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Clearlake City Council to discuss renting building to Konocti Unified; police body camera update planned
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – This week the Clearlake City Council will consider a request from the Konocti Unified School District to rent a city-owned building and use it for classroom space, and get a report from the city's police department on plans for officer body cameras.
The council will meet beginning at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 23, for a closed session to discuss existing litigation and public employee discipline, dismissal and release before convening in open session at 6 p.m. in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.
According to a report to the council from City Manager Joan Phillipe, the Konocti Unified School District is asking to rent a city facility at 4700 Golf Ave. for classroom space for Blue Heron School, which serves grades ninth through 12th.
Phillipe said 24 students currently are enrolled at Blue Heron School, with daily attendance fluctuating between eight and 12 students.
The building is in need of repair and will require mold remediation, Phillipe said.
City staff is recommending an annual lease cost to the district of $1 – for a term of five years – in change for the district making repairs to the building, she said.
Phillipe said the repairs are estimated to cost between $25,000 and $30,000.
In other business, the council will receive a status report from the Clearlake Police Department on the use of officer body cameras.
The update will be a verbal report, and so no written materials were included in the agenda packet.
Also on Thursday's agenda is a presentation by the finance director on the ACS Financial System and consideration of an agreement between the city and the Clearlake Redevelopment Successor Agency to expend excess 2006 bond proceeds in compliance with state Health and Safety Code.
Items on the consent agenda – considered to be noncontroversial and accepted as a slate with one vote – include warrant registers, minutes from the Sept. 10 Lake County Vector Control District meeting, and quarter reports from the city's police, finance, city clerk, engineering and public works departments.
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Lakeport City Council approves change order for water tank repairs
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Due to a defect in a city-owned water tank, the Lakeport City Council on Tuesday night had to approve a contract change order to allow for the additional cost needed to upgrade the equipment.
The council directed City Manager Margaret Silveira to sign a change order at a cost not to exceed $154,000 for the repairs to the 1.5-million gallon water tank.
The upgrade of that tank – along with a second, one-million gallon water tank the city owns – are among several projects funded by US Department of Agriculture grants and low-interest loans to the city.
Public Works Director Mark Brannigan said the issue that arose involved the discovery of “mill scale” – a flaky scale that forms on iron and steel and is a byproduct of the forging or steelmaking process. It prevents paint from adhering properly to surfaces.
After the city's contractor had finished work on the one-million gallon tank – which needed a new floor – work then started on the 1.5-million gallon tank, which was drained, a task completed toward the end of September, Brannigan said.
Brannigan said the contractor cut a large hole in the side of the tank so a forklift could be taken inside as part of the repairs.
As the contractor's workers began sandblasting the tank's interior so it could be recoated, they noticed that the paint was coming off easier than it should have, according to Brannigan.
Due to that change in conditions on the job, the contractor sought a $178,000 change order, which the city denied, Brannigan said.
The city then had experts look at the tank to assess if mill scale was truly present. Brannigan said sandblasting was done throughout the tank to see if it was a pervasive problem.
“It was everywhere that they blasted,” said Brannigan.
While negotiating with the contractor, the city looked at different alternatives, including calling other contractors to ask about how they might have approached the project differently, he said.
Brannigan said everyone the city contacted told them they would not have anticipated encountering mill scale and so they also would have sought a change order to cover the additional cost.
Brannigan said paint should not have been applied over steel with mill scale. It will take the city's contractor two to three times longer than normal to sandblast the mill scale off the tank surface, and the company is proposing twice the cost.
“It's not an ideal situation to be in,” said Brannigan. “When I received this news it was very troubling.”
The contract change order, said Brannigan, was the best alternative, with the city needing to continue the project. “The tank currently is out of service,” he said. “Time is not on our side is another issue.”
Councilman Marc Spillman asked when the tank was constructed. Brannigan said it was built in 2000.
The manufacturer of the sheet metal used for the tank has since been bought and sold twice – once right after the tank was constructed – and the firm that inspected the tank went out of business 10 years ago, Brannigan said.
“So what do you have to do to fix it?” asked Councilman Tom Engstrom.
Brannigan said the needs include a more aggressive material to blast the tank's surface down to its white metal, and dehumidifiers, generators, other equipment and more man hours.
