Thumbnail photo: Del Norte Reads Coordinator Terrin Musbach gives away books at the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation’s annual Dee-ni’ Day celebration last September. | Photo by Amanda Dockter
Del Norte Reads has lost its state funding, local library manager Phyllis Goodeill confirmed.
Citing an uncertain amount in unspent California Library Literacy Services dollars over two fiscal years, and no plan to spend those funds, the California State Library wants that money back, Goodeill told Redwood Voice Community News via email last week.
But Del Norte Reads Program Coordinator Terrin Musbach has a plan to outline for the state how the program has grown over the past nine months and how important CLLS support is for it to continue.
“This plan that I’ve made, it’s about advocating for our community,” Musbach said Monday.
Boat owners may face an increased fee if they want to moor their vessels at the Crescent City Harbor and they don’t have insurance.
As she and her colleagues slogged through an update of the Crescent City Harbor District’s ordinance code on Wednesday, Vice Chair Annie Nehmer pointed out that the port currently charges $180 per month to house uninsured vessels in its marina.
“Our insurance agent says that is simply not enough money for any vessel,” Nehmer told her colleagues.
Thumbnail photo: A Coos Bay boat builder has offered the most “realistic concrete plan” for offering ship yard services at the Crescent City Harbor since Fashion Blacksmith closed its doors last year, Harbormaster Mike Rademaker said | Photo by Gavin Val Alstine
Crescent City Harbormaster Mike Rademaker said he’s found a boat builder who could potentially fill the void Fashion Blacksmith left behind when it closed following a legal dispute with the port last year.
Rademaker told commissioners on Wednesday that he’s spent a lot of time with Cory Gottschalk, a boat builder currently operating out of Coos Bay, Oregon. Gottschalk has plied his trade in New Zealand, Australia, Washington and Alaska, and has agreed to “be our principal operator of the boatyard,” the harbormaster said.
Though Gottschalk demonstrated his expertise and has a good reputation, the Harbor District still needs to go through a vetting process before it enters into a contract with the boat builder, Rademaker said. This will involve further reference and credit checks, he said.
Crescent City Harbor commissioners entered into a five-year contract for Mike Rademaker to continue as their harbormaster, Chairman Gerhard Weber announced Wednesday.
Rademaker will receive an annual salary of $114,000, Weber said, reporting from a special closed session meeting before the Board’s regular meeting. The vote on Rademaker’s new contract was 4-1 with the Harbor District Board’s vice chair, Annie Nehmer, dissenting.
Weber said he and his colleagues also conducted a performance evaluation for Rademaker.
“There are still some details that will be worked out,” Weber said. “And those details have to do with the performance component with housing provided, and if housing doesn’t come through, what will be the financial exchange. Those are all details that will be worked out within the next two weeks and then the actual contract will be ratified.”
Jay Trost and Patrick Hollinger once again deferred to Brad Alcorn when it came to selecting his replacement on the Curry County Board of Commissioners.
Alcorn abstained from voting, but his colleagues appointed his pick — Gold Beach resident Lynn Coker — to the Board after agreeing with Alcorn that the commissioner position is, for now anyway, a full-time job.
“When you look at the totality of all of the people who have applied, the candidate that rises to the top is clearly Lynn Coker,” Alcorn said Wednesday, “and I would be very comfortable knowing that he stepped into my role and took my place.”
Del Norte County supervisors gave Crescent City the financial boost it needs to proceed with a project to underground most of the utility lines at its southern gateway.
Four members of the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday authorized the transfer of $2.4 million in Rule20 work credits the county has with Pacific Power to the city before they expire in about six weeks.
“Improvements to the city are improvements to the county,” District 2 Supervisor Valerie Starkey told City Manager Eric Wier, who went before the Board with City Attorney Martha Rice to provide a brief overview of the city’s plans for using those work credits. “We don’t have a current project earmarked for this and so I’m very much for this and hope that you meet the deadline.”
Thumbnail: Del Norte County supervisors Valerie Starkey and Dean Wilson join the former Crescent City Council at a groundbreaking ceremony of the new Battery Point Apartments in September 2024. | Photo by Jessica Cejnar Andrews
Among the items discussed at Monday’s Crescent City Council meeting:
Opposition to Housing Bill: Though nearly 300 new housing units are being constructed in Crescent City, the City Council opposed a bill the League of California Cities says streamlines development at the expense of local environmental and public review.
