Category Archives: CC Harbor

Articles, CC Harbor, Local Government

Part of Harbormaster’s Salary Will Come From CCHD’s Grants; Harbor Received $1 Million In State Appropriations for Maintenance, Tsunami Recovery

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Thumbnail photo by Paul Critz

Crescent City Harbormaster Mike Rademaker said the Harbor District is not going broke, though commissioners were asked to approve an adjustment to payroll expenditures Wednesday in order to balance the budget.

“We have over $15 million in grants to improve Citizens Dock and the seawall,” he said. “That’s going to fund the majority of the work I’m going to do, plus tsunami recovery is going to be funded, that’s going to be paying for a lot of my payroll and it’s going to be paying for maintenance work.”

The Port Infrastructure Development Program grant the Harbor District received from the U.S. Maritime Administration as well as a $1 million appropriation from the California legislature are two of four things keeping the port from going bankrupt, Rademaker said. 

Continue reading Part of Harbormaster’s Salary Will Come From CCHD’s Grants; Harbor Received $1 Million In State Appropriations for Maintenance, Tsunami Recovery →
Articles, CC Harbor, Community News, Local Government

Harbor Recap: Shutdown Delays Grant Process, Commissioners Discuss Lilies, Hazard Plan, Fillet Station

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Thumbnail photo: Harbormaster Mike Rademaker and Harbor Commissioner Dan Schmidt attend a tour of the harbor’s facilities in this January 2025 file photo. | Photo by Jessica Cejnar Andrews

Among the items discussed at Wednesday’s Crescent City Harbor District meeting:

Citizens Dock/Sea Wall projects: Construction on the seawall and Citizens Dock is expected to start May 1, 2026. But the federal government shutdown is delaying review of the environmental studies the Harbor District submitted to the U.S. Maritime Administration, Mike Bahr, CEO of Community System Solutions, told commissioners.

The Harbor District is rebuilding Citizens Dock and an adjacent seawall with about $15 million in Port Infrastructure Development Program grant dollars. Bahr, who manages the district’s grant-funded projects, brought two contracts with MARAD to the Board of Commissioners for their review, but said because of the shutdown the administration’s attorneys are furloughed.

Continue reading Harbor Recap: Shutdown Delays Grant Process, Commissioners Discuss Lilies, Hazard Plan, Fillet Station →
Articles, CC Harbor, Elections, Local Government

Schmidt Cited For Trespassing at Roger Gitlin’s House; Harbor Commissioner Is Contacting Proponents of Now-Paused Recall Effort

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Thumbnail photo: Roger Gitlin (left) and Dan Schmidt (right)

Crescent City Harbor Commissioner Dan Schmidt was ready to go to jail for trespassing at Roger Gitlin’s house on Wednesday.

Schmidt, who last month bought the Del Norte Triplicate from Country Media, Gitlin’s previous employer, wanted to hand over his rebuttal to a now-rescinded recall effort against him. Gitlin wouldn’t answer the door, so Schmidt stayed on the porch for about half an hour knocking and ringing the bell. 

“I guess Roger got tired of me being there so he called the police to have me arrested for trespassing,” Schmidt told Redwood Voice Community News on Sunday.  He said the officer who responded gave him the choice of leaving or being arrested. 

Continue reading Schmidt Cited For Trespassing at Roger Gitlin’s House; Harbor Commissioner Is Contacting Proponents of Now-Paused Recall Effort →
Articles, CC Harbor, Local Government

CCHD Commissioner Introduces Colleagues To His Brother Amid Nepotism Accusations

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Dan Schmidt | ccharbor.com

Three months after the Del Norte Triplicate accused Dan Schmidt of “introducing nepotism” to the Crescent City harbormaster, his fellow commissioners met the man Schmidt says could help right the Harbor District’s ship.

Dennis Schmidt, Dan’s “better-looking, nicer, funnier brother,” came to the podium Wednesday with 32 years’ experience working in the utilities, human resources and city manager’s departments for Anaheim. He’s got a Master’s degree in public administration, a Bachelor’s degree in organizational development and says he’s the guy top administrators bring in to help fix damaged systems.

Now that he’s retired, Dennis Schmidt, whose home alternates between Crescent City and the Mojave Desert community of Apple Valley, says he wants to help the Harbor District. But after a tepid reception from his brother’s colleagues, he said he thinks the Board of Commissioners was “looking for a reason to say no.”

Continue reading CCHD Commissioner Introduces Colleagues To His Brother Amid Nepotism Accusations →
Articles, CC Harbor, Infrastructure, Local Government

Harbor Commissioners Direct Staff To Obtain Insurance Quotes For Inner Boat Basin

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Thumbnail photo by Gavin Van Alstine

Though the district’s loan payment negotiations with the U.S. Department of Agriculture are on hold due to the federal government shutdown, Crescent City Harbor commissioners directed staff on Wednesday to obtain quotes for insuring the inner boat basin.

The Harbor District Board’s new vice chair, John Evans, encouraged Harbormaster Mike Rademaker and Fiscal Officer Sandy Moreno to continue exploring “alternative ideas” with the federal agency.

Moreno said having the insurance quotes, and finding out whether the Harbor District can afford insuring the marina or not may help in its negotiations with the USDA, particularly if those quotes address tsunami coverage.

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Articles, CC Harbor, Local Government

Former Fashion Blacksmith Owner Airs Concerns About Boat Yard Assessment, Outlines History With Crescent City Harbor

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Thumbnail photo: Former Fashion Blacksmith building at the Crescent City Harbor. | File photo by Gavin Van Alstine

More than a year after he closed his doors, Fashion Blacksmith owner Ted Long said there were data gaps in a recent environmental assessment the Crescent City Harbor District had commissioned of the site.

