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Lake County CHP officer receives Governor's Medal of Valor
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – On Thursday a local California Highway Patrol officer who saved the lives of two people by pulling them from a burning pickup received the highest honor for state employees.
Adam Garcia was among 12 CHP officers and 52 employees from eight state departments who received the Governor's State Employee Medal of Valor Award in a Thursday ceremony in West Sacramento.
The Medal of Valor is given to public servants who demonstrate extraordinary acts of bravery and heroism in order to save the life of another.
Gov. Jerry Brown’s Executive Secretary Nancy McFadden presented the honorees with the medals, with CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow joining her to present the honors to the CHP officers.
“These individuals put their lives on the line, acting selflessly to protect others.” McFadden said. “They are our modern day heroes.”
Garcia, 37, has served in the CHP since March 2002, transferring to the Clear Lake Area office in May 2005.
Raised in Lake County, Garcia is a graduate of Lower Lake High School. He's a husband and dad who also coaches youth wrestling.
“I'm honored to join the select few who have received this award since its inception. I have a long history in this community from childhood and I'm blessed to be able to serve the people who have helped shape me into the man I am today,” Garcia told Lake County News on Thursday evening.
Those honored received their Medals of Valor for actions both on and off-duty, the state reported. Actions include rescuing a driver from a burning car on the side of a busy freeway, saving children from drowning and intervening in a gang-related stabbing.
In Garcia's case, in January 2013 he pulled a couple from a pickup that had gone off Highway 29 north of Hofacker Lane and overturned, landing in a creek bed.
When Garcia got to the scene, the pickup's passenger side engine compartment ignited, with the couple trapped inside.
Despite the danger, Garcia traveled down the steep embankment and managed to pull both the man and woman out and to safety. Both were injured but survived.
He noted in an October 2013 interview with Lake County News, “I just feel fortunate to have been in the right place and time to be able to help them.”
Garcia has since received a number of accolades for his act of heroism, including being an honoree at the American Red Cross of Sonoma, Mendocino and Lake Counties' Real Heroes Breakfast in April 2013, a commendation in July 2013 from the Lake County Board of Supervisors, the California State Firefighters’ Association Award of Valor in October 2013 and the California Peace Officers Association Award of Valor in November 2013.
Since the Governor's State Employee Medal of Valor Award inception in 1959, 523 California state employees from 28 departments – and in all professions, from analyst to water resources technician – have received the award, the California Department of Human Resources reported.
The first gold Medal of Valor was given March 6, 1959, to CHP Officer Robert W. Walker by Gov. Edmund G. Brown Sr., father of the current governor. Walker entered a burning house and rescued a 2-year-old boy who was left all alone that night.
Award nominations are made by the employee’s department and selected by the director of the California Department of Human Resources.
“California’s public servants are dedicated to their state,” said California Department of Human Resources Director Richard Gillihan. “These acts of bravery are not surprising because these individuals have dedicated their careers to helping others. They represent the best in public service.”
Garcia's citation is shown below in its entirety.
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CITATION FOR A HEROIC ACT
Performed by
ADAM GARCIA
Officer
California Highway Patrol
On January 27, 2013, at approximately 8:27 p.m., California Highway Patrol Officer Adam Garcia responded to a call involving an overturned pick-up in Lake County. The truck driver attempted to pass another vehicle and lost control, sliding sideways, overturning, and landing in a creek bed with the front end wedged up against an embankment. The truck was also occupied by the driver’s wife and another passenger.
As Officer Garcia arrived on the scene, the passenger side engine compartment started to ignite and the passenger quickly climbed out the rear window. The driver and his wife, however, were trapped inside. Officer Garcia climbed down the steep embankment and as he approached the truck, the right side became engulfed in flames.
Both the driver and the passenger doors were jammed shut. Officer Garcia attempted to pull the driver out through his window, but he couldn’t because the driver’s leg was in a cast and pinned under the dashboard. The windshield was broken and flames quickly began to enter where the driver’s wife was seated. Officer Garcia grabbed the woman, pulled her over the top of her husband, and out of the burning vehicle. Officer Garcia returned for the driver and, with persistent tugging, was able to free his leg and pull him out through his window.
The woman suffered severe burns to her upper body and the man sustained a fractured shoulder and wrist, but both survived.
The State of California takes great pride in presenting this Gold Medal of Valor to Officer Adam Garcia.
