Robinson Rancheria donates funds to Lakeport fireworks display

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Robinson Rancheria is pitching in to assist the city of Lakeport in paying for its annual July 4 fireworks display.

At the Lakeport City Council's meeting May 20, Tribal Chair Nicholas Medina and David Rose, general manager of the tribe's casino, presented Mayor Kenny Parlet with a $4,000 check.

Parlet called the donation “a nice enhancement” to the effort to raise the $16,500 needed to pay for the fireworks.

The annual fireworks display draws thousands of people to Lake County.  

This year’s display, produced by Pyro Spectaculars, will feature hundreds of fireworks and is slated to begin at 9:30 p.m. on Friday, July 4.  

The fireworks will be set off over Clear Lake from a barge on the lake.

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Written by: Elizabeth Larson

Published: 10 June 2014

Lakeport City Council holds first workshop on proposed 2014-15 budget

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport City Council held its first workshop last Tuesday on the upcoming fiscal year's proposed budget, a document which contains in it projections for aggressive capital expenditures for city projects and a balanced general fund.

Finance Director Dan Buffalo got high marks on his latest effort, which Mayor Kenny Parlet said was a “beautiful” document.

Buffalo said total city revenues in all funds total $15.73 million in the proposed budget, with total expenditures, at $18.78 million.

City staff is recommending a balanced general fund through use of budget surpluses, and does not use one-time funds for an ongoing funding source.

The budget, as Buffalo would explain, holds to established council priorities and attempts to tell the city's story with regard to investment priorities.

While the work of putting together the budget document typically begins in March, “Really, we're always in budget mode if you think about it,” Buffalo told the council.

This year city staff took a “simplified” approach to the budget, boiling it down to 120 pages from a document size that usually ranges around 200 pages, while still focusing on the pertinent information to help the council make the most informed decisions, Buffalo said.

“This document is very comprehensive,” Buffalo said.

It also contains what Buffalo called an “aggressive expenditure plan” relating to capital improvement projects for the upcoming year.

That plan totals about $8.3 million and is driven mostly by US Department of Agriculture Rural Development-funded projects for water and sewer system upgrades, along with the Downtown Main Street Project.

While aggressive, Buffalo said the plan is doable in the opinions of the city's department heads, with whom he and City Manager Margaret Silveira consulted in developing the budget document.

The expenditures – for such projects as infrastructure enhancement and rebuilding – are needed, and although it's a large amount of money, Buffalo said that in the context of the city's needs it's reasonable.

Buffalo said this budget also includes what may be the best two-year projections they've done yet.

He said Silveira wanted to focus on three core elements. Those include people – keeping the best people and attracting more of the same; service delivery – maintaining city services, restoring those that may have been cut or, if restoration isn't possible, refocusing available resources to improve current services; and fiscal responsibility, which is to be achieved through a balanced budget and identifying new revenue sources.

“We're trying to tell a story,” Buffalo said about the city's investment priorities, which focus on infrastructure and capital, economic development, and operating efficiencies and cost control.

Buffalo reviewed with the council the high points of the budget, and reported that the enterprise funds for water and sewer are improving thanks to rate hikes, with the water fund projected to be the black for the first time this year.

In outlining major capital expenditures, Buffalo reported that $2.6 million is set aside for road work, with $1.5 million of that to go toward the Downtown Improvement Project.

There also will be $4.89 million in infrastructure projects, $250,000 for new city docks and $853,000 for vehicles and equipment, he said.

The city also is looking to fill vacant positions. There is no department of the city where new hires are needed more right now than the Lakeport Police Department, where Buffalo said the goal is to restore staffing to a sustainable level.

“This budget is poised to help them get there,” Buffalo said, explaining that the city hopes to have the department staffed back up by year's end.

Understanding sales and property tax revenues

Buffalo anticipated that by the end of the current fiscal year there will be a fiscal surplus, which will come from personnel and operational savings, and deferred capital costs.

The city's regular revenue sources are relatively flat, while costs for pensions and health are up, he said.

Buffalo also featured graphics of how property and sales tax revenues are distributed.

Property tax, which goes to the county for distribution, most recently totaled just over $4.9 million, according to the graphic.

Of that amount, most – nearly 56 percent – goes to education.

Nearly 32 percent – or $1.5 million – went to Lakeport Unified, with another 15 percent, or $740,129, distributed to the Education Augmentation Fund; 6.2 percent, or $305,746 to Mendocino College; and 2.75 percent, or $135,842 to the Lake County Office of Education;

Twenty-two percent, or $1.1 million went to the county, while the city itself received 10.4 percent, or $513,542.

Other entities that receive property tax fund include the Lakeport Fire Protection District, 7.45 percent, $367,461; Lake County Vector Control, 1.69 percent, $83,570; Lakeport Municipal Sewer, 1.33 percent, $65,471; and Hartley Cemetery, 0.96 percent, $47,480.

Sales tax distribution is handled far differently, Buffalo said.

In the city, the sales tax currently is 8 percent, which includes the half-cent Measure I sales tax, which alone is estimated to generate $730,000 in the coming fiscal year and goes directly to the city. The rest goes to the state for distribution.

Most of the money ends up going into the coffers of the state government, which Buffalo said balances its own general fund on the backs of local governments.

The most recent annual total for sales tax collection given in the report was just above $12.6 million.

The state general fund received most of that amount, $5.8 million, plus another $394,494, while $1.6 million was allocated to the state local revenue fund, $788,989 to the state local health fund, $394,494 to the state education protection fund and another $394,494 to the transportation fund.

The city gets $2.3 million and the local public safety fund received $788,989.

“We don't get a whole lot but we try to do the best with what we've got,” said Buffalo.

Road upgrades discussed

Councilwoman Stacey Mattina asked about the $2.6 million planned for road projects this year, and asked how much was spent this past year, for comparison. Buffalo said the current year's budget had included spending of about $300,000 for road work, $150,000 of which was for repairs on Hartley Street.

Mattina asked how they could be spending so much more in the 2014-15 budget, and if that was something that could be done on an ongoing basis.

City staff said the increase was, in some cases, due to carryover work and contracted spending for projects like that to take place in the downtown.

Beyond the coming year, “This is not a sustainable capital plan,” said Buffalo, adding that it's necessary for city infrastructure and doable according to city department heads.

Regarding the budget overall, Parlet noted, “I feel very comfortable that the projections look really good.”

Parlet also said the city needed to move forward on addressing understaffing. “We need to help people shore up their needs in various departments to help ease some of that pain and suffering.”

Convening for just under 20 minutes as part of the regular meeting at 6 p.m., the council voted 4-1 to approve a proposed contract agreement for $957,137with Vulcan Construction and Maintenance Inc. of Fresno for the completion of the US Department of Agriculture water meter replacement project. Councilman Marc Spillman voted no.

The council unanimously approved a resolution adding a new 20-minute parking zone near Cheese's Main Street Pizza, increasing the city's current number of such “green zones” from seven to eight.

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Written by: Elizabeth Larson

Published: 09 June 2014

Supervisors to hear appeal of Dollar General store plan's approval

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Three Northshore businessman are asking the Board of Supervisors to overturn the Lake County Planning Commission's approval last month of a new Dollar General store in Nice.

The board will meet beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday, June 10, in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport. TV8 will broadcast the meeting live.

At 9:30 a.m., the board will hold a public hearing to consider the appeal of the planning commission's May 8 approval of a major use permit for a Dollar General Store at 3539 and 3577 Highway 20 in Nice.

Businessmen Avtar Singh, Jagtar Singh and Mohammed Sadiq have filed an appeal of the Nice store's approval.

The planning commission at the same May 8 meeting also had approved plans for a second Dollar General store at 13090 E. Highway 20 in Clearlake Oaks. That store's plan is not under appeal in this case.

Dollar General is a “small box” retailer that sells health, beauty cleaning, supplies, apparel, household items, pet supplies and more.

Based in Tennessee, the company has 11,000 stores in 40 states, and began opening stores in California in 2012. It plans to open 700 new stores in California this year, company spokeswoman Jaclyn Dees told Lake County News in a previous interview.

Avtar Singh owns Nice Market, while Jagtar Singh owns Marina Market and Sadiq the Nice Tower Mart.

The three men have filed the appeal based on their belief that the Dollar General will have a negative impact on their businesses in an already “bad economy,” according to the report to the board from Community Development Director Rick Coel and Senior Planner Michalyn DelValle.

The report noted that the Nice Dollar General store will employ seven to 10 employees on average, with two to four of those being employed full-time. Store operating hours typically will be between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m.

“Staff feels that this project will provide increased opportunities for local residents to shop locally and help to reduce vehicle use and greenhouse gas emissions required to travel to other locations to obtain general retail services,” the report said.

The project, Coel and DelValle noted, is consistent with county general plan policy language encouraging the development of small neighborhood convenience facilities that do not exceed 15,000 total square feet of floor space. The local Dollar General stores are not to exceed 10,000 square feet.

“The project is also consistent with the Upper Lake-Nice Area Plan which states that a high priority should be given to providing services and employment opportunities locally,” the report said.

The Lake County Community Development Department is recommending that the board deny the appeal.

Also on Tuesday, in an untimed item, the board will consider actions to address drought conditions in County Service Area No. 22, Mt Hannah.

County staff is proposing amending the current fiscal year budget to transfer an unreserved fund balance in the Building And Infrastructure Reserve Fund to provide interim financing to provide for a new well in the Mount Hannah Water System.

The board also will consider authorizing Special Districts Administrator Mark Dellinger to sign the contract with a well driller.

The full agenda follows.

CONSENT AGENDA

7.1: Approve minutes from the Board of Supervisors meetings held on May 13, 2014, May 20, 2014 and May 27, 2014.

7.2: Approve termination of Maria Valadez as interim registrar of voters effective June 9, 2014 (Registrar of Voters Diane Fridley is returning from medical leave).    

7.3: Approve side letter agreement with Lake County Correctional Officer Association regarding temporary correctional aide shift change, and authorize the chair to sign.

TIMED ITEMS

8.2, 9:15 a.m.: Public hearing, discussion/consideration of the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program for funding of a special victims/vulnerable persons investigator.

8.3, 9:30 a.m.: Public hearing, consideration of appeal (AB 14-02) of the Planning Commission's approval of major use permit (UP 13-09) for Dollar General Store, 3539 & 3577 State Highway 20, Nice (APNs 032-262-30 & 31); appellants are Avtar Singh, Jagtar Singh and Mohammed Sadiq.

UNTIMED ITEMS

9.3: Consideration of actions to address drought conditions in County Service Area #22, Mt Hannah: a) A resolution amending Resolution No. 2013-95 to amend the Adopted Budget For FY 2013-14 by transferring unreserved fund balance in the Building And Infrastructure Reserve Fund to provide interim financing to provide for a new well in the Mount Hannah Water System (CSA #22); and b) authorize Special Districts Administrator Mark Dellinger to sign contract with contractor to drill the well.

CLOSED SESSION

10.1: Conference with labor negotiator: (a) county negotiators: A. Grant, , S. Harry, M. Perry, A. Flora and C. Shaver; and (b) employee organizations, Lake County Deputy Sheriff's Association, Lake County Correctional Officers Association and Lake County Safety Employees Association.

10.2: Conference with Legal counsel: Existing Litigation pursuant to Gov. Code Sec. 54956.9(d) (1) - Fowler and Ford v. County of Lake.

10.3: Conference with legal counsel: Existing litigation pursuant to Gov. Code Sec. 54956.9(d)(1): Mateu v. County of Lake, et al.

10.4: Conference with legal counsel: Existing litigation pursuant to Gov. Code Sec. 54956.9 (d)(1) – Patten v. County of Lake, et al.

10.5: Conference with legal counsel: Existing litigation pursuant to Gov. Code Sec. 54956.9 (d)(1): Morshed v. County of Lake, et al.

10.6: Employee evaluations Title: County Administrative Officer Matt Perry and County Librarian Christopher Veach.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

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Written by: Elizabeth Larson

Published: 09 June 2014

Measure N expected to go info effect in July

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – With the majority of Lake County voters who took part in Tuesday's primary election casting ballots in support of Measure N, county officials are preparing to implement the marijuana cultivation measure's rules in July.

Measure N began as county Ordinance No. 2997, which the Board of Supervisors passed unanimously last December, as Lake County News has reported.

Its key points include banning outdoor cultivation in community growth boundaries, and limiting plant numbers on parcels larger than one acre outside of community growth boundaries to six mature or 12 immature plants.

In addition, it prevents grows on vacant parcels, limits indoor grows to 100 square feet or less, and keeps outdoor cultivation 1,000 feet from schools, parks or other facilities serving children, and 100 feet from water bodies.

The Lake County Sheriff's Office is responsible for enforcement, which is meant to be a quicker process than that included in the county's interim urgency ordinance.

A successful referendum effort early this year led to the ordinance being placed on the ballot after the supervisors voted to let it stand and go to voters.

According to preliminary election results from the Lake County Registrar of Voters Office, on Tuesday voters chose to accept the supervisors' rules, with votes in favor totaling 52.6 percent and no votes coming in at 47.4 percent.

Initially, county officials believed that Measure N – which as Ordinance No. 2997 was set to go into effect Jan. 16 before the referendum put it on hold – would go into effect immediately after getting a majority vote in the election, according to County Counsel Anita Grant.

However, Grant said Wednesday that a closer inspection of state election law by county staff revealed that Measure N won't become law until the date the Board of Supervisors accepts the registrar's certification of the final election results. The measure won't go into effect until another 10 days after that date.

The process of conducting the Tuesday primary's official canvass is now under way, with interim Registrar of Voters Maria Valadez reporting that she has until Tuesday, July 1, to complete the work.

If Valadez uses the full time allotted for the certification process, based on past practice the results should go to the Board of Supervisors the following Tuesday, July 8, meaning Measure N would go into effect on July 18.

If that timeline holds, it means there could be nearly two weeks between the end of the county interim urgency ordinance on marijuana cultivation – which Community Development Director Rick Coel previously reported runs out on July 6 – and the implementation of Measure N.

Once it goes into effect, Measure N still has potential challenges on the horizon.

On May 20, the Emerald Unity Coalition submitted signatures in support of its “Medical Marijuana Control Act,” which it wants to place on the November ballot.

Unlike Measure N, the Medical Marijuana Control Act would allow growing within neighborhoods – up to four marijuana plants per parcel on properties of under an acre – and permits collective gardens of up to 48 plants on rural properties of five acres or more.

It would reduce the required distance between grows and schools and other facilities serving children to 600 feet – from the 1,000 feet required in Measure N – and has 100-foot setbacks from streams and water sources, which is identical to the distance required by Measure N.

The Medical Marijuana Control Act also establishes a medical marijuana enforcement officer position in the Community Development Department, with the hiring process requiring a public hearing and ratification by a majority vote of the Board of Supervisors. In addition, the measure proposes to place fees on collective grows to pay for the enforcement officer.

On May 27, Ron and Conrad Kiczenski of Lucerne submitted signatures for a competing initiative,
“The Freedom to Garden Human Rights Restoration Act of 2014,” which would allow unlimited numbers of plants to be grown.

That second measure also would exempt an individual's “home gardening efforts or abilities” from any limiting county permits or county ordinances, and offer little recourse for complaints outside of those “related to a specific medically verifiable toxic health risk.”

Valadez said each of the measures would need 2,115 valid signatures – or 10 percent of the voters who took part in the last gubernatorial election – to qualify to make it onto the November general election ballot.

She said she has 30 business days to certify signatures for both measures, work she is continuing while also conducting the official canvass and final count for Tuesday's primary.

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Lake County Ordinance 2997 - Measure N

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Written by: Elizabeth Larson

Published: 05 June 2014