The Humboldt Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District board will meet Thursday to discuss approving a lease with RTI Infrastructure to provide a landing for up to four fiber-optic cables, including one touted as the world’s longest.

The latter, a project by Trans-Pacific Networks, will link Southeast Asia to the United States, with landfall slated for Eureka in 2021.

In an email, Harbor District Executive Director Larry Oetker wrote that “the Trans-Pacific fiber optic cables will land at the former pulp mill property owned by the Harbor District and connect to the new fiber optic lines that will be installed next year down the Highway 299 corridor. “

Inyo Networks Inc. held a meeting in July of 2019 to discuss its plans to bring broadband to underserved areas of Humboldt County via the so-called “Digital 299” project (read the Times-Standard’s coverage here).

According to the harbor district agenda, the initial lease will run through March 8, 2046, and rent will be the following one-time payments:

• $200,000 initial payment which will be deposited into escrow to purchase Beach property from Simpson Paper Company (APN 401-111-006).

• $425,000 within 45 days of RTI Infrastructure, Inc. receiving discretionary permits for the underground trans-Pacific fiber optic cables.

• $625,000 within 45 days of the 1st cable landing.

• $333,000 within 45 days of each additional cable landing.

“I believe that the high-tech industry and associated high-intensive data users should be a focus for our economic development community,” Oetker wrote in an email. “We need to evaluate, revise and coordinate our high tech and technology business development strategy with the county and cities of Eureka, Arcata, and Fortuna.   We have the potential to establish several new industries associated with this infrastructure.”

Read the agenda and the agenda item materials  for the 6 p.m. special meeting below.

Harbor District Agenda