we must be learning all our lives.” Held in the new community center at Freedom Plaza, O’Gilvie celebrated the completion of Project Phoenix, a $20+ million-dollar project that concluded last March.
O’Gilvie noted new businesses opening, including Grocery Outlet, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Mara Restaurant, and the Corner 62 mercantile that includes Desert General, The Moon + the Mat, Scorpion Lollipop, Pisces, and the Wash. New businesses on the horizon include Home 2 Suites by Hilton, a laundromat, car wash, Snake and Stars Bar, Taco Bell, another Dollar General, and a downtown liquor store.
As for housing, there were 31 new homes built compared to 18 last year. The city is also working with Milestone Housing to build a 100-unit affordable housing project behind City Hall.
O’Gilvie highlighted the efforts of the Public Works Department, listing improvements such as:
- Completed overlay on 1.8 miles of roads and 1.2 miles of bike paths
- Fixed/replaced 600 street signs
- Maintained 115 miles of road shoulders
- Filled 3,000 potholes
- Removed 400 tons of trash and debris from streets
- Facilitated storm prep and clean up
Regarding the city’s law enforcement, which is two full-time deputies from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department plus a school resource officer and traffic deputy, the mayor shared these approximate 2022 stats:
- 20,000 calls for service
- 1,800 reports
- 600 arrests
- 300 traffic citations
Additionally, the San Bernardino County Fire District (SBCFD) responded to almost 2,600 calls in 2022 with 78 percent of those needing medical assistance. SBCFD also placed a Medic Brush Patrol into service which added an additional firefighter/paramedic to Twentynine Palms. Also, the medic fire engine is staffed with three personnel and, starting this year, always has at least one paramedic.
The mayor mentioned the much-needed rehab of the Luckie Park pool, slated for completion next spring, before highlighting efforts of the Parks and Recreation Department’s key events of 2022:
- Independence Day celebration
- Pioneer Days
- Veterans Resource Fair
- Boys and Girls all-star basketball tournament
- JT 55 Bike Ride
- Freedom Plaza Fiesta
- Halloween Trunk or Treat
- Easter Egg Event
O’Gilvie noted that the department has engaged approximately 18,000 participants in youth and adult sports, community events, dance, martial arts, summer camps, and clinics.
Video statements by local business owners featured Kari and Shawn Maloney, owners of the new Grocery Outlet; Francoise Lazard, owner of Desert General, and Michael Usher, owner of GRND SQURL. There was also a video statement from Colonel David A. Suggs, Chief of Staff at the Marine base.
