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Board backs Harbor Districtgrant support despite public calls for outside oversight
Summary
The Del Norte County Board of Supervisors approved a letter supporting the Crescent City Harbor District's $11 million federal grant application even as public commenters urged the board to require independent oversight and cited alleged financial and governance problems at the harbor district.
The Del Norte County Board of Supervisors voted to authorize the chair to sign a letter of support for the Crescent City Harbor District's port infrastructure development grant application to the U.S. Maritime Administration, despite public concern about the harbor district's financial and governance practices.
During public comment, a resident argued the letter presented an incomplete picture of the harbor district's finances and governance and asked the board to revise the support letter to recommend independent third-party oversight if federal funds were awarded. The resident said, "I am this close to proving $245,000 of embezzlement, but they refused to give me those financial documents that I asked for a year ago." The resident also recommended the board acknowledge those issues in the letter to protect taxpayers and the board.
Alicia Williams, who said she researched oversight options, told the board that LAFCO (the Local Agency Formation Commission) is the entity that can initiate corrective measures for special districts and described a statutory annexation/correction pathway she called the Cortese Act process. "If they actually do correct course, then you just rescind the motion to dissolve the district," Williams said, urging the board to consider mechanisms that would ensure accountability should problems surface.
Board discussion acknowledged both the importance of harbor infrastructure and the existence of multiple oversight layers. A board member noted that grants typically require extensive reporting and monitoring by awarding agencies and said the harbor has commissions and public oversight responsibilities.
The motion to approve the letter carried on a roll-call vote in which all five supervisors recorded "yes." Kylie read the vote as: Supervisor Howard Yes; Supervisor Wilson Yes; Supervisor Short Yes; Supervisor Starkey Yes; Chair Borges Yes.
What's next: With the board's letter of support authorized, the Harbor District will proceed with its grant application to the U.S. Maritime Administration. Public commenters requested that the board consider follow-up language or conditions recommending independent oversight should the grant be awarded; the board did not adopt such an amendment at this meeting.
