Clearlake City Council approves policy for candidates’ forums in chambers, on cable access

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – In the midst of the fall election season, the Clearlake City Council on Thursday night approved a policy on candidates’ forums that use the council chambers and are broadcast on cable access television.

City Manager Joan Phillipe brought to the council the updated policy affecting not just forums in the chambers but those that are broadcast on TV8, the cable access station housed in city hall.

City Attorney Malathy Subramanian originally had drafted the proposed policy in 2010, but it hadn’t previously made it to the council, according to Phillipe.

Phillipe was advised of the policy after she joined the city last October. At that time, she was told the Public Education Government (PEG) Board had addressed concerns about forums.

However, Phillipe said recently the city received a request for the use of the council chambers for a forum. She said it was not at all clear to the staffer processing the request that all of the requirements for holding such an event had been met.

As a result, Phillipe reviewed the policy, which she wanted the council to approve.

She said the city is responsible not only for what happens in the chambers but for what appears on the PEG Channel, and it can be held liable and face possible litigation if the events aren’t fair. It’s important for the city to be neutral, she added.

The use of the council chambers and the television station both quality as expenditures of public funds, Phillipe said.

Council member Judy Thein said all candidates at such events should be given the same questions to ensure fairness. She said the format of the forums also should be approved by the city manager.

Council member Joyce Overton, who chairs the PEG Board, said that all candidates have to be invited to forums, which must be moderated by an unbiased person, with each candidate getting the same questions.

She said the PEG Board was in support of the policy and wanted to include it in the station’s manual.

Mayor Joey Luiz said the proposed policy wasn’t a reactive item, and that he hasn’t seen problems with the forums he’s been in involved in or which have taken during the current election cycle. Rather, he said it’s “good housekeeping” to have something in place.

Overton moved to adopt the policy, including Thein’s proposals to have all candidates receive the same questions with the city manager’s approval of the format.

The council approved the policy 5-0.

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101112 Clearlake City Council - Policy for Candidates' Forums

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Written by: Elizabeth Larson

Published: 13 October 2012

Clearlake City Council votes to rename playground for child killed in 2011 shooting

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A little boy who died in a June 2011 shooting in Clearlake will be commemorated by having a city playground named in his memory.

On Thursday night the Clearlake City Council voted 5-0 to name the playground at Austin Park the Skyler Rapp Memorial Playground.

Four-year-old Skyler Rapp was shot to death on the night of Saturday, June 18, 2011, in the yard of his family’s home on Lakeshore Drive.

The red-haired little boy was roasting marshmallows with family and friends when Paul Braden and Orlando Lopez Jr. opened fire from an adjacent yard, killing the child and wounding five adults, including his mother, Desiree Kirby, and her boyfriend, Ross Sparks.

Skyler was hit multiple times and died at the scene of the shooting, which police said was the worst incident of its kind in the city’s three-decade history.

Over the summer, Braden and Lopez were convicted of the shootings, and sentenced to 312 and 311 years, respectively, in state prison, as Lake County News has reported.

Last year, community member Yolanda Hernandez asked the city to consider renaming Highlands Park in memory of the child.

City Manager Joan Phillipe told the council on Thursday night that after that original request – and before her arrival last October – a subcommittee of city officials discussed the proposal and came up with another idea, that of renaming Austin Park’s playground in honor of the little boy.

The proposal – which Phillipe said had been discussed with Hernandez – will fit with the public facilities and parks naming policy the council accepted last month. Phillipe said there is minimal cost to the city to rename the playground.

The only public comment offered on the item came from Chuck Leonard, a retired councilman, who suggested that – with all due respect to the child – he though parks should be named for people who have done things for the city.

He said it would be more appropriate to name a bench or something else in honor of the child, adding he was concerned that naming and renaming facilities could go on indefinitely.

“We don’t do it for every person that comes along,” said Leonard.

Vice Mayor Jeri Spittler was in favor of honoring the child.

“It is a playground, he was a 4-year-old little boy and I think it’s time for healing,” Spittler said.

Spittler suggested that the gesture will help the family and the community heal and also serve “to remind ourselves where we don’t want to end up ever again.”

Councilmember Judy Thein called it an easy decision to honor the boy, who didn’t have a chance to grow up.

Councilmember Joyce Overton also supported it, saying Skyler’s death affected everyone in the community tremendously, and served as a reminder to cherish children and keep them safe.

Mayor Joey Luiz called the little boy “a martyr,” noting it was very moving to see how many people came out for the June 2011 vigil in the child’s memory.

Spittler moved to approve the playground naming, which the council unanimously approved.

