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Town of Yucca Valley Community Update
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Welcome to the Year End edition of the Town's Community update! As we approach the end of 2018, it is our privilege to express how thankful we are for the opportunity to serve the residents, businesses and visitors of Yucca Valley. We trust that your Christmas and Holiday season will be filled with family, friends and good memories, and that the New Year will bring joy and success to you and your family. Over the past year, the Town continued progress on a number of long-awaited priorities as well as some new opportunities.
In the following update, we have highlighted these projects and programs, and hope that you find the information both interesting and useful. As always, there remains much to do. We invite you to stay engaged with your Elected Officials and with Town Staff as new decisions are considered and made with the simple goal of keeping the Town of Yucca Valley as a great place to live, work, and play. We value and appreciate your participation and feedback. Visit the Town's website for additional information
or feel free to stop by Town Hall and say hello.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, and best wishes in 2019!
Curtis Yakimow - Town Manager
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here.
To download a printable version of this email or to view our archive of updates, please click here.
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At the Town Council meeting of December 7, 2018, the Town Council completed their annual reorganization and selected Robert Lombardo as Yucca Valley's Mayor for 2019. The Mayor will represent the Town at various functions and events throughout the year, and can be reached via email
for questions or comments, or by contacting the Town Clerk at (760) 369-7209 x226. At the same meeting, Councilman Jeff Drozd was selected as the Mayor Pro Tem for 2019, and the Town welcomed its newest Councilmember, Jim Schooler. The November election reflected the Town's recently adopted by-district election process, with Districts 1,3, & 5 decided in the 2018 cycle. Districts 2 & 4 will be included in the 2020 election cycle.
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Mara's Christmas Wish 2018- Christmas Day 12:30 - 6:00 pm
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Continuing the legacy that Mara Cantelo started over 30 years ago with Tender Loving Christmas, a dedicated group of local volunteers have coordinated Mara's Christmas Wish 2018 at the Yucca Valley Community Center. This event ensures that no one has to celebrate Christmas alone, and provides an opportunity to gather on Christmas Day at 12:30 pm for a free Christmas buffet, entertainment, visits with Santa, and toys for boys and girls. This event is put on completely by local volunteers. If you are interested in helping for a few hours or a few days, please contact Ms. Gigi Connell at (760) 792-7126.
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Town Says "Happy Retirement" to Councilman Leone
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On December 4th, the Town Council took time to recognize the long and distinguished public service career of Robert "Bob" Leone. Congressman Cook, Assemblyman Mayes, and others reflected on their time of service with Councilman Leone, and presented Bob with resolutions, plaques and even a flag that flew over our Nation's Capital.
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Yucca Valley State of the Town
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In October, the Mayor hosted the Town's State of the Town luncheon and address. With special guest Congressman Paul Cook, Mayor Denison and the Town Council updated the community on the current State of the Town.
View the event here.
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Yucca Valley Branch Library Project Advances
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Preliminary planning and design is almost complete on the Yucca Valley Branch of the San Bernardino County Library. When complete, this project will occupy the vacant Pomona First Federal bank building on the southwest corner of Highways 62 and 247. With a focus on technology and relevance for the 21st century, the Yucca Valley Branch Library will be a magnet of life-long learning for people of all ages. Construction is anticipated to begin in the Spring of 2019.
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Success for Measure Y and Measure Z
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Both Measure Y and Measure Z had great success in 2018. Through Measure Y, the Town was able to complete much-needed interim road treatment on the west side of Town. Various road treatments were applied to many of the west end roads that had not been treated in years. This work is intended to extend the life of the road until such time as the roads may be reconstructed as part of the larger Town-wide sewer project.
Measure Y - It's Working!
With the release of the 2018 tax roll, Measure Z assisted local property owners by reducing the current year wastewater assessment by 40%. This reduction is directly attributed to the resources provided through Measure Z, and greatly exceeded the initial estimates of a 20 - 25% reduction in assessment. What a great benefit for the community!
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Community Services Happenings
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More Activities at the Yucca Valley Senior Center!
