CLEARLAKE, Calif. – This week the Clearlake City Council met new police staff and volunteers, gave a modest base salary boost to the city manager and approved a contract for stucco work at the city's new visitor center.

Lt. Tim Celli, the Clearlake Police Department's acting chief, introduced a new school resource officer, dispatcher and four Explorer Post cadets at the Thursday night meeting.

Celli first introduced Stephanie Green, Clearlake Police's new school resource officer. Greene and Officer Joe Myers are providing police service to the Konocti Unified School District and its campuses.

Green has previously served in a number of law enforcement agencies, including the Lakeport Police Department, Celli said.

Next, Celli introduced Jessica Underwood, Clearlake Police's newest dispatcher and records clerk.

Celli said the agency has been working very hard to fill its dispatcher ranks. “It has been a long, hard task,” he said.

Hundreds of applicants have been tested over the years, with many not passing the testing or the accompanying background checks.

Underwood, however, has succeeded, and is only two weeks out from being able to work completely on her own, Celli said.

What makes Underwood's ability even more impressive is that she is only 19 years old, having graduated in May from Lower Lake High School.

She's lived in the community since she was 4 years old, wants to make her career here, and might want to be a dispatch supervisor, Celli said.

Celli then introduced the members of the Clearlake Police Department's revamped Explorer Program, Post No. 7244.

The Explorer Program, founded in 1963, gives young adults the opportunity to explore a career in law enforcement, said Celli, who himself was an Explorer with the Clearlake Police Department.

They wear uniforms, train regularly with and assist police officers, and are shown how to write reports, fill out forms and talk on the radio. Celli said they regularly do ride-alongs with officers.

There are a total of seven Explorer cadets with Clearlake's program, Celli said.

Four of them were present on Thursday night: Kenya Atrisco, Brian Burkdoll, Tristan Floyd and Karina Mendoza. The three not at the meeting were Kat Brown, Virgil Ellis and Michael Jamison, Celli said.

Celli, Green and Myers, along with another police staffer, Nicki Burrell, all act as advisors to the program, which Celli said is made possible with help from the Konocti Unified School District.

The Explorers have put in a lot of hours, with their first adventure being the busy July 4 weekend, Celli said. Since then, they've also assisted with traffic control during the Clayton fire.

In other business, the council voted unanimously to award a $16,896 bid to Neils Construction for the stucco repairs at the Highlands Park Visitor Center.

City Manager Greg Folsom said he was happy to bring the proposal forward. “The visitors center has been a long time in process. Primarily it's been done on volunteer labor.”

This is one of the first times the city has gone out to hire professional help on the project, Folsom said, adding that city staff also is putting together a request for proposals to complete the interior.

“We want to get this done as soon as possible,” Folsom said.

Richard Neils of Neils Construction told the council he looked forward to working with the city.

Jo Bennett, president of the Clear Lake Chamber, told the council, “I am extremely happy,” and encouraged them to accept the bid, which they did.

After a brief discussion, the council also unanimously approved the updated agreement for city manager services agreement with Folsom, who joined the city in June 2015, in order to give him a 5-percent base pay increase.

City Attorney Ryan Jones told the council that Folsom's initial contract, which had a three-year term, did not have included in it step increases, which is typical for such contracts.

The updated contract raises Folsom's monthly pay from $9,167 to $9,625.35 per month. Jones said all other contract terms remained the same.

Also on Thursday, the council got an update on the upcoming Konocti Challenge bike ride from Jennifer Strong, the ride's director; accepted and filed the 2016 local agency biennial notice regarding amendments to the conflict of interest code; and appointed Vice Mayor Bruno Sabatier to sit on a new city strategic plan ad hoc committee.

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.