CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake City Council will hold a public hearing this week to consider making Pomo Road a one-way street.

The hearing will take place during the Clearlake City Council's regular meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26, at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive in Clearlake.

The council is considering the proposal because of public concerns expressed about children walking to and from school on the road.

The public hearing will provide residents of the area and other citizens an opportunity to provide their input.

The second reading of an ordinance prohibiting commercial medical marijuana cultivation and other related regulations also is set to take place.

The council has been working with the document since spring. It passed its first reading, with additional verbiage changes, on Sept. 12.

If the ordinance passes its second reading, regulations are to become effective Jan. 1, 2014.

The council also is to consider a temporary street closure for the "Trunk or Treat" event on Oct. 31 at Austin Park, as well as amending an urgency ordinance extending a temporary building moratorium on Lakeshore Drive between Olympic Drive and Old Highway 53 an additional three months.

Email Denise Rockenstein at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Interested community members are being sought for positions on a number of county advisory boards.

The Board of Supervisors is seeking applicants to fill vacancies or seek reappointments on the following boards and commissions:

• Animal Control Advisory Board, Supervisorial District 2: One vacancy.
• Big Valley Groundwater Management Zone Commission: Three vacancies – One member at large and two for the water district.
• Building Board of Appeals: Five vacancies, one representative from each supervisorial district.
• Child Care Planning and Development Council: Seven vacancies, child care provider (2), consumer (2), discretionary appointee (2) and public agency.
• Clear Lake Advisory Sub-Committee Advisory Board: Six vacancies in the categories of agriculture, aquatic plants, Elem Indian Colony, fishery, habitat-ecology and wildlife.
• Emergency Medical Care Committee -Seven (7) vacancies: California Highway Patrol, community college district, consumer-interested group, EMT representative, paramedic representative, private ambulance company and sheriff’s office.
• Fish and Wildlife Advisory Committee: Three vacancies, one each for Supervisorial Districts 2, 3 and 4.
• Heritage commission: Six vacancies, Supervisorial Districts 1, 2, 3 and 5, and member at large (2).
• In Home Support Services Public Authority Advisory Committee: Five vacancies, disabled community representative, provider, senior consumer (2) and disabled consumer.
• Law Library Advisory Board of Trustees: One vacancy, Board of Supervisors appointee.
• Library Advisory Board: One vacancy, Supervisorial District 5.
• Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health (MCAH) Advisory Board: Five vacancies, general membership.
• Mental Health Board: Two vacancies, members at large.
• Section 8 Resident Advisory Board: Seven vacancies, general membership.
• Spring Valley CSA No. 2 Advisory Board: Two vacancies, residents.

All the vacancies are countywide unless stated.

For applications, or if you have questions regarding a vacancy on one of these advisory boards, please contact the clerk to the board at 707-263-2371.

Applications are available at the Lake County Courthouse, Clerk of the Board Office, Room 109, 255 North Forbes St., Lakeport, Calif., or the form below can be used.

Please note that all memberships on the above referenced advisory boards are voluntary.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – This week the Board of Supervisors is expected to discuss needs at the jail and also consider a report on the county's syringe exchange program.

The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 24, in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport. It will be broadcast live on TV8.

At 9:30 a.m. the board will hear the biannual report on the syringe exchange program from county Health Services Director Jim Brown and Health Officer Dr. Karen Tait.

Any Positive Change, a volunteer organization, operates a large syringe exchange program in the county, but the report from Brown and Tait indicates the organization may soon end, and as such they are attempting to monitor for the potential impacts should the program shutter.

At 10:10 a.m., the board will consider recommendations offered in the jail needs assessment report.

The jail currently is reported to be at capacity due to correctional realignment. Realignment has resulted in some inmates doing time in the jail rather than state prison, with many sentences served in the jail now exceeding the previous one year maximum.

As such, the sheriff's office has said that it needs to make improvements to the jail facilities in order to be able to accommodate the increased jail population.

It's been estimated at previous board meetings that jail upgrades could run into the millions of dollars, with some grant funding available.

The full agenda follows.

TIMED ITEMS

9 a.m., A-1 to A-4: Approval of consent agenda, which includes items that are expected to be routine and noncontroversial, and will be acted upon by the board at one time without discussion; presentation of animals available for adoption at Lake County Animal Care and Control; consideration of items not appearing on the posted agenda, and contract change orders for current construction projects.

