LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors last week put off making a decision on a water feasibility study after city of Lakeport officials raised questions about reasons for the study.
At the board's March 13 meeting, Lake County Special Districts Administrator Mark Dellinger took to the board a proposed agreement with Ruzicka Associates for a $27,000 feasibility study regarding a public water system in the South Lakeport area.
Lakeport Community Development Director Richard Knoll and Utilities Director Mark Brannigan appeared for the discussion, saying they wanted to address regional planning issues with the board.
The city and the county have been at odds for some time over Lakeport's proposed annexation of the S. Main Street area, a commercial district which generates about 25 percent of the county's annual sales tax revenue – totaling around $600,000 – according to county officials.
Knoll told the supervisors, “More than anything, I think we have a question about what's going on.”
The S. Main Street area is part of the city of Lakeport's sphere of influence, and Knoll said the city has done extensive planning for providing water to the area.
Knoll questioned why the supervisors were considering a proposal to bring water from Kelseyville to Finley and S. Main Street. “As a professional planner, I've got to tell you, I'm just scratching my head.”
When Knoll thinks of planning he said he thinks of jurisdictions working together. He said there are decades of studies on providing the area with water. “What do we do? We just throw those plans out the window?”
He suggested there was a need to discuss what it's really going to take to get water to S. Main Street and Soda Bay Road.
Supervisor Anthony Farrington, whose district encompasses Lakeport, said he didn't disagree with what Knoll said.
Farrington said he had recently met with Lakeport City Manager Margaret Silveira, and suggested it might be a good idea to postpone a decision on the matter.
He said they were looking for water tie-ins from Kelseyville and Finley, and a private landowner was willing to donate land to help make that happen. Farrington added that the easiest option was to extend the current water main.
Knoll, who at one time worked in Bend, Ore., said that city entered into an urban management agreement 30 years ago with Deschutes County, with that agreement managing how water, roads and common standards were to be handled.
He said the city of Lakeport has extended water mains at a large expense. The last one, along Parallel Drive, cost about $800,000, and was funded jointly by the city and Mendocino College.
Farrington said that a majority of business owners in the S. Main Street area have told the county that they want to stay in the unincorporated county.
“I don't want to see the county pitted against the city and vice versa,” said Farrington.
Brannigan said the city installed a 14-inch pipe down Parallel Drive and one down S. Main Street, the latter which was placed in the 1980s. He said the city is worried about having two dead end water mains, which are bad for flow and quality.
Supervisor Denise Rushing said she's a fan of regional planning, but said Lakeport has said no to an out-of-area service agreement for the annexation area. County Administrative Officer Kelly Cox said that was true. Knoll said the city's agreement with Yolo County for water prohibits such an agreement.
“I seriously doubt we're going to reach an agreement on annexation,” said Cox, reiterating that property owners in the S. Main Street area overwhelmingly oppose it.
Supervisor Jeff Smith told Knoll that he thinks the issue with Yolo County relating to an out-of-area service agreement can be fixed, because Yolo loves to sell more water.
“Looking at the big picture, we're trying to serve the public,” said Smith, adding that it only makes sense for the city to supply water to the S. Main Street area. “We need to work together.”
Farrington said it was unfortunate to have the constant issue of annexation coming up between the city and county. If an agreement can't be reached on that issue, he said they need to move forward.
Farrington said he wanted to continue the discussion for a few weeks. Cox noted that the county always had wanted to connect into the Lakeport water system, but had been told it wasn't an option.
Lakeport's staff and Mayor Stacey Mattina indicated they didn't want to have a joint meeting with the board, Farrington said, adding, “it kills me” to spend money on a feasibility study if there are other options.
“If we can reach an annexation agreement, great,” he said.
The matter is expected to come back to the board in a few weeks.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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