City turns down new park opportunity

LAKEPORT – The Lakeport City Council decided Tuesday that city staff shouldn't move forward with an application seeking funding to build a new park on Alden Avenue.


Public Works Director Doug Grider took to the council the proposal to seek the grant funding under Proposition 84.


Voters passed the $5.4 billion Proposition 84 in 2006; Grider reported that it awards grants on a competitive basis to create new parks and new recreation opportunities in proximity to the state's most critically underserved communities.


His report to the council explained that Lea Passantino, who owns a six-acre property at 1411 Alden Ave., approached the Lakeport Parks and Recreation Commission in March to express her willingness to sell the land to the city for use as a park facility. The Parks and Recreation Committee agreed to forward the proposal to the council.


Passantino told city officials that the property is valued at $750,000, but she was willing to sell it for $375,000, Grider said.


Grider said there is $368 million available, with the first round of funding offering $184 million. The application deadline falls on March 1, 2010. The grant awards will be announced by September 2010.


He said the minimum grant request is $100,000, while the maximum is $5 million under the grant guidelines.


Grider said the state wanted an application for a completed park, for which it would pay all expenses. He envisioned a low-maintenance park kept in its natural, riparian state, with a walking trail, exercise stations, picnic and restroom facility that would take advantage of the property's large shady oak canopy.


The funding also would help extend Alden Avenue up through the property, he said.


No playground was planned, as Grider said the idea was that it would serve a maturing population which wants to exercise and walk in a safe outdoor environment.


Mayor Ron Bertsch said the general plan already includes more than 60 acres of parks. He said that pencils out to about 12 acres of parkland for every 1,000 residents, which is twice the five-acre state average.


Bertsch said buying additional parkland didn't make sense to him.


Grider said only the land Passantino was willing to sell qualified for the park funding, and he suggested that it could be used to mitigate development over the next decade.


Bertsch asked who would maintain the property. Grider said there would be no lawn and only trash and bathroom maintenance required. He said he wanted to see the proposed park have LED lights, which would reduce the lighting bill.


Council member Suzanne Lyons said she and her husband went to look at the land. Originally she had reservations about the idea, but after looking the land over she said she thought the park would be very nice.


Bertsch said he was concerned about losing revenue from property tax, as the city's housing element envisions 30 houses on that property. He said that, looking at the tax base, that property should have houses built on it.


Councilman Roy Parmentier pointed out that property tax and development fees from the homes will never pay for building the rest of Alden Avenue.


Councilman Bob Rumfelt said that while the council can get fired up about the idea, they still have to put in an application and get selected. “If you don't do it, nothing will ever come out of it,” he said.


Concerns about staffing levels were brought up by Councilman Jim Irwin, who said he's heard the department is short of both money and employees.


Lyons pointed out that the department's tight resources won't go on forever, and Rumfelt agreed.


Big cities, Lyons added, are complaining that they don't have enough parks, and it's hard to reclaim land for parks once development happens.


Bertsch said it would take a lot of staff time to do the application. Grider agreed that some staff time would be needed, and he has set aside some money for consulting on the project.


The proposal would be a great idea if they really needed it, said Bertsch, noting the time it has taken to advance Westside Community Park.


Grider said he felt a strong obligation to bring the opportunity to the council. He said this is the only time he's seen the chance for funding for an entire facility, from start to finish, rather than small chunks of money and no matching funds.


Lyons moved to authorize the staff to proceed on the application, with Rumfelt seconding. The motion failed, with Lyons and Rumfelt voting for it and Parmentier, Bertsch and Irwin voting against it.


In other council news, new school resource officer Stephanie Green, who has been hired by the Lakeport Police Department, received the oath of office, and Grider said he and Kevin Burke, the city's police chief and interim city manager, were working to figure out how to coordinate street closures to allow for Lakeport Elementary's Halloween parade and Clear Lake High School's Homecoming parade, with both fall on Oct. 30 this year.


The council also voted to approve selling Proposition 1A receivables from the state and to approve an agreement with a consultant for a housing program; they approved a resolution supporting a proposed Lakeport location for the new Mendocino College campus; and voted to open up a right-of-way improvement loan program to help a property owner remove an underground storage tank found during excavations during a city sidewalk project.


E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf .

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