Crescent City Council Roundup for Nov. 4, 2024

Among the items discussed at last week’s Crescent City Council meeting:

Landscape standards: Three councilors approved new parameters dictating the amount of open space housing developers need to provide their residents. 

Councilors Jason Greenough and Kelly Schellong Feola dissented, saying the requirement for developers to set aside 20 percent of their property for usable open space if their project has six or more housing units was too burdensome.

Under the new standards, multi-family developments with six or more units must include one amenity such as a community garden, a picnic or barbecue area or an exercise area, City Attorney Martha Rice said. A portion of it must also be landscaped. For developments with 10 or more units, the usable open space must have one of the amenities listed above plus a play area with a picnic table, Rice said.

Continue reading Crescent City Council Roundup for Nov. 4, 2024

City Council Tweaks Measure S-Funded Projects, Uses SB-1 Dollars For Asphalt Repairs

Photo courtesy of Andrew Goff, of the Lost Coast Outpost

After their fire chief credited Measure S for his department’s recent Class 2 ISO rating, Crescent City councilors on Monday authorized changes to more projects paid for with revenue from the voter-approved sales tax.

Those changes include using $90,000 in Measure S dollars to start expanding the Crescent City Police Department while waiting on a USDA Community Facilities loan to come through.

Councilors allocated an extra $120,000 as contingency for an HVAC and flooring project at the Fred Endert Municipal Swimming Pool plus an additional $106,000 for other projects that need to be completed during the facility’s three-month closure.

Continue reading City Council Tweaks Measure S-Funded Projects, Uses SB-1 Dollars For Asphalt Repairs

Crescent City Cuts Ribbon On Refurbished Front Street

Video and photo by Amanda Dockter

(Updated at 8:02 p.m. to correct an error. Crescent City Mayor Blake Inscore cut the ribbon on Front Street.)

Crescent City added another piece to the Front Street reconstruction puzzle when it cut the ribbon on the block between I and Play streets on Friday. Construction on the final block, which brings the reconstructed drive to U.S. 101, will start next year, according to Councilwoman Kelly Schellong Feola.

Crescent City used state and federal grant transportation dollars, Community Project Funding from Congressman Jared Huffman’s office and Measure S tax moneys to pay for the project. Schellong Feola thanked the city’s state and federal partners who “worked so hard” to allow Crescent City to cobble the Front Street project together.

Crescent City Mayor Blake Inscore cut the ribbon on Front Street. He was joined by Schellong Feola, Ernie Perry, chairman of the Measure S Oversight Committee, Councilor-Elect Candace Tinkler, Public Works Director Dave Yeager and Cindy Vosburg, executive director of the Crescent City Del Norte County Chamber of Commerce.

St. Timothy’s Church Leaders Recognized with Humanitarian Awards – Redwood Voice Community News

November 8th, 2024 – For Redwood Voice Community News, a production of Redwood Voice Youth Media, today’s news: roadwork updates from CalTrans District 1; Christmas Tree Permits have gone on sale in the Six Rivers National Forest; Crescent City Fire and Rescue has achieved a new ISO rating; the Brookings City Council switches their stance on beach camping; two leaders from St. Timothy’s church in Brookings receive humanitarian awards; an update on fishing conditions from Kenny Priest; and ring necked pheasant season opens up on Saturday in California. All this and our regular segments from the Pacifica Radio Network and National Native News.

We’re broadcasting on KFUG 101.1FM and kfugradio.org! every day at 12PM, with a rebroadcast at 5PM. We’re also airing on KZZH 96.7FM at 6AM, and KCIW 100.7FM at 6PM!

Today’s news card image is courtesy of Redwood Voice Reporter Persephone Rose, which has been edited.

Former Commissioner Proposes Creating A Service District To Rebuild The Curry County Sheriff’s Office

Former elected official Christopher Paasch appeared before the Curry County Board of Commissioners on Wednesday to make a formal pitch to ask voters to create a service district in an effort to rebuild the sheriff’s office.

Paasch, who retired from the Board following the 2022 election, brought Sheriff John Ward with him, and urged commissioners on Wednesday to declare their intention to form a Curry County Law Enforcement Service District and schedule the first of two public hearings Oregon statute requires to place the measure before voters next May.

The proposed service district would be funded through a property tax of $1.12 per $1,000 of assessed valued property and would generate roughly $4.2 million annually, Paasch said. The revenue would pay for eight patrol deputies, a civil deputy, an administrative assistant, two sergeants, one lieutenant and the sheriff.

