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We have our winners!

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) just announced the provisional winners of the first-ever offshore wind energy lease auction on the West Coast. 

California North Floating, LLC, a subsidiary of Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, and RWE Offshore Wind Holdings, LLC, a German multinational energy company, placed the winning bids for two lease areas in the Humboldt Wind Energy Area (WEA), which spans more than 132,000 acres approximately 20 miles west of Eureka.

When the auction ended just before noon today, the swath of watery real estate went for more than $331.5 million, with California North Floating, LLC bidding $173.8 million for 69,031 acres and RWE Offshore Wind Holdings, LLC bidding $157.7 million for 63,338 acres.

BOEM also auctioned off three leases further south, off Morro Bay. Those leases were awarded to Equinor Wind US, LLC, Central California Offshore Wind, LLC  and Invenergy California Offshore, LLC for a total of $425 million.

“The offshore wind project for Humboldt is a game-changer for how California can shift to a more sustainable way to provide critical energy and reliability while fighting against climate change,” Assemblymember Jim Wood said in a prepared statement. “The importance of state and federal agencies investing in this region, and the community benefits that will be gained, can’t be underestimated.”  

Today’s lease sale also included a 20 percent credit for bidders who committed to workforce and domestic supply chain investments, as well as a five percent credit for a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) with “communities, stakeholder groups, or Tribal entities whose use of the lease areas or use of the resources harvested from the lease areas” and five percent credit for a General CBA with “communities, Tribes, or stakeholder groups that are expected to be affected by the potential impacts on the marine, coastal or human environment from lease development,” according to BOEM.

Now that the provisional winners have been announced, BOEM will return the non-winners’ bid deposits and the Department of Justice will initiate an antitrust review of the auction. All winners are considered provisional until they sign the lease, provide financial assurance and pay any outstanding balance of their bid.

As soon as that’s all sorted out, the lease agreement will be executed and the leaseholders will draw up a plan and begin the design phase of the project. A rigorous environmental and public review process will soon follow.

We’re certain that local folks and other governmental agencies will have lots to say about this highly anticipated announcement. We’ll add their statements below BOEM’s release, which arrived shortly after this morning’s announcement.

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Press release from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management:

WASHINGTON — The Department of the Interior today announced results from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s wind energy auction for five leases offshore California. The lease sale represents the third major offshore wind lease sale this year and the first ever for the Pacific region. Today’s sale drew competitive high bids from 5 companies totaling $757.1 million, well exceeding the first lease sales that were held in the Atlantic.

“The Biden-Harris administration believes that to address the climate crisis head on, we must unleash a new era of clean, reliable energy that serves every household in America. Today’s lease sale is further proof that industry momentum – including for floating offshore wind development – is undeniable,” said Secretary Deb Haaland. “A sustainable, clean energy future is within our grasp and the Interior Department is doing everything we can to ensure that American communities nationwide benefit.”

The interest and success of today’s sale represents a significant milestone toward achieving President Biden’s goal of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030 and 15 gigawatts of floating offshore wind capacity by 2035.

“The innovative bidding credits in the California auction will result in tangible investments for the floating offshore wind workforce and supply chain in the United States, and benefits to Tribes, communities, and ocean users potentially affected by future offshore wind activities. This auction commits substantial investment to support economic growth from floating offshore wind energy development – including the jobs that come with it,” said BOEM Director Amanda Lefton. “These credits and additional lease stipulations demonstrate BOEM’s commitment to responsibly grow the offshore wind industry to achieve our offshore wind goals.”

BOEM’s lease sale offered five lease areas covering 373,268 total acres off central and northern California. The leased areas have the potential to produce over 4.6 gigawatts of offshore wind energy, enough to power over 1.5 million homes.

The lease sale included a 20-percent credit for bidders who committed to a monetary contribution to programs or initiatives that support workforce training programs for the floating offshore wind industry, the development of a U.S. domestic supply chain for the floating offshore wind energy industry, or both. This credit will result in over $117 million in investments for these critical programs or initiatives.

The auction also included 5% credits for bidders who committed to entering community benefit agreements (CBAs). The first type of agreement is a Lease Area Use CBA with communities, stakeholder groups, or Tribal entities whose use of the lease areas or use of the resources harvested from the lease areas is expected to be impacted by offshore wind development. The second type of agreement is a General CBA with communities, Tribes, or stakeholder groups that are expected to be affected by the potential impacts on the marine, coastal or human environment from lease development.

Under stipulations in the leases, lessees are required to engage with Tribes, ocean users, and local communities that may be affected by their lease activities. Lessee engagement must allow for early and active information sharing, focused discussion of potential issues, and collaborative identification of solutions. These communication and engagement activities must be routinely reported to BOEM. These lease stipulations are intended to promote offshore wind energy development in a way that coexists with other ocean uses, addresses potential impacts and benefits, and protects the ocean environment, while also facilitating our nation’s energy future for generations to come.

More information about today’s sale, including a map of the lease areas and requirements regarding the bidding credits, can be found on BOEM’s website.

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Press release from the Redwood Region Climate & Community Resilience (CORE) Hub: 

UNCEDED LANDS OF THE WIYOT PEOPLE — This Wednesday, California North Floating, LLC and RWE Offshore Wind Holdings, LLC won two offshore wind energy area leases, auctioned 21 miles off Humboldt Bay, totaling 132,369 acres and the potential for 140-170 megawatts (MW) of power with existing transmission infrastructure. Once fully built out, the Humboldt and Morro Bay offshore wind projects could power more than 1.5 million homes. While this makes significant progress towards state and national clean energy goals, more investments and protections for Tribes, the environment, fisheries and local communities are needed to prepare the North Coast for this new industry.  

The auction was the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM) first for the West Coast, and the first in the U.S. for floating offshore wind, including two leases off Humboldt Bay and three off Morro Bay. This auction is pivotal for meeting the Biden-Harris Administration’s goals of 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind by 2030, and the Newsom Administration’s goals of 25 GW by 2045.These lease areas total over 373,000 acres of ocean waters and at least 4.5 GW of capacity for offshore wind. 

Sufficient port infrastructure is key to the viability of this new industry on the West Coast, with the port in Humboldt Bay playing a key role. Offshore wind assembly includes turbines measuring approximately 500 feet in height, which are anticipated to grow to more than 800 feet by 2035. In October, the Humboldt Bay Harbor District announced a new partnership with Crowley Wind Services to develop the Humboldt Bay Offshore Wind and Heavy Lift Marine Terminal, which could support the offshore wind industry all along the West Coast. This impending development presents tremendous changes for this rural region, both bringing economic opportunities and requiring additional investments in local infrastructure.

Securing community benefits for the region that will host this industry remains a top concern for North Coast leaders and residents. Bryna Lipper, CEO of the Humboldt Area Foundation, explained: “Residents are excited for the new jobs and climate benefits this project may offer, however, the region currently lacks the housing, transportation, and other services to support this budding industry. Additionally, many residents have a strong connection to the natural world, and want assurances that marine mammals, fish, and birds, as well as cultural resources will be protected. Investments in local infrastructure, following the leadership of Tribes, mitigation efforts for fisheries and environmental protections are critical for the North Coast region, which struggles with a legacy of underinvestment and harms from previous boom and bust industries, like timber and gold.” 

“Unfortunately, the local component of the bid credits and lease stipulations in the final sale notice and auction falls short of the investments needed for equitable wind energy development, meaning that local communities and Tribal Nations won’t have the resources needed to address the impacts of this new industry, or actually benefit from it,” cautioned Lipper. She noted that “the auction today totalled only 5 percent bid credits for a community benefits agreement with fisheries users, 5 percent for a general community benefits agreement, and 20% for workforce and domestic supply chain investments.” This is below the 50% local leaders and the state of California have advocated for in letters to BOEM. It is likely that community benefits agreements with offshore developers will not be negotiated until after leases are issued, which is expected to take place sometime after March 2023. 