Long also questioned the need for a structural inspection of the boat yard building itself. He told commissioners on Sept. 24 that a 60-page report detailing the findings of a civil engineer he hired in 2022 was included as an exhibit in an arbitration that led to a settlement agreement between the two parties.

“All of these exhibits from our arbitration are on file with BBK and Del Norte Superior Court,” Long said, referring to the Harbor District’s former legal counsel, Best, Best and Krieger. “They are in fact public record. In good faith and to save scarce dollars for the Harbor District, even if it’s grant money, and for immediate access to current Board members, I would be willing to share the three exhibits from Western Wood Structures exactly as they were filed in the arbitration record. This includes the full 60-page inspection report and the proposed repair plan with all the estimates.”

Continue reading Former Fashion Blacksmith Owner Airs Concerns About Boat Yard Assessment, Outlines History With Crescent City Harbor →
Articles, CC Harbor, Elections, Local Government

Gitlin Unveils Recall Petitions Against Harbor Commissioners Schmidt, Nehmer; Special Recall Election Could Cost CCHD Up To $130,000, Del Norte Clerk-Recorder Says

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Thumbnail photo: Roger Gitlin, former Del Norte Triplicate editor, speaks at a Crescent City Council meeting in June. | Screenshot

Former Del Norte Triplicate editor Roger Gitlin announced that he has begun the process to recall Crescent City Harbor commissioners Dan Schmidt and Annie Nehmer, though he’s not sure if the recall election will take place next June or November.

Gitlin announced his intentions before Nehmer and her colleagues Rick Shepherd and Gerhard Weber on Wednesday. He accused Nehmer of costing the Harbor District about $55,000 in legal fees and Schmidt of trying to persuade the Board of Commissioners to give his brother an executive role at the port.

“These breaches undermine the district’s ability to protect taxpayer funds in litigation and have collectively eroded public trust in (Schmidt’s) capacity to fulfill his duty,” Gitlin said. “Collectively they warrant recall. I have begun the process and will be seeking the intention to recall both of these commissioners in the foreseeable future.”

Continue reading Gitlin Unveils Recall Petitions Against Harbor Commissioners Schmidt, Nehmer; Special Recall Election Could Cost CCHD Up To $130,000, Del Norte Clerk-Recorder Says →
Articles, CC Harbor, Infrastructure

(Updated) CCHD Officials Negotiating Lower Loan Payment With USDA, Say Docks Need To Be Insured

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Thumbnail photo by Gavin Van Alstine

Updated at 1:52 p.m. to correct an error about the Harbor District’s loan status with the USDA. According to CCHD financial advisor Sandy Moreno, the agency has 120 days to make a loan payment to the agency or it runs the risk of defaulting on the loan.

Crescent City Harbor’s financial advisor said the agency has 120 days to make a loan payment to the U.S. Department of Agriculture or it runs the risk of defaulting on its loan.

Crescent City Harbor’s financial advisor said the agency has 120 days to reinstate property insurance for its inner boat basin or its loan with the U.S. Department of Agriculture will be considered delinquent.

Reporting to the Harbor District Board following a meeting with USDA officials last week, Sandy Moreno said she and Harbormaster Mike Rademaker hope to get the district’s loan payments reduced, which would improve cash flow. 

But if the marina isn’t insured within 120 days doesn’t make a payment within four months, the USDA will accelerate the claim to the U.S. Department of Treasury “for action,” Moreno told commissioners Wednesday.

Continue reading (Updated) CCHD Officials Negotiating Lower Loan Payment With USDA, Say Docks Need To Be Insured →
Articles, CC Harbor, Local Government

With Triplicate’s Sale, Nehmer Parts Ways With Attorney; Paul Boylan Says He’s Done ‘Everything I Could For Her’

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Nehmer | Courtesy of ccharbor.com

Now that the Del Norte Triplicate is under new ownership, any concerns that Crescent City Harbor Commissioner Annie Nehmer had regarding potential defamation on the part of its previous editor have been resolved.

Speaking to Redwood Voice Community News on Monday, Paul Boylan, Nehmer’s Davis-based attorney, said that his relationship with her has come to an amicable end.

The big danger, he said, had been the Triplicate’s previous editor, Roger Gitlin, potentially damaging Nehmer’s reputation. But with the newspaper’s sale to Nehmer’s colleague on the Harbor District Board, former editor Dan Schmidt, Boylan said he’s “done everything I could for her.”

“It doesn’t surprise me that they would close the Triplicate and sell it to someone else,” he said of Country Media Inc., the newspaper’s previous owners.

Continue reading With Triplicate’s Sale, Nehmer Parts Ways With Attorney; Paul Boylan Says He’s Done ‘Everything I Could For Her’ →
Articles, CC Harbor, Local Government

CCHD Board Censures Nehmer, Ousts Her As Vice Chair; Nehmer Says Reprimand Is ‘A Smear Campaign’ To Get Her To Resign

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Tuesday’s Crescent City Harbor District meeting

Crescent City Harbor Commissioner Annie Nehmer called an effort to censure her and remove her from the vice chair position a smear campaign that wastes more time and taxpayer money.

Before her colleagues voted to officially reprimand her, Nehmer outlined a series of grievances aimed primarily at Chair Gerhard Weber, who she accused of looking the other way as the agency neared insolvency. 

“This really has no ramifications other than trying to make me look bad in public,” she said Tuesday. “It’s a giant smear campaign against me to attempt to get me to step down and resign. It’s not going to happen.”

Continue reading CCHD Board Censures Nehmer, Ousts Her As Vice Chair; Nehmer Says Reprimand Is ‘A Smear Campaign’ To Get Her To Resign →