Continue reading Former Commissioner Proposes Creating A Service District To Rebuild The Curry County Sheriff’s Office

Fire & Rescue Gains Class 2 ISO Rating – Redwood Voice Community News

November 7th, 2024 – For Redwood Voice Community News, a production of Redwood Voice Youth Media, today’s news: roadwork updates from CalTrans District 1; yesterday’s election results; Crescent City Fire & Rescue receives a Class 2 ISO rating; DNACA struggles to secure funding; Brookings City Council continues moving towards implementing an overnight camping ban on their beaches; planned pellet plant projects put Pacific Northwest forests in Peril; and the Chetco Girls Basketball Club wins the Halloween Hoopfest Tournament 31 to 4. All this and our regular segments from the Pacifica Radio Network and National Native News.

We’re broadcasting on KFUG 101.1FM and kfugradio.org! every day at 12PM, with a rebroadcast at 5PM. We’re also airing on KZZH 96.7FM at 6AM, and KCIW 100.7FM at 6PM!

Today’s news card image is taken as a screenshot from Google Maps, which has been edited.

Crescent City Fire Achieves Second-Highest ISO Rating

Crescent City Fire & Rescue participates in a local Fourth of Parade. | Photo: Jessica Cejnar Andrews

Kevin Carey said he and his colleagues thought a Class 2 ISO rating was unattainable for Crescent City Fire & Rescue. So when he announced the department’s new designation with the Insurance Services Office Inc. before the City Council on Monday, the fire chief credited a slew of people, most especially the late Steve Wakefield.

Carey delivered the news to Wakefield’s wife Debra after first informing the city manager.

“She was absolutely ecstatic,” Carey said. “She knew that Steve would be super proud of us.”

Continue reading Crescent City Fire Achieves Second-Highest ISO Rating

The Results of the Election (So Far) – Redwood Voice Community News

November 6th, 2024 – For Redwood Voice Community News, a production of Redwood Voice Youth Media, today’s news: national, statewide, and local election results; a revisiting of Val Polyanin’s art; with funding drying up, the Del Norte Association of Cultural Awareness struggles with finances; the Northern California Condor Restoration Program completes their Fall round of health checks; proposed wood pellet plants threaten Northern California forests; Oregon’s State Emergency Coordination Center is activated to insure the election goes off without a hitch; and Brookings’ Chetco Girls basketball club scores a major victory in Medford. All this and our regular segments from the Pacifica Radio Network and National Native News.

We’re broadcasting on KFUG 101.1FM and kfugradio.org! every day at 12PM, with a rebroadcast at 5PM. We’re also airing on KZZH 96.7FM at 6AM, and KCIW 100.7FM at 6PM!

Today’s news card image is courtesy of Sora Shimazaki via Pexels, which has been edited.

Del Norte Saw A Surge In Last-Minute Ballot Submissions, County Clerk Says; Dan Schmidt, Annie Nehmer and John Evans Lead In Harbor Race

Thumbnail photo by Eric (HASH) Hersman, via Wikimedia Commons. Creative Commons License.

Though she’s not sure if the winners in Del Norte’s one contested race will change, County Clerk Recorder Alissia Northrup is certain that the raw data will change.

Northrup said her office and polling places throughout the county saw a surge in last-minute voters on Tuesday. As a result, Northrup estimated that more than 1,000 ballots were submitted and have yet to be counted.

Continue reading Del Norte Saw A Surge In Last-Minute Ballot Submissions, County Clerk Says; Dan Schmidt, Annie Nehmer and John Evans Lead In Harbor Race

DNACA Is Rebuilding After Two Rough Post-Pandemic Seasons; 2024-25 Concert Series Starts Wednesday

Thumbnail image and flyer courtesy of DNACA

(Updated at 7:55 p.m. Tuesday with input from DNACA’s former executive director Stephanie LaTorre)

Managing an organization like the Del Norte Association for Cultural Awareness is akin to plate spinning, treasurer Catherine Balck says.

Pre-pandemic, the executive director had to find and hire instructors for its visual arts programs, organize public exhibits and book acts for DNACA’s annual concert series. The executive director worked with Pelican Bay State Prison and the William James Association to help coordinate Arts in Corrections — a state-funded program that stopped due to COVID. And they had to fundraise.

But the relief dollars that kept DNACA alive during the pandemic have dried up and donations have dwindled, Balck told Redwood Voice Community News on Friday. Its long-time venue, the Crescent Elk Auditorium, was largely unavailable due to major renovations during the last two seasons.

Continue reading DNACA Is Rebuilding After Two Rough Post-Pandemic Seasons; 2024-25 Concert Series Starts Wednesday