_{Thumbnail photo: Crescent City Police K9 Sgt. Murtaugh keeps the streets safe in this Dec. 22, 2024 photo. CCPD and the Del Norte County Office of Education are partnering together to fund a school resource officer for the schools within city limits. | Photo courtesy of Crescent City Police Department}

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

School Resource Officer: Crescent City and the Del Norte County Office of Education will share the cost of a school resource officer when grant funding for the program expires in June.

The Council’s decision to enter into a two-year agreement with the DNCOE was unanimous. The school resource officer, an employee with the Crescent City Police Department, will work 40 hours per week providing services to Crescent Elk Middle School, Del Norte High School and Joe Hamilton Elementary School. They’ll also be available for after-school activities.

Under the proposed agreement, 69 percent of the officer’s salary will be paid for by the DNCOE with the remaining 31 percent coming from the city. This is based on the number of school days they work during the year, according to Crescent City Police Chief Richard Griffin.

Griffin said if the Office of Education requests the officer to work over time, they will pay for the increased cost. If Crescent City requests the officer work additional hours, the city will bear that cost, he said.

A school resource officer costs a total of $130,000, which includes wages and benefits for an officer at Step 5 of the city’s salary schedule, according to the staff report.

The city had provided an officer to the Office of Education through state tobacco grant funds, however those programs are no longer funding school-resource officers, according to Griffin. He said he’s pursuing other grant dollars to fund the SRO position.

Fire Hazard Map: Councilors unanimously adopted the State Fire Marshal Office’s fire hazard severity zone map for Crescent City.

The State Fire Marshal is tasked with identifying areas within a local area that have a moderate, high or very high fire hazard, City Attorney Martha Rice said. A hazard is determined by looking at the physical conditions that create the likelihood of fire over a 30- to 50-year period without mitigating factors such as home hardening and fuel reduction measures or a recent wildfire, she said.

However, since the map identifies a moderate fire hazard zone within Crescent City limits, primarily existing in densely wooded areas along the city boundaries as well as near Pelican Bay state prison, councilors are only required to adopt the map, Rice said.

“We’re required to do that within 120 days of the release of the map and send it to CalFire within 30 days,” Rice said, adding that the Fire Marshal released the map on Feb. 24.

The City Council could issue higher fire hazard zone designations within its boundaries, but Rice said that would be an issue for Crescent City Fire Chief Kevin Carey to raise.

Carey said that because Crescent City doesn’t have the drought or dryness conditions, canyons or mountains typically associated with wildfires, he would not consider increasing the hazard severity.

Fireworks Ordinance: Councilors made changes to Crescent City’s fireworks ordinance following a public hearing that drew no public comment.

Crescent City has had an ordinance on the books since 2012 prohibiting people from possessing, selling and displaying dangerous fireworks, which, in California, is everything not labeled Safe and Sane, City Attorney Martha Rice said. The city’s updated ordinance addresses a change in state regulations requiring 65 percent of fines collected from those violating the law be remitted to the State Fire Marshal Enforcement and Disposal Fund. The updated ordinance also allows Crescent City to levy higher fines — $1,000 for a first offense and up to $3,000 for multiple offenses.

According to Rice, the city’s typical fine schedule is $100, $200 and $500.

Crescent City’s updated fireworks ordinance comes after an explosion of illegal fireworks on South Beach during the Fourth of July led to a mass casualty incident that sent 14 people to the hospital. The city’s new regulations mirror a similar ordinance Del Norte County approved in October 2024.