Mayor Pro Tem Candace Tinkler and Councilor Ray Altman were absent. Among the items discussed at Monday’s Crescent City Council meeting:
Citizens Dock Pier 2 Project: Crescent City councilors agreed to send a letter to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration, supporting the second phase of the Citizens Dock rebuild.
The Crescent City Harbor District was encouraged to apply for $11 million in 2026 Port Infrastructure Development Program dollars from MARAD. If awarded, those funds will be an addition to the roughly $15 million in 2022 and 2024 PIDP grant moneys CCHD received to reconstruct Citizen’s Dock Pier 1 and an adjacent seawall, according to Mike Bahr, CEO of Community System Solutions, the consultant managing the Harbor District’s grant-funded projects.
According to Bahr, the 2026 PIDP funds would be used to demolish the existing dock and build a new dock in the same location.
“The goal is not to disrupt the commercial fishing industry,” he told councilors. “So we’d build a new dock first, that’s been funded, and this project would bring the new dock (on) in the same place as Citizens Dock. The goal is economic development, job creation and retention and new workforce opportunities.”
The Crescent City Council submitted support letters for the 2022 and 2024 PIDP grant awards, Bahr said.
Farmers Market: Crescent City councilors gave their blessing to the Del Norte and Adjacent Tribal Lands Community Food Council, which will hold its Downtown Farmers Market at 240 H Street — the former Bank of America parking lot — for the second year in a row.
The market will start in June and be held every Wednesday through October. Market Manager Iya Mahan, the Food Council’s food system program director, said the market was amazing last year with live music and a central location across the street from the post office and in “line’s eye” from Beachfront Park. During the summer, market hosts Del Norte Unified School District’s nutrition services department, who brings breakfast and lunch to the community’s youth. The Del Norte Child Care Council also provides children’s activities, Mahan said.
“Our goal is to increase our community’s access to healthy food,” she said, adding that Ocean Air Farms, Sea Breeze Farm and Elkhorn Herbals will be there. “We offer what we call nutrition incentives at the farmers market where folks can use their EBT or WIC cards and we double that money at the market so it creates more access and opportunity.”
Mahan pointed out that the Food Council’s market is different from the Community Artisan Market, that was managed by Rural Human Services on Saturday.
Under its agreement with the Food Council, Crescent City will pay $1,550 for electricity and a portable toilet and handwashing station. Those items have been included in the city’s 2026-27 budget, which the Council will consider in June.
Sea Level Rise Grant: The California Ocean Protection Council granted Crescent City $300,000 and asked them to work with the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation to develop a coastal resiliency plan. The plan is required to encompass sea level rise, tsunami hazards and an assessment on erosion vulnerability.
The funding is part of State Senate Bill 272, authored by Santa Cruz Democrat John Laird and signed into law in 2023. According to the city’s staff report, since the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation received state funding to conduct a sea-level rise assessment that includes tribal resources, they were asked to partner with the city.
According to SHN Consultant Bob Brown, which has been working with the city on the grant application, the state is requiring cities to complete coastal resiliency plans. He noted that developing such a plan is a two-year process that will include community involvement.
“It’s focused on infrastructure that is vulnerable to sea-level rise,” he said. “And that doesn’t just include tidal surges that might affect Highway 101, but also a raise in groundwater levels and other issues that would come about.”
As an example, City Manager Eric Wier mentioned a revetment on Howe Drive that was constructed using concrete debris left behind by the 1964 tsunami.
“That’s starting to develop some vulnerability,” he said. “It does need to be upgraded to more modern standards for design with riprap or coastal type projects that would be more conducive to the area and (be) less of a danger and less susceptible to tidal influence.”
Military Equipment Policy: A February 2025 officer-involved shooting was the only incident that involved the Crescent City Police Department’s use of military equipment, in this case a rifle, Chief Richard Griffin told councilors.
Three members of the Crescent City Council approved the first reading of an ordinance codifying the city’s military equipment use policy. Under state Assembly Bill 481, the policy must include a list of the equipment in the police department’s possession as well as their description, lifespan, purpose and authorized use and the fiscal impact of obtaining and maintaining the equipment. The legislation also requires police departments to report on the equipment’s use each year.
According to Griffin, in addition to the internal affairs investigation into the Feb. 17, 2025 officer-involved shooting at Surf Apartments, the California Highway Patrol and Del Norte County District Attorney’s Office also investigated the incident. The officer was cleared of wrongdoing in June. According to Griffin, the investigation also concluded that the rifle involved was used appropriately.
Under AB 481, after the police chief gives his annual report and introduces the ordinance, the City Council will set a public hearing, which is scheduled for May 18. The final adoption is expected on June 1 with the ordinance taking effect July 1.
Purchases expected for 2026 include two to four new Daniel Defense .308 caliber rifles, three pepper ball guns with 500 founds as well as 50 rounds of beanbag ammunition. The military equipment policy and Griffin’s annual report can be found here.
