Regular City Council Meeting - December 19, 2023
View Agenda - Watch Entire Meeting
Land Acknowledgement
The land that Eureka rests on is known in the Wiyot language as Jaroujiji. Past actions by local, State and Federal governments removed the Wiyot and other indigenous peoples from the land and threatened to destroy their cultural practices. The City of Eureka acknowledge the Wiyot community, their elders both past and present, as well as future generations. This acknowledgement demonstrates the City’s commitment to dismantle the ongoing legacies of settler colonialism.
Report Out Of Closed Session - Watch
Nothing to report out of closed session.
Mayor Bergel presiding; Councilmember Castellano, Councilmember Moulton, Councilmember Fernandez, Councilmember Bauer, and Councilmember Contreras-DeLoach present in chambers.
A. Mayor’s Announcements - Watch
Mayor Bergel invited the Limited Edition, the vocal jazz ensemble from Eureka High School to sing. Limited Edition is raising funds for a field trip to Fullerton to compete in a jazz festival through caroling at the holidays and Singing Valentines in February.
Attended City of Eureka Employee Recognition Dinner, Mayor's Award went to Robert Williams from Uplift Eureka, who housed 91 people last year. The City Manager award went to Amanda Auston from the Sequoia Park Zoo, and City Council Award went to Housing Specialist Kristen Raymond.
Mayor Bergel went to a ribbon cutting, served refreshments at the Lighted Skywalk opening, attended the Salty Santa Boat Parade, attended a Zumba-thon, attended CAPE holiday party as an elf.
Awarded Chief Jarvis with token of appreciation for the work as Chief. Chief Jarvis expressed his thanks and gratitude to work with the team at City of Eureka and all of the Eureka Police Department employees.
Councilmember Moulton thanked Chief Jarvis for helping the City. Said that all of Eureka is trying to move forward, including Eureka Police Department, and Chief Jarvis has been a key part in helping to make that happen.
Councilmember Bauer enjoyed working with the Chief, expressed thanks for assistance in getting City through rough times with poise and proffessionalism. Said it was an honor to work with Chief Jarvis and see the force become what they are today.
Councilmember Castellano expressed thanks to Chief Jarvis, appreciates the Chief's ability to see possibility in the community.
Chief Jarvis said that he can go into retirement knowing that Eureka is in good hands with Chief Stephens.
Councilmember Contreras-DeLoach expressed thanks for the work that Chief Jarvis has done, enjoyed working with him in her time in office.
Seven people shared public comment. One commenter shared difficulties they experienced in trying to make arrangements for a group visit to the Zoo. One commenter asked Council for higher wages for police staff. One commenter shared their desire to do more in their volunteer role to assist in the ivy eradication effort at Sequoia Park. One commenter shared their experience attending an interfaith gathering with the Mayor and Councilmembers. One commenter spoke about the war in Palestine. One commenter spoke about decolonization and decarbonization. One commenter shared concerns about being able to travel to Eureka by bus from out of the area.
E.1 Eureka Police Department Equipment Ordinance
Bill No. 1033 Military Equipment Use Ordinance
Presented by Eureka Police Chief Jarvis
California AB 481 was signed into law in 2021 and went into effect in 2022. The law gave police departments a little over 5 months to publish a Military Equipment Ordinance. The matter was discussed at that time and since then, but through transitions in staff and offices, had not yet adopted the required ordinances. This was brought up by the [Community Oversight on Police Practices] COPP board. What is required is that the City Council create an Ordinance that approves the Police Department procedure and policy regarding how Military Equipment is used.
The term “military equipment” does not necessarily indicate equipment that has been used by the military, obtained from the military, or is even considered military grade. Items now deemed to be “military equipment” are widely and regularly used by law enforcement agencies all over the country for a variety of law enforcement related critical incidents and include, but are not limited to, unmanned aerial or ground vehicles (i.e. drones or bomb disposal robots), armored vehicles, command post vehicles, battering rams, pepper balls, impact munitions, tear gas, and commonly used long rifles (Cal. Gov. Code §7070).
What's commonly thought of with the phrase "military equipment" is heavily armed people and tanks rolling down streets, but the most common time one would see military equipment in the EPD jurisdiction would be if there was a critical incident that required the assistance of the regional Humboldt County SWAT team, which is lead and run by the Humboldt County Sheriff's Department. They maintain the equipment, and part of this ordinance is that if such items come into the EPD jurisdiction, that needs to be reported back to Council. Moving forward, the Chief will report back to council, including presenting an annual report of any time military equipment is used in the jurisdiction. The most common instance would be in the case of an active shooter or a known or believed to be armed barricaded subject, or officer down or hostage rescue. EPD did have items considered military equipment in place or close at hand during the Sara Bareilles concert in October of 2022, with assistance from the Humboldt County Sheriff and a neighboring county, in the case of a worst-case scenario of something major happening. EPD has provided a list of items owned by EPD or items that may come into the EPD jurisdiction.
