At its regular meeting last night, the Twentynine Palms City Council upheld a penalty for the late payment of transient occupancy taxes by the owner of three hotels in the city because he was out of the country, saying it would set a precedent for other hotel owners if they were to waive the penalty. The council then discussed a dog park at Knott’s Sky Park. In part 1 of a 2-part story, managing editor Tami Roleff says some city council members objected to spending several hundred thousand dollars on a dog park…
“I can’t see spending $200,000, $400,000 on a dog park.” Council member McArthur Wright also questioned why the city was installing grass for dogs when it tore out grass in front of City Hall. Council member Cora Heiser said there is a big difference between “needs” and “wants,” and that the dog park was definitely a “want” and not a “need.” But Mayor Joel Klink said it was time the city council lived up to its promises. “So we’re talking now 11 years that we’ve talked about a dog park. We put $400,000 aside for a dog park. Every year it gets set back, gets set back, ‘oh, we’ll do it next year.’ I want it done, and I’m going to vote for it…. The money is there for that dog park. I feel this dog park would be great for this community, and I don’t have a dog.” After an hour of discussion, staff will come back at a later meeting with better estimates and breakdowns of costs for the dog park. Tomorrow, in part 2, we’ll hear about the sculptures on National Park Drive. 
There were mixed opinions on whether the city should waive a 10 percent penalty for late payment of transient occupancy taxes from the owner of three hotels. Veno Nathraj explained he was out of the country when payment for the TOT taxes were due, but that he had left a check for his son to mail while he was gone, but his son forgot. Nathraj said he mailed the check as soon as he returned, but it was received a week after the due date. He added that he has never been late with his TOT payments nor has he ever asked for a waiver before. The penalty was $7,863. Twentynine Palms resident Almut Fleck said the council should waive the penalty. Council member John Cole thought the city should lower the penalty to half of what it is, and/or give Nathraj 10 months to pay the penalty. But Council members Cora Heiser, McArthur Wright, Mayor Pro Tem Dan Mintz, and Mayor Joel Klink all said they could not set a precedent for other hotel owners to ask for a waiver of penalties. The council voted 4-1, with Cole dissenting, to deny Nathraj’s appeal of the penalty.
The city council appointed Cora Heiser and John Cole to a wastewater ad hoc committee. Committee members will collaborate with the Twentynine Palms Water District and the Marine Corps Base on a wastewater master plan.
The issue of the dog park at Knott’s Sky Park was the most contentious issue of the meeting. The city has just finished installing lights and grading the park for additional ball fields, and is now working on plans for adding more basketball and tennis courts, as well as a dog park. The cost for the entire project is estimated at $1 to $1.5 million; however, the city currently only has $320,000—plus $117,000 from Community Development Block Grant funds that it can use for sidewalks, curbs, and gutters, or a parking lot. Community Development Director Randy Councell said the cost for a dog park would be about $175,000 to $200,000, with $75,000 going for grading the area, upgrading the well, installing irrigation, seeding, and 6-foot fences for two separate areas in the dog park. A parking lot would cost about $220,000; bathrooms, $125,000; tennis and basketball courts, about $100,000 each.
Council member Wright questioned why the city was installing grass for dogs when it tore out grass in front of city hall. He was incredulous that the city wanted to spend that much money for dogs. Council member Heiser said the city has finite resources, and said there is a big difference between “needs” and “wants,” and that the dog park was definitely a “want” and not a “need.” She brought up the fact that the city said it couldn’t afford to fund its own fire department; how could it then spend money on a dog park? Resident C.J. Horn thought there were a lot of other projects the city could spend its funds on, such as first responders and the senior center, and that building a dog park gives a bad impression.
Several members of the public spoke in favor of a dog park. Tabitha Davies said she was a dog trainer, and that dog parks were important to help socialize and exercise dogs, and would lead to fewer dog fights and less aggressive dogs. Several women said they drove their dogs from Twentynine Palms to Yucca Valley so they could play in the dog park there. Katherine Mahea said her husband will be retiring soon from the Marine Corps, and as much as she loves Twentynine Palms, she doesn’t want to live there if there isn’t a dog park for her three dogs. Fiona Metcalf said the city could charge admission to the dog park to help pay for the cost. Lisa Leonard said even though she has the desert in her back yard, she can’t exercise her dog in the desert because of coyotes. She questioned the need for two tennis courts and thought the funds for one court could be used for a dog park. Almut Fleck urged the council to have their federal lobbyist pursue grants for building the dog park.
Animal Control Officer Rick Boyd said there is a huge problem with people bringing their dogs to Luckie Park, where dogs are not allowed. Building a dog park will give residents a place to take their dogs. He added that dogs don’t need the whole park to have grass, especially since some dogs like to dig.
Mayor Klink said the city has been talking about building a dog park since he was first elected to the council in 2004. “We put $400,000 aside for the dog park. My feeling is we said we wanted a dog park; every year it gets set back. I want it done, and I’m going to vote for it. I feel this dog park would be great for this community, and I don’t have a dog!”
Council member Wright said he wasn’t on the council when it voted $400,000 for a dog park, and he can’t see spending even $200,000 on a dog park. He urged the city to look for a grant for it. “There are a lot of other things we need in this city I just can’t see spending that much money for it.”
Cora Heiser agreed. “I have dogs. I take my dogs for a walk every day, for two miles. I can’t spend that kind of money on a dog park, but if the citizens want to get together and do it themselves, I will support them.”
Mayor Pro Tem sided with the mayor. “The money was allocated years ago. Park and Rec is responsible for quality of life. Twentynine Palms is the only city that doesn’t have a dog park.” He urged staff to come back with a more detailed breakdown of how much the improvements at the park would cost, dirt versus grass, agility equipment, shade and grass, a dirt or gravel parking lot instead of asphalt.
Council member Cole said he also wasn’t clear on how much the items would cost, but added later that he was a strong supporter of the dog park. “Just go ahead and do it. Why do we have to prolong it? Just go ahead and do it.”
When council members said they’d like to see a design of the dog park, City manager Frank Luckino said that would require the city to hire a designer, which would cut into the funds available for the actual park. Council members were quick to agree they didn’t want to use up park funds on a designer, and so asked for staff to come back with estimates on the costs for grass, fencing, equipment, grading, and infrastructure.
