by Brad Butterfield
California’s Division of Boating and Waterways (DBW) alleges that Cal Poly Humboldt has been misusing the Humboldt Bay Aquatic Center (HBAC) for its scenic views and now swanky administrative office space – thanks to a recent $412,000 renovation. The university is not, the breach of contract notice charges, fulfilling its commitment to boating instruction and safety training.
“[Cal Poly Humboldt] is not using the [HBAC] for the purposes for which the building was funded, or for which the property was leased from the city and approved by the state lands commission,” stated a notice of breach of contract notice sent to Cal Poly Humboldt President Tom Jackson Jr. in Dec. 2023. The notice outlined the key problem – that without notice nor written approval, which is required by the operating agreement, Cal Poly Humboldt transformed boater-funded classrooms, offices and storage spaces into alumni fundraising offices, private club rowing, storage of private club vessels and support for private university fundraising activities.
In understanding the breach of contract, it is helpful to recognize the complex web of involvement at the HBAC between the city of Eureka, the state of California and Cal Poly Humboldt. In summary, the Department of Boating and Waterways put forth $4.067 million to fund the construction of the facility, as well as $702,000 since 2003 to offset the costs of the university’s ongoing boating instruction and safety training. Cal Poly Humboldt leases the land the facility sits upon from the city of Eureka. Though the HBAC is fully owned and operated by the university, an operating agreement between the DBW and the university, as well as a lease agreement between Eureka and the university, outline specific guidelines for the expected uses of the facility, many of which have not been fulfilled by the university, according to DBW.
The operating agreement was signed in 2003 and it expires in 2028. While uses of the HBAC have consistently evolved, the university’s costly renovation to create office space for top administrators conflicts with the contracted uses of the HBAC, according to the breach of contract notice. Section 5 of the operating agreement states that the university shall operate the HBAC as a boating instruction and safety center, providing two key functions: (1) boating and water safety instruction for the general public as well as university students, faculty and staff and (2) recreational services, provided that it does not interfere with the boating and waterway safety instruction courses.
Furthermore, the operating agreement states that any material alterations or improvements to the Humboldt Bay Aquatic Center must have the prior written approval from DBW. The university did not obtain written approval for changes made at the HBAC, however the university did mention the Advancement Division’s move to the Eureka waterfront property on at least two occasions, according to DBW. First, in March 2022, the university told DBW that university fundraising teams had temporarily moved into the HBAC conference rooms, due to the pandemic. In September 2022, the university informed DBW that cubicles had been moved into the second floor classrooms of the HBAC for the Alumni Relations department, while the extended education program, OLLI, had been moved to campus. The DBW alleges that Cal Poly Humboldt has denied their recent request to inspect the building. DBW’s last inspection of the HBAC occurred on Aug. 15, 2018.
Additionally, the breach of contract notice highlighted the university’s failure to share copies of financial records showing investments and modifications to the HBAC. These records were requested on Sept. 20, 2022 during a conference call with Frank Whitlatch, Cooper Jones, and Tim Downs, according to the DBW. The records had still not been shared with DBW at the time of mailing the breach of contract notice on Dec. 19, 2023. Frank Whitlatch, vice president & executive director of the University Foundation, did not respond to an interview request.
Cal Poly Humboldt’s Response
On Feb. 8, Cal Poly Humboldt sent the requested financial records as well as a letter written by Nick Pettit, executive director of athletics and campus recreation, which directly responded to many of the issues raised by the DBW.
“While DBW claims that the University provides ‘negligible [HBAC]-offered public access and boating services,’ the numbers and the facts show otherwise,” Pettit said in his response.
Cal Poly Humboldt shared multiple Aquatic Center Grants Annual Report’s showing the tally of individuals who had enrolled in HBAC provided boating safety courses: 2020 (124 individuals), 2021 (70 individuals), 2022 (800 individuals), and 2023 (465 individuals).
In contrast, DBW’s investigation displayed a lack of courses available to the general public.
“As of Dec. 2023, the Department of Boating and Waterways’ internet searches did not reveal that courses were, or had been, available to the general public,” Adeline Yee, information officer for California State Parks, said. “Aquatic Center annual reports informed DBW that some private groups, school groups, and non-profit groups used the docks and outdoor areas of the HBAC for boating classes during that time frame.”