Expanded hours at the Yucca Valley Senior Center are funded by Measure Y and feature a wide variety of fun activities each month including regularly scheduled exercise classes, live music and entertainment, bingo, health seminars and social activities. November included a Thanksgiving lunch for seniors and over 100 guests attended the Senior Center Veteran's Day Celebration featuring live music, Marine Color Guard, pizza lunch and followed by commemorative cake service for our local veterans. December activities at the Center included a Christmas gift exchange with holiday lunch and an Ugly Sweater Contest, as well as a Gospel Concert and Holiday Flea Market Sale by the Senior Club. View the
current Yucca Valley Senior Center Monthly Activities Calendar .
2018 Parks and Recreation Master Plan Update Near Completion
After extensive community outreach, the Town is in the final stages of providing a renewed direction for Yucca Valley's parks and recreation system. The update builds on the Town's previous plan, adopted in 2008, and reassesses our parks and recreation system needs and opportunities. The intent of the Master Plan is to provide the community with a logical, comprehensive blueprint for park development, augmentation, and maintenance of the Town's Park system. The new plan was recently approved by the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Commission and will be presented to the Town Council in January for review and adoption.
Click here to learn more about other popular leisure activities offered by the Town of Yucca Valley.
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Town Uses Grant Money to Install Emergency Generators
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The Town recently utilized grant funds to purchase and install emergency generators at the Town Hall/Community Center and at the Animal Shelter. Having emergency generators in place is a much needed asset, which will allow for the continuity of services to the residents of Yucca Valley, during times of power loss. The Hazard Mitigation Grant funds were awarded to the Town in 2017 and covers 75% of the cost of the project. The generators are scheduled to be operational by the end of December 2018.
New generator being installed at the Yucca Valley Animal Shelter
New generator being installed at the Yucca Valley Community Center
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Wind Damage at Essig Park
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The upper portion of the Essig Park playground structure was recently damaged by heavy winds. The damaged portions were replaced by parks crew. All parts were covered under warranty, and the manufacturer redesigned the components to prevent similar wind damage.
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Rainstorm Leaves Roads with Sand and Debris
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The rain storm that began Friday night, October 12, 2018, and continued into early morning hours of Saturday, October 13, 2018, delivered between 1.6 inches to 3 inches of rain in the community. When the rain stopped on Saturday morning, Town crews immediately began clearing the major arterials. An additional contractor was added on Monday to help with the sand and debris removal of residential areas. The scraping of all affected roads were complete by Friday, October 19th. The sweeping started with two sweepers on Monday, October 22nd and the completion date is scheduled for December 20th. There has been three smaller rain events, November 29th, December 5th and December 6th, since the October 13, 2018 storm, that has impacted the sweeping of the streets.
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Yucca Trail Safety Project- HSIP
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The Town Council awarded a contract for professional design services to Albert Webb Associates at the meeting of September 9, 2017, for the design of the Yucca Trail Safety Improvement Project and the preparation of bid ready construction documents in the amount of $149,482. This project will bring much needed safety improvements Yucca Trail.
The limits for this project are Yucca Trail, from Warren Vista Avenue to Avalon/Palomar Avenue. The project consists of widening Yucca Trail by providing an 8 foot shoulder on both the north and south sides of Yucca Trail, a 12 foot travel lane both east/west on Yucca Trail, and a 12 foot center striped median with left turn movements into the intersections of Warren Vista, Bonita, Chula Vista, Victoria, Alaba, Frontera, Balsa, Emerson, Hanford, La Habra, Rubidoux, and Palomar. The project will also include the widening of Warren Vista both north and south of Yucca Trail to include left hand turn and through lanes.
Additionally, the project will include the widening of Avalon/Palomar (signalized intersection) north and south of Yucca Trail to include a left turn lane, through lane, and right turn lane, which may require a signal modification for the intersection. New traffic signal components will be necessary to accommodate these changes.
The Town Council will receive a project update report at the Town Council meeting of February 5, 2019. Following that Town Council meeting, public outreach to property owners affected by the project will begin so that neighborhood issues and concerns can be heard and addressed in the project.
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Paradise Park Improvements
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The Town Council recently authorized the bidding process for an improvement project at Paradise Park. The project consists of installation of turf for a future kids play field; installation of landscaping and irrigation for the park; installation of new security cameras; installation of a new roof on the Community Building; installation of new magnetic door locks on the restroom building; various other minor improvements; and, budget allowing, installation of a new 8-foot fence along the north and east property lines.