Council Questions
Councilmember Bauer asked for clarification on what is meant by mention of a 'tracked armored vehicle'. Answer: There is a tool utilized by some police departments that is Bobcat sized, with armored plates. Has not seen that tool in this region. Tool can be raised to get to upper-story windows safely.
Councilmember Fernandez asked if the 30 notice in section 104.4 of Bill No. 1033 could be provided to Council in a shorter amount of time, such as 15 days or 10 days. Answer: That could depend on the type of event that was occurring. If it was an incident where the commander believed that they needed to use equipment that wasn't already approved, in a good-faith belief the equipment was needed, the report may be submitted sooner, but must happen within 30 days.
Councilmember Castellano asked if there are plans to acquire or purchase additional materials in the upcoming year. Answer: Not at this point, but may need to replenish some consumable items for existing equipment, and any items that were on loan from the United States Military has been returned.
Councilmember Castellano noted that some of the materials aren't lethal items, asked if their use is anticipated. Answer: those materials are classified as less than lethal munitions. The hope is that if it is necessary to deploy them, they are deployed in lieu of deadly force, as a force option in the force matrix.
Councilmember Castellano asked if it is known if the County has a policy similar to this policy. Answer: that is unknown, but the state law does require all jurisdictions to do so.
Public comment for this item
No public comment on this item.
Council Comments
Councilmember Bauer noted that when reviewing the military items, had a reaction that these items weren't needed in the community, then recalled an active shooter incident where law enforcement used an armored vehicle to stop the incident and apprehend the shooter. Would not want the City to own one due to the maintenance needs for that kind of equipment, but as a larger community it is now an unfortunate necessity.
Councilmember Moulton noted that at first glance of the ordinance was taken aback at the idea of militarizing the local police, but after further reading it became clear that this is a transparency tool, and that this is going to help keep public safety accountable to the public.
Motion to Council
Council moved to adopt the ordinance; motion passed unanimously.
Notice to the Public: All matters listed under this category are considered to be routine by the City Council and will be enacted by one motion. Pursuant to City Council Resolution 2011-22, if a member of the public would like an item on the Consent Calendar pulled and discussed separately, the request shall be made to a Councilmember prior to the meeting. Unless a specific request is made by a Councilmember, the Consent Calendar will not be read. There will be no separate discussion of these items.
F.1 Approve City Council regular minutes of December 5, 2023
Minutes of Eureka City Council December 5, 2023
F.2. Da’ Yas Park Restroom Building Purchase
F.3. Bid No. 2022-13 Acceptance- Elk River Estuary Enhancement Project
F.4. Council Meeting Cancellation
Item F.5. Chief of Police At-Will Appointment requested to be pulled from the Consent Calendar.
Motion to Council
Council moved to moved to approve the Consent Calendar, minus item F. 5.; motion passed unanimously.
F.5. Chief of Police At-Will Appointment - Watch
City Manager Slattery appointed Chief Stephens. Chief Stephens has been a long-time member of the police force, has shown good leadership and has a lot of respect in the community. Believes that he has benefited from the presence of Chief Jarvis, and is a great fit for the community.
Chief Stephens thanked the Council and City Manager for confidence and support, shared appreciation for support and outreach from the community. Shared appreciation for the staff of EPD.
Council Questions
No questions for this item.
Public comment for this item
No public comment on this item.
Council Comments
Councilmember Fernandez asked for this item to be pulled from the Consent Calendar for further discussion. Had a meeting with Chief Stephens and was able to get his view of what public safety looks like in this community, felt that Chief Stephens has the deference and commitment to the community that would be a benefit to the community, citing his support of the Community Safety Engagement Team (CSET).
Councilmember Contreras-DeLoach appreciates Chief Stephens integrity and heart, grateful his is in this position.
Councilmember Bauer has been able to get to know Chief Stephens over the past few years, has great respect and confidence in Chief Stephens.
Councilmember Castellano thanked Chief Stephens for his years of dedication to the City; appreciates his care for the people in the community and the members of EPD.
Mayor Bergel shared appreciation for Chief Stephens, and their working relationship over the years.
Motion to Council
Council moved to moved to approve Consent Calendar item F. 5.; motion passed unanimously.
G. Legislative Action Correspondence - Watch
Councilmember Bauer requested Council send letter opposing Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act, as requested by League of California Cities (CalCities); CalCities believes that this will greatly reduce the ability to generate revenue; and unanimously voted to oppose this item. Asks Council to support the opposition to this item. Council approved by consensus.
Councilmember Fernandez requesting Council to send a letter opposing County Measure A, formerly known as Humboldt Cannabis Reform Initiative, which goes to the voters on the March 2024 ballot. Requested by Humboldt County Growers Alliance (HCGA). Councilmember Fernandez is opposed in part due to the effort to amend the County General Plan, which could lead to circumventing the public process in the future.
Councilmember Bauer abstained from the discussion and decision due to the nature of his work.
Councilmember Castellano asked if this was time sensitive. Answer: City Manager Slattery shared that in discussions with HCGA, they need to get their ballot measure opposition language in before the end of January to be included on the ballot, and Council only has one meeting in January; according to HCGA it is time-sensitive.
