Needles to use grants for parks, housing repairs and community services, mayor says

Mayor Jan Jernigan said the city has secured a package of grants to improve parks, public spaces and housing as part of a broader push to make Needles more livable for families and visitors.

Jernigan said the city won $3.96 million from California's Proposition 68 program to upgrade Duke Watkins Park with a Route 66–themed splash pad, a bicycle pump track and a new restroom, and she listed $7 million in grant awards supporting projects such as the Jack Smith walking trail, golf‑course irrigation and other park improvements.

On housing, the mayor said the city assumed governance of the local housing authority in 2023 to preserve and stabilize 52 housing units and associated vouchers (23 Section 8 and 30 veteran vouchers). She said the city replaced every window and door in the housing units for the first time in 70 years (302 windows, 156 doors) at a cost she described as nearly $500,000.

Jernigan also described community services and access improvements: a trap‑neuter‑release program that has sterilized more than 200 cats, $120,000 in grant funding for the animal shelter to hire staff and purchase a vehicle, and emergency work with Inland Empire Health Plan and city administration that increased pharmacy access from one local provider to seven and added a prescription‑delivery option.

She noted the Needles Area Transit acquired two buses at no cost and said the city plans to begin transitioning to zero‑emission buses in fiscal year 2027–28.

The mayor framed these investments as part of a strategy to attract families and visitors and to leverage grant funding for facility upgrades.