During last night’s Twentynine Palms Water District meeting, the Board debated whether or not to stop the Fire Department’s mutual aid agreements to other cities. Mutual aid is an agreement with neighboring Fire Departments in which they respond to a fire if the home department is unable to respond or responds to assist. Director Sam Moore said, “I think since our Fire Department is staffed lightly with only five people, we should not do mutual aid because it is leaving our city under less protection.” Fire Chief Jim Thompson disagreed, saying, “There is no guarantee that any city will be able to come to our aid, but if we cut off mutual aid with our neighboring cities, they very well may cut off their mutual aid to us completely. If the Lear Avenue Fire Station was open, our Fire Department would be able to keep the mutual aid agreement without troubles.” Nothing was finalized on the matter but the topic may reappear in future meetings. On the Water District side, the Board discussed water meters. As of right now, the Water District does not notify customers all the time if their water meter has been changed. The Directors decided they’d like to change this so that there is no confusion when a customer’s water bill suddenly jumps because the meter is working more accurately and the old one was underperforming. If you have any questions on the water meters in your home, call 760-367-7546.
TWENTYNINE PALMS WATER DISTRICT DISCUSSES DROPPING FIRE MUTUAL AID, METER NOTIFICATIONS
