Middletown’s Gibson Museum & Cultural Center gets go-ahead from supervisors

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – The last legal constraint on the creation and operation of the Gibson Museum & Cultural Center was felled on Tuesday by the Lake County Board of Supervisors, which approved an agreement for operating the center.

Specifically, the board approved a consent agenda item that included a memorandum of understanding between the county of Lake and the Lake County Historical Society for the renovation and operation of the center, which formerly housed the Middletown Library.

At the same time, the board gave its support to changing the name of the former Gibson Library to the Gibson Museum and Cultural Center and also approved a budget transfer totaling $15,000 from geothermal reserve royalties, to be used for repairs to the museum and cultural center.

The board's action ended months of fine-tuning the memorandum of understanding. The document governs the shared responsibilities for maintenance of the historic building, which the county has owned since 1974 and will extend to the society rent-free for its use as a museum.

The $15,000 will be used primarily to revamp a handicap ramp to meet more rigid contemporary standards.

The Lake County Historical Society's Gibson committee has received preliminary authorization to have much of the work performed by its volunteers, so county funds can be used for materials, including additional materials to repair damage from dry rot around window areas.

That work will be helped by a $5,000 donation the project recently received from the Hardesters, with the group also anticipating some other significant donations in the near future.

The building was first opened to the public as the Gibson Library in 1930 on the weekend of May 3-4.

Funds for construction had been donated by Chauncey W. Gibson, owner of the Castle Springs Resort near Anderson Springs.

The Middletown public library was moved last April to the new Middletown Community Center.

A grand opening of the Gibson Museum & Cultural Center is slated for the weekend of May 3-4, 2014.

In 1930, festivities celebrating the opening of the library included a grand ball, a concert and dedication exercises in the Middletown pavilion. The Salvation Army band traveled from Lytton Springs in Sonoma County for the occasion.

For next spring’s museum opening, a community-wide “Re-visit the '30s” gala is being planned. Local businesses and organizations will offer the decade’s music, movies, fads and fashions – with but a nod here and there to the Great Depression and major news.

The Gibson group’s Web sites, www.cgibsonmuseum.com or www.middletownhistory.com , offers resources for local merchants to make it easier for them to participate.

It also offers an ongoing record of how much work the volunteers have already accomplished on the renovation of the building and preparation for displays.

For further information, write to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call Nina Bouska at 707-987-2349.

Lakeport City Council approves pool repairs, continued discussions with school district

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport City Council voted on Tuesday night to fix the broken Westshore Pool pump and to continue to negotiate with the Lakeport Unified School District about sharing costs for the pool under an agreement between the city and district.

Public Works Director Mark Brannigan went to the council to ask for direction on how to handle the future operation of the pool.

While the school district owns the pool, for several years it has not contributed any funds to maintaining the facility – which it agreed to do under a 2004 agreement with the city – leaving the city to pay for the costs of the pool's upkeep.

 Several years ago the city renovated the pool at a cost of $370,000, with $169,000 of that covered by a grant secured from the California State Parks Office of Grants and Local Services by the city of Lakeport. The rest of the money came from the city's general fund, Brannigan said.

Recently the pool's pump failed. “We're going to be getting a lot more of this,” Brannigan said regarding issues with pool equipment.

Brannigan reported during the meeting that replacing the pump is estimated to cost between $5,000 and $10,000.

The city operates the pool for the public from June to August, with the pool generally closed from September to February.

It's in February that the Channel Cats – some of whose members were in attendance for the meeting – begin using it for training, according to Brannigan. The team helps cover the cost of the propane to heat the pool and pays a $25 an hour rental cost.

Brannigan sent an email earlier this month to Lakeport Unified Superintendent Erin Hagberg, asking for the district to resume contributing funds to the pool's upkeep.

He said Hagberg asked for a meeting in December with city officials and the Channel Cats, but she did not indicate if the district is willing to share costs for the pool.

Mayor Tom Engstrom asked when the school district last participated in paying for the pool. City Manager Margaret Silveira estimated it was four to five years ago.

Brannigan said former Lakeport Police Chief Kevin Burke – while he was doing double duty as interim city manager – received a letter from the district saying they would no longer participate in paying for the pool costs, citing hardships.

“How binding is this agreement?” Engstrom asked of the city's contract with the school district.

Interim City Attorney David Ruderman said it was a valid contract that the school board approved with the city.

“The question is, what remedy would the city have to enforce it short of filing breach of contract,” said Ruderman.

Engstrom noted during the meeting that there already had been a meeting about the pool that included a few city council members, city staff and school board members.

“They had other priorities, and the pool was not one of them,” he said of the message that city officials got from the school district at the meeting.

“At this point we're trying to get back to who's really supposed to be doing what,” said Council member Stacey Mattina, adding she wanted to see if the city and school can get back to the terms of the original contract.