Over the last year the Redwood Region Climate and Community Resilience Hub (CORE Hub) convened the North Coast Community Benefits Network (‘the Network’), a group of Northern California Tribal Nations, local governments, community leaders and institutions, community-based organizations, environmental groups, and academics to advocate for local investments through BOEM’s leasing process. Unlike the timber, oil, gas, and geothermal industries, offshore wind lease revenues are not split with local governments, but rather go directly to the U.S. Treasury. The Network, along with the state of California, asked BOEM for “50% bid credits” for local workforce investments, equity and resident-focused community benefits, Tribal investments, and environmental protections.
  
BOEM’s lease terms and today’s auction were just two of many opportunities for local residents and leaders to shape the buildout of offshore wind. There are several steps from lease award to wind farm development, which can take up to or more than five years, and includes advancing a site assessment plan and then a construction and operations plan through the permitting process. Katerina Oskarsson, Executive in Residence with the CORE Hub added: “The Network will continue to closely watch these projects. During the leasing and permitting process, the CORE Hub will continue its engagement with BOEM to ensure the meaningful adoption and implementation of any terms and conditions that are laid out in the final sale notice. At the same time, we will continue supporting and growing the capacity of the North Coast Community Benefits Network to collectively advocate as a region.”

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From Rep. Jared Huffman:

Congressman Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) applauded the completion of today’s historic offshore wind auction held by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), which includes two leases off the coast of Humboldt County in the second Congressional District.

“The completion of today’s auction is a tremendous step forward in the Biden administration’s offshore renewable energy goals and will bring significant economic benefits to California’s rural North Coast,” said Rep. Huffman. “Developers who have secured leases will play a critical role in our sustainable energy transition and ensuring that projects are thoughtfully constructed with mitigated impacts and strong community benefits agreements. I look forward to working with community and industry partners as these projects move forward.”

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s auction included two leases off the coast of Humboldt County and three leases off the coast of Morro Bay totaling 373,268 acres. Leases off the coast of Humboldt County were secured at auction for a combined $331,500,000 and include opportunities for workforce and supply chain development and community benefits agreements. Moving forward lessees must complete state and local permitting processes, federal and state environmental reviews, and submit design reviews, construction and operations plans, and bidding credit information to BOEM in order to proceed with a planned project.

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From a bunch of local environmental organizations:

The Environmental Protection Information Center, Humboldt Baykeeper, Northcoast Environmental Center, Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities, and Friends of the Eel River welcome provisional winners RWE Offshore Wind Holdings and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners to Humboldt County.

It is imperative for our climate, wildlife, and local community that we work together to ensure that floating offshore wind energy development off our coast is successful, with the least impacts on the environment and the most benefits to our community. Floating offshore wind offers the potential for 1.6 gigawatts of clean, renewable energy generated locally, offering our contribution to the global efforts to address the climate crisis.

Moving forward, we will be working with project developers to ensure robust wildlife monitoring, transparent data sharing, and effective avoidance, minimization, and mitigation of impacts to wildlife. Success in our local communities will demand investment in local infrastructure and in historically disadvantaged communities, particularly local tribal nations.

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PREVIOUSLY:

• Biden Administration Proposes Offshore Wind Lease Sale, Including Two Spots Off the Humboldt County Coast
• IT’S ON: Humboldt Offshore Wind Leases to Go Up For Auction on Dec. 6
• Harbor District Announces Massive Offshore Wind Partnership; Project Would Lead to an 86-Acre Redevelopment of Old Pulp Mill Site
• Offshore Wind is Coming to the North Coast. What’s in it For Humboldt?
• North Coast Fishermen Fear for the Future of Commercial Fisheries as Offshore Wind Efforts Advance
• North Coast Tribes Advocate for ‘Meaningful, Impactful Partnership’ with Potential Developers Ahead of Tomorrow’s Highly Anticipated Offshore Wind Lease Auction

This was going to be a very different article about tonight’s Arcata City Council meeting. 

It was going to include an in-depth summary of an appeal hearing the council was going to hold that may reverse the Planning Commission’s approval of the Westwood Garden Apartments expansion. But alas, as this reporter was preparing the final touches on her story, LoCO got word that the appeal hearing will be continued to the council meeting on Jan. 4, 2023. 

