Category Archives: CC Harbor

Municipal Law Attorney Says CCHD’s Insurance Policy Satisfies Faithful Performance Bond Requirement

Thumbnail photo by Gavin Van Alstine

Harbor commissioners thought the word of a highly credentialed attorney would put the faithful performance bond issue to bed.

But while Michael Colantuono, who has practiced municipal law since 1989, pulled back the covers and plumped up the pillow, at least one commissioner and two members of the public weren’t quite ready for sleep.

Commissioner Annie Nehmer, who obtained an individual faithful performance bond and filed it with the county in December, said she had been asking to see proof that the Crescent City Harbor District has protection against crime and fraud for its elected officials for months.

Continue reading Municipal Law Attorney Says CCHD’s Insurance Policy Satisfies Faithful Performance Bond Requirement →

Harbor Critic Takes Bond Complaint To State; CCHD To Revisit Issue Today

Thumbnail photo by Paul Critz

Linda Sutter says she has taken her concerns that a majority of the Crescent City Harbor commissioners are unlawfully occupying their seat to the California attorney general.

Sutter, a recent participant at public meetings whose 2024 run for the Crescent City Harbor board was unsuccessful, told Del Norte County supervisors on Tuesday that she has filed a quo warranto complaint with the California Attorney General’s Office. Her filing comes ahead of a renewed discussion scheduled for Wednesday’s Crescent City Harbor District meeting on a proposed resolution affirming that the district’s insurance coverage complies with a state requirement that each individual commissioner hold a $5,000 faithful performance bond.

Sutter told county supervisors that evoking the legal proceeding challenging an elected officials’ right to hold public office is the last lawful mechanism she has to “address what is happening at the Crescent City Harbor District.”

Continue reading Harbor Critic Takes Bond Complaint To State; CCHD To Revisit Issue Today →

CEO Says Crescent City Harbor Will ‘Go Through The Procedures’ To Satisfy Public Concern Over Commissioners’ Bonds

Thumbnail photo by Gavin Van Alstine

A former county supervisor called it a red herring and the harbormaster said it was silly, but Del Norte County Clerk-Recorder Alissia Northrup reminded commissioners that the public’s concern about whether they have a faithful performance bond is real.

Northrup said she has an insurance policy that was meant to act in lieu of commissioners’ individual bonds, but it’s not signed and it’s old.

“It could have been canceled years ago,” she said Wednesday. “All I wanted was a complete current policy. That’s what I asked for and I’ve been unable to get one to date, so I want to make sure that we put it out there, it’s not silly. The public has an interest.”

Continue reading CEO Says Crescent City Harbor Will ‘Go Through The Procedures’ To Satisfy Public Concern Over Commissioners’ Bonds →

CCHD Recap For Jan. 28, 2026

Thumbnail photo by Gavin Van Alstine

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

Citizens Dock & Sea Wall: Harbor commissioners unanimously adopted the mitigated negative declaration the California Environmental Quality Act requires to move the two projects forward. 

Community System Solutions CEO Mike Bahr, who helped the Harbor District obtain the two US Maritime Administration grants needed to fund the projects, said the district could now focus on obtaining its construction permits.

Continue reading CCHD Recap For Jan. 28, 2026 →

Citizens Dock, Seawall Projects Up For Discussion at Wednesday’s CCHD Meeting

Thumbnail photo by Paul Critz

Crescent City Harbor commissioners are expected to take a final step toward starting a $15 million project to replace Citizens Dock and an adjacent seawall this spring.

The Harbor Board will consider adopting a mitigated negative declaration Wednesday based on a 709-page study of its potential environmental impacts. The study includes two phases of the Citizens Dock rebuild, though the Harbor District doesn’t have the funding to complete the second phase, according to Community System Solutions CEO Mike Bahr.

It also includes a construction project near the small boat ramp off Anchor Way to mitigate potential habitat loss as a result, Bahr told commissioners during a public hearing held Jan. 14.

Continue reading Citizens Dock, Seawall Projects Up For Discussion at Wednesday’s CCHD Meeting →

Harbor Staff Working To Raise Partially Submerged Vessel In Its Marina

Thumbnail photo: A commercial fishing vessel, the Flo, was found partially submerged in the Crescent City Harbor’s marina early Friday morning. | Photo by Heather Polen

Harbor District staff are using salvage lift bags and a dive team to raise a partially submerged commercial fishing vessel currently located at E Dock in the port’s marina.

