Supervisors to hear Lakeside Heights update, hold second reading of TV8 pass-through fee ordinance

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors this week will discuss options for protecting public water and sewer infrastructure as a landslide at a north Lakeport subdivision continues to worsen, and will hold a second reading on a pass-through fee to raise funds for the county’s cable access television station.

The meeting will take place beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday, April 23, in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport. It will be broadcast live on TV8.

At 10:45 a.m., Special Districts Administrator Mark Dellinger will present to the board a status report and ask for discussion and consideration of options to protect the public water and sewer systems at Lakeside Heights subdivision.

Over the past month, a hillside at the north Lakeport subdivision has deteriorated, with several homes irreparably damaged and requiring demolition, as Lake County News has reported.

A geotechnical engineer is working with Special Districts to formulate a plan for moving forward. Horizontal borings to remove water from the hillside have helped address ground saturation, but Dellinger told the board at its meeting last week that the ground continues to sink.

In an untimed item, the board will hold a second reading of an ordinance to assess a 1-percent pass-through fee on Mediacom customers’ bills to fund TV8, the Public, Educational and Governmental (PEG) cable access TV station.

The board approved the initial reading of the ordinance at its April 9 in a 3-2 vote. County Counsel Anita Grant is expected to report back on whether the fee would become permanent due to change in how state franchises will be handled, which goes into effect this fall, or whether the board could, in the future, withdraw the ordinance.

Also on Tuesday’s agenda, at 9:30 a.m. the board will hear a presentation on the Clear Lake hitch endangered species candidacy review process. At 10:30 a.m., they will consider a proposed policy identifying every county employee as a mandated reporter of child abuse.

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 week of April 21-27, 2013, as National Crime Victims’ Rights Week; and (b) presentation of proclamation designating April 2013 as Autism Awareness Month; (c) presentation of proclamation designating April 2013 as Older Americans Month; and (d) presentation of proclamation designating the week of April 21-27 as National Volunteer Recognition Week.

9:15 a.m., A-6: Presentation of Lake County Fish and Wildlife Advisory Committee Advisory Committee Annual Report.

9:30 a.m., A-7: Presentation regarding the Clear Lake Hitch endangered species candidacy review process.

10:15 a.m., A-8: (a) Consideration of proposed policy identifying every county employee as a mandated reporter of child abuse; and (b) consideration of the creation and implementation of employee training program.

10:30 a.m., A-9: Consideration of letter of support of SB 566 (Leno) California Industrial Hemp Farming Act.

10:45 a.m., A-10: Presentation of status report and discussion/consideration of options to protect the public water and sewer systems at Lakeside Heights Subdivision.

NONTIMED ITEMS

A-11: Supervisors’ weekly calendar, travel and reports.

A-12: Consideration of proposed resolution of support of SB 135 (Padilla) Earthquake Early Warning System Act.

A-13: Consideration of proposed ordinance adding Article Seven to Chapter Seven of the Lake County Code to provide support for Public, Educational and Governmental (PEG) Cable Television Access Facilities. Second reading, advanced from April 9, 2013.

A-14: Consideration of proposed classification and salary adjustments within the Administrative Office.

A-15: Consideration of proposed resolution authorizing the chair to sign a notice of completion for the Middletown Library/Senior Center.

A-16: Consideration of interim guidelines on use of Middletown Library Community Meeting Rooms pending presentation of formal policy. Continued from April 16, 2013.

A-17: Consideration of proposed agreements between the county of Lake County Clerk and ExecuTime for automated time reporting payroll system.

A-18: (a) Consideration of proposed resolution authorizing the Air Pollution Management District to sign and submit the application for Carl Moyer Year 15 funding and other program documents; (b) consideration of request for board position regarding various program implementation priorities and processes.

A-19: (a) Consideration of request to waive formal bidding process; and (b) consideration of request to authorize the purchase and reconditioning of two used Kenworth T-700 dump trucks for county road
maintenance.

CLOSED SESSION

A-20: 1.Conference with labor negotiator: (a) county negotiators: A. Grant, L. Guintivano, M. Perry, and A. Flora; and (b) Deputy District Attorney's Association, Lake County Deputy Sheriff's Association, Lake County Correctional Officers Association, Lake County Employees Association and Lake County Safety Employees Association.

CONSENT AGENDA

C-1: Approve minutes of the Board of Supervisors meeting held on April 16, 2013.

C-2: (a) Adopt proclamation designating the week of April 21-27, 2013 as National Crime Victims’ Rights Week; and (b) adopt proclamation designating April 2013 as Autism Awareness Month; (c) Adopt Proclamation designating April 2013 as Older Americans Month; and (d) adopt proclamation designating the week of April 21-27 as National Volunteer Recognition Week.

