MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – The south county's new member of the Board of Supervisors, accompanied by a veteran colleague, gave community members an update on key issues including recent storms and the ongoing fire recovery at the Middletown Luncheon Club last week.

District 1 Supervisor Jose “Moke” Simon III, who took office Jan. 3, offered his first version of the “State of the County” address at the Jan. 18 meeting.

He was accompanied by Supervisor Rob Brown, who Simon thanked for being on hand to assist in giving the update.

Simon said it's been a busy few weeks of learning about his new job and attending his first board meetings.

He also gave an update on the rebuilding effort in the Valley fire area, explaining that permits for 231 single family homes and 66 manufactured homes have been taken out. Of those, 34 single family homes and 30 manufactured homes have been completed.

To put that in perspective, Simon said that about 1,300 homes were lost in the Valley fire. Of those, the residents of 800 of those homes were the owners and 550 were renters.

He said he's been meeting with Community Development Director Bob Massarelli as well as his district's constituents, and he's been out visiting home sites to help resolve issues.

“It is a daunting process and we know it is slow,” he said, explaining it will probably take five years.

As for tree removal, the first phase of the process to take down damaged or dead trees occurred shortly after the fire. Simon said the county is now in the second phase of tree removal, which involves the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is currently conducting the necessary environmental studies.

He also gave an update on the storms of the previous week that he said primarily affected Hidden Valley Lake.

Simon said 51 homes were affected, 31 had water intrusion, and 10 to 15 have significant damage.

He said the board approved a proclamation at a special meeting the night before declaring a local emergency.

Simon acknowledged that he has a lot to learn. He's meeting with the County Administrative Office to understand the budgeting process, which he said will be a challenge due to the fires.

Simon said he's on a six-month plan to meet with every county department to find out what they're doing, their projects and how he can support them.

He's also working to set up office hours in the south county. At that time, he said he planned to have office hours from 8 to 11 a.m. Fridays at the Gibson Museum. He'll also be at the courthouse in Lakeport on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Simon said there are a lot of good folks in the county who want to help it move forward, and he said he's found county staff excellent to work with.

He also shared his cell phone for those needing to call him on supervisorial business: 707-272-3368.

During his talk, Simon noted that he's leaning on the experience of other board members as he learns his job.

In his remarks, Brown recalled that when he was first elected more than 16 years ago, he got two phone calls the following morning – one from then-Supervisor Ed Robey, and another from current Board Chair Jeff Smith.

“It meant a lot to me at the time,” he said, adding that he's offered the same courtesy to Simon.

Brown praised Simon for his performance, noting that he was underselling himself in saying he has many challenges starting out.

So far, Brown said he hasn't seen any sign that Simon has been challenged, and that his transition into the south county's new supervisor has been fairly seamless.

“He's worked for a long time prior to being elected and prior to taking office in real life situations, including the Valley fire,” said Brown, who added that the south county is very well represented.

Brown told the group about a meeting planned for Thursday, Feb. 16, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the gymnasium at Middletown Middle School, 20932 Big Canyon Road to discuss the CalHome grant.

He said $7.2 million was allocated to Hammers for Hope and Habitat for Humanity to rebuild homes, with between $60,000 and $80,000 to be offered per qualifying homeowner.

Brown also raised the issue of marijuana, which he said is one that will define Lake County for years to come.

“We have a lot of people from out of county dictating what the future of Lake County is going to be, and that concerns me,” he said, adding that those people don't care about the property values or families of the county's existing residents.

Brown said he intends to recommend to the Board of Supervisors that his district, District 5, will be an excluded area with no commercial operations allowed. He said that will be a good opportunity to see if there are actual benefits.

“Whether you're for it, whether you're against it, stay actively involved in this because this is going to be the issue of our future,” Brown said.

Brown and Simon took questions from the audience about Federal Emergency Management Agency trailers, potholes, trees, the county budget, the condition of Clear Lake and marijuana.

Regarding trees, Brown said those on private property that are potential hazards to the county's right-of-way are being addressed, with FEMA out doing cultural and environmental studies. He said the county is hoping FEMA will give it the funding for the tree removal.

He said a new program is being offered by the county regarding trees that are hindering a rebuild. If the owners of the trees don't respond or refuse to remove them, the county will have a forester check them to make sure they're a hazard.

The county will then give the trees' owners a 48-hour abatement notice. If the trees aren't removed, the county will fell them and then place a lien on the property, Brown said.

“We can't knowingly put people in harm's way,” he said.

Simon said that there will be an important meeting on Feb. 11 at 1 p.m. at Middletown High School to discuss the sewer system to be built in Anderson Springs.

Simon ended the meeting with a surprise.

He said he's closing out his campaign bank account, and presented a check to the Middletown Senior Center for $4,965.

“I couldn't think of a better organization,” he said.

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.