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Lakeport Police logs: Saturday, Jan. 10
Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026
00:00 EXTRA PATROL 2601100001
Occurred at Lake County Law Library on 3D....
Power upgrade project on Mount Konocti close to completion
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The county of Lake is nearing completion on a power facilities upgrade on the top of Mount Konocti.
The project is running new power facilities to the Buckingham Peak area, where the county of Lake hosts telecommunications facilities rented to carriers like AT&T.
Earlier this month, residents saw a helicopter putting new power poles in place. Chief Deputy County Administrative Officer Jeff Rein said the poles were placed by a county-hired contractor.
The work necessitated partially closing Mount Konocti County Park for a few days earlier this month.
Rein said “limited access” was needed at the park because of the helicopter work that took place for a few hours on April 5 and 7.
The staging area was located next to a park restroom. “So, we definitely did not the public being put at risk,” Rein said.
As part of the project, Pacific Gas and Electric spokeswoman Megan McFarland said the company is upgrading a power line that runs from the bottom of the Riviera West subdivision to the top of Mount Konocti.
According to documents presented to the Board of Supervisors in January, AT&T approached the county four years ago about upgrading the electric utility service to the Buckingham Peak site, which includes a county-owned tower and equipment building, and an AT&T-owned tower and equipment buildings, the latter located on property leased from the county.
Rein's report to the board for that January meeting explained that the county's electric utility service at that point had only enough capacity to support the county’s own tower and equipment building, which required AT&T and its tenant, US Cellular, to use propane generator 24 hours a day to support their operations.
“The long-term financial cost of continuously running generators as well as the resulting impact to air quality provided AT&T and US Cellular with incentive to invest in such an upgrade,” Rein reported.
Project benefits also include replacement of power poles that Rein said were than 40 years old.
Rein told Lake County News that the power poles were so severely deteriorated that several of them simply fell over when the county's contractor removed the guy wires.
Previously, the restricted power capacity limited the county's ability to support additional tenants at the facility, according to Rein's report.
The project also includes the installation of a newer type of power line to provide for more efficient power delivery, and it will secure the long-term tenancy of AT&T and US Cellular, which pays the county $51,000 per year, according to county documents.
In addition to not running on generators around the clock, having the power upgrade will eliminate weekly trips to deliver fuel, which Rein said provides the additional benefit of reducing wear and tear to the road and improves safety of those otherwise using the road – including hikers, bikers and other vehicles.
AT&T had evaluated undergrounding the project, but it abandoned that plan after it was estimated to cost $2.1 million, according to Rein's report.
The county then pursued having the power poles and overhead utility lines replaced, with the total project budget coming out at $745,000. AT&T verbally committed to funding this approach if it was reasonable, according to Rein. Also assisting in covering the cost is another county licensee on the mountain, T-Mobile.
The board approved the plans and hired Northern California Power Co. to do the work, which began in early February, Rein said.
Part of the work also included acquiring an easement and right-of-way, Rein said.
Barring the unexpected, Rein anticipates the county’s contractor to complete its scope of work no later than April 25, with PG&E also on track, he said.
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Clearlake City Council to hold special meeting on sales tax polling effort, property purchase
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake City Council is set to hold a special meeting to discuss a polling effort on a sales tax proposal and the purchase of a property to house, among other things, the city's animal control operations.
The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 21, in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.
The firm Fairbanks, Maslin, Maullin, Metz and Associates will present to the council the outcome of a transportation sales tax polling effort.
Public Works Director Doug Herren's report to the council explains that last year the council created a Road Revenue Ad Hoc Committee to explore ways to fund repairs to the city's crumbling road infrastructure, with one of those options being a sales tax measure.
Late in 2015, the city received funding through the Area Planning Council to contract with the firm to do an extensive phone survey “to see if there was the support to move forward with a road tax measure that would only fund road infrastructure needs,” Herren said.
The results of the survey were positive, which led to the ad hoc committee recommending to the city council that a one-cent sales tax specific to road maintenance should be put on the November ballot.
The consulting firm will go over the results with the council on Thursday and answer questions, with staff asking for direction from the council on how to proceed.
Also on Thursday, the council will consider a resolution appropriating Series A bond funds for a contract to purchase a 21-acre property at 2185 Ogulin Canyon Road.
The negotiated price for the property is $251,000, which closing costs and percolation testing bringing the total cost to $260,000.
The report from City Manager Greg Folsom explains that the property is intended to be used for an animal control facility, as well as a new city corporation yard and police department storage facility.
Currently, the city's corporation yard, police storage and temporary animal shelter are located at the Public Works yard at the city-owned airport property. The city is working with a developer interested in purchasing and developing the property, which will make it necessary to move those city facilities elsewhere, according to Folsom.
The Ogulin Canyon Road property is within the Highlands Park Redevelopment Project Area, which Folsom said will allow the city to use the Series A bond proceeds for the purchase.
Folsom said city staff has been engaged in negotiations for the property for several months, and is still in the process of conducting due diligence studies.
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Clearlake Planning Commission to discuss warming center, homeless shelter requirements
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake Planning Commission this week will consider establishing appropriate regulations for warming centers and homeless shelters.
