Airport and Broadband Update   

RREDC Partners with Airport To Lead Effort to Expand Air Service  

In June RREDC's executive director and Humboldt County's director of aviation attended the "Jumpstart" conference put on by the Airports Council International - North America. This conference combines educational sessions with highly structured, scheduled meetings between airlines and airports.  There were approximately 25 airlines attending, ranging from the majors to very small regional and commuter airlines. There were also representatives of approximately 150 airports attending.  The conference featured a very tightly scheduled series of airline/airport meetings.  Conference organizers report that over 1,000 individual meetings were held.

The three most productive meeting for Humboldt County were with:

• American Eagle, focusing on service to LAX.
• United, which focused on increasing service and adding service to their Denver hub.
• Allegiant, which has approached our community about offering new service to Southern California or, most likely, Las Vegas. 

To help attract new service, RREDC and County Aviation have applied for a Federal Aviation Administration grant through the Small Community Air Service Development Program.  This grant was submitted August 1st and would provide financial support to mitigate the cost of starting up a new service.    

Humboldt County benefited from one of these grants before, to support service to LAX via Horizon in 2004.   This grant application focuses on getting better service to eastern destinations, with service to Denver being the highest priority.  If that service does not materialize, then the next priority would be LAX.   

Regardless of the outcome of the grant application, strong efforts to convince the airlines to expand or initiate service will continue.   

More information on the Small Communities Air Service Development Program can be found by clicking here. 

Broadband Projects Move Forward 

Photo: Mary Bullwinkel

The Headwaters Fund Announces New Grant Round, Adds Funds to Mini-Grant Program

• Support the growth of industry clusters
• Increase the number of sustainable jobs that pay at or above the median income
• Enhance the quality of life for residents of Humboldt County through projects that promote healthy communities and protect and enhance the natural environment.

RREDC Business Spotlight:   

With a loan from RREDC, Travis and Holly Smith of T.I. Smith Electric have purchased a new building for their business at 101 Wabash Avenue in Eureka. This is another example of RREDC partnering with a local lending institution, this time Redwood Capital Bank, to make financing available to a local small business. 

T.I. Smith Electric (TISE) is a full service electrical contracting company specializing in commercial, residential, and service electrical work, with a distinct focus towards energy consumption reduction without customer sacrifice. TISE provides its clientele with superior customer service, quality installation practices, and innovative electrical lighting products that both increase the quality of light output and save the customer money in operating expenses thereby offering a short term payback on investment. In conjunction with the Redwood Coast Energy Authority, TISE has been able to assist many businesses, education facilities and government agencies with energy efficient, quality lighting.

Travis and Holly Smith started T.I. Smith Electric in 2006 while in college at Humboldt State University.  Travis graduated from HSU with a degree in Industrial Technology with an emphasis in Construction Management in 2007. He is a journeyman electrician and contractor with 12+ years experience in commercial, residential and service electrical work. Holly has a Business Administration degree from HSU, with emphasis in accounting. Holly manages all aspects of the TISE office.

Travis and Holly are excellent examples of young entrepreneurs who make a living in Humboldt County. Humboldt State graduates who choose to stay in the area, raise a family and start a family-owned business. TISE provides a much needed service, buys materials from other locally owned businesses and, as TISE expands, creates good paying jobs in Humboldt County.

Find out more about T.I. Smith Electric and see photos (before and after) of TISE projects on their Facebook page. 

RREDC Updates

Get Regular Updates Via Facebook and RREDC.com

Regularly updated information on RREDC activities and economic development in general can be found via the RREDC website 

and on our Facebook page. 

To sign up for regular updates via Facebook, simply click the image below.

Small Businesses Succeed With RREDC Loans

News From Our Members

City of Trinidad     

The Trinidad Rancheria and City of Trinidad broke ground August 3 on the Pier Reconstruction Project.

The $5million dollar project will correct structural deficiencies and provide a safe facility for local residents, travelers. sport and commercial fisherman.  

The new pier is designed to eliminate run-off storm water to the ocean and eliminate contamination related to pier activities (petroleum products and other pollutants).

The project is expected to be compete in May 2012.

Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District

The board of directors of the Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District recently adopted it Water Resource Planning Implementation Plan.  This plan, completed after an extensive three-year community-wide process,  addresses two key issues:

1. The District's aging infrastructure, which is 50 years old.
2. The loss of the District's industrial customer based with the permanent shutdown of the last pulp mill.

Loss of the industrial base meant that the District lost a significant source of revenue to sustain its operations.  In addition, in the "use it or lose it" water rights environment, after five years of non use, the District could lose control over a significant portion of its water rights.  Loss of those rights would make this water available for any other party who applies to the State for its use.   

The plan outlines three goals for consideration of future water-use activities.  These are:

1. Protection of the District's water rights.
2. Fiscal sustainability.
3. Environmental sustainability. 

1. Local commercial, industrial, or agricultural sales.
2. Transfer of water to another public agency outside of the District, but only under a strict contract that protects the District and local interests.
3. Dedication of water for environmentally beneficial in-stream flows.

The schedule for September is: