The long-planned Yucca Valley Aquatic and Recreation Center project was awarded to Robert Clapper Construction Services out of Redlands, California. Their base bid was just under $38.6 million and construction is anticipated to start in July of this year and be completed by November of 2026.
The town has allocated an even $50 million for the project, and anticipate the total construction costs – including stuff like inspections, furniture and IT infrastructure – at $45.7 million.
Robert Clapper Construction VP of General Contracting Jon Wollam thanked the council for what he describes as a “flagship project” for both the Town and the construction firm, and said they were excited to break ground.
Measure Y Partnership Funding
Next up – Measure Y Partnership Funding applications were reviewed. The Town received 22 applications requesting a total of $550,000.
The council approved the Measure Y budget of $100,000 and will be distributing the requested funds to 8 different Yucca Valley nonprofits:
- The Boys & Girls Club of the Hi-Desert
- High Desert Pregnancy Clinic
- Reach Out Morongo Basin
- Spark Growth!
- Yucca Valley Senior Citizens Club
- Morongo Basin Tennis Association
- Soroptimists International of Yucca Valley
- Morongo Basin Competitive Dance Teams
Nonprofits that are involved in homelessness issues and art were removed from the Measure Y pool of applicants and will be included in Yucca Valley Town programs that fund nonprofits specifically working on those issues.
At the end of the department report, Finance Manager Jordan Gumbish did some budget magic to fund the Senior Citizen Club’s equipment request out of non-Measure Y funds, opening up an additional $5,000 which could be awarded to the Twentynine Palms’ Church of the Nazarene’s food program – an action that garnered lots of applause in the room.
Food Trucks and Sidewalk Vending
After an extensive public comment period where all of the funded nonprofits spoke to thank the town, business moved onto a slightly warmer issue: food trucks and sidewalk vending – or specifically – the town’s lack of any sort of food truck permitting.
The Council expressed a desire to allow food trucks and sidewalk vendors to legally operate within the town, and reviewed some guidelines on where they could operate. It was noted that both Twentynine Palms Highway and Old Woman Springs Road are state highways and controlled by Caltrans, meaning the Town has no control over permitting on those right-of-ways.
Kristy Meeler from the Happy Cooker food truck spoke during the public comment period and discussed some of the issues with legally running a food truck in the town. Specifically, she wondered why her food truck is currently shut down during the info gathering period while the very visible taco tents on Twentynine Palms Highway are still operating.
Deputy Town Manager Shane Stueckle replied that the Town is actively issuing citations to property owners that allow the non-permitted food tents.
Planning Commission Chair Gerard Noonan spoke to his experience in other towns with permitting food trucks and sidewalk vending, a fact that may have played into the Council’s decision to defer the issue to the Planning Commission to hammer out the details.
Rounding out the meeting was an extensive budget review.
You can find the full agenda and a video of the meeting at Yucca Valley’s website.
Previously Reported:
