The previous City Council, plus new councilmember Candace Tinkler, cut the ribbon on a reconstructed Front Street in November. | Photo by Amanda Dockter

Crescent City Councilor Candace Tinkler was absent. Among the items discussed at Monday’s meeting:

Front Street Notice of Completion: Four members of the City Council marked the official end of the Front Street reconstruction project, authorizing the city manager to sign and file a notice of completion for the stretch between G and Play.

This action comes about three months after the former Council reopened the road to traffic on Nov. 6. The project was possible through a total of about $2.2 million from multiple funding sources including Measure S, the American Rescue Plan Act, Senate Bill 1 dollars as well as the Del Norte Local Transportation Commission and the city’s general fund.

A total of $1.26 million allowed the project to be extended from I to Play streets and came from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act.

The first phase of the reconstruction projects, from B to G streets was paid for through Community Development Block Grant dollars and was finished in January 2021.

Pool update: Crescent City’s partnership with South Coast Community Aquatics appears to have paid off even if patrons were trading the indoors for an outdoor pool in the dead of winter.

According to City Manager Eric Wier, the swimming pool in Brookings logged more than 900 visits during the month of December. And, so far, more than 1,000 visits during January. Wier said he expected the final tally for January to be more than 1,200 visits.

“Our typical attendance for the [Fred Endert Municipal] pool is somewhere around 30,000 per year. So that’s like 2,800 per month on average,” Wier told councilors. “For the middle of winter, an outdoor pool to have 1,200 visits, that exceeds expectations.”

Crescent City partnered with the Brookings-based nonprofit to give Del Norters a swim while its own pool underwent upgrades to its HVAC and dehumidification systems and its flooring between December and February.

On Nov. 18, the City Council entered into an agreement with South Coast Community Aquatics, kicking in about $35,000 and providing the lifeguards and staff to supervise the Brookings facility. SCCA paid to maintain the pool, which included the cost to heat it to about 84 degrees Fahrenheit.

On Monday, Wier said the Fred Endert Municipal Pool is scheduled to reopen in early March.

Pebble Beach Drive update: The armored wall system shoring up the slide area on Pebble Beach Drive has been finished, Wier told councilors on Monday.

“The walls are armored and protected and now it’s time to put back the street, which will also include pedestrian improvements,” he said.

Four City Councilors agreed to continue an emergency declaration that has been in place since July 15. That declaration was necessary for the city to obtain services and contractors without going through the normal bidding process. It also comes after the Federal Highway Administration and Caltrans approved about $6.8 million in emergency funding to pay for repairs stemming from a January 2024 landslide.

According to Wier, the pedestrian improvements will include a Class 1 pedestrian trail on the ocean side.

Dooley Airs Concerns About Crime, Pool Expenses: Though he admitted to being new to Crescent City, one of its newest councilors sees the need for more robust policing and wanted to explore ways to increase efficiency at the swimming pool.

Daran Dooley, who was one of two newcomers to seek a seat on the City Council unopposed in November, said he wanted to figure out ways for the Fred Endert Municipal Swimming Pool to become more profitable and divert those funds to law enforcement.

“Recently, I was walking down the street and a squad car stopped me to ask if I had seen someone wielding a knife running down Washington Boulevard,” Dooley told his colleagues toward the end of Monday’s meeting. “It’s incidents like these that support the need for more robust policing. I personally would like to see at least one walking patrol officer added to the beat full time.”

Dooley noted that the swimming pool is taking more from the city’s budget than is typical for a municipal government. He asked that the item be placed on a future agenda for discussion.

“I think we should consider bringing an expert [in] to take a look at the pool,” he said. “To look at how it’s performing and if there’s anything we can do to make it basically more efficient and profitable without closing it. Maybe we could rent it out to entities … to capitalize on it or make tweaks in the interest of efficiency.”

City Manager Eric Wier said there was a feasibility study on the pool that was finished in 2018, though there’s been a lot of changes since then. For one thing, the swimming pool is set to reopen in March following improvements to its HVAC and dehumidification systems and its flooring. That project cost about $1.2 million, according to Wier.

Wier also pointed out that minimum wage has also increased, which has increased overall costs at the pool. He said he’d bring more information about the pool about the 2018 study to the City Council at a future meeting.

Meanwhile, Councilor Jason Greenough doubted the efficiency of a full-time “walking patrol officer” joining the Crescent City Police Department.

Dooley said he wanted to hire an expert to prepare an updated report on the pool to look at ways to increase revenue and efficiency.

“I think we should be looking at ways to divert more money to law enforcement,” he said.