Thumbnail: Dan Schmidt, the Del Norte Triplicate's new owner, speaks to a city plan Monday to have an alternate available for publishing public notices should Crescent City be without a newspaper. | Screenshot. Though the Del Norte Triplicate’s new owner felt it was unnecessary, Crescent City councilors adopted a backup when it comes to publishing public notices should the community be without a newspaper. Dan Schmidt said Monday that he and his wife Phyllis have put a newspaper out every week since taking over the Triplicate about a month ago. They’re currently working on the fifth issue. A month ago the city’s ordinance would have made sense, he said, but the community still has a newspaper of general circulation. “You don’t need to pretend that it’s going to go away,” Schmidt told the City Council. “I’m going to be here awhile, I plan to, and we’ll keep putting the paper out.” Three members of the City Council adopted an ordinance that allows for an alternative process when it comes to notifying the public of potential fee changes, zoning code amendments, land-use permits and other matters. They subsequently approved a resolution that designates the Del Norte County Library, Crescent City Hall and the Flynn Administrative Center as approved locations for the posting of public notices. Councilors Isaiah Wright and Daran Dooley were absent. Under state law, the city is required to provide public notice by publishing it in a “newspaper of general circulation” within the community. The Triplicate, which is 146 years old, has been designated as such by the Del Norte County Superior Court for decades, City Attorney Martha Rice told Redwood Voice Community News. But staff began preparing for the possibility that the community would be without a newspaper when Country Media, the Triplicate’s former owners, announced that it would publish the last issue on Sept. 17, Rice said. With the newspaper continuing, nothing is going to change as far as where public notices are published, the city attorney said, but staff drafted the ordinance for Council in case Crescent City does find itself without a newspaper of record. “If the newspaper ever does go away, our municipal code will match state law to provide an alternative means,” she said. Schmidt, however, insisted that since he is continuing to publish the Triplicate, there’s no reason for the city’s ordinance. “I’m here to continue to serve this community, the citizens, the agencies that are here and all of the legal notice requirements,” he said. Councilor Candace Tinkler said she understood what Schmidt was saying, but said it’s prudent to have backup plans for getting public notices out, “particularly if there is an emergency.” “This would be our plan B,” she said. “I don’t see any reason why this would be a negative thing. It’s always best to know what your backup is.”