C-3: (a) Adopt resolution amending Resolution No. 2012-107 establishing position allocations for Fiscal Year 2012-2013, Budget Unit 6022, Library (delete one Library Technician and add one Librarian I); and (b) authorize reclassification of Librarian Technician Christopher Veach to Librarian I, effective May 1, 2013.

C-4: Approve letter of support for SB 191 (Padilla) to continue “Maddy” Emergency Medical Services and Richie Funding, and authorize all Supervisors to sign.

C-5: Waive 900 hour limit for extra help Janitor Diana Hasty.

C-6: Adopt resolution appropriating unanticipated revenue to Budget Unit 1231, County Counsel ($2000 from Air Quality Management District).

C-7: Adopt resolution authorizing grant application through the California Department of Public Health for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP-ED) for Federal Fiscal Years October 2013 through September 2016 and authorize the Health Services director to sign.

C-8: Adopt resolution amending Resolution No. 2012-107 establishing position allocations for Fiscal Year 2012-2013, Budget Unit No. 1341, Human Resources (delete one (1) Human Resources Technician, and add one (1) Human Resources Analyst I/II).

C-9: Approve plans and specifications for construction of pavement rehabilitation on Lakeshore Boulevard from 2200 feet north of Park Way to Hill Road in Lake County, and authorize the Public Works director/assistant purchasing agent to advertise for bids.

C-10: Waive the formal bidding process on the basis that it would produce no economic benefit to the county; and (b) authorize the sheriff/assistant purchasing agent to issue a purchase order to VPI, in the amount of $32,357 plus applicable tax, for dispatch logging recorder, including installation, training and three years of maintenance and support (all funds provided by Homeland Security Anti-Terrorism
grant).

C-11: Approve cooperative Law Enforcement Annual Patrol Operations Plan and Financial Plan between the county of Lake, the U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Forest Service for FY 2013/14 suppression of the manufacturing and trafficking of controlled substances and for patrolling the Pillsbury area, for a total amount of $70,906, and authorize the chair and sheriff to sign.

C-12: Approve agreement between the county of Lake and PJ Helicopters (total amount not to exceed $60,000) through Dec. 31, 2013, and authorize the chair to sign the agreements.

C-13: Approve advanced step hiring of Accounting Technician Pat Mclean, due to applicant’s extraordinary qualifications (5th step salary range).

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.

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Written by: Elizabeth Larson

Published: 22 April 2013

US Army Corps of Engineers releases review of local levees; county faults findings

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – This week the US Army Corps of Engineers released inspection ratings for six Clear Lake levees, with the county’s Public Works director faulting the Corps for lack of communication and the timeliness of the information.

The Corps’ Sacramento District rated maintenance of two of the levee systems “minimally acceptable” and gave an “unacceptable” maintenance rating to four others. All of the levees are maintained by Lake County Watershed Protection District and the California Department of Water Resources.

All six of the rated levees are located on Middle Creek, in an area slated to be part of a restoration area that eventually will be put back under water.

Supervisor Denise Rushing said there are “just a handful” of occupied homes in the area of the levees. The county has bought many properties there in an effort to advance the Middle Creek Restoration Project.

Scott De Leon, director of Lake County Department of Public Works, said the Corps’ report gives an “unfair and inaccurate” snapshot of the condition of the levees, located north of the confluence of Middle and Scotts creeks.

He said he had a number of concerns about the report. “We didn’t know anything about the inspections and frankly we didn’t know anything about the results” until earlier this month.

There also is the matter of the results having been withheld from the county through two flooding seasons, said De Leon.

The Corps said that when the maintenance problems have been corrected, Lake County may request a reinspection of the levee systems, and regain active status in the Corps’ levee program if they’ve been adequately addressed.

De Leon said he’s already requested that the levees ruled “unacceptable” be reinspected. “It could take several months for them to schedule reinspection,” he said.

The same levees have been inspected by the California Department of Water Resources and have had passing inspections and no problems since 2011, said De Leon.

In 2007, the US Army Corps of Engineers had listed one of the Middle Creek levees as having been maintained at an unacceptable level based on an inspection done two years before, as Lake County News has reported. Trees, vegetation and gravel had been listed as issues, and had been addressed by the time the rating was released.

The Corps said its inspection findings determine levee systems’ continued eligibility for its rehabilitation and inspection program. The agency has authority to provide federal assistance for flood fighting and repairing levees damaged by floods or storms.

The main issue for the county, said De Leon, is that if there was to be a flood or severe storm before the reinspection – which he said is unlikely to happen – the county would not be eligible for federal funds for repair and rehabilitation of the levees because of the unacceptable rating.

The Corps’ Sacramento District conducted routine inspection of the six levee systems June 28-29, 2011.

