350 Humboldt is asking the City of Arcata to dedicate a portion of funds it
will receive for pandemic relief toward cutting Arcata’s carbon footprint.

The City Council had planned a special meeting to gather public input on what the money would be used for, but now has scheduled the decision for its regular meeting on Wednesday, September 1, at 6:00 PM.

You can
read about the funds in this article from the Mad River Union.

Arcata
city staff have already proposed that $130,000 from the funds would
be used to replace a large natural gas furnace at City Hall with an
electric heat pump, fueled by the renewable electricity the City buys
from Redwood Coast Energy Authority. Additional money would fund important goals like community
development in Valley West, extending water service to
unserved areas, homeless services, and non-police crime prevention.

Beyond that we’re asking the City
Council to allocate $1.65 million of the total $4.4
million the City will receive to measures that will reduce Arcata’s carbon footprint.
This might be programs like a
no-interest revolving loan fund for low-income homeowners to electrify
their homes, install EV chargers, buy EVs or E-bikes, or
improving bus service or bike paths, or incentives to support infill development. These are measures to help slow the next pandemic, the non-microbial one of climate change.
This
proposal was initially developed by the organization Redwood
Coalition for Climate and Environmental Responsibility (RCCER).

 

Here’s the Zoom link if you can attend tomorrow’s meeting: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82620208759

You can also call or email each of the City Council members — just do it soon!
Mayor Brett Watson: Phone: 707-822-5953. Email: [email protected]
Emily Goldstein: Phone: 707-234-5352. Email: [email protected]
Stacy Atkins-Salazar: Phone: 707-496-4779. Email: [email protected] ;
Meredith Matthews: Phone: 707-499-0809. Email: [email protected]
Sarah Schaefer: Phone: 707-499-0809. Email: [email protected]

 

Thanks!

350 Humboldt