Regular City Council Meeting - November 7, 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
In the Products Liability Case, Council voted unanimously to opt out of the settlement in that case, and authorize City Manager Slattery to sign the necessary documents to effectuate the opt-out.
Mayor Bergel asked for a moment of silence for the thousands of people being killed in war.
Proclamation: National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week
Councilmember Contreras-DeLoach read and presented the proclamation to Nezzie Wade from Affordable Homeless Housing Alternatives (AHHA). Nezzie shared that Hunger and Homlessness Awareness Week is a limited time, and that hunger and homelessness are with us all the time. Nezzie is heartened by the proclamations from local governments, and the commentary around them, that the community education matters. The purpose of awareness week is to connect people with community organizations. Shared that the Food for People, the Food Bank for Humboldt County is now serving more people now than ever served, 16,000 people a month. The Food for People has a community challenge, the Hunger Fighter Challenge to help raise funds and raise awareness in the community.
Proclamation: Great American Smokeout
Councilmember Fernandez read and presented the proclamation to Friday Night Live student club from Eureka High School. Leaders and students from the group spoke, appreciated the opportunity to bring awareness annually about the problem of nicotine addiction. Encouraged the City to adopt a tobacco retail license policy similar to what the County Board of Supervisors adopted in August.
Mayor's Report
Mayor Bergel received a letter of appreciation from a passenger on a cruise ship that visited, Judge John Preston Bailey from the United States District Court. He shared appreciation for the beauty of the city, and the warmth and friendliness of the people.
December 2nd is the last Town Hall of the year. This Town Hall will be about Substance Use Disorder. More information will come out soon.
PETA Presentation
Ashley from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) presented their Fish Empathy Quilt, three panels of which will be on display at City Hall. PETA hopes that viewers will find the quilt to be a vibrant and creative depiction of compassion for fish and other marine life. The whole quilt consists of more than 100 unique squares. The squares are contributed from people all over the world. Ashley shared information about recent discoveries of the behavior of fish, and invites the public to take time to look at the details of the display.
Commenter Nezzie Wade from AHHA shared that the mobile showers will be back in service at the same place they had been, at the boat launch under the Samoa Bridge, on Tuesday November 14th, asked for community support for AHHA and their mission. Advocated for safe spaces for homeless and unhoused people to be in.
A member of the public presented a draft resolution to Council calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. Eight members of the public commented in support of this resolution, calling for Council to pass the resolution at the next Council meeting. Several members of the public shared about their experience as Jews, their families' history with the Holocaust and escaping Pograms. Commenters do not want their tax dollars to support what they describe as war crimes. A commenter shared their experience as Taíno people who had been colonized by Europeans and see similar atrocities happening. A commenter also suggested if Council adopts the resolution presented, to also call for a ceasefire in Ukraine, and include all acts of funding war. Commenters advocated for small groups coming together to call for action, and if larger and larger groups do the same, there is a chance for action.
A commenter from Decriminalize Nature shared their appreciation for Council's passing of the resolution passed at the last council meeting, shared thank you cards from members of the organization, and shared that they will be hosting a community education event in December.
A commenter shared their appreciation of the City's giving ancestral ground [Tolowat Island] back to the Wiyot People, and asked what more could be done to give back more land to the Native American community. Shared appreciation for PETA's presentation.
A commenter from the Transportation Safety Commission noted that the commission has not met since July, and have not had a chance to discuss the walk audit that was performed after the last meeting. Noted that there have been three collisions in Eureka today, and has asked for collision information from staff, but staff said was not able to provide. Is calling for that information to be made public.
A commenter spoke in appreciation of the proclamation of hunger and homelessness awareness week, shared about their experience volunteering with service organizations, and spoke in appreciation of PETA's presentation.
Public Hearings
Ocean View Acquisition and Operations Complex Development CEQA
Council to continued this item to a special meeting of City Council on November 21, 2023, at 4:30 pm in the Council Chambers.
No items requested to be pulled from the consent calendar.
Motion to Council
Motion to approve Consent Calendar passed unanimously.
