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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....
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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Report says Westshore Pool ground is stable; LUSD to consider contract with city for summer season
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Supporters of the Westshore Pool have gotten some good news.
A newly completed report on soil and slope conditions puts to rest concerns that the four-decade-old pool, located on the Lakeport Unified School District grounds, was built in unstable soil.
“That was good news,” said Lakeport Unified Superintendent Erin Smith-Hagberg.
The California Geological Survey reviewed the report, completed by SHN Consulting Engineers and Geologists of Willits, and signed off on the findings.
As a result, this week the Lakeport Unified School District Board of Trustees will hold a special meeting during which it will consider approving an agreement with the city of Lakeport for operating the pool for recreational swimming this summer.
District officials said the meeting will take place beginning at 6 p.m. this Thursday, June 5, in the boardroom at the district office, 2508 Howard Ave. The agenda also will include a budget hearing and discussion of the district's Adoption of the Local Control and Accountability Plan.
While the soil and slope testing results are good news for those who want to see the pool reopened for the public, so far it appears that the pool may only be open this summer for the use of the Channel Cats swim team.
That's due to the report's late-spring arrival, which gave the city of Lakeport little time to prepare or to hire the required summer staffing – particularly lifeguards – while it waited for the results.
“We're probably not going to have time to put that all together,” Lakeport City Manager Margaret Silveira told Lake County News.
Issues for the pool arose earlier this year, after Smith-Hagberg discovered in the district's files a December 2003 letter from the Division of the State Architect raising questions about the pool's structural safety and accessibility, as Lake County News has reported.
It was determined that the district had not resolved the issues outlined in the letter by the Division of the State Architect, the state agency responsible for certifying school construction projects.
Since the pool, built in 1973, had not been certified, the district was warned that it was in violation of the state education code and board members were personally liable if any injuries occurred at the facility.
That led the school district board to hold off on reopening the pool in February, when the Channel Cats, Clear Lake and Kelseyville High School swim teams were to begin preparing for spring competition.
The pool was designed by Lakeport engineer Cliff Ruzicka, who offered his services free of charge to help upgrade the pool to address the state's issues. He also pulled the original plans out of his archives to share with local officials.
In March, the district approved a contract with SHN for soil testing. The firm offered a 25-percent discount to the district, with the contract coming out to $10,650. Reduction in the fee was credited by district officials to Ruzicka's efforts.
The geotechnical investigation and slope stability evaluation SHN completed on the pool included three test borings, geotechnical tests, slope stability analyses, geological reconnaissance and soil testing, among other things.
“Based on the results of the field and laboratory investigation, and quantitative slope stability analysis, we conclude that the fill slope and cut slope bordering the pool facility are stable in their current configuration under both static and seismic conditions,” the report stated. “The fill slope appears to have been constructed in a manner that has not created nor contributed to erosion or geologic instability.”
A May 19 letter to Smith-Hagberg from Mark Wiegers, an engineering geologist with the California Geological Survey, stated that the testing results “indicate the slopes at the site have an acceptable factor of safety against failure and can be considered stable.”
Wiegers also noted that during a site visit there were “no visible signs of slope instability at the pool or adjacent areas.”
What's next for the pool
“We knew that we had to have that report from CGS (California Geological Survey) and we obtained that,” said Smith-Hagberg.
However, she said there is a list of items that the Division of the State Architect wants the district to rectify regarding the pool, so the district needs to review that list and decide how to proceed.
Smith-Hagberg said the attorneys for the city and the district are working on an agreement so the pool can be used by the Channel Cats this summer.
She said that agreement for summer pool operation has to be approved by the district board, thus the Thursday meeting.
“We want to get the Channel Cats in the pool as soon as possible,” Smith-Hagberg said.
Silveira said the Channel Cats may take over the summer swim lessons that the city has previously provided, but she cautioned that not all of the details have been confirmed.
“We are excited to be back in the pool,” said Jennifer Hanson, president of the Channel Cats.
