Continuing a discussion from the March 26 meeting, the Twentynine Palms City Council gathered last night and discussed the downtown water treatment plant.
Last night’s meeting of the Twentynine Palms City Council began with a presentation from Women of Color Global (WOCG). Representative Nancy Black proposed a partnership with the city to apply for the Environmental and Climate Justice Community Change Grant. Black detailed what the grant would be used for, namely, two climate-controlled shuttle buses, a Resilience Center (for climate emergencies), and an indoor community garden. Later in the meeting, councilmembers McArthur Wright and Octavious Scott requested the matter become a future agenda item.
The remainder of the meeting largely focused on the wastewater treatment plant for Project Phoenix. The downtown-only plant includes 18 businesses, and two of those businesses are owned by Eileen Leslie, who spoke against the plan citing maintenance/operational costs, possible odors, and no commitment from the proposed hotel within the project perimeter.
“I really think we somehow need to address whether or not we should be moving forward with this treatment plant. And awarding the contract is moot at this point. Award it. But we need to address it,” said Leslie.
Interim City Manager Larry Bowden explained that nothing has changed since the 2019 wastewater study was done and if the contract is not awarded before the end of April, the city will lose federal funds for the project.
The council approved awarding the contract to 316 Engineering & Construction for approximately $2.2M. (The company was the lowest bidder.) Councilmember Scott stated his concerns about delaying the project. “If we don’t do this, it’s going to be required,” said Scott. “I don’t want to burden the community in that way, as the full amount would have to come out of the General Fund.”
