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Eureka council unanimously backs letter supporting county’s Sempervirens behavioral‑health grant
Summary
The Eureka City Council authorized the mayor to sign a letter of support for Humboldt County’s behavioral health infrastructure grant application to relocate and modernize the Sempervirens psychiatric facility. County officials said licensing limits Sempervirens to 16 beds but added that other new residential crisis services will expand local capacity.
The Eureka City Council on Nov. 19 authorized Mayor Kim Bergel to sign a letter of support for Humboldt County’s application for a behavioral health infrastructure grant to replace or relocate the aging Sempervirens psychiatric facility.
City Manager Slattery introduced the request and said staff recommended a letter supporting the county’s Prop 1 application to modernize the psychiatric campus (SEG 1287–1296). Connie Beck, director of Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services, told the council the county is pursuing multiple projects including an adult crisis‑residential program and a crisis triage center at Mad River Hospital to improve the continuum of care.
Beck described Sempervirens as an older building whose licensing and condition limit operations: “There won’t be more beds because the licensing is only for 16,” she said, and added the current structure needs substantial repairs, estimating “$2,600,000 worth of maintenance right now that needs to be done” (SEG 1380–1381; SEG 1410–1412). Beck said moving the facility to a new site near the public health parking lot would avoid closing Sempervirens during rebuilding and would help preserve continuity of services.
Council members pressed for clarity on whether a new facility would increase licensed inpatient capacity. Beck repeated that Sempervirens’ licensing currently caps inpatient beds at 16 but said additional crisis‑residential beds and the planned crisis triage center will increase local capacity and reduce out‑of‑county placements (SEG 1420–1426; SEG 1469–1476).
Council Member Castellano moved to authorize the mayor to sign the letter of support; the motion was seconded and carried unanimously (SEG 1584–1589; SEG 1625–1628). The council’s action is a municipal endorsement of the county’s grant application and does not themselves commit city funds.
Next steps: staff will transmit the signed letter to county officials as part of the application materials; county staff will continue design work on the triage center and other behavioral‑health projects while grant decisions proceed.
