How to resolve AdBlock issue? Clearlake City Council to discuss Lake County Youth Services request for building use, lease update
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake City Council is set to discuss a request to lease another building to Lake County Youth Services and hold a public hearing on a grant application.
The council will meet at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, April 10, in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive, for a closed session discussion on employee discipline, dismissal and release before convening for open session at 6 p.m.
Lake County Youth Services is asking to use a city-owned property located next to the youth center on Golf Avenue. It also will ask for a possible monetary contribution from the city for renovating the building, which at one time had been the senior center.
City Manager Joan Phillipe's report to the council offered an estimate of repairs ranging between $50,000 and $80,000, including contractor costs.
The organization also is asking for an amendment to its lease agreement to provide for no-cost use of the Clearlake Senior Community Center for fundraisers as well as the ability to rent the youth center building for events that are not youth-oriented.
The council on Thursday also will hold a public hearing to consider a resolution approving the application and execution of a grant agreement and amendments to the 2014 allocation of the state Community Development Block Grant program.
There will be a discussion of the town hall meeting set for 10 a.m. to noon this Saturday at the Clearlake Community Senior Center, 3245 Bowers Ave., where the council will take input on whether to move forward with another effort to pass a sales tax measure.
Also on Thursday, the council will present proclamations declaring April as Safe Digging Month and recognizing April 6 through 12 as National Volunteer Week.
Items on the consent agenda – considered to be noncontroversial and accepted as a slate with one vote – include warrant registers; receipt of the administrative policy regarding the lowering of flags on city property; and receipt of North Coast Opportunities Inc. Head Start Child Development Program 2012-13 Annual Report.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Committee to Save the Lake 2014 announces series of community forums on Measure L
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Committee to Save the Lake 2014 will present a series of public town hall meetings to provide information about Measure L, a countywide half-cent sales tax to preserve and restore Lake County waterways, especially Clear Lake.
The measure will appear on the June 3 ballot, and will require a two-thirds majority for passage.
The meetings will provide information and encourage discussion on Measure L’s goals, action plans and processes for citizen oversight.
Scott De Leon, head of the Lake County Department of Water Resources, will describe the measure’s objectives, the specific programs it will fund, and its built-in guarantees to ensure that the money will be spent as intended.
The presentation will be followed by a open forum where all questions can be addressed.
All the forums will begin at 6 p.m., and be held on the following dates:
- Tuesday, April 22, at the Clearlake Youth Center, 4750 Golf Ave., Clearlake;
- Wednesday, April 23, at the Lucerne Alpine Senior Center, 3985 Country Club Drive;
- Tuesday, April 29, in the Middletown Senior Center community meeting room, 21256 Washington St.;
- Wednesday, May 14, in the Board of Supervisors chamber in the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes, in Lakeport.
All members of the public are invited to attend and to participate in the discussion.
For more information call the Lake County Chamber of Commerce at 707-263-5092 or visit www.savethelake.info .
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
Clearlake City Council to hold special sales tax town hall April 12
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake City Council will hold a community town hall to discuss another potential sales tax measure this Saturday, April 12.
The workshop will take place from 10 a.m. to noon at the Clearlake Community Senior Center, 3245 Bowers Ave.
The gathering is for the purpose of discussing whether the city should proceed with a sales tax measure – for roads, for code enforcement or for both – on the November ballot.
The council recently decided to hold the weekend town hall specifically to gather community input on a new sales tax measure.
Two similar measures failed in November 2012 and November 2013, as Lake County News has reported.
Discussion topics will include whether there should be a new tax effort; if so, should it be code enforcement, roads or both; should it be a specific tax, which requires a supermajority of 66 percent – like the two measures that failed previously – or a general tax that needs a simple majority; and if it should be a 1-percent or half-percent tax.
For more information, contact city grants technician Adeline Brown at 707-994-8201, Extension 111, or email
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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Clearlake improves recycling, disposal rates
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Clearlake Waste Solutions recently delivered its annual report in compliance with its franchise agreement with the city of Clearlake to the Clearlake City Council.
Clearlake Waste Solutions representative Julie Price's presentation, which summarized activity in the past year, included results of a five-year review that showed a 22-percent increase in recycling.
“CalRecycle is very happy with Clearlake and everything that is being done here,” Price said. “In the last five years, city residents and businesses have increased the amount of material recycled at the curb from 2,390 tons per year to 3,068 tons per year. This is an increase of 22-percent and includes both single-stream and yard waste.”
Price said the most important number to CalRecycle is the Per Capita Disposal Rate, measured in pounds per person per day (ppd). The city's target rate is 4.3 ppd.
In 2007, the city was noncompliant with AB939, which called for a 50-percent increase in diversion by 2000, with a per capita disposal rate of 5.4 ppd.
According to the five-year report, the city gained compliance with AB939 in 2009 with a rate of 3.7 ppd.
Price said per capita disposal rate continues to decrease with 2012 statistics showing 3.0 ppd.
She said as the disposal rate increases the diversion rate decreases.
“In plain terms, increased diversion means less trash going to the landfill due to increased recycling, reuse and waste reduction,” Price said. “In 2012, the city of Clearlake experienced its highest diversion rate on record, at 65-percent.”
Price highlighted ongoing waste reduction programs aimed at increasing diversion and other CWS activities in 2013.
She said for the second year the company provided a bulky item collection program, which she said resulted in the collection of 68 items from 50 households.
Price said this is an underused program and efforts to inform consumers of its availability will increase.
CWS published color newsletters and a new, full-color recycling guide in 2013; provided electronic waste collection events; conducted informational outreach presentations, including those pertinent to business; maintained a recycling booth at the county fair; and participated in the city's annual clean-up day.
“For the duration of the event, our truck traveled the clean-up route picking up bags of trash and other materials collected by volunteers and delivered them to the landfill,” Price said. “Six of our employees participated in the event, which included a recycling booth with information about general recycling, reducing waste, recycling for businesses, composting and activity books for kids.”
Price said last year's event also included electronic waste collection that filled one 6-cubic yard bin.
The city of Clearlake is currently gearing up for this year's event, which will be held from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. May 10 from Austin Park in Clearlake.
To volunteer early, contact Adeline Brown, 707-994-8201, Extension 111.
Email Denise Rockenstein at
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Land Trust moves forward on wetland property purchase
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Land Trust is proud to announce significant progress in its fundraising campaign to purchase a 31-acre lakeside parcel on the Big Valley shoreline near Kelseyville.
The property features lakefront, wetlands, upland wet meadow, pasture and oaks.
The protection of this parcel is part of an ambitious effort to protect the remaining wetlands and riparian forests between Clear Lake State Park and the southern edge of Lakeport.
The Land Trust has developed a conservation plan for this area called a Conceptual Area Protection Plan in partnership with the California Department of Fish and wildlife, which will imminently be considered by the Department of Fish and Wildlife's executive team for final approval by the department.
The persistence of healthy wetlands and riparian forests is essential to the health of Clear Lake, which has already suffered the loss of over 75 percent of wetlands that historically were part of the lake’s ecosystem.
Protection of the wetlands will be enabled by working with interested landowners to purchase conservation easements or fee title on lands which support shoreline and creek-side wetlands and riparian woodlands.
The current project will be the keystone of this conservation effort. The 31-acre parcel, located on Clipper Lane and owned by George Melo, includes beautiful, native wetland and shoreline forest as well as upland wet meadow, pasture, and oaks.
The Land Trust holds an option to purchase the property for $225,000 and the trust has been successful in raising $75,000 towards the purchase price thus far.
The trust has developed a “Case for Support” for the project which describes the fundraising effort and the recognition offered to donors so their contribution can be recorded in perpetuity.
Permanent recognition is available in a variety of ways, including a plaque at the Land Trust’s Rodman Preserve office, naming opportunities for trail signs, dedicated benches, and other donor displays. The case for support can be found on the Land Trust Web site at www.lakecountylandtrust.org .
The Land Trust is extremely grateful to the following donors for helping them reach the $75,200 mark.
Donors include: John Sheridan and Andrea DuFlon, $20,000; Bill and Carol Lincoln, $1,000; John and Sasha Reynolds, $1,000 Kristine Groff, $1,000; The Pitzer Family Foundation, $10,000; Bernie and Lynne Butcher, $1,000; Harry and Roberta Lyons, $1,000; Russell and Joyce Porterfield, $1,000; Charlotte Griswold, $5,000; The Lodge at Blue Lakes, $1,000; Michael Friel, $1,000; the Keeling-Barnes Family Foundation, $1,000; four anonymous donations of $5,000, $5,000, $1,000 and $1,000; the Robert Morse Bequest to the Land Trust, $10,000; the John Graham Bequest, $5,000; and $3,000 from the County of Lake Board of Supervisors through its Fish and Wildlife Advisory Committee, and a few supporters who have made smaller donations.
“These donors have generously contributed to a project that will be here in perpetuity for our children and grandchildren. This is a fantastic opportunity to do something important and leave a legacy for current and future residents of Lake County. It will help protect our lake by improving water quality and maintaining habitat for the fabulous wildlife here that we all cherish,” said Land Trust President Jon Ambrose.
If you would like to donate to this project, call the Lake County Land Trust at 707-262-0707; use the Donate Now feature on the trust’s Web site, www.lakecountylandtrust.org (designate “Melo wetlands” in comments); or send your donation to P.O. Box 711, Lower Lake, CA 95457 (designate “Melo wetlands” in the correspondence or on the subject line of the check.)
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
