The ev
ening started with a couple of public speakers. The first, Don, spoke out against the proposed district parcel tax that would increase single-family residence fees from $12 to $72.
As reported in the Times-Standard, the 140 percent increase was proposed by the Fortuna Fire Protection District — which serves Fortuna, Alton, Fernbridge, Hydesville, Metropolitan and Palmer Creek — which pointed out that the last increase was in 1997.
The speaker, Don, then went on to ask about the status of water conservation efforts in Fortuna saying, “We’re not meeting our numbers, who’s not paying attention?” He was also concerned that the port-a-potty at Storm Creek was attracting a homeless population.
Don had also wanted to know about Vansell Road. He said the city made it a temporary one way street and promised the road would be better, but to date, nothing has been done. According to Don, a neighbor of his was told by a city employee that the reason for the delay was because the city was out of money. Fortuna Mayor, Sue Long, said the city was on top of the situation and that road construction would be done by Mercer-Frazer (the same company who settled a federal fraud case out of court in 2009 for $1.3 million).
Under the Business portion of the meeting, there was a Public Hearing to consider the Approval of a Proposed Abandonment of a Public Right-of-Way. Council Member Tami Trent excused herself due to a potential conflict of interest.
Randy Anderson was seeking to have part of Sunset Ave be abandoned as a public right-of-way in order to build a “little shop.” The segment of Sunset to be abandoned was part of an old subdivision which was never developed.
In return for access to the former street, Anderson said the city was getting part of his land along Rohner Creek as part of Fortuna’s Prop. 1E to widen the creek in order to prevent future flooding (like the one last year) along Fortuna Blvd., where Council Member Trent’s Tangles Salon is located.
CITY MANAGER REPORT
Fortuna’s City Manager, Regan Candelario, began his report with the Jameson Creek Project and a meeting between Public Works and Caltrans to find short-term solutions and environmental concerns regarding a culvert that failed last year.
Candelario then informed everyone that the 330 acres of the Strong Creek Annexation (behind Newburg Park) was progressing, making it the third of four planned annexations. As reported by Kiem TV, “the project is moving forward with the help of the McLean Foundation. The organization has purchased 36 acres in that annexation area and plans to build a community center.” The previous two annexations include the Riverwalk Area and the Ninth Street area, as noted in the 2014 Fortuna State of the City report.
Candelario also said he met with a financial adviser from Edward Jones, who recommended that the city look at refinancing their 2007 bonds at today’s rates. Candelario said the city stood to save money that could be used towards the city’s water treatment plant.
FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS
Items to keep an eye out for:
Council Member Douglas Strehl said he wanted city input in regards to HCAOG looking , “I could do it by myself, but it’s an important thing.”
Council Member Linda Gardner spoke about looking at fire assessment and Candelario said he was still working on best practices guidelines.
Mayor Pro Tem Tami Trent reported on the Senior Advisory Committee, who’s top priority is the new Fortuna Community Health Center. Scheduled to open in 2017, the $12 million facility was funded through a combination of federal loans, grants and local residents. As reported in the Times-Standard, Open Door was seeking $5 million from the community and received a five-acre site on Renner Drive in Fortuna from The McLean Foundation, who won approval from The Fortuna Planning Commission to split the 10 acre site prior to purchasing and donating the property.
The new center will be Op
en Door Community Health Centers’ 14th clinic, they also have three mobile clinics.
As noted on Open Door’s website – and something we should all keep in mind – local “primary care providers have been overwhelmed and more of our colleagues are expected to retire or relocate in coming years. Those health care practitioners who remain will be stretched beyond capacity.”
Finally, Mayor Sue Long — who earlier cried while speaking about the recent downtown fire and how community members stepped up to help — observed that the recent Humboldt County LAFCO (Local Area Formation Commission) meeting she attended “was pretty much all Arcata.” As posted on their website LAFCO’s are responsible for reviewing and approving proposed jurisdictional boundary changes including annexations and detachments to/from cities and special districts, incorporation of new cities, formation of new special districts, and the consolidation, merger, and dissolution of existing special districts.
The Humboldt Witness 