Community Investment Is More Than Financial — My Response to Lost Coast Outpost

Question from Kate, Elk River

Community investment is so much more than financial

Given the nature of the elected position directly impacts HCSD residents, I’m wondering how intertwined you are in the community. How many properties do you own in HCSD? What about Humboldt County more broadly? How many are residential? Commercial? How much land do you own that is sitting unused?

— Kate, Elk River

My Response

Kate, thank you for the question.

My wife Kathy and I have deep roots in this community. Kathy is fifth-generation Humboldt County, and our ties to HCSD are personal, financial and built on many years of community service.

Within the district, we own our home and a residential rental property, and my business is located here. We also own two vacant lots. My wonderful 92-year-old mother-in-law lives in the district as well.

One of those vacant lots is adjacent to our home. Creating it required a lot split that took more than 18 months. We went through that process because we hoped eventually to build a home there, and we still do. Whether we can make the numbers work is another question.

That experience also made the cost of creating new housing very real to me. HCSD’s capacity charges have increased substantially. Then there are County permitting costs and other requirements associated with building a new home, including solar and fire sprinklers. At some point, the combined costs can make a project difficult to pencil out.

New development should pay its fair share, but we also need to consider whether cumulative costs are making it unnecessarily difficult to create housing.

Our connection to the district goes well beyond property ownership. Kathy is a retired educator and was the opening Principal of Winship Middle School, located within the district. I chaired the successful Measure S school bond campaign, which voters approved to provide more than $40 million for improvements to our local schools. I also served three years as a Director of the Greater Eureka Chamber of Commerce and then one year as Chairman.

This is my 21st year coordinating our local Toys for Tots program. That service grew naturally from my Marine Corps background, but ultimately it is about children—many living right here in our district—whose families are struggling to make ends meet.

Community service ties you to the fabric of a community and gives you a firsthand understanding of what is happening in people’s lives.

My business experience provides another perspective. Having owned and operated a business, made payroll and been responsible for employees and their families, I understand that financial decisions affect businesses, employees, customers and the community they serve.

have served on the HCSD Board since 2014, with one brief period away. I publish my phone number and email address because I believe ratepayers should be able to reach their elected representatives directly. Those conversations help keep me connected to what people throughout the district are experiencing.

All of this matters when I sit at the HCSD Board table. My responsibility is much broader than asking whether I can afford a rate increase. I have to consider what our decisions mean to seniors living on fixed incomes, lower-income families, local businesses and people trying to build a home.

That concern was an important part of why I voted no on the recent rate increases. We have to maintain and replace our aging infrastructure, but I believe we should look hard at grants, long-term financing and other ways to spread the cost of infrastructure that will serve this community for generations.

So yes, Kathy and I are very much invested in HCSD. But I measure that investment by much more than the property we own. It is also measured by the people we serve, the relationships we’ve built and the community we’ve worked to support over many years.

If you have additional questions, please visit Gardiner101.com, call me at 707-834-9595 or email me at gregg@101things.com. I believe your elected representatives should be accessible, and I welcome hearing from you.