During tonight’s meeting the Arcata City Council will discuss potentially sending a letter of concern to Humboldt State University regarding the school’s decision to host San Jose State’s football team.

HSU announced last week plans to host the San Jose team — the Spartans — along with coaches and support staff, totaling about 135 people. The SJSU team are being housed on HSU campus and using Redwood Bowl for practice until Santa Clara County guidelines allow for the team to resume football related activities, HSU said.

The announcement caused some alarm in the community, prompting many questions about the potential risks related to the spread of COVID-19. During her October 1 media availability, Humboldt County Public Health Officer Dr. Teresa Frankovich said that Public Health was not a part of the decision-making process, but was reviewing the university’s plan. Frankovich expressed some concern over hosting travelers, but said that HSU would be taking the necessary precautions.

“The people who are arriving from San Jose State, I’m expecting that they will abide by all of the safety precautions that we are asking from all of our residents here,” Frankovich said. “In their plan, they are proposing to test before they come here and to test again shortly after they arrive and I think that will be helpful.” 

HSU also released additional information addressing the concerns about COVID-19 protocol, saying that the SJSU team will be tested regularly and  has made a commitment to maintaining its protective “bubble.”

“SJSU’s team of approximately 135 players, coaches and staff will stay in HSU residence halls that have previously been unused this semester,” stated the HSU press release. “The halls are separate from anywhere that HSU students are currently living on campus.”

The discussion about HSU hosting the team is the only business item listed on tonight’s Arcata City Council agenda, and no details are offered about it.

The council meets, via Zoom, tonight at 6:00 p.m. You can watch the meeting on the City of Arcata’s website or the city’s YouTube channel.

Here are directions on how to participate from the City of Arcata:

Members of the public may access the Zoom meeting directly to provide Public Comment.

1.Join from a PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone or Android device: Please use this URL: https://zoom.us/j/99137973425

2.If you do not wish for your name to appear on the screen, then use the drop down menu and click on “rename” to rename yourself to be anonymous.

3.If you want to comment during the public comment portion of any item, click on raise your hand on the right-hand side of your screen. When it is time for public comment on the item on which you wish to speak, the Clerk will unmute you. You will have 3 minutes to comment, subject to the Mayor’s discretion.

Or join by phone:

1.*67 1-669-900-6833

2.Enter Meeting ID: 991 3797 3425

3.If you are accessing the meeting via telephone and want to comment during the public comment portion of any item, press star (*) 9on your phone. This will raise your hand. When it is time for public comment on the item on which you wish to speak, the Clerk will unmute your phone. You will hear a prompt that will indicate your phone is unmuted. You will have 3 minutes to comment, subject to the Mayor’s discretion.

4.NOTE: Your phone number will appear on the screen unless you first dial star (*) 67 before dialing the numbers as shown above.

How to Submit Written Public Comment:

Members of the public may provide public comment on an agenda item before the meeting by sending an email to pc@cityofarcata.org. Such email comments must identify the agenda item number in the subject line of the email. The comments WILL NOT be read during the meeting, but will be forwarded to the City Council members and included in the written record of the meeting. Persons wishing to have their comments heard during the meeting are encouraged to participate in the meeting via Zoom as outlined above.