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In another marathon meeting of the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors, topics ranged from the worsening COVID-19 pandemic to the board’s stance on a road-widening project through Richardson Grove and, of course, more drama surrounding Auditor-Controller Karen Paz Dominguez.

Here’s an overview of some of the highlights (?) from Tuesday’s eight-and-a-half-hour meeting.

In his first public meeting as Humboldt County’s health officer, Dr. Ian Hoffman delivered some grim warnings about the state of the COVID-19 pandemic here in Humboldt County. 

“It’s no longer coming in from the outside,” he said. “It’s here, and it’s spreading among our community, and it’s doing so very rapidly.”

It took nearly 10 months for the county to reach 1,000 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, and at the current pace we’ll double that total in just over a month. “If that sounds shocking, it should sound shocking,” Hoffman said. 

The county is well-positioned to deal with the surge, in terms of ICU capacity and ventilators, according to St. Joseph Health, Humboldt County CEO Roberta Luskin-Hawk, who called in to Tuesday’s meeting to provide an update. Between St. Joseph Hospital, Mad River Hospital and Redwood Memorial Hospital, the county has 28 ICU beds and 38 ventilators. Luskin-Hawk said that latter figure is “more than we should ever need.”

She also said, “We are prepared to distribute the COVID vaccine.” St. Joe’s purchased a deep freezer to store the Pfizer vaccine at the required temperature. The challenge, locally and across the country, she said, will be staffing. 

Hoffman said the first doses of the vaccine are expected to arrive in Humboldt County in the next few weeks. He urged the public to comply with the state’s travel ban and stay home for the holidays. “Gatherings, even small ones, can and do spread this disease,” he said, adding that masking and social distancing are more important than ever.

Sheriff William Honsal complained about a lack of communication between Governor Gavin Newsom’s office and county sheriffs, and he reiterated his own department’s approach of emphasizing education over enforcement, saying that approach is “what’s made us so successful here.”

Honsal also observed that Humboldt County’s overall death rate this year is no higher than last year’s. Regarding COVID-19 he said, “[W]hile, yes, it’s deadly for some people, statistics show that unless you’re over 70 years old, that death rate is not exponential … . [COVID] is not necessarily deadly, as far as our percentages here in Humboldt County.”

To date, nine Humboldt County residents have died from COVID-19, and our number of active cases has reached an all-time high of 254. Scientists have also identified a long list of long-term health impacts that can afflict people who’ve been infected. 

Hoffman noted that with the recent outbreak at Granada Rehabilitation and Wellness, a skilled nursing facility in Eureka, the county’s death rate could double in the next month or two. He added that senior citizens are “the most vulnerable people in our society,” saying “they’ve served us well … [and] we need to protect them. … I think we can spare their lives. I do.”

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In other business, the board unanimously chose to appoint Fourth District Supervisor Virginia Bass to the position of chair for the upcoming year, meaning she’ll lead the meetings each week throughout 2021. Third District Supervisor Mike Wilson was actually next in line for the position, having served as vice-chair this past year. The board has developed an informal method of rotating the chair position by district — the First District supervisor followed by the Second, followed by the Third and so one.

But Wilson said that he has too many COVID-related responsibilities, including a child at home, to commit to leading meetings that can last eight hours or more. He said he called Second District Supervisor-Elect Michelle Bushnell to make sure she was okay with the switch. She was. Wilson will serve another year as co-chair and is slated to be chair in 2022.

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In the board’s annual discussion about adopting state and federal legislative platforms — that is, taking a range of positions on issues likely to be addressed at the state and federal levels — Fifth District Supervisor Steve Madrone suggested making some edits on a number of issues.

The one that got the most discussion concerned the county’s position on the long-delayed and controversial Caltrans proposal to widen Hwy. 101 through Richardson Grove. Madrone wanted the county document to make note of the controversy surrounding the issue and to mention that, now that State Route 299 has been widened, this project is “not as crucial.”

First District Supervisor Rex Bohn pushed back on that suggestion, arguing that the environmental and financial impacts of rerouting west coast drivers all the way from the coast over to Redding en route back to the Humboldt coast would be much worse than the Caltrans proposal, which does not call for cutting any old growth redwood trees.

Fourth District Supervisor Virginia Bass also noted that 299 frequently experiences closures. “I’m fine keeping last year’s language in here,” she said.

Public commenters, however, spoke against the road-widening proposal, saying it threatens a cherished and iconic piece of the natural world. Tom Wheeler, executive director of the Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC), said that while the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently delivered a blow to their efforts to prevent the project by reversing a previous win in district court, the case is “far from over.”

