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Public Works
Mission Statement
The Humboldt County Department of Public Works' mission is to provide services to the residents of Humboldt County in a cooperative and responsive method within available resources.
Overview
The responsibilities of the Public Works Department include preparing plans and specifications, inspecting construction projects, maintaining county roads and bridges, managing county properties and right-of-way, preparing environmental documents, obtaining regulatory permits, administering solid waste franchises and facilities and maintaining three county levee systems, county facilities, 17 county parks, county trail systems and community forests, Motor Pool and the Heavy Equipment Garage.
ADA Access Service Request for County Maintained Roads
Do you need to report an accessibility problem with a county maintained road? Use the form below to submit a request electronically or call the Department's Road Maintenance Division at 707-445.7421.
If the problem is related to road maintenance (such as reporting a pothole) and not ADA accessibility, use the Request for Service on County Maintained Roads Form. (See the next section below.)
Request for Service on County Maintained Roads Form (Potholes, etc...)
Need to report a pothole or other road problem? Fill out the Request for Service on County Maintained Roads Form (Potholes, etc...).
If the problem is related to ADA accessibility, use the ADA Access Service Request for County Maintained Roads Form. (See the section above.)
Request for Service on County Maintained Roads Form (Potholes, etc...) Opens a New Window.
The Administration/Business Division provides administrative, accounting, and clerical support for the Public Works Department. [more]
The goal of the Engineering Division is to implement efficient and cost effective services to preserve and enhance our county roads, bike paths and sidewalks. Engineering staff works closely with the other divisions to provide professional engineering services.
The Environmental Services division of the Public Works Department is responsible for environmental permitting and compliance, resource management, natural hazard planning and mitigation and recreation facilities. These responsibilities include serving as the regional grant administrator for the seven-county North Coast Resource Partnership and coordinator of the Humboldt County Fire Safe Council.
The Facilities Management Division provides the services necessary to ensure safe, healthy and comfortable buildings for both County of Humboldt employees and the public. These services are delivered by three sections: Capital Projects, Building Maintenance and Real Property.
Facilities Management works closely with all county departments in order to manage an extensive portfolio of over 100 buildings and 1.5 million square feet of space.
Capital Projects
Staff manage, direct and implement the design and construction at county buildings. Projects range from very small improvement projects at existing facilities to multi-year, multi-million-dollar, new construction projects from the ground up.
The work includes feasibility studies, programming and criteria development, managing project stakeholders and consultants, design and construction document preparation, cost estimating, awarding and administering construction contracts, quality control and project closeout activities.
Building Maintenance
This section oversees all maintenance, repair and custodial activities across the county's extensive facilities portfolio. This work often requires immediate action in order to keep critical facilities operational, and it is conducted day and night across the entire geography of Humboldt County.
Maintenance mechanics are skilled technicians who tackle a variety of projects including carpentry, HVAC, plumbing and electrical work. Maintenance custodians keep county facilities clean and orderly. Led by a small but dedicated management staff, this team of hard-working county employees often work late into the night, and are on-call 24 hours a day, keeping our facilities operational when emergencies strike.
Real Property
Staff manage the county's portfolio of leased real estate, with over 80 active leases for many different county departments. This requires daily action to manage contractual obligations and ensure that leases are negotiated, amended and executed in a timely fashion and in accordance with rules and regulations.
In addition to leased facilities, real property also manages the acquisition of new property and sale or surplus of existing county property.
The Land Use Division has three sections: Land Development Projects, County Surveyor's Office and Right of Way.
The Land Development Projects Section contains the Encroachment Permit Office. The Encroachment Permit office issues encroachment permits, transportation permits, and special event permits; ensures that frontage improvements are built for new development that fronts County maintained roads; ensures that new driveway locations meet county standards; investigates unauthorized encroachments such as fences, visibility obstructions and non-permitted work within the County maintained road system.
