How to resolve AdBlock issue? Clearlake City Council awards construction projects, approves change to rules on council salaries
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – At its Thursday night meeting the Clearlake City Council awarded a bid for Safe Routes to Schools projects, approved a minor language change regarding pay for incoming and outgoing council members, and supported a proposal for a community Halloween event.
The council’s first order of business during the hour-and-a-half-long meeting was awarding the contract for two Safe Routes to Schools projects located on Austin and Arrowhead roads.
“The projects were bid as one to get a better price,” said City Manager Joan Phillipe.
Phillipe said the eight bids the city received were opened April 17. The lowest bid, $132,915, came from Redding-based Robert J. Frank Construction Co. She said $169,100 has been allocated from the two projects.
Because it’s a public works construction project, the city must adhere to state requirements, which require the project be awarded to the lowest bidder, Phillipe said.
That raised questions from council members about whether a local contractor could have been selected had a local vendor preference policy – like one implemented several years ago by the county of Lake – been in place. Phillipe said she believed the state laws would supersede such a local rule.
In response to council questions, Phillipe said the roughly $36,000 that is the difference between the lowest bid and the total funds allocated likely would be available for change orders, but because it was state money the remainder couldn’t be kept by the city.
“The monies are dedicated to Safe Routes to Schools projects,” said Phillipe, and would require that the city identify another project and go through what can be a lengthy approval process.
Councilman Joey Luiz moved to approve awarding the bid to Robert J. Frank Construction Co., which was approved 5-0.
Regarding council members’ salaries, the changes Phillipe proposed included removing language that requires no $300 monthly salary payment to incoming or outgoing council members in the month of December during election years, where generally there is only one meeting at which the new members are sworn in.
“This is yet another cleanup” in the city’s municipal code, said Phillipe.
State law sets the $300 per month salary for cities of under 35,000 residents like Clearlake, she said.
While city ordinance has called for incoming and outgoing council members not to be paid, “We’ve not followed the practice that’s set forth in the code,” she said.
The city’s interim finance director reviewed payment history over the last several election cycles and found that the monthly salaries had, in fact, been paid to those council members who were coming on or leaving the council, Phillipe explained.
City resident Aqeela El-Amin Bakheit asked if the language change would impact the city’s budget. She also questioned why it took so long to realize why the payments were being made.
Phillipe, who joined the city in late 2011, said she wasn’t sure why it hadn’t been discovered until recently. Her written report to the council explained that city staff found the discrepancy in practice as a result of last fall’s election.
After it came to her attention, Phillipe said she brought it to the council.
She said California’s government code does not address the provision in the city code about not paying incoming or outgoing council members for a partial month’s service. “I don’t know where it came from,” she said of the provision, adding she hasn’t seen a similar one elsewhere with other cities.
Now, she said, the city was trying to correct the situation. “There is no provision to not pay them, other than this language.” As for fiscal impact, Phillipe said they would budget accordingly on election years.
Bakheit asked if they could pay $150 instead. Phillipe said state government code doesn’t provide for that, and is clear that the salary is $300 per month.
Mayor Jeri Spittler said Phillipe was going through the city’s ordinances and attempting to clean up such discrepancies. She said they were trying to get a more efficient city.
Former Councilman Chuck Leonard said it was not a large amount of money, and he felt it wasn’t something to spend a lot of time discussing.
Council member Joyce Overton suggested that council members should take office in January. City Clerk Melissa Swanson explained that, according to state election code, new council members must be seated within a certain number of days following the certification of a November election.
“It has to be in December,” Swanson said.
Luiz moved to approve the removal of the language, which the council approved 5-0.
The last business items on the evening agenda was Spittler’s proposal for a community “trunk or treat” event on Halloween. She proposed to sponsor the event with the Clear Lake Chamber of Commerce.
Spittler suggested closing down a portion of Lakeshore Drive between from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Halloween. Cars would park along the roadway, and would open up their trunks, which would be decorated for the holiday. There also would be a variety of contests and prizes, with businesses encouraged to participate in such ways as decorating storefronts.
She proposed that Clearlake City Hall would be used as a starting point for the celebration, with the evening finishing out at the city’s youth center, where contest winners would be announced.
“I think this will promote our city in a positive light,” Spittler said.
Bakheit was concerned about legal and safety implications. “I’m just more concerned about the safety factor, and I want the children to have fun.”
Spittler said the purpose of the event was to create a safe atmosphere. She said she’s taken her grandchildren trick or treating and has had safety issues, such as being chased by dogs.
Shannon Nailor said he was all for the idea, explaining that the city’s Mormon Church has such an event every year, and it’s very safe.
Overton said she liked the idea, and thanked Spittler for bringing it forward.