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County reopens portion of Hill Road East after extended closure
NORTH LAKEPORT, Calif. – Following a nearly five-month closure, a portion of Hill Road East that had been blocked by a landslide has been cleared and is once again open to traffic.
Lake County Public Works crews and hired contractors started clearing the road earlier this week, completing the work on Thursday afternoon.
Public Works Deputy Director Lars Ewing had anticipated it would be open by 5 p.m. Thursday, but it actually opened a few hours earlier.
“Our guys were able to get it open ahead of schedule,” he said.
The county of Lake had closed the portion of road – near the entrance to Sutter Lakeside Hospital and the Lakeside Heights subdivision to Lakeshore Boulevard – at the start of December due to concerns about the stability of the hillside, as Lake County News has reported.
That same hillside had begun to shift and slide in March 2013, damaging or destroying several homes in the subdivision.
On Dec. 2, days ahead of a big storm, Lake County Public Works closed the road, concerned that the coming rains might cause further land movement.
Those concerns proved well founded, as the hillside – once saturated by the storm – spilled over the K-rail and into the middle of the road, eventually moving across it entirely.
In February, a Public Works crew had started clearing away tons of the soil, still thoroughly soggy from what little rain there was this winter.
At that point, officials wanted to keep the soil from reaching a small creek on the other side of the road.
Ewing said this was the earliest that the rest of the soil could be safely removed, explaining that they were waiting for the site to stabilize and the ground to dry out in order to avoid causing more of the hillside to come down.
“This work is being done because it's the best time to do it,” he said.
Separately, Ewing said Public Works is working on a permanent fix to protect the road, in the form of a gabion wall – which is a series of rock-filled baskets that allows for drainage – to support the hillside.
Because Hill Road East is classified as a “major collector,” Ewing said it qualifies for Federal Highway Administration funding.
A state emergency declaration Gov. Jerry Brown issued March 2 in response to the December storm also opened up the opportunity for emergency relief funding, Ewing said.
He said his agency is now putting together an application for those funds for the wall project, and is working with Caltrans and federal officials.
Late last year, in a discussion with the Board of Supervisors, Public Works Director Scott De Leon had reported submitting a notice to the state to pursue grant funding for the gabion wall, which at that time was estimated to cost $225,500.
However, Ewing said he couldn't confirm that would be the final price tag for the project.
“We have a ballpark figure but our concern right now is the emergency opening phase,” which is what the county now is in, he explained.
Once the department gets the go ahead from De Leon to do the design work, they'll pursue the project estimates, Ewing said.
Randall Fitzgerald, a homeowner in Lakeside Heights, told Lake County News that residents of the subdivision were glad that the road is finally open.
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Supervisors approve MAV purchases, facility expansion contract amendment
LAKEPORT, Calif. – During a brief Tuesday morning meeting the Board of Supervisors approved sheriff's office purchases and a contract update.
Sheriff Brian Martin went to the board to ask for approval to purchase 11 mobile audio video – or MAV – units for the 11 pursuit vehicles recently ordered from Ukiah Ford. The 11 MAV units cost $71,517.60.
The MAVs are mounted in each vehicle to record the activities of deputies during pursuits, according to Martin's report to the board. “It provides enhanced evidence collection as well as recorded statements for use at a later date.”
Martin was seeking the board's approval to waive the formal bidding process – finding the competitive bidding process would produce no economic benefit to the county – in order to purchase the units from the vendor WatchGuard. The agency already is using an older WatchGuard unit in its pursuit vehicles.
He told the board Tuesday that the new MAVs also can be used as body cameras.
Supervisor Jim Comstock moved to approve waiving the normal bidding process, with the board approving the motion 4-0. Board Chair Anthony Farrington was absent.
Also on Tuesday, the board approved the second amendment to the county's contract with Glass Architects for facility design services for Lake County Behavioral Health's Clearlake facility expansion.
Public Works Director Scott De Leon and Deputy Director Lars Ewing went before the board with the request for the amendment, which Ewing explained covered construction administration services.
Last year, at Public Works staff's suggestion, the board had approved deferring construction administration services until the project's design was further developed and its scope was more clearly defined.
“That's where we are now,” said Ewing.
The second amendment called for the design services to not exceed $201,770 – an increase of $65,220. The board approved it 4-0.
In other news, the board put off taking any action on Agricultural Commissioner Steve Hajik's request to send a letter to Congressman Mike Thompson supporting the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Hajik said he was approached by a lobbyist – Emily Lynn Smith of the Sacramento-based firm KP Public Affairs – who asked for the support letter.
“It could help trade,” Hajik said.
Supervisor Jim Steele said the proposal made it look like the county was speaking for the entire state on the manner.
“I'm diametrically opposed to this process the ways it's laid out here,” Steele said.
Supervisor Rob Brown, who chaired the meeting in Farmington's absence, asked Hajik during the meeting to touch base with Assemblyman Bill Dodd, state Sen. Mike McGuire and the Lake County Farm Bureau, which Hajik noted is in transition while searching for a new executive director.
“That would be valuable input,” Brown said of the Farm Bureau's contribution.
Finley pear farmer Phil Murphy questioned the board about which of them actually had read the bill.
“We're going to have regulations rammed down our throats by foreign companies” that do not have our best interests at heart, he said.
Murphy said the bill also proposes getting rid of country of origin labeling and local vendor preference. He asked if they wanted to hand over our democracy to foreign corporations.
Brown said they weren't considering taking action at that point. “We're asking these questions, Phil.”
Supervisor Jeff Smith added that the only way to bring the matter forward was to put it on the agenda and discuss it in public.
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Lakeport City Council approves prezoning ordinance, bond counsel agreement
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport City Council on Tuesday night conducted a brief meeting with two main items of business, relating to zoning and bond counsel matters, ultimately approving both.
Special Projects Coordinator Richard Knoll took to the council a proposed ordinance to amend the prezoning map for the South Main Street and Soda Bay Road area of the Lakeport Sphere of Influence.
Knoll said the ordinance – which the council held the first reading of and introduced at its April 7 meeting – was the culmination of a process than began in January when the council approved a focused general plan update.
Subsequently, the Lakeport Planning Commission held a number of public meetings and workshops as part of the process, and on Feb. 17 the council approved a resolution adopting the addendum to the general plan environmental impact report, along with several general plan amendments, Knoll said.
Knoll said the resolution the city approved reduced the city's sphere of influence – removing some agricultural land – and modified general plan policies and actions to address land use, conservation, infrastructure, utilities and growth. It also amended the general plan land use map.
Because of those changes, Knoll said the Lakeport Planning Commission recommended followup action by the council in order to be consistent with the city's general plan.
The goal, Knoll explained, was to adopt prezoning that would be consistent with the general plan land use map as well as with county zoning in the S. Main Street and Soda Bay Road area. That's an area the city ultimately wants to annex.
“California law permits cities to prezone land outside of city limits within spheres of influence, in the same way that they would approve regular zoning within the city limits,” said Knoll, explaining that such prezoning is done before a city formally annexes land.
Another benefit to the city in prezoning, he said, is that it allows the city to be the lead agency on the California Environmental Quality Act review for an annexation project. Otherwise, the Local Agency Formation Commission, or LAFCO, would be the lead agency.
“A key thing about prezoning is that as far as the city is concerned, prezoning doesn't affect permissible land use or other land use regulations,” said Knoll, adding, “That activity still rests with the county.”
During the brief public hearing that followed Knoll's presentation, Lakeport resident Suzanne Lyons, pointing to the areas of commercial and industrial zoning in the ordinance maps, said some people think the city already has too much underutilized commercial property.
Councilwoman Stacey Mattina asked how much of the land is vacant. Knoll didn't have a number off the top of his head, but said, “There is some land that is vacant, not a tremendous amount.”
He said there is also the potential for redevelopment of the land in this area. At some point the area will be provided with a full range of urban services, including a municipal water system. That could be the event that spurs some additional land development.
Knoll added that all of that land currently is available to development.
Mattina moved to adopt the ordinance, which the council approved 5-0.
In other business on Tuesday, the council voted unanimously to approve an agreement with the Weist Law Firm – a firm the city has used in the past – to serve as bond counsel to the city for financing with USDA Rural Development.
The city is seeking that funding to finance the new Lakeport Police Department headquarters at 2025 S. Main St., according to Finance Director Dan Buffalo.
Buffalo said using bond counsel when issuing debt is a best practice. He said bond counsel advises the city to ensure that it is in compliance with federal, state and local laws.
“It's a specialized service and it's one that's required to have a retainer for this project through the USDA application,” he said.
Mattina asked if such services were ever done in-house at the city. Buffalo said no.
“It's a very specialized type of law,” said City Attorney David Ruderman, who added that it requires a particular type of errors and omissions insurance that really only specialized practitioners have.
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042115 Lakeport City Council agenda packet
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