Screenshot of Tuesday’s Humboldt County Board of Supervisors meeting.


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Applause broke out in the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors Chambers this afternoon after the board approved long-awaited plans to reconstruct the John Haynes Memorial Veterans Hall in Garberville, a once-vibrant gathering space for the Southern Humboldt community.

After more than an hour of emotional public testimony and tense deliberation over the county’s ongoing budgetary constraints, the board voted 4-1, with Third District Supervisor Mike Wilson dissenting, to award a $3.79 million contract to Eureka-based Adams Commercial General Contracting, Inc. for the construction the new veterans hall at the corner of Conger and Locust streets in Garberville. 

The new building will replace the John Haynes Memorial Veterans Hall, which was shuttered in May of 2016 after county inspectors found black mold growing in the walls and ceiling following years of deferred maintenance. The building sat for years before the Board of Supervisors voted in 2021 to demolish and rebuild a slightly smaller version of the original building at the same site, which was donated to the county by the mother of John Haynes, a local man who died while serving in World War II. 

Architect’s rendering of the exterior of the new Garberville Veterans Hall. | Image: ORW Architecture, Inc.


Image: ORW Architecture, Inc.


Image: ORW Architecture, Inc.


Speaking at today’s meeting, Public Works Director Tom Mattson encouraged the board to approve the bid award, despite budget restrictions, noting that the property was donated to the county with the “explicit purpose” of hosting a veterans hall. 

“Due to intensive project management on the part of my staff working very closely with the veterans, we have reduced the cost of this … by about a million dollars, which is a 17 percent reduction,” Mattson said, referring to the previous project estimate provided by staff in June 2024. “We know in the building trade … that costs only go up. We are ready to build this facility, and we are recommending that you approve this so we can move it forward.” 

Citing concerns about “dynamic” construction costs, Fourth District Supervisor Natalie Arroyo asked if the proposed 10 percent contingency (a chunk of funding set aside to cover any unexpected costs that arise during a project) was standard practice. First District Supervisor Rex Bohn echoed her concerns, adding that the 10 percent contingency might seem like a small figure, but “it’s really a lot of money.”

“It’s very rare that we go over our contingencies,” Mattson said, adding that construction estimates are often more reliable when starting from scratch. “You’re already invested in the demolition of the building, and that’s when you run into scary things like asbestos and lead that can change costs drastically. … If there was an existing building, I’d be a little bit more worried because … you never know what you’re going to hit. … I am very confident this is going to be a very good project, and we will be holding the contractor responsible to his bid.”

Bohn said he would vote in favor of the project but would do so reluctantly because of the county’s aforementioned budget constraints. “I’m gonna hold my nose and say, ‘Damn, I don’t want to spend this much money,’ but I’m also going to say it needs to get done because we can’t kick this can down any farther [down the road].”

Similarly, Arroyo said she would also vote in favor of the project despite “serious fiscal issues.”

“I gotta say, I was really deeply disappointed the last time this came up in the way that people addressed some of my colleagues,” she continued. “You can have the right to say whatever you want, but it nearly changed my mind about this project. … I agree with [some comments] about following through on what we have said, but we have to be able to work together on this building. This is going to function as a community center. All of our veteran halls have that community use element, and we need to have a good relationship between the county and the veterans groups to be able to facilitate that.”

At a few points during the discussion, Second District Supervisor and Board Chair Michelle Bushnell expressed her emphatic support for the project, noting that the county stood in the way of veterans who wanted to fix the building themselves. 

“[The veterans] had that idea and wanted to do that, not have [the] building torn down,” Bushnell said. “In fact, it was the exact opposite. … [They] wanted the original building fixed and repaired.  … We prevented that. The county prevented that.”

Wilson | Screenshot

Wilson agreed that the veterans should have a dedicated space in Garberville but it would be fiscally irresponsible to build a brand new facility with so many existing vacant buildings in town.

“I’ve been consistent in advocating for a permanent space for veterans, one that honors their service, supports their needs, and provides a place to gather, heal, and build community,” Wilson said. “I’ve also been consistent in emphasizing that we must leverage outside funding to responsibly finance this facility, just as we strive to do with all of our other capital projects — and I mean all of them. … Every other facility we are leveraging and requesting funding to get from external sources.”