An April 4 letter from De Leon to Col. William Leady, the Corps’ district commander, said the county was first notified by phone of the findings on March 21, the day before the final reports were presented to the Central Valley Flood Protection Board March 22. The Corps said it presented the findings to Lake County on April 2 for review.

“The Central Valley Flood Protection Board, Department of Water Resources and Lake County are continuing to work collaboratively to resolve encroachment and maintenance issues with a goal of achieving an acceptable rating on all the levee systems,” said Len Marino, chief engineer for the Central Valley Flood Protection Board.

Ahead of the Corps’ public release of the results this week, county staff briefed the Board of Supervisors.

The levees, said De Leon, actually were designed and built in the 1940s and 1950s by the Army Corps of Engineers.

The Corps’ report said the most serious deficiencies were encroachments. Unacceptable vegetation was noted during the inspections, but in none of the six systems did vegetation result in an overall unacceptable rating. There also were issues with culverts and pipes, and pump station records.

De Leon said a number of issues the Corps identified are things that either were built as part of original construction, including encroachments, or things that are “just plain silly.”

Regarding the latter, De Leon said some of the levees have culverts that go through them. One of the culverts has a flap gate on it, and a stick was found in the gate causing it not to close completely. That was written up in the report.

“That’s one of the things that helped take our levees out of our status,” he said.

By the time a county staffer went out to check the levee, that stick was gone. Had the county been included in the inspections, De Leon said those smaller issues could have been immediately fixed.

“It’s not a very accurate evaluation of the levee,” he said.

Another matter related to vegetation on the levees. De Leon said the county hires a contractor to mow the levees every year. Had they been notified of the inspection, mowing could have been moved up. As it was, the inspection said the pipes in the levees couldn’t be tracked because of the vegetation growth.

“My staff knows exactly where those pipes go,” said De Leon. “Had we been involved we could have answered a lot of questions and resolved a bunch of the issues.”

The Corps said it will continue to provide flood fighting assistance for all six levee systems, regardless of their status.

The map below shows the levees in question. Levees deemed to be in “unacceptable” condition are Middle Creek U1 left bank, Middle Creek U1 north, Middle Creek U1 and U5, Middle Creek U2 and U3. In “minimally acceptable” condition are Middle Creek U1 south and Middle Creek U2 north.

“We’ve got to get these levees back into an active status,” said De Leon. “We intend to have everything done well before the next flood season.”

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.

Middle Creek Levee System Map

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Written by: Elizabeth Larson

Published: 19 April 2013

City looks at options for future uses of Carnegie Library

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Surrounded by palm trees on the edge of Clear Lake, the 95-year-old Lakeport Carnegie Library building is one of the county’s most recognizable landmarks.

In 2008, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on the local level of significance, with the Friends of the Lake County Museum having submitted the application on its behalf the previous year, according to National Parks Service records.

The library building, which is owned by the city of Lakeport, currently is not open to the public, according to Lakeport City Manager Margaret Silveira.

City staff had been using the building a few years ago before being moved back into the main City Hall building across the street, Silveira said.

She said the city still is using space in the basement of the building, which has Internet access and a main floor just under 1,500 square feet.

Now, the building is the focus of an effort to come up with a new plan for its future.

“Right now we’re just trying to see what interest is out there,” Silveira said.

Scottish-born steel magnate Andrew Carnegie put the fruits of his vast fortune to public use throughout the United States in the form of what came to be known as Carnegie Libraries.

He required two main conditions of communities in order to provide funding – that they provide a suitable library site and agree to continuously support the library through tax funds.

According to a history of the libraries written by Dr. George S. Bobinski and featured at http://www.carnegie-libraries.org/ , between 1889 and 1923 funding provided by Carnegie and his corporation established 1,681 public library buildings in 1,412 communities across the United States.

Lakeport received an $8,000 grant in 1914 to build its library, designed by architects Ward and Blohme and built in the Classical Revival style, according to the Carnegie Libraries of California Web site. The library opened in 1918.

The Carnegie Libraries of California Web site contains a list of the 144 libraries built across California with Carnegie’s donations. Based on that list, 57 of those libraries have been demolished.

An ad hoc committee to the Lakeport Economic Development Advisory Committee met, toured the building and were discussing some ideas with a view to enhancing the building and Library Park as greater attractions, according to LEDAC member Wilda Shock.

However, Shock and Silveira both said that so far there is no plan, with Silveira adding that the city is still open to proposals.

Carol Hays, executive director of the Lakeport Main Street Association, said she currently is completing an application, due May 1, for a grant from the Hart Family Fund for Small Towns, which focuses on communities like Lakeport with populations under 5,000.