Luiz also thought it was a wonderful idea, and he thanked the city staff for their work in putting on annual Halloween events.
Playing devil’s advocate, he said they needed to make sure they had a plan if they were to close Lakeshore Drive down for such a lengthy period of time.
He also suggested having the chamber work with local businesses to get buy-in. As for safety, Luiz said he was confident that the police department could help keep the event safe.
Council member Gina Fortino Dickson said it sounded like fun and she wanted to be on the planning committee. She asked about the city’s liability for such an event.
Phillipe said it would cost between $250 and $400 for the insurance premium for the occasion. That doesn’t cover other event costs.
Police Chief Craig Clausen said he also was concerned about a lengthy road closure. He noted, however, that he thinks it’s all doable. The police department would need to draw on volunteer help.
It was agreed that a committee would be formed to flesh out the idea and bring it back for further consideration.
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Board of Supervisors calls special Friday meeting to discuss law enforcement records dispute
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors has called a special Friday morning meeting to discuss issues arising from the sheriff’s decision earlier this week to abruptly cut off the access of Lakeport Police and the Probation Department to a county law enforcement records management system.
The special meeting will take place beginning at 10 a.m. Friday, April 26, in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.
The meeting was called on Thursday morning in response to a request from the city of Lakeport for immediate action after Sheriff Frank Rivero locked the Lakeport Police Department out of the county’s Records Information Management System, or RIMS, without notice on Tuesday.
On the same day, Lake County Probation was locked out, also without any warning, according to Probation Chief Rob Howe.
Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen contends that Rivero’s actions compromise public and officer safety.
The board will discuss the RIMS system and consider options for how to provide efficient and cooperative access to RIMS to all local law enforcement agencies in order to ensure public safety.
With Board Chair Jeff Smith out of town, and Supervisor Anthony Farrington also unavailable due to his weekend wedding, Vice Chair Denise Rushing will run the meeting, with Supervisor Jim Comstock and Supervisor Rob Brown also set to attend, Brown said Thursday.
Local law enforcement agencies have had access to the county’s RIMS system for years. It enables them to share information on cases, investigations and individuals.
Rivero is claiming that, in the case of Lakeport Police, the agency’s staff were using the system inappropriately. Howe said he has so far not been provided a clear reason why his agency’s access was cut.
However, it’s alleged that Rivero has cut off access to the system before in response to personal disagreements with other law enforcement agencies, as District Attorney Don Anderson said Rivero did to his department in April 2011.
Anderson said Rivero has refused to restore the District Attorney’s Office’s access even after signing a formal agreement to do so in October 2011.
Rivero had granted Rasmussen and his command staff temporary access to the system but that access was completely cut off on Thursday morning, Rasmussen said.
Rasmussen said he and his command staff will be at Friday’s meeting, as will Lakeport City Manager Margaret Silveira, City Attorney Steve Brookes and members of the Lakeport City Council.
Anderson confirmed he also will be in attendance in order to support Rasmussen.
“If I need to say something, I’ll say it,” Anderson said.
Howe also plans to attend. On Thursday, Probation’s access still had not been restored.
He said Rivero has offered to allow one Probation staffer access, but that solution is not efficient and doesn’t address the agency’s needs for tracking probationers or creating the reports it is required to submit to the Lake County Superior Court.
Howe said that he hopes after Friday’s special meeting there will be a better solution to the problem.
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Supervisors get Lakeside Heights update; board approves emergency loan for infrastructure
LAKEPORT, Calif. – On Tuesday the Board of Supervisors approved a request from the county’s Special Districts administrator to quickly move forward with hiring an engineer to look at relocating water and sewer infrastructure at a north Lakeport subdivision where sinking ground has destroyed several homes.
A week after the board declared a local emergency, it gave Special Districts Administrator Mark Dellinger the go-ahead to waive the formal bidding process to hire a civil sanitary engineer to come up with a design for moving the damaged infrastructure at Lakeside Heights.
The board also approved a resolution to transfer $350,000 from a county fund for an emergency loan to help cover the work.
Regarding negotiating a contract with an engineer and getting a design for moving the infrastructure, “I think it can happen pretty quickly,” Dellinger told Lake County News later on Tuesday.
Time is of the essence in the situation. “The movement hasn’t stopped,” Dellinger said. “It continues to move.”
Over the weekend, part of one of the damaged houses fell off, and the county has ordered abatement on the red-tagged homes.
Supervisor Rob Brown recused himself from the Tuesday discussion due to the fact that his daughter and son-in-law live in the subdivision.
Jared Pratt, a senior engineering geologist with RGH Consultants, the geotechnical consulting firm working with the county to assess the Lakeside Heights landslide, accompanied Dellinger to the meeting to offer an update on his findings.
