LAKEPORT, Calif. – Next week the Lakeport City Council will hold a public hearing on proposed water and sewer rate increases, with many city residents already lodging their complaints against the plan.

The meeting will take place beginning at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 18, in the council chambers at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.

Over the next five years, the city is proposing to more than double both water and sewer rates, a step city officials say is necessary due to regulatory demands, failing infrastructure and the increasing costs of providing the services to customers.

City Manager Margaret Silveira said the city has been looking at its rate structure for four years, and that it hasn't kept pace with operations costs or system needs.

She said a small portion of the proposed rates cover overhead and operations.

“All of the prices have gone up for everything, and we have not raised our rates for quite a few years,” she said.

The city said rates are its primary sources of revenue for the water and sewer systems, paying for power, treatment chemicals, equipment and vehicle maintenance, administration, debt service, replacement, upgrades, rehabilitation, and improvement of the water and sewer system infrastructure including land and structures.

Over the summer, the council gave city staff the go ahead to send out a Proposition 218 notice to the roughly 2,200 parcels that would be affected by the increases.

For a basic rate comparison, based on the Proposition 218 notice, residential water rates that now are $17.45 per month for a 3/4-inch pipe and up to 10 CCF (a CCF is 100 cubic feet of water) would rise to $34.85 by January 2017, while a 1-inch pipe with up to 20 CCF would go from $34.87 per month to $69.70 over the five-year period.

On the sewer side, over the coming five years north customers would see bills go from $35.41 per month to $74.25 monthly, while south customers would see rates increase from $46.79 to $74.25 each month.

A full rundown of the rate increases for residential, multifamily and commercial customers can be seen in the documents posted below.

The proposed rates are the result of a comprehensive yearlong rate study completed by a consultant the city hired, city officials reported.

The study was meant to define the revenues needed to meet operating and capital improvement needs for both the water and sewer systems. It also considered funding capital projects identified in the 2008 Water and Sewer Master Plans, and provided options to encourage customers to conserve water.

Silveira said Lakeport has one of the county's lowest water rates, and some of the best water. In order to keep that quality and avoid paying fines instead of paying for system projects, the rates have to increase, she said.

She said the city recently received a new sewer permit from the state, but that came with heavy mandates, including a number of system improvement projects. The city only is proposing to do the projects that the state says must be done, she said.

There are a total of 10 sewer and water projects, for which the Lakeport City Council recently accepted a mitigated negative declaration.

The projects include payment for the acquisition of the Green Ranch, where two critical groundwater supply wells for the city are located; updating automated water and sewer control systems; construction of a new closed loop water main from South Main Street to Parallel Drive; replacement of water meter devices with lead free remote read meters; removal of sludge from a sewer treatment pond; upsizing of an undersized Main Street sewer line between Clearlake Avenue and Sixth Street; replacement of the flood prone Clear Lake Avenue Sewer Lift Station; and replacement of the dilapidated 72-inch sewer main conduit under Highway 29 between Parallel Drive and Bevins Street, the city reported.

There is no deadline for completion of the projects, Silveira said.

Silveira and Utilities Director Mark Brannigan said the city also has applied for a long-term low interest rate loan, and a $2 million grant from the US Department of Agriculture Rural Development. Silveira said the USDA has tentatively approved all of the projects.

They said the sewer and water rate increases are needed as part of the loan and grant application process.

If that funding comes through, Brannigan said it will be put toward principal repayment for the projects. He said a $1 million loan could reduce a customer's bill by about $1.15 per month.

Brannigan said that if water users conserve, it's possible that they may not see an increase in their bills.

He said the proposed increases include depreciation, which the city hasn't implemented before. Essentially, depreciation is planning for equipment to fail, and a way of putting money aside for that eventuality in order not to have to borrow money.

Brannigan said the city is looking for ways to support itself in the future without placing undue burdens on ratepayers.

He said state officials are now wanting to see capital improvement plans as part of their system inspections.

That's because infrastructure is failing across the United States, which he partially attributed to it being “out of sight, out of mind.”

He said Lakeport has some old, undersized infrastructure, some of it dating back to World War II and even earlier. While much of it has been replaced, some still remains, as the city hasn't had the revenue to do an entire replacement. He said the city tried not to deplete its resources in making the upgrades.

The council could go forward with making the decision at the Sept. 18 meeting or hold off, Silveira said.

The agenda for the meeting includes the adoption of the proposed resolutions to implement the new sewer and water rates.

“The longer this gets postponed, the more it's going to cost us,” Brannigan said.

