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County officials respond to reports of price gouging in fire area
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The county of Lake is reminding community members that an anti-rent gouging ordinance the Board of Supervisors passed last year remains in effect to the county's state of emergency.
During the first Lake County Long-Term Recovery Task Force meeting dedicated to Clayton fire survivors on Wednesday, concerns were raised about new reports of rent gouging, to take advantage of the housing shortage brought on by all the recent wildfire disasters.
Similar concerns were raised early on in recovery from the Valley fire and in response, on Oct. 6, 2015, the Lake County Board of Supervisors unanimously adopted Ordinance No. 3033, reaffirming state law which, during a state of emergency, makes it unlawful for any person to rent or lease a dwelling unit in the unincorporated areas of the county for more than average retail price.
District 5 Supervisor and Recovery Co-Coordinator Rob Brown reminded the public that this ordinance is still in effect.
In keeping with California Penal Code Section 396, the “anti-price gouging statute,” Ordinance No. 3033 also makes it unlawful to evict an existing tenant in order to rent a dwelling unit, in an unincorporated area, for more than the average retail price.
Average retail price is the rental price for the dwelling unit during the 30-day period immediately preceding the state of emergency.
Violation of Ordinance No. 3033 is a misdemeanor, punishable by fine up to $20,000. Violation of California Penal Code Section 396 may result in up to one year in jail, a fine of $10,000 or both.
Additionally, such a violation can lead to a civil enforcement action as an unlawful business practice and an act of unfair competition which warrants an additional penalty of up to $5,000 per violation.
Brown said reports of violations will be forwarded to the District Attorney's Office for investigation.
“During these unprecedented disasters, now is a time when our community must come together and support each other – as so many have and continue to do so. All landlords are called upon to do the same,” Brown said.
Clearlake City Council to let vacant seat be filled by November election
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake City Council decided on Thursday not to immediately fill a vacant seat on the council but to let the voters decide in November.
Earlier this month, Gina Fortino Dickson ended her service on the council after moving to Sonoma County, as Lake County News has reported.
Fortino Dickson's seat is up for reelection during the Nov. 8 municipal election, along with the seats currently held by Nick Bennett and Joyce Overton.
The council had two main options to consider: taking applications to fill the seat, as it had done when selecting Bennett to succeed Denise Loustalot, who left the council in March; or calling a special election to fill the seat.
After a brief presentation by City Manager Greg Folsom, and based on city staff's recommendations, the council chose the latter option – to follow the special election route, which in actuality will just be the municipal election on Nov. 8.
With the fall election about two and a half months away, council members felt that it was close enough that it would be best to let voters decide, and to save staff the effort of the recruitment process.
Councilman Bruno Sabatier asked if the council had to make decisions on any large projects, like the environmental impact report for the Walmart expansion and the city's new general plan, before the election. Folsom said those issues would come up afterward.
“I think it's better not to waste our staff time” and wait until the November election, said Sabatier, who moved to approve the resolution calling for the special election, which the council approved 4-0.
Later in the meeting, the council agreed with a suggestion from Folsom to place the selection of a new vice mayor on an upcoming agenda.
Also on Thursday, Mayor Russ Perdock recognized local and state official and city staff who contributed to the Clayton fire response.
Among those honored were Cal Fire Unit Shana Jones and Battalion Chief Mike Wink. Wink noted that the evacuation plan implemented in Clearlake during the Clayton fire was the same one created for Rocky fire. He said city Public Works Director Doug Herren and his crew worked well with Cal Fire.
Herren said his staff put in long hours, noting that at one point they worked 24 hours straight. Lakeport's Public Works crew then came to offer its assistance.
Perdock also recognized the efforts of the Clearlake Police Department.
Lt. Tim Celli, the agency's acting chief, said he had been out of town when the fire broken out. He had left Sgt. Tim Hobbs and Sgt. Martin Snyder in charge, and the two men successfully implemented the evacuation plan.
Celli said Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen and District Attorney Don Anderson both called him to ask what they could do to help, and sent their own staff to assist.
Rasmussen himself would work on patrol, and Anderson told Lake County News that he sent several of his investigators over to conduct patrols in the evacuated area.
Celli said that, while the portion of the Avenues was evacuated, no burglaries were reported and there were 22 arrests for various charges.
City Manager Greg Folsom worked around the clock during the fire, and also received special kudos from Perdock.
Perdock recognized Overton, who is director at the Highlands Senior Center, which had acted as an evacuation shelter until power was cut to the evacuation area. Perdock said the city needs to make modifications to the building to ensure there is a power supply in such cases in the future. Overton in turn thanked her staff.
Others lauded by Perdock included the city's animal control staff, Lakeport City Manager Margaret Silveira, Lake County Fire Chief Willie Sapeta, Sheriff Brian Martin and state Sen. Mike McGuire.
Later during the council members' reports, Sabatier said that during the evacuations he went down to the parks to check on the evacuees and found the city's engineer, Bill Clemans, had driven his boat across the lake – because he couldn't get there by road – to get to the city and offer his help.
