Supervisors to consider ending day reporting center contract, allowing Probation Department to take over center

LAKEPORT, Calif. – This week the Board of Supervisors will consider a request from the county's probation chief to end the contract with the firm for running a day reporting center made necessary by correctional realignment and instead have his agency oversee the center.

The board will meet beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday, May 6, 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 consider the request from Chief Probation Officer Rob Howe to terminate services provided by BI Incorporated by not renewing the firm's contract, which expires on June 30.

Howe said the day reporting center provides evidence based practices such as substance abuse programming, mental health counseling, alcohol and drug abuse monitoring, and intense supervision and tracking of offenders in the program.

The current cost of the services – including minimum staffing of five full-time employees – is $636,000 annually, Howe reported.

“Although these services are necessary, the concern has always been that it is a huge sum of money being paid to a company not based in Lake County,” Howe said in his report to the board.

He has monitored the firm's functions “with the goal of eventually providing these, or better, services with local resources.”

Howe is asking the board not to renew BI's contract. “Not only do I believe we can provide better services locally, but my proposal would also improve Probation Department staffing levels and reduce the probation officer to probationer ratio. Ideally, a high risk caseload would be 30-35 probationers to 1 probation officer. Our current ratio is approximately 100 to 1.”

Correctional realignment has significantly increased caseloads, increased responsibility to provide evidence based treatment and increased the seriousness, or risk level, of offenders the Probation Department supervises, Howe said. And as probation duties have increased, staffing levels have declined from 17 to 15 officers this fiscal year.

Howe said a day reporting center managed by the Probation Department would include a partnership with local service providers, including Behavioral Health and Alcohol and Other Drug Services. He's also in the preliminary stages of negotiations with organizations such as the Lake County Office of Education and Workforce Lake to provide education and support services.

He's put his proposal for local management before the Community Corrections Partnership Executive Committee, which unanimously voted on March 28 to terminate BI Inc.'s services and allocate the $636,000 to the Probation Department to operate the day reporting center and increase its staffing levels.

The full agenda follows.

TIMED ITEMS

9 a.m., A-1 to A-4: Approval of consent agenda, which includes items that are expected to be routine and noncontroversial, and will be acted upon by the board at one time without discussion; presentation of animals available for adoption at Lake County Animal Care and Control; consideration of items not appearing on the posted agenda, and contract change orders for current construction projects.

9:05 a.m.: Citizen's input. Any person may speak for three minutes about any subject of concern, provided that it is within the jurisdiction of the Board of Supervisors and is not already on the agenda. Prior to this time, speakers must fill out a slip giving name, address and subject (available in the clerk of the board’s office, first floor, courthouse).

9:10 a.m., A-5: (a) Presentation of proclamation designating the month of May 2014 as CalFresh Awareness Month; (b) presentation of proclamation designating May 2014 as Mental Health Month; (c) presentation of proclamation designating May 4-10, 2014 as Correctional Officers week; and (d) presentation of proclamation designating May 2014 as National Military Appreciation Month.

9:15 a.m., A-6: Public hearing, presentation of recommended amendments to the Section 8 Administrative Plan.

9:30 a.m., A-7: Consideration of departmental request to terminate services provided by BI Incorporated by not renewing their contract which expires on June 30, 2014.

NONTIMED ITEMS

A-8: Supervisors’ weekly calendar, travel and reports.

A-9: Consideration of request for letter of support for Senate Concurrent Resolution SCR 108 supporting Geothermal Awareness Day in California and May as Geothermal Awareness Month.

A-10: Advanced from April 22, consideration of proposed ordinance amending Article II of Chapter
18 of the Lake County Code relating to Transient Occupancy Tax.

A-11: Advanced from April 22, consideration of ordinance amending Article VI of Chapter 15 of the
Lake County Code restricting the operation of bicycles, skateboards, scooters, roller skates, in-line skates, and/or roller blades (second reading).

A-12: Consideration of request to cancel reserves for CSA No. 2 Spring Valley Reservoir valve repair.

CLOSED SESSION

A-13: 1. Conference with Labor Negotiator: (a) county negotiators: A. Grant, L. Guintivano, S. Harry, M. Perry, A. Flora and C. Shaver; and (b) employee organizations, Deputy District Attorney's Association, Lake County Deputy Sheriff's Association, Lake County Correctional Officers Association and Lake County Safety Employees Association.

A-13: 2. Conference with Legal Counsel: Existing litigation pursuant to Gov. Code Sec. 54956.9(d)(1): Fowler and Ford v. County of Lake.

A-13: 3. Public Employee Evaluations: Social Services Director Carol Huchingson and Community Development Director Rick Coel.

CONSENT AGENDA

C-1: Approve minutes of the Board of Supervisors meeting held on April 22, 2014.

