County supervisors agreed to a year’s extension of the deadline on a line of credit they offered to the Border Coast Regional Airport Authority to replace roughly 1,800 feet of chainlink fence.
The fence project is in an environmentally and culturally sensitive area along the beachfront at Del Norte County Regional Airport, Director Sean Rosenthal told Redwood Voice Community News on Tuesday. It’s needed to keep elk from getting onto the tarmac, he said.
“Right now we’re in the design phase and that should be approved any day,” he said. “And then we have to get a Coastal (Development) Permit. And, hopefully, we get all of our plant studies done in time for September construction.”
Among the items discussed at Tuesday’s Del Norte County Board of Supervisors meeting:
Juvenile Offender Placement: Del Norte County supervisors approved adding Sonoma County Juvenile Hall to the list of potential detention facilities it can use to house youthful offenders in Del Norte’s care.
Del Norte County Probation Chief Lonnie Reyman’s request comes about three years after the Board of Supervisors officially eliminated his department’s juvenile hall division in 2023.
The probation department continues to use the Humboldt County Juvenile Hall as its primary detention facility for youth with Mendocino, Shasta and El Dorado counties acting as a backup. According to Reyman’s staff report, contracting with the Sonoma County Probation Department also enables Del Norte youth to access its sexual offender treatment program and secure track treatment program.
Thumbnail photo: Crescent City Manager Eric Wier told councilors last week that the city doesn’t have the staff to keep its Val Polyanin art exhibit open. | File photo by Amanda Dockter
Crescent City 2026-27 budget workshop
Eric Wier warned councilors to brace for difficult decisions as they and staff look to make Crescent City’s 2026-27 budget and general fund work amid stagnant revenues and increased costs.
At a 3-hour and 18-minute budget workshop on Wednesday, the city manager and his staff recommended holding off on filling several vacancies within the public works, police and fire departments.
Councilors and staff discussed whether the city could contribute funding for airport projects, if sending planning commissioners to League of California Cities training was feasible and whether other funding could be found to avoid skipping special events and swim camps at the pool this fiscal year.
Thumbnail photo: The Del Norte Fire Safe Council held a workshop in March 2025 to teach people how to harden their properties against wildfire. | File photo by Ethan Caudill-DeRego
A special district previously focused on agricultural issues in the Smith River and Fort Dick areas received the green light to annex all of Del Norte County into its jurisdiction on Monday.
The Del Norte Resource Conservation District’s expanded boundaries allows for greater collaboration with organizations focusing on wildfire resiliency, stream and forest health restoration and those that support new farmers, District Manager Becky Crockett told Redwood Voice Community News.
The expanded boundaries also means the Del Norte RCD can pursue state and federal grant dollars, which in turn can lead to larger projects, she said.
Thumbnail: This conceptual comparison of a new Behavioral Health Campus versus the current Behavioral Health Branch facility was included in the county’s grant application for BHCIP dollars. | Image courtesy of District 2 Supervisor Valerie Starkey
Shiann Hogan sees many possibilities for Del Norte County’s new Behavioral Health Campus, but one thing it won’t be is a locked facility.
The deputy director for the county Behavioral Health Branch says the new facility will allow for expanded substance abuse and mental health programming. There will be a new sobering center and a mental health crisis respite center and the facility will complement the new EmPATH unit Sutter Coast Hospital is developing.
But those will be voluntary services, Hogan told Redwood Voice Community News on May 11.
Despite calling Axon the “best company out there,” Police Chief Richard Griffin couldn’t convince everyone on the City Council that entering into a 10-year contract for Tasers, body cameras, dashboard cameras and data storage was the best thing for Crescent City.
According to Griffin, Axon has great equipment, their data storage capabilities frees up the city’s server and allows for easy searching. The company also offers the ability to upgrade to new cameras and Tasers without needing to pay extra, the chief said.
Appointed Councilman Steve Shamblin had misgivings.
Thumbnail photo: Conditions on a seawall that’s been slated for replacement have worsened as the Crescent City Harbor District seeks final in-water construction permits needed to start project. | Photo by Jessica Cejnar Andrews
The Crescent City Harbor District’s efforts to reconstruct Citizens Dock and replace a failing seawall have run into a permitting delay that may limit the amount of in-water construction that can be completed this year.
The CCHD Board of Commissioners received this piece of news with frustration on Wednesday with Gerhard Weber pointing out that state and federal agencies have known for the last two years that the project would require in-water work permits.
Harbormaster Mike Rademaker noted that the environmental review phase had already been delayed due to changes to California’s seismic safety standards. This new obstacle comes as the already-condemned seawall’s conditions have worsened.
Skylar Lambeth was blunt — the bus being late 48 times is inexcusable.
The Del Norte High School student said her first grade has suffered and she’s missing “entire units” of history due to the late bus. Her peers could have made similar statements to the school board, she said Thursday, but they rely on the bus to return home.
“I feel Klamath kids have been forgotten about too many times,” Skylar said. “Klamath kids often get seen as lazy and not caring about grades, but that’s just not true. Us Klamath kids have bright futures, but this takes education away from us and that’s just not fair. This situation could make us fail our finals.”
Thumbnail photo: Crescent City Harbor’s inner boat basin. | Photo by Gavin Van Alstine
Harbor Board Chairman Rick Shepherd insisted that a plan to both make a loan payment to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and address maintenance issues would “save our ass,” though he admitted it was convoluted.
The plan involves a trust account with the county that houses the transiency occupancy tax (TOT) revenue the Measure C has generated for the Harbor District since voters approved it in 2018.
On Wednesday, CCHD Fiscal Officer Sandy Moreno informed commissioners that there is $602,396 in that trust account — more than enough to make two loan payments to the USDA. She proposed using roughly $263,888 to satisfy a delinquent payment the Harbor District should have made to the USDA in September 2025 and using $129,841 to address the district’s maintenance needs.
District 1 Supervisor Darrin Short was absent. Among the items discussed at Tuesday’s Del Norte County Board of Supervisors meeting.
Tolowa Dunes SP Closure: Three county supervisors said they fielded calls and complaints regarding the temporary closure of parts of Tolowa Dunes State Park over the weekend.
The California State Parks North Coast Redwoods District authorized the closure of several access points and trails to allow the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation to observe the Lhuk Rite Ceremony. The annual ceremony celebrates the importance of salmon and its annual return to its river habitat.
