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Two presentations lead off the Yucca Valley Town Council meeting last night – the first by 3rd District Rep Dawn Rowe where she presented the town with a check for 1.6 million dollars for Pickleball Courts. There’s also a million dollars being set aside for rehabbing the Senior Center, alongside 5 million in County funds for the long-planned aquatic center.
County Fire Protection District Interim Deputy Chief of Operations Scott Tuttle also presented information on Measure W which – if passed – will repeal the special tax for Service Zone FP-5. Tuttle says the special tax and the money it brings in accounts for about 19% of their annual operating budget – or about 48 million dollars. With no current way to replace that funding, Tuttle says that repealing the FP-5 special tax could result in a reduction of firefighters, closed fire stations and homeowner insurance premiums going up.
In public comments, a resident brought what she described as a lack of transparency in how the original tax of approximately $170 per parcel was passed, prompting Supervisor Rowe to respond that despite the way it was originally passed, the vote now lies with the people on whether the tax should remain.
President of San Bernardino County firefighters Jim Grigoli put the issue in plain english during public comments –
Jim Grigoli: “Make no bones about it, this is about affecting firefighters. We should all support a “no on W” and get this thing secured so we can serve the communities we need to…”
Chief Tuttle further clarified that all revenue collected – including the FP-5 tax which is approximately $170 per parcel, stays within the South Desert Fire Protection Service Zone which covers the Morongo Basin.
Listen: “Up Close Show” with Dawn Rowe and Fire Chief Munsey
On the agenda – ordinance 311 amended the development code allowing small businesses with minimal traffic impact to open without having to foot the bill for improvements like highway widening and sidewalk replacements.
The Aquatic Center is once again out for bid and being aggressively marketed at eligible contractors in what Deputy Town Manager Shane Stueckle describes as a very competitive market, where current federal and state money that is available must be spent by 2026. Currently there are 5 interested parties expected to make a bid.
Arts and recreation programming for 2024
In arts and recreation news – Local metal sculpture artist Gubby Beck was chosen as the first artist to install a public art sculpture at the Yucca Valley Library branch where it will remain until November.
Town Staff presented a full slate of new programming for the Hi Desert Nature Museum and recreation departments.
An annual review the town’s short term vacation rental permits went over the number of complaints that have been received by the Town and presented some potential code changes – doubling the permit duration from 2 to 4 years alongside expanding the number of habitable structures allowed underneath that permit.
The town also meshed short-term rental regulations with the special event regulations that were passed at last month’s meeting.
Short-term rental code amendments
The meeting stretched past 9PM as Town Attorney Thomas Jex explained a salary adjustment for Town Council members starting in 2025.
You can find budget updates along with details on the salary increase and other updates on the Yucca Valley Town Council agenda located here.
Yucca Valley Mid-Year Budget Summary