Mayor Bergel invited HCGA Executive Director Natalynne DeLapp to answer Council questions. Answer: HCGA needs answers by the middle of January at the latest.
Councilmember Contreras-DeLoach does not have a good understanding of the issue.
City Attorney Luna suggested agendizing this item for the next Council meeting on January 16th, for further discussion. Council approved agendizing this item by consensus.
H. Ordinances & Resolutions - Watch
H.1. Myrtle Avenue Bike Lanes - Watch
Resolution Myrtle Avenue Parking Removal
Presented by City Engineer Willor
This consideration is a part of the Complete and Green Streets Policy, approved by Council at the beginning of 2023 (Watch - January 17, 2023 Regular Meeting, or see the agenda); there is a potential design that could impact a portion of parking on Myrtle Avenue, which would need to be approved by Council.
The section of Myrtle Avenue Improvement Project will be between 6th Street and Harrison Avenue, at the border of City Limits. Myrtle Avenue is high on the list of projects to maintain. When conducting repairs like these, also review the underlying utilities to perform any repairs at the same time. Will be replacing the water main between 6th Street and Harrison Avenue. When reviewing projects like this, also review the new Complete Streets policy. Myrtle Avenue is also an integral part of the Bike Plan. The City also received additional funding for bike improvements from the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP), for items such as bike lane improvements and intersection improvements.
With the new Complete and Green Streets Policy, Public Works now evaluates projects to determine if and how elements of the policy could be incorporated into a given project.
Myrtle Avenue is a principal arterial, and one of the highest volume traffic local streets in the City. It is one of the main thoroughfares between Myrtletown and unincorporated Humboldt County and Eureka, and it also crosses three sloughs, First Slough or Cooper Gulch, Second Slough, which are both within City limits, and Third Slough, which is outside City limits. Myrtle Avenue is one of the only crossings of Second Slough until Buhne Street, and then Harris Street. The high volume of traffic plays a large role in the decision making process.
Engineer Willor presented findings from the City of Eureka Bike Plan, where respondents shared conditions that prevent them from bicycling to a desired location. The top concerns were high speed car traffic, bikeway separation from car traffic, and concern for personal safety. A buffered bike line, that is separated from traffic through striping on the pavement, is proposed for a section of Myrtle Avenue. Only Myrtle Avenue between West and Harrison Streets currently has parking available on the south side of the street.
The section of Myrtle Avenue between 6th and West Streets currently has wide enough vehicle lanes to allow for the creation of buffered bike lanes through restriping, and reducing some very wide lanes down to 10', giving each existing bike lane a 3' striped buffer lane.
The section of Myrtle Avenue between West and Harrison currently has bike lanes and one lane of parking with two travel lanes and a center turn lane. The proposal would remove the parking from the south side of the street and allow for bike lanes with a striped buffer. Anticipating this as a possibility, staff did conduct a traffic survey. Staff found that the occupancy rates were either low or zero occupancy during the survey times, conducted in the middle of October and the beginning of December. The low utilization of the parking on this section of road is what brought the redesign as an option to consider under the Complete and Green Streets Policy, but only as an option.
The Myrtle Avenue Improvement Project was approached with the Complete and Green Streets Policy framework. Generally, as the City advances bicycle planning the issue of available roadway width and bike facility design brings to light the need to evaluate compromises. There are rarely opportunities to add or enhance facilities without modifying or eliminating an existing one. The question to Council is if there is a desire to maintain the current configuration for parking, vehicle travel and bike lanes, or is there a desire to remove parking and add buffered bike lanes in the section of Myrtle between West Street and Harrison Avenue.
Council Questions
Councilmember Castellano asked if there were any parking surveys done at night, when most residents would be home. Answer: The latest survey began at 6pm, some done during the day. Total number of parking spots is about 84.
Councilmember Castellano asked if there was any analysis of removing the center turn lane, to use the space from that center turn lane to be able to maintain parking and also expand the bike lanes. Answer: The two-way left turn lane on this section of street is critical for the roadway to function properly with the volume of traffic that uses the road. Eliminating that would cause backups at streets entering Myrtle Avenue. Removing the turn lane could increase the number of collisions; and limit the functionality of the street.
Councilmember Bauer asked if there was space on Myrtle Avenue at the intersection of West Street to add a buffered bike lane. Answer: Staff is working with a consultant on that specific intersection. That intersection is one of the most challenging intersection. There have been preliminary studies to see what measures could be taken to make that intersection better. What design firms typically look at in these instances would be how to better designate how cyclists would cross the path of cars in order for the cyclist to make the desired turn. The challenge of the intersection is providing the signage and striping to get cyclists where they need to go safely. Right now, none of that is in place, and would be a big improvement for that intersection.
Councilmember Bauer asked if changing the bike lane plan would affect any funding. Answer: The way that these funds were applied for did not include a design nor specifications of what striping was going where; did include a general description of increased improvements for bicycles and pedestrians.
