LUCERNE – The Board of Supervisors today will hold a public hearing on purchasing a building from the Lucerne Senior Center and discuss another possible purchase in the town's promenade area.

County Administrative Officer Kelly Cox said the public hearing is the next step in the process of purchasing the Lucerne Alpine Senior Center thrift shop building, located at 6467 Ninth Ave., next to the center's main building.

Cox said the county and the center have agreed to a purchase price of $150,000, an amount the board agreed to set aside last year for the purchase.

The deal is meant to help the center pay off its debts and have some funds left over for building improvements, said Cox. Jim Swatts, the president of the center's executive board, previously said the center's main building needed to be reroofed.

The board also will consider a rental agreement with the center, said Cox, which will lease the thrift shop building back to them for $1 a year.

Also on the agenda is consideration of a purchase agreement with Dennis and Pam Crilly for a home located at 6005 E. Highway 20, along the Lucerne Promenade, said Cox.

The county has wanted to purchase the land for some time, said Cox, because it's located in the middle of other county-owned lots intended for expanding Alpine Park.

The Crillys had previously said they didn't want to sell the large blue house overlooking the lake, said Cox, so the county was planning on going forward with developing around it.

However, Cox credited Deputy Redevelopment Director Eric Seely with keeping in touch with the Crillys, who recently signed an option to purchase agreement.

An appraisal has valued the home at $570,000, said Cox, which will be paid for through funds from a park bond grant, the County Redevelopment Agency and a prior land easement sale.

If the board agrees to move forward, said Cox, the county will conduct its due diligence and a public hearing will be scheduled, with the purchase being finalized sometime in May.

Cox said the park expansion will visually improve the community.

“I also suspect this is the last major acquisition of lakefront property that we'll be doing for quite a while, so it's an important piece,” he said.

The land acquisition will be in the area of the Third Avenue Plaza Project, said Cox.

The county has $500,000 in grants, said Seely, and is expected to receive another $470,000 grant which will fund that project. He said the plan includes extending sidewalks and installing additional street lights, replacing a public pier that previously was removed, and adding new landscaping and parking.

Seely said the county has budgeted $1.3 million for that project overall, with the design coming in at $2.3 million. He said the plan is being revised to bring it back under budget.

The public hearing on the senior center purchase is scheduled for 10:15 a.m.; consideration of the purchase agreement with the Crillys is an untimed item.

Other items on the board agenda for today: supervisors will consider a request from Hospice Services of Lake County for $80,000, which will fund a functional space analysis and conceptual design of a new hospice center on Hill Road in Lakeport (9:45 a.m.); and an untimed discussion regarding a proposed agreement between the county and Antonio Rossman regarding water-related issues.

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