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Lakeport City Council decides against adopting PACE energy program
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Citing concerns for property owners, the Lakeport City Council on Tuesday night passed on a proposal to adopt a program for funding energy and water upgrades to commercial properties.
The council took no action to adopt the staff-recommended motion to adopt the program, which caused the proposal to die for lack of a motion.
Mark Akaba, who is acting as the city's engineer on an interim basis, took the proposed resolution authorizing the Property Assessed Clean Energy – or PACE – program to the council.
The California Enterprise Development Authority, or CEDA, program was proposed to be offered through Figtree Energy Financing.
“Currently, a multitude of cities and counties are participating in the program,” including the city of Clearlake and the county of Lake,” Akaba said.
Improvements such as solar, water and energy upgrades are funded through bond sales, which are in turn secured by assessments – or liens – levied on the properties, according to Akaba's report.
The assessments on the properties can be passed to the new property owner at the time of sale, he explained.
The resolution proposed to be completely nonexclusive, which would have allowed other PACE programs to operate within the city.
Mayor Kenny Parlet asked Akaba to describe projects that would fit into the program.
Akaba replied that solar power and energy conservation for commercial properties would qualify. He said there also are residential PACE programs but the one offered by Figtree was focusing on commercial properties and hadn't yet implemented a residential version.
Mayor Pro Tem Martin Scheel questioned if the city would have oversight capability, explaining that one of his big concerns was that Figtree could advertise itself as the only available program.
“Are there any provisions through CEDA that prevent that from happening?” Scheel said.
Akaba said he didn't know, explaining that Figtree emphasizes that its program is nonexclusive.
doesn't know
“Did Figtree approach us?” asked Scheel.
Akaba said the company approached City Manager Margaret Silveira. Silveira added that it had been some time since the contact initially was made.
Councilwoman Stacey Mattina asked if there were any Figtree representatives present. Akaba said no, explaining that Figtree is based in San Diego.
Mattina, who is a Realtor, said the program has “major red flags,” in particular, the liens that attach to property taxes.
She said major mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac won't make loans when such PACE program liens are in effect, and have even threatened to recall loans when similar assessments are added to properties.
With those two lenders behind 90 percent of the loans made in Lake County, Mattina said she could see the assessments causing problems in the future.
She said she didn't know of anyone for whom the program would offer a huge benefit, but she knew of many who could be negatively impacted by it.
Mattina said legislation is being crafted to require such assessments to be junior financing in order to protect homeowners.
She noted that the assessments are “a lot different from a loan” because they are attached to property tax, and she questioned the benefit. “I would never put that on my property.”
Rather than taking action Tuesday, Mattina suggested the city wait and see what Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will do about such programs. “I don't think we're missing out by not having the program right now.”
Silveira suggested the council approve the program for commercial properties only, but Mattina said there are other programs to assist with upgrades.
Mattina said she was concerned that property owners wouldn't look at all the options. “I don't know that it's the best thing for them.” She also noted that such programs had come to a halt a few years ago due to the concerns they raised.
Scheel suggested that the council could reconsider adopting such a program at a future time if a number of contractors approached the city and wanted to offer it.
“This just makes me feel uneasy,” he said.
Akaba noted that, in discussions with officials from the city of Clearlake and the county of Lake, the program isn't used often.
The council thanked Akaba for his work on the report but ultimately chose not to take staff's recommendation to approve the program.
Also on Tuesday, the council honored the winners of the city's inaugural Halloween coloring contest for local elementary school students, presented Finance Director Dan Buffalo with the Government Finance Officers Association's Distinguished Budget Award, approved reclassifying the utilities superintendent position to a slightly higher salary step in anticipation of an upcoming recruitment, and authorized amendments to the USDA water and sewer system projects.
Parlet said there was no action to report out of the hourlong closed session that preceded the regular meeting, during which the council had discussed labor and property negotiations, and potential litigation involving Steve Brookes, the former city attorney.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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FALL ELECTION 2014: Ford wins assessor-recorder race; Smith, Steele elected to Board of Supervisors
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – In countywide races on Tuesday, voters selected the next assess-recorder, reelected the longtime District 2 supervisor and chose a retired biologist as their next District 3 representative on the Board of Supervisors.
Richard Ford was voted in as the county's next assessor-recorder, while Jeff Smith won the District 2 supervisorial race and Jim Steele was the winner in District 3.
In the June primary, it initially had appeared that Ford had won the assessor-recorder's race outright in a three-way race; however, the absentee ballots tallied during the official canvass required a runoff between Ford and Sorhna Li Jordan, an attorney who lives in Hidden Valley Lake.
The preliminary numbers from Tuesday night showed that Ford took 58.3 percent of the vote, or 6,439 ballots, to Jordan's 41.7 percent, or 4,610 ballots.
Early Wednesday, Ford posted a brief thank you to his supporters on his campaign Facebook page.
In the supervisorial races, Smith won another term over challenger businesswoman Jeri Spittler, who for the last four years has served on the Clearlake City Council.
Preliminary absentee ballot numbers along with the nine reporting precincts put Smith in first place with 908 votes, or 55.6 percent. Spittler received 724 votes, or 44.4 percent, based on Tuesday night's returns.
Across the lake, the race to succeed District 3 Supervisor Denise Rushing – who chose not to seek a third term – appeared to have a wider margin, according to the Tuesday night returns.
With all 18 Northshore precincts reporting, the preliminary numbers indicated Steele had won the District 3 seat over John Brosnan with 1,384 votes, or 57.3 percent. Brosnan received 1,031 votes, or 42.7 percent.
On his Facebook page late Tuesday, Brosnan acknowledged that Steele had won the election.