The commission will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 19, in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.
Manager Greg Folsom's report to the commission explains that the Clearlake City Council has asked the commission to come up with a recommendation for zoning and regulating warming centers as well as homeless shelters.
A warming center operated in the city for several months beginning in December 2013, Folsom noted in his report.
“By all accounts, the center was poorly located and poorly run as the City had no regulations regarding where such a facility could be located or operated,” he said.
He also mentioned a warming center that the Lake Ministerial Association operated at the Seventh-day Adventist Church outside of Lakeport this winter. A few days before the center closed, a neighbor was stabbed by a homeless man near the warming center.
Folsom noted that the Lake Ministerial Association is looking to open a permanent location somewhere in the county.
He said staff suggests that any application for a warming center or homeless shelter include a requirement for a conditional use permit and an operating plan, which would require any application to go to the planning commission.
At that point, the commission could, on a case-by-case basis, put limitations on operating hours, number of beds, security, parking, staffing, animals and other matters.
“Staff needs direction from the Planning Commission with regard to several issues, including: zoning, conditional use permit requirement, and dates of operation vs. temperature triggers,” Folsom wrote in his report. “There may be other issues that the Planning Commission would like to consider in the overall regulations for warming centers and homeless shelters.”
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Lakeport City Council to consider awarding Downtown Improvement Project bid, discuss ballot measure
LAKEPORT, Calif. – This week the Lakeport City Council is due to consider awarding the bid for the second phase of the Downtown Improvement Project and discuss hiring a consultant to conduct research into the feasibility of a revenue ballot measure.
The council will meet in closed session at 5 p.m. to discuss a performance evaluation of City Manager Margaret Silveira before the public portion of the meeting begins at 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 19, in the council chambers at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.
One of Tuesday's key agenda items is the approval of the bid award for the second phase of the Downtown Improvement Project.
Staff is proposing the award of the contract to Granite Construction for $2,999,964.30. The council also will consider approving change order No. 1 to reduce the scope of work for a total deduction from the contract of $209,160, for a revised contract amount of $2,790,804.30.
Community Development Director Kevin Ingram's report to the council explains that the project consists of a three-block area on North Main Street between First and Fourth streets.
He said proposed improvements consisted of the demolition of existing sidewalks, construction of
new 12-foot wide sidewalks, new handicap ramps at intersections, new street trees, new irrigation lines, new sidewalk tree grates and adjacent decorative sidewalk surfaces, relocation of existing decorative street lights and power supply, new storm drainage inlets and lines, limited new water and sewer infrastructure, and reconstruction/restriping of Main Street.
He said the project was put out to bid Feb. 20, with two bids ultimately received.
Granite was the low bidder at $2,999,964.30, while Argonaut Construction came in at $4,737,955.45, Ingram reported.
Ingram said the bid was considerably higher than previous estimates. He reported that the surface portion was approximately 25-percent higher than anticipated and the utility costs were over 50-percent higher.
“In reviewing the bids, areas have been identified where project costs may be reduced to meet the constraints of the individual funding sources,” he said in his report. “The result of this review is Change Order No. 1 which reduces the surface improvement portion of the work by $209,160 by deleting items which can be accomplished later or by City resources prior to the project. This reduced the project scope to be within the remaining funds for the former redevelopment project.”
He continued, “Additional areas of savings are being analyzed, but will take more time to reach a final answer than is available prior to bid award. These changes will result in Change Order No. 2 in the approximate amount of $185,000. Thus the final projected cost is in the order of $2,606,000 which is within the current available funds for the project.”
In an email to business owners and community members notifying them of the bid award item on the agenda, Ingram said that if the council approves the contract award and change order, demolition work on the project is slated to begin right after the Memorial Day holiday, with completion of sidewalk and paving completed prior to the Labor Day holiday.
A special project kick-off community meeting is tentatively set for the evening of Tuesday, May 10, Ingram said.
Also on the agenda is the proposed selection of a consulting firm to provide public opinion research and feasibility assessment related to a possible revenue ballot measure.
At council direction, staff released a request for proposals and has since received three proposals, which the council will consider. Staff is requesting an increased budget appropriation from the general fund reserve in the amount of $25,000 as part of the item.
In other business, the council will hold a public hearing on a proposed ordinance to improve recruitment and operations of the Traffic Safety Advisory Committee.
Finance Director Dan Buffalo also will ask the council to adopt resolutions related to the USDA Water Projects and relieve current council-appointed membership to the Lakeport Loan Committee of further duties or commitments to serve, and authorize the city manager or designee to appoint membership at their discretion.
On the meeting's consent agenda – items considered noncontroversial and usually accepted as a slate on one vote – are ordinances; minutes of the regular council meeting on April 5; the April 14 warrant register; approval of Application No. 2016-010 with staff recommendations for the annual Cardboard and Duct Tape Regatta to be held on July 4; approval of the proposed agreement between the city and the county of Lake to share the costs incurred to reopen the Westshore Pool; approval of the proposed amendment No. 1 to the agreement between the city and the county of Lake for participation in the Lake County Marketing Program; approval of the amendment to the professional services agreement for Curren Consulting for the provision of city engineering services and authorize the city manager to execute the amendment.
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