LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors has approved the formation of a new municipal advisory council to represent the Cobb community.

The Cobb Area Council received unanimous support from the board at its meeting Tuesday morning.

It is the third such body that the Board of Supervisors has created to give communities around the county more input at the board level regarding important issues.

The first of those groups, the Middletown Area Town Hall, will mark its 10th anniversary this December.

In May, at the request of District 3 Supervisor Jim Steele, the board approved the East Region Town Hall, or EaRTH, to represent the Clearlake Oaks area, as Lake County News has reported.

On Tuesday, Eliot Hurwitz, one of the community members working on the effort, reported to the board that on June 9 more than 70 Cobb residents gathered at the Little Red Schoolhouse to consider forming the Cobb Area Council, receiving nearly unanimous approval.

As part of forming the council, Hurwitz said initial board members were proposed, including Hurwitz, Gary Prather, Jessica Pyska, Jessyca Lytle and Barbara Flynn. Cindy Leonard is to act as alternate.

Board of Supervisors Chair Rob Brown, to whom the council will act in an advisory capacity, said the timing for creating the council was good, and that there is a cohesive group in place to support it.

Fletcher Thornton, chair of the Middletown Area Town Hall, urged the new council to not dictate an agenda in setting up its bylaws.

He said such groups should be a platform for people to come and express their opinions about issues facing their areas.

“The town hall should be open to everybody that wants to come and speak,” he said.

Jessyca Lytle responded by explaining that the group did have draft bylaws drawn up, but were waiting for the board to approve the resolution so they could have public input and a vote on the bylaws at an upcoming meeting.

She said the group had spent many months looking at other municipal advisory councils, their bylaws and resolutions, as well as why they formed. In addition, she said they did outreach to community members to identify the greatest needs.

Lytle invited everyone – whether from Cobb or elsewhere – to attend the council's meetings. “We welcome anyone to come.”

She added, “This really, truly came from the community, not from the Board of Supervisors,” although Brown and County Counsel Anita Grant – as well as other county staff – helped them in the process.

Steele said forming the council was a good move on the part of the Cobb community. He said he's trying to get the same thing going on the Northshore's east end – with EaRTH – and then wants to do something similar for the west side of his district.

Brown said he's in regular contact with the council's members already about the many issues facing Cobb, and having a cohesive body to discuss those matters will save time and effort for everyone.

“There's a lot going on,” he said.

Brown passed the gavel to Supervisor Jeff Smith so he could move to offer the resolution forming the council, with an amendment removing a requirement that all of the council's communications be recorded with the Board of Supervisors.

The board approved that motion unanimously, and also gave its consent to Brown's motion to approve the five initial board members.

The Cobb Area Council will hold its first town hall meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 26, at the Little Red Schoolhouse, 15780 Bottle Rock Road.

Follow the group on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/CobbAreaCouncil/ .

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.