Assembly Bill 647 would allow for up to eight housing units — only one of which would be set aside for affordable housing — on lots housing single-family homes, City Manager Eric Wier said, citing the nonprofit organization that advocates for local municipalities.
Introduced by Los Angeles-area assemblyman Mark Gonzalez in February, the legislation would supersede “a lot of our planning ordinances,” Wier said, and would allow those housing units to be developed without review by the Planning Commission or the City Council.
(Updated at 4:08 p.m. Monday to clarify the location of the collision.)
Del Norte County’s assistant county administrative officer has been charged with felony hit and run and with driving under the influence in connection with a two-vehicle collision that took place Saturday evening.
Randy Hooper, 44, was booked into the Del Norte County Jail and released on $225,000 bond, according to the Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Portal. According to the California Highway Patrol’s public information officer, Pete Gonzalez, the collision took place on Sand Mine Road just east of U.S. 101 near Sand Mine Road and U.S. 101 at about 10 p.m. Saturday.
The other party in the incident sustained possible minor injuries, Gonzalez told Redwood Voice Community News on Monday. Though the report on the incident is not yet complete, Gonzalez said it didn’t appear that either party had passengers in their vehicles.
Gonzalez was unable to say how far from the scene of the accident officers detained Hooper. According to the DNSO’s Public Information Portal, the sheriff’s office was the arresting agency.
Charlaine Mazzei acknowledged the truth in a statement Chris Howard made at the last Board of Supervisors meeting: There’s no word yet on whether the Del Norte Senior Center will get the federal dollars it needs to feed more than 800 individuals.
But during a conversation with Redwood Voice Community News last week, Mazzei, the senior center’s executive director, added a couple of caveats. One, things change every day, and two, the Area 1 Agency on Aging will contribute $96,000 to the program.
“That’s going to help a lot, but it really is kind of patching things together because we have no clue when the state is going to do anything with the CDBG,” she said. “They kind of do things in their own time. We can’t reliably say, as of this date, we’re going to have funding.”
Brookings Mayor Isaac Hodges declined his appointment as Brad Alcorn’s replacement on the Curry County Board of Commissioners, the county announced Friday.
In a letter to the Board of Commissioners — and provided to Redwood Voice Community News by Brookings City Council President Andy Martin — Hodges said he would be unable to fulfill the responsibilities of county commissioner “due to my personal and professional obligations.”
“I believe it is in the best interest of the county to respectfully decline the appointment,” Hodges wrote. “I sincerely apologize for the additional work and time this decision has caused.”
On Friday, Martin said praised the work his colleague and the entire City Council has done to foster transparency and openness in the City of Brookings. There have been few closed executive sessions since the community’s new city manager, Tim Rundel, was hired, Martin said, and more city businesses and workshops have been open to the public.
“Isaac brings institutional knowledge about Brookings to the Council and a common sense approach to local governance,” Martin said. “We will continue to be fortunate to have him as our mayor.”
The new deadline to apply for the county commissioner position is 5 p.m. Tuesday. Those who had submitted applications previously will be considered for the post and don’t need to submit a new position.
The Board will conduct interviews and make a decision at a special meeting at 1 p.m. Wednesday.
Those who are interested in applying for the position can visit the county’s website or visit the Board of Commissioners Office in person at 94235 Moore Street in Gold Beach.
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Brad Alcorn essentially chose his predecessor on Tuesday, though he didn’t vote.
Praising the way he approached a shoplifting incident involving the now-former city manager that eventually led to City Council recalls about a year and a half ago, Alcorn recommended Brookings Mayor Isaac Hodges to take on the role of Curry County commissioner.
Before making his recommendation, however, Alcorn said he doesn’t have a personal relationship with Hodges, though they have interacted with each other in their capacity as elected officials. Alcorn said Hodges also reached out to him after he submitted his application for the commissioner seat.
“It was very in depth and it was very detailed and the questions Isaac was asking me were pretty deep questions about our issues,” Alcorn said of their conversation. “I could sense in our conversation your desire to move things forward and continue to progress [on] the positive things we’ve been able to impact here. And, man, did you do your homework and research, and I applaud you for that
