Wetlands and Creeks Committee - Special Meeting

CITY OF ARCATA WETLANDS AND CREEKS COMMITTEE SPECIAL MEETING AGENDA Wednesday, May 27, 2026, 5:30 p.m. Council Chamber 736 F Street, Arcata ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT www.cityofarcata.org * (707) 822-8184 * eservices@cityofarcata.org Committee Chair: Emma Held Committee Liaison: Morguine Sefcik ________________________________________________________________________________________ Special accommodations for the disabled who attend City meetings can be made in advance by contacting the City Clerk at 822-5953. Assistive listening devices are available. ______________________________________________________________________________________ Pursuant to Government Code section 54957.5, all writings or documents relating to any item on this agenda which have been provided to a majority of the City of Arcata Wetlands and Creeks Committee, including those received after distribution of the agenda packet, will be made available for public inspection in the Environmental Services Department located at Arcata City Hall, 736 F Street, during normal business hours. ________________________________________________________________________________________ PLEASE NOTE: Speakers wishing to distribute materials to the City of Arcata Wetlands and Creeks Committee at the meeting are requested to provide 10 copies to the staff liaison. 1. ROLL CALL. Brown, Held, McAuliffe, Railsback, Svehla, Staff Liaison – Morguine Sefcik 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES a. Wetlands & Creeks Committee - Regular Meeting - March 26, 2026 3. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS This item is provided for people to address the Committee on matters not on the agenda. At the conclusion of all oral communications, the Committee may respond to statements. Any requests that require action will be set by the Committee to a future agenda or will be referred to staff. 4. AGENDA MODIFICATIONS 5. OLD BUSINESS 6. NEW BUSINESS a. Receive a Presentation on the Jolly Giant Creek Signage Inventory and Take Action as Appropriate 7. COMMITTEE MEMBER/STAFF REPORTS 8. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS 9. DATES OF FUTURE MEETINGS 10. ADJOURNMENT  CITY OF ARCATA WETLANDS AND CREEKS COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES March 26, 2026, 5:30 p.m. Council Chamber 736 F Street, Arcata Present: Held, McAuliffe, Railsback, Svehla Absent: Brown, Hawkins Staff Present: Environmental Programs Manager Sefcik _____________________________________________________________________ 1. ROLL CALL. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES a. Wetlands & Creeks Committee - Special Meeting - January 22, 2026 ON A MOTION BY RAILSBACK, SECONDED BY SVEHLA, AND BY UNANIMOUS VOICE VOTE THE WETLANDS AND CREEKS COMMITTEE APPROVED THE SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES OF JANUARY 22, 2026. THE VOTES WERE AS FOLLOWS: AYES: HELD, MCAULIFFE, RAILSBACK, SVEHLA. NOES: NONE. ABSENT: BROWN, HAWKINS. ABSTENTIONS: NONE. 3. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Public Comment #1: Joanne McGarry – 1) Spoke in support of the City putting out a public press release to address comments she had read on the NextDoor app that Sunnybrae neighborhood residents were noticing a strong smell coming from the direction of the Arcata Marsh. 2) Spoke in support of the City not allowing people to camp near creeks and pollute the creeks, specifically near the intersection of Alliance and M Streets. 3) Joanne shared that she lives on South H Street near the City’s Little Lakes property and she proposed the idea of a 24 hour research center on the property and suggested that Cal Poly Humboldt could be a partner. 4. AGENDA MODIFICATIONS None 5. OLD BUSINESS None 1 Page 2 of 4 6. NEW BUSINESS a. Elect Chair and Vice-Chair for Remainder of Fiscal Year 2025/2026 ON A MOTION BY SVEHLA, SECONDED BY MCAULIFFE, AND BY UNANIMOUS VOICE VOTE THE COMMITTEE ELECTED EMMA HELD AS CHAIR AND STEVEN RAILSBACK AS VICE CHAIR FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE 2025/2026 FISCAL YEAR. THE VOTES WERE AS FOLLOWS: AYES: HELD, MCAULIFFE, RAILSBACK, SVEHLA. NOES: NONE. ABSENT: BROWN, HAWKINS. ABSTENTIONS: NONE. b. Review and Approve the 2025 Committee Annual Report and Designate a Committee Representative to Present the Report to City Council on April 15, 2026 Public Comment #1: Anonymous member of the public requested clarification on the fiscal year goals that are included in the report and noted that during the Special City Council Meeting Study Session with Committee Chairs on February 26, 2026, Mayor White commented on the Wetlands & Creeks Committee FY 2026/2027 Goal #8 to “explore options for inter-committee information sharing and idea exchange”. ON A MOTION BY RAILSBACK, SECONDED BY SVEHLA, AND BY UNANIMOUS VOICE VOTE THE COMMITTEE APPROVED THE 2025 ANNUAL REPORT AND DESIGNATED EMMA HELD AS REPRESENTATIVE TO PRESENT THE REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL ON APRIL 15, 2026. THE VOTES WERE AS FOLLOWS: AYES: HELD, MCAULIFFE, RAILSBACK, SVEHLA. NOES: NONE. ABSENT: BROWN, HAWKINS. ABSTENTIONS: NONE. 7. COMMITTEE MEMBER/STAFF REPORTS Chair Held reported on attending the City Council Study Session with other Committee Chairs and found it to be a good opportunity to meet other Chairs and Council members, which directly related to the Committee’s Goal 8 to increase collaboration among Committees. Public Comment #1: Anonymous member of the public shared a printed copy of the minutes from the City Council Study Session with the Wetlands & Creeks Committee members. Environmental Programs Manager Sefcik shared the following reports:  Shared outcomes from the Open Space Special Tax (Measure A) Ad Hoc Group Meeting on February 9, 2026 and confirmed that the Parks and Recreation Committee approved the Ad Hoc Group’s recommendations for FY 2026/2027 at their March 11, 2026 meeting. Chris McAuliffe mentioned that Humboldt Waterkeeper used one inch of rain as the threshold for a qualifying event during first flush monitoring and suggested this information be shared with the Wiyot Tribe for 6PPDQ sampling (a recommended project for Measure A funding). 2 Page 3 of 4   The City is in the process of preparing the State Coastal Conservancy (SCC) grant application for the Jolly Giant Creek and Butcher Slough coastal resilience and restoration planning project.  Provided update on the downtown fire site as requested by Committee member Railsback.  Shay Day volunteer workday in Shay Park is scheduled for April 4, 2026. Public Comment #2: Joanne McGarry spoke about a past development project that was required to give money for creek restoration and noted that the car wash property might be for sale. 8. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS  Jolly Giant Creek Signage Inventory Public Comment #1: Julie Weeder spoke in support of having Cal Poly Humboldt capstone students present their projects to the Committee. 9. DATES OF FUTURE MEETINGS Staff Sefcik mentioned that next meeting is scheduled for May 28, 2026 but date is not good for some members so a poll for a special meeting in May will be sent out. 10. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 6:30 PM. 3 Page 4 of 4