In response to the news of the vote, Hernandez posted on Lake County News’ Facebook page that it was important to remember Skyler.

“He did something special, he woke us all up that this kind of thing doesn’t only happen in a big city,” she wrote, adding that such things can – and did – happen in Clearlake.

“Skyler touched our hearts and brought this community together,” he said.

Hernandez said she asked for the name for one reason – “so this will NEVER happen again. We will be reminded that an innocent CHILD was taken too soon. Skyler if given the chance could have grown up to be an amazing man. I want people to think twice before hurting someone, how would you feel if it were you.”

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Written by: Elizabeth Larson

Published: 12 October 2012

Preliminary designs for Lakeshore Drive Downtown Corridor to be presented Friday

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A week of workshops and meetings to engage Clearlake residents in the work of designing an improved Lakeshore Drive Downtown Corridor will culminate Friday in a presentation of preliminary designs followed by a reception for community members.

The city of Clearlake hosted the events this week, which focus on the area of Lakeshore Drive from Olympic Drive to Highway 53.

The Lake County/City Area Planning Council applied for, and received, a Caltrans grant to support the downtown corridor planning events, and also offered matching funds.

The planning sessions are being used to collect ideas on how to beautify and revitalize the area, offer more lake access, and make it more safe and accessible whether walking, biking or driving.

Sessions thus far have included a walking assessment and workshop on Tuesday and an open design studio on Wednesday.

Officials said the community input from those sessions will be incorporated into a final plan.

On Friday, preliminary designs will be presented to the community at a workshop that will take place at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive, from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Afterward a community reception will take place from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Austin Park, 14077 Lakeshore Drive.

So far, the community response has been very good and highly positive, and “the process is working,” according to a report the design team gave the Clearlake City Council at the council’s Thursday night meeting.

Team members told the council that more than 70 people participated in the Tuesday sessions, and that overall there has been “robust” turnout at the workshops and meetings.

Among the many California communities where they’ve conducted such sessions, the team reported that Clearlake is standing out for its level of participation and engagement.

There also were more than 25 people at an open design studio on Wednesday evening, more than double what the team has seen in other communities.

Josh Meyer, director of community planning programs for the Local Government Commission, which has assisted the city with this week’s events, said the community should be proud of itself.

He said small steps are happening in Clearlake, and the team could feel the community’s energy during the interactions so far.

Meyer said the team was coming up with proposals for some small scale improvements along the corridor, and said community members should start to see some actual changes.

He said they’re also going to identify long-term strategies for improving the corridor, and identify real projects that the city can complete.

“It’s been a great week, being a part of this process,” said Mayor Joey Luiz.

City Manager Joan Phillipe told the council later that night that she’s been through a number of such planning processes.

“I think the participation level in this particular process has been exceedingly high, I’d say the highest I’ve seen,” said Phillipe.

The participation, she added, also has been positive, with people coming forward with a desire to be involved.

“For me that’s a very gratifying situation,” she added.

Vice Mayor Jeri Spittler called the planning process exciting. “It just really brings the community together.”

Council member Joyce Overton said she was proud of the community stepping up and participating in the Lakeshore Drive Downtown Corridor planning process. She said everybody is anxious to see a real design on the project, which has been talked about a long time.

Officials invited the community to come to the Friday evening preliminary design presentation at city hall, to be followed by a reception – including food, wine tasting and live music – at Austin Park, which will celebrate the community’s involvement in the design work.

If there is a change in the weather, the reception will move from Austin Park to the Highlands Senior Center, 3245 Bowers Ave.

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Written by: Elizabeth Larson

Published: 12 October 2012

Events engage community in designing improvements for Lakeshore Drive Downtown Corridor

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The city of Clearlake and several local agencies kicked off the first of several community events for the improvement of the Lakeshore Drive Downtown Corridor with a walking assessment of the project area on Tuesday, followed by an open studio Wednesday evening.

The Tuesday walking event, followed by a workshop at city hall, had participation from nearly 40 members of the public who met at Highlands Park and, after donning bright orange vests, divided into two groups.

Walking along Lakeshore Drive, and guided by staff from the Local Government Commission and Opticos Design Inc., participants provided feedback, and questions were answered as key areas and issues were pointed out.

Some of the issues included improving parking, placement of sidewalks, bus stops, and bike and travel lanes.

Staff placed emphasis on short-term as well as long-term solutions, including not acquiring properties for road improvements if possible. That matter came up because not all of Lakeshore Drive has the 40 to 60 feet of right-of-way that it technically should.

Back-in parking was a suggested design for some areas of Lakeshore Drive. Safely providing a way for cars to back in and out and avoid hitting bicyclists or pedestrians, as well as other cars, was a reason offered for considering this type of parking feature.

