All ablaze in pink, the Twentynine Palms City Council, City Manager and City Clerk kicked off last night’s meeting by recognizing Breast Cancer Awareness Month and inviting survivors and those affected by the disease to pose for a group photo.
The meeting also featured state audit results that focused on grants from Proposition 68. City Finance Director Abigail Hernandez-Conde led a presentation that reviewed two grants awarded to the city by the California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA). (Passed in 2018, the bill is known as the Natural Resources Bond or the California Drought, Water, Parks, Climate, Coastal Protection, and Outdoor Access for All Act of 2018.) The $2M grant for the Project Phoenix Cultural Center and Joshua Tree Visitor Center, and the $900K grant for Phase 1 of the city’s Flood Control Channel Trail came out squeaky clean with no audit findings.
Due to concerns around loitering and other undesirable behavior, the council easily approved efforts to secure the public bathrooms at Freedom Plaza. City Manager Stone James presented to the council the challenges of having parents and coaches having to escort children to the bathrooms to confirm safety. He stated that the doors had been part of the original design but were removed. Though the cost estimate was approximately $11K, council approved an amount not to exceed $20K to account for unforeseen expenses.
