How to resolve AdBlock issue? Supervisors to consider letter regarding rural schools funds, Lakeport Fire appointment and cannabis project appeal
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Board of Supervisors this week will discuss sending a letter to federal officials in a bid to save an important funding stream for Lake County’s schools and roads, along with considering an appointment to the Lakeport Fire Protection District Board and an appeal of the Planning Commission’s denial in December of a cannabis project.The board will meet beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday, April 1, in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.
The meeting can be watched live on Channel 8, online at https://countyoflake.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx and on the county’s Facebook page. Accompanying board documents, the agenda and archived board meeting videos also are available at that link.
To participate in real-time, join the Zoom meeting by clicking this link.
The meeting ID is 865 3354 4962, pass code 726865. The meeting also can be accessed via one tap mobile at +16694449171,,86533544962#,,,,*726865#. The meeting can also be accessed via phone at 669 900 6833.
On the agenda is an untimed item to consider sending a letter of support for H.R. 1383, the Secure Rural Schools Reauthorization Act of 2025.
The bill is cosponsored by Lake County’s member of the House of Representatives, Mike Thompson.
The report to the board from Supervisor Jessica Pyska explains that Secure Rural Schools Act funding “is vital for sustaining essential services, particularly education and infrastructure in rural communities like Lake County's that contain significant federal lands.”
Pyska said that in Fiscal Year 2023, Lake County entities were allocated $465,316.51, in consideration of the 258,602 acres of the Mendocino National Forest located within the county’s boundaries.
Nearly half of that amount was allocated for rural road improvements, Pyska said.
“The Secure Rural Schools program has been instrumental in providing stable funding for our schools and infrastructure, compensating for the decline in timber revenue for more than two decades. Rural roads that ensure access to schools, ingress and egress in the event of wildfire emergencies, and promote rural economic opportunity are maintained using this crucial funding source,” Pyska said in her report.
She said the letter “will demonstrate our Board's strong support for this legislation; public safety, long-term economic vibrancy, and access to critical services will all be affected if it is not reauthorized.”
County staff also recommends the board sign the letter, Pyska’s memo said.
In other business, at 9:30 a.m., the board will consider an appointment to the Lakeport Fire Protection District Board of Directors.
The fire board held a special meeting on March 25 to interview six candidates: Terry Cherney, Gary Deas, Joseph Iaccino, Gregory Scott, Joseph Szupello and Jennifer Williams-Richardson.
In a letter to Supervisor Brad Rasmussen dated March 27, Fire Chief Patrick Reitz reported, “After an in-depth interviewing process with six potential candidates, the Lakeport Fire Protection District Board of Directors motioned to recommend Dr. Joseph Iaccino for the open position on the Lakeport Fire Protection District Board.”
At 10 a.m., the board will hold a public hearing to consider an appeal by Nina Star Farms LLC and Nevelina Bogdanova regarding the Planning Commission’s Dec. 12 denial of a major use permit for the cannabis project, located at 23180 Shady Grove Road, Middletown.
The staff report said the project would include licenses for 37,446 square feet of mixed-light canopy within a 48,529 sf cultivation area and a transport license.
The full agenda follows.
CONSENT AGENDA
5.1: Adopt a proclamation designating April 2025 as Poetry Month in Lake County.
5.2: Adopt proclamation designating the month of April 2025 as Child Abuse Prevention Month.
5.3: Adopt resolution amending Resolution No. 2024-100 establishing position allocations for fiscal year 2024-25, Budget Unit 1012, Administration.
5.4: a) Approve budget transfer of funds in Agricultural Commissioner from 001-2601-726.17.00 in the amount of $5,000 to 001-2601-726.62-74 and authorize chair to sign; and b) approve increase in heavy-duty weight truck capital asset to $30,037.02.
5.5: Approve Amendment No.1 to the agreement between County of Lake and Archway Recovery Services, Inc. for ASAM Levels 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.5 and Withdrawal Management Levels 1 and 2 for FY 2024-25 with no change to the contract maximum and authorize the board chair to sign.
5.6: Adopt resolution authorizing the approval of Amendment 2 to the standard agreement between the Department of Health Care Services and the County of Lake to extend the term date by twelve months for an end date of June 30, 2026, and incorporating revisions to Exhibit A-Program Specifications and authorize the Behavioral Health director to sign the standard agreement amendment.
5.7: Adopt proclamation designating the week of April 6-12, 2025 as National Crime Victims’ Rights Week.
5.8: Approve long-distance travel for Dean Eichelmann, Emergency Preparedness Coordinator, to attend the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) Preparedness Summit in San Antonio, Texas, from April 28 to May 2, 2025.
5.9: Approve the 2025-2026 Juvenile Justice Realignment Block Grant Plan.
