The Yucca Valley Town Council welcomed a new employee at its meeting last night. Armando Baldizzone came to Yucca Valley from Blythe and is the town’s public works director. Baldizzone has a professional engineering license in California and Argentina, and a master’s degree in business administration. As the public works director, Baldizzone will oversee and be responsible for the town’s engineering functions, project management, town facilities, and parks and street maintenance.
Sheriff’s Lieutenant Luke Niles told the Council that the number of traffic crashes in the town is down slightly this year. He added that there has been an increase in commercial truck traffic on Highway 247; the Sheriff’s Department is working with the California Highway Patrol to increase commercial traffic enforcement on Highway 247. Managing editor Tami Roleff says that after hearing an update on the Morongo Basin Active Transportation Plan, the Council started brainstorming on what projects they’d like to see in the town…
There were themes that ran through the ideas put forth by the Yucca Valley Town Council of new ideas and initiatives they’d like to see in the town. A high priority was a new fire station. Several mentioned that they’d like to see public art on the highway medians or the west entrance to the town. They’d also like to see Old Town spruced up, and perhaps have some business or public facility to act as a place where the public could gather. In fact, several also mentioned they’d like to have an event center, perhaps corporate sponsored, where there could be meetings, special events, and maybe a place for the rodeo, as well. Several council members also mentioned adding parking and hiking trails to North Park. The ideas will be presented to the public during future workshops and prioritized.
IDEAS DISCUSSED BY THE YUCCA VALLEY TOWN COUNCIL:
Jim Schooler:
Property beautification/streetscape design, code enforcement efforts to keep the town looking nice.
The entrance coming into Yucca Valley could be spiffed up.
Years ago, the town initiated some funds to businesses to spruce up the storefronts. Maybe the town could look into doing this again?
What could we do to anchor something down there in Old Town? Design a gathering place? Perhaps a parking lot to encourage people to park and walk around Old Town.
A resident told me, “What you need in old town is restaurant with outdoor seating at both ends and let other businesses fill in between the two restaurants.”
Develop an off-highway parking lot. Down at The River, there’s an outdoor amphitheater, a gathering place where people wander by.
It’d be nice to have a store to anchor Old Town, or a business, or a community feature, something to take advantage of the mojo that’s going on down there right now.
Jeff Drozd:
Highway 247 ends at Highway 62. Joshua Lane is one of our most expensive roads to maintain. Could we petition the state/county/federal government to extend Highway 247 to Black Rock Campground in Joshua Tree National Park so they’re maintaining our most expensive road to maintain?
Art on medians. Especially coming in to town
North park. Add trails, parking, kiosks. South Park allows dogs; North Park would be a great addition for people with dogs.
Maybe Mojave Desert Land Trust can purchase land around there to keep it rural and for hiking.
Weeds. Weed abatement
Highway 247. Work with Caltrans to widen 247 from Highway 62 to the top of the hill.
Old Town rejuvenation
Bicycle loop from Yucca Valley, Pipes Canyon, Pioneertown, down to Sunnyslope.
Walking/bike path from the community center to Boys/Girls club.
At the library’s new location, add a small park in the empty lot next to the library with a swing, slide. Then little kids will not be tempted to cross street to go to community center if they have a park next to the new library.
Merl Abel:
Property beautification.
Illegal dumping needs to be really attacked, prosecuting people, putting up trail cameras, mandatory trash pick-up in YV. Trash pickup along highway
247: would like to see county supervisors putting some passing lanes in desert. On both sides to save a few lives.
We need an event center/rodeo grounds. Need a large corporate sponsor; perhaps Home Depot would be willing to put an event center out there.
People will travel for King of the Hammers, so why wouldn’t they travel for horses, short track racing, and other events. Look for corporate sponsorship, and name something after them.
The fire station is outdated. It’s been revamped so many times. It doesn’t fit our hook and ladder truck. It’s way overdue.
Rick Denison
Fire station.
Open space meeting area in old town is a great idea. It would build community. We don’t have any place for that now. Add a parking lot for farmer’s market.
Broadband access. It’s not high on my list because I think there are other people doing that.
Public safety center to support fire equipment, with a separate wing for Sheriff’s Department for vehicles and deputies. They need to have a place as a headquarters.
Local road systems. They’re fantastic. Slurrying and treating roads all over town.
There are sections of town that still have problems.
A resident told me she wants a Trader Joe’s. (laughter.)
Add signs for beautification, direction, and identification. There are so many old signs in the town.
Quality of life: North Park and South Park. Off road hiking, mountain biking. Build trails with help of hiking/biking clubs.
South Park borders Joshua Tree National Park. Are there possibilities to work on partnerships to develop camping areas so the town becomes a destination? Residents can walk their dogs on trails in town parks.
Entertainment: Where do we have a rodeo/concert? We don’t have a piece of dirt that would work well for that. Would like to keep looking for that.
As we build out more property, we have a responsibility that they are safe and secure, afterhours. Make sure we have technology, like fencing and cameras for safety and security to augment public safety.
Robert Lombardo:
Essig Park has beautiful topography, views. We could build an event center there with town meeting rooms, and it’d be a venue for weddings or outdoor gatherings. Include an amphitheater and room for parking, a decorative meeting room that can be dressed up. It would draw corporate events.
Add a trail system at North Park with a parking lot, shade structure, picnic tables, bathrooms. Look for grants and matching funds for this project.
Increase in Transient Occupancy Tax to bring it up more to what’s around us.
Development of empty lots on west end of town. Pave them and hold concerts, food festivals, farmers market. We have so many months with nice evenings, we could use it if we light it properly.
Would like to see area zoned for smaller homes, 1,000 square feet or under. Maybe these smaller homes would help relieve the homeless situation? The homes would provide a safe/comfortable space for people who live out of cars/campers/trailers. We could bring in health care professionals to that area.
I’d also like to see more dump disposal days sponsored by the town and clean up the desert. And clean up the alleys.
Jim Schooler again:
Signs: I’d like to see a consistent look. Use our art community to design the signs. The signs could establish some character to community, identify who we are with some entry signage.
Essig park: Our parks are on the small side developed on restricted budgets. We have problems like traffic going through play areas. Yucca Valley is still growing and with more people we’ll have more needs. There are 80 acres at Essig Park.
Fire station: we need that. It’s big.
We need meeting rooms/receptions. This room is a vanilla box.
We need an event center that accommodates not just rodeo, but other things.
Public arts. We should be supporting the arts and artists.
Transient Occupancy Tax needs to be looked at.
Pedestrian and bike paths.
I’d also like us to celebrate the things we accomplish.