Legislative Action Correspondence
No legislative action items.
Ordinances/Resolutions
No ordinances or resolution items.
Operation Light Up Eureka - Watch
Operation Light Up Eureka Program
Presented by Economic Development Project Coordinator West
The lighting plan is componant is part of beautification plan the the Economic Development department is working on that has not been presented to Council yet. This portion is being fast-tracked to respond to prioritization of a lighting plan for Old Town from Council's Strategic Visioning session earlier this year, and to be ready for potential funding or implementation support from a group of previous Eureka Mayors. This project is being presented now to get approval if that support becomes available. The plan is a project list that looks to enhance commercial areas through ambient and decorative lighting, and continue to build Eureka as a great place to live, work, and play.
The project was narrowed down to what infrastructure is available, what is feasible in terms of costs, and what projects would be high impact and make a big difference. Projects proposed rely on where current infrastrure is, where electricity is already available from either public or private sources and what types of lighting would be implented, from street trees to light poles and lampposts to buildings.
The approach to funding for the project is to invest staff time in the facilitation of these projects and seeking funding from other sources, by hoping to partner with community and work with the group of previous mayors. Inspiration for some of the projects came from historical photos of past holiday displays in Eureka.
The locations of where to impletement the lighting plan came from a pedestrian focus, where are people already walking and shopping, and deciding which city assets should be highlighted, and how to get the most out of what resources are available. The goals are to promote public safety, pedestrian connectivity, promote nighttime activities and community engagement, and create a vibrant and aesthetically pleaseing environment.
Utilizing phased implementation, working on the projects that are easiest to complete first, and then building out other phases as more resources become available.
Phase 0 acknowledges what is already in place; Clarke Plaza cafe lights and Old Town Square and Gazebo cafe lights.
Phase 1 will be kicked off this year, and will include adding lighting to the 101 Corridor between E and H streets, utilising existing City-owned blue lampposts, adding twinkle lights to the street trees on the Corridor, enhancing Old Town Square and Clarke Plaza by adding twinkle lights to the trees, adding cafe lights to Romano Gabriel Plaza, adding existing holiday lighting that has been refreshed on Old Town light poles and Corridor light poles, and adding down lighting to highlight the murals on the Samoa Bridge pillars, which utilizes grant funding from CalTrans.
Council Questions
Councilmember Fernandez asked about how the string lighting and cafe lighting will be handled in inclement weather, specifically when it comes to high wind. Answer: It does need to withstand quite a bit of inclement weather, and when string lighting is installed between lampposts or trees, it is mounted to a support wire.
Councilmember Moulton is assuming that the existing lighted garland use incandescent bulbs, and asked if new lighting will be energy efficient LED technology. Answer: Yes, in plan does lay out using warm white light LEDs. The City already has these garlands, and the plan makes use of what is already available.
Phase 2 builds more into Downtown and Old Town over the next four years. This phase will include adding lights to highlight the previously identified F Street Art Corridor, adding twinkle to street trees by partnering with private property owners for electricity sources, adding intersection holiday lights, investing in an "wow" holiday display, developing holiday lighting at Sequoia Park and Zoo, adding pedestrian-level lighting to commercial buildings, working with PG&E to restore PG&E-owned lampposts in Old Town, and adding exterior down-lighting to City Hall and City buildings.
Council Questions
Councilmember Moulton asked if the repair work on PG&E-owned lampposts will be at the City's expense, and what would happen after that. Answer: Will not be taking on ownership of the lampposts. The first step is inventorying all of the items that need to be fixed and coordinating with PG&E to get them fixed. City Manager Slattery clarified that the City will not be paying to fix PG&E infrastructure, we will make requests. If there is something above and beyond what PG&E is responsible for the City may be funding that, but the City has no intention of paying for repairs.