Engstrom asked how much the city originally had budgeted for the tank repairs. Brannigan didn't have the cost for the 1.5-million gallon tank alone, but said the repairs to it and the smaller tank were budgeted at a total cost of $1 million.
Councilwoman Stacey Mattina asked how much the larger tank originally cost. Brannigan said he didn't know, explaining that the tank had been constructed before he joined the city staff.
Mattina then asked how much a new tank would cost; Brannigan estimated about $1.7 million.
Mattina wanted to know where the additional funds to cover the change order would come from, with staff suggesting there were various options, from the city water fund to a request to the USDA to amend the project amount. City Finance Director Dan Buffalo said cash flow would not be a problem.
Spillman moved to direct Silveira to sign the change order, with Engstrom seconding and the council voting 4-0. Mayor Kenny Parlet was absent.
Mayor Pro Tem Martin Scheel thanked Brannigan, acknowledging it was a tough situation.
Scheel said if the city doesn't take care of the issue now, it will become worse.
Brannigan told Lake County News after the meeting that mill scale does not present a health hazard for city water users.
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Lakeport City Council cancels Lakeshore Boulevard safety project, directs staff to look at other options
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport City Council on Tuesday night canceled a project aimed at improving safety conditions on Lakeshore Boulevard and directed staff to come back with alternate, less-expensive options.
The vote to follow the staff recommendation to cancel the Lakeshore Boulevard Highway Safety Improvement Project was 4-0, with Mayor Kenny Parlet absent.
A report to the council from City Manager Margaret Silveira and Mark Akaba, the temporary city engineer, explained that the project was meant to address the high number of crashes along the Lakeshore Boulevard corridor, between Ashe and Lange streets and located near the Lakeport Unified School District campus complex.
The city applied to Caltrans for funding through the Highway Safety Improvement Program program in 2010, receiving $132,000 in February 2011, according to staff. The project's total cost was estimated to be $147,125, with the city to provide a funding match of $14,725.
Akaba explained to the council Tuesday evening that the project proposal called for installing new colored asphalt in the bike lanes with new edge-lines to visually narrow the roadway, and the installation of a new mini traffic circle at the intersection of Jones Street and Lakeshore Boulevard.
The project was to have been completed and closed out by last Dec. 29. However, Akaba said that city staff determined that the prerequisites for completing the project would not be possible for the estimated cost and the project didn't move forward.
After City Engineer Scott Harter left this summer, Silveira asked the county of Lake's engineering staff to reevaluate the project and make recommendations, according to Akaba.
County engineering staff concluded that completing the project would require an additional city match of $43,175, for a total match of $57,900.
“At this point the recommendation was to come up with more economical measures,” Akaba said.
Akaba said staff recommended canceling the project and instead using local funds to pursue more economical traffic calming measures.
Councilman Marc Spillman asked if the city would have to return funds to the state.
Silveira confirmed that they would, but only a “very minimal” amount.
Lake County Assistant Public Works Director Lars Ewing told the council that the amount that would need to be return to the state is “in the three-digit range,” estimating the total was around $600.
Ewing said the project application had called for two specific items – colored asphalt for bike lanes and the traffic circle.
When Ewing and his staff – as well as Phil Dow of Dow and Associates – looked at the project's feasibility, “It raised more questions than it did answers,” he said.
Canceling the project would reduce the local share, said Ewing. He said it made sense to cancel it now and pursue “more remedial, basic measures from a traffic engineering perspective.”
Such less expensive options could include signage and striping, but Ewing added that they didn't yet have specific recommendations for the council.
The project had called for a roundabout to replace a two-way intersection at Jones Street, but Ewing said that intersection, in actuality, isn't a two-way intersection, so the traffic circle idea didn't really apply and shouldn't have been included.
In coming up with alternatives, “The county will be happy to help out,” said Ewing, adding that Dow also is willing to assist.
While the grant will have to be returned to Caltrans, Silveira said the city still has the more than $14,000 set aside for the local match that can be used for potential projects.
Ewing pointed out that striping is an inexpensive alternative, compared with full construction, and right-of-way improvements and land acquisition.
