PREVIOUSLY:

• BOIL WATER NOTICE! These Areas of the Humboldt CSD Should Boil Their Water Before Drinking Over the Next Couple of Days

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Press release from the City of Eureka:

The City of Eureka would like to clarify for the public that a boil water advisory is not in effect for any areas in the City of Eureka or those served directly from the Mad River Pipeline. The City did have a break in the pipeline, however the pressure in the line did not allow for contaminants to enter the water delivery system. There has been slightly elevated turbidity noticed in the water, due to increased flows that caused minerals within the pipes to dislodge.

Safe drinking water is of the utmost importance and the City of Eureka wants to assure the public that the water provided to customers is high quality and safe. We continue to monitor the water distribution system and will update the public if conditions warrant it.

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Local documentarian Ray Olson is here to remind you to enjoy the trillium blooms before they disappear for the season.

Oh! A forest fairy!

In today’s episode of Humboldt Outdoors, Olson takes us on a wacky adventure through the Arcata Community Forest, where he encounters a forest fairy who assists him in his quest for the coveted Western White Trillium (Trillium ovatum), a three-petaled, typically white flower that is usually found growing on the forest floor. 

Trilliums are ephemeral bloomers, meaning they only flower for a short period of time and go dormant until the next year. The blooms typically emerge in early spring and begin to dwindle as the weather warms, usually by the end of May. 

As tempting as it may be to pick the flowers, the City of Arcata asks that you enjoy their beauty from afar. In his video, Olson notes that touching or picking trillium can damage the plant and even prevent future growth. Instead of picking the trillium, you can take a nice picture or even paint the fragile blooms.

In the meantime, check out Olson’s video above and celebrate our beloved trilliums!

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PREVIOUS HUMBOLDT OUTDOORS:

• (VIDEO) HUMBOLDT OUTDOORS: The Covered Bridges of Humboldt County
• (VIDEO) HUMBOLDT OUTDOORS: A Look at the Historic Ghost Town of Falk
• (VIDEO) HUMBOLDT OUTDOORS: The Ruins of Humboldt County’s First Lighthouse
• (VIDEO) HUMBOLDT OUTDOORS: Mysterious Wood Carvings in the Arcata Community Forest
• (VIDEO) HUMBOLDT OUTDOORS: Ray Olson Cracks the Case on the Mysterious Arcata Community Forest Wood Carvings
• HUMBOLDT OUTDOORS: Venturing Inside the Loleta Tunnel
• (VIDEO) HUMBOLDT OUTDOORS: Retracing Jack London’s 1911 Journey Through Humboldt County
• (VIDEO) HUMBOLDT OUTDOORS: Ray Olson Takes Us on a Camping Trip to Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park
• (VIDEO) HUMBOLDT OUTDOORS: Ray Olson Takes a Peek at the Timber Heritage Association’s Future Railroad Museum in Samoa
• (VIDEO) HUMBOLDT OUTDOORS: Ray Olson Goes Back in Time to Teach Us About the History of Earth Day
• (VIDEO) HUMBOLDT OUTDOORS: Ray Olson Traverses Jolly Giant Creek From Its Headwaters in the Arcata Community Forest to Humboldt Bay
• (VIDEO) HUMBOLDT OUTDOORS: Ray Olson Meets the Group of Local Veterans Working to Restore the WWII-Era Ship Beached in Samoa
• (VIDEO) HUMBOLDT OUTDOORS: Ray Olson is Joined by Local Authors Barry Evans and Jerry Rohde for a Tour of the Historic Table Bluff Cemetary
• (VIDEO) HUMBOLDT OUTDOORS: Ray Olson Takes Us Through the Lower Deck of Historic 1091
• (VIDEO) HUMBOLDT OUTDOORS: Ray Olson Introduces Us to Humboldt’s Cutest Herd of Lawn Mowers
• (VIDEO) HUMBOLDT OUTDOORS: Ray Olson Takes Us on the Second Leg of His Journey Along Jolly Giant Creek
• (VIDEO) HUMBOLDT OUTDOORS: Ray Olson Takes Us to the Ruins of the USS Milwaukee Shipwreck

UPDATE 4:45 P.M. FRIDAY: 

On March 21, 2024, you were notified of the need to boil/disinfect all tap water used for drinking and cooking purposes. The Humboldt Community Services District Public Water System in conjunction with the State Water Resources Control Board, has determined that, through abatement of the health hazard and comprehensive testing of the water, your water is safe to drink. It is no longer necessary to boil your tap water or for you to consume bottled water.

