Thumbnail image courtesy of flycrescentcity.com Del Norte County supervisors approved an agreement that extends a line of credit to the local airport authority, enabling it to weather a cash flow emergency as it completes three grant-funded projects. The Board of Supervisors’ decision comes after they authorized staff to draft an agreement with the Border Coast Regional Airport Authority in August. The agreement also comes after BCRAA members at a meeting earlier this month were dismayed to hear District 4 Supervisor Joey Borges question the effectiveness of the joint powers authority model to operate the Del Norte County Airport, his District 3 colleague Chris Howard told Redwood Voice Community News on Tuesday. Howard said Elk Valley Rancheria Chairman Dale Miller was especially concerned and sent a letter to airport authority members and Del Norte County supervisors. According to Howard, Elk Valley Rancheria is the first tribal government to be part of a joint powers authority in the State of California. “Understandably they were upset,” Howard said. Four Del Norte supervisors, including Borges, approved the county’s end of the agreement that extends the line of credit to the BCRAA. District 1 Supervisor Darrin Short, who, along with Howard, represents Del Norte County on the BCRAA, was absent. According to Howard, airport authority’s cash flow challenges stem from a runway rehabilitation project, a wildlife fencing project and the purchase of an airport rescue firefighter truck. Reimbursable federal Airport Improvement Program grant dollars will pay for 95% of those projects. The BCRAA is responsible for the remaining 5% of the projects’ cost. According to Auditor-Controller Clinton Schaad, the projects’ total cost is expected to exceed $8 million. In his staff report, Schaad proposed extending a lending cap of $4.8 million. “With a 30-day grant reimbursement timeline, this lending cap will be high enough to facilitate all three of the approved projects,” Schaad stated in his staff report. According to Howard, the interest rate associated with that line of credit is about 4.4%. The JPA’s side of the agreement is expected to be on its agenda for Thursday, Howard said. In his Aug. 28 letter, Miller urged his colleagues on the joint powers authority to find a way to help front the county’s share of the projects’ costs. “Failure to meet the reimbursement requirement would mean losing this valuable external funding,” Miller wrote. “Though (Airport Improvement Program) grants are typically reimbursement-based, there may be exceptions for small rural airports. The county and BCRAA could jointly advocate for special consideration or expedited payment schedules at the federal level, especially if EAS is potentially in jeopardy.” Elk Valley Rancheria Letter to BOS RE_BCRAA_09.02.25Download EAS, or Essential Air Service, is a U.S. Department of Transportation subsidy that allows the airport authority to contract with Southern California-based Advanced Air, which offers commercial service to Oakland and the Los Angeles area. Along with the county and Elk Valley Rancheria, the Border Coast Regional Airport Authority also includes Crescent City, Brookings, Curry County and the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation. In his letter, Miller cited Article IV in the BCRAA Joint Powers Agreement, which states that member agencies aren’t required to contribute to the airport authority. Rather, Del Norte County is required to annually fund the BCRAA “at the level of the county’s budgeted commitment to support the airport authority for the fiscal year 2006-2007 subject to reduction only by consent of the authority.” Miller suggested that Del Norte County could temporarily fund the three projects by borrowing internally, issuing short-term notes or bonds or by partnering with a local bank or credit union to establish a line of credit for projects that are reimbursed through the Federal Aviation Administration. On Tuesday, public commenters Sam Strait and Linda Sutter opposed the proposed loan, telling supervisors that Crescent City is inconvenient to fly out of. “The airport hasn’t received more than 10,000 enplanements for the better part of a decade and only a change in circumstance will effectively change that,” Strait said. Howard acknowledged that the number of people flying into and out of Crescent City isn’t what it was when United Airlines and SkyWest served the region up until 2015. In a strategic options document Volaire Consulting shared with the BCRAA last month, the firm noted that even though the average fare out of Crescent City was less than Medford and the Eureka-Arcata airports, Advanced Air isn’t able to fill more than about 56% of their available seats. The reason likely has to do with the fact that passengers often have to buy two tickets to reach their destination, the Volaire study states. This has been the reality since SkyWest left the market, according to Volaire. “The result is a declining number of passengers who use Del Norte County Airport,” the Volaire study stated, adding that the Del Norte County Airport saw a decline in the average number of passengers per day from 46 in 2007 to 21 in 2024. “The more difficult the connectivity is, fewer passengers choose to fly from their local airport,” the study stated. Still, Howard said, despite the funding challenges, the airport is essential in a community that’s isolated from the rest of the state. “At the end of the day it’s still the county’s asset,” he said. “And I’m glad to see the Board took the time and energy and voted unanimously to continue those investments in that asset.” CEC Strategic Options 8-25 NO BUDGETDownload