Councilmember Fernandez asked why the lampposts have been in the state of disrepair for as long as they have been, and requesting repairs to be made. Answer: City Manager Slattery acknowledged that PG&E is very backed up with their own projects now, and the deterioration has happened over a very long period of time, but hoping to get some momentum from PG&E to fix the safety issues including some poles that are being tapped into and the hazards associated with that, and that the City would not accept putting off the repairs, as it is PG&E's responsibility to maintain that infrastructure. If they won't repair them in an acceptable amount of time, the City may be able to conduct the repairs and then bill PG&E, but that conversation would happen at that time.
Phase 3 covers ideas for the future and lighting other parts of Eureka. This phase will add cafe lights to Madaket plaza and lighting on the boardwalk, Carson Mansion Boulevard lighting, Henderson Center lamppost lighting, twinkle lights in trees in City parking lots, alley activation lights and while a bit oustide the conversation, adding electrical outlets to all PG&E Old Town and Downtown lamp posts.
Council Questions
Councilmember Castellano asked about the current budget, and what may need to be raised, saved or allocated in future years. Answer: The project right now is being developed through staff time primarily. Some small expenditures may come out of the existing Economic Development budget, but would not be consequential amounts. As far as fundraising, would like to have private partnerships, and this would fund items in phases 2 and 3 to allow for time to develop funding.
Public Comment
A commenter shared that they are retired from PG&E, and believes that public safety is top priority for PG&E.
A commenter spoke in support of the lighing initiative. Would like to see more focus on pedestrian scale lighting. Commenter wasn't sure if twinkle lights meant that they were flashing lights or not, recommended not using flashing lights.
A commenter spoke in support of lighting public spaces, asked that how lights effect nocturnal wildlife be taken into account.
Council Comments
Councilmember Castellano would like to see the lighting project support the Old Town areas that are outside the bollarded areas during events such as Arts Alive and Friday Night Markets, to encourage people to travel beyond the bollards.
Councilmember Moulton would like the Dark Skies Initiative recommendations to be incorporated into the projects of the lighting plan.
Motion to Council
Council voted to approve the Operation Light Up Eureka program, motion passed unanimously.
Appendix C – Economic and Fiscal Impact Analysis - Review the Fiscal Impact Analysis, ask questions, and participate in forum discussion
Appendix D – General Plan Consistency Analysis
Appendix E – Affordable Housing on City-Owned Properties
Presented by Development Services Director Kenyon and consultant Lance Harris from Pro Forma Advisors, LLC
In summary, the initiative imposes restrictions on 21 City-owned parking lot parcels, removes six City-owned parking lot parcels form the Housing Element's affordable housing program and site inventory, and expands allowed uses on the Jacobs school site, and reserves 40% of the site for high-density residential development. The only uses allowed on the parking lot parcels under the initiative would be public parking, or high-density residential only if each site maintains the number of parking spaces that currently exist, as well as parking spaces required for the residences, and bicycle parking equal to 5% of the vehicle parking spaces. The initiative does allow the uses outlined on the Request For Proposals submitted by the Wiyot Tribe, to whom two development projects were awarded, provided that the Wiyot Tribe remain the developer of the two lots.
Six of these 21 lots are planned for affordable housing. The City does not have plans for the other 15 parking lots that are indicated by the initiative. All of these lots are in the "Core Area" in Old Town, Downtown, and the Library District. Historically and currently these lots are zoned for mixed-use, including both residential and commercial. Initiative would not allow for mixed-use development in the future, and the restrictions could only be lifted through another ballot initiative. For any parcels located in the Coastal Zone would have to be certified by the California Coastal Commission.
State housing law requires every city and county in California accommodate a share of the regions projected housing needs, the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA). Current Housing Element Cycle allocated 952 dwelling units to the City of Eureka, which means we have a goal of constructing those by 2028. Numbers of units are divided by income type, Above Moderate, Moderate, Low, and Very Low Income. RHNA defines affordable if a family spends less than 30% of their monthly income on housing. In 2023, for a family of four, $41,250 annual is the upper threshold for Very Low Income. What is considered affordable monthly rent cost for a Very Low Income household would be $1,031. For a family of four, $65,950 annually is the upper threshold for Low Income, with what is considered affordable monthly rent of $1,649.
The City's housing element relies on the City-owned lots for land to develop affordable housing to meet the required RHNA Very Low Income and Low Income affordable housing units. The Initiative would remove the 6 parking lots from the submitted implementation plan, resulting in a significant deficit of Very Low and Low Income housing units, and City would not be able to show that the City has enough inventory to meet the RHNA required units, and would be out of compliance with these laws.
The changes to the Jacobs school site would require that 40% of the site zoned to only allow high-density residential, and the remaining 60% of the site allow all principally permitted uses in Public Facilities, Neighborhood Commercial, and Downtown zones as well as low-, medium-, and high-density residential would be allowed. Importantly, the Jacobs site is owned by Eureka City Unified School District, not the City of Eureka, and the school district is currently in negotiations with the California Highway Patrol (CHP). CHP is a state agency and not subject to City zoning codes, and would not be restricted by the Initiative and would not have to reserve 40% of the site for high-density housing.
Consultant Lance Harris, partner at Pro Forma Advisors, LLC presented an economic impact report. Pro Forma was hired by the City to analyze the Initiative's potential economic impact on future development, specifically how the Initiative impacts development feasibility, retail sales or the fiscal impact, and job creation or the economic impact. Examined three hypothetical development scenarios: no development, affordable housing only, and mixed use and affordable housing development scenarios. The analysis found that with the parking requirements under the Initiative, new affordable housing would not be feasible, and the most immediate result would be a loss of approximately $170 million in economic output, over $63 million in employment related earnings and over 1,000 jobs associated with the affordable housing construction on those sites. These impacts would be a one-time impact during the development period. New residents would be expected to spend $7 million in retail annually, and that spending would also be lost. The prototypical development's impacts were also applied to all 21 lots to provide an order of magnitude estimate of potential total impacts of new development. Extrapolated to all the sites, the potential total impact of all the sites would equate to approximately 3,300 jobs with potential earnings of $212 million dollars, and $24 million in retail sales. It is important to note that there is no plan to develop the 15 lots not included in the City's housing plan. The no-development scenario would have no impact. Pro Forma also reviewed the 2022 Parking Study provided by the City and foot traffic data provided by PlacerAI to determine if loss of parking would adversely impact local businesses. Trends since the 2022 traffic study show that parking demand has decreased or remained stable since the post-COVID recovery, and is well below the 85% utilization rate, which is the healthy balance between parking supply and demand. There was determined to be no impact on local businesses with the potential loss of parking.
City Attorney Luna clarified for the Council that this item is a Report only, and that Council has already taken action on the Initiative, and unless Council would like to reconsider that action, no further action is called for or required.
Council Questions and Comments
Councilmember Castellano asked Consultant Harris how the calculations of annual spending of $7 million were made. Answer: the specific calculations can be found at the end of the report. What was used is an estimated average income for the hypothetical development for the affordable housing residents, and that number was then adjusted based on the most recent County-wide retail spending, and that number was applied to the development and then further applied to those site.
Councilmember Fernandez asked what are the mechanisms that take effect if the City is deficient in any of the income categories for the RHNA numbers. Answer: Director Kenyon noted that there is what is built on the ground, and then there is what the Housing Element says. The Housing Element needs to identify actual specific sites in the City and assign a certain number of new units to those sites at certain income levels. If the housing element no longer does that, when the amendment is brought to Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) for certification, it will be found to be out of compliance with state housing law, and will no longer be eligible for a number of grants that the City relies on. The City will also be vulnerable to fines and lawsuits from the state. There is a provision of state law called the Builder's Remedy, that if someone is proposing housing and the city is out of compliance, the developer does not need to comply with the City's General Plan or zoning codes.
Councilmember Fernandez asked if the Initiative would require any transfer of the Jacobs site to the City or if it would just change the zoning. Answer: the Initiative would just require a zoning change, not an ownership change.