During DBW’s Feb. 1 search for current courses offered to students and the general public, they found that the five sailing courses are currently being offered by the HBAC, with a max capacity of 26 students between the five courses.
For context, DBW highlighted that a similar DBW investment, Sacramento State University’s Aquatic Center at Lake Natoma, teaches approximately 6,600 students annually.
In response, the university noted the higher enrollment at Sacramento State as well as the larger population of Sacramento County.
Aileen Yoo, Director of News and Information for Cal Poly Humboldt, confirmed that boating and outdoor programs have seen a slight decrease in participation in the 2023-24 academic year.
Pettit noted that the university has spent over $44,000 on student staffing since July 2021 for equipment rentals, while only bringing in $20,801 in revenue. More broadly, the university disagreed with DBW’s interpretation of the operating guidelines.
“To the extent DBW asserts that the agreement requires that the University exclusively use the HBAC for those activities, the agreement has no such language. While it provides that the ‘University shall operate the PROJECT as a Boating Instruction and Safety Center,’ this does not mean that the University cannot utilize portions of the HBAC for other University purposes,” Pettit said in his response.
If anything can be agreed upon in the chaos, it is that the university has indeed used the HBAC for a plethora of uses over the last two decades. Eureka City Manager Miles Slattery said that the HBAC had previously taught classes in everything from home economics to cooking when the non-profit University Center managed the facility (currently, the HBAC is managed by Cal Poly Humboldt).
“[When] the University Center ran it, I would venture to say that there was an equal amount of non-complying uses, if not more,” Slattery said. “I think that somebody could have previously made the same accusations.”
Acknowledging that the catalyst for the breach of contract notice appeared to be the university Advancement Division’s move to the HBAC, Pettit emphasized that this move had not negatively affected boating and waterway safety instruction.
Advancement Division moves into the HBAC
The Advancement Division now uses 1,906 square feet of cubicle space, two waterfront offices and a renovated 606 square foot first-floor lobby in the HBAC, according to construction documents obtained through public record requests. The university spent $80,849 on furniture and supplies for the new office spaces created for the Advancement Division, including $11,076 on new chairs. The first-floor, waterfront office previously used by Center Activities is now occupied by Stephanie Lane, executive director of Alumni Relations. Lane did not respond to an interview request. An existing storage room on the first floor was modified and expanded to create a new office for Center Activities.
On five separate visits to the HBAC by a Lumberjack reporter, access was never given to the modifications made to the second floor to accommodate the university Advancement Division. More importantly, no representatives from Center Activities were present during any of these five visits to the HBAC. To schedule a viewing of the new office spaces on the second floor, Lane advised contacting Travis Flemming, director of Facilities Management. Neither Flemming nor Building & Program Coordinator Danielle Muniz responded to a request for an interview. Likewise, none of the 20 Advancement Division employees contacted for an interview granted one.
Pettit’s response to DBW concluded by stating that the university is open to an inspection of the HBAC, but emphasized that advanced notice and the presence of representatives from both parties was crucial. Pettit was contacted for an interview, but deferred to the university News and Information department for answers.
The breach of contract notice gives the university 90 days, until March 29, to remedy the noted breaches.
“The DBW looks forward to the HBAC being restored to a public access resource and the purposes for which it was constructed and the revitalization of a vibrant publicly accessible boating education program that stimulates boating recreation and safety in the north coast region,” Yee said in an email.
Read Brad Butterfield’s first article about the Humboldt Bay Aquatic Center here. https://thelumberjack.org/2023/11/29/the-aquatic-centers-412000-facelift/
View Cal Poly Humboldt’s response to the breach of contract notice here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Gffpqn8160L7i9_FRS-zsRTn9tm_KiOh/view?usp=sharing
The breach of contract notice sent to Cal Poly Humboldt:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/12WhySGie9_-oeLVoN69WkTXbnrVznpA_/view?usp=drive_link
The operating agreement between Cal Poly Humboldt and DBW:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zLN2rxxpcYT3t1MWZAZ2GQDFTnGUjOm7/view?usp=drive_link
One Comment
Great informative article! It’s always fun to see what new debacle the school can find themselves in. Great job reporting on both sides of the issue.