How to resolve AdBlock issue? Clearlake City Council accepts $20.3 million balanced budget
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Despite facing limited resources and dwindling reserves, Clearlake city staff took to the Clearlake City Council a balanced $20.3 million budget on Thursday, which the council unanimously accepted.
It’s the first budget for City Manager Joan Phillipe, who said the document “tells the story of the city.”
That story includes reduced funding from the state, the need to watch every penny and the importance of team work in rebuilding the city’s fiscal health.
The budget document, according to Phillipe, had been in process for many months, and was the focus of special meetings and workshops.
The final version got high praise from council members, including Council member Joyce Overton, who called it the best budget she’s seen in her time on the council.
Phillipe warned the council of challenges ahead.
“We have extremely limited resources,” she said.
Not long after Phillipe arrived last fall, she recommended to the council that they hold a series of workshops to identify goals and a mission statement. The council agreed, and went through those planning steps.
“This budget is based upon that direction that came out of that process,” Phillipe said.
She explained that the state has taken a huge amount of the resources that historically have been allocated to cities and counties.
As a result, the city’s budget is extremely conservative, and doesn’t include some of the revenues the city anticipates receiving from development, according to Phillipe.
Phillipe said the city’s general fund – which this year totals $4.1 million – has virtually no reserve.
She said that the city needs to work as a team – from the council to the staff to community members – to improve Clearlake’s fiscal health.
“We will continue at a staff level to be prudent,” she said, with staff directed to monitor expenditures.
The budget, she said, shows revenues that are slightly up over the last budget year, with expenditures slightly reduced in order to improve the fiscal health of the city.
“Clearly, our work is cut out for us,” she said.
She thanked the staff and department heads for their work on the budget, noting it was a different process than has been used in the past.
It was critically important for the public to be aware of the city’s fiscal condition, Phillipe said. That was a reason for scheduling budget workshops in the evenings, although those sessions were reported to have been sparsely attended.
Phillipe said city staff is available to answer the public’s questions, with the budget document available at the front counter at city hall, 14050 Olympic Drive, for those who want to review it.
“This is a document that, what you see is what you get,” she said.
During public comment, retired Councilman Chuck Leonard – who sat through the budget workshops – commended staff and the council for work on the budget.
“You’ve found a way to keep this city running,” Leonard said.
Mayor Joey Luiz said the budget was well done and well put together.
“We wish we had more in reserve but at least it’s balanced,” he said, noting that he already was worrying about next year, since the city had a small influx of one-time money this year to cushion it.
The council approved the budget resolution 4-0, and also unanimously passed a resolution adopting the appropriations limit for fiscal year 20l2-l3 and designating the formula to be used for the calculation of that limit. Council member Judy Thein was absent.
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Middletown man arrested, marijuana plants eradicated
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – A marijuana compliance check in the Middletown area has resulted in one arrest and the seizure of 84 marijuana plants.
Joseph Andrew Lamoureux, 26, of Middletown, was arrested as a result of the check, according to Sgt. Steve Brooks of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
On Tuesday, July 31, at approximately 1048 a.m., the Lake County Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force and Lake County Code Enforcement conducted a marijuana compliance check at an address on Sheveland Road in Middletown, Brooks said.
When detectives arrived they located 84 marijuana plants, which were growing outside, he said.
Detectives contacted the resident, Lamoureux, who said he was growing the marijuana for a collective based in the Los Angeles area and provided 16 medical recommendations for the detectives to review, according to Brooks.
Brooks said Lamoureux also said that he did not know any of the subjects listed on the recommendations, and he was unable to provide his own medical recommendation, stating it was at his attorney’s office being photocopied.
The marijuana grow site was determined to be in violation of Lake County Ordinance No. 2977, an interim urgency marijuana cultivation ordinance the Board of Supervisors passed July 9. Brooks said all of the marijuana plants were eradicated.
Lamoureux was arrested for cultivation of marijuana and possession of marijuana for sale. Brooks said he was transported to the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility and booked.
The Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force can be contacted through its anonymous tip line at 707-263-3663.
