LAKEPORT, Calif. – An all new Lakeport City Council met on Tuesday for the first time in the new year, greeting a new county supervisor, approving the placement of council members on a series of city boards and commissions, and approving another contract for improvements to the new Lakeport Police headquarters.

The council started off the brief, 19-minute meeting with a presentation of thanks to Tom Gayner, an outgoing city planning commissioner.

Community Development Director Kevin Ingram read a proclamation commending Gayner for his work on the commission. Gayner was on the commission for eight years, from June 2008 through the end of last month, serving as chair from 2010 to 2011 and 2014 to 2015.

The proclamation said Gayner was instrumental in updating, reviewing and implementing the city's housing element updates in 2009 and 2014, adoption of the Forbes Creek Neighborhood Study and the city's 2015 updated general plan and sphere of influence.

Gayner “provided a vast knowledge of construction development practices that provided invaluable insight and benefit to the decision making process of the planning commission,” the proclamation said.

When asked by Mayor Stacey Mattina if he wanted to come up and say anything, Gayner, a man of few words, replied, “No, I'm good.”

The council also formally welcomed new District 4 Supervisor Tina Scott, with Mattina offering her congratulations on her election.

Scott, who was sworn in during a Tuesday morning ceremony just up the hill at the Lake County Courthouse, apologized for arriving a few minutes late to the meeting.

She said she was delayed due to assisting with intake for the homeless warming center at a bus stop on North Main Street, with the person due to relieve her getting there late.

“It really humbles you, standing out there for an hour,” said Scott. “At this point I can't feel my feet.”

She thanked the council for the invitation to speak. “I really look forward to working with the city closely,” she said, acknowledging that there hasn't been “the back and forth” between the city and county.

However, she indicated a desire to change that. “I'm here, I have an open mind and I'm willing to do whatever we can do together,” noting they serve the same people.

Scott has so far taken a collaborative approach with the Lakeport City Council that sets her apart from her predecessor, Anthony Farrington, who left the board this week after 16 years.

Over the past several years, Farrington has publicly been at odds with the city because of its longterm plan to annex South Main Street, the most lucrative commercial corridor in the unincorporated county.

Mattina welcomed Scott, said she was thrilled she was there, expressed the hope she would join their meetings and added that she was looking forward to working with here. Other council members also thanked Scott for her appearance.

The mayor in her welcome also thanked Scott for attending the council meetings. Since her election in November, Scott has been at the council's twice-monthly meetings, which again sets her apart from Farrington, who was rarely in attendance at the meetings unless matters related to annexation or sphere of influence were discussed.

In other business on Tuesday, Mattina presented her suggested appointments of liaisons to city commissions, boards and committees, which the council approved unanimously.

Those appointments of council representatives are as follows:

– Lakeport Fire Protection District: Councilman Tim Barnes, Councilwoman Mireya Turner as alternate.
– Lakeport Regional Chamber of Commerce: Turner, Mattina as alternate.
– Lakeport Main Street Association: Councilman George Spurr.
– League of California Cities, Redwood Empire Division, Division Business Meeting voting delegate: Turner, Mattina as alternate.
– League of California Cities, Redwood Empire Division, Legislative Committee voting delegate: Turner, Mattina as alternate.
– Lake County/City Area Planning Council: Mattina and Councilman Kenny Parlet, Spurr as alternate.
– County of Lake Solid Waste Management Task Force: Spurr, Turner.
– SB 621 Indian Gaming Funds Committee: Spurr, Barnes as alternate.
– Local Agency Formation Commission: Mattina, alternate to be appointed in 2018.
– Invasive Species Task Force Committee: Parlet.
– Clean Water Program Committee: Parlet.
– Lakeport Unified School District Committee: Mattina and Turner.
– Oversight Board of the Former Lakeport Redevelopment Agency: Mattina, Parlet as alternate.
– Lake County Abandoned Vehicle Abatement Service Authority: Spurr.

The other main item of business on Tuesday was approval of a purchase order in the amount of $34,032.32 to be paid to Total Security Solutions of Fowlerville, Mich., for bulletproof safety glass for the new Lakeport Police Department headquarters at 2025 S. Main St.

Police Chief Brad Rasmussen said a couple of major security projects had not been included in the original bidding for upgrades to the facility, and the safety glass was one of them.

Rasmussen said he had tried to place the item in the original bidding, but had to put it aside while trying to find vendors.

Altogether, the city received bids from three vendors, with one of the bids being incomplete, Rasmussen said. Total Security Solutions offered the best price, with the next-highest bid coming in at $42,537.80.

He said he intended to use Board of State and Community Corrections funds for the window purchase, so the city's general fund will not be impacted.

Parlet moved to approve the purchase order, which the council accepted unanimously.

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.