Arcata City Council introduces ordinance to repeal dormant public safety committee after heated public comment

Arcata City Council on April 1 moved to introduce Ordinance 1584, which would repeal the public safety committee from the municipal code. Police Chief Chris Ortega told the council the committee has not functioned since April 2023 and all seven community seats are currently vacant. "The public safety committee is no longer active," Ortega said, urging the code update to reflect current practice.

The committee was created after a 2016'017 task force and began meetings in 2019, Ortega said, but efforts to fill vacancies have repeatedly failed. He said public safety work continues through council meetings and direct engagement between the police department, community stakeholders and the city manager. "This ordinance does not change public safety services policies, priorities, or accountability mechanisms. It simply updates the municipal code by removing a committee that is no longer active," he said.

Several residents urged the council to keep an independent review mechanism. Crystal Henson, owner of Queeny District Storage, said eliminating the committee would remove an important layer of review for enforcement actions and described what she called selective enforcement at her business: "By dissolving the public safety committee, you are giving the green light for this type of harassment to continue," Henson said, and recounted interactions with officers and city staff she called hostile.

Other public commenters described long-running neighborhood enforcement problems and urged the council to institute alternative oversight if it repealed the standing committee. Council members debated options, including reconstituting a different advisory group or convening ad hoc task forces when specific issues arise. Several council members said the original committee had outlived its usefulness in its current form and that staff time is wasted advertising and posting notices for a body that cannot meet.

Council member Schaefer moved to introduce Ordinance 1584 and Council member Stillman seconded. The council voted by voice to introduce the ordinance and to waive reading the full text, a procedural step that starts the formal ordinance process. The motion carried; the ordinance will return for subsequent readings and final adoption at a future meeting.

The council did not vote to eliminate other public safety processes; staff said established channels for public input and police outreach would remain available. The city manager and council members said they could convene task forces or advisory groups if specific problems demand focused attention.