The section also reviews project referrals from the Planning & Building Department for proposed subdivisions and other development projects; prepares conditions of approval for subdivisions; reviews and approves subdivision improvement plans and reports; inspects subdivision improvements; reviews project referrals from the Planning & Building Department for impacts to facilities maintained by the Public Works Department; prepares conditions of approval for development projects; calculates McKinleyville drainage fees for subdivisions and building permits; meets and confers with the public and Planning & Building Department staff regarding improvements and conditions of approval; and represents the Public Works Department at Planning Commission meetings.
The County Surveyor's Office reviews and approves Final Maps (Tract Maps), Parcel Maps, Legal Descriptions, Boundary Corrections, and Corner Records. The office maintains an index of surveys and maps; maintains the unrecorded survey library; and oversees the Survey Monument Preservation Fund.
The office conducts topographic surveys, construction staking surveys, monument preservation surveys, and boundary surveys for various County improvement projects. The office prepares legal descriptions, maps, plats, and exhibits associated with right of way easement and real property purchases. Note that the office does not survey private property
IMPORTANT NOTE: The County Surveyor does not survey private property. Contact a licensed land surveyor for this work. The Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors and Geologists has published a consumer guide to aid the public in selecting a licensed land surveyor.
The Right of Way Section maintains the county maintained road system right of way records; acquires easements for road improvement projects; and vacates unnecessary right of way.
The Roads and Fleet Services Division has two sections:
The Roads Division helps provide safe roads for the residents of Humboldt County and performs routine maintenance for all county roads and bridges. The division also provides critical disaster response services during storms and other emergency events.
Fleet Services has two arms: Heavy Equipment and Motor Pool. Fleet Services provides competitive procurement, maintenance and disposal of road construction equipment to ensure safe operating equipment. The heavy equipment maintenance garage maintains 120 pieces of heavy equipment, plus approximately 100 pieces of support equipment, primarily serving the Road Maintenance team. The heavy equipment shop also manages a storehouse of parts. Motor pool oversees a fleet of 400+ vehicles that are used by county employees for official county business. Motor Pool is also responsible for transitioning the fleet to zero emissions.
The Solid Waste Division is dedicated to delivering efficient, effective, and environmentally responsible waste management services to the community. Our goal is to enhance sustainability, safeguard public health, and protect the county's natural beauty through innovative waste reduction, recycling, edible food recovery, development of organics recycling, and diversion systems, as well as infrastructure and policies.
As part of California's legislative efforts to reduce the climate impact by minimizing organic waste in landfills, SB1383 requires substantial reductions in organic waste disposal and an increase in food recovery. Humboldt County is dedicated to these state goals and has launched various programs to ensure adherence and promote a sustainable community. Sending food waste to landfills generates methane, a potent short-lived climate pollutant that is 84 times more impactful than carbon dioxide and significantly contributes to climate change effects in California. In fact, organic food waste in landfills is responsible for 20% of the state's methane emissions
We manage franchise and container site contracts with waste haulers and recycling entities and are part of the Joint Powers Authority (JPA) of the Humboldt Waste Management Authority. Collaborating with other cities and jurisdictions within the Humboldt County Solid Waste Task Force, we endeavor to implement solutions and strategies that ensure the county, and its jurisdictions not only meet but also surpass the state's SB1383 mandate.
The Humboldt County Parks and Trails system features 17 park units (nearly 950 acres) and the five-mile-long Hammond Trail in McKinleyville. County Parks include ten beach parks, five parks with river access, five boat ramps and five campgrounds.
The McKay Community Forest contains approximately 1,194 acres and is located southeast of Eureka within the watershed of Ryan Creek, a tributary of Humboldt Bay (overview map). The Community Forest is situated along the urban interface with residential and commercial areas of Myrtletown, Cutten and Ridgewood Heights. The Community Forest was established in 2014 for multiple purposes including public access and recreation, timber harvest and watershed and resource conservation.
The Community Forest is envisioned as a place for Humboldt County residents and visitors of all ages and abilities to enjoy walking, hiking, mountain-biking, wheeling (on approved mobility devices), horseback-riding, learning and connecting with the natural world. The Community Forest is intended to enhance the quality of life by providing opportunities to experience a diverse, dynamic and productive forest.