Check out this page for news and updates of the many projects being done by MCSD, including but not limited to: RFP/RFQ's, CEQA Documents, picture updates, etc. 

Notice of Intent to Adopt a Mitigated Negative Declaration
 

To: Public Agencies, Interested Parties, and Humboldt County Clerk
Project Title: Wastewater Recycling Expansion Project
Lead Agency: McKinleyville Community Services District, 1656 Sutter Road, McKinleyville, CA 95519
Contact: Pat Kaspari, General Manager, McKinleyville Community Services District
Tel: (707) 839-3251; E: pkaspari@mckinleyvillecsd.com
 

Review Period: November 19, 2024, to December 19, 2024
 

The McKinleyville Community Services District (MCSD) has prepared this notice to inform agencies and interested parties that it is releasing a CEQA Initial Study and Proposed Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/Proposed MND) for the Wastewater Recycling Expansion Project.
 

Project Description and Location
The Wastewater Recycling Expansion Project includes the expansion of existing water recycling facilities along Fischer Avenue and adjacent agricultural fields in McKinleyville, CA in order to increase recycled water irrigation capacity, reduce operational costs, and offset groundwater extraction. Specifically, the Project includes the installation of ten 100-ft by 200-ft flood cells in open agricultural land on a bluff, replacement of 2,075 linear feet of 16-inch pipe along Fischer Avenue, installation of 5,060 linear feet of 16-inch pipe in the agricultural fields approximately perpendicular to Fischer Avenue, and installation of three pivot sprinkler irrigation systems within the agricultural fields. In total, Project implementation would result in 10.32 acres of ground disturbance. The Project is not located in the vicinity of hazardous waste sites enumerated under Section 65962.5 of the Government Code.
 

Providing Comments
A 30-day public review period for the IS/Proposed MND will occur from November 19 to December 19, 2024. The IS/Proposed MND will be available for public review online within the “News and Project Updates” section at www.mckinleyvillecsd.ca.gov, as well as at the MCSD office at 1656 Sutter Road, McKinleyville, California. Please e-mail any comments on the IS/Proposed MND by 5 PM on December 19, 2024, to Pat Kaspari at pkaspari@mckinleyvillecsd.com.
After the review period closes, the MCSD Board of Directors will consider adopting the IS/Proposed MND and approving the Project during their regularly schedule Board Meeting scheduled for February 5, 2025, at 6:00 PM. We encourage you to check the MCSD’s webpage to confirm the date, time, and location of the Board of Directors meeting at the following website address: www.mckinleyvillecsd.ca.gov.
 

Request for Bids for the Construction of the McKinleyville BMX Track and Park Project

A non-mandatory pre-bid meeting will be held to familiarize potential bidders with the project and is scheduled for 10:00 a.m., April 10th, 2024, at the McKinleyville Community Services District Office, 1656 Sutter Road, McKinleyville, California.

 The work for this project generally includes, but is not limited to, miscellaneous demolition; clearing and grubbing, earthwork, water service distribution pipe, sewer connection to mainline, storm drain systems, placement and compaction of asphalt, traffic control, cleanup, coordination with BMX Track Builder for construction of BMX track and all appurtenances, purchase and installation of all park features including restroom, furniture, play equipment, fencing and gates, planting, irrigation and all other Work required to complete the modifications as shown in the Contract Drawings and described in the Specifications.

The bidding period has closed.

Article regarding the McKinleyville Community Forest in the February 29, 2024 edition of the North Coast Journal

Link: NCJ - "A Really Cool Asset"

New Interpretive Signs at Lhiwetgut Highlight History of Baduwa't Estuary

Press release from CalTrout:

Nonprofit conservation organization California Trout, McKinleyville Community Services District, the Wiyot Tribe, Redwood Community Action Agency, and local artists collaborated to design and install interpretive signage at the site of a recently completed restoration and public access project at Baduwa’t estuary. Baduwa’t is now known as the Mad River but is not a direct translation.

The signage was installed on Monday, February 12th, 2024 at the western end of School Road in McKinleyville. The new installation includes three interpretive signs with artwork by Alme Allen and Jullia Finkelstein. Over the past 8 years, the sign’s narrative was cultivated with the Wiyot Tribe, CalTrout’s project manager Mary Burke, and Denise Newman with RCAA – whose designs artfully thread interpretive themes together. These signs welcome and orient visitors to the site and are held proudly between original pedestals designed by Alme Allen and fabricated by Nick Kieselhorst of Ironside Metal in Arcata to create a powerful sense of place.