“All we can do is wish him well in his seat of representative for District 3 and wish the district good fortune. I can say we gave it our best shot, see you all tomorrow or on the road to making Lake County and District 3 a better place for us all,” Brosnan said.
In addition to Smith and Steele, the Board of Supervisors in 2015 will include incumbents Jim Comstock, District 1; Anthony Farrington, District 4; and Rob Brown, District 5.
The Registrar of Voters Office now must complete the official canvass to finalize the election numbers, a process which takes about 28 days.
The finalized count – which will include remaining provisional and absentee ballots – will then be sent to the Board of Supervisors next month for certification.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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FALL 2014 COUNCIL ELECTIONS: Clearlake elects Perdock, Sabatier; Lakeport returns Mattina, elects Turner
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Clearlake City Council will welcome two new members and the Lakeport City Council will have one new member and one reelected incumbent, based on the results of Tuesday's election.
Each council had two seats open, and each had one incumbent seeking reelection.
In Clearlake, a seven-person field formed to pursue the seats up for election, which currently are held by Joey Luiz and Jeri Spittler.
Luiz was seeking a second term, while Spittler had chosen instead to challenge longtime District 2 Supervisor Jeff Smith for his seat on the Board of Supervisors. Voters returned Smith to the board on Tuesday.
Tuesday night's preliminary results – including early absentee tallies and a count of all nine precincts – put Bruno Sabatier in first place, with 837 votes, or 25.7 percent of the vote, followed by Russell Perdock, who received 663 votes, or 20.4 percent.
Finishing out of the running were Luiz, 569 votes, 17.5 percent; Andre Williams, 484 votes, 14.9 percent; Quincy Jackson, 302 votes, 9.3 percent; Michael Pesonen, 232 votes, 7.1 percent; and Michael Walton, 170 votes, 5.2 percent.
Perdock thanked voters on Facebook early Wednesday, noting that “it's time to get to work.”
“It was a very good experience and everyone who ran deserves congratulations for sharing their vision & for getting involved,” he wrote, adding his congratulations to Sabatier.
The total vote counts for the Clearlake City Council race are likely to change once the final canvass is completed, although placements are not expected to be different once the count is certified.
In Lakeport it was the seats held by Stacey Mattina and Tom Engstrom – both in their first term – that were on the fall ballot.
While Engstrom announced early this year that he didn't intend to seek a second term, Mattina chose to run again.
Mireya Gehring Turner and Robert Michael Balentine both joined the race in the summer.
Based on the early absentee count and the four Lakeport precincts, Tuesday night's preliminary results had Mattina and Turner in a statistical dead heat.
Both women received 37.5 percent of the vote, with 579 ballots cast for Turner and 578 cast for Mattina.
Balentine finished in third place with 386 votes, or 25 percent, according to the returns.
Turner thanked Lakeport's voters on her Facebook page Tuesday night, noting, “my mind and heart are a jumble of gratitude, excitement, weariness and staggering sense of responsibility. I will do my very best to be an asset to our awesome city. Thank you. Wow, thank you.”
The Registrar of Voters Office now must complete the official canvass to finalize the election numbers, a process which takes about 28 days.
The finalized count – which will include remaining provisional and absentee ballots – will then be sent to the Board of Supervisors next month for certification.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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FALL ELECTION 2014: Marijuana, lake and code enforcement measures fail; Lakeport Unified bond measure passes
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Voters defeated two marijuana measures, a third attempt at a sales tax to benefit the lake and a Clearlake sales tax measure for code enforcement, but a bond measure to improve Lakeport Unified's schools passed on Tuesday.
According to the Registrar of Voters Office's preliminary election results – which include an early absentee ballot count and results from county and city precincts – countywide measures O, P and S, and Clearlake's Measure R failed, while Lakeport's Measure T passed.
Measure O, the Medical Marijuana Control Act, would have allowed up to four marijuana plants per properties of under an acre, limited collective gardens to 48 plants on rural properties of five acres or more, and charged fees to create a medical marijuana enforcement division in the Community Development Department.
Voters rejected it in a nearly two-to-one margin, with no votes totaling 7,672, or 63.5 percent, versus yes votes totaling 4,402, or 36.5 percent.
It was in direct competition on the Tuesday ballot with Measure P, the Freedom To Garden Human Rights Restoration Act Of 2014.
Measure P, which didn't specifically name marijuana but would have allowed any plant to be grown, in any amount, received 8,180 no votes, or 68 percent, versus a 32-percent yes vote, with 3,847 ballots cast in favor of the measure.
Another countywide measure, Measure S, needed a 66.7 percent supermajority in order to become law, but received only 63 percent – or 7,633 yes votes. No votes totaled 37 percent, or 4,482 ballots.
The funds raised by Measure S, a half-cent sales tax proposal, would have been used specifically for water quality and invasives prevention projects on Clear Lake and other local water bodies.
In Clearlake, voters had to decide on Measure R, another half-cent sales tax that was to raise funds for code enforcement in the city.
Like Measure S, Measure R needed – and failed to get – a 66.7-percent supermajority.
The preliminary results showed that Measure R received 990 yes votes – or 53.3 percent of the vote – while no votes totaled 867, or 46.7 percent.
In Lakeport, the results were different, with Measure T needing only a simple majority to pass.
The bond measure received 1,543 yes votes – or 64.2 percent – in the initial count, with a total of 862 no votes, totaling 35.8 percent.
The Lakeport Unified Board of Trustees voted this summer to place on the ballot in order to make upgrades on the district's campuses.
The Registrar of Voters Office now must complete the official canvass to finalize the election numbers, a process which takes about 28 days.
The finalized count – which will include remaining provisional and absentee ballots – will then be sent to the Board of Supervisors next month for certification.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson