Category Archives: Infrastructure

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

Crescent City Council Recap, March 16, 2026

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Thumbnail photo: Crescent City Council | Photo by James Brooks

Among the items discussed at Monday’s Crescent City Council meeting:

Digital sign ordinance: Before he ducked out of the meeting early to go to his job, Councilor Jason Greenough cast the sole dissenting vote on new digital sign regulations. They’re unnecessary, counterproductive and “not business friendly,” he said.

Introduced on Feb. 17, the ordinance restricts a digital sign’s size to 32 square feet and states that they are only allowed in the commercial zone along the city’s highway corridor. This includes L and M streets, U.S. 101 from 9th Street north to the city limits and Northcrest Drive and Washington Boulevard. Digital signs must also be 1,750 linear feet apart, according to the new ordinance.

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Articles, Crescent City, Infrastructure, Local Government

Crescent City Area Residents May See Water, Sewer Bills Increase; Rate Studies Cite Increased Costs, Needed Maintenance, Structural Deficits

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Thumbnail photo by James Brooks

Aging infrastructure, increased costs and expenditures outpacing revenues are prompting Crescent City staff to seek a rate increase for water and sewer customers.

Representatives from Rural Community Assistance Corporation and Willdan Financial Services presented study results that reached similar conclusions for both utilities. 

On the water side, sales won’t be enough to cover the system’s operating and maintenance costs, RCAC Assistant Field Manager Samantha Ryan told the City Council on Monday.

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Articles, CC Harbor, Infrastructure

Harbor Commissioners Seek General Contractor, Project Manager For Citizens Dock, Seawall Project

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Thumbnail photo courtesy of Andrew Goff; Right: Most recent rendering of Citizens Dock/seawall project. | Image courtesy of the Crescent City Harbor District

Harbor commissioners gave staff the green light to seek a general contractor, project manager, accounting firm and a grants manager as construction for the seawall and Citizens Dock rebuilds loom.

Commissioners unanimously approved releasing requests for proposals on Tuesday after Mike Bahr, CEO of Community System Solution, gave a rundown of what they and the public can expect over the next roughly two years.

“We’re looking at this as one project,” he said. “These two elements are two separate grants, but it really is one very large construction project that’s all taking place at the same time.”

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Articles, Infrastructure, Local Government

Del Norte County Board of Supervisors Recap, March 10, 2026

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Among the items discussed at Tuesday’s Del Norte County Board of Supervisors meeting:

Funding for EOC: 

Del Norte County staff plans to seek $2 million in fiscal year 2027 Congressionally Directed Spending money to establish an emergency operations center, Assistant County Administrative Officer Randy Hooper said.

County staff is looking at converting the manual arts building near the Flynn Administrative Center, according to Hooper, and would renovate the former gymnasium into a “hardened purpose-built EOC.” It would also house the Del Norte County Office of Emergency Services as well as be a “public safety answering point” or dispatch center, according to Hooper’s staff report.

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Articles, Crescent City, Infrastructure, Local Government

Crescent City Planning Commissioner Says She Was Barred From Commenting On Housing Development

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Above: A 14-unit townhouse development is under construction on 708 J Street in Crescent City. | Image courtesy of the City of Crescent City.
Thumbnail: Crescent City Planning Commissioner Shawna Hyatt spoke before the City Council on March 2. | Screenshot

A Crescent City planning commissioner whose home and business are near Sam Schauerman’s 14-unit townhouse development says she was barred from making public comment at a recent meeting.

Shawna Hyatt is accusing city staff of directly swaying the outcome of a Planning Commission decision on Feb. 12 approving the architectural design review of the townhouse development at 708 J Street. 

She said that City Attorney Martha Rice emailed her after the meeting, stating that she was in error and apologizing. But Hyatt says what occurred isn’t an isolated incident.

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Articles, Crescent City, Infrastructure, Local Government

(UPDATED) Crescent City’s Sewer Plant Needs $50 Million Upgrade, City Manager Says

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Thumbnail: Crescent City has five, up to 10, years to bring its wastewater treatment plant up to date, City Manager Eric Wier said. | Photo by James Brooks

Updated at 10 a.m. Thursday to make some corrections. Crescent City hasn’t been under a cease and desist order since 2011 and it didn’t receive a cease and desist order in August, though it was fined. City Manager Eric Wier also said that the rotating biological contactors aren’t able to meet the stricter NPDES standards on total Coliform.

