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Resident urges pause and more transparency on tourism board grant awards
Summary
At public comment, resident Eric Menendez urged the council to slow an upcoming $100,000 tourism grant award, questioned the availability and detail of tourism board minutes and recordings, and recommended alternative minute‑taking to improve public access.
A local resident urged the Twentynine Palms City Council to delay a pending $100,000 tourism grant distribution and to improve transparency around the Tourism Improvement District and arts commission meetings.
Eric Menendez told the council he reviewed two years of board agendas and minutes and found many public comments and discussion points that are not fully reflected in the posted minutes. He said audio and video recordings of the tourism board and arts commission meetings were not available online and that relying solely on minutes prepared by the TVET executive director could leave out important context: “I feel that that's, you know, sometimes stuff relating to her is on there…she's responsible for taking minutes,” he said, recommending the city consider assigning a different staffer or otherwise ensuring more thorough, accessible records.
Menendez also said the tourism grant committee was down one member, that applications were due in a short window and that the committee must still develop a scoring process before discussing awards. He noted the city has already distributed about $200,000 in grants and urged caution before awarding another $100,000 for a January‑through‑June funding period.
The council acknowledged the concerns and invited staff to review how records are made available and whether additional oversight or changes to the process are warranted; no formal action was taken that night.
