LAKEPORT, Calif. – The city of Lakeport is on track to have its first downtown bike race in the summer of 2017.

On Tuesday, the Lakeport City Council unanimously approved an application from the Main Street Elite Cycling Team to hold a USA Cycling-sanctioned criterium bicycle race in downtown Lakeport on July 15, 2017.

The team's representative, Dave Garzoli, first gave the council a presentation on the plans for the event in August.

The team hopes to draw 300 riders to the criterium, which its proposal described as a “closed course bicycle race held on city streets that involves groups of highly trained athletes racing side by side for up to an hour.”

“It is our goal to showcase the new face of downtown Lakeport and what is certain to be a world class criterium course to all of the Northern California Cycling community,” the proposal said. “We believe that an excellent rider experience, combined with all the charm downtown Lakeport has to offer will create many return visitors, riders and vacationers for many years to come.”

Public Works Superintendent Doug Grider's written report to the council included an estimate of $2,819 to cover staffing needs for policing, traffic control and increased park use during the event.

He said that estimate did not include surfacing repair work that will need to be performed on Fourth Street between Main and Forbes streets before the race.

Grider said at the meeting that after the summer presentation, the council gave staff direction to begin discussions with the event promoters.

“To date we’ve had three meetings with them. I think that we’re making some great progress. It’s quite an undertaking,” he said.

Grider said staff is in favor of the event. “We're all very supportive of this.”

He asked the council to approve the application for use of public areas, with several conditions, among them, getting buy-in from affected residents and businesses, providing plans for parking and staffing, providing the necessary insurance certifications, signing a contract that releases the city from liability and requires the promoter to defend and indemnify the city for any injuries during the race or setup and takedown, obtaining required health permits from Lake County Environmental Health, and working with city staff to resolve issues concerning the detour route, the surfacing of Fourth Street and any other issues that arise.

Garzoli, who also spoke to the council Tuesday, said all of the conditions placed on approval were what the club had anticipated.

He said the team has asked Granite Construction for help with fixing the small portion of Fourth Street needing repair, and Granite's response is still pending.

“Our club has a lot more work to do beyond this,” said Garzoli, explaining that the council's approval of the downtown venue would clear the way to allow them to move forward.

Garzoli said the team also must get the permits from USA Cycling and the Northern California Nevada Cycling Association. “This is the first step and so far, so good.”

The event will include areas for vendors and a beer garden. Councilmember Stacey Mattina asked if those areas had been designated yet, and Grider said that hadn't yet been determined.

The map of the race course included in the council packet showed it moving along Main and Forbes streets from Martin to Fifth Street. However, Grider said the course is being pulled back to Fourth Street so that Fifth Street can be used for handling the detour and for spectators walking through to Library Park.

He added that Fourth Street is not now in the necessary condition for the bike race, but he didn't think getting it repaired is insurmountable and that it can be repaired to make it acceptable for the event.

Mayor Marc Spillman said the city looks for positive events that will promote Lakeport and Lake County, especially to out-of-area residents.

Garzoli said that team members have been reaching out through social media to other racing organizations around the region, and are getting a lot of positive feedback on the plans.

Grider told the council, “I think we have a real winning event here if we can get it all put together.”

Councilman Kenny Parlet mentioned the popular annual Konocti Challenge, held in October, which also draws hundreds of visitors. He said it would be great to have another such event in Lakeport.

Parlet moved to approve the event, which the council voted to accept 4-0. Councilman Martin Scheel was absent from the meeting.

The vote received a round of applause from the team members in the audience.

In other news on Tuesday, presented a proclamation designating the month of November as Hospice and Palliative Care Month to Hospice representative Cindy Sobel, the council authorized acceptance of the USDA Water/Wastewater Improvements Project and approved recording a notice of completion with the county, and council members heard a presentation on the other post-employment benefits actuarial report prepared by Total Compensation Systems Inc.

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