9:05 a.m.: Citizen's input. Any person may speak for three minutes about any subject of concern, provided that it is within the jurisdiction of the Board of Supervisors and is not already on the agenda. Prior to this time, speakers must fill out a slip giving name, address and subject (available in the clerk of the board’s office, first floor, courthouse).

9:15 a.m., A-5: Presentation of update regarding current departmental fiscal status.

9:30 a.m., A-6: Presentation of syringe exchange program bi-annual report.

9:45 a.m., A-7: Presentation of update on departmental implementation of health care reform.

10 a.m., A-8: Consideration of bid award for rehabilitation of portion of Gaddy Lane (Kelseyville), Soda Bay Road (Kelseyville) and Butts Canyon Road (Middletown).

10:10 a.m., A-9: Consideration of jail needs assessment report recommendations.

11 a.m., A-10: Assessment Appeal Hearing: Michele Basso - Application No. 119-2011 - 11222 Tanya Terrace, Cobb, CA (APN 051-103-050-000); Wanda Fulford, TTE - Application No. 114-2011 - 574 Bass Lane, Clearlake Oaks, CA (APN 035-822-410-000); Stephens Properties Inc. - Application Nos. 15-2011, 16-2011, 17-2011, 18-2011, 19-2011, 20-2011, 21-2011, 22-2011, 23-2011 and 24-2011 - 10920 Harbor Road, 10892 Harbor Road, 11178 Wheeler Drive, 11350 Westwind Road, 11126 Konocti Vista Drive, 11390 Point Lakeview Road, 11125 Point Lakeview Road, 11279 Point Lakeview Road, 10835 Sunset Ridge Drive and 11606 Point Lakeview Road, Kelseyville (APNs 009-004-240-000, 009-004-190-000, 009-004-180-000, 009-018-190-000, 009-018-200-000, 009-018-060-000, 009-018-020-000, 009-018-040-000, 009-004-170-000 and 043-041-080-000).

NONTIMED ITEMS

A-11: Supervisors’ weekly calendar, travel and reports.

A-12: Consideration of appointments to the California State Association of Counties Board of Directors.

A-13: Consideration of proposed response to the FY 2012-13 Grand Jury Final Report.

A-14: Consideration of proposed award of bid (Bid No. 13-16) for sludge removal project at the Southeast Regional Wastewater Treatment Facility.

CLOSED SESSION

A-15: 1.Conference with Labor Negotiator: (a) County Negotiators: A. Grant, L. Guintivano, S. Harry, M. Perry, A. Flora and C. Shaver; and (b) employee organizations: Deputy District Attorney's Association, Lake County Deputy Sheriff's Association, Lake County Correctional Officers Association, Lake County Employees Association and Lake County Safety Employees Association.

A-15: 2. Conference with real property negotiator, (a) property located at: 3980 Gard St., Kelseyville (APN 024-081-01); (b) negotiating parties for county: Supervisor Rob Brown, Child Support Services Director Gail Woodworth, County Administrative Officer Matt Perry and Deputy County Administrative Officer Alan Flora; for seller, Kelseyville Unified School District representatives; (c) under negotiation, lease terms.

A-15: 3. Public employee evaluation: Child Support Services Director Gail Woodworth and Health Services/Veterans Services Director Jim Brown.

CONSENT AGENDA

C-1: Approve minutes of the Board of Supervisors meetings held on Sept. 10 and 17, 2013.

C-2: Adopt Resolution amending Resolution No. 2013-95 by canceling Obligated Fund balance for road improvements in the Emerford Pine Summit Estates Capital Projects Fund to appropriate money for road improvements.

C-3: Approve Budget Transfer B-017 in the amount of $70,000, from BU 7999 - Contingencies to BU 2604 - Nuisance Abatement, for Lakeside Heights Winterization projects, and authorize the chair to sign.

C-4: Approve agreement between the county of Lake and Redwood Toxicology Laboratory Inc. for FY 2013-14 drug testing services (AODS), in the amount of $15,000, and authorize the chair to sign.

C-5: Authorize the chair to sign the Certification Statement in Standard Agreement No. 12-89369 (agreement approved by the board on June 25, 2013).