Councilmember Fernandez asked if there are any considerations for potential loss of revenue from reduced parking spaces in Old Town and Downtown. Answer: Consultant Harris did review the reduction of parking, and found that it would not impact businesses, as the current parking is below the 85% utilization rate.
Councilmember Fernandez asked of the remaining 15 parking lots, how many parking spots would be available. Answer: the six housing element sites contain 218 spaces, one lot is for City vehicles only, not public parking. The other 15 lots contain 470 parking spaces. Councilmember Fernandez asked if staff has the number of parking spaces in Old Town specifically, in the 12 lots in Old Town. Staff does not have that exact number.
Councilmember Contreras-DeLoach asked Consultant Harris if the determination that the parking is underutilized, if that was based on the 2021 data that the City provided. Answer: Consultant Harris noted that he is not a parking expert, but was given the study published in 2022 as the first basis, and the City provided additional information on the utilization of the parking lots as a double check, and foot traffic data from a company called PlacerAI was used to measure foot traffic in the different areas in the downtown. This data is not directly related to parking, but does show the same general trends, in either a stabilization or decline in traffic. City Manager Slattery clarified that the study that Consultant Harris is referring to is a combination of data from multiple parking surveys from 2016, 2017, 2019, and 2021, and the most recent parking survey. Director Kenyon noted that page 7 of the Pro Forma report shows the parking data that includes 2023, that shows that parking numbers are still down.
Councilmember Moulton asked housing allowed on parking lot sites under the Initiative would be restricted to only parking and high-density residential, and this would supersede the current building strategy of mixed-use development with retail on the ground floor of a building and residential above. Answer: yes, that would limit use to only housing and parking. Councilmember Moulton clarified that if one of the lots would be developed, the existing amount of parking would have to be included on the site and add parking for whatever the development includes, and asked how many levels of parking that would have to be in an apartment building. Answer: it was be at least a floor of parking for the public parking and at least a floor of parking for the residents.
Councilmember Moulton asked what the new zoning would be on the Jacobs campus. Answer: staff would have to research to determine what exactly that would be, as the Initiative adds a policy to the Housing Element to allow a number of uses by right, so staff would have to figure out how to do that. The staff report does have a list of allowed uses, toward the end of the report.
Councilmember Castellano asked if HCD has given any indication how this may affect the City's Pro-Housing designation or standing with the state. Answer: the criteria for the Pro-Housing designation is having a compliant Housing Element, and Director Kenyon has not yet received an answer to this specific question.
Public Comment
16 people made public comments. 10 people spoke against the initiative, sharing their opposition as homeowners in the community and renters in the community. Commenters also noted that the Initiative was developed by people who are not located in the community and benefit property and business owners who are also not in the community. Commenters shared their views what more affordable housing helps with the local economy and helps to reduce crime in the areas where the housing is built. Commenters noted that to their knowledge, buildings with parking floors are not safe in earthquakes.
Six commenters spoke in support of the Initiative. Commenters shared that they did not believe that the information provided in the staff reports or the report from Pro Forma were correct, and one commenter did not believe that anything in the Pro Forma report could be believed because the report contained disclaimers. The proponents of the Initiative spoke in support. Other commenters spoke in their support of maintaining the current level of parking. Commenters asked the City Council to adopt the initiative instead of putting to vote in the community.
Council Comments
Councilmember Castellano asked if Consultant Harris would like a chance to respond to some of the statements made regarding the report from ProForma. Answer: Consultant Harris said that this was an independent report, the task was threefold: to see how the Initiative would impact the development, if the Initiative did impact the development, what were those impacts. Report found that because of the parking requirements and the additional construction costs for those requirements, the Initiative certainly would. Second part was to try to quantify the near-term impacts of what's already been approved. The report states that they do not have exact construction numbers. This would be the impact from the perspective of the construction of those developments and the subsequent revenue that would be created from the retail spending, the fiscal impact of those residents in the Downtown area. There was not advocacy done on the part of ProForma; they are an independent body. The relationship with the City was to get information and data to populate their understanding of dynamics of some of the more planning-related aspects of the General Plan. ProForma has done hundreds of these studies, and has a long track record of doing so. ProForma would not be able to continue to do these studies and reports if they were advocating for one group over another.
