At the Morongo Basin Municipal Advisory Council meeting Monday night, a wide range of topics was addressed. Reporter Dan Stork says they included highway projects, solar fields, OHV policing, and more…
In the first informational presentation at the Morongo Basin MAC meeting, Haissam Yahya of Caltrans described the continuous left turn lane project on Route 62. He said the project is awaiting final environmental review; he expects construction to begin in the summer of 2016. The project includes the widening of shoulders to a uniform, paved 8 feet. Yahya responded to questions about Route 247 widening by noting that that’s a County project, on which Caltrans assists, but does not take the lead. He assured a questioner that there will be a left-turn pocket into the Dollar General store in Landers.
Sheriff’s Sgt. Rick Millard gave a presentation on Off-Highway Vehicle enforcement. He said that while OHV violation reports fall into the lowest priority level for deputy response, complaints are followed up. He listed the areas of most frequent violations, and asked for public assistance in describing offenders, without confronting them.
The Council passed a resolution, recommending that the Bowman solar project in Landers not be approved by the Board of Supervisors. During discussions before the vote, there were claims that the County’s Land Use Services Department presented only information from the project developers to the County’s Planning Commission.
During his presentation, Sheriff’s Captain Dale Mondary described the dispatch priority categories: emergency (where there is a crime in progress, or someone’s life is at risk), and four numbered lower levels, with representative examples:
- major traffic accident, break-in, fight
- evidence of break-in
- vacation home break in
- loud music, barking dog, identity theft, graffiti
During public comment, citizens asked for a safe bike route joining the two ends of the Morongo Basin.
Teresa Sitz and Lib Koenig were sworn in to fill the Wonder Valley and Flamingo Heights seats on the Council. The Landers and Pioneertown seats remain vacant.