The reason for the continuation is that city staff fears the council may not have quorum (the minimum number of members that must be present for a meeting to occur, in case you are not familiar.) 

For the Arcata City Council there must be at least three councilmembers present to hold a meeting, because that is how many people it takes to have a majority vote on an item. Arcata City Clerk Bridget Dory confirmed with the Outpost that two councilmembers — Councilmember Alex Stillman, who is apparently out of town on a planned trip, and Mayor Stacy Atkins-Salazar, who had a last minute emergency — will not be present tonight.

 This would normally leave three councilmembers, which would be fine! But, you may have noticed that Councilmember Brett Watson has not attended any council meetings since he was not re-elected in the November election. 

The city does not know for a fact that Watson will not be present tonight. He does still sit on the council until the end of the year and he might show up, in which case, the meeting will move forward and the other agenda items will still be discussed. But if he doesn’t show up, there will only be two councilmembers, Meredith Matthews and Sarah Schaefer, and the meeting will have to be canceled for a lack of quorum. 

So, if you were planning to attend tonight’s meeting to comment on the appeal of the Planning Commission’s Westwood Garden Apartments project, save yourself the trouble. The appeal hearing will NOT be happening tonight. 

Whether or not the meeting — scheduled for tonight (Wednesday), Dec. 7 at 6 p.m. — will happen at all, depends on whether or not Watson decides to make an appearance. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

As California emerges from its “peak” wildfire season, the state has managed to avoid its recent plague of catastrophic wildfires. So far in 2022, the fewest acres have burned since 2019.

State Emergency Services Director Mark Ghilarducci said California had “a bit of luck” with weather this summer. Although enduring yet another drought year, much of the state was spared the worst of the heat and dryness that can spark fires. And in some instances, well-timed rain came to the rescue.

Cal Fire officials also attribute some of the mild wildfire season to their emphasis on clearing away vegetation that fuels fires. Cal Fire Chief Joe Tyler said the $2.8 billion spent in the last two years on forest management made a difference, with the work “moderat(ing) fires approaching communities.”

Mindful that wildfires can spark at any time in an environment driven by climate change, California officials have their fingers crossed after Gov. Gavin Newsom pronounced “the end of peak fire season” in mid-November. While California has entered an age of year-round fire seasons, the bulk of its fires occur from April through October.

Still, Newsom knows better than to tempt fate. So while reporting that the state had a relatively moderate fire season and praising fire managers and crews, he quickly added that anything can still happen.

“We are not here with a sign, ‘Mission Accomplished,’ in any way shape or form,” Newsom said. “We will continue to maintain our vigilance.”

Here’s a look at some of the stories behind the numbers.

-362,455-

That’s how many acres burned across the state so far this year. Almost a quarter of those tore through remote El Dorado and Placer counties during the Mosquito Fire in September and October.

For perspective, last year’s acreage was about seven times larger — 2.5 million. And those years paled in comparison to record-breaking 2020, when more than 4.3 million acres were ablaze in California.

The state still threw everything at the wildfires it faced this year, hiring 1,350 additional personnel, deploying a new fleet of bespoke firefighting helicopters, and putting satellites, drones and artificial intelligence to work to attack each blaze.

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Statistics about dramatically fewer structures destroyed by wildfires offer cold comfort when it’s your home that burned down. Still, there was much less damage done compared to recent years: 772 California structures were destroyed by fire this year, while 104 were damaged.

The McKinney Fire in July leveled 185 structures and the Oak Fire in Mariposa County destroyed 182, also in July.

Last year, a challenging fire season, was much worse: 3,560 buildings were destroyed — almost five times more than this year — and 286 were damaged. And during the 2020 season, the benchmark worst in nearly every statistical category, 11,116 buildings were lost.

The 2018 Camp Fire in the Butte County town of Paradise remains the most destructive fire in California history, wiping out nearly 19,000 structures — an entire community.

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The ultimate cost was great, even in a quiet fire year. 2022 fires claimed the lives of nine Californians.