Bennett, who lives in the area of Clearlake evacuated during the fire, said that while traffic was bumper to bumper, it was an orderly process.
In other news, the council approved a memorandum of understanding with North Coast Opportunities to locate a food node – a 20-foot retrofitted shipping container for cold storage of produce dropped off by local farmers – at the Highlands Senior Services Center on Bowers Avenue.
The node, which will be operated at no cost to the city – including power, which NCO will cover – is part of the MendoLake Food Hub project.
Overton said the location of the food node is part of the senior center's effort to purchase more locally produced food.
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Clearlake City Council to discuss filling vacant seat
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake City Council is set to discuss options for filling the seat recently vacated by a council member's move out of county.
The council will meet for a closed session at 5:30 p.m. to discuss a performance evaluation of City Manager Greg Folsom before the open portion of the meeting begins at 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 25, in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.
On Thursday, the council will discuss what steps to take to address the seat vacated by Vice Mayor Gina Fortino Dickson, who moved to Sonoma County. Her resignation was effective as of Aug. 12, as Lake County News has reported.
City Clerk Melissa Swanson's report to the council explains that there are options for filling the seat, from an appointment to a special election. The seat is up for election this November.
If the council chooses to make an appointment, Swanson said she would advertise the vacancy and take applications.
An ad hoc committee consisting of the mayor, another council member and the planning commission chair would recommend up to three applicants, and the council would make the final appointment by a majority vote, she said.
That was the process followed when the council filled the seat formerly held by Denise Loustalot, who left the council in March after moving just outside of the city limits. Nick Bennett was appointed to succeed her.
In her written report, Swanson recommends that the council adopt a resolution calling a special election to fill the vacancy. “By law, this special election would have to occur on November 8, 2016, which is the date when Vice Mayor Fortino Dickson's term would have expired. Therefore, the seat would remain vacant until the regularly scheduled election on November 8, 2016.”
While normally a special election would have extra costs, in this case it wouldn't, since a municipal election already is planned for that date, Swanson explained.
Swanson's report provides the council with two alternative resolutions – one to leave the seat vacant until the November election and one directing the city clerk to solicit applications.
Also on Thursday, the council will consider approving a memorandum of understanding with North Coast Opportunities – which is developing and administering the MendoLake Food Hub project – to operate a “food node” at the Highlands Senior Services Center on Bowers Avenue.
Folsom's report to the council explains that the cold storage node will serve as an aggregation point for local farmers to drop off produce that will be picked up by a delivery service.
He said the nodes are retrofitted 20-foot shipping containers. The one placed at the center only will service wholesale accounts, so there will be no retail transactions nor individual consumers at the node.
There is no financial impact to the city, as NCO will cover its own costs, Folsom said.
On the meeting's consent agenda – items considered noncontroversial and usually accepted as a slate on one vote – are warrant registers; response to the grand jury report; and an amendment to the Price Consulting services contract.
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Supervisor Brown leads fundraising effort to help students impacted by Clayton fire
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Supervisor Rob Brown is leading a fundraising effort to make sure that children in the Konocti Unified School District who lost everything in the Clayton fire have what they need as they head back to school.
The district's schools were delayed by a week in starting the new school year because of the Clayton fire, which damaged some school facilities in Lower Lake.
Konocti Unified's schools in Clearlake and Clearlake Oaks returned to session on Monday. Lower Lake schools opened for the school year on Tuesday, with firefighters and deputies there to greet them as they arrived for classes, along with therapy dogs Dinah and Eddie and their human, Mike Curran.
Brown, who chairs the Board of Supervisors this year and is acting as co-recovery coordinator with County Administrative Officer Carol Huchingson, said he's worked with the district to identify how many of its students lost everything in the Clayton fire.
He said that number totals 54 children.
Brown decided to organize a shopping trip for those children at Walmart in Clearlake at 4 p.m. Wednesday.
He said he contacted Russ Cremer of the Lake Area Rotary Club Association, or LARCA, which has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in response to last summer's wildland fires and is now turning its efforts toward the Clayton fire.
LARCA immediately stepped up to contribute $10,000 toward the effort, Brown said.
Brown set a goal of raising another $10,000 himself by noon on Wednesday to support the shopping trip.
He said he wants to give the children a chance to go and pick for themselves the new clothes and shoes they want – and need – for school.
In addition, Brown said Lake County Fair Chief Executive Officer Debbie Strickler will be at Walmart on Wednesday to give the children tickets for the upcoming fair and for rides on the midway.
On Tuesday evening, just hours after he announced the trip and his fundraiser, Brown said help already was pouring in from residents around Lake County.
Even so, he wasn't letting up with his outreach, as he said any additional funds can go to help other needs that arise for the fire survivors.
“We're just trying to meet needs as we go along,” he said.
For those who would like to help, call Brown at 707-349-2628 or private message him via text or on Facebook. Checks in any amount can be made out directly to Walmart.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
