Thumbnail photo: Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office and jail. | Redwood Voice
Among the items discussed at Tuesday’s Del Norte County Board of Supervisors meeting:
Measure R funds for jail rehabilitation: Four supervisors agreed to use about $2 million in unallocated Measure R dollars to make up a funding gap in the ongoing jail rehabilitation project.
But at least two representatives, District 1 Supervisor Darrin Short and his District 2 colleague Valerie Starkey, were confused at the term “Justice Campus” County Administrative Officer Neal Lopez used in his board report for Tuesday. Starkey abstained from voting.
In response to their concerns, Lopez brought up the Board’s approved use last year of Measure R dollars as gap funding for the jail project and also brought up a proposal to build a designated building for the Del Norte County District Attorney’s Office and the Probation Department.
“The additional amount of money added to this project is now a consideration for a justice campus next door to the sheriff’s office on the property owned by the county to get our departments currently in the courthouse out of there,” Lopez said, adding that the cost to rehabilitate the jail exceeds the amount allocated for capital improvements. “We are continuing to pay increased shared costs for that state building based on our square footage in that state building.”
Lopez described the justice campus concept at 5th and G streets as a long-term solution a technical advisory committee approved. He said he would bring a presentation to the Board of Supervisors either on Sept. 22 or Oct. 13.
The Board of Supervisors initially discussed the item on July 22, 2025 about a month after it had approved a proposal to house adult inmates at the Youth Opportunity Center while the jail is under construction. At that meeting, the Board authorized the county to spend up to $48,000 on a feasibility study that would determine where to house juvenile probation during the jail project as well as a long-term “strategic opportunity” for a justice services campus.
On Tuesday, Lopez said that building a justice campus would be a long-term solution to the county having to pay for improvements to the courthouse, which is state owned. The county’s share is based on the amount of square feet its departments occupy.
He noted that the temporary solution of building a facility to house juvenile probation which would be displaced by adult inmates during jail construction would cost an estimated $3 million.
“The TAC’s decision was why throw away $3 million in preparing that site, putting modulars on there on a temporary basis, when we can in fact do a more long-term solution for those departments in the courthouse, which would save us long-term,” Lopez said.
According to Lopez’s staff report, the 2025-26 fiscal year budget report had estimated a $5 million gap in funding for the jail rehabilitation project. That estimate has increased to about $15 million.
There’s currently $3.8 million in unallocated Measure R dollars, Lopez told supervisors. The Measure R Oversight Committee has endorsed the use of those dollars for gap funding, he said.
St. George Reef Lighthouse: Testimony from eight members of the public convinced the Del Norte County Board of Supervisors to allocate $20,000 to the St. George Reef Lighthouse Preservation Society.
But instead of approving an annual contribution, Board Chairman Joey Borges said he’d be more comfortable approving a one-time allocation that would be eligible for renewal depending on the county’s budget.
Borges’s colleague, District 3 Supervisor Chris Howard even urged the Lighthouse Preservation Society President John Zimmerman to raise the price for the sporadic helicopter tours it offers.
According to Zimmerman, however, the preservation society is pursuing grants that he hopes will enable the organization to increase the number of tours it offers while reducing the price.
“Right now we can’t afford to not charge what we’re charging,” he said of the $395 per person price tag. “We don’t want it to be a situation where only a few people can go out there and others can’t because they can’t afford the price of a ticket.”
The funding request came to the Board of Supervisors from District 2 representative Valerie Starkey, who represents the county on the Crescent City-Del Norte County Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Bureau. She noted that the request was for an annual contribution.
Statements from former supervisor Clark Moore, society vice president Richard Hoff and others convinced Starkey that it should be an annual contribution, though her colleagues disagreed.
County Interest in CDFW Lands: With Starkey noting that the California Department of Fish and Wildlife approached the county, she and her colleagues approved a list of state lands it would be interested in assuming control over.
In a letter to CDFW Director Meghan Hertel, county supervisors stated they would be interested in the Saxton Boat Ramp on the Smith River, parcels within the Lake Earl Wildlife Area and the split stairs that provide fishing access to Pebble Beach.
According to its letter, the county has helped maintain the split stairs on Pebble Beach Drive that leads to the beach below. County funds have also paid for repairs to the parking lot and boat ramp access at the Saxton property. The county’s Local Coastal Plan also directs hunting and fishing be maintained at the Lake Earl Wildlife Area and “recognizes grazing as an established agricultural activity in the Lake Earl area.”
In introducing the proposed letter to his colleagues, Howard mentioned previous strong positions on proposed transfers of state lands to other agencies. In April, the Board opposed Assembly Bill 2536, which proposed ceding Tolowa Dunes State Park to the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation.
In June, the Board of Supervisors also opposed Assembly Bill 53, which would have authorized the sale or transmittal of conservation lands to tribal nations.
