Fortuna Planning Commission approves five-year CIP, flags $50 million wastewater upgrade as top near-term cost

The Fortuna Planning Commission on May 26, 2026 voted to find the city’s FY26–27 five-year Capital Improvement Program (CIP) consistent with the Fortuna General Plan and recommended that the City Council adopt the plan.

Public Works Director Brian Issa told commissioners the CIP is intended as a multiyear prioritization tool and highlighted that "the vast majority of the spending in the next couple of years is going to be on what we call the MBDS project," the wastewater treatment plant upgrade necessary for National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit compliance. Issa said that project "is currently somewhere on the realm of 45 to $50 million," and that staff is presently "shooting for $50 million because that's what the state is telling us right now that we're going to get in principal forgiveness."

The CIP presented staff-level estimates that water-system projects for fiscal year 26–27 total just over $3.5 million and identified recurring investments such as valve replacement, water-main replacement and an automated water-meter project that would allow remote reading and customer web access. Issa also described drainage and storm-drain work (including a fully designed Mil Creek fish-passage project pending grant funds), street and ADA improvements, and limited parks and facilities projects that were postponed because of funding constraints.

Commissioners pressed staff on the program’s funding assumptions and prioritization. Commissioner Christensen asked how much grant funding the city needs across the five-year plan; Issa said principal-forgiveness funds for the wastewater plant were the priority and that "the city's already applied and been granted. We're already in the funding pool for that. They're just waiting on us to land on a number." Commissioners also discussed rising project costs and supply-chain timing, with staff noting vendor quotes for some electrical and SCADA equipment were only good for 24 hours.

Commissioners and members of the public raised concerns about the city’s grant-writing capacity; Issa said grant preparation is a collaborative effort among staff and that the city does not currently have a dedicated grant-writer. Commissioners suggested pursuing alternative funding streams — for example, hazard-mitigation, sea-level-rise or tsunami-adaptation grants when projects can be tied to those priorities — and weighing the tradeoffs between rate increases and securing outside funds. Staff noted the city is pursuing a potential state reimbursement of roughly $50 million for the water/wastewater project but cautioned that outcome remains uncertain.

A commissioner moved to approve the CIP review; the commission seconded the motion and approved it on a voice vote. Staff will forward the CIP and the commission’s findings to the City Council for adoption.

What’s next: The commission recommended the CIP to council; next steps are council consideration and, if adopted, implementation and targeted grant applications for major projects such as the wastewater plant upgrade and trail grants that could leverage outside funding.

Sources: Presentation and hearing comments by Brian Issa, Public Works Director, and discussion recorded during the Fortuna Planning Commission meeting on May 26, 2026.