Redwood Coast Energy Authority is moving ahead with ownership of its Eureka office building even as board materials warn of a widening budget squeeze and uncertainty around staffing for regional climate planning.
In the June 25 board packet, RCEA asks directors to adopt Resolution No. 2026-5 and approve $3.8 million plus closing fees and costs to acquire 718 3rd Street in Eureka. The same packet’s linked May 28 draft minutes say the board already approved that expenditure and accepted the real property interests tied to APN 001-135-007.
Those minutes also record a board discussion warning that the coming fiscal year could bring a $9.4 million operating loss. Directors discussed responses that included minimal rate increases and spending reductions, according to the draft record.
The June 25 materials also say the regional RCAP working group no longer expects to fund an administrator position. RCEA’s executive director report says the agency could still lead implementation if it fills the Director of Engagement and Regional Climate Planning role, and public commenters urged the board not to let that staffing gap slow climate planning.
The property purchase and climate-planning staffing issue sit alongside other major agenda items, including adoption of the fiscal year 2026-27 budget and a set of financial and governance reports. The board packet also includes an information item on a bond-financing structure tied to existing power purchase agreements, but the available materials do not spell out final financing terms for the office purchase.
The June 25 agenda packet is posted on RCEA’s website here, and the linked May 28 packet contains the prior minutes and reports cited above.