5.10: Approve Amendment No. 6 to the Tower and Ground Space License Agreement with AT&T and U.S. Cellular, which includes the county as signatory and ratifies the terms of the fifth amendment for equipment modifications made by U.S. Cellular and authorize the chair to sign.
5.11: Adopt resolution amending Resolution No. 2024-100 establishing position allocations for fiscal year 2024-2025, Budget Unit 8695, Special Districts.
5.12: Sitting as the Lake County Sanitation District Board of Directors, a) Waive the competitive bidding process, pursuant to Lake County Code Section 2-38.4 Cooperative Purchases;
b) authorize Special Districts Administrator/Assistant Purchasing Agent to issue a purchase order not to exceed $170,000 to Peterson CAT for the purchase of a backhoe.
TIMED ITEMS
6.2, 9:03 a.m.: Pet of the Week.
6.3, 9:04 a.m.: New and Noteworthy at the Library.
6.4, 9:06 a.m.: National Poetry Month Poem of the Week.
6.5, 9:10 a.m.: Presentation of proclamation designating April 2025 as Poetry Month in Lake County.
6.6, 9:15 a.m.: Presentation of proclamation designating the week of April 6-12, 2025 as National Crime Victims’ Rights Week.
6.7, 9:20 a.m.: Presentation of proclamation designating the month of April 2025 as Child Abuse Prevention Month.
6.8, 9:30 a.m.: Consideration of appointment to Lakeport Fire Protection District Board of Directors.
6.9, 10 a.m.: Public hearing, consideration of appeal (AB 24-05) of the Planning Commission’s denial of major use permit (UP 20-14), Nina Star Farms, LLC/ Nevelina Bogdanova, applicant and appellant; location: 23180 Shady Grove Road, Middletown (APN 004-006-16).
UNTIMED ITEMS
7.2: Consideration of letter of support for Assembly Bill 993 regarding the Rural Certified Unified Program Agency (CUPA) Reimbursement Program.
7.3: Consideration of letter of support for H.R. 1383, the Secure Rural Schools Reauthorization Act of 2025.
7.4: Consideration of: a) Construction contract with Weeks Drilling & Pump Co. in the amount of $151,500 for a test well for the Spring Valley CSA-2 Water District (Pueblo Trail), and authorize the administrator to sign the contract; b) Construction contract with Weeks Drilling & Pump Co. in the amount of $177,500 for a test well for the North Lakeport CSA-21 Water District (Crystal Lake Way), and authorize the administrator to sign the contract; c) Construction contract with Weeks Drilling & Pump Co. in the amount of $177,500 for a test well for the North Lakeport CSA-21 Water District (Worley), and authorize the administrator to sign the contract.
CLOSED SESSION
8.1: Public employee evaluation: Registrar of Voters Maria Valadez.
8.2: Public employee evaluation: County Librarian Christopher Veach.
8.3: Conference with labor negotiator: a) Chief negotiator: C. Torrez; County negotiators: S. Parker, S. Carter, C. Moreno, P. Samac, and D. Rico; b) Employee organizations: LCDDAA, LCDSA, LCCOA, LCEA, LCSEA, and LCSMA.
8.4: ADDENDUM - Conference with legal counsel: Existing litigation pursuant to Gov. Code sec. 54956.9(d)(1) – In re Wellpath Holdings, Inc., et al.
8.5: ADDENDUM - Conference with legal counsel: Existing litigation pursuant to Gov. Code sec. 54956.9(d)(1) – FERC Proceeding No. P-77, Potter Valley Hydroelectric Project.
8.6: ADDENDUM - Conference with legal counsel: Significant exposure to litigation pursuant to Gov. Code section 54956.9(d)(2), (e)(1) – Two potential cases.
8.7: ADDENDUM - Public employee discipline/dismissal/release.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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Lakeport City Council to consider parcel map for affordable housing site in high fire area
LAKEPORT, Calif. — The Lakeport City Council this week is scheduled to consider a final subdivision map for a property that is slated to be the site of a large affordable housing development and which a new fire map places in the highest fire severity zone in the city limits.The council will meet Tuesday, April 1, at 6 p.m. in the council chambers at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.
The agenda can be found here.
If you cannot attend in person, and would like to speak on an agenda item, you can access the Zoom meeting remotely at this link or join by phone by calling toll-free 669-900-9128 or 346-248-7799.
The webinar ID is 973 6820 1787, access code is 477973; the audio pin will be shown after joining the webinar. Those phoning in without using the web link will be in “listen mode” only and will not be able to participate or comment.
Comments can be submitted by email to
The meeting on Tuesday will begin with a proclamation designating April 2025 as Child Abuse Prevention Month and a presentation by the Lakeport Rotary Club.
