LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday decided to convene the county's facilities committee to consider the options for a new building for the Lake County Air Quality Management District.

Pollution Control Officer Doug Gearhart went to the board to ask for support for a property purchase in downtown Lakeport.

Gearhart said the district was looking at a property located at 1101 N. Main St., which belongs to Realtor Lowell Grant. The district currently is located at 885 Lakeport Blvd.

He said it's estimated to cost $1.2 million to build the air quality district a brand new building to serve it over the next to 10 to 20 years, while in the current economic climate it's possible to purchase a building for much less.

Gearhart said they've looked at a lot of properties and Grant's building “is the best option we've seen at the moment.” He wanted to know if the board thought it was an option worth pursuing.

Supervisor Rob Brown said vetting properties is the job of the county's facilities committee, which he said hasn't met in a while but should convene to discuss the proposal.

Brown suggested that there may be some movements of other departments in relation to the new courthouse that is going to be built over the next several years in Lakeport. That may free up some options for the air district, preventing it from having to make a purchase, he said.

Board Chair Anthony Farrington asked Gearhart about the funding source for the project.

Gearhart said that over the last 15 years the district has been saving up the funds in a building reserve with the intent of constructing its own separate building. Currently the district pays the county rent for its space on Lakeport Boulevard.

The district has been in its current location for 20 to 25 years with no expansion of space while, at the same time, the district's duties have significantly expanded.

Brown said a facilities committee meeting should be set up to start discussing the matter. He said the group met about six months ago to discuss spaces in the courthouse for public defenders.

He said the matter “is a good reason for us to reactivate.”

Supervisor Denise Rushing asked if the district needed to be located in Lakeport. Gearhart said they're not required to be there, but they want to be close to a monitoring station located in the city.

County Administrative Officer Kelly Cox told the board that if the air district hadn't set the funds aside into reserve funds like the one being used for the building project, the district would have lost state subventions.

Rushing said she would like to see the facilities committee come up with operating principals about building versus buying a new location. Cox said it was a good idea, and hasn't been done before.

Rushing added that she also wanted the committee to consider lifecycle costs for energy use in such projects.

“That we have been doing,” said Brown, saying the practice has been in place since the county built its new animal shelter and dispatch center.

Gearhart said the district looked at Grant's building because it's newer, has high efficiency insulation and other features. He said that if they purchased it, the district hoped to have enough funds to immediately install solar equipment on the building.

Farrington said he didn't have a problem with reactivating the committee, and asked if the group should look at the Mental Health Department's space concerns. Brown said the committee doesn't deal with rented space, as is the case with Mental Health.

Gearhart said that because Air Quality Management is a special district, the funds used for the project would not be county funds.

Farrington said Gearhart had consensus to go before the committee with the proposal. Brown said he would e-mail Public Services Director Kim Clymire about setting up a meeting.

During public comment, Betsy Cawn questioned if it was a conflict for the district to consider purchasing a property owned by a former district employee.

Cox said Grant worked for the district a long time ago, but Gearhart said Grant is still listed as an extra help employee.

“That was nothing I was aware of,” said Brown, who added he was glad it was disclosed.

However, Brown said it had less to do with Grant and more to do with the best use of county facilities.

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 , on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .