Fishermen, firms help harbor

Effort to obtain $5 million grant gets a big boost

The harbor is a step closer to replacing its inner boat basin thanks to the help of local fishermen and harbor-related businesses.

A harbor application for $5 million in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds got a big boost when fishermen and businesses submitted documentation showing that many jobs are dependent on the harbor, said Harbormaster Richard Young.

The grant is needed to provide the local portion of the $22.5 million cost of replacing the inner boat basin, which was damaged in a 2006 tsunami.

Other work to repair tsunami damage begins next month, when the Federal Emergency Management Agency will pay to remove 9,000 cubic yards or silt from the mouth of the inner boat basin.

But replacing the basin itself is a much bigger, and more expensive, project.

Part of the grant application process that the harbor had to get done by Jan. 31 was documenting that the inner boat basin supports 144 jobs in the surrounding area.

“We had to get documentation of 144 jobs because the CDBG grant provides $35,000 of funding per job,” Young said.  

And that wasn’t easy because many harbor-related businesses and fishermen were worried about possible tax liability, Young said in a previous interview.

The harbor, along with Del Norte County and the Small Business Development Center (SBDC), started the effort at getting the CDBG funds nearly eight months ago.

“Getting people who depend on the harbor for a living to come forward was a huge step in completing this grant,” Young said. “It demonstrates that this harbor is important for the economic health of the area. The Small Business Development Center really did most of the legwork getting these jobs documented.”

Barbara Burke, of the SBDC, was impressed with how many people came forward to support the harbor.

“Nobody came in kicking and screaming,” Burke said. “They came in because they really care, they want the harbor brought up to snuff. We actually had many more people come forward to document their harbor-related jobs than we needed, it was really wonderful.”

The harbor’s inner boat basin was damaged during the 2006 tsunami, and the estimated cost of replacing it is $22.5 million, Young said.

The grant is needed because the harbor has to provide 25 percent of the $22.5 million fixing the inner boat basin will cost before the federal Office of Emergency Services (OES) will release the other 75 percent of the funding – approximately $16.5 million.

“OES has committed to paying 75 percent of the actual cost of fixing the inner boat basin,” Young said. “There is no fixed dollar amount, but they also have to approve the scope of work.”

According to Young, OES will be surveying the scope of work next week.

It isn’t hard to describe what needs to be done.

“We pretty much need to replace the entire inner boat basin,” Young said.

From docks to pilings to the rock jetties that protect the basin from waves and wind, everything, even the wiring that delivers electricity to boats has to be replaced.

Fishermen Silas Gnaedinger, who spends most of his time fishing out of Kodiak, Alaska, but is currently in Crescent City harbor, agrees that more than just maintenance is necessary.

“I’ve been in a number of harbors and while this one isn’t the worst, it definitely needs some work,” Gnaedinger said.

Young is confident that the CDBG application will be submitted by the dead line of April 1, and that it will be competitive.

“This is a project that fits well into their mission, I think,” Young said. “It is a competitive process so it’s really hard to tell what’s going to happen.”

Young said that there are only a couple more elements needed before the application is complete.

“An example of the kind of thing that is left to do is that I have to prove that the harbor is economically viable,” Young said. “One problem is that this application is just the first step in a long process.”

According to Young, if this first application gets accepted, the harbor then will be invited to submit another application.

“If our pre-application is accepted we will most likely get funding of some sort,” Young said. “It isn’t guaranteed, but generally being invited to submit the second application is a very good sign.”

Young expects to hear back about whether the pre-application is accepted within 120 days of submission.