Public Works Superintendent Doug Grider said that a survey done during the summer season showed that of those children who used the pool, 60 percent were from the county, 35 percent were from the city and 5 percent from out of the county.

Silveira said the county has contributed $5,000 a year for the last three years toward the pool, which Councilman Kenny Parlet called “a pittance” compared to the percent of out-of-city children who use the pool.

Brannigan said the expense goes beyond the dollars spent for upkeep and includes staff time for pool maintenance. It also was reported during the discussion that, at one point, the school district had considered having its staff work on maintaining the pool.

He said he anticipates more expenses ahead. “We know there is some substantial cost coming up, and how are we going to pay for that?”

Parlet said the pool pump needed to be fixed, regardless. “I think that's the prudent thing to do,” he said, explaining he didn't want the pool to deteriorate.

He moved to fix the pump, with Councilman Marc Spillman seconding and the council voting 5-0.

Separately, the council gave staff direction to continue working with the school district in an effort to reach a cost-sharing agreement.

“I'd just like to see us do everything we can to keep that pool open,” said Engstrom. “We live on a lake, for crying out loud, and kids need to know how to swim.”

In other news, the council heard updates on the Downtown Improvement Project and got a report on the fourth quarter of the city's 2012-13 budget.

There also was no action reported out of what Engstrom called a closed session “training” the council held with Lakeport Police personnel regarding what the agenda said was “a threat to public services or facilities.”

Editor's note: The story originally quoted Brannigan as saying the grant that helped renovate the pool totaled $140,000 and had been secured by the Channel Cats. City officials have since reported that the grant was for $169,000 and was secured through the efforts of the city of Lakeport.

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 Westshore Pool, Downtown Improvement Project

LAKEPORT, Calif. – This week the Lakeport City Council will discuss options for the continued operation of the Westshore Pool and get an update on the Downtown Improvement Plan.

The council will meet in closed session to consult with Lakeport Police on a threat to public services or facilities beginning at 5 p.m. before convening in public session at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 19, in the council chambers at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.

During public presentations, the Government Finance Officers Association will present a certificate of recognition for budget preparation to city Finance Director Dan Buffalo.

The new Public Works Department secretary and Finance Department intern also will be introduced to the council.

Public Works Director Mark Brannigan will go to the council to seek staff direction regarding the future operation of the Westshore Pool, particularly the Channel Cats' intended use of the pool beginning next February and what action to take with regard to the repair of the pool pump and motor.

Brannigan's report notes that the Lakeport Unified School District has not been contributing to the operation and maintenance of the pool under an agreement between the city and school district.

That agreement places the cost of operating the pool between March and June for school classes and programs, as well as for training and competitive swimming, on the school district. However, the city has been having to carry the costs of operating the pool around the year, Brannigan explained.

He noted that at the council's March 5 meeting, staff received direction “to operate and maintain the pool and pay all costs associated with opening the pool for this season, in hopes that the
School would begin participating per the pool agreement next year.”

The report said that the Channel Cats are planning to begin school swim team training in February.

“There is a lot of work that this club does to prepare for the season, and staff would like to get Council direction in regards to continuing to pay the costs to open the pool, as well as the operation and maintenance of it during the time that the School, under contract, is obligated to maintain the pool,” Brannigan wrote.

On Nov. 6 city staff found that the pool's pump motor was broken. Brannigan's staff currently is researching the cost for replacement. Brannigan said the equipment must be replaced to obtain a permit from the Lake County Environmental Health Department, which is needed before anyone can use the pool.

He said an email request was sent to Lakeport Unified Superintendent Erin Hagberg's office on Nov. 12 to ask if the school would participate in sharing the costs associated with repairing the pump.

Options Brannigan suggested include drafting a memo of understanding between the Channel Cats and city for the use of the pool during the months outside of the city’s obligated operational timeframe; the city opens the pool for the summer season, June through August.

The swim team also can seek an MOU with the school district or the council could direct staff to continue talks with the school about cost sharing, he said.

Also on Tuesday, City Engineer Scott Harter will present an update on the second phase of the Downtown Improvement Project.

Harter's report notes that the scope of the project – which has been reduced – focuses on Main Street, includes sidewalks that are 2 feet wider, adds trees and tree grates, relocates the streetlights when the sidewalks are widened, and provides for patterned intersections, crosswalks and street reconstruction.

The city has $2 million for the project's remaining engineering and construction. Harter said the design consultant will be at the meeting.

In other news, Buffalo will present to the council the fourth quarter financial report.

On the meeting's consent agenda – items considered noncontroversial and usually accepted as a slate on one vote – are ordinances and minutes of the council's Nov. 5 meeting.

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.

111913 Lakeport City Council agenda packet