The fishing vessel is owned by Andrew Griffin, a local fisherman, Harbormaster Mike Rademaker told the Board of Commissioners via email on Friday. The cause is still under investigation. In addition to trying to stabilize the vessel, staff have deployed an oil-containment boom around the boat as a precaution, Rademaker said.

A CCHD maintenance worker found the partially submerged vessel earlier Friday, Griffin told Redwood Voice Community News. 

Continue reading Harbor Staff Working To Raise Partially Submerged Vessel In Its Marina →

RV Park Proposals Spark Discussion Over Harbormaster’s Living Situation

Thumbnail photo by Paul Critz

Crescent City Harbor commissioners rejected proposals from two Orange County developers eager to revitalize Bayside and Redwood Harbor Village RV parks, Chairman Rick Shepherd announced Wednesday.

The Board’s rejection of proposals from Sean McGraw and Scott Lawhon doesn’t mean that further negotiations couldn’t be had with either developer, according to Harbormaster Mike Rademaker. For now, a request for proposals commissioners approved in August is still active, he told Redwood Voice Community News on Thursday.

“Not much has been stated publicly after several closed session deliberations over several months,” Rademaker said, calling the move cautious. “This public statement reflects the Board’s conclusion that, after sufficient review, the proposals were not yet close to terms the district could accept.”

Continue reading RV Park Proposals Spark Discussion Over Harbormaster’s Living Situation →

CC Harbor Seeks Funding To Determine If Dredge Material Can Be Deposited Near Whaler Island

Thumbnail photo: Crescent City Harbor officials are seeking funding for a project to determine whether its dredge materials can be used for beach enhancement. | File photo by Gavin Van Alstine

Crescent City Harbor officials are pursuing a grant they say may turn a dredging dilemma into a valuable resource for projects like wetland restoration and beach enhancement.

The Harbor District is seeking $500,000 in California Regional Investment Initiative grant dollars for its beneficial reuse project. This project involves depositing about 10,000 cubic yards of dredge material along the beach near Whaler Island and assessing the ecological impacts. 

If there are no adverse impacts, the Harbor District may have an answer to a challenge that’s been plaguing it for years, according to Harbormaster Mike Rademaker.

Continue reading CC Harbor Seeks Funding To Determine If Dredge Material Can Be Deposited Near Whaler Island →

Linda Sutter Files Federal Complaint Against Crescent City Harbor, Says CCHD Commissioners Violated Her Constitutional Rights

Thumbnail photo: Linda Sutter spoke with KFUG Community Radio as a candidate for Crescent City Harbor commissioner in October 2024. | Photo by Amanda Dockter

Local activist Linda Sutter has filed another court complaint against the Crescent City Harbor District, this time accusing officials of violating her First and Fourteenth Amendment rights under the U.S. Constitution.

Filed in the Eureka-McKinleyville Division of the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California on Dec. 14, Sutter’s complaint included Harbormaster Mike Rademaker and commissioners Rick Shepherd, John Evans and Gerhard Weber as individual defendants. In her complaint, she accuses them of attempting to silence her when she speaks at public meetings and states that not responding to her requests for information under the California Public Records Act interferes with her “First Amendment news gathering rights.”

Sutter also states that Weber, who was chairman for much of 2025, used his position to suppress the speech of other women, namely Stephanie Abrams, Alicia Williams and Donna Westfall.

Continue reading Linda Sutter Files Federal Complaint Against Crescent City Harbor, Says CCHD Commissioners Violated Her Constitutional Rights →

After County Supervisors’ Rejection, Harbor Commissioners Opt To Re-Work Facilities Plan

Thumbnail photo: The Crescent City Harbor District is working on paying back a $5.5 million U.S. Department of Agriculture loan that rebuilt the inner boat basin following tsunamis in 2006 and 2011. | Photo by Gavin Van Alstine

A week after county supervisors rejected a Crescent City Harbor Facilities Plan, its harbormaster argued that voters didn’t want the agency to wait 40 years before it began using Measure C tax dollars to make needed repairs.

The transiency occupancy tax measure voters approved in 2018 wasn’t specific about the repairs and maintenance the generated revenue would pay for, Harbor District CEO Mike Rademaker told commissioners at a special meeting Wednesday. 

In addition to being used to pay back a $5 million U.S. Department of Agriculture loan, Measure C revenue should also fund repairs and maintenance of harbor facilities. Rademaker cited legal advice he received from CCHD attorney Ryan Plotz, who said that could mean “anything that involves repair and maintenance.”

Continue reading After County Supervisors’ Rejection, Harbor Commissioners Opt To Re-Work Facilities Plan →