Councilmember Bauer asked if there is a way to designate 13th Street to East Avenue as a way of getting cyclists from West to the eastern portion of Myrtle Avenue to avoid the intersection, or if that has been explored. Answer: Can look at designating lower volume streets as bicycle boulevards, and currently looking for feedback on the Bike Plan, to get the perspective from people in the community to help identify what routes would work the best for alternate bicycle routes.
Councilmember Fernandez is supportive of the idea of designating alternate bicycle routes to circumvent busy intersections, but does not want to remove parking from a predominantly residential area. Answer: Speaking about 13th Street to East Avenue, that does provide a short distance to get around the intersection, and will be looking for other possibilities in the Bike Plan. Crossing traffic lanes would be more difficult. The signalized intersection could be more laid out for moving bicylces through it. If Council does not choose to move ahead with buffering the bike lanes throughout this section, would still be looking to improvements to that intersection to try to make it more navigateable by cyclists.
Councilmember Fernandez asked if Council would need to amend the resolution to make sure these alternatives were considered.Answer: The resolution is only for removing the parking, if Council does not want to pass that resolution, the rest of the project would move forward. City Manager Slattery clarified that the only reason for the resolution is if Council would be eliminating parking, if a portion of the parking would be eliminated, the resolution would need to be amended. City Attorney Luna advised that how to handle the resolution would depend, and suggested taking public comment and comments from the Council before making amendments, and can make a reccomendation based on what Council would like to do.
Councilmember Castellano asked if there could be a bike path on the rear side of the Linc housing that's planned for the lot at the corner of Sunny and Myrtle. Answer: The lots neighboring the lot where the Linc housing will be are privately owned, asked if a bike trail would wrap around the housing and enter back to the roadway. Councilmember Castellano clarified that building on the hypothetical idea of using 13th Street to East Avenue, and a way of extending that protected bike area could be to create a bike path between Sunny and McFarlan on the back side of the housing, to keep people off Myrtle for longer. Answer: That is a much bigger project, there are private propety right of way issues involved, crossing Second Slough, where the actual slough channel is located. Mayor Bergel commented that she has been on bike trails like that in Sacramento, where they go behind a develpment, that was nice to be off of the main road.
Councilmember Bauer asked if the culvert crossings for Second and Third Slough, when considering sewer and water main work, considering drainage improvements, sea level rise, fish passage and the like.Answer: That is on a list. When it comes to replacing a large, tidally influence, fish bearing culvert, hoping to go after funding for Second Slough at some point, in order to look at improvements like that. There are some plans to do some additional sea level rise planning regarding this area in a little more detail. The current funds are specific to street maintenance and water and sewer enterprise funds for maintenance, and a small amount of funding specific to bike and pedestrian improvements.
Public comment for this item
11 people shared public comment, no one spoke in favor of removing parking. Seven people stated that they were residents of Myrtle Avenue and shared that they would have difficulty finding parking for themselves, having parking for service providers such as plumbers, or having parking for community or family gatherings. Commenters shared issues receiving notice about this when the matter first went to the Traffic Safety Commission. One commenter said that the only designated handicap parking was on the street, and the wheelchair user that resides on Myrtle would have an immediate and negative impact on their quality of life. One commenter asked if it would be possible to utilize sidewalks for bike traffic. One commenter was concerned with the communitcation of traffic disruption with public transit. One commenter was concerned with the size of the bike survey.
Council Comments
Councilmember Bauer thanked the people who shared comment here to voice opinion. Also clarified that the City Engineer is doing the bidding of the City Council, through the things like the Complete Streets Policy. It is not the City Engineer advocating for anything. The policy that was developed was to look to see where it makes sense to make the kinds of changes, to try to do. No one here has their minds made up, and this is a resolution advanced by a committee of citizens of Eureka. In this situation, it's more of a challenge to implement what Council would like to do, which is provide safe travel for all citizens. Doing that would make it hard for the residents of that street. After the discussion and comment, does not think that any of the existing parking could be removed. Can not support the resolution.
Councilmember Castellano appreciates this exercise of democracy. Council creates policy in preparing for the future, in preparing for reducing the carbon footprint and building community, and we apply that policy. Appreciates staff interpreting the policy created by Council and bringing it back to Council to determine how to implement in the real world. Does agree with Councilmember Bauer, and appreciates the people who live in this community. It is a hard place to live and to have a sense of community, with the high amount of traffic in the neighborhood. Would like to slow traffic as a way to make bicylcists feel safer. Thinks that exploration of alternatives would be helpful in this area.
Councilmember Contreras-DeLoach would like to see some other traffic calming measures taken to help make traffic slower, but preserve the street parking.
Councilmember Fernandez believes that alternatives are needed in this location, could be some other kinds of delineators for the bike lanes, does not support the removal of parking.
City Engineer Willor can take measures to highlight bike lanes between West and Harrison.
No Motion to council
Council did not take a motion on the resolution, the resolution died for lack of a motion.