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Original post:

Whoops! Looks like some funky stuff may have gotten into the water pipes in the Mitchell Road, Myrtletown, Ryan Slough and Freshwater neighborhoods served by the Humboldt Community Services District.

The district just send out the following letter to its customers:

On the evening of March 20, 2024, the City of Eureka experienced a water transmission main break near Indianola Road and Old Arcata Road. Humboldt Community Services District purchases water from the City of Eureka that is delivered through this transmission main. As a result of the transmission main failure, Humboldt Community Services District was notified at 1pm on March 21, 2023 that some cloudy water may have been delivered to the Humboldt Community Services District system. The cloudy water could contain mineral deposits from the inside of the pipe or it might include soil from the area where the transmission main break occurred. The potentially affected areas include Mitchel Road, Myrtletown, Ryan Slough and Freshwater.

The Humboldt Community Services District has issued the enclosed Boil Water Advisory out of an abundance of caution because we want to ensure your health and wellbeing. We have been testing our water quality and flushing the affected areas. We have found no evidence of contaminated water within our system. We will continue to monitor and test our water quality for the next three days. If we discover any contamination, we will be reaching out to notify you. If we do not encounter any contaminated water, we will be reaching out to lift the Boil Water Advisory.

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience

Brian McNeill

Utility Services Planner

BOIL WATER NOTICE

Due to the water main break, depressurization, and possible contamination in the Humboldt CSD Drinking Water System, customers of the Humboldt CSD Drinking Water System in the Myrtletown, Mitchell Road, Ryan Slough and Freshwater areas are hereby advised to use boiled tap water or bottled water for drinking and cooking purposes as a safety precaution until further notice.

DO NOT DRINK THE WATER WITHOUT BOILING IT FIRST. Bring all water to a rolling boil, let it boil for one (1) minute, and let it cool before using, or use bottled water. Boiled or bottled water should be used for drinking and food preparation until further notice. Boiling kills bacteria and other organisms in the water.

Optional alternative to include for prolonged situations where it fits:

• An alternative method of purification for residents that do not have gas or electricity available is to use fresh liquid household bleach (Clorox, Purex, etc.). To do so, add 8 drops (or 1/4 teaspoon) of bleach per gallon of clear water or 16 drops (or 1/2 teaspoon) per gallon of cloudy water, mix thoroughly, and allow to stand for 30 minutes before using. A chlorine-like taste and odor will result from this purification procedure and is an indication that adequate disinfection has taken place.
• Water purification tablets may also be used by following the manufacturer’s instructions.

We will inform you when testing shows the water is safe to drink.

We anticipate resolving the problem within Three Days.

For more information call:

• Water Utility contact: Brian McNeill, Utility Services Planner (707) 443-4550
  State Water Resources Control Board – Drinking Water Field Operations Branch- District Office at (530) 224-4800.
  Local Environmental Health Jurisdiction: Humboldt County Environmental Health Dept. (707) 445-6215

According to the latest update from the Humboldt County Elections Office, there are only about 870 votes left to count — way down from the 13,000 or so at this time last week. The Elections Office squad has been gittin ‘er done, apparently!

That said: All that counting, and no real news to report. The people we have previously reported to have won…

• Rex Bohn
• Michelle Bushnell
• Mike Wilson
• April Van Dyke

… have, in fact, won. And Measure A lost.

