After an electrically-charged preamble to the Twentynine Palms City Council meeting, a previously discussed issue was resurrected. The Council also reorganized itself and sniffed out locations for a dog park. Dan Stork has details…
The chilly night led the Twentynine Palms City Council to make short work of a ribbon cutting at the electric vehicle charging station at Bucklin Park.
Back at City Hall, outgoing Mayor Joel Klink delivered the State of the City address, stressing achievements and ongoing efforts in fiscal soundness, parks, streets, and marketing of the City. He also delivered the Employee of the Year award to Ryan Waddell, and the Mayor’s Recognition award to Irene Cruz. At the end of the meeting, Klink turned the gavel over to Dan Mintz, who will serve as mayor for the coming year. Jay Corbin was chosen to be Mayor Pro-Tem.
Animal Control Officer Rick Boyd presented numerous alternatives for a dog park location, about half of them on land already owned by the city, and the rest on land that would have to be acquired. The Council rejected all alternatives that would require purchase of land, and also rejected Pioneer Park, Luckie Park, and the land where the 29! sign is located, leaving land near City Hall and in Knott’s Sky Park to be considered for public comment and future Council action.
During public comment, several speakers—including this reporter—revived the issue of invocations before meetings. Council members Jim Harris and Cora Heiser, each expressing some regret for how they expressed themselves on the issue at the previous Council meeting, led a move to bring back the discussion to a January meeting.