Alme Allen, a local artist, carver and cultural teacher, designed the pedestals, and his art and storytelling are woven through the signs. “As a Karuk/Yurok person, I am pleased to bring my artistic interpretation to this project. Based on cultural values, the guardian monument structures deliver an old meaning to a new generation - a meaning that links people with place and the responsibility to care for the environment,” he said, speaking of the project significance to him.

The entry sign hosts a welcome message that greets visitors and closer to the bluff, two additional signs provide thought provoking messages about traditional ecological knowledge and practices and the processes of renewal and balance.

The site is now named Lhiwetgut, a Soulatluk word for this place chosen by the Wiyot Tribe. Lhiwetgut is part of the Wiyot Tribe’s aboriginal territory and is now a habitat restored for the community to enjoy, learn about the land, and connect with the natural world. There is a QR code on the sign to help people learn how to pronounce Lhiwetgut.

Marnie Atkins, past Cultural Director for Wiyot Tribe, added, “Sharing the story of this place, its ecological significance, and our joint work towards restoration makes it a special location that will be enjoyed for generations to come.”

The restoration and public access project was completed by CalTrout and partners in November 2022 and has quickly become a destination for the community to gather and connect with the natural world. Lhiwetgut includes a short ADA-accessible loop with two coastal overlooks, multiple benches, and a picnic table. Three ADA parking spaces can accommodate visitors who arrive by vehicle because the site is easy to access by walking and biking. Local residents from as far as Little Pond can easily reach the site through the trail system of the School Road Trail and the regional Hammond Trail – a part of the California Coastal Trail. Patrick Kaspari, General Manager of the McKinleyville Community Services District who owns and maintains the trail, said, “The McKinleyville CSD appreciates this opportunity to work with the Tribe and CalTrout to facilitate people’s connection to this special place.”

“Community building projects like this one, mark a new connection to the landscape and to each other. People return to this place again and again to walk the path and stand on the edge of the bluff for the chance to see the birds, deer, or maybe even harbor seals as they chase migrating salmon who are returning home.” said Mary Burke, CalTrout’s North Coast Regional Manager.

About California Trout

California Trout partners with numerous government agencies, Tribes, and conservation groups to conduct research, habitat restoration and advocacy, to restore vibrance and abundance to California’s freshwater ecosystems and to keep them that way for years to come. Founded in 1971, CalTrout has been working for more than 50 years to protect salmon and steelhead strongholds, reconnect fish habitat, integrate fish and working lands, steward source water areas, and restore estuaries. Learn more at https://caltrout.org.

McKinleyville Community Forest Aquisition 

McKinleyville Community Services District Closes Escrow on McKinleyville Community Forest

 (MCKINLEYVILLE, Calif. – February 2, 2024) On January 31, 2024, the McKinleyville Community Services District (MCSD), Green Diamond Resource Company (Green Diamond), and the Trust for Public Lands (TPL) announced the close of escrow on 599 acres of timberlands in northwestern Humboldt County, slated to become the McKinleyville Community Forest.

In 2015, Green Diamond and TPL, a national nonprofit organization committed to improving public access to nature, announced plans to seek grant funding for a land sale that would establish a public community forest adjacent to the community of McKinleyville. The McKinleyville Community Services District (MCSD), the independent special district that provides water, sewer, parks and recreation, and other services to the McKinleyville area, was identified as the entity best suited to own and manage a community forest.

For nearly a decade, MCSD, TPL and Green Diamond have worked closely to ensure the success of this project. In 2020, the California Natural Resources Agency’s (CNRA) Recreational Trails & Greenways Grant Program awarded a $3.8 million grant to TPL to acquire a tract of Green Diamond property and transfer ownership and management responsibilities to MCSD.

“TPL is proud of our partnership with MCSD and Green Diamond to help realize the vision of the McKinleyville community to ensure this space is protected from development and enhance the environmental and economic benefits of this land for generations to come,” said Guillermo Rodriguez, Vice President for the Pacific Region for Trust for Public Land.

The McKinleyville Community Forest is located within the Widow White Creek and Mill Creek watersheds which are tributary to the Mad River. The forest primarily comprises second- and third-growth Sitka spruce, redwood, and Douglas fir forest and provides habitat for a variety of plant and wildlife species.

“The District is deeply grateful for the efforts of CNRA, TPL, and Green Diamond to get us to this point,” said Patrick Kaspari, MCSD General Manager. “We look forward to stewarding this land for the community and all of our children and children’s children.”