Any significant movement? Not really. It looks like both Bushnell and Van Dyke will finish with more than 60 percent of the vote, which is a nice symbolic milepost, I suppose. They each were barely under at this time last week.

Bohn slipped from 63.2 percent to 62.9 percent.

Read the full report in PDF form at this link.

Meanwhile, over at the California of Secretary of State’s operation, we see that Democratic Assembly Candidate Chris Rogers seems to have widened the gap against the field, with him sitting at 21.4 percent to Rusty Hicks’ 17.9. He looks pretty solid to face Republican Michael Greer on the fall ballot.

After days of uncertainty, the results are finally in: Californians, by a slim majority, have voted to throw their support behind Gov. Gavin Newsom’s latest effort to overhaul how the state cares for people with serious mental illness.

The Associated Press on Wednesday declared that Proposition 1 passed by the narrowest of margins, 50.2% to 49.8%.

The passage of the two-pronged ballot measure will give Newsom funds to fulfill promises he has made while rolling out a series of other mental health policies in recent years – more housing, more treatment beds and a concerted focus on unhoused people with serious mental illnesses.

But it leaves the governor’s critics — including disability rights advocates and individuals living with mental illness — worried about cuts to other mental health programs and fearful it will result in the state placing more people in involuntary treatment.

The governor championed Prop. 1, which he has said “will help California make good on promises made decades ago.”

The initiative includes a $6.4 billion bond to pay for treatment beds and permanent supportive housing. It also requires that counties spend more of the mental health funds they receive from a special tax on income over $1 million on services for people who are chronically homeless.

While the ballot measure initially seemed a shoo-in, public support wavered in recent months. In part, that’s because the state’s ballooning deficit came into stark focus — with the Legislative Analyst’s Office projecting last month that it might be as big as $73 billion. Opponents of the ballot measure had also raised concerns that it could siphon money from community mental health organizations, possibly causing some to close.

Public concern about homelessness and a multi-million dollar advertising campaign eventually carried the measure to victory — but just barely.

“It’s still not a huge vote of confidence,” said Thad Kousser, a UC San Diego professor of political science. He says Newsom failed to convince voters of just how effective other billion-dollar investments in helping unhoused people have been.

“To me, given the strong message, the money behind the message, the lack of organized opposition, I would have guessed at the beginning of this campaign it was headed for a 60-40 win,” Kousser said.

Kimberlee Booth, center, of San Luis Obispo marches with other supporters following speeches at a rally in support of Prop. 1 at the state Capitol on Jan. 31, 2024. The proposition aims to reform mental healthcare in the state. Photo by José Luis Villegas for CalMatters

Nevertheless, it did squeak by. And under the just-approved ballot measure, counties are now required to invest 30% of the money they receive from the state’s “millionaire’s tax” into housing programs, including rental subsidies and navigation services. Half of that will be used to target individuals who are chronically unhoused or living in encampments. Up to a quarter of the money could be used to build or purchase housing units.

The second part of the measure, the bond, is divided into two parts. About $4.4 billion will go toward inpatient and residential treatment beds. The rest is earmarked for permanent supportive housing, half of which would be set aside for veterans.

Darrell Steinberg, the mayor of Sacramento who co-authored the 2004 law that created the millionaire’s tax, said that, back then, he could “only dream that there would someday be a governor that would make mental illness and fixing the broken system a cornerstone of his governorship.”

“Gavin Newsom has done that,” he said.

Gavin Newsom’s mental health plans

Mental health has been one of Newsom’s priorities since before he took office. He campaigned for the governorship with big ideas about how California’s mental health system might be fixed and, specifically, about how funds from the “millionaire’s tax” for mental health could be better used.

In a 2018 post on Medium months before he was elected, Newsom decried the state’s lack of commitment to improving mental health care.

“We fall short because we lack the bold leadership and strategic vision necessary to bring the most advanced forms of care to scale across the state,” he wrote. “We lack the political will necessary to elevate brain illness as a top-tier priority. We lack the unity and fervor needed to rally the medical and research communities around an unyielding search for ever-better diagnosis and treatment. We’re all living with the fallout.”