Councilmember Contreras-DeLoach provided an informational comment and shared her background of starting as a financial auditor, and then spent many years doing business consulting with her husband. Disclaimers are very frequently used in reports; while working as a consultant, she always included a disclaimer because the consultant is not performing the work of an auditor. An auditor has a completely different threshold and won't include a disclaimer.
Councilmember Castellano appreciates the report, but still believes that there is data missing; the amount of truly affordable housing that's currently available in Eureka, and how adding housing would affect people's capacity to save money. Councilmember Castellano cited an article from Sonia Waraich from the Eureka Times-Standard from 2022 that discusses the percentage of money that people spend on housing and at the time of the article, Humboldt County residents would need to make over $21 an hour to be able to afford a typical rental house, which isn't the average wage. Councilmember Castellano also mention the correlation between the rising cost of housing and rising homelessness rates across the country, from the Pew trust.
Councilmember Moulton wanted to address one of the concerns that came up in public comment and to clarify the scope of this conversation: Council is receiving a report and not taking action, the action already taken was to put this Initiative on the next available ballot. Council could pass the Initiative or pass it to the voters. Councilmember Moulton asked City Attorney Luna if the City could move this ballot item to the election in March. Answer: City Attorney Luna does not believe that this is an option; the next election that's available to the City Council is the General Election in November, and that is what's called for in the election code.
Regional Climate Action Plan Update - Watch
Attachment 1 – Rincon Proposal
Attachment 2 – Excerpt of Rincon Analysis of Existing Draft CAP
Presented by Development Services Director Kenyon
This is an update on the Climate Action Plan (CAP). On October 17th, the County Board of Supervisors voted to redirect funding towards reworking the current draft of the CAP. Director Kenyon will explain what has happened and bring feedback from the Council to the CAP working group.
The purpose of the CAP is to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions county-wide, with a goal of getting to 40% of 1990 emissions levels by 2030. This is lead by County staff, with participation by all 7 incorporated Humboldt County cities. The CAP discussions began in 2018 and the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed in 2019. County released a public review draft in April of 2022, and in May of 2022 Eureka City Council, and in June of 2022 County Board of Supervisors voted to use that draft CAP as the project description for the necessary California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Environmental Impact Report (EIR). The CAP must undergo CEQA review prior to adoption. June through September of 2022, the County secured $150,000 in funding from Humboldt County Association of Governments (HCAOG) to pay for the CEQA EIR. The County then released a Request for Proposals and selected Rincon to prepare the EIR.
As Rincon evaluated the draft CAP, they did not feel that the GHG reduction measures could be achieved to meet the CAP target in order to gain a Qualified status by the State. A Qualified CAP allows for CEQA streamlining of future development projects. If future project are consistent with a Qualified CAP, they can avoid project-specific GHG analysis and mitigation in their CEQA EIR. A Qualified CAP has regulatory leverage, and improves opportunities for grant funding. A Qualified CAP is also a prerequisite for the HCAOG funding. If the CAP is not Qualified, then the funds may not be used for the CAP.
At the October 17th meeting the County Board of Supervisors voted to reallocate EIR grant funding to pay for CAP revisions. Additional funding will now be needed for the EIR. Director Ford presented a tentative schedule for CAP completion: the proposed revisions to the CAP completed by March of 2024, then a draft EIR prepared by September of 2024, with public review in October, a final EIR presented in December of 2024, and then hearings and adoption of the CAP and EIR in January of 2025. County staff will present a more concrete schedule to the Board of Supervisors at either the late November or early December meeting. County staff will be producing quarterly reports on the status of the CAP, and are looking into getting Climate Resiliency Officer, a dedicated staff member to implement the CAP.