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Board receives urgency marijuana cultivation ordinance update; evening meeting to discuss extension takes place Aug. 21
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors received an update on Tuesday on the enforcement efforts resulting from the county's interim urgency marijuana cultivation ordinance, which supervisors will consider extending later this month.
Community Development Director Rick Coel gave the report on the efforts, carried out between his department and the Lake County Sheriff's Office.
They're pursuing the enforcements under the auspices of the ordinance the board passed Monday, July 9, at the end of a daylong special meeting at the Lake County Fairgrounds.
In addition to setting screening requirements, the ordinance prohibits marijuana grows on vacant parcels, and limits plants to six on a half acre or less, 12 plants with a 75-foot setback on parcels of half an acre to one acre, 18 plants and a 150-foot setback on parcels one to five acres in size, 36 plants and a minimum 150 foot setback on five- to 40-acre parcels, and a maximum of 48 plants on parcels 40 acres and larger.
The 45-day ordinance runs out on Thursday, Aug. 23, and Coel will ask the board to extend the it. He told Lake County News last week that the board could extend the ordinance a maximum of 22 months.
Board Chair Rob Brown said Tuesday that, due to interest in the subject, the board will hold a special evening meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 21, at Kelseyville High School, to consider the ordinance's extension. The board will begin the meeting at 4 p.m., with the discussion on the ordinance to begin at 6 p.m.
Coel told the Board Tuesday that county staffers and deputies have conducted 30 compliance reviews and eradicated 2,500 plants.
He showed them a slideshow of the grows encountered during the compliance checks – including clear cutting of trees and other vegetation, unpermitted grading on steep slopes, dumping of raw sewage and interference with seasonal streams, large amounts of nutrient rich topsoil, children's plastic swimming pools being used for planters, travel trailers being used as living quarters on vacant properties, and large, unpermitted buildings metal buildings and greenhouses.
Rushing said she had visited one of the grows on a steep hillside above Nice, pointing to cut down oak trees and other environmental damage. “I don't know how the county's going to repair this,” she said.
During the discussion, Rushing asked Coel what the process for restoration was for the abated properties. He said he was not aware of any funding specifically for such environmental repairs.
“The problem is overwhelming in terms of the environmental destruction,” he said, adding that it will require an “amazing” amount of labor to put right the properties.
Coel said they were seeing a pattern of owners renting out the properties to growers for the summers.
Brown said there is a YouTube video of a Cobb marijuana grower showing him clear cutting his property in order to grow marijuana.
He said the county was doing triage and taking on the worst grows. “Hopefully, even the legitimate growers want this dealt with because this is a black eye for them,” Brown said, adding that the board was targeting the most destructive grows all along, not those of legitimate marijuana patients.
It was suggested during the meeting that some of the topsoil could be recovered and used for things like the Lake County Jail garden. Coel said he hadn't yet had time to discuss the idea with Sheriff Frank Rivero.
“It's just so overwhelming right now,” Coel said.
Coel also suggested having a day in which county residents pitch in to help in the clean up effort and take back the community.
“This really feels like an invasion,” he said, noting that the people arrested so far have not been from Lake County, and many are squatters.
In addition to getting individuals and community groups involved in the cleanup, board members discussed using inmate labor.
“We all have ownership in this problem,” said Coel.
Rushing asked if the state Department of Fish and Game was getting involved with prosecuting individuals for the environmental damages.
County Counsel Anita Grant said she and Coel will talk this week about such remedies, and put them together for review by District Attorney Don Anderson. Coel said Fish and Game wardens have been participating in the eradications, and would be present this week for additional actions.
During public comment, Thomas Green faulted the county's ordinance for being “poorly worded and inadequately thought through.” He said they were banning commercial activity – in this case, collectives that he said use the barter system.
“I think the ordinance is adequate for now. I think it should be tightened up,” said Brown.
Rushing said the ordinance didn't specifically ban commercial activity, but did ban large plant amounts.
John Brosnan, president of the Lake County Green Farmers, asked if the county could put Coel's PowerPoint on a DVD so it could be shared with his group and others. He said he didn't think a lot of people knew what was going on.
