The Crescent City Harbor is in the midst of a cultural shift, John Evans says.

The 40-year-old correctional officer says he sees this shift at play during Harbor District meetings, especially during public comment. Expectations for how the port should operate have changed. People expect a more professional image from the Board of Commissioners, he says.

Speaking with KFUG Community Radio’s Paul Critz and Redwood Voice Community News on Oct 17, Evans opined on the recent changes at the Crescent City Harbor District. This includes the resignation of its harbormaster in September amidst allegations of credit card misuse. Its perceived lack of transparency by the public as well as its financial struggles.

It’s not lost on Evans that the only contested local race on the ballot this election season is the Crescent City Harbor District Board of Commissioners. This, he says, makes him optimistic about its future.

“At the end of the day there’s no money being a harbor commissioner,” Evans said. “Everybody who threw their hat into the ring is passionate about it and they feel they have something to offer the harbor.”

Evans is one of six people vying for three open seats on the Crescent City Harbor District Board of Commissioners. Saying he’s made it his purpose to serve the community, Evans has been a volunteer firefighter and has been a member of the Del Norte County Republican Central Committee for about 10 years.

He said his running for a seat on the Harbor District Board of Commissioners is an extension of that community service.

“The harbor belongs to the community,” he said. “And I was approached by a good friend of mine who currently sits on the Harbor Board, Gerhard Weber. Three seats are available and he had approached me and asked me if I would run. It’s a great opportunity for me to step in and further my service to the public.”

With the close of this election season approaching, voters will decide if Evans, Linda Sutter, Dan Schmidt, Annie Nehmer or Devon Morgante have what it takes to help the Harbor District steer a new course. And, though he won’t be on the ballot, incumbent Harry Adams is an official write-in candidate to try to keep his position on the Harbor District Board.

Like nearly everyone vying for the Board of Commissioners, Evans has faith in interim harbormaster Mike Rademaker, who took on the leadership role when his predecessor Tim Petrick resigned in September. Rademaker and David Negus, the Harbor District’s new chief financial officer, are doing a great job in opening the books and listening to the public, Evans said.

Evans said the Board’s role should be figuring out where the harbor is inefficient and rectifying those inefficiencies with the resources it has. The Board of Commissioners should also work closely with Rademaker and give him the tools he needs to better do his job. Evans said the Board is a conduit between the community and the harbormaster and they should guide the port in the direction the community wants.

This includes creating an environment people want to invest in, Evans said, bringing up commercial fisherman Josh Mims and the Sea-to-Market Project he spearheaded.

A program with the Community Food Council, the Sea-to-Market Project aims to provide a place where fishermen can process their catch and sell it directly to the public. Mims said his goal is to shorten the supply chain between local fishermen and Del Norters and has even introduced North Coast seafood into local schools.

“I’ve spoken with [Mims] in depth about that.,” Evans said. “We should create an environment he can operate in and the rug won’t be pulled out at the last minute when projects are about to take off.”

Evans also mentioned Pacific Choice Seafood’s recent decision to stop operating the ice plant at the end of Citizens Dock. According to Rademaker, Pacific Choice’s decision to terminate its lease with the Harbor District was due to the “prolonged lack of ice sales and the continuing increase in the cost of repairs and operational expenses.”

The Harbor District is working with city and county officials, Mims and other local fishermen to try to find an alternative. One potential option is a containerized ice plant, which could generate between 20 and 50 tons of ice per day and would cost the Harbor District about $1.4 million.

Evans noted that the ice plant is an example of a critical piece of infrastructure that needs to be fixed or replaced.

“That provides the tax base, which is going to provide the money for the amenities and the infrastructure for the harbor,” he said.

Evans also praised the strategic development plan the Board of Commissioners and the Harbor District’s consultants Mike Bahr and Aislene Delane of Community Systems Solutions are working on.

Initially created in 2018, the strategic development plan identifies areas of development and the types of development that could be encouraged at the harbor. These include vacation rentals, boardwalks and shops, a convention center and a large hotel. Cold storage and office space for operations and maintenance workers servicing offshore wind energy platforms is also in the strategic development plan.

During his conversation at KFUG, Evans praised the Board of Commissioners’ vision for the harbor, “otherwise we’re just fumbling around in the dark.” But, he added, shoring up the port’s infrastructure is necessary or that strategic plan will be pointless.

“We really need to concentrate on building that base and making sure that, as we bring in these investors and as we start to develop and move forward with this plan, that it doesn’t crumble out from beneath us. When we bring an investor into the harbor, if everything’s in disarray what are the odds that they’re going to want to invest in our harbor?”

As for offshore wind energy and the possibility that the Crescent City Harbor District could become an operations and maintenance port for floating wind platforms, Evans is skeptical. Sustainable energy is a good thing, he said, but he doesn’t want Del Norte County to be a testing ground for whether or not it works.

Evans also referred to a decision by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management last month to cancel its lease auction for its Southern Oregon call area.

This decision came after Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians filed a lawsuit against BOEM and after at least one developer decided against taking part in the federal agency’s lease auction, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting.

On Oct. 17, Evans questioned if Del Norte county wants to potentially sacrifice its wildlife and the coast to find out if offshore wind energy generation is viable.

“Let’s see it work somewhere else and then let’s get on board,” he said.

In the short term, Evans urged voters to take a good look at the candidates vying for the Harbor District Board. He said one of his roles as a union president at Pelican Bay State Prison was figuring out how to be more efficient with the resources that were available. Evans said the Board of Directors he served on represented 700 correctional officers and was  responsible for $50 million in liquid and physical assets.

Evans said he looks at serving on that Board of Directors as similar to sitting on the Harbor District Board. He also noted that the Del Norte Republican Central Committee has endorsed himself, Nehmer and Schmidt, but everyone comes to the election with a diverse background.

“That’s what we need in the harbor right now,” he said. “We need a lot of different perspectives looking at this problem moving forward and I think I am a candidate that has a background that could absolutely benefit the harbor.”