I. Reports & Action Items - Watch
I.1. 2022-23 Budget Review - Watch
Attachment A - FY2022-23 Transfers Between Funds Current & Proposed Changes
Presented by Finance Director Millar
Review of 2022-2023 Budget. Typically, accounting staff is close enough to close the books at this time of year to report to Council. Accounts record the last of the entries from the end of the fiscal year in June to the end of September to record entries from the previous fiscal year. This year, staff is far enough ahead to be able to report what would be considered the actual numbers for Fiscal Year 2022-2023 (FY23).
The general fund recieved $42.4 million dollars in revenue in FY23. 79% came from taxes, 4% came from Franchises, Licenses, and Permits, less than 1% came from Fines and Penalties, about 10% came from Intergovernmental funds, generally in the form of grant monies. 6% came from Charges for Services, charges for services that departments provide to the public, and the remaining 1% are miscellaneous revenues.
The portion of the general fund that comes from taxes, 64% of the general fund revenue comes from Sales Tax, 8% comes from Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) or bed tax, 7% comes from Property Tax, and less than 1% comes from Other Taxes, such as Business License tax.
Ended FY23 with about $700,000 more than what was in the mid-year budget. Part of that came from Zoo admissions and membership fees growing. There was a large varience in the Intergovernmental revenue, but that is a hard category to predict, as cannot always know when funds will be granted, and are typically reimbursements for funds already spent. It is not uncommon to incur the expense in a prior fiscal year, and then get the reimbursement in a following fiscal year. About $400,000 of the additional revenue from the intergovernmental category were from grants, and $160,000 came from the Humboldt Bay Fire JPA, as a reimbursement for a fire engine. The City will pay the bill, and then the JPA will reimburse the City. Franchises, licenses and permits were up, mostly from gas and electric franchises, and the rise in the cost of their rates. Tax revenue was about $500,000 less than what was expected. This is not uncommon in this category; based on the large amount of revenue, $500,000 is not a large varience compared to the $30 million budget. Property Taxes tend to not reduce, but also don't grow a lot. The past few years had a rise in value of property, which does translate into a rise in property tax revenue, but it does not make up a significant portion of the general fund revenue. The main contributors are consumption taxes, sales tax and TOTs, based on money spent in the community. These numbers correlate to the overall economy, and can tell us that local spending has slowed a bit. Overall, between the two most recent fiscal years, FY22 and FY23, the tax revenue is down just under $900,000, or about 2.5% decrease
General fund expenditures for FY23 were just under $41 million. 43% were for personnel costs, 2% for materials and supplies, 23% for outside services, such as outside consultants and PG&E bills for electricity, 2% for miscellaneous, 18% cost allocations, when one department may serve another depart, the costs of that are distributed through cost allocations. 2% for capital outlay, less than 1% for debt servicing, and 10% were transfers, funds transferring from the general fund to other funds, such as street projects, or subsidies to other funds.
Expenditures came in about $600,000 more than what was expected. The Capital Outlay category has the largest variance, and is somewhat misleading, due to changing the budget at mid-year, and then appropirated about $375,000 for the purchase of property on Sunny Avenue. This is a unique purchase, as typical purchases are consumed, and this property will be recorded as an asset. There were additional remodels and repairs and unanticipated expenses from grant projects that contributed to the varience.
A large driver in the increase in outside services category is the increase in PG&E services, that was about $130,000 more than what was anticipated, in addition to the fire engine payment. Personnel costs were under by about $300,000, across multiple departments.
The FY23 Revenues were over what was anticipated by about 1.7%, and expenditures were over by about 1.6%, which left the City with a small surplus of about $75,000.
FY23-24 has a balanced budget, though no longer running large surplusses. Reserves are healthy and within policy guidelines. Sales Tax revenues are down, and may be flat or be slightly down. In the future, there are union negotiations coming up; one agreement will expire at the end of 2023, and the other will expire at the end of the fiscal year. This will likely result in a cost increase to the general fund. The City is planning for a new Corp Yard, and a study identified $30 million plus in deferred maintenance, and CalPERS unfunded liability payments will indrease.
The Finance department is proposing an additional fund transfer for the Sky Walk Project, part of the Sky Walk was funded by the Eureka Lodging Alliance. They agreed to fund $600,000, over 10 years, in annual payments of $60,000. This fund transfer would bring the Sky Walk fund back to a positive cash position, and then the remaining payments from the Eureka Lodging Alliance would go to the general fund. The Finance Department is also proposing removing the Building Fund Subsidy, as that was completely funded from permit fees. The Finance Department is also recommending transferring fund from funding source funds to the street projects funds; and adjusting the Water and Waste Water Capital projects funds to reflect actual dollars spent.
Recommending Council approve the FY23 budget adjustments and appropriating $75,000 in the current year budget for the 2024 Participatory Budget Program.
Council Questions
Councilmember Bauer asked if the operating subsidies would go away, if those centers would generate enough revenue. Answer: Without making predictions, it appears that the Building fund has recovered really well, and should continue to balance the revenues to the expenses in that fund. The Harbor fund does not have a large gap, and could be eliminated over time. City Manager Slattery added that the subsidy prior to this fiscal year was much more significant. In a study done previously, a lot of that gap was due to how staffing funds were allocated, and Director Millar made some changes, as a lot of the work that Harbor staff performs more general fund related, and that alleviated a lot of that subsidy, and going forward, that same study did show that the properties that the City owned were well below market rate. Raising the leases closer to market rate, that will help with the Harbor subsidy, similar to Building.