Supporters of Prop. 1 march at the state Capitol in Sacramento on Jan. 31, 2024. Photo by José Luis Villegas for CalMatters

The need for mental health treatment continued to skyrocket since he took office. The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically worsened the problem. The public experienced escalating trauma and anxiety, while mental health providers became increasingly burnt out.

Meanwhile, the number of unhoused people in the state continued to explode– growing 40% since 2018, the year Newsom was elected, to a current estimate of 181,000.

In response, Newsom has championed a stream of major mental health initiatives. These include:

• A $4.7 billion package of programs for children and youth mental health.
• The creation of new court systems to address the needs of people with serious mental illness. They’re called Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Courts.
• A new law that makes it easier to force certain people with serious mental illnesses into involuntary treatment. It amended the definition of “grave disability” originally laid out in the landmark 1967 Lanterman-Petris-Short Act, which limited involuntary confinement in the interest of protecting the civil rights of people with mental illnesses.
• In addition, his administration is also overseeing the implementation of a statewide effort that promises to expand and streamline access to mental health care for people insured by Medi-Cal, the public insurance program for low-income Californians. It’s called California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM).

Expecting better outcomes

Sen. Susan Talamantes Eggman, a Stockton Democrat who has carried legislation to enact Newsom’s mental health programs, said the stream of recent policy changes will eventually lead to changing outcomes – but not yet.

“Policywise, the landscape is shifting dramatically,” she said. “It will take a few years for practice to catch up.”

She emphasizes that Prop. 1 has a lot of transparency and accountability measures attached, to ensure that the measure leads to concrete change.

But Newsom’s critics worry that many of his big initiatives – including Prop. 1, CARE Court and the broadened definition of grave disability – reflect an effort to move the state toward more forced treatment.

“It’s all in preparation of hiding the homeless instead of helping them,” said Paul Simmons, executive director of Californians Against Prop. 1. “It will still be a bridge to nowhere, pushing people into a system that can’t even handle what we have now.”

Questions about Prop. 1

Alex Barnard, a New York University professor who has written extensively about California’s mental health system, called fears of returning to mass reinstitutionalization “a little bit overstated.” But, he said the state is indeed moving toward a more paternalistic and institutional approach toward treating the most seriously mentally ill.

The passage of Prop. 1 will help the administration to fully implement both CARE Court and the recent law expanding the definition of grave disability. But it also raises some thorny issues, he said.

One of these: What type of treatment beds will the state purchase with the bond money and where?

Another: How will county systems deal with the money they stand to lose for mental health services?

A state facing a massive deficit is not coming to the rescue, he said.

And then, there’s the question of just how transformative this latest influx of money will prove to be for actual Californians.

“The status quo has been remarkably enduring even in the face of a lot of attempts at reform,” he said. “The system has had an incredible amount of inertia.”

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CalMatters reporter Jeanne Kuang contributed to this story. CalMatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.

As artificial intelligence technology advances, state agencies would like to make use of it. California as of today is one of the first states with formal rules for government departments to follow when buying AI tools.

The guidelines introduced this week are the product of an executive order aimed at challenges and opportunities from generative AI by Governor Gavin Newsom late last year.

Generative AI produces text, imagery, audio, or video from simple text prompts. Since the release of ChatGPT in fall 2022, the technology has triggered fear of job loss, election inference, and human extinction. The technology can also produce toxic text and imagery that amplifies stereotypes and enables discrimination.

The guidelines require all state agencies to designate an employee responsible for continuous monitoring of generative AI tools, and carry out assessments to evaluate the risk of use to individuals and society before using generative AI. State agencies must report use of generative AI, determine if it increases risk that a public agency can harm citizenry, and submit for review by the California Department of Technology any contracts involving generative AI before signing them.

The guidelines also require state agency executives, technical experts, and government workers receive training on the meaning of artificial intelligence and usage best practices such as how to prevent discrimination.

