While keeping a safe distance from one another, the Twentynine Palms City Council gathered last night for its usual bi-monthly meeting. Though the public was asked to stay home, our reporter Heather Clisby was there and has the details…
The Twentynine Palms City Council met last night before an otherwise empty room at City Hall. Honoring the stay-at-home directive issued by Governor Gavin Newsom on March 19 to slow the spread of COVID-19, the meeting was closed to the public though they could still relay questions and comments via email and watch the meeting live via the City’s YouTube channel.
The main order of business was to review the building designs for the Joshua Tree National Park Visitor Center and Cultural Museum and City of Twentynine Palms Community Center as part of Project Phoenix. Approved last week by the Planning Commission, the council unanimously also approved the designs.
The buildings will be located south of Highway 62, east of Yucca Avenue and west of Smoketree Avenue on approximately 1.5 acres. The visitor center will be a 4,100-square-foot facility that features a large exhibit hall and the community center will be approximately 11,700 square feet that includes a gym. City Manager Frank Luckino mentioned that while Project Phoenix is still on schedule, the pandemic and the resulting economic ripple effect could potentially slow progress.