On Tuesday’s agenda, the council will hold a public hearing to adopt a resolution approving the final parcel map for the Parkside Subdivision project, next to Westside Community Park.
The resolution calls for dividing the 15.26-acre property at 1310 Craig Ave. into four separate
residential parcels.
In February, the council adopted a resolution approving the issuance of $35 million in facility bonds to help fund the Parkside project, the first phase of which includes 64 units of affordable housing.
The project has faced fierce opposition from neighbors over the lack of roads going in and out of the area, which already has traffic congestion during events.
In September, the developer promised to build a new vehicle access bridge. However, City Manager Kevin Ingram told Lake County News that the current plan only includes an emergency vehicle access bridge, not a bridge with full vehicle access.
Access is particularly important in light of the release last month of a new Cal Fire fire hazard severity zone map for “Local Responsibility Areas,” including Lakeport. That map added more than 600 acres in the city, including where the Parkside development will be located, to the “very high” fire hazard severity zone.
In other business, the Blue Ribbon Committee for the Rehabilitation of Clear Lake will present a slideshow on their activities.
On the consent agenda — items considered noncontroversial and usually accepted as a slate on one vote — are ordinances; minutes of the City Council’s regular meeting on March 18; approval of application 2025-015, with staff recommendations, for the SafeRx Youth Summit event; approval of application 2025-017, with staff recommendations, for the 2025 Health & Wellness Expo; approval of application 2025-018, with staff recommendations, for the Abuelitia’s Kitchen Street Fair; and adoption of a proposed resolution adopting a records retention schedule, and authorizing destruction of certain City records and rescinding Resolution No. 2943 (2024).
The council also will hold a closed session to discuss existing litigation, City of Lakeport et al. v. Amerisourcebergen Drug Corporation et al. and a case involving Amerisourcebergen Drug Corporation.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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East Region Town Hall meets April 2, plans discussion on transportation and park projects
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The East Region Town Hall, or ERTH, will get updates on roads, a new park and general projects when it meets this week.The meeting will take place beginning at 4 p.m. Wednesday, April 2, at the Moose Lodge, located at 15900 Moose Lodge Lane in Clearlake Oaks.
The meeting will be available via Zoom. The meeting ID is 813 6295 6146, pass code is 917658.
The guest speaker for the event will be John Speka, senior transportation planner for the Lake Area Planning Council.
Speka will discuss the Regional Transportation Plan and Active Transportation Plan which
identifies needs and priority projects over the next 20 years for all modes of transportation including streets and roads, highways, bicycle and pedestrian facilities, and public transit.
Also on the agenda is an update on the development of John T. Klaus Park east of Clearlake Oaks. A county meeting was held last week to give updates on the concept design.
In other business, ERTH will discuss updates to its bylaws and website, and a proposed community mailer.
There also will be updates on the Commercial Cannabis Report and Cannabis Ordinance Task Force, General Plan and Shoreline Area Plan, and code enforcement-related matters regarding abandoned RVs, trash and a new county reporting system.
ERTH also will consider a letter of support for the Clearlake Oaks/Schindler Creek Initiative as well as a letter to Public Works regarding High Valley Road.
District 3 Supervisor EJ Crandell also is scheduled to give his monthly report.
ERTH’s next meeting will take place on May 7.
Members are Denise Loustalot, Angela Amaral, Jim Burton, Holly Harris and Maria Kann.
For more information visit the group’s Facebook page.
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March to end with more rain, wind and cold temperatures
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — March is going out with more rain and frosty temperatures.The National Weather Service said Lake County can expect rainfall, wind and overnight frost through the middle of the week.
The forecast calls for rainy conditions through Tuesday night, with up to 2 inches of rain during that time frame.
Rainfall totals in inches for the 48-hour period ending at 1:30 a.m. Monday are as follows:
— High Glade Lookout (above Upper Lake): 0.80.
— Kelseyville: 0.58.
— Knoxville Creek: 0.42.
— Lake Pillsbury: 1.32.
— Lyons Valley: 1.16.
— Middletown: 0.72.
— Upper Lake: 0.64.
Through midweek, windy conditions also are in the forecast, with wind speeds topping 30 miles per hour.
On Monday, temperatures are expected to hover in the 40s during the day and at night, with daytime temperatures continuing in the 40s on Tuesday, dropping into the 30s that night.
Early Wednesday, the National Weather Service said areas of frost are expected, with temperatures forecast to remain in the 30s that night.
From Thursday through Sunday, temperatures will begin to warm up. By Sunday, daytime conditions are expected to reach the low 70s, with nighttime temperatures in the high 40s.
While Lake County can expect more rain and colder temperatures, to the east, areas around Sierras are forecast to see heavy snow this week.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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Community volunteers start to observe and report hitch data
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — As the weather warms and the Clear Lake hitch begins its annual spawn, trained community members are heading to local creeks to observe the threatened species and collect data as part of a community science program.