C-6: Approve findings of fact in the appeal of Andrez Skwira - AB 13-02, and deny appeal.

C-7: Approve hiring extra help Office Assistant II Marcella Barnes at Step 5, due to extraordinary qualifications.

C-8: Approve Group Insurance Committee Recommendations for account based health plan for the 2014 benefit plan year (correcting error in rates), and authorize the Human Resources director to implement recommendations.

C-9: Adopt resolution authorizing the Special Districts administrator to sign a Notice of completion for work performed under agreement dated Oct. 25, 2012 (Spring Valley WTP Upgrade & Clearwell Tank Project).

C-10: Award Bid No. 13-17 to Ukiah Ford for the purchase of one 2013 extended cab standard bed truck, in the amount of $24,469, and authorize the Special Districts administrator/assistant purchasing agent to issue a purchase order.

C-11: Adopt water system design and construction standards for all county service areas.

KELSEYVILLE COUNTY WATERWORKS DISTRICT NO. 3 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

C-12: (a) Adopt water system design and construction standards; and (b) adopt design and construction standards for sanitation facilities.

LAKE COUNTY SANITATION DISTRICT BOARD OF DIRECTORS

C-13: Adopt design and construction standards for sanitation facilities.

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.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A town hall meeting will be held Wednesday, Oct. 2, to answer questions about the city of Clearlake’s Measure H, a sales tax proposal going on this fall's ballot.

The meeting will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Lake County Youth Center, 4750 Golf St.

Measure H is a proposal on the November ballot to implement a 1-percent use and transaction – or sales – tax in the city of Clearlake. At its Aug. 8 meeting, the Clearlake City Council approved placing it on the ballot.

If passed, Measure H is expected to provide approximately $1.4 million annually, with 75 percent to go toward roads and 25 percent to be used for code enforcement.

Due to severe funding constraints for the Clearlake Code Enforcement Department, there has been a dramatic decline in the upkeep of properties.

This has resulted in increased conditions that affect the public health, safety and welfare, as well as the enjoyment, use and value of private property, according to Measure H proponents.

Measure H does not solve the street condition problems in the city, but proponents suggest it is a big step in that direction. With more than 112 miles of roadway to maintain, additional funding is an absolute necessity to improve the city’s streets.

An annual plan will be developed during the city budget hearings each year to address and improve the overall condition of all city maintained streets. The budget hearings are open to the public with opportunities for public input.

Proponents say Measure H will have a minimal cost. Sales tax is not charged on everything. Rent, groceries, utilities, prescriptions, and most medical procedures are not taxable. This sales tax amounts to 1 cent for each $1 spent on taxable items only.

Code enforcement and better roads are not only necessary to increase property values but also the quality of life, the proponents said.

If you have questions or just want to know more about Measure H, attend the town hall meeting Oct. 2 or visit www.helpclearlake.com .

LAKEPORT, Calif. – After hearing from both supporters and opponents of a senior mobile home park rent control initiative that the city attorney warned was likely to be challenged as unconstitutional, the Lakeport City Council decided to leave the decision of enacting it up to voters.

In a 4-0 vote – with Councilman Martin Scheel absent – the council chose to place the initiative on the November 2014 ballot, when the city's next municipal election will be held.

The vote was greeted with cheers from Lakeport resident Nelson Strasser, the measure's proponent, as well as other members of the “Save Our Seniors” group which reported it has just completed collecting signatures for a similar ballot measure in the county jurisdiction.

Even so, members of the city council had raised concerns about the city finding itself in court over the measure's legality, which interim City Attorney David Ruderman said was a likelihood based on his analysis of Strasser's one-page initiative.

The initiative defines senior parks as those where at least 80 percent of the homes have at least one person age 65 or older. It would roll rents back to those in place on Jan. 1, 2012, and require that rent increases be tied to rises in Social Security benefits.

It was Ruderman's conclusion that the initiative will be the focus of litigation and be invalidated by a court because it constitutes a regulatory taking and is preempted by state law. City park owners already have indicated they may sue if the initiative is adopted.

While the initiative power is “fundamental,” Ruderman added that the courts “have clearly stated that people do not have the right to put an invalid initiative on the ballot.”