A blind corner by Mullen Avenue and Lakeshore Drive brought up a need for safety mirrors or having high visibility crosswalks; such crosswalks measure 18 inches wide, and are 4 to 8 feet long. They provide not only more road visibility for drivers, but in turn make pedestrians more visible to drivers as well.

Some attendees discussed the need to improve bus stops. Suggested improvements would allow the elderly and those who are less mobile to sit instead of stand, while waiting for buses.

Staff stated that bus stops would be worked into the designs, and small bus stops such as those in Lake Tahoe – particularly the Kings Beach area – were being used as preliminary examples.

Regarding the beautification of the street, John Miki from Opticos Design Inc. mentioned a façade improvement program.

Miki said the program would provide tax breaks to merchants to improve their frontage on Lakeshore Drive. The program could provide up to $5,000 in improvements and could be a cost saving option for business owners.

Another alternative funding option for Lakeshore Drive improvements are government-funded rain gardens, where the collection of stormwater would help the City provide more greening of the area.

Both the façade improvement program and the rain gardens would allow the city to pave the streets on a smaller scale, therefore resulting in less out-of-pocket expense for both merchants and the city.

Another proposal offered during the meeting was creating a tourist attraction for Lakeshore Drive by converting the residence next to Highlands Park into a visitor center. The Clearlake City Council recently approved an agreement with the Clear Lake Chamber of Commerce to do just that, as Lake County News has reported.

Development of the center and opening the park to kayak rentals, bocce ball courts and weddings were offered as ways to draw tourists to downtown Clearlake.

On Wednesday evening, the public was invited to an open studio at an office across from Highlands Park. There, they were able to see and share ideas about designs that were already in progress.  

Miki led the group in discussing existing elements of the Clearlake General Plan that could use some fine tuning.

One example was parking; the current requirement for parking is too high and takes away from making several improvements.  

Lakeshore Drive, with its three waterfront parks, can attract the pedestrian traffic, coming in via boats or kayaks. Miki spoke of encouraging the use of floating docks, where people could cross Clear Lake and spend extra money in town.  

The Lakeshore Drive Downtown Corridor is about two miles long. The public was asked to think of nodes, or key areas, to consider for focuses on the downtown's center.  

Staff suggested that the city work with resources that it currently has now, focus on stormwater treatment and offset costs by grants.  

The staff also showed sketches of proposed roundabouts on Olympic Drive and Lakeshore Drive, as well as one by Old Highway 53 and Lakeshore Drive, by the old Shell gas station.  

To allow large trucks to make the turns, proposed roundabouts would measure about 110 feet in a circle diameter.  These could be built without taking out buildings in the long term.    

Safety also was discussed, especially the dangerous area by Mullen Avenue and Lakeshore Drive. Staff proposed not allowing left turns from Mullen onto the busy intersection.

Josh Meyer, director of Community Planning Programs for Local Government Commission, stated that there were 285 crashes in the city of Clearlake in the last five years, according to studies. Two were at Mullen.    

Miki suggested that the city work on reorganizing parking lots down the road, and hire an architect and landscape architect to help implement proposed features on the Lakeshore Drive corridor.  

The three parks were each focused on for their benefits and possibilities. With fishing piers and marinas, the parks have tremendous room for development.  

Other cities close a stretch of their main roads on certain days to allow walking and biking traffic.  Businesses in those cities have noticed substantial increase with the pedestrians stopping by their stores during these road closures.  

Some members of the public expressed concern over whether these proposals could actually happen.  
Some had been on the first Planning Commission, and ideas of improving Lakeshore Drive had been discussed since the early 1980s.  

Miki and his staff said they would leave a report with the city with “bite size pieces” – items that could be done now, in months, not years.  

The report, to be presented Friday, will have short-, medium- and long term goals and how to help reach them. Phasing plans also would be part of helping Clearlake realize its goal of finally improving its vision of a feasible downtown corridor.  

At its meeting Thursday evening, the Clearlake City Council is due to get an update from the corridor study’s design team.

On Friday, from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive, the design team will present the preliminary designs.

Afterward, from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., the Clear Lake Chamber and the City of Clearlake will host a community reception – complete with food, wine and live music – at Austin Park, 14077 Lakeshore Drive, to celebrate the community’s efforts on the project.

The events this week were organized by the City of Clearlake, Lake County/City Area Planning Council and the Local Government Commission, with support from a California Department of Transportation Community-Based Transportation Planning Grant and the Clear Lake Chamber of Commerce.

Email Nathalie V. Antus at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

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Written by: Nathalie V. Antus

Published: 11 October 2012