LAKEPORT, Calif. – The formation of the county's fourth municipal advisory council has received the approval of the Lake County Board of Supervisors.

At the request of District 3 Supervisor Jim Steele, the board voted unanimously on Jan. 10 to form the Middle Region Town Hall for the Lucerne area.

Steele's memo to the board explained, “Government Code section 31010 authorizes the Board of Supervisors to establish by resolution a Municipal Advisory Council for any unincorporated area in the County to advise the Board on matters which relate to that geographic area and which are designated by the Board.”

He said MRTH will advise him on matters of interest relating to the Lucerne area.

Middle Region Town Hall, or MRTH, is the second such group Steele has requested be formed. The first, East Region 3 Town Hall, or EaRTH, was approved in May by the board.

EaRTH represents the Clearlake Oaks area, including Spring Valley. It began meeting last month.

“It's been, so far, very successful,” said Steele.

He said it gives residents a platform for their concerns and a cross-dialogue with him.

“This is more of a community-based approach,” he said.

He offered one amendment to the resolution, to say that MRTH's boundaries will precisely mirror Lucerne's community growth boundaries.

Steele said there already has been a lot of interest in the new group.

He offered the amended resolution, which the board approved 5-0.

This is the fourth municipal advisory council to be formed in Lake County.

The first was the Middletown Area Town Hall, formed in December 2006, which meets on the second Thursday of every month at the Middletown Senior and Community Center; the second was EaRTH, created in May and meeting the first Wednesday of the month, at locations to be announced; the third was the Cobb Area Council, created in July and meeting the third Thursday of the month at 6 p.m. at the Little Red School House, 15780 Bottle Rock Road.

He indicated he plans to create a third municipal advisory council for his district, which will be called West Region Town Hall, or WRTH, for Upper Lake, Nice, Blue Lakes and surrounding areas.

Steele also will host a “Coffee with the Supervisor” event at 10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 21, a the Vintage Station Deli, 9450 Main St. in Upper Lake. Community members are invited to come and talk with him about the municipal advisory councils.

Anyone interested in being appointed to MRTH can get an application at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/ , or contact Steele at 707-295-6198 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.

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.