Ruderman offered to the council a menu of choices: accept the initiative without change as a city ordinance, place it on the November 2014 ballot, seek declaratory and injunctive relief from the duty to place the initiative on the ballot based on the initiative’s invalidity, place the initiative on the ballot for voter consideration but refuse to defend the initiative if a preelection challenge is brought against it.

He also suggested a fifth option – simply decline to take any action, either to adopt it or to place it before voters, which would require the initiative's proponents to bring suit against the city in order to get it on the ballot.

He pointed out that Strasser initially had provided the city with a petition in November 2012, and former City Attorney Steve Brookes had reviewed the proposal and provided a letter explaining problems with it. Ruderman said Strasser made some changes, returned with a revised initiative the following month and was informed of additional issues.

Council member Stacey Mattina asked if there was time to recirculate the initiative before the November 2014 election. Ruderman said there was.

Councilman Kenny Parlet said it was a difficult decision to choose between spending money to put it on the ballot when litigation is likely – a move that he said seemed “ludicrous” – or to face litigation for not putting it before voters.

He said it seemed that it was Ruderman's advice to not put it on the ballot. Ruderman replied, “This is a policy decision that is within your discretion.”

“So we're kind of between a rock and a hard place, we could get sued by either side,” said Mayor Tom Engstrom.

Mary Ann McQueen, who along with husband Jerry owns Northport Trailer Park outside of the city limits, told the council that the initiative wasn't necessary.

She said it had gotten the attention of park owners who had since agreed to work with residents. “They don't want to work with the park owners now,” she said of the proponents.

McQueen argued that it will create an expensive bureaucracy, and said a long-term lease agreement that park owners representing 80 percent of the park spaces in the unincorporated county had agreed to accept was a better alternative.

Engstrom asked how many mobile home parks the city initiative would affect. Ruderman said he did not know.

Strasser told the council that 100 California municipalities have rent control for mobile home parks. “We're not doing anything radical, we're not inventing the wheel.”

He said there have been abuses by park owners – including massive rent increases in some parts of the state – “and rent control has been the pushback.”

The issue, said Strasser, is whether any senior should have to live at the mercy of a company or corporation that can raise rents unilaterally, putting seniors in danger of being homeless. He suggested the local government should have taken action to fix the problem.

“Stay out of our way. The people of Lake County want their seniors protected,” he said, adding, “We just want our chance on the ballot.”

William Eaton, the Save Our Seniors Committee chair who lives in Sterling Shores Estates mobile home park in north Lakeport, said they've tried unsuccessfully for more than a year to get a long-term lease agreement from their park's owner. They finally heard back from the owner two months ago as the county initiative gained traction.

In the two years since he moved to the park, Eaton said his Social Security has gone up by 1.7 percent but his rent has increased 8 percent. The park's owner, he said, has openly stated his objective is to make as much money as possible. Eaton asked the council to place the initiative on the ballot.

Bill Cline, owner of Castlewood Estates in Nice, argued that the initiative was “clearly illegal,” adding that the council was in a no-win situation. He suggested that Strasser should begin again and retool it.

Doug Johnson, a representative of the Western Manufactured Home Community Association, told the council, “What Mr. Strasser has written is patently illegal” and unconstitutional, and urged the council to place the burden on Strasser, who he said should be forced to go to a judge to try to get it placed on the ballot.

Mattina told Strasser she wished he would start over with something that would work. Strasser said the city council and Board of Supervisors should have put something together. “We really need something that would tie our rents to Social Security.”

He added that he already had a motion written to seek a writ of mandamus, which he planned to file with the court the next day if the council didn't place the initiative on the ballot. “I don't want to fight, I want to solve a problem.”

Joyce Pierson, who like Strasser lives in Fairgrounds Village Senior Mobile Home Park in Lakeport, said she helped gather signatures on petitions from the general public, and heard many people say “it's about time” when she explained the initiative to them.

Pierson said it was time to start doing something for seniors, pointing out the county's large senior population. She added that she and her 83-year-old husband have a tough time making ends meet, and her husband continues to work part-time to pay the bills.

It was Mattina who moved to place the initiative on next year's fall ballot, with Engstrom seconding. Despite concerns raised by council members, the vote was unanimous.

The group of senior proponents had sat quietly as Mattina read through the motion and the vote was taken.

“So it's going on the ballot,” said Engstrom, at which point Strasser and the group seemed to let out its collective breath, clapping and cheering.

