SAN BERNARDINO – The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors at their Oct. 22 meeting approved the transfer of 44.9 acres in unincorporated Apple Valley to the Mojave Water Agency following the water agency’s recent completion of the High Desert Interpretive Center.
The High Desert County Museum Interpretive Center, an outdoor educational facility, is at the heart of an April 2010 agreement between the county and MWA, giving the water agency surplus county-owned land for its new operations center in exchange for an educational investment for students to learn about the High Desert’s natural resources.
An educational kiosk along the High Desert Interpretive Center’s walking trail – Courtesy of the Mojave Water Agency
“We completed construction of the facility and we’ve complied with all of the requirements of the agreement,” MWA Engineering Director Gary Martin told the Civic Bee by phone. “Therefore the supervisors authorized the real estate services to go ahead and proceed with close of escrow, which would then complete the land transaction.”
Real Estate Services Department Director David H. Slaughter said in his staff report that the HDIC will serve to educate visitors about the cultural and natural heritage of the Mojave River and surrounding landscapes.
“The HDIC will also be used for K-12 student field trips through the Museum’s existing educational program, ‘Museum on the Road,’” Slaughter stated.
Located between Deep Creek Road and the Mojave River, the facility includes five interpretative kiosks, a 1,000-foot instructional path, and a covered amphitheater that seats about 50.
The HDIC will also educate visitors on just how beneficial water is to the High Desert, hosting a presentation at the site, which Martin said the County Museum is very excited about.
“They’re excited about integrating water into their presentation because of the obvious fact that the water of the Mojave River flows underground and nobody can see it, and we can manage a display with our technology,” Martin said.
According to the staff report, the joint use agreement between the county and MWA allows the County Museum use of the conference room and rest rooms in the operations center during scheduled school and community events at no cost to the county for a five-year term.
An educational kiosk along the High Desert Interpretive Center’s walking trail – Courtesy of the Mojave Water Agency
The report also noted that the county anticipates “revenues generated through museum school tour program fees at HDIC will off-set negligible annual maintenance costs.”
Yvonne Hester, community liaison officer for the Mojave Water Agency, said helping the County Museum with the infrastructure needed for the Interpretive Center benefited both agencies in their service to the community.
“This is really one of those actual examples of how two agencies can get together and share those resources to deliver a product to the public,” Hester said. “We are excited to be able to partner with the County Museum on certainly any effort that is an educational effort that talks about our natural resources – something that MWA wholly supports.”
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The Mojave Water Agency, a regional water purveyor serving the High Desert communities, partnered with the county in 2010 to construct the HDIC.
The HDIC is constructed on the county property adjacent to the 44.9-acre parcel conveyed to MWA for its new operations site. The 44.9 acres was appraised at $146,000, and the MWA agreed to invest the same amount into the Interpretive Center.
After receiving bids in July 2012 for construction of the Central Operations Facility and the San Bernardino County Museum High Desert Interpretive Center, MWA awarded Bowe Contractors, Inc. a $2.3 million construction contract, and construction began in October 2012.
According to the staff report, “MWA has met or exceeded the requisite milestones including completion of the HDIC to County Museum’s standards and has exceeded the required consideration of $146,000 for the 44.9 acres by spending in excess of $200,000 on the HDIC improvements and site work.”
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For more information on the Mojave Water Agency, visit http://www.mojavewater.org. More information on the San Bernardino County Museum can be found at http://www.sbcounty.gov/museum.
