The Yucca Valley Town Council received updates on town improvement projects and public comments on the animal shelter.
Following an update from the California Welcome Center, last night’s Yucca Valley Town Council meeting began with two briefings on recent projects. Public Works Director Alex Qishta first presented the improvements at Machris Park; the basketball court and playground equipment were recently replaced, and the Town celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony yesterday (April 15) morning. This was followed by the quarterly update on the Aquatics Recreation Center. Notable recent milestones include the installation of underground utilities, the pouring of concrete slabs, and the relocation of the Western Joshua Trees. With 39% of the schedule elapsed, the project remains on track to be completed by June 2026.
The Council was pleased with the progress on both developments, as expressed by Council Member Rick Dennison.
“All these projects we’ve been talking about – the Old Town parking area, the ARC, and also a revamp and update of Machris Park – those started many years ago, and they’re just now coming around. Things take a while, and it’s taken quite a few turns to get here. We got right back into it and we were able to work with our partners, and here we are today.”
The Council also considered the Town’s Development Code related to small collection facilities. In September, the Planning Commission denied a Special Use Permit for a facility proposed along Twentynine Palms Highway within the Corridor Residential Overlay, which the code prohibits. Yucca Valley currently has one small collection facility, Venture Recycling Group, which receives grant funding from CalRecycle for being the town’s sole provider. The Council voted unanimously to keep the Development Code as it is currently, but remained open to considering it further at a future date.
During the discussion of future agenda items, resident James Porter requested to add an update on the Yucca Valley Animal Shelter to each meeting agenda, including animal intakes, adoptions, rescues, and euthanizations within the preceding two-week period. The Council denied his request, citing that they are already receiving updates on the 90 Day Operational Review at every other meeting.
This was followed by a lengthy Public Comment period, during which over twenty residents spoke for over an hour on their concerns with the Yucca Valley Animal Shelter. The shelter’s euthanasia rates and practices and lack of a volunteer program have remained key talking points at all Council meetings since February 18; several residents were concerned that the Operational Review was being conducted internally, rather than by a third-party. Among the speakers were two current employees of the shelter, who highlighted staff shortages as a key issue.
“My name is Ryan, I work at the animal shelter. Like everyone else is saying, the shelter is extremely short staffed right now. There are only two Animal Control Officers, myself included. And I just want to say, I know a lot of people at the shelter, they want to change, they want to do the right thing, and they want to put in the leg work to do so.”
Town Staff will provide the second interim update on the 90 Day Operational Review to the Council at their next meeting on May 6.