Push back on increase proposal

Critics of the proposed rate hikes say they comes at a time when many Lakeport residents are ill-equipped to pay the increased costs.

As of Tuesday, Silveira said the city had received approximately 169 protests. She said that response “is on the high side.”

Silveira said the city will present information on the proposed rate increases and take public input at the Sept. 18 meeting. Written comments will be taken up to the meeting, but Silveira said comments must be submitted in writing, in hard copy form, and not emailed.

Lakeport resident Bob Bridges, who also works as a deputy county counsel, has been waging his own campaign against the increases.

He's written protests to the city, along with numerous letters to the editor. Bridges also has gone door to alert his neighbors and other community members about the proposal, which he said will seriously burden city residents.

Another Lakeport resident, Karen Ford, said in a letter to Lake County News that she was outraged by Lakeport's proposal, to which she had formally responded in writing. Ford also pointed out the numerous taxes and assessments people are facing at this financially challenging time.

Attorney Ed La Velle, who lives in Lakeport and also has his law office there, was another one of those who submitted a letter opposing the rate increase proposal and criticizing the city's rationale.

“I'm surprised by the grassroots grumbling that I'm hearing,” he said.

While La Velle said he did not remember the last rate increase, he suspects that the city is trying to establish water on the S. Main Street corridor, “which in turn is aimed at trying to incorporate that part of the county into the city, which would lead to increased revenues,” he told Lake County News.

Pointing to the “ongoing battle” between the county and city over that corridor, La Velle said he didn't feel that the city “is being forthright in identifying that aspect of the agenda.”

That S. Main Street corridor and the city's desire to annex it has become a sore point between the city and county due, in part, to it being the county's most lucrative area for sales tax revenue. Silveira said that the annexation issue isn't currently on the table.

The city has, however, maintained that it won't open water service on that corridor to customers not within its city limits. La Velle questioned why the city wouldn't open the area to businesses and allow them to carry more of the burden.

La Velle also questioned another city justification for the rates, the need to increase compensation for city employees. He said he took a look at the compensation and feels that they are already compensated at a very high rate, particularly in the current economy.

He doesn't feel the city's notification of the proposed rate increases was aimed at alerting people that if they opposed the hikes hey needed to actually lodge an objection.

He also questioned why the city wouldn't allow people to email complaints, instead requiring printed documents to be delivered or mailed to the city. He suggested that it wasn't odd, however, if the city didn't want input.

He said he's been asked by several people if he will be at the Tuesday meeting to speak. He said the whole matter seems like a fait accompli.

La Velle said he considers himself apolitical; however, if the rate increases pass he wondered if there will be political fallout for sitting council members seeking reelection this fall.

For more information about the proposed rate increases community members are invited to call the City of Lakeport Water and Sewer Utilities Department at 707-263-3578.

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

THIS STORY HAS BEEN UPDATED DUE TO NEW DEVELOPMENTS WEDNESDAY MORNING.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Bureau of Land Management said the Cow Mountain Recreation Area will remain closed this week due to a wildland fire burning in the area since last Friday.

The agency shut down much of the recreation area in response to the Scotts Fire, burning since Sept. 7 on North Cow Mountain, between Scotts Creek and Scotts Valley Road.

As of Wednesday morning, the fire was being held at 4,618 acres, with 75 percent containment, Cal Fire reported.

BLM said the closure covered both the South Cow Mountain Off-Highway Vehicle Area and the North Cow Mountain Recreation Area, and included the Glen Eden Trail, Valley View Trail, Mendo-Rock Road at Mill Creek Road and Mendo Lake Road at both Mill Creek Road and Scotts Creek.

Rich Burns, field manager for BLM’s Ukiah office, said the area was restricted for the safety of the public and firefighters.

“We had a lot of people who basically came up and were interested in seeing what was going on with the fire,” he said.

Burns had anticipated that South Cow Mountain would be reopened on Wednesday. However, on Wednesday morning, he said the area was to remain closed until Monday, Sept. 17.

With much of the fire on North Cow Mountain, he said that area also was to remain closed until further notice.

Burns estimated that the bulk of the scorched acreage – more than 3,000 acres – was BLM land.

Most of it is open space, but he said there were serious concerns for infrastructure on the land, including cell towers and an FAA communications tower that is critical to controlling West Coast air traffic.

“It seems to be protected, at least for the time being,” Burns said.

Cal Fire spokesman Mike Carr said early on in the incident firefighters did a lot of work to protect the tower. He said firefighters continued to protect the facility.

Chief Tim Streblow of Cal Fire’s Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit told the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday that the tower, a critical pass off point between airports in Seattle and Oakland, had brush built up around it when the fire started. He said firefighters cleared around the tower to help protect it.

Streblow said a Homeland Security installation on Cow Mountain also was protected during the firefighting effort.

For more information about Cow Mountain visit www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/ukiah.html .

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LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport Speedway is canceling its Friday and Saturday races – including much-anticipated championships – because the county fairgrounds currently are housing the incident base camp for a wildland fire on Cow Mountain.

David Furia of the Lakeport Speedway management team said he received confirmation that the Lake County Fairgrounds, located on Martin Street in Lakeport, won’t be available in order for the weekend races to take place.

Cal Fire returned last week to locate its base camp for the Scotts Fire at the fairgrounds. Last month the agency also had been based there during the Wye Fire incident.

Lake County Fair Chief Executive Officer Richard Persons said Cal Fire had not given him a firm date for when it would be vacating the fairgrounds with regard to the Scotts Fire.

“The prediction this morning was that they would be here through Saturday and possibly into Sunday in some capacity,” Persons said Tuesday.

Cal Fire has estimated the Scotts Fire would be fully contained this Saturday. Incident Commander Eric Hoffman told the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday that Cal Fire was planning to keep the fairgrounds available to firefighters as a place to rest, since many of them have been on fire lines around the state for weeks.

“There’s enough activity that it was clear there would be no way to have a race on Friday night, and the possibility of having one on Saturday night was pretty sketchy,” said Persons.

Furia said Friday’s Bomber points race had been meant to make up for a race that was canceled on Aug. 18 during the Wye Fire.

On Saturday, the speedway had been set to host the 10th annual Marlene Baker Memorial Bomber, which Furia said brings a lot of cars to town from all over Northern California.

The $2,500 Bomber Bash purse is the largest in the state, according to Furia. The evening of racing also was set to include Bandoleros, Legends and boat races.

He said it’s the biggest race of the year. “It financially supports the track itself,” Furia said, adding, “It’s devastating for us personally.”

Person said that the fairgrounds is being used entirely by firefighting operations, with the exception of the area used by the Konocti Christian Academy.

He said that for the Wye Fire there was approximately 9,000 square feet of indoor space used in two buildings; the Scotts Fire operation is using 23,000 square feet in five buildings.

Both operations have used the entire Baldwin Pavilion, which is 25,000 square feet, Persons said. For the Scotts Fire, there also has been expanded use to include the infield of the race track and the south lot, which was used for RV camping during the Lake County Fair.

Furia, who now also runs Ukiah’s speedway, had considered moving the race there, but said in the end it didn’t pencil out financially.

That’s mostly because the Ukiah fan base isn’t as large or devoted as Lakeport’s. Furia said Lakeport’s attendance is more than double Ukiah’s. Lakeport averages between 1,000 and 1,400 attendees during the season, with July racing events seeing attendance closer to 3,000 people per night.

Persons said the fairgrounds is going to work with the speedway to try to reschedule the weekend races, but Furia didn’t think it was possible due to the potential for rain as the fall advances.

With the the weekend race cancellations, Furia said the season is over for the Bombers and for the Modifieds.

Furia said the October Classic still is set to take place Oct. 13-14, and a rock crawling show is set for Oct. 29.

Persons said this was the first time in his 16 years with the fair that races had to be canceled for emergency circumstances. In the past weather has caused race cancellations.

Persons thanked the community for its support and patience while the fair fulfills its “community emergency relief role.”

Visit the Lakeport Speedway online at www.lakeportspeedway.com .

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

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake City Council will discuss a proposed new naming policy for city parks, a visitors’ center and code enforcement when it meets this week.

The council will meet at 5 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 13, for a closed session conference with legal counsel regarding two cases, Sean Pryor vs. City of Clearlake and James Smiley Harris vs. City of Clearlake, as well as a conference regarding labor negotiations with the Clearlake Municipal Employees Association, Clearlake Middletown Management Association, Clearlake Police Officers Association and Clearlake management employees.

The open portion of the meeting will convene at 6 p.m. in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.

Under council business, council members will consider a proposed naming policy for city parks. Currently there isn’t one, and City Manager Joan Phillipe is proposing to establish guidelines and a process.

Council members also will discuss an agreement with the Clearlake Chamber of Commerce for use of the Highland Park building as a visitors’ center.

Also on the agenda for Thursday, the council will discuss proposed changes to municipal code regarding code enforcement.

Phillipe’s report explained that she is preparing a new ordinance for consideration that will repeal existing sections of code and replace them “with a single ordinance that is reflect of current laws and procedures.”