“This is a problem, there’s no doubt about it,” Brosnan said.
Brown said there has been mass hysteria about the ordinance, with people afraid about having plants pulled from backyards. But he said that wasn't happening.
“I think it's paramount you guys continue,” Brosnan said.
Coel credited the sheriff's task force assisting with the eradications for hard work and professionalism. He said they are following the ordinance and genuinely trying to deal with the issues concerning the county.
Brown said no one is getting arrested because of the ordinance, but for other issues, including health and safety code violations, drugs and weapons.
Coel agreed. “We're not going into these sites with a mindset of, we’re here to find somebody to arrest.”
Supervisor Jim Comstock moved to accept Coel's report, with Rushing seconding. The vote was 5-0.
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Lakeport City Council approves hiring freeze exemption, rescinds 2007 sewer capacity ordinance
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport City Council on Tuesday evening gave the city's Public Works director approval to recruit for three positions and agreed to rescind an ordinance relating to sewer capacity that was no longer needed thanks to a new state permit.
Vice Mayor Tom Engstrom led the meeting Tuesday night, as Mayor Stacey Mattina was absent, as was Councilman Roy Parmentier.
Public Works Director Mark Brannigan asked the council – sitting as the board for the City of Lakeport Municipal Sewer District – for two items at the meeting.
The first was to rescind Resolution No. 2294, passed in April 2007, in response to a state water board cease and desist order over a treated wastewater release. Brannigan explained that the document set up guidelines for how reduced sewer system capacity would be managed.
Now, the city has a new waste discharge permit which has given it new sewer capacity, the cease and desist order has been lifted and Lakeport is back in good standing with the state water board, Brannigan said.
“It's very good news, thank you,” said Engstrom.
With the resolution no longer needed, the council agreed to rescind it.
Brannigan then presented his request to hire three new employees, which required the council to approve an exemption to the hiring freeze.
“Last fiscal year we had a series of positions that were frozen pending a reorganization and coming up with a balanced budget,” Brannigan said.
He said City Manager Margaret Silveira worked closely with Finance Director Dan Buffalo and “wore out” the department heads to come up with a balanced budget.
Just a few weeks ago a maintenance worker position was vacated, “which really just pushed the button,” causing Brannigan to take the matter to the council.
He said another position in the water department had been vacated last December, but he had held off on filling it – as he had done with the second maintenance worker position pending the budget approval and reorganization.
All of the positions are fully funded in the new budget, Brannigan said. “We're desperately in need of bodies to continue working out there,” he said.
Councilman Bob Rumfelt moved to approve the hiring freeze exemptions to let Brannigan recruit. Council member Suzanne Lyons seconded, with the council approving the request 3-0.
As part of a public hearing in which there was no public comment, Buffalo received the council's approval of the utility billing delinquency list and the associated resolution, and the council directed that the list be submitted to the Lake County Auditor-Controller's Office for inclusion on the property tax roll.
Buffalo said the city was trying to collect about $25,000 in delinquent water, sewer and trash fees from city customers.
Lyons asked if the list meant anything; Buffalo said it helped spur customers to make their payments.
Silveira said the delinquent fees will show up on the customers' property tax bills.
Lyons pointed out that one of the bills was particularly large – $10,000.
That customer Santa Rosa-based Donica LLC, which owns the Vista Point Shopping Center. “For whatever reason or purpose, that particular customer doesn't pay the bill,” Buffalo said.
In other business, the council unanimously approved the Forbes Creek Neighborhood Improvement Study and the submission of the HOME Investment Partnership Program application.
Also on Tuesday, council members heard presentations from county Health Officer Dr. Karen Tait on the Centers for Disease Control survey on emergency preparedness – coming up this fall – and from the Lakeport Main Street Association, which presented Cheri Holden of Watershed Books with the business of the year award.
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Virginia glass company reveals plans to locate second facility in Lake County
LAKEPORT, Calif. – A Virginia decorative glass company said Monday that it’s expanding its business to the West Coast, and will base its California operations in Lake County.