Four people died in August in the McKinney Fire in rural Siskiyou County, a sprawling blaze that also injured 12 firefighters. Two people were found dead in a car in their driveway. Another victim was a woman in her 70s who worked as a fire lookout for nearly five decades. She was killed in her home.

For comparison, three people died during the 2021 fire season, 33 in 2020 and three in 2019. The Camp Fire, which killed 85 people, retains the awful distinction as the state’s deadliest fire.

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It’s a small victory, but fire officials will take it. Some 7,490 fires were sparked in California in 2022, which is 256 fewer than the five-year average of 7,746. In the fire world, even modest gains (about 3% below average) are welcome.

Tree removal projects — and burn scars from previous wildfires — can often slow or stop the spread of new fires. That simple calculus of creating a less-combustible landscape should equate to fewer and smaller fires, even with the dozens of variables that go into sparking wildfires.

California has a goal, in conjunction with the federal government — which owns the majority of the state’s forested land — to “treat” a million acres annually by 2025. That entails setting and monitoring low-intensity small fires, building and extending fuel breaks and clearing rights-of-way.

But it’s painstaking and slow: In the 2021-22 fiscal year, the state conducted nearly 600 fuels-reduction projects across 101,000 acres. An additional 21,000 acres have been cleared since July.

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The state’s largest wildfire of the year, the Mosquito Fire, which burned 76,788 acres in national forests, turned out to be puny by recent standards, especially when compared to 2020’s million-acre giga fires and last year’s 963,000-acre Dixie Fire.

Size isn’t everything. Although not huge, the Mosquito Fire, which ignited in early September, was stubborn in the extreme, abetted by its location in steep canyons where fighting the flames was difficult. The fire quadrupled in size in one day. It took almost three months for firefighters to control it.

The scenario of that fire burning in a dense and dry landscape was sobering enough to prompt evacuations and weeks of defensive actions including closing parts of Tahoe and El Dorado national forests at peak camping season.

A sustained deluge of rain in October was credited with finally helping to suppress the blaze.

-3-

Along with the Mosquito Fire, two other wildfires were also, in part, extinguished by an increasing rarity in California: Rain.

Firefighters in the Rockies have an axiom: Snow puts out fires. California’s analogue occurred this summer when unexpected rainstorms doused two particularly nasty fires: the Fairview Fire in Riverside County and the deadly McKinney Fire in Siskiyou County.

Moisture from Tropical Storm Kay bailed out the Fairview Fire in September, and thunderstorms dumped three inches of rain on the McKinney Fire in August to douse some flames. But the storm also sparked lightning, which set off mud and debris flows.

It’s not just precipitation that influences the severity of the fire season. It’s also wind.

As wildfires in the northern part of the state were tamped down at the end of summer, attention turned to the south, where fires often are triggered by dry Santa Ana winds. Perhaps to remind everyone who’s in charge, winds gusted through Southern California over the Thanksgiving weekend, setting off red flag alerts for brush fires. But no large fires erupted.

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If history is any guide, the 12th month of the year can’t be counted on to be quiet.

In 2017 Southern California exploded under strong Santa Ana conditions, sparking 29 wildfires, including the Thomas Fire, which burned 281,893 acres in Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties, making it at the time the largest fire in California history.

The month-long barrage started in December, ran across 440 square miles and destroyed more than 1,000 structures. It burned into January.

In 2020 more than a half-dozen wildfires started in December, a month that is reliably cool and moist — or sometimes hot and dry.

In other words, to quote the governor, “We are not out of the woods yet.”

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

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We asked this yesterday, and we’ll ask it again: Should the county place a measure on 2024 ballots asking the public to create a Department of Finance? This hypothetical department would consolidate two currently separate, elected positions — treasurer-tax collector and auditor-controller — into a single Department of Finance. 

A separate ballot measure would ask voters whether the head of that new department should be appointed or elected. 

Why are these questions coming up now? Well, Fourth District Supervisor and Board Chair Virginia Bass is serving out her last few meetings, and before walking out the door she wanted to re-raise these two queries, to which voters narrowly responded “No, thanks” back in 2016.