Crescent City Manager Eric Wier blamed aging infrastructure and stricter pollutant discharge limits for the $228,000 fine the cease and desist order the sewer plant received last August.

But he differed from a member of the public who argued that the city’s 76 National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit violations were due to new connections.

The sewer plant can meet new NPDES permit requirements governing total Coliform bacteria limits during dry weather, the city manager told Councilors on Monday. When it storms, however, the plant’s rotating biological contactors — equipment installed in the 1970s — are overwhelmed can’t produce effluent that complies with those stricter standards, he said.

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Articles, Education, Infrastructure, Local Government

DNUSD Board Wary Of $5 million SitelogIQ Solar Array Proposal, Urge Superintendent To Pursue Financing Options For Discussion

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Thumbnail photo: SitelogIQ says a solar array near Bess Maxwell Elementary School could offset energy costs for six Del Norte Unified School District facilities. | Image courtesy of SitelogIQ

Local education officials expressed misgivings about a SitelogIQ proposal to install a solar array near Bess Maxwell Elementary School.

They didn’t shoot the proposal down. But they raised concerns about the $5 million price tag, especially after Del Norte County Unified School District Superintendent Jeff Harris said without a $1 million federal rebate, “it makes zero sense to move forward.”

After SitelogIQ representatives outlined their proposal at a Jan. 22 study session, the Board of Trustees had asked Harris to return with potential financing options. On Thursday, the superintendent said the firm had options for the school district that they wanted to discuss, but he wasn’t sure what they were yet. 

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Articles, CC Harbor, Infrastructure, Transportation

Could Trump’s Maritime Initiative Make the Crescent City Harbor Great Again? Commissioners, Harbormaster Hope So

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Thumbnail photo: Former Fashion Blacksmith boatyard facility at the Crescent City Harbor. | Photo by Paul Critz

The local harbormaster on Wednesday unveiled a desire to open a satellite campus of the Cal Poly Maritime Academy at the Crescent City Harbor District.

Mike Rademaker included that hope in a letter to Congressional representatives supporting the Trump administration’s America’s Maritime Action Plan, which seeks to revitalize the nation’s domestic shipbuilding capacity. But he acknowledged that the idea is just a concept at this point.

“It’s kind of my pet project,” the harbormaster told Redwood Voice Community News. “We’re just trying to be very creative and identify new revenue sources. The average age of fishermen, it’s getting up there, and we want to provide a pathway for the younger generation to get into the fishing industry. A huge part of that is workforce training and having something local that’s affordable so they can get hands-on experience.”

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Articles, CC Harbor, Infrastructure, Local Government, Transportation

Crescent City Harbor District Recap For Feb. 25, 2026

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Thumbnail image: Crescent City Harbor commissioners chose a preferred option for Citizens Dock back in 2024. | Image courtesy of the Crescent City Harbor District.

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

2026 MARAD Grant: Harbor commissioners agreed to contribute 20%, or $2.8 million, toward the construction costs associated with the second Citizens Dock reconstruction phase.

Associated with a $11.25 million U.S. Maritime Administration Port Infrastructure Development Program grant, the Board unanimously approved a resolution agreeing to the match. The federal agency has increased the amount of funding small ports can apply for, Bahr said, but it means that the required contribution is larger.

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Articles, Infrastructure, Local Government

Crescent City Settles Digital Sign Debate, Saves Billboard Discussion For Another Day

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Thumbnail photo by Heather Polen

A month after local bowling alley owner Dr. John Kirk argued that his digital sign is both a service to the community and generates revenue for his business, the Crescent City Council decided it could stay.

Four councilors who attended the Feb. 17 meeting approved an ordinance that sets restrictions on signs like the one on the Tsunami Lanes Bowling Alley. Councilors also agreed that digital signs could advertise other businesses, services or events.

But at the request of Mayor Isaiah Wright, concerns regarding billboards and other off-site advertising will be considered before the full Council at a future meeting. His colleague, Jason Greenough, was absent.

“Based on everything we heard from the public, we probably need to bring back off-site and just general advertising back to the Council for discussion,” Wright said. “We need to talk a little bit more.”

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