LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors voted on Tuesday to approve a request from Hoberg's Resort for a deferred payment plan for dump fees as a result of the plans to clean up the property, which burned in last year's Valley fire.

However, board members also indicated they wanted the agreement to include at least a low rate of interest, and not be interest-free as the resort management had requested.

The cleanup of the resort has been an issue of increasing concern for neighbors and Cobb residents in general.

In the months after the fire, which destroyed the historic main lodge at Hoberg's and numerous other buildings, resort management had intended to set up a saw mill operation, which the county later shut down after too many logs were stored at the site.

In addition, in March the county served the resort with a 48-hour cleanup notice after runoff from its damaged wastewater system was found running into nearby waterways, as Lake County News has reported.

County officials also had believed the state's cleanup efforts in the fire area would extend to Hoberg's, but state officials ultimately said at around the start of the year that they wouldn't provide that service.

Board of Supervisors Chair Rob Brown told Lake County News that much of the recent delay on the cleanup had to do with waiting for testing of the materials at the resort that need to be abated.

He said altogether 67 different buildings and sites on the 55-acre resort grounds had to be tested in order to know if they could safely be disposed of at the Eastlake Landfill or needed to be taken to a special out-of-county facility for hazardous materials.

“It's a big job,” said Brown.

While those test results were pending, Brown said the resort management couldn't move forward with cleanup. Also, they needed to know if they could secure the repayment deferral from the county.

Public Services Director Lars Ewing went to the supervisors on Tuesday morning with the Hoberg's request for deferred fees at the Eastlake Landfill.

He said it's normal for the landfill to set up charge accounts with customers. However, those accounts usually are due within 30 days and include a 1.5-percent interest charge.

What is different about the Hoberg's request, Ewing explained, is that it is for a deferred payment plan on an estimated $250,000 in disposal fees.

The resort management is asking for a six-month grace period before repayment would start, and four years to pay off the account balance, Ewing said.

Such a request exceeded Ewing's ability to approve it, he said, thus his appearance before the board.

At 5:30 a.m. Tuesday Public Services received the Hoberg's application for the credit account from Lake County Partners, which owns the resort, Ewing said. By the time of the meeting, county officials hadn't been able to run the usual credit checks.

Brown wanted to know if the county can lien the property if necessary to get the bill paid. He said he supported the deferral. “The main thing is to get that property cleaned up.”

He was concerned that if the county has to intervene and take over the cleanup, it could be a far more expensive process, as it would require prevailing wage.

Brown said Pacific States Environmental Contractors, the firm working with CalRecycle on the fire cleanup, has an account and is making payments, although it is paying interest.

Brown wanted to charge interest and also have the opportunity to lien the property.

Supervisor Jim Comstock said it would be vital to collateralize the property, and wanted to know what position the county would be in if it had to lien the land.

County Counsel Anita Grant said the agreement would be secured by a promissory note, and that normally government would have a priority place, but probably not in this case.

“Whatever position we're going to be in, we need to do it anyway, no matter what,” said Supervisor Jeff Smith.

Grant said it would be a good idea for the board to have some mechanism for security, as Lake County Partners is a limited liability corporation. “There's very little protection for your board.”

Ewing said the resort's owners hinted that the costs ultimately would be passed on to subsequent property owners, leading him to believe the property may be sold. “Those are the issues we'll need to work out.”

He also pointed out that the requested six-month grace period – with no payments made for six months after the last dump load is delivered – is unique.

Brown said he was OK with that request, but he and Comstock both suggested that repayment should start 30 days after the final load arrives at the dump, with Comstock adding that it could be six months from the time the cleanup starts. The board agreed.

Supervisor Jim Steele asked about how much interest would be earned on the dump fees. Ewing said it would be a small amount, between $3,700 and $4,000, which wasn't a compound interest calculation.

Smith said if they added interest it shouldn't be at the 1.5 percent per month rate, as that would total 18 percent a year. “That's a chunk of change.”

Brown noted that, no matter what people thought about the resort now, it was a victim of the fire, too. “Our job here is to be corrective, not punitive,” he said, explaining that the resort wasn't able to take advantage of the state cleanup as others – including businesses – were able to do.

Grant said the board can go forward with a standard agreement and later find a public purpose for forgiving parts of the agreement.

The board ultimately voted 4-0 – with Supervisor Anthony Farrington absent for the discussion – to approve the agreement with the addition of interest.

The supervisors directed Ewing to check with Auditor-Controller Cathy Saderlund on an acceptable interest amount compared to what interest the county already is getting on its reserve accounts.

With the board's decision made, “Now we're off and running and they should be performing some cleanup this next week or so,” Brown told Lake County News in a followup interview.

Also aiding the effort, Brown said, is that the resort is getting some assistance with cleanup costs through a special program with the state.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.