Council Questions and Comments
Councilmember Castellano asked if there will be additional opportunities to give input to the CAP through Rincon as it goes through the secondary process. Answer: yes, in the Scope of Work proposal it discusses how they plan on additional public outreach as well as working with staff of the jurisdictions involved. Councilmember Castellano saw that this was optional, asked if that was something that Council needed to give input on at this meeting. Answer: Director Kenyon believes that the County agreed to the entire scope of work, will confirm that.
Councilmember Bauer asked if the Climate Resiliency Officer position would be decided at a later date, and would that that officer work mainly for the County, and what's the strategy behind that. Answer: Director Kenyon clarified that this was an item brought up by the Director that this is something that the County is looking into, and has not been fully fleshed out yet, and feedback would be helpful. Funding has not been identified for a position to implement the CAP but there are funding opportunities out there. Councilmember Bauer commented that to adopt the plan the full-time staff person to implement the plan is the only way to make the plan happen. He is fully supportive of a staff member, shared his frustrations over the protracted timeline, and wants to express to the County that he will support whatever it takes to implement and if the County does not, then the City should. City Manager Slattery expanded on the Climate Resiliency Officer position; the County hired a consultant to interview local jurisdictions about that Climate Resiliency Officer, and the discussion was what that vehicle would look like and how we would get there, whether it would be a County employee or a private entity or something similar. City Manager Slattery does see that the County is serious about that need. City Manager Slattery was interviewed by the consultant as well.
Public Comment
Four people spoke with public comments. One commenter shared Councilmember Bauer's frustrations about the delays in the CAP, pointing out that a CAP would be adopted in 2025 with a 2030 target. Urges City Council to begin working to achieve the climate targets now, and not wait for a CAP to be approved. Commenter does not think that one staff member for the entire County is adequate. Commenter supports strengthening the CAP as proposed and agrees with the exclusion of industrial point sources, but this does delay the CAP again. Pointed out that a 10 year plan will now have to be a 5 year plan, also supports the City begin climate actions now. Public commenter agreed with the first two comments, is generally supportive of the strengthening of the CAP, but concerned about the time it will take. Advocates for steps that can be taken now, such as strengthening public transit and making that more accessible for people who may not be able to use public transit. Advocating for City staff to also work on climate resiliency. Commenter supported City hiring a Climate Resiliency Officer, suggested choosing an environmental advocate, suggested a Native American tribal member.
Council Comment
Councilmember Moulton asked what removing point source emissions from the CAP do to the City's ability to regulate point source emissions going forward. Answer: Director Kenyon clarified that the City will still be able to regulate point source emissions, but removing them from the CAP means that cannot take credit for reductions since they weren't in initial inventory. Can still regulate, but some point sources fall under state and federal regulation jurisdiction.
Councilmember Moulton knows that the City does take measures to reduce emissions, as an entity, asked which staff is currently working on these measure. Answer: the current draft CAP illustrates that different departments are implementing CAP measures, such as Public Works seeking grants for electric vehicles charging stations, Community Services working on organics waste, and Planning is working on reducing parking requirements and increasing bicycle parking requirements and the land-use components. Departments are already doing things that are called for in the CAP.
Councilmember Bauer would like to see the current work that the City is doing to be coordinated, and would like the City to take to take a leadership role. Councilmember Bauer read a report that noted that warming has gone beyond the 1.5° Celsius threshold, and that the significance of this issue is so great, that great care needs to be taken. Councilmember Bauer pointed out that waiting for the CAP is too late, and will be asking for staff to look into a Climate Action Project Manager during the Future Agenda Items portion of the meeting. Councilmember Bauer would like the City's efforts to be coordinated, and does not want to rely on the CAP or the County, and would like the City to be involved in the CAP development and to take a leadership role. City Manager Slattery provided some input, the City has its own measures and has its staff involved in the review of the CAP. City Manager Slattery also provided some details from the discussion with the consultant previously mentioned, that he believes there should be a third party, it would be beneficial to have an objective third party to provide a report to Council, and if it were a firm then this would not lie with one staff member, with a master agreement from all of the jurisdictions. It is unclear if that recommendation would be adopted.