Councilmember Bauer asked if the Utility Assistance Program was still active. Answer: City Manager Slattery believes that those funds are exhausted, was part of 2023 Participatory Budgeting, and believe that the Utility Assistance componant was used more than the Rental Assistance, and some funds from Rental Assistance was allocated to the Utilities Assistance. The balance of that is unknown, and another opportunity to continue that could be through the Participatory Budgeting.
Public comment for this item
One commenter asked about clarification for administrative fees and if there were any plans for lighting improvement.
Mayor Bergel recommended the commenter email City Clerk their questions, to be sent to staff for assistance.
Council Questions & Comments
Councilmember Castellano asked if the Sky Walk fund was being funded out of anticipation for further development of the Sky Walk. Answer: The fund transfer is to address the cash deficeit of about $480,000, rather than have to explain that to the auditors every year, address the deficeit now.
Councilmember Fernandez commented that he is glad to do participatory budgeting, asked why the amount of the program budget amount stays the same and has not increased. Answer: Director Millar used the amount from 2023, and Council can adjust the reccomendation. City Manager Slattery added that the amount can be changed, and said that while Director Millar has been able to make good predictions for this fiscal year, nothing is certain. If Council would like to add to the amount within reason that was recommended, there would have to be an amendment to the resolution.
Mayor Bergel asked if an increase to $100,000 is a reasonable increase. Answer: That would be a reasonable increase.
Councilmember Contreras-DeLoach asked for an explanation of the request for the increase.Answer: Councilmember Fernandez noted that the majority of last year's Participatory Budgeting program went to rental and utility assistanct; wanted to make sure that those could be funded again. City Manager Slattery confirmed that of the four projects funded last year, rental assistance, utility assistance, an intersection pedestrian crossing light, and painting an intersection, the assistance programs did use a majority of the funding, but that was based on the process. The participants won't be told that they need to do any specific projects, as determining what should be funded is a part of the process.
Councilmember Castellano asked if there were still people utilizing the Utility Assistance Program, or if the funds had been expended, and are there other opportunities that may be avialable for utility assistance. Answer: City Manager Slattery said that there will be an opportunity to fund that program with the Participatory Budgeting process, and that the process will more than likely be the same process as the previous year. There are no more funds remainging in the Utility Assistance fund, as that fund was supplemented from the Rental Assistance Program funds, the there may be small amount remaining, and future funds would depend of the decsions of the group. There is a hope to get good participation from community members from all wards for this year. The intent was to split the funding between each ward, and the participants from that ward would identify and fund a project within that ward. Last year there was not an equitable participation of community members, so the process was combined into an overall process. Staff will lean on Councilmembers to help get participation from the community members in their ward.
Councilmember Fernandez asked if participants received a gift card or stipend for participation. Answer: Participants did receive a stipend, but the funds for those stipends were not a part of the $75,000 budget.
Councilmember Contreras-DeLoach asked how long the Participatory Budgeting program has been going on, and what some of the previous projects have been, and about the background of the program. Answer: 2023 was the first year of the project, and was brought up during either Strategic Visioning or the budgeting process, and was modeled off of a much smaller version of what Arcata had done, as well as participatory budgeting programs from other communities, and developed the program with the help of a consultant. Plan on conducting the program with staff going forward. Arcata had done a program focusing on just the Valley West area with a budget of $15,000. Staff tried to do something similiar and split it up into wards, and the project morphed after that.
Councilmember Castellano clarified a previous question, if there were opportunities outside of the Participatory Budgeting program to fund something similar. For instance, Council could decide to fund Participatory Budgeting at the current amount, and choose to use $25,000 to fund Rental and Utility Assistance separately.Answer: the idea for this came up through COVID and being able to utilize American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for community assistance, and there may be funding sources similar to that. Permanent Local Housing Allocation (PLHA) funding that the City receives may be able to fund assistance programs outside of the Participatory Budgeting program.
Mayor Bergel shared that if she had a vote, she would prefer to keep Participatory Budgeting the same, and then try to figure out ways to fund assistance programs, due to the rising costs of all utilities. That would keep the funds in Participatory Budgeting available for whatever the community members want to do, without needing to feel like they have to fund a specific program.City Manager Slattery will verify with Housing Specialist Raymond about the status of the assistance funds, but a decision about using PLHA funds will not be able to happen before the Participatory Budgeting process is set to begin.
Councilmember Fernandez will be okay to keep the appropriation at the recommended amount if an assistance program could be created.City Attorney Luna advised that if Council would like to do that, that should be separately agendized. Staff would be able to look into that and bring it back to Council.
Motion to council
Council moved to approve staff recommendation. The motion passed unanimously.
I.2. Ambassador Program Report - Watch
Presented by Project Manager Davis
There are many different Community Ambassador Programs throughout the state and nation, the overall similarites between the programs are the focus on empowering community members to act as representatives, advocates and facilitators. Successful programs involve training, ongoing support, and clear communication channels, and those programs have been tailored to meet the needs of a particular community.
