The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. in the board chambers at the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport. TV Channel 8 will broadcast the meeting live. The meeting also will be available for rebroadcast later at http://laketv8.pegcentral.com/.
For the full agenda visit the county of Lake's Web site, www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Boards/Board_of_Supervisors/BOS_Agendas.htm.
Among the nontimed items on the agenda is the discussion regarding Chesbro's bill, AB 479, which would raise the amount of waste that local jurisdictions must divert from their solid waste stream.
The County Administrative Office and Public Services Department are taking the item to the board, asking for a board-signed letter in opposition to be sent both to Chesbro (D-Arcata) and to state Sen. Patricia Wiggins (D-Santa Rosa).
Chesbro introduced the bill in January along with two others that he said would, as a package, create thousands of green jobs across the state while lessening dependence on fossil fuels and ensuring more solid waste is recycled and used.
“These bills move California toward a more sustainable environment and economy,” Chesbro said at the time.
However, the bill is a concern for local officials.
According to a memorandum to the board from Jennifer Hammond, a county senior administrative analyst, AB 479 would impose “a state-mandated local program for imposing new duties on local agencies with regard to adoption of commercial recycling ordinances.”
The text of AB 479 says it would require cities and counties to divert 60 percent of all solid waste through source reduction, recycling and composting on or after Jan. 1, 2015, an amount which would then rise to 75 percent by 2020.
That's an increase from the 50 percent currently required by the California Integrated Waste Management Act, AB 939, which went into effect in 1989. That bill had required cities to reach 25-percent diversion by Jan. 1, 1995, and 50-percent diversion by Jan. 1, 2000.
The bill also would increase the state's mandatory quarterly landfill fee from $1.40 per ton to $3.90 per ton on or after Jan. 1, 2010, with that extra $2.50 to be deposited in the Integrated Waste Management Account in the Integrated Waste Management Fund in the State Treasury.
The State of California's Manual of State Funds said those accounts' funds “are used to support source reduction, recycling and composting, and the safe transformation and disposal of waste, and also the protection of public health and safety through regulation of solid waste facilities.”
Hammond's report notes that, currently, the county is disposing of 50,000 tons of solid waste per year and is required to pay $70,000 per year to the state for its landfill operation. If AB 479 passed, those fees would nearly triple, growing to $195,000 per year.
AB 479 also would require businesses generating more than four cubic yards of solid waste and recyclable materials per week to arrange for recycling services. Local agencies serving more than 200,000 people would be required to adopt commercial recycling ordinances that include certain minimum requirements by Jan. 1, 2011.
The draft of the letter the board will consider Tuesday states, “Our board is extremely concerned about this bill as it will place greatly increased costs on counties in order to operate their landfills.”
The letter continues, “As you are well aware, California is experiencing an extremely challenging budget time and our local residents will not be able to afford the rate increases needed in order for counties to pay the increased fees to the state. In addition, the higher fees charged at the local landfill will result in more illegal dumping which is costly to the taxpayers and very harmful to the environment.”
The bill could end up having other implications for local agencies.
The California Integrated Waste Management Board earlier this year found in its biannual review for 2005-06 that the city of Clearlake is failing to meet the 50-percent diversion requirement.
City officials have argued they've been unable to meet the diversion rate because they already have very low waste amounts which are hard to reduce further. AB 939 allows state officials to reduce diversion rates if they can prove they're not feasible due to geographic size or the small amount of waste generated.
The city currently is working with the state on the compliance issues and is putting programs in place to meet the requirements, according to state documents.
The waste board will monitor the city during an oversight period to last from February 28, 2010, through Feb. 28, 2011. If Clearlake fails to make a good faith effort or doesn't comply with all the program requirements, it could face administrative civil penalties of up to $10,000 per day.
Other items on the board's Tuesday agenda include the following.
Timed items:
9:15 a.m.: Election of chair and vice-chair of the Lake County Local Board of Equalization for 2009, and adoption of rules and regulations for assessment appeal hearings. There also will be assessment appeal hearings for Ferdinand Comayas, 3166 Edgewood Drive, Kelseyville; Pensco Trust Co. Inc. Trust, 127 Old Long Valley Road, Clearlake Oaks; Jacob Watson, 15606 Eagle Rock Road, Hidden
Valley Lak; Daniel Tae Hwang, representing agent Jonathan Guffey, California Property Tax Associates, 3967 Hill Road, Lakeport.
9:45 a.m.: Public hearing – Consideration of proposed ordinance establishing a fee schedule for services provided by the treasurer-tax collector.
10 a.m.: Discussion/consideration of proposed resolution regarding senior populations and eligibility for entitlement programs, recognizing the impacts of automatic cost of living adjustments (COLAs), and supporting state and federal legislation that would increase protections for seniors who are disqualified from public programs/services after receiving a COLA.
10:15 a.m.: Discussion/consideration of proposed agreement between the county of Lake and Duncan Engineering Inc. for a building evaluation of the Historic Lucerne Hotel, in the amount of $25,100
10:30 a.m.: Presentation of proclamation designating the month of April as Child Abuse Prevention Month in Lake County.
10:35 a.m.: Consideration of proposed resolution authorizing cancellation of Spring Valley CSA No. 2 Capital Improvement Reserve Designation in the amount of $347,757, to appropriate funds for the water source and treatment plant upgrades; and discussion/consideration of proposed agreement between the county of Lake and CH2M Hill Inc. for engineering services for CSA 2-Spring Valley Water System Improvement Project in the amount of $302,100.
10:45 a.m.: Discussion/consideration of proposed agreement between the Lake County Sanitation District and Water Works Engineers for the Anderson Springs Wastewater Collection System Project in
the amount of $115,700.
Nontimed items:
– Consideration of request for out-of-state travel for Animal Control Officer Terrie Flynn from April 13-17 to attend the National Cruelty Investigators School Level I in Reno.
– Consideration of proposed Budget Transfer B-184, in the amount of $10,700, for the purchase of a network switch card; and consideration of proposed Budget Transfer B-185 in the amount of $20,000, for the purchase and maintenance costs for a Kace K-Box appliance, Budget Unit No. 1904 – Information Technology.
– Consideration of request to purchase 45 X26 taser units from Taser International as sole source provider at a cost of $42,356; make a determination that the competitive bidding process would produce no economic benefit to the county; and authorize the sheriff and the assistant purchasing agent to sign the purchase order.
– Consideration of request for authorization to submit a grant application to the U.S. Department of Justice for COPS Hiring Recovery Program.
– Update on the emergency action taken by the Lake County Board of Supervisors on Dec. 9, 2008, declaring the continuance of the existing local emergency in regards to the court order issued by the Sacramento Superior Court which prohibits fish stocking by the Department of Fish and Game in
water bodies in Lake County.
The board also will have a closed session for a conference with their labor negotiator, and discussion with legal counsel regarding a potential case of litigation.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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