Though the guidelines extend protections against irresponsible use of generative AI, that’s only one form of artificial intelligence, a technology and scientific discipline that first emerged in the late 1950s.

The guidelines will not protect people from other forms of the technology that have already proven harmful to Californians.

For example, millions of people were wrongfully denied unemployment benefits by the California Employment Development Department. A February 2022 Legislative Analyst’s Office report found more than 600,000 unemployment claims were denied when the agency started using ID.me for identity verification and a fraud detection algorithm made by Thomson Reuters. The problems were listed in a Federal Trade Commission complaint in January by the Electronic Privacy Information Center against Reuters in 42 states.

Electronic Privacy Information Center fellow Grant Fergusson evaluated AI contracts signed by state agencies across the U.S. He found they total more than $700 million in value and roughly half involve fraud detection algorithms. The California unemployment benefits incident, he says, is one of the worst instances of harm he encountered while compiling the report and “a perfect example of everything that’s wrong with AI in government.”

Still, he thinks California deserves credit for being one of the first states to formalize AI purchasing rules. By his count, only about half a dozen US states have implemented policy for automated decision-making systems.

State agency executives stress that California’s guidelines are an initial step, and that an update could occur following the completion of five pilot programs underway that aim to reduce traffic fatalities and give business owners tax advice, among other things.

Outside contributors to California’s efforts on generative AI include experts in academia like the Stanford University Human-Centered AI Institute, advocacy groups like the Algorithmic Justice League and Common Sense Media and major AI companies, including Amazon, Apple, IBM, Google, Nvidia, and OpenAI.

Responsible AI rules

A fall 2023 report by state officials about potential risks and benefits says generative AI can produce convincing but inaccurate results and automate bias, but the report also lists several potential ways state agencies can use the technology.

Speaking from a Nvidia conference in San Jose, Government Operations Agency secretary Amy Tong said the intent of the framework is to make sure the state uses AI in an ethical, transparent, and trustworthy way.

Just because these guidelines wouldn’t have stopped California from inaccurately flagging unemployment claims doesn’t mean they’re weak, she said. Together with Tong, California State Chief Technology Officer Jonathan Porat likened the actions required by Newsom’s executive order to writing a book.

“The risks and benefits study last fall were the forward, contract rules are like an introduction or table of contents, and deliverables coming later in the year like guidelines for use in marginalized communities, how to evaluate workforce impacts, and ongoing state employee training, will be the chapters,” he said.

What the government attempts to monitor in risk assessments and initial uses of generative AI will be important to California residents and help citizens understand the kinds of questions to ask that hold government officials accountable, Porat said.

In addition to Newsom’s 2023 executive order about AI, other government efforts to create rules around the technology include an AI executive order by President Biden and a forthcoming bill stemming from AI Forum discussions in the U.S. Senate, which also focuses on setting rules for government contracts.

Supporters of that approach in the responsible AI research community argue that the government should regulate private businesses in order to prevent human rights abuses.

Last week a group of 400 employees at local government agencies across the country known as GovAI Coalition released a letter urging citizens to hold public agencies accountable to high standards when the agencies use AI. At the same time, the groups released an AI policy manual with government contract rulemaking best practices.

Next week the group is hosting its first public meeting with representatives from the White House Office of Science and Technology in San Jose. City of San Jose Privacy Officer Albert Gehami helped form the group and advised state officials on the formation of contract rules..

Gehami said the impetus for forming the coalition came from repeatedly encountering companies that make proprietary claims to justify withholding information about their AI tool, but still try to sell their technology to public agencies without first explaining key information. It’s important for government agencies to know first about factors like accuracy and performance for people from different demographics. He’s excited to see California take a stance on government contracts involving AI and overall he calls the guidelines a net positive, but “I think many people could argue that some of the most harmful AIs are not what people will call generative, and so I think it lays a good foundation, and I think it’s something that we can expand upon.”

