The Humboldt County Association of Governments Policy Advisory Committee voted Oct. 16 to recommend that the HCOG board approve a modification to the 2024 Transportation Development Act (TDA) Article 3 2% bike and pedestrian allocation for the City of Blue Lake, allowing the city to use previously authorized funds to invoice for emergency bridge repairs.

HCOG staff told the PAC that in 2024 the City of Blue Lake had been authorized roughly $34,000 under the TDA 2% competitive bike and pedestrian allocation to complete traffic‑calming improvements. The city discovered “issues on one of their non‑motorized bridges that’s part of their Safe Routes to School pathway,” staff said, and completed emergency repairs that cost about $50,000. The city requested a reallocation of the earlier TDA authorization from the originally proposed project to the emergency repair so the city could invoice the TDA funds before the end of the calendar year.

HCOG staff said the request went to the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), which recommended approving the transfer. Staff also confirmed the emergency repair is an eligible TDA activity. PAC members expressed support for giving local agencies flexibility to reprogram funds when emergencies arise.

A PAC member moved that the PAC recommend the HCOG board approve the modification to the 2024 2% TDA funding request from the City of Blue Lake; the motion was seconded and carried by voice vote with no recorded opposition. No public comment was offered on the item.

The PAC recommendation will be forwarded to the HCOG board for final action.

(Clarification: the staff presentation identified the originally authorized amount as about $34,000 and the emergency repair cost as about $50,000; the city’s invoice window for the TDA allocation was described as expiring at the end of the year.)