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September 28, 2000
Eureka, Arcata
name managers
Arcata and Eureka
chose permanent city managers this week, and the names are well
known to Humboldt County residents.
Dave Tyson was sworn
in Monday in Eureka, where he had served as assistant city manager
and interim city manager. Former State Assemblyman Dan Hauser
got the council's nod in Arcata -- a city he should know well,
considering that he has lived in the city for 30 years, served
on its council from 1974-82 and was mayor from 1978-82.
Tyson said he hopes
to end an era in Eureka politics marred by what many call the
city manager revolving-door syndrome. The last five managers,
including the most recent, Harvey Rose, have fallen out of favor
with a majority of the council and been fired. Tyson would be
a bit tougher to remove since his contract stipulates that a
4-1 majority is required to remove him.
"The council
felt that this was a way of showing the community that they support
me," Tyson told the Journal earlier this week.
Hauser's contract
does not have any such niceties. He will be operating under even
a looser employment agreement than his predecessor, Keith Breskin,
who was not rehired this year. The Arcata Council took advantage
of the time between city managers to change the language in the
city code. Rather than spelling out the terms of the manager's
employment, the code now leaves it up to the manager and the
council to negotiate whatever terms they deem fair.
Hauser was hired less
than a month after it became clear that he might benefit from
an obscure law passed during the last hours of this year's state
legislative session. Senate Bill 528, not yet signed by Gov.
Davis., passed the legislature without discussion and with little
notice. It gives a few select public employees perks relating
to retirement benefits. Hauser would be able to access his legislative
pension two years earlier than under current law.
Hauser said that there
was nothing improper or unfair in the bill. He pointed out that
if he accessed his pension early, it would be reduced 4 percent.
"And it is my
understanding that I can't draw a pension at the same time as
a salary," Hauser said -- meaning that his new job makes
it a moot point.
Mayor Connie Stewart
said that the Arcata City Council hadn't even taken the controversy
surrounding SB 528 into account when hiring Hauser.
"It never came
up. I don't know that anyone was aware of (it)," she said.
"I've known Dan for 14 years and I have full confidence
in him," she added.
Arcata also hired
another well-known veteran administrator last week as director
of community development. Tom Conlon was Humboldt County's director
of planning and building from 1986 to 1997, taught mediation
at Humboldt State University and has worked as a consultant to
the city of Arcata.
Humboldt
Bank to merge
Humboldt Bancorp announced
last week a stock swap to acquire Tehama Bank of Red Bluff.
Tehama -- with six
branches in Chico, Los Molinos, Orland, Red Bluff, Redding and
Willows -- will become an independent subsidiary of Eureka-based
Humboldt Bancorp, a holding company. Other subsidiaries include
Humboldt Bank, with 10 branches in Humboldt, Trinity and Mendocino
counties; Capitol Thrift and Loan in Napa; and Capitol Valley
Bank in Roseville.
Humboldt and Tehama
have already demonstrated a successful working relationship.
The two corporations have owned and operated Bancorp Financial
Services, a business equipment leasing and finance company in
Sacramento, for the past four years.
Once the bank merger
is approved by stockholders of both corporations and federal
regulators later this year, Humboldt Bancorp will have more than
$850 million in combined assets. Both Humboldt and Tehama banks
will retain their own identities with their own boards of directors.
The company will continue to trade under HBEK on the NASDAQ exchange.
The merger is similar
to one that took place last year involving another Humboldt County
financial institution. Six Rivers National Bank, with eight branches,
joined North Valley Bank of Redding with 12 branches. The combined
assets of the two banks total $530 million.
Stockholders from
Six Rivers and North Valley overwhelmingly approved the merger
earlier this year, however federal approval was delayed pending
investigation of lack of competition in Trinity County created
by that merger.
"There was concern
about anti-competitiveness," said Six Rivers CEO Mike Martinez.
"Our argument is Trinity should be treated as a subset of
the Redding market. We found 60 percent of the residents commute
to Redding at least twice a month to shop."
Federal regulators
agreed and the merger was approved Monday.
The two Humboldt County
banks -- Six Rivers and Humboldt -- were created 10 years ago
after Bank of Loleta was purchased by U.S. Bank. The banks have
shared a sometimes stormy history. On at least three occasions,
the latest in early 1999, Humboldt Bank attempted to acquire
Six Rivers Bank and was rebuffed.
The dog runs
to Redding
The Humboldt Transit
Authority failed last week to secure a grant from Caltrans to
establish and operate bus service between Arcata/Eureka and Redding,
losing out in a competitive bidding process to Greyhound Lines.
The HTA proposal requested
$800,000 for operating funds and capital equipment to start the
new bus route. Greyhound, which already has the buses for the
run, requested just $225,000 in grant money to operate the service.
The HTA service proposal
was more convenient to Humboldters, said 5th District Supervisor
Paul Kirk. The service would have allowed people to commute to
Redding for the business day and return the same day. Kirk said
Greyhound schedules have traditionally favored people living
in Redding.
"In the past,
it's been Greyhound's practice not to address our concerns,"
Kirk said.
While HTA lost out
in the bidding process, officials won one concession from Greyhound:
The bus line has agreed to consult with representatives of HTA,
Eureka and Arcata, and Humboldt County on finding times that
work for everyone.
Eureka recall
effort update
The Eureka Recall
Committee took its fight to the streets last weekend -- well,
to the mall, anyway.
The group, which seeks
to recall Councilmembers Jack McKellar and Maxine Hunter Meeks,
collected 147 signatures at a desk in the Bayshore Mall over
the weekend.
Committee coordinator
Amanda Taylor said she wasn't sure how many total signatures
the group had because they have not had time to collect all of
the petitions in one location. According to city ordinance, 2,800
signatures are needed to start a recall election, which could
be held in January at the earliest.
According to the petition,
the committee seeks to recall the two councilmembers because
they voted -- along with Councilmember Jim Gupton who has withdrawn
from the November ballot -- to fire City Manager Harvey Rose
and they limited public discussion prior to the closed personnel
session.
The same three also
voted to remove a citizens advisory measure from the November
ballot. The measure would have asked voters whether or not to
accept a $3 million gift to purchase the balloon tract property
from Councilmember Cherie Arkley and her husband Rob Arkley,
an offer they have since withdrawn because of "instability"
on the council.
The Humboldt County
Taxpayer's League registered its disapproval of the recall effort
in a press release this week, saying that it "objects to
the public expenditure of funds toward the recall efforts."
It is estimated that a special recall election could cost the
city $30,000.
Taylor said the three
councilmembers have already cost the city $3 million with the
loss of the Arkley gift.
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