Flock Safety concerns spread to Yucca Valley Town Council, garbage rates on the rise and Walmart gas station moves forward
This is a longer version of our coverage of Yucca Valley’s Town Council meeting from June 2, 2026. Stay tuned to Z107.7 News for coverage of the Town’s invocation policy as well as Flock Safety updates as citizen concerns about the controversial technology begin to show up in public comments.
New Town hires
Tuesday’s Yucca Valley Town Council meeting was began with recognition of some new hires. Public Works Director Alex Qistha introduced Brenda Northup as the new Administrative Assistant to the Engineering and Public Works Department. Deputy Town Manager Shane Stueckle brought up three new hires to the Yucca Valley Animal Shelter.
Wesley McDavis, Darren Bradstock and Sierra Crippen have joined the Animal Care and Control Operation at the Yucca Valley Animal Shelter. Stueckle says that the shelter has been reporting a live release rate that reflects the hard work that the staff has put in, telling the Town Council “I can’t stress enough the importance of these employees and what they do at our animal shelter. They have contributed to taking our shelter almost borderline to being what’s identified or classified as a no-kill shelter.”
Garbage rates are going up
Yucca Valley residents are probably familiar with their trash and recycling service being on the tax roll alongside their property taxes. That figure will be going up as the Town Council approved Burrtec’s proposed rate increase of 8.97% — or about three dollars a month for the typical 95-gallon customer according to Senior Management Analyst Jessica Rice. The reason for the increase? State mandates around the diversion of organic waste from landfills which cost more to process.
“So for example currently the landfill costs are $49.49 per ton for trash compared to about $126 a ton for organic waste processing at a composting facility and about $120 per ton for recycling processing,” Rice explained. The rollout of diverting waste like food scraps and yard debris necessitated new green bins for Yucca Valley residents.
Read Burrtec’s Guide on which bins to use for trash, recycling, and organic waste. (PDF link)
Town tries a second time for transportation grant
Public Works Director Alex Qistha returned to go over the details of a grant that – if funded – could pay for the majority of the bill for pedestrian and roadway improvements around schools in Yucca Valley. The town submitted for the CalTrans Active
Transportation Program (ATP) Cycle 8 grant last year but it wasn’t funded. Qishta says that if the grant is funded this year, it would help fund $8.7 million dollars of pedestrian and bicycle improvements “and improve safety for students, residents and community members. The project will connect critical gaps in the town active transportation network while improving overall accessibility and mobility throughout the project area,” he explained.
If the grant is funded the town would only have to pay $450,000, with the rest of the tab being picked up by the ATP Grant.
In the only public comment on this item, Yucca Valley resident Eric Linnert spoke about his Basin Bike Path Project and a recent community ride that promoted safer biking through the Town.
He says that he was surprised that only a small portion of the $8.7 million dollar proposal would be used for bicycle infrastructure, with the majority aimed at sidewalk construction. “Sidewalks certainly have an important role, particularly near schools, parks, and community destinations. However, I would encourage the town to carefully evaluate whether every proposed sidewalk segment provides the same public benefit as additional bicycle and multi-use path investments. One of the recurring themes I’ve heard at the California Bicycle Summit was that communities are increasingly looking for projects that connect destinations, rather than simply adding isolated pieces of infrastructure,” he told the council.
Mayor Merl Abel commented he’d like to see the town streets move towards safer biking. During council comments on the grant proposal, the Mayor remarked that “we’ve missed a couple opportunities on some of the repaving projects to do some striping and some bike path signage and so forth so I hope we’re moving in the direction that you’re talking about.” The Town Council approved the motion for the grant application and expressed their hopes that it will get funded this year.
Walmart Gas and Convenience Store fuels dark sky concerns
A public hearing on the fueling station and convenience store proposed for the northeast corner of the Walmart Superstore lot was back in front of the Town Council. When the Walmart plans were originally proposed in 2007 it contained a fueling station at the northwest corner of the lot. That original plan received an environmental impact report (EIR) but the fueling station was never built alongside the mega store.
Now with the revised location the applicant is looking to have the nearly twenty-year old EIR applied to the new larger 12 dispenser fuel station and 1500 square foot convenience store. California State law doesn’t require a new EIR and allows the exact type of addendum the applicant was seeking. The public hearing came with a recommendation from the Yucca Valley Planning Commission on altering the lighting temperature for the fueling station.
The initial proposal contained brighter 5,000 to 6,000 Kelvin lighting temperature lights whereas the planning commission suggested a warmer 3,000 Kelvin light temperature would fall more in line with the town and county’s focus on maintaining dark skies.
The three separate motions required to close the public hearing and move construction of the fuel station forward were all unanimously passed.
Budget review sparks Flock Safety comment
A budget review by finance manager Jordan Gumbush included an increased spend on the Yucca Valley Animal Shelter which she says is one of the town’s most significant ongoing priorities.
“The proposed budget has an amended 51% increase in the five-year county contract. The total fiscal impact for the town is approximately 4.3 million. This will represent a significant investment while also responding directly to community expectations and the shelter’s operational needs,” she said. The Yucca Valley Animal Shelter has had significant attention in the last year regarding their operations, staffing, and procedures.
In public comments for the budget review, Yucca Valley resident Pauline Pisano opposed the approval of the budget saying that residents didn’t have a chance to fully review the 2,000 page agenda released just a few work days earlier on Friday the April 29. Pisano was specifically concerned about Flock surveillance cameras and the data they collect.
“I have with me over 300 signatures from community members who understand that their rights are being sold to big tech. Today we are asking our city council to cancel its contract with Flock to stop any upcoming plans to add more cameras and to be transparent about how we spend that money in the budget.”
Pisano confirmed with Z107.7 News after the meeting that she had sent the signatures to the Yucca Valley Town Council members.
Read: Town of Yucca Valley’s Flock Contract (PDF link)
Future Agenda items and close
For future agenda items Mayor Pro Tem Jim Schooler suggested a full report on the Yucca Valley Animal Shelter which he says has show a significant upturn since last year.
He reported a current live release rate at 86.9% for dogs and 100% for cats, saying “that’s how well we’re doing there compared to what you heard a year ago.”
During closing remarks Morongo Basin Sheriff’s Station Capt. Steven Scoville remarked on the five-year anniversary of Sergeant Dominic Vaca’s death in the line of duty. The Captain said that over a hundred people came out for the memorial and Mayor Merl Abel closed out the meeting in the late Sergeant’s honor.
The next meeting of the Yucca Valley Town Council is scheduled for June 16.