The goal, she said, is to consolidate code enforcement into a single area of city code so that regulations aren’t interspersed through several code chapters “and to streamline where possible to be more effective and reduce opportunity for error.”

Among the considerations are placing unpaid abatement and administrative costs on the tax rolls as a way of the city more quickly recouping those costs. Currently, the city uses liens, which can take a long time to collect, she reported.

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

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Firefighters working through the night made more gains in their efforts on a wildland fire burning northwest of Lakeport.

Cal Fire said Tuesday morning that the Scotts Fire had been held to 4,618 acres overnight, with containment rising to 50 percent.

The fire – burning since Friday afternoon on Cow Mountain, west of Scotts Valley Road and east of Ukiah – was given No. 1 priority statewide when it began burning, according to Cal Fire Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit Chief Tim Streblow.

Cal Fire said the fire’s cause remains under investigation.

Incident Commander Eric Hoffman, a Cal Fire division chief who also led the effort against the Wye Fire in August, told the Board of Supervisors Tuesday that firefighters had achieved shaky containment around the fire, with hand line and dozer line being connected overnight.

Hoffman was joined by Streblow at the Board of Supervisors' meeting, where they offered a detailed update on the incident's management.

Streblow said that when the Scotts Fire broke out last week, Cal Fire found itself at “max drawdown,” meaning that most of Cal Fire's resources around the state had been committed to other incidents. By that time they already had tapped into California's mutual aid system.

He recognized Lake County's fire chiefs for their role in assisting Cal Fire. “The best thing that we have in Lake County is the commitment and resources that step up to help us out.”

Hoffman said the fire initially was dispatched through Cal Fire's Mendocino Unit on Friday afternoon. It later was discovered that the fire was within the Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit, with only 20 acres inside the Mendocino Unit's area.

On that first night they did a lot of good work using bulldozers, but there were gaps in the line, and the fire went through those gaps, he said.

On Tuesday, with a shaky line around the fire, Hoffman said there was still a lot of heavy fuel in the interior, but added, “We're doing real well.”

Resources on scene Tuesday morning included 1,625 firefighting personnel, 157 engines, 44 fire crews, 11 helicopters, 30 bulldozers and 27 water tenders, according to Cal Fire's morning incident report.

Hoffman told the supervisors that incident command needs to allow firefighters to begin returning to their home fire stations to be prepared for other fires. Already on Tuesday morning there was a report of another fire in Shasta and Siskiyou counties, he said.

Many of the firefighting personnel on the Scotts Fire have been out on incidents for 21 days, Hoffman said.

He said Cal Fire plans to maintain its base at the Lake County Fairgrounds in Lakeport and will give firefighters the chance to rest there.

In reviewing the incident, Hoffman said the evacuation for Blue Lakes last Friday went very well, with good cooperation from the sheriff's office and local fire districts. Once the order was lifted, residents were able to get back home quickly.

On Sunday an evacuation warning was given for Scotts Valley Road. Hoffman said Red Cross quickly set up a shelter in preparation for a full evacuation, which didn't happen.

“Once again the system seemed to work real well,” he said.

Hoffman said Cal Fire officials also had come up with emergency plans for the fire that they would leave with the county. Those plans could be used for future incidents.

Lampson Field, which the county closed to general aviation traffic effective Sunday morning, is being used as Cal Fire's helibase.

Hoffman said there were nine rotary wing helicopters at Lampson Field on Tuesday morning, with plans to begin releasing the helicopters for use on other incidents.

During the discussion Streblow said a DC-10 out of McClellan Air Force Base had been used in the firefighting effort. The jet, which was last on scene at the Scotts Fire on Monday, had been sent to Wyoming on Tuesday.

Streblow said the DC-10 can carry the equivalent of 12 times what a regular S2 tanker can take on a run.

Streblow said the state is at “historic levels” for the dryness of vegetation. He said they were in the 97th percentile for ignition, meaning if 100 embers were dropped, 97 would catch fire. He added that the fire season is far from over.

Most of the big fires this season have been driven by fuel and topography, said Streblow. Winds have not been as big a concern, but low humidity has, with fires burning just as well at night as they do during the day.

During the meeting board members expressed their thanks to Cal Fire and local fire officials for the efforts to get the Scotts Fire under control and protect local communities.

Cal Fire has estimated that the Scotts Fire will be fully contained by Saturday.

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

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors this week will discuss placing a fee on cable subscribers that will be used to support the local cable access television station.

The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 11, in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.

