Annual Elk Town meeting moves online

Due to the storms, the 2023 annual town meeting was held on January 10 over Zoom.

First was Lieutenant JD Comer, who shared the crime report for the year. Overall, Elk has a low crime rate compared to other towns on the coast. However, mail theft is one of the most prevalent crimes in Elk. Comer explained that mail thieves are searching for personal information to commit identity theft. Comer suggested using Informed Delivery to track mail. To learn more about Informed Delivery, look at the USPS website.

Loren Rex of California State Parks shared that they have been busy with the storms. However, Elk has been one of the least damaged areas, with minimal bluff erosion. There is still plenty of cleaning up, as many areas are filled with driftwood, but Elk fared well overall. Rex also shared that the park was creating the initial designs for an accessible restroom at the Greenwood State Beach Visitor Center.

Cindy Richards from Mendocino Area Parks Association sent a letter detailing all the projects in the works, which include replacing the HVAC in the Elk/Greenwood Visitor Center and Museum, creating a trail guide for the Jug Handle State Natural Reserve, and installing interpretive panels within MacKerricher State Park.

Ben MacMillan from the Elk Community Services District discussed several grants, such as the Wildland and Emergency Service Equipment purchase grants and an Elk Evacuation Fuel Break grant. According to MacMillan, some of their significant challenges involve grant developing and following up on grants. Recently there has been collaboration with the Fire Safe Council, which MacMillan hopes will help these challenges.

Wendy Babbe from the Emergency Preparedness Committee also sent a letter explaining what the committee has done his year, such as publishing several preparedness articles in the Mendocino Beacon and on the Elk Community Listserve. The committee also hung a banner downtown to remind the community to prepare their property for wildlife, set up a resource booth at a fire department barbecue, and initiated a

plan to better prepare the elderly, disabled, and others with special needs and help them plan for evacuation and emergencies. However, the committee is going to pause to re-evaluate the committee’s role and find ways to enlist more volunteers.

Peter Lit of the Watershed Improvement Monitoring Project (WIMPS) shared a few challenges that WIMPS is currently dealing with, specifically a need for volunteers. WIMPS needs volunteers to monitor the land’s pre-harvest inspections, but Lit cannot do them all alone. On top of that, MRC (who owns the watershed) has frequent leadership changes, meaning that the new leaders don’t understand previous relationships with WIMPS. As a result, Lit finds himself juggling to keep the files organized. Lit explained that he could not do all the work of WIMPS by himself and that he needed more hands to monitor the watershed. For more information, call Lit at 877-3215.

Dorothy Cong, President of the Greenwood Civic Club and representative of the Blessed Sacrament Church, also sent a letter explaining that the church had a significant paving and drainage project this year. The driveway was widened by several feet, and Gary Swanson installed new drainage pipes. The Blessed Sacrament holds evening mass on Saturdays at 4 pm and traditional Latin mass daily at 10 am, as well as on Sundays when the resident priest is in.

Cong’s letter also shared that the GCC held fundraisers, including the annual rummage sale and participating in Great Day in Elk. In addition, GCC awarded several scholarships last year with the raised funds.

Tom Halen, the new general manager of the Sacred Rock Inn, wanted to reassure the community that the pub would reopen.

There has yet to be a specified date, but Halen said it was one of the most common questions he has received since joining Sacred Rock Inn.

Jessica Ballard from the Greenwood Preschool shared that while there are four students now, there are at least nine families in the community with 2-yearolds, so she was excited for the next few years. In addition, the preschool raised about $1000 at the Crafts Fair fundraiser this year.

Sean Ferrarese from the Elk Store shared his appreciation for the community support after the Elk Store’s break-in a month ago. During the break-in, thousands of dollars of cigarettes were stolen, but Ferrarese said he was thankful for the outpouring of community support the Elk Store received. Ferrarese also shared that they are looking for new employees.

Charlie Acker gave the water district report. Elk and Irish Beach had surplus water almost entirely through the drought. While recent storms hit the area, Acker said generator backups are at the treatment plant. According to Acker, power doesn’t stay off too long in Elk because it is next to the substation, and Elk is a separate circuit. The lines are also underground, which prevents tree damage.

Acker said that usually, high runoff could cause stream turbidity that the water treatment plants can’t treat. However, Greenwood Creek is deep and far enough away that this shouldn’t be a problem.

Due to careful financial planning, 90% of the water mains in town have been recently replaced, increasing the fire flow upwards of 800 gallons a minute. This lowers the fire insurance premiums significantly.

Acker also spoke for the fire department. There are about 20 members in the volunteer fire department, with 2-4 EMTs. The department comprises mainly older volunteers, so more community members are encouraged to join.