Bass wagers that perspectives may have changed over the intervening years in light of the fiscal and interpersonal chaos that attended the tenure of former Auditor-Controller Karen Paz Dominguez, who resigned amid a state lawsuit and fierce internal squabbling this past June, having lost her re-election bid by a landslide.

Tabatha Miller, the assistant county administrative officer and chief financial officer, said staff has done a bit of research into this proposal, examining how things work in other California counties, and could dig even deeper, possibly by conducting some public polling, should the board so choose.

Five counties in the state have a Department of Finance and “a number” of other counties, both large and small, have combined the offices of treasurer-tax collector and auditor-controller, Miller said, adding, “Most of those are elected but there are a few that are appointed.”

Miller brought up a related but separate question: Should Humboldt County ask voters to change the county governance structure from a general law county — that is, one that strictly follows California’s Government Code — to a “charter county,” which would give it the autonomy to create and enforce local ordinances, as long as they don’t conflict with the general laws of the state.

Fourteen of California’s 58 counties are organized as charter counties, and Miller explained that becoming one would allow Humboldt to reduce the number of elected officials (though it must maintain a sheriff, district attorney and assessor). 

Second District Supervisor Michelle Bushnell encouraged polling the public to get a better sense of community sentiment on both matters — the Department of Finance proposal and the charter county proposal. She also said she likes having the treasurer-tax collector operate independently from the auditor-controller.

Miller said it would be possible to have two separate divisions within the Department of Finance, which would allow for checks and balances. 

Third District Supervisor Mike Wilson said becoming a charter county would allow Humboldt a lot more flexibility, allowing us to implement ranked-choice voting, for example. 

As for the county’s fiscal management positions, Wilson said appointing such people has the advantage of being able to recruit candidates nationwide for such professional-class jobs. 

“We don’t limit ourselves in terms of our ability to recruit for our engineers or medical professionals … to [people] just living in the county and wanting to go through an election,” Wilson said. Organizations with an annual budget of half a billion dollars don’t typically limit themselves to recruiting from a county population of under 140,000, and further limiting the candidate pool to people who are “willing to go through the yearlong interview process that we call elections,” he continued.

Fifth District Supervisor Steve Madrone said he, too, would like staff to bring back more information on becoming a charter county, noting that ranked-choice voting is “pretty exciting to a lot of people who have read about it and understand it, but we can’t do it unless we are a chartered county.”

Madrone said he also wants more information on the pros and cons of having an appointed director of finance, noting that while checks and balances are certainly important, some people say you achieve that through elections while others “argue that there would be better checks and balances to have had an appointed position [so] that you’re absolutely certain the person has the qualifications for the job.”

First District Supervisor Rex Bohn said, “We lived through the cons [of having an elected auditor-controller] for the last four years,” adding, “The one thing that shouldn’t be political is our finances.” 

During the public comment period, self-styled wielder of “weaponized data” and erstwhile Paz Dominguez supporter Thomas Edrington spoke on behalf of his Transparency Humboldt Coalition, warning the board not to “appoint or in any way interfere again with the duly elected office of auditor-controller, the person who watches your money. My money. For me.”

Such power “is not to be in your hands, period,” Edrington told the board.

He blamed the county’s recent fiscal management woes on toxic work environments and the “frauds holding the reins at the CAO’s Office.”

Afterward, Wilson noted that people tend to get awfully righteous about money, “which is fine, but, I mean, we also have professionals in our community that design our bridges, our roads, our schools, our medical professionals … and we don’t subject them to political processes in these ways, necessarily.”

The board wound up passing a motion that directed staff to come back at a later date with more information on these matters, including charter counties, qualifications for county financial positions and potential public polling questions.

County Administrative Officer Elishia Hayes weighed in, saying, “Placing a ballot measure on on the ballot is a multi-step process so we’ll be talking about this many more times.”

Community grant coordinator

In light of the profound economic struggles facing Southern Humboldt businesses in particular following the collapse of the local cannabis industry, Bushnell asked her colleagues on the board to consider creating a new full-time community grant coordinator position.