“We may disagree on that strategy … but I want to just really, really clear that something needs to happen,” he added.

Everyone who spoke during the public comment portion of the discussion advocated on behalf of the veterans, urging the board to approve the contract and break ground on the new facility as soon as possible. There were a few speakers who entertained Wilson’s proposal to put the vets hall in an existing building, but felt it was too late in the game to consider yet another proposal.

“I’m a little baffled why this wasn’t brought ahead when we weren’t in this huge distress,” said Craig Johnson. “I don’t know if [it’s] possible to take over something like the Blue Room or one of our existing buildings, but how long do we have to wait to make that happen? I think it’s really important we move with lightning speed for the sake of our veterans.”

Several Southern Humboldt veterans spoke in favor of building a new facility to provide a designated place for them to meet, but, more importantly, it would give “veterans a chance to make themselves useful to the community on a level that most of us cannot do individually,” said Jeff Hedin.

Hedin | Screenshot

“I think it’s important that this be a government-centered effort … that we all pay for,” Hedin continued, his voice wavering with emotion. “We chose … to create a building that was in memory of service in general. And we chose the veterans because they gambled an ultimate service. Most of us were drafted in, and we had no idea where we were going to wind up. Some of us were in situations of extreme peril. And others were in situations of extreme service.”

Following public comment, Bushnell made a motion to approve the bid award, which was seconded by Arroyo. After a bit of additional discussion between supervisors and staff, the board voted 4-1, with Wilson dissenting, to approve the contract and move the project forward.

Letter Opposing Richard Stobaugh’s Residency

A little earlier in the meeting, the board unanimously voted to approve a letter opposing the relocation of Richard Stobaugh, a convicted “sexually violent predator” currently residing in Coalinga State Hospital in Fresno County, to a residence on Peninsula Drive in Manila.

Stobaugh was convicted of a series of “sexually violent offenses” dating back to the early 1980s when he raped an 18-year-old college student in her dorm room, Humboldt District Attorney Stacey Eads said at today’s meeting.

“After serving only five years for that offense, Mr. Stobaugh was released on parole,” Eads continued. “It wasn’t long before he was re-offending, victimizing women. His range of victims included those from the 18-year-old up to the age of [a] 71-year-old female victim. He raped a 41-year-old. He raped a number of victims, almost always with the use of a mask covering his identity as he slipped into their homes. He almost always — if not always — was armed with either a firearm or a knife when he committed these offenses.”

Stobaugh was eventually committed to a state hospital, and in 2023, he petitioned to be released through the state’s Conditional Release Program. Liberty Healthcare, the program that’s contracted to supervise people on conditional release, has been looking for a potential placement for Stobaugh and landed on a single-family residence in Manila.

“This is an entirely inappropriate potential placement for a person such as Mr. Stobaugh,” Eads said. “That particular residence is located in a semi-rural location. It would take approximately 16 minutes for the Sheriff’s Department to respond if there’s some sort of incident. There’s no plan in place in terms of how Mr. Stobaugh will be supervised by the Liberty Healthcare program. We don’t know what the terms and conditions would be for that.”

Stobaugh would be subject to GPS monitoring, Eads said, but who would conduct the monitoring and how violations would be treated remains to be seen. 

During the board’s discussion on the matter, Bohn said the proposal to transfer Stobaugh evoked memories of the community backlash that surrounded the proposed relocation of Joshua Bryan Cooley, another “sexually violent predator” who, after serving 16 years in prison, was slated for release in Freshwater. His relocation was denied by Humboldt County Superior Court Judge John Feeney in 2018, and he was ultimately sent back to the state hospital in Coalinga.

Following a brief discussion, the board unanimously agreed to approve the letter of opposition, which will be forwarded to Judge Kaleb Cockrum, who will consider Stobaugh’s proposed relocation during a community placement hearing at the Humboldt County Courthouse tomorrow at 10:15 a.m.

A copy of the letter of opposition can be found here.

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