District 3 Supervisor Chris Howard was absent. Among the items discussed at Tuesday’s Del Norte County Board of Supervisors meeting:
DelNorteCounty.gov? County supervisors authorized Information Technology Director Dan McCorckle to apply for a new delnortecounty.gov web address.
McCorckle’s recommendation to transition to a .gov or a .ca.gov domain name will allow Del Norte to comply with California Assembly Bill 1637, which requires all local agencies to use verified domain names for their public-facing websites and employee email addresses by Jan. 1, 2029. Signed into law in October 2023, AB 1637 aims to prevent “malicious actors” from impersonating county services, according to McCorckle’s staff report.
Though the Board approved his request without much discussion, District 2 Supervisor Valerie Starkey praised McCorckle’s staff report, which outlines how he settled on delnortecounty.gov as a new website name.
According to his staff report, McCorckle conducted a comparative analysis of other California counties and found that 12 use the “CountyName.gov” format while eight use the CountyName.ca.gov format.
“The specific reasoning behind each county’s choice varies,” McCorckle wrote. “While most organizations prefer the shortest available version of their name, the .gov registry maintains strict requirements. Some counties likely chose their domain name based on the specific options available to them.”
According to McCorckle, Los Angeles County’s website is LACounty.gov. But when he inquired about registering DNCounty.gov for Del Norte, that registry was denied because LA County is universally recognized, but DN County isn’t.
McCorckle also deployed a survey to his fellow county employees as well as the public. DelNorteCounty.gov was the most popular choice among employees surveyed, he said. The public, however, was split between DelNorteCounty.gov and Del NorteCounty.ca.gov.
On Tuesday, McCorckle told supervisors that the transition to a new employee email will take some time.
Probation’s Contract With Humboldt: Del Norte County supervisors authorized a direct payment of $232,448 to Humboldt County for housing local in-custody youth at its juvenile hall for the last year.
The payment comes as the Del Norte County Probation Department’s custody contract negotiations with Humboldt County are nearing an end, according to Chief Probation Officer Lonnie Reyman. According to Reyman’s staff report, Humboldt County Behavioral Health had insisted on “a specific increased rate” in addition to the probation department’s rate for housing Del Norte youth.
On Tuesday, Reyman told supervisors that both parties have agreed to a total rate of $227 per bed day per youth. Of that proposed rate, $175 will go to Humboldt County Probation for detention costs and $52 will be for behavioral health services.
Del Norte County also has contracts with Mendocino and Shasta counties to house in-custody youth. According to Reyman, Mendocino is a little cheaper than Humboldt, however it’s further away than Humboldt.
Meanwhile, Shasta County’s rates have increased more significantly, Reyman told Redwood Voice Community News.
Once the negotiated contract with Humboldt is finalized, it will go to the Del Norte County Board of Supervisors for approval, Reyman said.
Meat Processing: County supervisors endorsed an effort from True North Organizing Network and the Hmong Association of Crescent City to establish a meat processing facility in Del Norte County.
True North is seeking a $350,000 USDA Rural Business Development Grant for the endeavor, which responds to the closure of Eureka’s Redwood Meat Company about two years ago.
Once fully operational, the facility will be able to process 1,320 cattle, 420 hogs and 3,600 poultry annually, according to the report from True North.
Project organizers have completed a feasibility study using a $500,000 California Jobs First catalyst grant and have identified a potential location. However, property negotiations are currently underway.
According to the Board of Supervisors’ letter to the USDA Rural Business Development program, the meat processing facility will support local livestock production.