Local businesses and small government bodies in the county’s unincorporated areas need help applying for grants, Bushnell said. 

Economic Development Director Scott Adair said that though community events such as town hall discussions, he has learned that remote, volunteer-run organizations “may lack the skills or education or knowledge to even find grants or write grants. Some of these organizations are actually paying consultants, sometimes as much as $10,000 or more, to write grants for them,” he said.

Madrone said he supports grant writers, noting that he and Wilson supported the creation of two new grant writer/project manager positions for the Public Works Department, which has benefited from their work. 

“I mean, I would support new grant positions in every department across the board every day it came before us,” Madrone said, adding that there should maybe be a grant manager or czar to oversee the rest of them.

Wilson said that while he understands the importance of grant writing, there also needs to be staff to administer the grants. He noted that there are local nonprofit organizations such as the Humboldt Area Foundation and the Redwood Community Action Agency (RCAA) that provide this type of support. 

Hank Seemann, deputy director of public works, appeared via Zoom and said the county is already engaged in the seven-county North Coast Resource Partnership, which serves as a grant administrator, helping direct state-allocated funds to small districts, cities and nonprofits.

Seemann agreed with Wilson that writing a grant application is a small part of the full lifecycle of a grant, so the board should probably narrow its focus and exactly which areas of community development it would like to focus on.

“It seems like this is almost right down the alley of what the Humboldt Area Foundation was formed for,” Bohn said, adding that it might be outside of the county’s wheelhouse.

Bushnell again reiterated the dire economic situation for many local businesses, and the board wound up adopting a motion to have economic development staff analyze community needs, grant availability and potential ways to structure a grant manager position.

Fishermen and wind energy

Before the board adjourned to closed session, local fisherman Ken Bates delivered prepared remarks and a PowerPoint presentation on behalf of the recently formed California Fishermen’s Resiliency Association. The topic was local fishers’ involvement and concerns with the development of offshore wind energy.

“Fishermen are not opposed to renewable energy … ,” Bates said. “But what we are trying to do is to figure out how we can survive these projects over the long run.”

Leases to develop floating offshore wind projects within the Humboldt Wind Energy Area were being auctioned off as Bates spoke, and he said those developments will result in the loss of up to 3,000 square miles of fishing grounds, plus disruptions from increased vessel traffic and new shoreside infrastructure. 

The California Fishermen’s Resiliency Association was created through a regional effort and financed via a $98,000 grant from the Ocean Protection Council. 

The goal of his organization — and, by extension, of local fishermen — is to avoid impacts on fishing grounds and in harbor areas wherever possible, minimize the unavoidable impacts and mitigate the damage, possibly through fees directed to support long-term resilience in the local fishing industry.

Bates aims, through his organization, to create Fishing Community Benefit Agreements. He’s hoping his group gets the attention of the federal Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management (BOEM) and the California Energy Commission so that local fishermen can be involved in future processes, such as locating energy transmission lines. 

The board accepted the report and expressed support for the local fishing industry.

Odds and ends:

• Early in the meeting, the board proclaimed this to be Human Rights Awareness Month. Reading the proclamation aloud, Bass noted the “lack of civility” and the “hate and vile speech” common here in 2022 and called for personal reflection and civil engagement in the coming year. The Human Rights Commission issued a press release after the meeting, noting the interruption of a recent Pride event by protesters as well as the dissemination of hateful stickers and antisemitic literature. Here’s a copy of the proclamation.
• The board passed a resolution recognizing former Humboldt County Public Health Officer Dr. Don Baird, who was recently honored with the Frederick K.M. Plessner Memorial Award by the California Medical Association. The award honors the California physician who best exemplifies the ethics and practice of a rural country practitioners.
• They also passed a resolution honoring Singing Trees Recovery Center, which recently closed its doors after more than three decades of helping people overcome addictions. Bushnell said her son has been sober for six years following a four-month residential program at Singing Trees.
• The board appointed David Sundberg and Callie Buck to the Weott Community Services District’s board of directors, which had hit a brick wall, procedurally, because it only had two members, making it impossible to reach the quorum necessary to pass anything. “We’re kind of seeing a trend lately where it’s getting harder and harder to find people to step up and fill these roles,” Madrone said. Bohn agreed, saying such positions are volunteer, “and you never get thanked. All you do is get doodoo heaped on you.” He called for an end of the “abuse” that comes from certain members of the public at meetings of such boards. 

Earlier this afternoon, the Humboldt County Elections Office published its final tally of the election that took place one month ago today. And there are no surprises! Everyone who was leading two weeks ago has won.

That includes, Juan Pablo Cervantes, your incoming Clerk-Recorder/Registrar of Voters, who finished with 55.92 percent of the vote.

It includes new Eureka City Councilmembers G Mario Fernandez (53.00 percent) and Renee Contreras de Loach (53.58 percent).

It includes one returning director of the Humboldt Community Services District, Gregg Gardiner (4,421 votes, out of 7,808 ballots cast), and one insurgent candidate, Julie Ryan (3,978 votes), the latter of whom knocked out incumbent Alan Bongio.

It includes those who approved of hanging the Earth Flag at the very top of city-owned flag poles in Arcata, which turned out to be 52.31 percent of the voting populace.

View full and final Humboldt County election results at this link.

Maybe worth noting: The final turnout, in this election cycle was 57.48 percent. That’s up quite a bit from the June primary (40.8 percent), as well as a notch above the statewide turnout in this election cycle, which is currently calculated at 50.6 percent. Good job, Humboldt!

Press release from the Eureka Police Department:

In an effort to create safer communities by taking guns that are no longer wanted off the streets, the City of Eureka is hosting a gun buyback on Sunday, December 18th from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Wharfinger Building, 1 Marina Way, Eureka.

During the gun buyback event, individuals can anonymously turn in firearms in exchange for Visa gift cards. $50 for rifles and shotguns and $100 for handguns and assault weapons. Firearms must be functional to be eligible for gift card. Limit three gift cards per individual.

Unloaded firearms should be transported in a locked container or vehicle trunk and remain in the vehicle until instructed by gun buyback staff. Identification is not required and no questions will be asked. After the event, collected guns will be checked for lost or stolen status and returned to the legal owner as appropriate. All other firearms will be destroyed.

This gun buyback event is intended to promote responsible, safe, and secure gun ownership. The goal is to remove unwanted guns that could potentially get into the hands of criminals. Free gun locks are available during business hours at the Eureka Police Department and will also be available during the buyback event.

Press release from the office of Sen. Mike McGuire:

For the seventh year running, Senator Mike McGuire is teaming up with Food for People, KHUM radio and six local high schools for the Humboldt Holiday Food Drive this Thursday. The Food Drive is now one of the largest on the North Coast.

This year the need is more critical than ever. Food For People has seen a 25% increase in those needing help to feed their families.

“Food for People is seeing record demand for food assistance this holiday season,” said Senator McGuire. “Humboldt always steps up and takes care of our neighbors when times are tough, but this year in particular, we need folks to dig deep. Join us this Thursday from 3-6pm and give the gift of generosity or donate online at FoodforPeople.org.”

Last year, Food for People distributed over 2 million pounds of food to low-income households in Humboldt. The need is especially great for thousands of kids. A quarter of those served by Food for People are children who depend on others to have enough to eat.

To gather food and monetary donations, six local high schools (Eureka, McKinleyville, Arcata, Fortuna, Ferndale and St. Bernard’s) have held various kick off events and food drop-offs, produced videos, made commercials and rallied their classmates to participate.

“We’re so incredibly grateful to the hundreds of high school students who are mobilizing to help feed our neighbors in need this holiday season. It’s so inspiring to see. We’re excited to partner with Senator McGuire this Thursday for the Humboldt Holiday Food Drive and we hope the community will turn out to support the students and the life changing work of Food for People,” said Food for People executive director Anne Holcomb.

The schools will be dropping off all of their collected food on Thursday, December 8 from 3 to 6 p.m. during the Humboldt Holiday Food Drive. The public is also encouraged to drop off their own donations of food and funds at the Eureka Safeway or donate online here.