During the city council meeting on June 10, the council approved contracts for the city facilities solar project and the fire station roof replacement project. It also approved the purchase agreement for the Oneka desalination buoy project. The city also provided direction for next year’s fiscal budget.

The council approved a contract with Syserco Energy Solutions to add solar power to six different Fort Bragg city facilities and be grandfathered into a more favorable metering system. In late 2022, the California Public Utilities Commission voted to transition from NEM 2.0 to NEM 3.0. With NEM 2.0, any excess power produced during the summertime is credited to the solar system owner during the wintertime. However, NEM 3.0 removes this benefit.

In March 2027, Fort Bragg submitted applications to be grandfathered into NEM 2.0 for the next 20 years, but the solar projects must be finished by April 15, 2026. City staff is working with NHA advisors to secure financing for this project and expects to be eligible for grants under the Inflation Reduction Act. If successful, the IRA funding will cover 25.5% of solar project costs, approximately $1.8 million.

SES will add solar power to the city hall, the corp yard and water treatment plant, the CV Starr Center, the fire department, the police department, and the wastewater treatment plant.

The council approved a contract with GOC Construction to replace the fire station roof. The project will remove the existing roof, install a modified bitumen roof system on the flat sections, and install 30-year shingles on the pitched roof section. The contract is not to exceed $177,430. The project was initially included in the FY 23/24 budget for $100,000, but an engineer’s estimate came to be $175,000 due to the heavy deterioration of the roof. The Measure P funds received from Mendocino County will pay for this project.

The council also approved a purchase order from Oneka Technologies Inc. for the wave-powered desalination pilot project. This pilot project aims to improve Fort Bragg’s water situation.

The city relies on the Noyo River, Waterfall Gulch, and Newman Gulch to provide water to residents. However, in recent years, droughts have strained these water sources. The city has focused on increasing water storage, such as recent purchases like Summers Lane Reservoir. However, the city is looking into alternatives, such as water desalination, to ensure abundant water.

Oneka’s desalination modules rely on wave power to remove salt. These units are 20 feet in diameter and can process 13,000 gallons of water daily. As they rely on waves, they have a minimal greenhouse gas impact. Fort Bragg’s pilot project is for a single “iceberg” that will be monitored for one year. After a year, the city may choose to purchase more.

The council also directed staff for next year’s budget. Some of the significant discussions revolved around code enforcement and the Humane Society.

Last year, code enforcement received funding from CDBG grants, but those grants are no longer available. The city decided to narrow the scope of code enforcement to a single part-time planning position instead of a full-time position. Code enforcement’s scope will also be more complaint-driven instead of proactive. According to the council, the city received many complaints about the proactive approach to code enforcement.

The original budget allocated $35,700 for the Humane Society. However, the society requested $63,000. Instead of pulling money from other funds, the council directed staff to build the budget with this amount from the humane society as a line item. This also ensures the humane society doesn’t need to return every year to ask for this money.

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