Last night’s meeting of the Twentynine Palms City Council featured a first step in the long road towards moving the city to a proper sewer system. Reporter Heather Clisby was there…
After years of discussion, the Twentynine Palms City Council made the first of many moves toward converting the city from septic tanks to a sewer system. After input from residents and the Twentynine Palms Water District, the council voted unanimously to allow the city to apply for a grant that would seek $500,000 for the project’s pre-development.
City Manager Frank Luckino noted the “unique time frame” that currently exists and that there are “more dollars out there than normal” with regards to applicable grants. Requirements of the grant include the project being “shovel-ready.”
Luckino laid out both pros and cons for going ahead with the project but noted that a lack of housing has consistently been residents’ main concern, and new home building has been stymied by the lack of sewer. Concerns about protecting the groundwater were also noted. The city has also been in continuous talks with the Marine base on the feasibility of a shared system but no agreement has been reached.
There are studies that would need to be done in advance of the project, and the city would still need to obtain public buy-in.
The pre-application deadline for the grant is this November with the full application due by March 2023. Total cost of the project is estimated at roughly $150-200 million dollars.
