CLEARLAKE – At its meeting set for this evening, the Clearlake City Council will discuss extending the timeframe of its negotiations with a developer over the Austin Resort site.
Interim City Administrator Dale Neiman said Wednesday that the city's Redevelopment Agency put out a request for qualifications for developers interested in developing the site along the lakeshore.
The city eventually entered into an exclusive negotiating agreement with Income Property Specialists (IPS) to develop the site.
IPS has already submitted a conceptual idea of the development, which would include a hotel, along with retail spaces and town homes, he said.
Neiman said in his two weeks on the job he and interim Community Development Director Irwin Kaplan have had several meetings with IPS to reach an agreement, but that the city needs more time, and they're running out under the current agreement.
He'll recommend to the council that they extend the negotiation period another 30 days to finish up the process. That will give the council more time to look at the proposals.
Neiman said the city has some ideas they would like to see added to the plan.
Mayor Judy Thein said it's important that everything in the agreement be right, which is why extra time is needed.
“Until the actual plan comes before the Agency, it is always subject to change,” she said.
Thein added, “This project will set the standard for Lakeshore Drive. It will be a major imprint into the city's future. That is why it is so critical that everything is right.”
Neiman plans to meet with the developers next Thursday in Sacramento, he said. Neiman indicated the firm is willing to extend the agreement.
If the city eventually decides to accept IPS's proposal, the city would then sell the firm the property so development could more forward.
No appraisal has yet been done on the property, he added, saying that would be premature at this point.
The city is, however, planning to begin environmental studies on the site soon, Neiman added. He said at its Feb. 22 meeting the council will discuss selecting a firm for that task.
The environmental study needs to be done first, he said, because it could reveal issues that will affect the project's design.
Part of the discussion will be held in closed session, Thein said, because it involves land negotiations.
Also on this evening's agenda, the council will consider hiring Coastland Civil Engineering to prepare a project study on rehabilitating sections of Lakeshore Drive, Olympic Drive and Old Highway 53.
Neiman said the city has $3.3 million in bonds and other funds set aside for the project, which may involve serious reconstruction of the roads in some areas.
The first part of the process is hiring an engineer to look at what needs to be done, he said.
That, Neiman explained, will enable the city to move forward with the much-needed street rehabilitation process.
“We're working real hard on that,” he said.
Other items on the agenda:
– The city will consider an appeal of a Planning Committee decision requiring sidewalks be installed on Burns Valley Road for the Snyder minor subdivision.
– A report from Police Chief Larry Todd regarding a contract with bonnie Eckert for Clearlake Police Department's open records and communications supervisor position. Todd reported last month that the position has been open since last summer.
The meeting begins at 6 p.m. in the City Council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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