The Yucca Valley Town Council met in a busy session last night. They gave block grants to the Town, worked on appointment and rotation issues, and came up with names for the new senior housing project. Managing Editor Tami Roleff was there and files this report…
After an hour of reports and presentations—meeting Miss Yucca Valley and her court, hearing from So Cal Edison, recognizing Diane Olson of the Planning Department as Employee of the Quarter, and saying farewell to Sheriff’s Captain Rich Boswell who is retiring—the Yucca Valley Town Council finally got down to business at its regular meeting last night. The Council voted to allocate $50,000 in Community Development Block Grants to playground improvements at Jacobs Park, and $70,000 toward targeted code enforcement in the Town, with the understanding that in two or three years, it will phase out the code enforcement grants and return to more traditional funding. The Council then refused to pass a recommendation from staff and an ad hoc committee to change the way planning and parks commissioners are appointed. The Council did tweak the rotation process for mayor, declaring once a council member is in the queue for mayor, the rotation does not change based on the number of votes received in an election. The Council voted 4 to 1, with Dawn Rowe voting no, to shuffle funds around to pay back money it had borrowed for Essig Park improvements. Rowe voted no on principle, saying she was against the Town spending money it didn’t have in the first place. Council members forwarded the names “Town Senior Village” and “Dumosa Senior Village” to the developer to choose as the name for the new senior housing project.