Arthur Roberts, whose family owns ARTon Products in Lively, Va., made the formal announcement Monday morning during a small gathering at the Work Right building, next door to Lampson Field.
ARTon Products produces specialty glass products for a variety of industries – including wineries and breweries, restaurants, health care clients, and universities and colleges. They also work with ceramics, plastics and metals, with single and multi-color imprinting services.
“Our business is a combination of craftsmanship, science and industry,” Roberts told Lake County News.
Earlier on Monday morning, Roberts reached a tentative agreement with Boeger Land Co. to buy the 67,000 square foot building, which includes 7,000 feet of office space and a 60,000 square foot warehouse and manufacturing area.
The plan, said Roberts, was to bring the building and the nearby industrial park back to life.
The building’s list price is $2.5 million, but Roberts said he had no comment on the terms of the agreement.
Roberts, who has been in the specialty glass business for 25 years, said the decision to come to Lake County arose from a meeting he and his family had with county officials and wine industry representatives in March.
That month, Alan Flora of the County Administrative Office and Supervisor Anthony Farrington joined a delegation that included Lake County Winegrape Association President Shannon Gunier, her husband Rick, and local business power couple Bill and Patti Brunetti on a trip to the Wineries Unlimited Trade Show and Conference in Richmond, Va.
The trip was made possible through a California Department of Food and Agriculture Specialty Crop Grant, the commission reported.
The Guniers and the Roberts family first met about 10 years ago at a wine industry event. In March, the Guniers arranged to have the family meet with county officials and discuss the idea of having them come to Lake County.
Roberts initially wasn’t interested in coming to California, which compared to many other states has a much more expensive and highly regulated business climate.
Flora said he and Farrington were able to address Roberts’ concerns and also explain business-related incentives passed by the Board of Supervisors.
Those include development incentives and fee waivers the board implemented that became effective in January, Flora said.
As it turned out, ARTon won’t be able to use the specific incentives because the Work Right building has entitlements that remain in effect. He said he expects the county will waive the $230 fee for a minor modification to the specific plan of development.
“To me, the benefit in this case was not that we were able to specifically assist ARTon with these incentives, but that it showed him that we are business friendly and willing to work with him to make the venture successful,” Flora said. “Overall, I think this impression made the necessary impact.”
Flora said they also emphasized that it was important to have a presence in California when appealing to the wine industry.
He said the county is continuing discussions with ARTon to see if the company qualifies for funding from the county’s business loan program or if they can help find other funding sources to make the project come to fruition.
Roberts and his daughter, Lisa, came out and took a tour of the county, with the Brunettis and Guniers showing them around.
The family was won over and began producing a business plan and analysis to put the ideas in motion. Over the last five weeks, those efforts have come together.
“The good news is, there isn’t very much money needed,” Roberts said.
The county is working to assist Roberts in making connections in order to finish getting the funding in order. He said he’s meeting with an independent grant counselor on Tuesday.
If all goes according to plan, Roberts estimated the facility could have 10 to 15 workers in place at the start of 2013, with the potential to have as many as 50 employees when the facility is fully staffed.
The Work Right building, once staffed and under way, could double the current output of the family’s Virginia plant, which Roberts says puts out between 20,000 and 25,000 pieces of decorative glass each day, five days a week.
Lisa Roberts said their Virginia facility currently has about 30 employees in a 30,000 square foot facility.
“We’re kind of busting at the seams,” she said.
Lively, their base of operations, is a rural area, with similarities to Lake County, she added.
Like her father, Lisa Roberts thinks the fit is a good one. “It shouldn’t be too hard to get going.”
The bigger facility also is going to let the family think bigger when it comes to what they can do for their customers, Arthur Roberts said.
The equipment in the Lake County facility will be both state-of-the-art and environmentally friendly; he said their process is nonpolluting, with no waste stream, and uses about one-third the energy of traditional industry equipment.
Roberts said that if everything comes together, he and his family intend to have a home here and be involved in the community – he said they won’t be absentee owners.
He said Lake County’s prominence in the wine industry is growing, and it’s a good fit for his family’s business.
“I believe Lake County’s time has come,” he said.
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