CLEARLAKE – The concept of bringing local nonprofits to a central location to better serve the community was a leading topic of a joint meeting of the Clearlake City Council and Board of Supervisors held Thursday morning.
The meeting took place at Clearlake City Hall.
Tom Jordan, chair of the Lake County Community Action Agency (LCCAA) board, presented to the board and council the idea of using a 16-acre, county-owned property off of 18th Avenue and behind Redbud Hospital, as a “nonprofit village.”
In the LCCAA proposal, the land would house the agency's current operations – including food distribution, a perinatal substance abuse program and substance abuse treatment, emergency housing for families.
A sizable location would allow LCCAA to relocate the community youth center there, expand services to include tutoring services and a computer lab, offer affordable housing for families and people with mental health issues who need permanent supervision. The location also would be available to other groups, Jordan noted.
One of the community's most pressing needs, said Jordan, is for emergency housing, or a safe house, for "throwaway youth" – young people who are homeless for any number of reasons, but usually because of their families' inability or unwillingness to care for them.
"We have no place to help these children get their lives turned back around," said Jordan.
A number of "guardian angels" in the community currently help house the children, said Jordan.
The village setting would include such a safe house, which Jordan said would serve five young men and five young women, and be supervised on a 24-hour basis.
There also will be housing available for foster youth transitioning from the system out into the world, said Jordan. "We have no transitional housing in this county for such children."
On this "community campus" LCCAA staff would always be present, said Jordan.
He said the agency envisioned medium- to high-density housing, using green building techniques, landscaping and walking paths.
"Clearly we would love to go green," said Jordan, adding that the agency is considering solar paneling, geothermal heat exchange, use of green materials and new forms for construction, including rooftop gardens.
"We really do believe this would be the best use for this property," he said.
Supervisor Rob Brown asked how much the nonprofit village would cost to build. Jordan said they have not arrived at a total cost, because first they wanted to see if there was consensus with, and support from, local governmental agencies, especially since they would like the county to give LCCAA a minimum-priced lease on the property.
Jordan said funding would come from federal and state sources, as well as tax credits and grants. The building, he added, would likely be done in a phase approach.
“This is a great concept,” said Supervisor Jeff Smith.
However, Smith suggested that other important service providers – such as the Konocti Unified School District, whose Oak Hill Middle School is in the area, as well as Hospice Service and Yuba College – also should be involved in the discussion.
County Chief Administrative Officer Kelly Cox said there has been a lot of interest in the parcel over the years. Most recently, Habitat for Humanity approached the county about using part of the land for affordable housing.
There also is the matter of transferring local court facilities to the state, which Cox said necessitates the building of some new court facilities in Lakeport and Clearlake. He suggested that, if the county were to let the land go for the project, that Clearlake could, in return help the county locate land appropriate for a court building in the center of town.
Clearlake Council member Joyce Overton, who works closely with LCCAA on its youth programs and especially in running the city's youth center, said the idea for the nonprofit village is to have a place where all needs – from mental health to drug recovery to hospice – can be met by any number of local groups and agencies.
LCCAA, she said, works all over the county, not just in Clearlake.
Georgina Lehne, LCCAA's executive director, gave the council and the board a snapshot of the current size of the agency's services.
Last year, LCCAA distributed 260 tons of food to families around Lake County, said Lehne.
She said she's seeing an increase in people seeking help – not just the working poor and the homeless, but those who are caught up in the mortgage crisis.
Lehne said the agency wants to network with other nonprofits. “This model concept of a nonprofit village would be really unique.”
LCCAA, in cooperation with Principal Bill MacDougall of Carle High School, is the lead agency on putting together the safe house for homeless children, she said.
Lehne said there are as many as 1,000 homeless children in Lake County every month – many of whom are found looking in garbage cans and dumpsters for food – and the agency is running out of places to put them.
Centralizing services, said Lehne, would lead to a stronger, healthier community.
Supervisor Ed Robey, who chaired the meeting, suggested having a summit of local nonprofit service agencies to come up with a master plan and gauge interest in participating in the concept.
Supervisor Denise Rushing pointed out that the thing that could get in the way of the project becoming a reality is money. She suggested looking at the costs on order of magnitude, syngergies and funding sources, all of which ultimately would be determined by which groups will, and which won't, participate. A summit could be the starting point for that exploration.
Smith said further exploration of the project also needed to take one key consideration into account – what is the highest and best use for the property? The county held onto the land, wanting to put it to its best use, said Smith.
He also questioned if the city needed more affordable housing, adding that he hears from many people who believe there is too much already. Clearlake City Administrator Dale Neiman reported that 300 low-income housing units – including apartments – have been built in the city during the past three years.
Cox said the county should determine if it will ever need the property for expansion. He also suggested an appraisal of the parcel, which the assessor most recently valued at $9,000, and which likely is far below its actual value.
Smith pointed out that the property also has great views and great commercial land development potential.
Rushing said the nonprofit village concept is a valid one, whether or not this is the right property.
Overton agreed that another property was a possibility.
MacDougall – who was delayed in coming to the meeting because he was finding students who had gone AWOL from school – gave a short, succinct plea for support for the safe house for homeless youth.
“We're in a situation right now where we have many, many, many kids who are homeless,” he said.
At Christmas, he had to find homes for 10 youngsters to stay.
MacDougall said he deals with homeless children all the time, and the issue is only getting worse.
“Your constituents, your children, are suffering, and they are suffering more now than I have ever seen in my 21 years in this community,” he said.
The council members and board members agreed to move forward with setting up a nonprofit groups summit to explore the concept further.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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