Debunking AI fears

Fear of generative AI algorithms has been exaggerated, Stanford University Law School professor Daniel Ho, who helped train government employees tasked with buying AI tools following the passage of a U.S. Senate bill that requires government officials with the power to sign contracts participate in training about AI. Ho coauthored a 2016 report that found that roughly half of AI used by federal government agencies comes from private businesses.

He told a California Senate committee last month that he thinks effective policy should require AI companies to report adverse events just like companies are required to report cybersecurity attacks and personal data breaches. He notes that fear of large language models making biological weapons was recently debunked, an incident that demonstrates that the government cannot effectively regulate AI if state employees don’t understand AI.

At the same hearing, State Sen. Tom Umberg, a Democrat from Santa Ana, said government uses of AI must meet a higher standard because of the potential impact to things like human rights. But in order to do so, government must overcome the pay gap between government procurement officers and their counterparts that negotiate such contracts in private industry.

Government agencies can’t compete with the kind of pay that private companies can afford, Ho said, but removing bureaucratic hurdles can help improve the current perception that it’s hard to make a difference in government.

Since the accuracy of results produced by AI models can degrade over time, a contract for AI must involve continuous monitoring. Ho thinks modernizing rules around contracts government agencies sign with AI tool makers is essential in the age of AI but also part of attracting and retaining talent in government. Signing AI contracts is fundamentally different, he said, than purchasing a bunch of staplers in bulk.

In that same hearing, Services Employees International Union spokesperson Sandra Barreiro said it’s important to consult rank-and-file workers before government agencies sign contracts because they are best suited to determine whether the public will benefit. Tech Equity Collective chief program officer Samantha Gordon, who helps organize meetings between people in the tech industry and labor unions, urged state senators to adopt policy that ends AI contracts if tests find the technology proves ineffective or harmful.

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CalMatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.

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Someday, the Eureka City Council is going to have to decide how to rezone the former Jacobs Middle School campus to guide future development on the long-blighted site. But not yet.

During Tuesday night’s meeting, the city council considered two options that would change the zoning designation of the Jacobs Campus, which the Eureka City Unified School District agreed to trade to a private developer, “AMG Communities-Jacobs, LLC,” for another piece of land in December. The city council expressed interest in moving forward with an overlay zone that, if approved, would modify future zoning designations on the site, but did not make a formal decision on the item.

The former school site has been a lightning rod of controversy well before Citizens for a Better Eureka launched its “Housing for All and Downtown Vitality Initiative,” an upcoming ballot measure that would block the city’s plans to develop affordable housing on city-owned parking lots and require the city to amend its General Plan to accommodate single- and multi-family housing on the Jacobs Campus. The school district’s controversial decision to sell the property has only exacerbated local concerns about the future of the site, located in Eureka’s Highland Park neighborhood.

In a brief presentation to the council, Assistant Planner Penelope Ponce provided a brief overview of the property and went over some of the key findings from the recent town hall meeting on the Jacobs Campus, which was largely attended by residents of the Highland Park neighborhood. 

“Most of the neighbors are concerned about what will happen to the site and how it’s going to affect them,” Ponce said. “There’s also a strong consensus for transparency and public involvement in the planning and development process of the site. In contrast, we found that there is no consensus on the best way to use the site moving forward. Some community members expressed their disappointment that the district’s negotiations with CHP were unsuccessful. Given that the district is selling to a private developer, there was a lot of discussion about what types of private development may be appropriate for the site.”

Many meeting attendees spoke in favor of developing housing on the site. “Top concerns about housing include density, building height, traffic and parking impacts, as well as the resulting effects on the neighborhood’s character safety and property values,” Ponce added. “People also expressed a desire for low-density housing and owner-occupied housing.” 

Ponce noted that the sale of the property has yet to be finalized, adding that the developer “has not informed the city about their plans for development.”

While the city doesn’t have absolute control over what kind of development can occur on private property, it does have the power to affect zoning decisions. The Jacobs Campus is currently zoned as “Public Facilities,” a designation that restricts land use to government facilities and schools. Any proposed residential or commercial development at the site would require a zoning change.

