Category Archives: CC Harbor

Articles, CC Harbor, Community News, Local Government

Following 3-2 Vote, Rademaker Keeps Harbormaster Job Despite Concerns Over His Contract

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Rademaker

Thumbnail photo by Paul Critz

Three Crescent City Harbor commissioners let a five-year employment contract with Mike Rademaker stand despite concerns from two of their colleagues that someone had tweaked it after the fact.

During a meeting that lasted more than five hours Wednesday, commissioners Annie Nehmer and Dan Schmidt said the final version of the contract included terms that had been deleted during negotiations the Board held with Rademaker in May.

Nehmer said that paragraphs she and her colleagues had changed when negotiating Rademaker’s contract with the help of attorney Michael Travis, of Best Best & Krieger, had been added back in after it had been sent to the district’s current legal counsel, Ryan Plotz, of the Mitchell Law Firm, for review.

Continue reading Following 3-2 Vote, Rademaker Keeps Harbormaster Job Despite Concerns Over His Contract →
Articles, CC Harbor, Local Government

Schmidt Urges His Colleagues To Resume Crescent City Harbormaster Search; Rademaker Says His Appointment in April Stands

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Dan Schmidt

Thumbnail photo by Paul Critz

One of the four commissioners who approved Mike Rademaker’s contract as Crescent City harbormaster late last month is walking back on his decision, saying he questions Rademaker’s judgment on at least two issues.

Dan Schmidt, who was elected to the Crescent City Harbor District Board in November, says his suggestion to negotiate with Rademaker over his contract during a May 28 closed session meeting violated the Ralph M. Brown Act, California’s open meetings law. Though he was one of four who agreed to approve the contract, Schmidt says the Harbor District Board will again be soliciting applicants for the harbormaster position.

“Mike Rademaker has on too many occasions exhibited what I consider to be poor judgment in two distinct hemispheres,” Schmidt told Redwood Voice Community News on Friday.

Continue reading Schmidt Urges His Colleagues To Resume Crescent City Harbormaster Search; Rademaker Says His Appointment in April Stands →
Articles, CC Harbor, Community News, Local Government

Commissioner Levies Court Complaint Against Crescent City Harbor District, Harbormaster

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Annie Nehmer

The day before she accused Mike Rademaker of falsifying public records, Harbor Commissioner Annie Nehmer formally petitioned the courts to halt the release of a report looking into the harbormaster’s alleged misconduct.

Nehmer also states in her petition for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction, filed Tuesday in Del Norte County Superior Court, that the Harbor District Board of Commissioners violated the Brown Act by not publicly reporting a May 13 vote to release the report.

The report is based on an investigation conducted by Sacramento consultant HRtoGO, and though Harbormaster Mike Rademaker states otherwise, it is not yet finished, Nehmer told Redwood Voice Community News on Friday.

“We have not received notification that it’s complete or final,” she said.

Continue reading Commissioner Levies Court Complaint Against Crescent City Harbor District, Harbormaster →
Articles, CC Harbor, Community News, Local Government

Harbor Board, Minus One Commissioner, Approve Rademaker’s Contract Amid Insolvency Rumors

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Harbormaster Mike Rademaker

Before asking her colleagues to consider taking protective action against potential insolvency, Crescent City Harbor Commissioner Annie Nehmer stood at the podium, invoked state and federal whistleblower laws and said the port may run out of cash within four to nine months.

There’s been no spending freeze or emergency budget discussion, Nehmer said, and the Harbor District Board in April gave their CEO a $24,000 raise “without disclosing the financial impact or explaining the decision to the public.”

Nehmer urged her colleagues to think twice about continuing to employ Harbormaster Mike Rademaker and voted no when, at the end of a closed-session meeting Wednesday, they finally approved his five-year contract.

Continue reading Harbor Board, Minus One Commissioner, Approve Rademaker’s Contract Amid Insolvency Rumors →
Articles, CC Harbor, Crescent City, Law

Sheriff Says He Won’t ‘Give A Lot of Breaks’ On Illegal Fireworks This Year; Blake Inscore To Be Grand Marshal In Parade

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Thumbnail photo courtesy of the Crescent City-Del Norte County Chamber of Commerce

Del Norte County’s sheriff plans to come down heavy on criminal charges against those  who test the community’s resolve on curtailing the use of illegal fireworks.

Though a new social media campaign launched last week mentions increased administrative fines and penalties for the sale, possession and use of mortars, sky rockets and other unsafe pyrotechnics, those who flout state law could face misdemeanor or felony charges, Sheriff Garrett Scott said.

“The bottomline is it’s easier for us to focus more on state laws than it is on local laws just for the teeth,” Scott said Monday. “This time we’re trying to make an impact and make this community safe. And so this year, we’re not going to be giving a lot of breaks.”

Continue reading Sheriff Says He Won’t ‘Give A Lot of Breaks’ On Illegal Fireworks This Year; Blake Inscore To Be Grand Marshal In Parade →
Articles, CC Harbor, Community News, Infrastructure, Local Government

Crescent City Harbor May Charge More For Boat Owners to Moor Uninsured Vessels At Port

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Thumbnail photo by Amanda Dockter

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.

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Articles, CC Harbor, Community News, Crescent City, Infrastructure, Local Government

Nothing’s Set Yet, But Harbormaster Says Coos Bay Boat Builder May Set Up Shop In Crescent City

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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.

Continue reading Nothing’s Set Yet, But Harbormaster Says Coos Bay Boat Builder May Set Up Shop In Crescent City →
Articles, CC Harbor, Community News, Local Government

It’s Official: Mike Rademaker Is The Crescent City Harbormaster

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Mike Rademaker

Thumbnail photo by Paul Critz

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.”

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Articles, CC Harbor, Community News, Infrastructure, Local Government

Harbor’s Latest Development Plan Includes Tree-Lined Thoroughfares, Plazas And, Eventually, An Amphitheater

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Photo by Paul Critz

Chris Williams unveiled a future Crescent City Harbor he says will draw people in and provide economic benefit for everyone in the area.

Williams, planning director for Irvine-based TCA Architects, imagined a tree-lined Starfish Way as the port’s main thoroughfare featuring breweries, wine tasting and places to rent kayaks or charter whale watching tours. There were grand entrances, plazas with restaurants and retailers, a concert venue at Whaler Island and bungalows for rent near two expanded RV parks.

But frequent public commenter Sandy Moreno pointed out that the Crescent Harbor Vision Plan that Williams presented to the Board of Commissioners on Wednesday was the latest in a series of attempts to develop the harbor over the past two decades.

“We are a population of 7,000 people,” Moreno said. “And I don’t know what our poverty level is, but I think there are some very wealthy places in our area, but there are a lot of poor places in our area. We are reliant on tourism and, because nine months out of the year we don’t have tourism, I wonder how feasible this plan is really.”

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Articles, CC Harbor, Community News, Local Government

Rademaker Continues To Captain The Crescent City Harbor Ship, Gets A Raise

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Thumbnail photo by Amanda Dockter

Mike Rademaker will continue as Crescent City’s harbormaster for at least another three months.

Four members of the Harbor District Board of Commissioners approved a three-month contract with Rademaker. Vice Chair Annie Nehmer dissented, later telling Redwood Voice Community News that the agreement included a raise despite commissioners’ not being fully aware of the port’s current financial situation.

“It is my concern with everything,” she said. “We haven’t been presented with financials in over a month. And when presented with financials, we haven’t been presented with a semi-annual budget.”

Continue reading Rademaker Continues To Captain The Crescent City Harbor Ship, Gets A Raise →