CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The city of Clearlake is moving ahead with plans to demolish a dilapidated building on the former Austin Resort property.

At its last regular meeting of the year on Dec. 10, the Clearlake City Council came to unanimous consent to give city staff direction to remove an old building on the 4.5-acre property at 14061 Lakeshore Drive, across from Clearlake City Hall.

City Manager Greg Folsom said the building is a “blighted eyesore” and he wanted the council to clarify how city staff should proceed with the property, which it acquired following the dissolution of the Clearlake Redevelopment Agency.

Folsom said there exists in city documents a discrepancy as to how the property should be used.

While the Long Term Property Management Plan aimed to market the site as a prime anchor location such as a destination resort, Folsom's report to the council explained that the Lakeshore Drive Downtown Corridor Plan concluded that such a use would be detrimental to Clear Lake and the goal of revitalizing the city's historic commercial center, and suggested instead uses such as a campground or smaller commercial uses.

“This building is an embarrassment to the city,” and gives potential investors a negative image of the city, Folsom said.

He said city staff wanted to demolish the building and clean up the property. The city had previously attempted to take the property off a disposition list and use it for a park, but the state – which has to OK such requests related to former redevelopment properties – denied it.

Folsom said a demolition contractor gave the city a “drive by” estimate of $55,000 to remove the building. He said his written report to the council contained a typo and so had incorrectly reported an estimate of $35,000 to remove the structure.

Finance Director Chris Becnel told the council that the property has to be sold and the cash proceeds distributed back to the taxing entities that contributed to the tax increment used in redevelopment. The city of Clearlake is one of those entities.

Vice Mayor Gina Fortino Dickson pointed out that while the Long Term Property Management Plan goes along with the requirement to sell the property, the corridor plan doesn't, instead suggesting that it be a campground.

She asked if the building was red-tagged or if it could not be occupied due to its condition. “Yes, basically,” Folsom replied.

Councilman Russ Perdock asked about the city storing items in the building. Folsom said that practice was going to end regardless of the council's decision.

“Let's tear it down,” Perdock responded.

“Anything that we can afford to do to clean up the city and follow the plans that we have accepted,” said Mayor Denise Loustalot, who added, “I thought this was supposed to be torn down years and years and years ago.”

Added Perdock, “It's an embarrassment.”

“We should be setting the example and that building does not help us whatsoever,” said Councilman Bruno Sabatier, who supported tearing it down but wanted to discuss further at a future time what the council's vision is for the property.

During public comment, Chuck Leonard, a retired councilman, said the reason the building hadn't been torn down already is that someone had the idea of renting out part of the building for a small amount of money.

Leonard said the building needed to go and that the property was a prime place for a resort or business. The idea, he added, had been to place a hotel there to draw people to the city.

Supervisor Jeff Smith, who was on the city council when the city had purchased the property for the purpose of developing it, said the vision for the parcel has “been pretty much the same for years.”

Smith said the highest and best use for the property is to bring more income into the city, and that can't be done with a park or campground.

Sabatier said the city isn't using the property correctly, and that the council would lose a great opportunity if it didn't make the property generate revenue for the city.

Fortino Dickson said the Lakeshore Drive Downtown Corridor Plan says the property should be used as a campground and promenade, and that the council should amend the plan and change that.

The council then agreed unanimously that the building should be torn down. Councilwoman Joyce Overton had recused herself from the discussion since she has worked with the city's youth center, which has storage at the Austin Resort property.

The city subsequently put out a request for proposals and qualifications for a contractor to demolish the property.

The notice seeking contractors, issued on Dec. 18, sets a Jan. 6 deadline for proposals. More information is available at http://clearlake.ca.us/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=72 .

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