Development Services Director Cristin Keyon went over the two options before the council:

1. Rezone the site. This option could be completed in a few months and would cost the city an estimated $75,000 for environmental review and an economic feasibility analysis. However, if the Housing for All Initiative is passed by voters during the November General Election the city would be required to rezone the site a second time to be consistent with the initiative, which would cost the city more money.
2. Develop a new “Mixed Neighborhood” overlay zone that could potentially be applied to the Jacobs site and other sites within the City in the future. Overlay zones can be applied to specific areas on the city’s Zoning Map “to add special requirements, limitations, or enhanced flexibility on top of the base zoning district standards,” Kenyon said. This option would ensure – regardless of what zone base is adopted for the Jacobs site – that new uses fit the existing neighborhood’s scale and character. The cost is estimated at $40,000.

The council also considered a third option to take no action and see what happens with the property exchange and ballot initiative.

Some residents who spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting seemed confused about the pending land exchange and the city’s involvement in the zoning process. 

One commenter, who only identified herself as Patty, complimented staff’s presentation but asked why staff didn’t devote the same amount of time to its “half-assed” Bike Plan update. “It looks really odd to me,” she said, adding that the Bike Plan affects city streets whereas the matter at hand concerned private property.

Another resident, Shannon Townsend, said she was glad to see renewed interest in developing the site but didn’t like how the school district’s negotiations for the property went down. “All this happened behind closed doors – as far as the sale of the property and who the school district sold the property to – and all that seems just kind of icky to me,” she said. “I don’t think we should do anything as a city until we figure out what their intentions are.”

Following public comment, Councilmember Kati Moulton emphasized the importance of keeping the public informed about issues happening in their neighborhoods. 

Moulton | Screenshot

“[P]eople are fired up about this right now,” she said. “I think that the people of the Second Ward deserve to have their voices heard. I think that we need to catch this now and not let it dissolve and become a footnote and let the Jacobs Campus be a pawn in the broader scheme of everything that is happening in Eureka. … The cost of not doing anything is not nothing. The cost of not doing anything is the input, the goodwill and the happiness of people in the Second Ward.”

Moulton added that she is not in favor of “pushing spending that could potentially just end up going out the window,” and spoke in favor of creating an overlay zone for the Jacobs Campus.

Councilmember Leslie Castellano also expressed interest in the overlay option and asked if the public would have an opportunity to provide input on what should be included in the overlay zone. Kenyon confirmed.

Councilmember G. Mario Fernandez asked if city staff have contacted AMG Communities to discuss their plans for the site. City Manager Miles Slattery said, “Yes, multiple times,” adding that staff’s efforts have been unsuccessful. Fernandez said he felt inclined to wait and see what happens with the ballot measure, noting that he “is in favor of an overlay.”

Councilmember Scott Bauer asked how many large-scale development projects the city is currently working on. Kenyon said staff are “actively helping with” five projects located on city-owned property, facilitating community meetings on affordable housing and helping with private developments, including the two ACGC projects being constructed in Old Town.

“Are staff pretty consumed by these projects?” Bauer asked.

“Yes, we’re swamped,” Kenyon said. “We have a lot of balls in the air – adding another ball just means, you know, some other stuff is taking longer … .”

Bauer later added that he generally agreed with his fellow councilmembers, but agreed with Fernandez that the council should wait and see. 

After a bit of additional discussion, the council unanimously agreed, with Councilmember Renee Contreras-DeLoach absent, to accept staff’s report and continue the item at a future date.

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PREVIOUSLY:

• Eureka City Schools Board of Trustees Unanimously Votes for So-Called ‘Land Exchange’ with Mystery Developer
• The Eureka City Schools Board Voted on a Resolution Last Week That Was Not Published Before the Meeting. Is That Legal?
• At Town Hall Meeting, Frustrated Residents Discuss Future Development of Eureka’s Jacobs Campus; Mystery Developer Still Mysterious

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