The board ultimately decided to bring this agenda item back for further discussion at its Dec. 15 meeting. 

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A pair of agenda items later in the day were related — at least indirectly — to Auditor-Controller Karen Paz Dominguez, who was not in attendance. The first concerned a proposal to hire Sacramento accounting firm MGO to provide a range of financial advisory services while county staffers study staffing needs and analyze the possibility of creating a new position: chief financial officer (or perhaps a slightly different job title, depending on the results of staff’s studies).

“This is not about outsourcing the Auditor-Controller,” County Administrative Officer Amy Nilsen said, reiterating a point her office made yesterday. Instead, she said, this is an adaptive measure meant to facilitate a range of organizational changes happening within the county, changes that require more work from a variety of departments, including her own.

Human Resources Director Linda Le also spoke in favor of hiring MGO, saying the firm can help in her efforts to implement “organizational change management,” including that staffing study and the exploration of a chief financial officer position.

Connie Beck, director of the county’s Department of Health and Human Services, was the third department head to voice support for hiring MGO. She said the firm has helped improve the timeliness of claims received from the Auditor-Controller’s Office, which had regularly been non-communicative. 

“Our staff has worked really hard keeping up with all of the changes the Auditor-Controller’s Office has required,” Beck said. “I’d really appreciate the assistance.”

Madrone suggested that hiring MGO to help facilitate organizational change would offer the county a chance to “press the reset button” on some of the contentious issues surrounding the Auditor-Controller’s Office over the past few years. 

The board voted unanimously to approve a $250,000 contract with MGO, with a stipulation that the firm’s work shouldn’t duplicate the efforts of other county offices, including the Auditor-Controller’s. At Madrone’s suggestion, the staff will report back to the board about the firm’s work once half of the $250,000 has been spent.

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The second Auditor-Controller-related item triggered an awkward discussion because it involved an internal investigation, and County Counsel Jefferson Billingsley noted repeatedly that he couldn’t really talk about the nature of that investigation. (A staff report says it concerns delays in payments, money transfers and reconciliations of accounts.)

After receiving an interview request as part of the inquiry, Paz Dominguez sought outside legal representation. Former Eureka City Attorney Cyndy Day-Wilson sent the county vaguely confrontational letters saying that if the board won’t approve her request to represent Paz Dominguez then she’ll take the matter to a judge. 

Billingsley said his office’s client is the county as a whole, and while it doesn’t appear that representing Paz Dominguez at the same time would present a conflict, “this is an underdeveloped concept in the law.”

Neither Paz Dominguez nor Day Wilson were in attendance. 

Regarding the county’s investigation, Bass noted that it didn’t appear to be about Paz Dominguez personally and perhaps didn’t even involve any allegations of wrongdoing. Wilson agreed, saying such investigations are fairly common, and what emerges on the other side is typically a policy recommendation of some kind.

“This just doesn’t seem to me to rise to the level of needing an attorney,” Fennell said. “There’s no charge filed. That’s what I see.” Regarding the request for an outside attorney, she added, “I don’t understand it, actually.”

Wilson said the letters from Day-Wilson could constitute a threat of litigation, which, like personnel matters and internal inquiries, is a topic typically reserved for closed-session meetings of the board. “This is a little bit weird to be having this [discussion] in this space,” he said.

The board wound up voting to continue the matter to the Dec. 15 meeting and seek a closed-session item to resolve the matter. The vote was 4-1 with Bohn casting the dissenting vote. 

As Humboldt County’s number of confirmed COVID cases continues to rise at a record rate, another testing option is now available to some members of the community. 

The Northern California Indian Development Council (NCIDC) located in Eureka’s Carson Block Building is hosting free, walk-in COVID-19 testing for tribal community members and people who are closely associated to them. The saliva-based tests are made possible by the California Rural Indian Health Board (CRIHB) and can be acquired on weekdays between the hours of 9 a.m and 4 p.m. by following the signs into Opera Alley to the Carson Block Building’s side door. 

It’s a quick process. There was no line Tuesday when this testing-eligible Outpost reporter strolled in. Once inside, I answered a site worker’s simple questions before I was handed a sample cup and told to seclude myself into a nearby bathroom to spit. I returned my sample which will now be sent off to be processed by myLAB Box, a company that has also been cleared to offer at-home COVID tests sold at some Walmart stores. After about three business days, my results should be available by logging into myLAB Box’s website.  

Greg Gehr, NCIDC’s executive director, told the Outpost he’s pleased to be able to assist CRIHB in providing this testing option to Humboldt. “The more testing we can do as a community and a country the better off we are,” he said. He also stressed that the site is available to more people than just tribal members. 