Pratt has reviewed original plans for the subdivision, where work began in the early 1980s, and on the maps he found concerning topographical anomalies in the area of the landslide, which runs along Lancaster Road.
He said he also looked at grading on the maps, and in the area where homes are slipping off the hill there is fill that is as deep as 16 feet.
Pratt said his firm has drilled holes and installed monitors to track ground movement, conducted geologic mapping and considered options for helping stabilize the area, including drilled piers to help protect the infrastructure. A large retaining wall that could be used would cost around $500,000, according to an estimate he got from a friend who is a contractor.
There has been work to drain the hillside, and Pratt said water initially decreased but now has increased again.
Pointing to the grading, the topographical anomaly and weight loads being placed on top of the suspect area, he said the landslide has occurred. “There are a lot of driving forces.”
The land is still moving, with two scarps – areas where land is eroding and separating – developing along the front yards of unbuilt lots on Lancaster Road, as well as coming off the hillside perpendicular to Lancaster Road.
Pratt said the ground movement will continue until they remove the driving forces and it reaches an equilibrium.
Dellinger told the board that a sewer bypass will remain in place until they can implement a longterm solution. He said he was “pretty desperate” to get engineering services under contract so they could start looking at how to relocate the water and sewer infrastructure.
He said a US Geological Survey staffer was set to visit the county on Tuesday afternoon to survey the landslide area with Pratt.
During the meeting, Randall Fitzgerald, who lives on Lancaster Road, asked Pratt about the depth of the borings due to monitor the area. Pratt said the holes ranged in depth from 30 to 40 feet, with water detected at varying depths in those borings.
Dellinger told Lake County News that Pratt is still working to finalize his report on the subdivision landslide.
The county is pursuing funding through the California Department of Public Health and the California Emergency Management Agency – thanks to help from the local Office of Emergency Services – to assist with moving the water and sewer infrastructure at Lakeside Heights, Dellinger said.
“We’re seeking multiple funding sources. We don’t know which ones we’re going to be successful on,” Dellinger said.
He said the various agencies will have requirements and “milestones” for their applications. “That’s just one more reason to get this process going.”
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Supervisors delay action on cable access TV pass-through fee; PEG Board to hold special meeting
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Due to new information about limits on how the funds can be spent, the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday delayed a decision on an ordinance establishing a pass-through fee to support the county’s cable access television station.
The board passed the first reading of the ordinance to place a 1-percent fee on Mediacom customers’ bills at its meeting on April 9, as Lake County News has reported. The vote was 3-2, with Jim Comstock and Rob Brown voting no.
It’s anticipated that the pass-through fee would raise as much as $55,000 a year for TV8, the Public Education and Government station headquartered at Clearlake City Hall.
Since the board approved the ordinance’s first reading, County Counsel Anita Grant has been researching whether or not the board could, in the future, withdraw the ordinance should it not feel the station’s services and performance are improving, an issue raised by Supervisor Anthony Farrington.
The concerns arose because, beginning this fall, the state will begin handling such franchise agreements as the county has with Mediacom based on changes in the law that took place several years ago. The concern was that the fee would become part of the permanent franchise agreement.
Grant’s conclusion was that under existing law – in particular, the Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act of 2006, or DIVCA – the state will take over the franchise but the county will still have limited access, and could withdraw the ordinance and the fee at some future time.
However, there was another concern, namely, that the funds can’t be used for ongoing operations or personnel.
Shawn Swatosh, Mediacom’s senior operations manager for Northern California, had raised that point at the April 9 meeting, noting that the funds could only be used for capital expense. County officials indicated at that the time that they weren’t aware of that rule.
It turns out that Swatosh was right. That changes the picture for PEG, whose board previously had submitted to the county and the cities a business plan that included a proposal to use the pass-through funds to pay for a station manager.
Grant told Lake County News in a Tuesday interview that Swatosh’s comment at the April 9 piqued her curiosity.
“That’s what made me look at it,” she said.
She said she and her staff began digging into FCC rulings and court decisions.
They found that in 2007 the FCC issued two different rulings addressing how fees for PEG stations can be used. In those rulings, the FCC determined that acceptable expenditures included cameras and other equipment, vehicles, even construction of a facility, but not ongoing operational expenses such as salaries.
Those rulings were tested – and, ultimately, affirmed – by the federal Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, which found that the FCC is entitled to make such rulings, Grant explained.
As such, Grant suggested to the board Tuesday that the proposed ordinance’s language be changed, with a reference to PEG facility operations to be replaced by language stating that the funds would be used for purposes consistent with state and federal law.
That change in language, she said, would require a new first reading of the ordinance, which would have to come back for a second reading before final approval.
Farrington said the information about how the money can be spent changed the picture for him, as he had been advocating for the pass-through based on improving the station’s service and quality.
If they can’t use the funds for personnel but only for capital expenditures, Farrington asked how the station could accomplish those improvements.
“Having just heard this, I’m wondering about that myself,” said PEG Board Vice Chair Ed Robey, adding that the money would have to come from elsewhere.
Farrington said that the 1 percent pass-through fee may generate more money than the station needs for equipment, and he wondered if it made sense to table the discussion and look at a smaller fee.
Robey said the station could use about $50,000 in equipment to fully automate it.
“This kind of changes everything for me,” said Farrington, who said he wanted to look at a smaller percentage or one-time contributions from the cities and county.
Supervisor Jeff Smith said he felt the matter should go back to the PEG Board for further discussion, suggesting that it is the perfect time to have either Yuba College or a local school run the station.
“We can really make the station a state-of-the-art system,” Smith said.
Referring to the pass-through, Supervisor Denise Rushing said she felt they had a window of opportunity that is going to close.
While she agreed that the 1-percent might be a bit rich, she said that is the right amount to get the needed equipment in the first year, and suggested that a sunset or a review could be implemented, although Grant said that would make it difficult for the station’s long range planning.
Grant told the board it could advance the matter to the May 14 meeting and let the PEG Board come back with a proposal covering its needs.
Rushing asked if they could implement 1 percent in the first year and then drop the amount of the pass-through. Grant said yes.
“We have to justify any rate increases we make,” said Farrington.
He said he was more comfortable in seeing a plan if the funds can only be used for capital expenses or equipment. Farrington said he was no longer looking at 1 percent, but rather half a cent.
Rushing asked if they could continue the matter, and Grant said they could.
The board voted 5-0 to put off the matter until 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, May 14. Smith said that will give the PEG Board time to meet on May 8; he also suggested the PEG Board call a special meeting.
The PEG Board apparently took Smith’s advice and issued an agenda on Tuesday afternoon for a special meeting scheduled for 5 p.m. Thursday, April 25. At that meeting they will discuss the supervisors’ action on the ordinance, review the regulations on the pass-through fund uses and develop a response.
Ahead of the special Thursday meeting, Grant said Robey has asked for information and legal citations relating to the FCC rulings and Sixth Circuit Court decisions.
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Clearlake City Council to discuss Safe Routes to School projects, council member salaries
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – This week the Clearlake City Council will discuss the award of Safe Routes to School projects to a contractor and consider an amendment to city rules governing pay for council members.
The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 25, in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.
The Safe Routes to School projects are proposed for Austin and Arrowhead roads, according to City Manager Joan Phillipe’s report to the council.
The city received eight bids for the projects, ranging between $132,915 and $191,994. Phillipe reported that the low bid, which came from Robert J. Frank Construction Co. of Redding, is below the engineer’s estimate of $141,053. Approximately $169,100 has been allocated from the construction fund for the work.
She said the projects’ funding comes from the Caltrans Safe Route to Schools grant program.
Phillipe also will ask the council to consider amending Chapter 2 of the city’s municipal code relating to council member salaries.
She explained in her report that because the city has a population of less than 35,000, it has a per-month salary of $300.
City municipal code stipulates, “No compensation shall be paid for any partial month of service which results from assuming or leaving office.”
She said that means that a council member leaving office at the start of December, the month changeovers in seats usually takes place in election years, does not receive pay; neither does a new council member participating in just one meeting that month.
During the last election, with two council members leaving and two new ones coming on, “it came to staff’s attention that this provision existed but had not been adhered to for at least the last several elections,” Phillipe reported.
She said the interim finance director’s research found they had been paying the monthly salary both to outgoing and incoming council members in Decembers following elections.
Phillipe said staff is recommending striking that sentence in the municipal code in order to provide for the $300 payment, regardless of the partial month due to leaving or assuming office, “inasmuch as both outgoing and incoming councilmembers provide service to the community during that transition month,” she wrote.
On Thursday the council also will hear a proposal from Mayor Jeri Spittler regarding having the city co-sponsor a “trunk or treat” event in the city this Halloween.
Consent agenda items include adoption of a resolution approving the fee schedule for taxi cabs and other for-hire vehicles, based on the council’s final approval at its last meeting of a new ordinance governing such vehicles; minutes of the council meetings on Feb. 28, March 14, March 28 and April 11; and minutes of the March 13 Lake County Vector Control District meeting.
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042513 Clearlake City Council - Safe Routes to School Projects
042513 Clearlake City Council - Council Members Salaries
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