Jessica Cejnar Andrews / Friday, July 12 @ 12:28 p.m.
Veterans Hall Improvements Gain Support From Sens. Padilla, Butler; Project Will Move Forward in Federal Earmark Process
Del Norte County is seeking Congressionally Directed Spending dollars to bring the Veterans Memorial Hall into compliance with the ADA. | File photo by Andrew Goff
Previously:
• Del Norte Submits Federal Funding Requests For VFW Hall, South Beach Projects
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A Del Norte County project that includes fixing the elevator at the Veterans Memorial Hall has moved forward in the federal earmark process, thanks to U.S. senators Alex Padilla and Laphonza Butler.
However, Congressman Jared Huffman was unable to support another county project that improves public access at South Beach, Assistant CAO Randy Hooper told supervisors on Tuesday.
According to Hooper, Huffman’s office said the number of projects the congressman could put forward for Community Project Funding was limited.
“There’s a lot of competition,” Hooper told supervisors. “Initially when the [federal earmark] program was being reinvigorated, there wasn’t that same level of competition. The reasons we were given had to do with [Huffman’s office] were overwhelmed with the number of requests.”
When it comes to the project at the Veterans Memorial Hall, Padilla and Butler’s support for the county’s $1.5 million in Congressionally Directed Spending dollars goes to the Appropriations Committee for negotiation, according to Hooper’s staff report.
“Our federal advocate, Mr. [Greg] Burns, has advised caution as it still has to work its way through a tumultuous situation at the capital,” Hooper said.
Del Norte submitted its federal funding requests for the South Beach and Veterans Memorial Hall projects in February.
Del Norte County projects have been supported at the federal level since the Community Funded Projects program was resurrected back in fiscal year 2022.
In 2022, the county received about $3.08 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for rehabilitations to the jail. In 2023, Huffman supported the inclusion of $550,000 for upgrades to the sheriff’s office’s computer-aided dispatch and records management systems. And in fiscal year 2024, a request from Huffman for $500,000 through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Economic Development Initiative went toward improvements to Pyke Field.
According to Hooper, federal earmark dollars partially funded the jail and Pyke Field projects.
In January, Hooper had presented three projects to the Board of Supervisor that he considered good candidates for federal earmark dollars.
Those projects included improvements at the Veterans Memorial Hall to bring it into compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act. The other two projects included a South Beach Welcome Center and a Community Wayfinding Project.
At a Dec. 29 meeting, District 5 Supervisor Dean Wilson advocated for the South Beach project, noting that Elk Valley Rancheria had received $725,000 in California Coastal Conservancy dollars to purchase land for development near Crescent Beach.
However, supervisors Darrin Short and Valerie Starkey threw their support behind the Veterans Memorial Hall. Short said fixing the elevator so veterans have access to the second floor was a “big deal.”
On Tuesday, District 3 Supervisor Chris Howard questioned Hooper about how the federal earmark process differs between Congress and the U.S. Senate, noting that Padilla and Butler have a larger constituency than Huffman.
Hooper said the rules change depending on who is in charge of the appropriations committees, but the Senate is more flexible when it comes to the number of requests its members can forward to their appropriations committee.
“In the House, I don’t remember the exact number, but it was very limited per district, how many requests could be recommended by the representatives,” Hooper said.
Starkey pointed out that though Huffman was unable to support Del Norte’s South Beach project this year, he is supporting local efforts to build a performing arts center.
Huffman submitted a $1.5 million Community Project Funding request to the House Appropriations Committee in May, describing the Partnership for the Performing Arts project as an “efficient, elegant and cost-effective way to address multiple needs at once.” Huffman described Del Norte’s performing arts center as a multi-purpose community civic center and emergency operations center.
“Our community may still benefit, but it may not be in the county’s actual favor,” Starkey said of the performing arts center project.
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