This year, 31 residents have volunteered to be part of the Community Science Hitch Spawner Observation Survey organized by the Lake County Watershed Protection District, in collaboration with California Department of Fish and Wildlife, or the CDFW.
Each volunteer has adopted at least one preselected observation site and is committed to monitoring the site every week on a chosen day for 10 consecutive weeks, starting the week of March 9.
The observation points are spread throughout the county, from Burns Valley Creek to Schindler Creek, Clayton Creek to Scotts Creek, totaling 33 public sites and two private property-sponsored sites, covering a wide range of local tributaries.
The volunteers have attended mandatory training sessions, including in-class and on-field components. They learned how to identify hitch — distinguishing them from other fish in the local streams such as the Sacramento sucker — as well as how to observe environmental factors and use the Survey 123 system to report their findings.
This program of community science is “a form of research that provides everyone, regardless of their background, an opportunity to contribute meaningful data to further our scientific understanding of key issues,” said Chris Childers of Lake County Water Resources — who is one of the hitch program coordinators — during a public presentation on March 13.
Childers noted that the volunteers this year came all from “over the board” in terms of their backgrounds, including a district supervisor, a park ranger, tribal members and agricultural community members
Such community outreach and involvement play a crucial part in hitch preservation, Childers said.
“The more we can get the community involved, and the more we can educate them about these fish, the better the restoration is going to go in the future,” he said. “If nobody knows about this fish, then nobody’s going to care, right?”
Childers said this is the program’s first year and that it will continue annually.
Reporting hitch activity, scientifically
State and local agencies such as the CDFW, Lake County Water Resources, Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake and Robinson Rancheria all have their own hitch monitoring and surveying programs. Most of them are conducted by hitch experts.
The community observation survey, however, is designed for public participation.
“Theirs is much simpler. I just want 10 weeks of data collection; I just want to know if hitches are present and how many of them are there. So I made it very, very easy for them,” Childers explained in a phone call, adding that the expert version of hitch survey is “more technical.”
“We collect water quality, which means, dissolved oxygen and temperature and pH — these kinds of parameters,” he said. “But for the community scientists, a water quality probe can be anywhere from $5,000 to $30,000 right? I'm not gonna expect people to purchase that kind of equipment.”
Yet, the community scientists make meaningful contributions to monitoring relative hitch population trends over time that will help with “long term management decisions” related to the hitch, Childers said in his presentation.
Such monitoring is beneficial because “we want to see [hitch] presence/absence before and after creek restoration projects and barrier removal efforts,” he said.
Data collected from the volunteers across the sites will also help answer key questions such as: When do hitch enter specific creeks? How long do they remain in each creek?
Observations from the field
“The first two weeks, I didn’t see any hitch,” said District 4 Supervisor Brad Rasmussen, who is also a volunteer. “And then this week, on Monday, I observed 25 hitches from the observation point.”
Rasmussen’s site is Adobe Creek at Bill Hill Road. He has chosen Sunday as his observation day and usually arrives at noon. But it is OK to deviate by a day, he mentioned, recalling from the training he received.
Childers said that reporting from a day before or after the chosen day is “not a problem.” But going to the site on the same day is the ideal.
“To keep it standardized, the same day is what we’re asking for,” said Childers. “That’s how you eliminate bias from a survey.”
Rasmussen also learned that it is recommended to go to the site between 10 a.m and 4 p.m. because “the sun’s higher and it’s easier to see on the water.”
The observers have been trained to be precise in their reporting.
“I did see more hitch up above the observation point,” said Rasmussen. “But when you’re doing the data entry, you know you have to just report what is from the survey point that you’re assigned.”
So he reported 25 hitches for his site last week with pictures of the fish and the environment. As required, he also uploaded pictures he took of the downstream and upstream from where he stood.
When it comes to identifying hitch in the creek, Rasmussen said he was very confident.
“So that's part of the training to learn what the difference is. And once you learn that, you can easily identify,” he said.
“I’m interested in the hitch and what’s happening with them,” said Rasmussen of why he volunteered. “And also, just to help support the program.”
In fact, the community scientists are asked to report information more than just the number of hitches they see.
They can report mortalities — if they see dead fish, or anything alarming such as trash or oil on the water, Childers explained.
Childers said he was “amazed” and “impressed” by the data quality from the first few weeks’ reporting.
“Just everything that came in the reports were very similar to what I have been seeing in the creeks right now,” he said.
“It could go south or it could go well,” Childers said, referring to the uncertainties surrounding this first-time program. “And it’s going well. So our department is really, really happy about everything that’s going on.”
Email staff reporter Lingzi Chen at
Hitch video by Rebecca Harper of the Lake County Farm Bureau.
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