“I like the fact that they’re being very open with these tests. You don’t have to be Indian,” Gehr said, noting that tests are available to you “if you’re living in a household with Indian people, if you’re working for a business that’s owned by or has Indian people working in it. We’re trying to test the whole community that’s associated with Indian folks.” 

Gehr sent over a lengthy FAQ sheet if you’ve got any questions about how this particular brand of testing works. 

For the latest Humboldt COVID info and statistics, check out LoCO’s daily COVID Report.

Go here, COVID test seeker. 

PREVIOUSLY: Yurok Tribe Closes Reservation in Response to Rapid Increase in COVID Cases On and Off Tribal Territory

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In response to the recent spike in COVID-19 cases in Humboldt County, Redwood National and State Parks has temporarily temporarily closed several public facilities and lookout points in the Klamath River area.

“In support of the Yurok Tribe and county COVID-19 guidelines, we have temporarily closed some of the parks’ view points, facilities and parking lots near the Klamath River,” RNSP announced on social media today.

These locations include: High Bluffs Overlook, Klamath River Overlook, Flint Ridge backcountry camp and the Flint Ridge and Alder Camp parking lots.

More information on all the temporary park closures is available at the National Parks Service website.

Local MMA pro Cass Bell signed a new multi-fight contract with Bellator yesterday which will double his pay.

Bell told the Outpost that he can’t say how much he’ll be making, but added that his earnings will also increase with each additional win.

“Feels amazing and exciting that they still want me to be part of their promotion,” he said. “All the major promotions are cutting fighters, and I did lose my last fight, but it was against a super tough opponent that no one wanted to fight so I knew that I was in a good spot.”

In July, he suffered his first professional loss via submission and now has a record of 5-1.

With the deal in place, Bell said that his next fight is expected to happen sometime in January or February of next year.

The signing marks Bell’s third professional contract, all of which have been with Bellator MMA.

“I put the Bell in Bellator,” he said.

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From the Humboldt County Superior Court:

Due to the evolving public health emergency associated with the increased amount of positive COVID-19 cases in Humboldt County, the Court requested and has been granted an Emergency Order wherein all criminal jury trials scheduled to commence between December 8, 2020 and January 19, 2021, will be resent. The current, ongoing criminal jury trial is not affected by this Order.

The Court’s goal is to ensure that jurors, judicial officers and court staff as well as other individuals involved in trials are not unduly or inadvertently exposed to COVID-19 infected individuals.

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After the Eureka City Council and the Humboldt Area Center for Harm Reduction (HACHR) failed to come to agreement on the nonprofit’s controversial syringe exchange program (SEP) after two meetings last week, the council will now hold yet another special meeting Thursday, during which they will consider temporarily banning such programs while city government rewrites the rules governing them.

Last week, the council voted down a proposed settlement agreement between HACHR and the City in a 2-3 vote, with Councilmembers Leslie Castellano and Natalie Arroyo voting in favor of the agreement and Councimembers Kim Bergel, Austin Allison and Heidi Messner voting against it. 

The proposal would have required that HACHR transition to a mobile-only syringe exchange by June 1, build a fence around its Third Street facility and hire a monitor to regulate activity at the facility. In good faith, HACHR agreed to build the fence and hire the monitor as soon as possible.

But Councilmembers Allison, Messner and Bergel were concerned that this agreement would not hold HACHR accountable for its actions. Bergel — who represents Eureka’s Fifth Ward, in which HACHR’s Third Street facility is located — was particularly worried about the interim period before June 1, when HACHR would still provide syringe services at its facility. After an hour or so of often tense deliberations, none of the council members changed their vote, and the proposal died.

After the council voted down the proposed agreement on Tuesday, Bergel, City Manager Miles Slattery and HACHR Executive Director Lasara Firefox Allen held a meeting, during which Bergel requested that for the next six months — until HACHR can transition to a mobile exchange — it reduce its syringe exchange hours and hire a security guard to regulate the syringe exchange at the facility.

HACHR declined Bergel’s proposal.

“Myself and the board find these additional requests to be reckless and untenable,” Allen read from a prepared statement during a follow-up city council meeting Thursday. “Reducing current SSP [Syringe Services Programs] hours of operation would have a profound negative impact. The COVID-19 pandemic and the protocols associated with it are having numerous and substantial effects on our population.”

The HACHR board also felt that hiring a uniformed security guard would have a “chilling effect” on the program’s participants, Allen said, many of whom have a “history of trauma at the hands of uniformed authority figures.”

