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Eureka council accepts nearly $1.1 million for coastal resilience plan, awards contract to GHD
Summary
The City of Eureka approved acceptance of nearly $1,100,000 in grant funding for a Coastal Access and Resilience Plan and awarded a professional services agreement to GHD to produce adaptation strategies and preliminary designs for four priority shoreline sites.
The Eureka City Council on July 16 voted unanimously to accept nearly $1.1 million in grant funding for a Coastal Access and Resilience Plan (CARP) and to award a professional services agreement to GHD to carry out the work. City staff said the award will fund further environmental studies, CEQA work and conceptual designs for four priority locations along Eureka’s six‑mile shoreline.
"The next phase of this work will use the existing vulnerability assessments and develop specific adaptation strategies," staff told the council, noting the grant will enable more detailed work at Pound Road (and nearby seasonal marshes), Palco Marsh, a shoreline segment between Hillficker and Trousdale, and the Elk River Spit — the latter identified because of a wastewater outfall standpipe.
Staff recommended GHD because the firm previously completed the city’s sea level rise vulnerability analysis and can leverage existing modeling to begin work efficiently. The presenter said the work is intended to produce a "toolbox of adaptation strategies" that can be applied across diverse shoreline types and position the city for future construction funding.
Council member Bauer moved to approve staff’s recommendation; the motion passed by unanimous vote. Bauer thanked staff for pursuing the grant and emphasized the importance of preparing the city's infrastructure for sea‑level rise.
City staff said the process will include public outreach and that completing preliminary design and sequencing work should improve the city’s competitiveness for construction grants in the future. The motion authorizes accepting the grant and awarding the contract to GHD; staff did not provide a construction schedule or guaranteed construction funding — those will depend on future grant opportunities and project development.
What’s next: staff will proceed with the scope of work under the GHD agreement, begin public outreach for the four priority sites and pursue subsequent funding for construction as opportunities arise.