An example to look to is the San Francisco Community Ambassador Program, established in 2010 and designed as a community safety and engagement program, focusing on providing a clear, visible, non law-enforcement safety presence. It's been successful and expanded throughout the City of San Francisco. They provide a few different services for the community.
The Arcata Community Ambassador Program, implemented in 2022, with a focus on community safety and beautification. In speaking with Arcata staff, this program is run through the Arcata Police Department, and has evolved to focus on beautification and social services, and connecting community members to resources. A large takeaway from the discussions with Arcata staff members, is that it is key to have the right people serving as the ambassadors, and it's the ambassadors that make a successful program. The program was designed and implemented in Arcata utilizing ARPA funding, and now Arcata will need to secure other funding sources, which may include bringing a measure for the voters to decide on. The City of Eureka does not have this sort of program in its budget. Staff has developed a pilot program that would start with volunteers as pilot Ambassadors.
The City does have community volunteer positions available, learn more at EmpowerEureka.org. There is a current need for volunteers for the Emergency Weather Overnight Center, among others.
Staff is designing a pilot program, Old Town Stewards, to focus on Old Town and Downtown Eureka. This program is a collaboration between the Visitors Center, the Economic Development division, Eureka Main Street. The board of Eureka Main Street has expressed excitement around and support for this project, as well as Eureka Police Department. The Volunteer Patrol has shared a lot of their training materials. Community Services Department will assist in recruiting volunteers through the Empower Eureka website.
The Stewards would receive quite a bit of initial and ongoing training, orientations, learning the history of historic Old Town, meet businesses in Old Town and Downtown, and participate in Quarterly Concierge Meetings.
The main goals of the program are to support community members, support the business community, support and inform visitors, and provide an enriching experience for volunteers. What would make a program like this succeed will be the people serving in these volunteer roles.
Staff is looking to receive comments from Council as they develop program materials, which will allow for the securing of grant and other funding. The next steps would be recruiting volunteers and implementing programs in the community. This was brought up in Strategic Visioning, and beleives that this program will enhance and build community in Eureka.
Council Questions & Comments
Councilmember Fernandez asked if there were also discussions with the Chamber of Commerce or other business leaders, in addition to Eureka Main Street. Answer: At this point have not had discussion with Chamber, but that is an organization to reach out to as the program grows and develops. City Manager Slattery added that this is the first presentation of this program, and intend on bringing this to the Chamber of Commerce. Chamber of Commerce Director Olsen is aware of this program as a development.
Councilmember Fernandez noted that is program is in Old Town and Downtown, asked if there is any consideration for Henderson Center or other areas. Answer: As the program expands, will move into other areas. Currently, the Eureka Volunteer Patrol through the Eureka Police Department, has a smaller group of volunteers called "The Walkers" who are in the Henderson Center area now. Would work with that group to supplement their presence, would want to compliment and supplement what they are doing. The Walkers are active in both Henderson Center and Old Town Eureka.
Councilmember Contreras-DeLoach is very excited, saw a presentation from the City of Arcata on their ambassador program, presentation discussed Arcata's own hesitancy at the beginning of their project, and highlighted how well received the program was from community members and visitors, and the reduction of calls to police for minor items. Wanted to have the same program from that moment, and appreciates the work of staff in putting this vision together.
Councilmember Castellano asked about the San Francisco program, and if they were able to use workforce-development funding by hiring people impacted by the justice system, asked if that was the case, and if that could be a good funding source and workforce-development opportunity. Answer: Staff is not familiar with that program, and that may be different from their ambassador program, but staff can research to see if that would be a viable funding source.
Councilmember Fernandez asked for more details about the training that volunteers would receive. Answer: have received training materials from both the City of Arcata ambassador program, as well as the Eureka Police Department Volunteer Patrol, and staff is compiling those trainings, and filling in the gaps to meet the needs of where the volunteers are serving. The training will be highlighting the uniqueness of Eureka and Old Town. These volunteers would be informed about the services and the business that are here today, but also the history of the area, so that they can share that information with visitors and community members. They will be trained on a variety of things, and will be left open to ambassadors and what their strong suits would be, and empower those individuals. City Manager Slattery added that part of the training will be who to call in those different situations, want to make sure of the safety of the volunteers. Not having expectations for volunteers, as not every volunteer will be interested in the beautification component, and may be more interested in the social services or docent componants. Will make sure that volunteers will have access to the Old Town and Waterfront Trail maintenance workers, both positions which were allocated by Council over the last couple of years, as well as access to CSET and Uplift and those resources for programming.
Councilmember Fernandez noted that in addition to what the program has laid out, could also supplement Eureka Police Department, which has already been noted as being currently understaffed.
Mayor Bergel shared appreciation for the work that Project Manager Davis has done in creating programs in the community.
J. Future Agenda Items - Watch
Councilmember Castellano asked for utility and rental assistance programs to be agendized. Consensus reached.