Councilmember Bauer would like to explore a Climate Resiliency Project Manager to help all departments work to the goal of achieving emissions reductions. Response: Council is in agreement.
Councilmember Castellano would like a timeline for the Participatory Budgeting process discussed in the Strategic Visioning process. Response: Council is in agreement.
Councilmember Castellano would like to bring back a resolution for the ceasefire in Gaza, would like to have Councilmembers working with members of the community before it comes back to Council at the November 21st meeting. Councilmember Fernandez and Councilmember Castellano volunteered to write the resolution. Response: Council is in agreement. Councilmember Contreras-DeLoach asked if this would be discussed at the next Council meeting, as Council cannot discuss this together outside of the agendized meetings. City Attorney clarified that Council can agendize a discussion to adopt a resolution, and can have the resolution written by Councilmembers Fernandez and Castellano be the starting point.
City Manager Slattery discussed the Emergency Warming Centers. Have had a full year of discussions with other community based organizations to come assist. Sent out a press release and the warming centers are in effect now. The City was able to recruit one more faith-based organization, the Faith Center on Bay Street, joins the Lifehouse Church on Hubbard Lane as two potential emergency warming center locations. Have been able to be more coordinated in the efforts to recruit volunteers, and have recruited more than 50 volunteers this year. The centers will be triggered when the overnight temperature reaches a low or a windchill of 33°, 40 mph winds, or up to 1" of rainfall forecasted between the hours of 4pm and 4am. When warming centers are opened, there are four pick-up locations, at places where community members congregate. St. Vincent's dining center on 3rd street, the Sacco Amphitheater at the Adorni Center, Betty's Blue Angel Village at Washington and Koster streets, and the Hope Center between H and I near Wood streets. There will be certain time frames for transportation. More information and volunteer sign-ups are available at eurekawarmingcenter.com. Training will be recorded and shared among other communities.
City Manager Slattery also shared another volunteer opportunity for community members to join City staff and leadership to aid in installing holiday decorations in Old Town and Downtown. Staff was able to refurbish disused holiday decorations that had been in storage, and will be installing these and other decorations, as well as cleaning and replanting flower baskets on the Old Town clocks.
Council Reports/City Related Travel Reports - Watch
Councilmember Castellano participated in the Livewell Humboldt design team meeting, attended the Humboldt Transit Authority meeting and is excited about the microtransit unveiling.
Councilmember Moulton wanted to discuss donating to homeless shelters; one of the hardest things to do when homeless is to stay dry; money is the most useful thing to donate, but if someone wants to donate items, the most sought after items are socks and tarps. Councilmember Moulton is looking forward to the JPA meeting, attended the Chamber of Commerce 2x2 meeting, attended the Kiwianis Henderson Center Business Luncheon, which honored three Women in Business: Jessica Rebholz from the Parents Nutrition Center, a WIC store to help reduce the stigma of using WIC, the Companion Animal Foundation and Hospice of Humboldt.
Councilmember Fernandez finally had some contact with the Eureka City School Board President Mike Duncan who provided an update that they have narrowed down 15 applicants to 5 applicants for the new Eureka City Schools Superintendent, whom they will be interviewing during a special meeting this Friday, likely have someone appointed by mid-December to have them up and running by January. Mayor Bergel asked if there was any public input on that. Answer: yes, it is a special closed session meeting. They will accept public comment before the meeting, and it is a morning meeting.
Councilmember Bauer said that the greatest thing he saw was the Halloween block party on P street. He did see challenges, and thinks that can be worked out in the future. Thought that perhaps a thousand people came through and it was super fun, safe, and glad to see that happen in the City. Proud of the community for coming together and making it happen.
Councilmember Contreras-DeLoach was able to attend the P Street Halloween block party and had a great time with her family. Attended the Chamber of Commerce 2x2, was able to attend the Kiwanis luncheon. Shared that when there was a shortage on formula, Jessica Rebholz would go on buying trips to LA to make sure that Humboldt families would have access to formula and WIC. Attended the Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting for the Museum of Cinema, and a reminder that this is Native American Heritage Month.
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