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Here we are on the first Tuesday of November and since you’ve likely been preoccupied with the extremely important and unquestionably weird election (view our liveblog coverage here), the Outpost would like to remind you that there is a Eureka City Council meeting this evening that you may want to virtually attend, if at the very least to momentarily distract you while you await election night results.

And if that is not reason enough to participate in your local government, remember that this election will decide two new members to represent Eureka Wards Two and Four. So if you are a fan of Councilmember Heidi Messner or Councilmember Austin Allison — who were both unable to run for reelection this year —  you only have a handful of remaining opportunities to watch these two in action!

Here’s a rundown of some of the exciting items on tonight’s Eureka City Council agenda:

Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

Electric vehicles are a pretty important part of helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions but, as you probably know, they require charging stations that aren’t available at every corner. So, the City of Eureka is looking to create a streamline permitting process for building charging stations.

The Eureka City Council will vote tonight on adopting a bill —  introduced during a meeting on October 20 — that would amend the city’s municipal code, “setting forth procedures for Expediting Permit Processing for Electric Vehicle Charging Stations,” the staff report states.

Efficiency Dwelling Units

The council will also vote on another ordinance that was introduced during the October 20 meeting, pertaining to efficiency dwelling units (EDUs) — small, self-contained units occupied by only one or two residents.

The ordinance would amend Eureka’s municipal code, setting standards for EDUs including that they have a minimum floor area of 150 square feet and contain partial kitchen and bathroom facilities. These amendments are intended to help the city support the creation of housing through motel conversions and to encourage the development of accessory dwelling units .

Citizen Police Chief Advisory Board

Also during the October 20 meeting, the council discussed the official development of a Citizens Advisory Board to the Eureka Chief of Police, intended to review police policy and procedures and make recommendations to the council.

After requesting some changes to the language, the council will now vote to adopt the ordinance officially adding the board to the city’s municipal code. If adopted, the ordinance will also establish the board’s membership and meeting guidelines.

Firefighter Memorial

Rendering of the proposed Firefighter Memorial Statue

In July of last year the council approved the installation of a Firefighter memorial statue in the Clarke Plaza in Old Town, an idea brought forward by Humboldt Bay Fire to honor firefighters who had died in the line of duty.

Since the idea was approved, Humboldt Bay Fire has been raising money to help pay for the statue, holding a spaghetti dinner and auction fundraiser and even starting a GoFundMe page for the cause.

The council will receive an update on this project tonight.

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The Eureka City Council will discuss all of this and move over Zoom tonight at 6:00 p.m. You can view the full meeting agenda here.

To view or participate in the meeting, simply follow these instructions provided by the City of Eureka:

You can view the City Council meetings live on the City of Eureka’s website at www.ci.eureka.ca.gov or on Cable Channel 10. To view from the website, select the Watch City Council Meetings orange button from the home page.

Members of the Public who wish to speak and be heard during the Council meeting, may submit their phone number and the name of the item that they would like to comment on by e-mail to cityclerk@ci.eureka.ca.gov or leave a message at 707.441.4175. The City Clerk will call the public member during the discussion of the item or the public member may request the Zoom meeting link to log into the meeting for comment.

If you don’t want to call in during the meeting, please submit your comment via email to the City Clerk at cityclerk@ci.eureka.ca.gov or you may leave a message at 707.441.4175 prior to 4:00 P.M. on Tuesday, the day of the meeting to ensure that Council receives your comment before the meeting. All comments received by e-mail or mail will be part of the public record for Council consideration but will not be read aloud during the meeting.

For items not on the agenda, please make a note that is a “Public Comment” submission. Only those messages that state they are for public comment will be included in the record.

CORRECTION: This post originally misstated the Eureka wards that will have new council members after this election and has been corrected. The Outpost regrets the error.