Hanson said she met with Lakeport Public Works Director Mark Brannigan and Public Works Superintendent Doug Grider on May 21 regarding the swim team's use of the pool this summer.
“We have to totally operate it,” said Hanson. “We have to do everything.”
That means that the team also will have to take on purchasing chemicals and handling other aspects of the pool operation, she said.
“They're going to allow us to offer swim lessons, so that’s good. That was our main thing,” Hanson said.
As for the future of the high school swim teams and where they will practice, it's hard to tell, Hanson said.
“There's no guarantee the high school team will be there,” she said of Westshore Pool.
Earlier his year, with the Westshore Pool unavailable, the swim teams worked out at Quail Run Fitness in Lakeport, but Hanson said they had to travel more to out-of-county meets because Quail Run does not have a pool that fits competition specifications.
“The kids did better this year than they ever have before,” Hanson said.
The swim team, city and school district are all discussing holding a meeting in the not-too-distant future for all of the stakeholders, which also includes the county.
Silveira said it's going to be important for everyone to sit down and talk about how they see the pool operations going in the future.
Because the city isn't under the authority of the Division of the State Architect, Silveira said the city likely can continue some aspects of the pool operation. That will be a consideration as the city, county and school district sit down to discuss future partnerships, she said.
Hanson wants to see everyone pitch in to keep the pool available to local children. She said the majority of children on the swim team and who participate in the public swim are county – not city – residents.
Smith-Hagberg said she believes that after that stakeholder meeting the district will have to decide what to do next.
She said of the board, “I think they'll expect me to bring them a recommendation.”
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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Request to allow animal control officers to carry batons for safety goes to Board of Supervisors
LAKEPORT, Calif. – This week the Board of Supervisors will consider approving a policy to let Lake County Animal Care and Control officers carry wooden batons for protection.
The board will meet beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday, June 3, in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport. TV8 will broadcast the meeting live.
Animal Care and Control Director Bill Davidson, in an untimed item, will ask the board to consider a policy reviewed and approved by county counsel allowing animal control officers to carry wooden batons to protect themselves against vicious animals.
Davidson's report explains that the board in early 2009 approved animal control officers carrying and using pepper spray “for personal defense from attacks by animals and people.”
Last fall, the board also approved the purchase of Kevlar vests for animal control officers in the wake of the November 2012 fatal shooting of Sacramento County Animal Control Officer Roy Marcum.
Marcus was shot and killed through the front door of a foreclosed residence he was approaching to collect several cats and dogs, according to media reports about his shooting.
Davidson is requesting “one more piece of equipment that will allow our officers to remain safe while performing their duties in the field,” specifically, a 24-inch straight-handled wooden baton “to ward off and defend against vicious animal attacks.”
“Approximately 35 percent of the calls our officers respond to are for loose dogs. Of those loose dog calls, approximately 37 percent are for vicious animals,” Davidson said in his report.
“Several times a month, our officers respond to vicious dog complaints and must confront the animals in question, and take command of the situation,” Davidson continued. “Often times, during routine calls for service, our officers are surprised by a loose vicious dog, which charges them from behind a broken fence or from around a corner. The ability for our officers to be able to immediately defend themselves is crucial in determining the outcome of the encounter.”
Davidson's report also notes that training that has to be in place before any Animal Care and Control officers could carry the batons.
In other business Tuesday, in an timed for 9:30 a.m., the board will consider the first amendment to the agreement between the county of Lake and GLASS Architects for Facility Design for Behavioral Health Facility Expansion in Clearlake. The increase is not to exceed $250,325.
The full agenda is below.
CONSENT ITEMS
7.1: Approve minutes from the Board of Supervisors meetings held on May 6, 2014 and May 13, 2014.
7.2: Adopt proclamation designating June 2014 as Homeless Youth Awareness Month.
7.3: Waive 900-hour limit for extra help DA Investigator Aide Michael Curran.
7.4: Adopt resolution amending Resolution No. 2013-96 establishing position allocation for FY 2013-14, Budget Unit 2110, District Attorney.
