_{Thumbnail image: Crescent City Manager Eric Wier outlined what a change order to the Front Street Gateway Project would entail at Monday’s meeting. | Image courtesy of Crescent City}

The Crescent City Council on Monday took a crucial step in the Front Street Gateway Project.

Councilors unanimously approved a change order that includes erecting nine banner poles, installing the gateway’s electrical system, widening the California Coastal Trail near the Cultural Center as well as ensuring the Point of Honor flags stay illuminated at night. But Tidewater Contractors’ primary focus this summer will be on the storm drain system underneath Front Street, City Manager Eric Wier said.

Still, acknowledging that the North Coast is facing an El Niño year, Wier said if the rains do hit before the street is repaved, hopefully the storm drain will do its job.

“The storm drain infrastructure is designed for a certain storm event and isn’t resilient to every storm,” Wier said. “If it is extremely large, we’ll have issues, but for this particular project, the storm drain infrastructure will be in place for what it’s designed for.”

Weir’s presentation, and the City Council’s vote on Monday, comes after State Sen. Mike McGuire hosted a town hall meeting focusing on the potential impacts of a record-breaking El Niño. At the Aug. 4 event, climate scientists warned of an increased risk of flooding, heavy rainfall, a warm fall season and lightning, NBC’s Bay City News affiliate reported.

On Monday, Weir said he hopes that the work to complete the storm drain improvements and repave Front Street can take place before any heavy rain starts. However, paving may have to be put on hold until there’s a “decent weather window,” he said.

The “Front Street Phase 1C” project is the final component to a slew of improvements that include the one-mile loop, amphitheater, waterfront plaza and parts of the Tolowa Cultural Trail at Beachfront Park, according to the city manager. 

Also known as the Front Street Gateway Project, Phase 1C includes erecting a gateway arch welcoming visitors and residents to the Beachfront Park area. Funded through a $2.9 million Clean California Grant from Caltrans, it will also mark the beginning of the Tolowa Cultural Trail as well as improve accessibility to the Cultural Center for those with disabilities.

The city is also using about $3.3 million in Community Development Block Grant funding to improve storm drain capacity on Front Street. 

On Monday, Wier said the proposed change order is for a total of about $262,000. Of that, about $182,000 in Clean California funding will go toward the banner poles and  the electrical infrastructure near the Cultural Center.

The city manager said that Public Works Director Dave Yeager has worked with an electrician to ensure that the Point of Honor veterans monument stays illuminated “at a fairly reasonable price.”

The Clean California grant will also go toward widening the California Coastal Trail an extra 10 to 12 feet near the Cultural Center, Wier said.

As for the storm drain improvements, Wier said the change order includes an additional $80,000 and will make up for a change in the size of the pipes and ensure that they are compatible with the junction boxes.

“We needed larger boxes, which has delayed the project some and now these costs are included in this change order,” Wier said.

With construction underway, there is a possibility of cost overruns, the city manager said, which has been discussed in the past with the City Council as well as the oversight committee tasked with monitoring the use of voter-approved Measure S tax revenue. 

Noting that the Measure S Oversight Committee has stated that Front Street is a vital project, Wier said using that funding “like a grant match” is something the City Council would have to approve.

As for the design of the gateway monument itself, including whether it says “Beachfront District” or “just Beachfront,” staff are working with the city’s marketing consultant Lynette Braillard of LuLish Design, Wier said. 

“She’s now working with a sign fabricator on some of those different options,” he said. “Once that’s ready to come back, we will bring some different options to the Council.”

The Crescent City Council has been discussing a gateway to Beachfront Park and the downtown area since about 2024. However, in June 2025, they scrapped a nautical concept in favor of a “redwoods meet the sea” design proposed by GreenWorks Design Principal Gill Williams and  Don Arambula, of Crandall Arambula, the consultant spearheading the city’s Downtown Specific Masterplan.

Their concept included constructing a gateway arch made of wood and COR-TEN steel on Front Street at Play Street. Visitors would pass through interchangeable banners on their approach to the arch, which would include icons emblematic of Crescent City.

Arambula also said the gateway should incorporate elements of Crescent City’s downtown area, the Cultural Center and Beachfront Park.

In August 2025, Crescent City entered into a $5.2 million contract with Tidewater Contractors to construct both the gateway elements and the storm drain improvements.

On Monday, county resident David Garcia said he’s enjoying the improvements to the Beachfront Park area. But, noting the absence of sand and a beach area, he questioned the park’s name.

“Somebody who might come to visit might expect sand immediately adjacent to the park,” he said. “I’d hate to see somebody be discouraged or disappointed if they come to an area of town that doesn’t have a beach.”

Both council members Jason Greenough and Candace Tinkler said they supported keeping the Point of Honor memorial illuminated in the evening.

“I personally feel it’s a show of respect to all of the veterans in our community to light those at night,” Tinkler said. “That, to me, as people drive through our community, they see that we honor our veterans and I want to keep it that way.”