Much like the Arcata and the McKay Community Forests, the McKinleyville Community Forest will be managed for multiple objectives, including public recreation, timber production, water quality, and wildlife habitat protection. Under the guidance of a forest management plan, MCSD will reinvest income generated by timber harvests back into the forest, offsetting costs of trail, access point, and amenity development and maintenance.

Green Diamond is a longstanding private timberland landowner on the North Coast, managing thousands of acres of working forests adjacent to McKinleyville and throughout the Mad River basin.

“We greatly appreciate the opportunity to establish another community forest in Humboldt County,” said Peter Jackson, Green Diamond’s Vice President and General Manager of California Operations. “After years of teamwork with TPL and MCSD, Green Diamond welcomes the close of this land sale and the beginning of a long-term investment in the wellbeing of the McKinleyville community.”

With the land transfer complete, the McKinleyville Community Forest is officially open to the public, with two designated yet undeveloped access points along Murray Road. Note that the Green Diamond timberlands east of the community forest will remain closed to the public.

“It has taken us nine years to get to this point, but now the real work begins,” stated Kaspari. “We invite the public to enjoy the Community Forest and contact us to help plan and implement the trail improvements, watershed restoration, tree planting, and all the other projects that we will be initiating for this community asset.”

Green Diamond Resource Company is a privately held forest products company with roots dating back to 1890. Today, the company owns working forest lands in Washington, Oregon, Montana, and California. A subsidiary, Green Diamond Management Company, provides forest management services in the U.S. South and West. All lands owned and managed by Green Diamond are independently audited and certified for sustainable forest management. More information about Green Diamond's environmental leadership may be found at www.greendiamond.com.

Trust for Public Land (TPL) is a national nonprofit that works to connect everyone to the benefits and joys of the outdoors. As a leader in equitable access to the outdoors, TPL works with communities to create parks and protect public land where they are needed most. Since 1972, TPL has protected more than 4 million acres of public land, created more than 5,364 parks, trails, schoolyards, and iconic outdoor places, raised $93 billion in public funding for parks and public lands, and connected nearly 9.4 million people to the outdoors. To learn more, visit www.tpl.org.

The McKinleyville Community Services District (MCSD), the independent special district that provides water, sewer, parks and recreation, and other services to the unincorporated town of McKinleyville. More information about MCSD ca be found at www.mckinleyvillecsd.ca.gov/.

 Visit our Community Forest Page for more information about this project. 

Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for Fischer Sewer Lift Station Seismic Retrofit Project
 

The McKinleyville Community Services District (MCSD or District) through this Request for Qualifications (RFQ) seeks to select a qualified consulting firm (Consultant) to provide engineering, environmental permitting and other consulting services for the retrofit of existing building, pipes, electrical equipment, pumps, motors and motor control center (MCC) for the Fischer Sewer Lift Station Seismic Retrofit Project. Consultants are encouraged to submit a Statement of Qualifications (SOQ) in accordance with the requirements in the RFQ linked below.

• RFQ Fischer Seismic

MCSD Upcoming Service Line Pipe Material Inspections
 

In 1991, the EPA published the Lead & Copper Rule (LCR) to minimize lead and copper in drinking water. Since then, several revisions have been made to strengthen the LCR, all of which MCSD abides by. For example, the district performs water sampling of the distribution system which get reported in the yearly Consumer Confidence Report (Found on MCSD Website). The District has never seen lead or copper levels exceeding the federal or state maximums in the distribution system. In one of the more recent updates to the LCR, known as the Lead Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR), added a requirement to prepare and maintain an inventory of service line materials by October 16, 2024, for every distribution system in the US, regardless of testing results in the past. Therefore, the District has begun to follow the steps necessary to compile an inventory of all service lines served by its distribution system to satisfy this requirement.
The inspections are scheduled to start around October 20th, 2023, and conclude around January 20th, 2024

For more information, click here

McCluski Tanks Engineering RFQ

The McKinleyville Community Services District through this REquest for Qualifications (RFQ) seeks to select a qualified consulting firm to provide engineering and other consulting services for the replacement fo two existing redwood tanks with town new 200,000 gallon bolted steel tanks. Consultants are encouraged to submit a statement of Qualifications in accordance with the requirments outlined in the following document

4.5 Million Gallon Reservoir Project
 

This project will add a new water storage tank to the existing water distribution system. Below you will find the notice of intent to Adopt Mitigated Negative Declaration as well as draft public document of the Initial Study and Mitigated Negative Declaration.

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BMX Track & Park

Our Parks & Recreation Department was awarded a Prop. 68 Statewide Park Development Grant on December 8, 2021, which will provide $2,331,375 to build a BMX Track and new Park on our Washington Property. This property is 3 acres in size and is located between Washington and School Roads. 