Motion to Extend Meeting
Motion to extend meeting to 10:00 pm. Motion passed unanimously.
K. City Manager Reports - Watch
K.1. Strategic Visioning: 90-Day Milestones - Watch
Consultant Berké Brown shared 90 day milestones from the most recent Strategic Visioning Session
The purpose of the sessions are to align city leadership and department heads for future growth, with an emphasis on collatboration and a collaborative process, and defining the strategic vision.
Came up with the top priorities, effective governance, economic development, quality of life, and community pride, and created initiatives to support those top priorties.
Effective Governance and Communication completed tasks that came out of Strategic Visioning includes creating a list of potential organizers, having a round-up meeting with interested organizations, plan a Summer Employee Picnic, identify future program componants, set date for annual de-escalation training, explore opportunities for funding wellness, and initiative proposals. Tasks in progress include working with council to set dates and logistical support, presentation to Council on current PR efforts. Pending tasks include negotiations orientation, pesent labor market data, identify tribal governance trainings, and establish a tenantive schedule.
Economic Development completed tasks include negotiate with business owners regarding game plan for dumpsters, Homekey Grant applications, draft Land Use Plan on website, and submit completed Local Coastal Plan application to Coastal Commission. In progress tasks include report on Dumpster program, approve ADU financing program, meeting with internal stakeholders for the lighting plan for Old Town, and updates on Coastal Commission and zoning. Pending tasks include ADU financing program, and the lighting plan for Old Town.
Quality of Life completed tasks includw Corp Yard conceptual designs, developing alternate procurement methods, retention bonus/longevity pay program development, analyze fiscal impacts of increased costs, examine legality of public and private safe use sites, adopt a bike program, update map of existing facilites, gather examples of emergency operations plans, implement one pilot in-street community garden, examine examples of ambassador programs. In progress tasks include survey staff of potential options, update map of existing facilities, outrach for candidate for in-street garden pilot. Pending tasks include reporting of safe use sites to Council. Limitations on expanding the capacity of Semper Virons, limitations include that the building is too old, renovations costs exceed cost of a new hospital, psychiatric unit license cap, is limited to 16 beds per license, adding beds is prohibited and would require a separate unit and license, and new construction is cost prohibited. Adjustments to this initiative are the building of a triage center, expanding crisis response team, creating a community health department, training in fentanyl response, and increasing the availability and training in the use of Narcan.
Community Pride completed tasks include incorporating gather/generate fund into FY23-24 budget, present and adopt the budget, provide street tree guidelines to California. Tasks in progress include department and other organization review, develop geographic units, develop survey. Pending tasks include researching applicable regulations, draft updates for review, internal review of study.
Keeping momentum in this process will look like continuing with quarterly meetings, continuing to develop and achieve overarching objective, persist in implementation, and measure progress and course correct.
Council Comments
Councilmember Castellano asked Consultant Brown to get a copy of what was sharedto be published. City Manager Slattery said that there was a detailed spreadsheet shared with Council, and will make the items from Strategic Visioning available.
M. Council Reports & City Related Travel Reports - Watch
Councilmember Castellano attended Humboldt Transit Authority meeting, attended the Employee Recognition dinner, met with regional tourism planners, attended Eureka Main Street, attended California Nonprofit Symposium, met with local Coast Guard about concerns regarding Coast Guard members experiencing aggressions based on race, perceptions of difference and want to let folks know that this isn't the first time heard of these things happening in the community and take them seriously, and there will be continued action working on that.
Councilmember Moulton attended Employee Recognition dinner and noted it was impressive to see the majority of staff in one big room and to see the department heads recognize their employees. Missed Humboldt Bay Fire JPA meeting, was able to watch it and was good to see FD getting more staff and advancing staff. Attended Chamber of Commerce 2x2, discussed lots of things issues can seem black and white, and can find nuances when discussing. Will be hosting Town Hall regarding what the residents of Ward 2 would like to see at the Jacobs campus, now that it has changed hands. There was a survey that was conducted years ago. More information about that Town Hall will be coming out.
Councilmember Fernandez was able to connect members of Humboldt Palestine with Congressman Huffman back in November, was also unable to attend the JPA meeting. Also attended Employee Recognition dinner and is appreciative of staff and their service. REDEC not meeting this month due to the holidays. Appointed to a one year term on the California League of Cities, Governance Transparency Labor Relations committee.
Councilmember Bauer also attended Employee Recognition dinner and appreciated dedication to public service, was able to attend JPA meeting, saw EPD doing Cram the Cruiser food drive, collected 1300 pounds of food.
Councilmember Contreras-DeLoach attended Chamber 2x2, attended START board meeting, for children 6-18 asssisting with wrap-around services, attended Employee Recognition dinner, will receive 12th grade civics class taking a field trip to City Hall, attended School Board meeting, was appointed to the Revenue and Taxation Committee with CalCities, and joined nonpartisan group for Latina and Latino elected leaders.
Mayor Bergel shared that Assistant City Manager Powell celebrated 30 years at the City of Eureka at the Employee Recognition dinner.
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