But Bergel felt that these were reasonable requests — that they would only be temporary and would, hopefully, appease HACHR’s neighbors by helping to regulate some of the activity in and around the HACHR facility. With HACHR not agreeing to these additional requests, Bergel felt that the best option moving forward would be to start over and give the city an opportunity to craft a new ordinance. Bergel’s hope is that with that new ordinance, the council will put out a request for proposals for a syringe exchange program, for which HACHR can apply.

Crafting and adopting a new ordinance will take time, however, and require a California Environmental Quality Act review. So, for the interim, Bergel suggested that the council repeal and replace the city’s resolution supporting SEPs.

Allen said that this action would have a devastating impact on the population that uses the SEP, and that they feel that Bergel’s request is based on emotions rather than scientific data.

“She is willing to sacrifice countless lives to this idea that she has that HACHR isn’t doing a good enough job,” Allen told the Outpost in a recent phone interview. “A lack of syringe services in Eureka over the next six months — it’s impossible to know what the impact of that will be in lives and in dollars.”

To be clear, if the council does rescind the SEP resolution, the syringe exchange service operated by the Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) the will still be able to operate in Eureka, because the City of Eureka does not have authority over county regulations.

But Allen said that the county DHHS is operating at limited capacity because of the pandemic, adding that because of COVID, the county has a greater need for syringe exchange services. Allen added that the CDPH recently sent out a vulnerability assessment that shows an increased risk for HIV and Hepatitis C infection, and drug overdose rates in California.

“If anything, we should be increasing our SSP hours, in order to address the needs of our participant population,” they said.

City Manger Miles Slattery agrees that with the pandemic, the timing of this is not ideal. But if the council does repeal the resolution, it would only be temporary and the city is prepared to provide as much additional support as possible through its UPLIFT and CAPE programs to help ensure that people have access to the county’s syringe services. “We’ll provide rides,” Slattery told the Outpost. “We’ll do whatever it takes.”

It seems worth mentioning that last Tuesday’s meeting — when the council initially voted down the settlement agreement — was intended to be the final meeting for outgoing councilmembers Allison and Messner and new councilmembers Kati Moulton and Scott Bauer will be sworn in on Dec. 15.

If the council does vote to repeal the resolution on Thursday, HACHR would still remain open for all of its other harm reduction services, including HIV and Hepatitis C testing and overdose prevention. And with its state authorization, HACHR would still be permitted to provide syringe exchange in surrounding communities, like Arcata.

And while Slattery said that it is unfortunate that the council rejected the agreement he and Allen spent a great deal of time on, he understands the issues that some council members have with HACHR and that they would want to take their time crafting new regulations for syringe exchange programs in the city.

“We can assure you that we understand the importance of HACHR but we also want to be responsible,” Slattery told the Outpost. “HACHR has had a track record with not following through. There’s new management and a new board, but a lot of history and we’ve taken a lot of heat for this.”

The Eureka City Council will hold a special meeting via Zoom on Thursday Dec. 10 at 7:30 p.m.

If you would like to comment during the meeting, you can email your request to cityclerk@ci.eureka.ca.gov or call 707-441-4175 prior to the meeting. You can also email your written comments to the city clerk and they will not be read during the meeting, but will be entered into the record.

The public comment period will be limited to two hours total and two minutes per speaker, to give the council adequate time to deliberate. The city encourages you to email your requests and comments by 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, in case there is not time for you to speak during the meeting.

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PREVIOUSLY:

• City of Eureka Announces Opposition to HACHR Recertification, Releases Lengthy Report Chronicling Months-Long Undercover Surveillance
• HACHR Responds to City of Eureka Letter Opposing State Reauthorization
• HACHR Releases Statement Detailing Steps It Plans to Take Moving Forward
• Eureka City Council Approves Letter Opposing the Reauthorization of HACHR’S Syringe Exchange Program
• State Reauthorizes HACHR’s Syringe Exchange Program, But Gives Eureka More Control
• Eureka City Council Votes Down Proposed HACHR Agreement, But Will Reconsider Vote Tonight

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PREVIOUSLY:

• EPD Provides Information on Last Night’s Fatal Head-on Collision on Broadway in Eureka

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From the Eureka Police Department:

On December 7, 2020, an autopsy was performed on the 62-year-old female who was pronounced deceased after the December 2, 2020 vehicle collision at Broadway and West Wabash.

Results of the autopsy determined that the female suffered a medical emergency that caused her death just prior to the collision. The female did not receive any life- threatening injuries as a result of the collision. Due to the medical nature of this incident, the identify of the female will not be released.