LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport City Council on Tuesday offered congratulations to Clear Lake High School's winning Academic Decathlon team, approved a right-of-way abandonment and approved plans to participate in this summer's “National Night Out.”
The council emerged shortly after 6 p.m. from a closed session regarding labor negotiations, which Mayor Kenny Parlet said resulted in no reportable action, before the public meeting convened.
During public comment, Lakeport Fire Chief Ken Wells thanked City Manager Margaret Silveira and city staff for allowing the fire district to use city hall facilities for interviews for a new fire chief.
Wells is retiring April 30 and interviews took place on Monday for his successor. Wells said as soon as they have made a hire the new chief will be introduced.
“You have done a great job here. We really appreciate your service,” said Councilman Tom Engstrom.
Wells has been Lakeport Fire's chief for eight and a half years, and altogether has 44 years of public service.
The council also honored the Clear Lake High School Academic Decathlon team, headed to the state competition later this week.
Parlet said he was excited to find out that his alma mater's team had won, and he and Silveira offered the team members and Coach Jim Rogers certificates of appreciation for their accomplishment.
The team includes Dakota Durbin, Jose Estrada, Asia Jones, Liberty Justice, Serena Kacharos-Warren, Gabriel Kimbell-Auth, Abby LaBar, Philip Leighton, Savannah Rasmussen and Melissa Thibeau.
Rogers called the group of students a “self-coaching team.”
In other business, the council held a public hearing in which no comment was received on a resolution ordering the vacation of a portion of excess right-of-way on Ninth Street between Pool and Spurr streets, as well as the entire right-of-way of Harlie Street. The Lakeport Planning Commission recommended the action to the council at a November meeting, as Lake County News has reported.
Gary and Jane Leonard, who own parcels at 875 and 879 Pool St., had asked the city to be able to abandon the right-of-way area. They were present at the meeting but did not offer comment.
The council also approved canceling its August 5 meeting so members and city staff could once again take part in the “National Night Out” event.
Silveira said she knew it was early, but staff wanted to get started with making preparations for the event, which drew a positive community response last year.
So far, Silveira said they have not settled on a location. Last year it was held at the Mormon Church on 16th Street but the goal is to move it to a different neighborhood each year, she said.
The city spent only $200 on the 2013 event, thanks to donated food and the Lakeport Kiwanis Club handling the barbecue, according to Silveira.
Councilwoman Stacey Mattina said she had a request from residents of the N. Main Street area to hold it on their block and close off the street.
Engstrom said Lakeport Police did a good job with giveaways at the last event, which Police Chief Brad Rasmussen said were made possible thanks to funds through drug eradication programs.
“I think it's going to get bigger and bigger,” Parlet said.
Mayor Pro Tem Martin Scheel moved to approve canceling the Aug. 5 meeting, which the council approved 5-0.
Administrative Services Manager Kelly Buendia took to the council a request for an amendment to the city's contract with Tyler Technologies for personnel management software that would give the city an electronic time card system.
The total cost for the software module is $3,080 plus an annual $1,800 access fee, Buendia said.
Such software runs the gamut of prices, but in addition to this module being “relatively inexpensive,” Buendia said it also works with a software system the city already has in place. Plus, it meets government requirements and helps extrapolate needed data, which Silveira added is currently requiring a lot of manual hours.
Buendia said the city also is looking at other modules, including one for tracking grants. Finance Director Dan Buffalo said there is a whole suite of police management software that they haven't yet explored. Buffalo said the time card module will be managed by the city's human resources department.
Engstrom moved to approve the purchase, with the council voting unanimously to do so.
During council communications at the end of the meeting, Parlet asked Rasmussen if the city has seen a drop in gas thefts following recent arrests, including that of 18-year-old Alexander Gard, arrested March 10 in connection to a series of gas thefts that had hit the city.
“We've seen a 100-percent fall in gas thefts since we removed Mr. Gard from the picture,” said Rasmussen.
Gard and another suspect, Doug Trimmer – who Lakeport Police identified and have submitted a complaint on to the District Attorney's Office – are believed to be responsible for a reported 40 thefts in the city over the last several months, Rasmussen said. “Those two were hitting us hard.”
Since Gard's arrest, however, no new thefts have been reported, he said.
Parlet also asked interim City Attorney David Ruderman about a decision handed down Friday in Lake County Superior Court regarding senior mobile home park rent control initiatives that had been set to go on the city and county ballots.
Park owners had filed suit against the city and county, asserting that the initiatives were unconstitutional, and Judge Richard Martin agreed due to flaws in the measures that he said he did not have the authority to repair.
Ruderman said Judge Martin issued a writ of mandate, and has the ability to countermand the resolution the council adopted last year placing the city initiative on the November ballot.
“Once the writ is served on the city, the city clerk will be complying with it and not putting that initiative on the ballot,” Ruderman said.
Scheel asked if the matter would come back to the council. Ruderman said no, that the writ commands City Clerk Janel Chapman to remove the measure, so the duty now lies with her. Ruderman expected it to be removed unless there is a quick appeal to overturn Martin's ruling.
“That is the outcome that we had hoped for all along,” said Parlet.
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