LAKEPORT, Calif. – With debris cleanup and other work related to the county's wildland fires of last year and this summer still under way, on Tuesday the Board of Supervisors approved continuing emergency proclamations and declarations related to the incidents.

Lake County Health Officer Dr. Karen Tait and Environmental Health Director Ray Ruminski went before the board to ask that Tait's proclamation of a local health emergency for the Clayton fire be continued.

Tait said it was intended that the proclamation remain in place until the debris removal process is completed later this year.

In his update on the Clayton fire debris cleanup, Ruminski said there are two parallel programs – one for private cleanup, which now has about 40 sites registered, and one being carried out by CalRecycle, with 140 registered sites.

He said one of the major hazards in the cleanup is asbestos from building materials. He said 121 of the properties in the CalRecycle program have been evaluated for asbestos, with the remaining sites scheduled for evaluation.

He said of those sites so far checked, 34 that were found to have asbestos have had it removed, with asbestos still to be removed from 31 other sites where it was found. Once the asbestos is removed from the sites, the debris removal and full site cleanup will take place.

Altogether, 23 of the sites have been cleaned up, and of those 18 have had soil samples completed, with lab results expected at the end of this week, Ruminski said.

Ruminski said there have been some administrative and contractual delays in the cleanup, as well as some slowdown over the past week due to to the rain.

Looking ahead, Ruminski expected a steady pace to the cleanup, with a break for the Thanksgiving holiday.

He said all of the sites in the cleanup programs are expected to be cleaned up by Dec. 16.

After that state cleanup program is done, a program will be set up with local contractors to conduct debris removal on sites that aren't voluntarily cleaned up and are served notices of nuisance, Ruminski said.

Supervisor Jim Comstock praised Ruminski for the work he's doing, as well as the efforts of the cleanup crews.

“There is a remarkable cadre of local contractors” and state staff with local hires, Ruminski noted.

The board voted unanimously to grant Tait's request to continue the local health emergency proclamation.

The board followed up by unanimously approving the sheriff's office request to continue local emergency declaration proclamations pertaining to the Rocky, Jerusalem and Valley fires, and a similar but separate proclamation for the Clayton fire.

Also on Tuesday, Board Chair Rob Brown presented proclamations designating November as Hospice and Palliative Care Month and Alzheimer’s Awareness Month.

Brown noted that he lost his father, Charlie, a year ago to Alzheimer's disease, and thanked Hospice Services of Lake County for its care of his father during the final days of his life.

 The board also went on to approve its meeting calendar for the remainder of 2016 and 2017. The board will continue meeting the first four Tuesdays of the month and will not meet during weeks when meetings are preceded by a holiday.

However, in the case of the meeting on Jan. 3, 2017, County Administrative Officer Carol Huchingson said that schedule is not feasible. She also asked for the Nov. 22 meeting to be reinstated or a special meeting to be called at the end of November for the purpose of meeting the requirements to renew certain agenda items every two weeks.

In other business, the board reappointed Susan Jen, Pam Klier, Ana Santana and Dr. Laurie Daly to the First Five Lake County Commission and appointed Beth Brown to the Emergency Medical Care Committee.
 
At the request of the sheriff's office, the board waived the anti-nepotism policy for correctional officer candidate Adrian Moreno, whose mother-in-law works in the agency's finance department. Undersheriff Chris Macedo said a number of measures were being implemented to ensure that Moreno's mother-in-law would not have access to his timecard and other information.

Additionally, the supervisors approved a month-to-month agreement with June Wilson-Clarkin to provide evidenced-based practices and services in the Lake County Jail.

The board also approved an amendment to the county's agreement with Matrix Design for zoning ordinance consultant services in the amount of $24,738 and approved contract change orders totaling $373,919.90 for a revised contract amount of $1,654,200.97 for the Soda Bay Road at Cole Creek Bridge Replacement Project.

Sitting as the Lake County Watershed Protection District Board, the supervisors approved a contract change order for $5,275.73 and a new contract amount of $83,971.72 for the 2016 Clover Creek Sediment Removal Project.

In a second reading the board approved an ordinance to correct a typographical error and amend the ordinance establishing the First Five Lake Commission and Trust Fund Pursuant to Proposition 10, the California Children and Families First Act of 1998.

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.