Dow said Ewing had asked him to look at the project, “and I did and I came to the exact same conclusion that he did, that it didn't quite fit.”
He suggested the council cancel the project, return the money and reassess. He encouraged them to be up front with the state, which he said will put them in a better position to receive funding in the future.
Dow pointed out that the original December 2010 project application to Caltrans had said the city was going to put radar feedback signs in the project area. “I don't know whatever happened to that plan. it didn't materialize obviously.”
Dow, who also does the city's five year speed zone studies, said the speeds in the Lakeshore Boulevard area range from 37 to 39 miles per hour. While it's not bad, it's not where the city wants to be, with speed contributing to the issues seen in that area, where the speed limit is reported to be 30 miles per hour.
There are a variety of options that the city can consider, said Dow. He said the visual corridor needs to be limited, and there are several ways to do that.
Engstrom said the project has been discussed since he and Mattina came on the council in 2010, and he had been excited about the prospect of the city paving the bike lanes.
However, while the street in that area was paved, the bike lanes were not, and they're a mess, said Engstrom.
“I sure hope the council looks at a way of paving those bike lanes out there,” said Engstrom, who is leaving the council at year's end, when his term expires.
Suzanne Lyons, a former council member who lives on Lakeshore Boulevard, recounted numerous vehicle wrecks that have happened there – as well as instances of destroyed mailboxes and fences, and people who drove into her front yard – which she attributed to drivers who aren't licensed, and who are using drugs and alcohol.
In one instance, a 25 mile per hour speed zone sign in front of her house was hit by a speeding car, and when the sign was replaced the posted limit was 30 miles per hour.
She said it's not safe to walk or ride bikes in the area. “This is where the school is. This is serious stuff.”
Lyons called it “a really dangerous stretch of road,” and said she was mad that the city had the project funding and didn't use it.
Silveira told the council that one of the considerations was that the project can't be altered. Unless the city carries out the specific project, it can't use the funds.
She agreed that something needed to be done, and asked that the council direct staff to come back with traffic calming options.
“Sounds good,” said Engstrom.
“It's obvious that we have to do something there,” said Mayor Pro Tem Martin Scheel.
Spillman said he wanted the funds the city set aside for the match to be used for a project on Lakeshore Boulevard.
City Attorney David Ruderman said the funds are earmarked for some kind of traffic project, and the council would have to approve reallocating them.
Silveira said it was possible that, if the council wished to pursue the project as it was originally envisioned, the city could try to get an extension on the project completion date. However, after speaking with Ewing and Dow, it didn't appear that the project was appropriate for the intersection and area where it was proposed.
Engstrom thanked Lyons for sharing her experiences. “We're just as mad as you are that this didn't get done,” he said.
Mattina moved to cancel the project and direct staff to bring back less expensive traffic calming measures, which the council passed 4-0.
Also at Tuesday's meeting, the council unanimously approved a change order not to exceed $154,000 for the US Department of Agriculture-funded project to repair and upgrade a 1.5 million gallon water tank; appointed Jane Alameda to the city's Business and Housing Loan Committee; and confirmed a prior city council resolution regarding a high density residential designation for a three-acre portion of a property at 1255 Martin St.
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Board of Supervisors allocates funds for several important programs in city of Clearlake
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Programs in the city of Clearlake will benefit from allocations made by the Lake County Board of Supervisors in its current fiscal year budget.
In addition to funds allocated annually for ongoing standard services in the area, the Board of Supervisors budgeted requests by District 2 Supervisor Jeff Smith supporting senior, youth and animal programs serving the Clearlake area.
Smith said annual allocations in District 2, which includes parts of Clearlake, total about $30 million to provide standard services such as law enforcement, Section 8 housing assistance, In-Home Support Services (IHSS) and other social service programs.
Along with $6,000 carried-over from the last budget, the Board of Supervisors has earmarked for the Highlands Senior Service Center another $5,000 to address its need of a new stove and other kitchen equipment.
Smith said close to $30,000 is allocated annually among senior centers in the county with the Highlands Senior Service Center receiving the highest allocation.
“Highlands gets the more than anybody else – about $18,000 – because they serve the most seniors,” Smith said, recognizing the center's Meals On Wheels program, which served more than 28,000 meals last year in addition to the nearly 9,000 served in the dining room.
“Over the years, the allocation to Highlands Senior Service Center has gone from $4,000 to $18,000. (Former District 1 Supervisor) Ed Robey and I worked together to base funds on the amount of meals served. The allocation has increased but we still need a little more,” Smith said.
Monetary support by the Board of Supervisors for the HSSC Highlands Senior Service Center senior/community garden project, Smith said, has paid off.
In 2010, the Board of Supervisors kick-started the project with a $40,000 allocation.
“The amount of produce they harvested this year amounts to $24,046.49 in produce,” Smith said.
According to Highlands Senior Service Center Executive Director Linda Burton, 8,472 pounds of produce was harvested from the senior garden, supplementing the center's nutrition programs.
The Board of Supervisors earmarked $10,000 in the budget for Lake County Youth Services to assist with roofing expenses at the center.
“That's a city-owned building, but the way the lease reads, its the youth center's responsibility to maintain it, and they don't have the money to do that,” Smith said, adding a donation challenge to St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake.
“We put a temporary coating on the roof last year but we needed a permanent fix and we requested $10,000 from the Board of Supervisors. Jeff was able to pick up another $2,000 from another donation,” Lake County Youth Services President Mike Vandiver said. “Now we have enough to cover the materials to get the roof done permanently.”
Smith said a $5,000 allocation for the Animal Coalition of Lake County will provide assistance beyond the Clearlake community as it serves all senior and low-income residents of the area.
He said the need to support the organization's spay and neuter program is obvious in that pet overpopulation is an apparent problem throughout the county. “Everyone knows there is a need there,” Smith said.
The Animal Coalition of Lake County pays about $2,000 monthly for veterinary services, honoring vouchers that assist with spay/neuter expenses.
“I wouldn't be surprised if that equals about 100 vouchers every month,” said Elaine Somit, Animal Coalition of Lake County treasurer.
Contributions from the community and fundraising profits allow the Animal Coalition of Lake County to continue in its mission to reduce pet overpopulation in the county.
Somit said that with the contribution from the Board of Supervisors, in addition to a few other substantial donations made to the organization recently, and the Halloween fundraiser on Oct. 31, the coalition is in a good position to serve the needs of the community.
“There has always been a huge need here to address pet overpopulation in the county and it never lets up,” Somit said. “Spay and neuter. It really is the only solution.”
The Animal Coalition of Lake County hosts two fundraising dinner and dance events every year, each bringing in about $10,000, Somit said.
The Halloween event takes place beginning with no-host cocktails at 5 p.m. Oct. 31 at the Moose Lodge, 15900 East Highway 20 in Clearlake Oaks.
Dinner will be served at 6 p.m. and dancing to the tunes of “Twice as Good” starts at 7 p.m.
The event includes a costume contest, raffle and silent auction.
Tickets in advance cost $20 apiece, available at From Me 2 U, The Spot and Marie's Lakeshore Feed & Grain, all on Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake; and at Clearlake Veterinary Clinic on Emerson Street in Clearlake. For more information call 707-995-0552.
Smith said $10,000 is earmarked for the Clear Lake Chamber of Commerce and the city to use to identify properties for economic development. The money is to used to develop a user-friendly inventory of properties and marketing plan.
In addition to program allocations, Smith said the Board of Supervisors approved $100,000 for road maintenance on Davis Street in relation to its obligations concerning the county landfill located at the east end of the road.
Also, Smith said the board has donated property in the area of Phillips Avenue and Dam Road Extension for a veterans' housing project with Veterans Affairs.
The project will include road work that will increase connectivity and accessibility in area, he said.
“It's going to enhance the property values and enhance the veterans' housing project, too. It's really all for the best,” Smith said. “In a way, it's a safety project, relieving traffic on Highway 53. It's a project we looked at through the Area Planning Commission but never had the funds to do.”
Smith said there are many needs in the Second District and that he is fortunate to have the support of the board in getting the majority his requests approved.
“It takes teamwork. I have proven my ability to communicate effectively the needs of our community and that's because of great communication with area agencies, city and county staff, council members and my fellow supervisors, he said.
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