7.5: Adopt resolution authorizing Lake County Health Services Department to submit a grant application to California Environmental Protection Agency for the rural underground storage tank prevention program grant for FY 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 and authorizing the Health Services Director to sign said application and grant.
7.6: Adopt resolution authorizing the submission to the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, CalRecycle for Local Enforcement Agency grant EA-25 for the period of July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2019, not to exceed five years from the date of adoption.
7.7: Adopt resolution amending Resolution No. 2013-96 Establishing Position Allocation for FY 2013-14, Budget Unit 4011, Public Health to: (a) establish two temporary position allocations to be eliminated upon the employee’s retirement: Public Health Nurse Trainee I/II / Public Health Nurse I/II & Nurse Various; (b)Change the current Child Health Coordinator, Supervising position to a Public Health Nurse III; and (c) Change the current Business Software Analyst position to a Staff Services Analyst I/II.
7.8: Adopt Resolution appropriating unanticipated revenue to budget unit 8695, Special Districts, for grant funded Seismic Monitoring Network.
7.9: Award Bid No. 13-32 for Hildebrand Drive at St. Helena Creek Bridge Replacement Project near Middletown to Granite Construction Co., in the amount of $1,085,320.60, and authorize the chair to execute the Agreement and Notice of Award.
TIMED ITEMS
8.2, 9:10 a.m.: Presentation of Proclamation designating June 2014 as Homeless Youth Awareness Month.
8.3, 9:30 a.m.: Consideration of first amendment to agreement between the county of Lake and GLASS Architects for Facility Design for Behavioral Health Facility Expansion in Clearlake.
NONTIMED ITEMS
9.2: Consideration of Animal Control Officer Safety Policy regarding training and use of batons in the field.
9.3: Consideration of a) funding agreement with California Department of Public Health for Soda Bay Water- CSA #20; and b) Resolution appropriating unanticipated revenue to budget unit 8480, Soda Bay Water- CSA#20 for California Department of Public Health funded project.
9.4: Sitting as the Board of Directors of the Lake County Sanitation District, Kelseyville County Waterworks #3, and Board of Supervisors concurrently - Consideration of resolutions adopting the Westside Sacramento Integrated Regional Water Management Plan.
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): Mateu v. County of Lake, et al.
10.3: Conference with legal counsel: Existing litigation pursuant to Gov. Code Sec. 54956.9(d)(1): Rickel v. Lake County Board of Supervisors, et al.
10.4: Conference with legal counsel: Decision whether to initiate litigation pursuant to Gov. Code Sec. 54956.9(d)(4): one potential case.
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Lakeport City Council plans budget workshop; water meter project, parking zones also on agenda
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport City Council will hold a workshop this week to discuss the proposed fiscal year 2014-15 budget.
The council will meet early for the workshop, with the meeting set to begin at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 3, in the council chambers at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.
Following the budget workshop, City Engineer Scott Harter will present to the council a proposed agreement with Vulcan Construction and Maintenance Inc. of Fresno for the completion of the US Department of Agriculture water meter replacement project. The contract amount is $957,137.
Harter also will present a proposed resolution designating the location of 20-minute parking zones – or “green zones” – on city streets. The new resolution also will rescind Resolution No. 2296, passed in 2007.
On the meeting's consent agenda – items considered noncontroversial and usually accepted as a slate on one vote – are ordinances; the May 14 warrant register; minutes of the May 20 council meeting; approval of a recommendation to reject all bids received for the engineering department truck; approval of Application No. 2014-013 with staff comments for the Lakeport Yacht Club’s 2014 Cardboard and Duct Tape Regatta to take place July 4, 2014 at Library Park; authorization to contract with Valley Toxicology Services Inc. to provide urinalysis/chemical testing services for the Lakeport Police Department and authorize the mayor to sign.
The council also plans to have a closed session to discuss labor negotiations with all employee units.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
060314 Lakeport City Council agenda packet
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