The new park will have an inclusive playground, restrooms, outdoor basketball and pickleball courts, a parking lot and landscaping in addition to the BMX Track and concession stand.

Melton Design Group, Inc. has been awarded the design engineering contract for this project.  The design engineering is almost complete and we anticipate going out for construction bids in Spring of 2024. This new park is expected to be completed before March of 2025.

Grant Contract and CEQA documents for this project are below:

Central Avenue Water & Sewer Main Project

The McKinleyville Community Services District (and their contractor GR Sundberg, Inc.) plans to begin construction on the Central Avenue Water & Sewer Main Project the week of April 24th, 2023.  Work will begin on the new water main to be installed in the Central Avenue center turn lane. The water line will be replaced from Sutter to Hiller. The week of April 24th, GRS will begin by potholing the connection point at Sutter and Central Avenue.  This will be backfilled or plated until the final connection to the existing watermain.  GRS will continue to pothole the week of the 24th and may begin to install the water main from the Sutter/Central intersection and laying to the North.  Traffic will be detoured to the eastern most traffic lane in the North bound direction and no left turns will be allowed through the construction “cone zone.”  Both South bound lanes will be open to traffic. It is anticipated that the mainline installation will take approximately three to four weeks to install, weather permitting.

Public notifications have been completed and submitted to Arcata Fire, Mad River Ambulance, Humboldt Transit Authority, CHP, the Sheriff and the School Districts.  The plan is to notify businesses as we are approaching them with the construction.  There will be no water service interruptions for this first part of work, until the entire water line is installed and tested.  Brief interruptions will happen only when the service is switched to the new pipeline and businesses will be notified prior to the interruption.

Please slow down, be cautious and obey all traffic signs during the construction.  We appreciate your patience and understanding with this important infrastructure replacement project. Please call the District at 707-839-3251 with any questions.

MCSD Microgrid Project

Construction for the Microgrid  project began in 2020 and is nearing completion. As shown with the photo below, progress is being made on the construction of the solar array for the Wastewater Management Facility. This project was funded by a grant/loan from the Stat Water Resources Control Board Energy Efficiency Grant Program. The solar array and batteries will form a microgrid that will be able to power the entire plant. This will save the District roughly ten thousand in electrical costs every month. These savings will convert into savings for all the rate payers. Construction is expected to be completed by this June.

Construction for the Microgrid  project began in 2020 and is nearing completion. As shown with the photo below, progress is being made on the construction of the solar array for the Wastewater Management Facility. This project was funded by a grant/loan from the Stat Water Resources Control Board Energy Efficiency Grant Program. The solar array and batteries will form a microgrid that will be able to power the entire plant. This will save the District roughly ten thousand in electrical costs every month. These savings will convert into savings for all the rate payers. Construction is expected to be completed by this June.

Tesla Battery Storage Project

In early 2021 we began working with Tesla on a batter pack storage installed at our Ramey Water Pump Station and our Fischer Wastewater Lift Station.The Ramey Pump Station, located on North Bank Road, is our main water pump station, which takes the water from Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District from across the river and pumps it up to all of our storage tanks and the rest of the water distribution system.  The Fischer Lift Station is our main sewer pump station that takes a large portion of the wastewater generated in McKinleyville and pumps it up to the Wastewater Management Facility.  These are critical pieces of infrastructure required to make sure you have water to drink and so you can flush your toilet.  Both of these facilities have emergency generators to operate them if we lose power, but now they also have Tesla batteries as backup power.  Not only will the batteries run the stations for over a day if we lose power, but they can also shave power during PG&E Peak periods, which just changed to between 4 and 9 pm.  The peak power shaving should result in savings of around $30,000/year, which directly translates into rate savings for our customers.  The batteries are around 140kW and are the pretty white things in the picture (along with an inverter).

MCSD Sewer and Water Master Plan

Please view the final MCSD Sewer and Water Master Plans here

Mad River Floodplain and Public Access Enhancement Project

This project was initiated to address the decommissiong and reclamation of the Percolation Ponds that are used to discharge treated wastewater under the District's Wastewater Authority. Below you will find the Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) and attachments.

Check out this video of this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9BOJUCfkzY

Hiller Sewer Lift Station Upgrade

Beginning June 29th and continuing until mid August, the upgrade of the Hiller Sewer Lift Station will include the removal of the underground Package Station and installing submersible pumps over the wetwell to improve energy efficency and save operational costs. This will take place adjacent to the Hammond Trail near Hiller Park and the Wastwater Managemetn Facility. (see map)