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Town Wide Slurry Seal Project
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The Town Council authorized the bidding of the annual crack seal project for construction at its meeting on December 4, 2018. The bidding period closes on January 16, 2019
. Streets that will receive treatment include:
- Carmelita Circle
- Carmelita Court
- Carmelita Place
- Carmelita Way
- Piedmont Dr.: West end to Santa Barbara
- Balsa Ave.: San Andreas Rd. to Juarez Dr.
- Hidden Gold Dr.: San Vicente Dr. to Frontera Ave.
- Ivanhoe Dr.: San Vicente Dr. to Frontera Ave.
- Ivanhoe Dr.: Frontera Ave. to end
- Ivanhoe Dr.: Warren Vista Ave. to end
- Juarez Dr.: Warren Vista Ave. to Joshua Ln.
- Lisbon Dr.: Warren Vista Ave. to Joshua Ln.
- San Tropez Dr.: Warren Vista Ave. to San Diego Dr.
- Rubidoux Ct.: Rubidoux Ave. to end
- Catalina Way: San Diego Dr. to end
- San Diego Dr.: Juarez Dr. to San Andreas Rd
- San Vicente Dr.: Joshua Ln. to Frontera Ave.20
- Rubidoux Ave.: San Andreas Rd. to Lisbon Dr.22
- Alaba Ave.: Juarez Dr. to end
- Church St.: Nez Perce Tr. to Joshua Dr.
- Yucca Tr.: Camino Del Cielo to end
- Camino Del Cielo Ct.: Camino Del Cielo to end
- Paxton Rd.: Warren Vista Ave. to Berkley Ave.
- Blackrock Rd.: San Marino Dr. to south end
- Airway Ave.: Red Bluff Ave. to 147'
- Palo Alto Ave.: end to 217'
- Redondo St.: 90' to Airway Ave.
- Redondo St.: Airway Ave. to Murrieta Ave.
- Imperial Rd.: Palo Alto Ave. to 417'
- Paxton Rd.: SR247 to 436'
- SR247 Outer Highway: Crestview Dr. to St. Mary's Dr.
- Aviation Dr.: SR247 to 557'
- 29 Palm Outer Highway North: SR 247 to Airway Ave.
- Lupine Dr.: Yucca Tr. to Primrose Dr.
Before the slurry seal is applied, the roadway cracks are filled, then slurry seal is applied to the roadway. The above photos are from the 2018 progress.
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Recent Planning Commission Action
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Tentative Tract Map, TTM R-20246, Gates of Spain:
An application has been filed with the Town for the reversion to acreage of 64 existing lots and a portion of Lot 197 (common area), in the Gates of Spain Mobile Home Park, resulting in an approximately 10.82 acre parcel. The property is located at 7501 Palm Ave. The Planning Commission approved the application on December 18, 2018.
Tentative Parcel Map, TPM 19620 Town Center Mall:
An application has been filed with the Town for a "condo" tentative parcel map to subdivide an existing commercial structure into four commercial units. The property is located at 57725 29 Palms Hwy on the south east corner of 29 Palms Hwy and Warren Vista Avenue.
The Planning Commission approved the application on December 18, 2018.
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Town Offices/Services - Holiday Hours
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Town Offices will have limited hours through January 1st
Town Hall / Community Development / Community Services
Closed Friday, December 21st through January 1, 2019.
Reopening Wednesday, January 2nd
Yucca Valley Animal Shelter / Animal Control
Beginning Sunday, December 23rd, the shelter will be available by appointment only to retrieve impounded animals by calling (760) 365-3111 ext 105 to arrange pick up or to leave a message for a lost or found pet. Shelter staff will return calls each day between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. The Animal Shelter provides kennel runs for anyone who has found a stray pet and wishes to drop off the pet on their own. Emergency assistance: Call Sheriff's Dispatch at (760) 365-2364.
Hi-Desert Nature Museum
Closed Sunday, December 23rd through Tuesday, January 1, 2019.
Building and Safety
Limited inspections available on December 26th and 27th only. To schedule an inspection, call (760) 365-1339. Issuance of new permits and regular office hours will resume on Wednesday, January 2nd.
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Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Best Wishes in 2019!
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On behalf of the entire Town Council, the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem wish everyone a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a prosperous New Year in 2019! Wishing you an enjoyable holiday with your friends and family, and safe travels wherever you may find yourself this season. See you in 2019!
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57090 Twentynine Palms Hwy
Yucca Valley, CA 92284
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