In other council news from Tuesday, Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen received the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training's Executive Certificate. It's the highest certification the commission offers to executives, who must complete a training program, college units and have served at least two years as a department head.

The council also voted to move forward with the process of refinancing side fund obligations owed to the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, which could save an estimated $20,000 annually.

Council members also approved an application from “Hey … Hot Dog!” for a time limit waiver in order for the hot dog cart to remain at one location along S. Main Street beyond the city's two-hour time limit for mobile catering businesses.

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.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – On Tuesday, five months after the Board of Supervisors declared a local emergency in response to a landslide that damaged a north Lakeport subdivision, board members voted to terminate the emergency.

The board held the vote during an update on the Lakeside Heights subdivision, at which time county officials also discussed options for stabilizing the slide area this winter.

Several structures were severely damaged by the landslide, which abruptly appeared in March in the 29-home subdivision perched above Hill Road. Since then, the ground movement has slowed to one-tenth of an inch in a six-week period, officials reported.

Public Works Director Scott De Leon, who also has served as incident commander during the local emergency, told the board, “With the impending winter rain, if things aren't done with this slide, it's going to end up on Hill Road.”

De Leon said he had contingency plans in place should Hill Road – the main entry point into Sutter Lakeside Hospital – be impacted.

Ideally, De Leon said he hoped to work with the subdivision's homeowners association to get the slide area secured against winter weather. He said he has plastic sheeting he would make available if the association was able to get volunteers to tarp the area. He said that was less expensive than having the county abate the slide.

Community Development Director Rick Coel said he was working on abating two structures – a home and a duplex – that, once gone, would make it easier to work on the winterizing and recontouring the soil.

Coel said it shouldn't cost more than $45,000 to remove the two homes, plus another $10,000 to shape and grade the soil. The total price tag will be closer to $70,000, county officials said, if they needed to hire someone to tarp the area.

Special Districts Administrator Mark Dellinger said he is in the process of submitting to the state water board a request for supplemental funding for projects related to the slide, including moving utilities and installing piers for permanent stabilization, with construction to cost $243,190. He said he wasn't particularly optimistic that they would receive the funds.

Randall Fitzgerald, president of the homeowners association, said the subdivision's residents aspire to be good citizens, and want to cooperate in whatever way possible.

“Within our limited budget, we will help, in whatever way we can,” he said.

However, Fitzgerald noted, “Every single homeowner feels that we are not responsible for the damage that has been inflicted on our neighborhood.”

The property owners in July filed tort claims with the county alleging that it was the county-managed public water system that was to blame for saturating the hillside, leading to the slide.

Those claims have since been rejected by the county's third party administrator, and the attorney for the property owners told Lake County News last week that they are preparing to file a lawsuit against the county.

Fitzgerald said that the association, at its own expense, will put in a temporary storm drain bypass once it knows the status of the removal of the two structures. Without grading on part of the slide, Fitzgerald said they believe issues will continue even with the effort to keep the slide area dry with tarps.

“Obviously, we're all in an awkward position here,” he said of the homeowners, the board and the county departments.

Supervisor Anthony Farrington had liability concerns about having the subdivision's residents volunteering to put out the tarps.

County Counsel Anita Grant said the idea was to have a volunteer partnership. She went on to explain that the residents would not be county volunteers, and that it was a measure suggested to minimize the cost. “It may be a bit unusual in structure.”

Farrington asked Fitzgerald if the residents would prefer the volunteer approach or nuisance abatement.

Fitzgerald said they had an inherent limitation in the composition of the homeowners, many of whom are senior citizens. Only about half a dozen are physically able to do the work, and Fitzgerald said their preference would be for outside help.

Farrington asked if they would prefer outside help even if the county were to try to recover the costs. Fitzgerald said that, eventually, this is all going to come out “in the legal wash.”

Coel said they were suggesting a really temporary fix, and the bigger issue facing them was what to do with the soil there to keep it stable.

Grant suggested the board may want to direct staff to go back and look at all funding options for moving forward, which Supervisor Denise Rushing supported doing for a long-term fix, as well as bringing back alternatives. Staff said they would report back.

Farrington offered the resolution to terminate the local emergency. The vote was 4-0, with Supervisor Rob Brown once again recusing himself due to his daughter and son-in-law owning one of the subdivision's damaged homes.

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.