At 9:30 a.m., the board will hold a public hearing on a proposed ordinance that would establish a 1-percent pass-through fee on the bills of Mediacom subscribers, with the funds to benefit TV8.

The board held the hearing over from its Aug. 28 meeting in order to let County Counsel Anita Grant research whether the pass-through constitutes a fee or a tax. In the latter case, it would need to go to a ballot, based on state law.

In other business, at 10 a.m. the board will hear a presentation on the status of Medi-Cal Managed Care in Lake County and at 10:15 a.m. will consider a proposed letter in opposition of Senate Bill 1221 (Lieu) regarding the ban on the use of dogs while hunting bear or bobcat.

The full agenda follows. Some of the items are out of order due to an addendum being issued after the agenda was released.

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: Consideration of protest of proposed notice of non-renewal, Williamson Act Contract 68-21; property located at 1275 Merritt Road, Lakeport (APN 008-045-35 – Virginia Vovchuk and Gabriel Vovchuk).

9:30 a.m., A-6: Public hearing, consideration of proposed ordinance adding article seven to chapter Seven of the Lake County Code to provide support for public, educational and governmental (PEG) cable television access facilities. Continued from Nov. 8 and Dec. 13, 2011, and Aug. 21 and Aug. 28, 2012.

10 a.m., A-7: Presentation on status of Medi-Cal Managed Care in Lake County.

10:15 a.m., A-8: Consideration of proposed letter in opposition of Senate Bill 1221 (Lieu) regarding the ban on the use of dogs while hunting bear or bobcat.

NONTIMED ITEMS

A-9 Board of Supervisors Supervisors’ weekly calendar, travel and reports.

A-11: Consideration of request for authorization of out-of-county travel for non-county employees, to attend the California Memorial Project event in Ukiah on Sept. 17, 2012.

CLOSED SESSION

A-10: 1.Conference with Labor Negotiator: (a) County Negotiators: A. Grant, L. Guintivano, M. Perry, J. Hammond and A. Flora; and (b) Employee Organization: DDAA.

A-10: 2. Public Employee Performance Evaluation: Interim County Administrative Officer Matt Perry.

A-10: 3. Conference with legal counsel: Existing litigation pursuant to Government Code Sec. 54956.9 (a) - (a) Rivero v. Lake County Board of Supervisors, et al. - Case No. CV 411638; and (b) Application of Pacific Gas and Electric Company for Approval of Modifications to its SmartMeter Program (CPUC Applications 11-03-014; 11-03-015; 11-07-020).

CONSENT AGENDA

C-1: Approve minutes of the Board of Supervisors meeting held on Sept. 4, 2012.

C-2: Proclamation designating September 2012 as Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month.

C-3: Approve first amendment to the agreement between the county of Lake and Mary McMillan, MFT, for FY 2012-13 mental health services for youth placed at Lake County Juvenile Hall, for a decrease of $10,000, and authorize the chair to sign.

C-4: Approve agreement between the county of Lake and Edgewood Center for Children & Families for FY 2012-13 specialty mental health services, for an amount not to exceed $92,000, and authorize the chair to sign.

C-5: Approve agreement between the county of Lake and the county of Shasta for implementing, training and accessing www.assessments.com risk needs assessment Web-based software (term of agreement Jan. 1, 2012 through Dec. 31, 2012), in the amount of $5,176.36, and authorize the chair to sign.

C-6: Approve first amendment to agreement between the county of Lake and Northwest Biosurvey for environmental services for the Bridge Arbor Bikeway Project, for an increase of $3,000, and authorize the chair to sign.

C-7: Approve easement deed and direct clerk to certify for recordation (APN 002-025-35 – Marvin Conley, Jr.), and approve right of way agreement between the county of Lake and Marvin Conley Jr. for the Elk Mountain Road Storm Damage Repair Project, and authorize the chair to sign the agreement.

KELSEYVILLE COUNTY WATER WORKS DISTRICT #3 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

C-8: Approve easement deed and direct clerk to certify for recordation (APN 008-064-65 – Ralph Delaney), and approve right of way agreement between the county of Lake and Ralph Delaney for the Bell Hill Water Line Improvement Project, and authorize the chair to sign the agreement.

LAKE COUNTY SANITATION DISTRICT BOARD OF DIRECTORS

C-9: Approve easement deed and direct clerk to certify for recordation (APN 039-482-42 – Catherine Quinn and Dominic Quinn), and approve right of way agreement between the county of Lake and Catherine Quinn and Dominic Quinn for the Bell Hill Water Line Improvement Project, and authorize the chair to sign the agreement.

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