“It’s for a consultant who would be giving us a report on the feasibility of what we have in mind, giving us some ideas on best use,” Hays said of the grant funding.

Hays said the grant would not fund any actual construction.

The grants, which “are intended to encourage preservation at the local level by providing seed money for preservation projects in small towns,” usually range between $2,500 and $10,000, and the process to receive one is highly competitive, according to the National Trust for Historic Preservation Web site.

Applications that are not selected are automatically considered for the National Trust Preservation Fund grants, which range between $2,500 and $5,000 and also provide seed money for local historic preservation projects, the organization explained.

Silveira said the library building is in good shape. In 2010 new gold letters were placed on its exterior – the sign lettering had been broken by vandals in 2009 – but otherwise it has had no major issues.

However, one of the questions that the city must answer is the extent to which the building must be modernized to become compliant with federal Americans with Disabilities Act law.

Because the library is on the National Register of Historic Places, it’s not clear if the building would need to be fully ADA-compliant, Hays said.

If it is required, Hays said there will need to be a kitchen and new bathrooms. An elevator also may be required in order to allow greater access to the main floor, which now can only be reached by a steep set of stairs.

“It’s not going to be a small investment,” Hays said.

Hays said there have been some suggestions from local organizations, including having the building be used for meeting space or as a business incubator for small businesses.

Silveira said they are not opposed to the idea of having the building used by private businesses, but the main goal is that it be a community benefit.

“It’s a beautiful setting in the summertime,” she said.

Silveira said she would like to have a slate of suggestions to take to the Lakeport City Council at some point in the future.

Anyone with a proposal or suggestion is invited to send it to Silveira at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 707-263-5615, Extension 32.

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.

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Written by: Elizabeth Larson

Published: 18 April 2013

Animal Care and Control receives new spay/neuter grant; focus to be placed on Clearlake cats

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Animal Care and Control has received a new grant that will be used to focus on Clearlake’s community cats.

On Tuesday, as part of its consent agenda, the Board of Supervisors approved the agreement between the county of Lake and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals for the $10,000 grant.

The grant is for fiscal year 2013-14 spay/neuter services for community cats, including those within the city limits of Clearlake. With its vote the board also gave Animal Care and Control Director Bill Davidson authorization to sign the document.

“We should be receiving the money in June,” said Davidson.

Davidson told Lake County News that this is the second $10,000 grant from the ASPCA that Animal Care and Control has received. The previous one came through last year, as Lake County News has reported.

For that first grant that came through last year, Davidson said 550 surgeries were performed in nine months at Animal Care and Control’s veterinary clinic, which opened in March 2012.

This new grant will help concentrate services on the city of Clearlake, said Davidson. He said Lee Lambert of Clearlake Animal Control worked with him on the grant.

The collaboration with the city of Clearlake “was one of the keys to getting the grant,” Davidson said.

Davidson said he is planning 400 surgeries for the new grant, and he wants to get as many Clearlake community cats as possible to fill those surgery slots.

“Community cats” are defined as cats that don’t have specific homes. Many neighborhoods have them – cats, often friendly enough to make their way around to different homes for food and shelter, but not belonging to anyone.

They often lack the necessary veterinary care, including spaying or neutering, and altering them is believed to be a key way of reducing the number of unwanted kittens.

Thanks to the additional efforts being taken in the area of spay/neuter, Davidson said his agency is seeing large reductions in euthanasia rates. Final rates on the shelter’s euthanasia for the year will be ready by this summer, when the fiscal year closes out.

Community cats often are euthanized when being admitted to the shelter, said Davidson. The option to spay or neuter them is helping keep them out of the shelter.

“All cat intake numbers are down this year,” he said.

When Animal Care and Control was studying the addition of a veterinary clinic a few years ago, it was revealed that Lake County had the worst cat euthanasia rates in the state, he said.

Davidson said those statistics are now about two years, and while he’s not exactly certain where Lake County current stands, he’s certain that it’s much improved.

This year’s kitten season is just getting under way – Davidson estimated it will continue through the end of summer. “This year is going to be a key indicator about how things are working,” he said.

Animal Care and Control currently is operating a community cat spaying and neutering program for the Kelseyville area funded by a PetSmart grant. However, Davidson said they are not getting as much response as expected.

“We’re having a tough time getting Kelseyville cats in here,” he said, noting outreach efforts currently are under way, and his wife, who works as a principal in the Kelseyville Unified School District, has received approval to pass the information along to students and parents.

Now that Animal Care and Control has its own veterinary clinic, Davidson said they always will offer spaying and neutering of community cats, whether there is grant money or not. However, he plans to continue pursuing those grants to continue the work of reducing euthanasia rates.

For more information on the community cats programs, call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278.

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.

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Written by: Elizabeth Larson

Published: 18 April 2013