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During tonight’s meeting, the Arcata City Council will consider moving $50,000 in COVID relief grant funding from local non-profit Arcata House Partnership’s (AHP) homelessness services budget to fund the city’s COVID Safe Outdoor Events budget, overseen by non-profit Playhouse Arts. 

The funding comes from a state Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) awarded in 2020 to help communities respond to COVID-19 through economic development, housing programs and public improvements. With approval from the city council, Arcata House Partnership Homeless Services was given $629,410 and the COVID Safe Outdoor Event Program was awarded $114,380 to help safely bring back outdoor events. 

According to the city staff report, Arcata House will not be able to implement some of the services that the funding had been allocated for – specifically, removal and disposal of syringes and some additional staffing. So Arcata House wants to release some of that funding to another local non-profit. From the staff report:

City staff was approached by the Executive Directors of both Arcata House Partnership and Playhouse Arts, the subrecipients running the Community Development Block Grant Coronavirus Response Act 2 Round 2 and 3 programs, expressing their desire to reallocate funding from the Arcata House Partnership Homeless Services budget to the COVID Safe Outdoor Event program budget. Both non-profit organizations work together to provide services to the City’s unhoused populations and there were some items in the original budget for Arcata House Partnership Homeless Services that they were not going to be able to implement, specifically the containers and ongoing disposal of sharps as well as some staffing costs. 

The $50,000 will mostly go toward funding additional staffing for the Safe Outdoor Event Program, with a small portion ($1,500) going toward event equipment, such as tents, stages, signage and ticketing software. 

The Outpost’s attempts to reach Jacqueline Dandeneau, executive director of Playhouse Arts, and Darleen Spoor, executive director of Arcata House Partnership,  were unsuccessful by the time of publication. Hey, they’re busy folks! 

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In other business, the council will consider supporting a statement against antisemitic messages and hate-speech, in response to the recent distribution of shocking antisemitic materials around Humboldt County. 

“As a defender of free-speech, Arcata has always supported people’s rights under the first amendment,” the draft statement reads. “But let’s be clear - the Arcata City Council and our community soundly reject and condemn ANY hate filled messages and any inference to discrimination of any kind to any person or group.

Copy of the flyer that will be available at tonight’s meeting | From agenda

“To our Jewish residents and neighbors, be assured that as a community, Arcata will stand up together to reject antisemitic messages and all forms of hate speech. The Arcata City Council stands united in our zero-tolerance position against all forms of hate speech in our City.”

The City also plans to have signs reading “Arcata stands united against hate” available at the meeting, for community members to display in the windows of their home or business. 

The Arcata City Council meets tonight (Wednesday, July 20) at 6 p.m. at Arcata City Hall – 731 F Street. You can view the full agenda and instructions on how to participate in-person or online here.