C-2: (a) Adopt proclamation designating the month of May 2014 as CalFresh Awareness Month; (b) adopt proclamation designating May 2014 as Mental Health Month; (c) adopt proclamation designating May 4-10, 2014 as Correctional Officers week; and (d) adopt proclamation designating May 2014 as National Military Appreciation Month.

C-3: Adopt resolution amending Resolution No. 2013-95 to amend the adopted budget for FY 2013-14 by adjusting revenues and appropriations in Budget Unit 1778 - Capital Projects, and authorize the chair to sign.

C-4: Waive 900-hour limit for extra help Economic Development Manager Jack Long.

C-5: Sitting as Lake County Air Quality Management District Board of Directors, adopt resolution authorizing participation in “Year 16" Carl Moyer program, and authorize the Air Pollution Control Officer to submit grant application and sign program documents.

C-6: Approve second amendment to agreement between county of Lake and Davis Guest Home for FY2013-14 specialty mental health services, an increase of $9,700, and authorize the chair to sign.

C-7: Approve first amendment to agreement between county of Lake and San Sousee for FY2013-14 adult residential support, an increase of $14,100, and authorize the chair to sign.

C-8: Approve first amendment to agreement between county of Lake and Manzanita House for FY2013-14 adult residential services, an increase of $8,000, and authorize the Chair to sign.

C-9: Approve first amendment to agreement between county of Lake and St. Helena Hospital for FY2013-14 for acute mental health services, an increase of $75,000, and authorize the chair to sign.

C-10: Waive 900-hour limit for extra help Client Support Assistants Andre Howell, Cynthia Ahern, Glade Marshall and Wanda Quitiquit.

C-11: Approve agreement between county of Lake and Dixon Backhoe Service and General Engineering for abatement of nuisance conditions at 9840 Rocky Creek Road, Lower Lake, total amount $18,500, and authorize chair to sign.

C-12: Adopt resolution setting rate of pay for elections officers for the June 3, 2014 statewide direct primary election.

C-13: Waive 900-hour limit for extra help Buildings and Grounds Janitor Neil Raffanellie.

C-14: Approve Agreement #EW-2014-14 between county of Lake and the Regents of the University of California at Davis for FY2014-15 training services, total amount $83,320, and authorize the chair to sign.

C-15: Sitting as the Lake County Watershed Protection District Board of Directors, approve second amendment to agreement between Lake County Watershed District and Paragon Partners Ltd. for appraisal and relocation assistance services for the Middle Creek flood damage reduction and ecosystem restoration project, at no additional cost, and authorize the chair to sign.

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.

Lakeport City Council to discuss housing element, legislative policy, sales tax

LAKEPORT, Calif. – An update on a countywide sales tax, a public hearing on the housing element report and city legislative policy will be on the Lakeport City Council's agenda this week.

The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 6, in the council chambers at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.

At the beginning of the meeting, the council will observe a moment of silence for former council member and Mayor Arlin Pischke, who died at age 75 on April 27: http://bit.ly/S55iuP .

During public presentations, Lake County Public Works and Water Resources Director Scott De Leon will give the council an update on Measure L, the half-cent sales tax for lake and water quality projects that is to appear on the June 3 ballot, http://www.savethelake.info .

One of the council's main orders of business for Tuesday is a public hearing to approve the 2013 Housing Element Progress Report, and direct staff to submit the report to the Department of Housing and Community Development.

The council also will adopt resolutions declaring certain property surplus and approving its sale, and approving the city of Lakeport Legislative Policy.

On the meeting's consent agenda – items considered noncontroversial and usually accepted as a slate on one vote – are ordinances, minutes of the regular April 15 and April 29 meetings, the April 18 warrant register, and approval of Application No. 2014-008 for Community Care to hold the Lake County Aids Walk on Sept. 13 utilizing city sidewalks for the walk and Library Park and the gazebo area for presentations and booths.

After the public portion of the meeting, the council will hold a closed session for employee labor negotiations.

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.

VIDEO: District attorney candidates share views, answer questions at forum

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The two men seeking the office of district attorney had their first meeting in a candidates' forum on Thursday.

Incumbent Don Anderson and challenger Andre Ross answered questions from the community – and each other – during the forum, held in the Board of Supervisors chambers at the Lake County Courthouse in Lakeport.

Anderson is seeking a second term in office while Ross is looking to unseat him in the race. The primary is June 3.

The forum, which ran just over an hour, can be seen in its entirety in the video above, produced by McKenzie Paine of Velocity Video in partnership with the Lake County Chamber of Commerce and Lake County News, the forum's sponsors.

Anderson and Ross are next set to appear in a public forum at the Middletown Area Town Hall meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 8, at the Middletown Community Center, 21256 Washington St.