CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Clearlake’s roads are in better shape than a few years ago, thanks to recent one-time funding sources, but the Clearlake City Council heard a report Thursday evening that put overall pavement conditions at a “poor” level.

The council also was challenged to find its own funding sources – including participating in a proposal for a countywide one-cent sales tax – to improve road conditions which, without maintenance, could continue to worsen.

Phil Dow of Ukiah-based Dow & Associates – who also is a senior planner with the Lake County/City Area Planning Council –  and his staff presented to the staff a pavement management report at the council’s Thursday night meeting.

Dow said the report on road conditions is done on a triannual basis for all of the local governments. It includes a “pavement condition index” for Lake County’s cities and its unincorporated areas.

Nephele Barrett, a senior transportation planner with Dow & Associates, explained that a pavement management program is a software tool used to make cost-effective decisions about street maintenance.

It answers five main questions: What does the city have in its street network, what condition are the streets in, what repairs are needed, how much money is required to maintain and improve streets cost effectively and the most cost-effective use of existing funding. Barrett said street conditions are assessed through on-site surveys.

Clearlake has 62.8 paved centerline miles, which includes 6.13 miles of arterials and 23.13 miles of collectors, and 33.54 miles of residential streets, Barrett said. The city also has 49.05 miles of unpaved centerline miles.

The estimated cost to replace all of Clearlake’s paved roads is $52.7 million, Barrett said.

The pavement condition index rates streets on a scale. The ratings are excellent, 70 to 100; at risk, 50 to 69; poor, 25 to 49; and failed, zero to 24.

Barrett said the average pavement condition in Clearlake is 38, which falls in the “poor” category.

That is the same rating that Clearlake’s streets had in 2005, said Barrett. In 2008, the rating improved slightly, to 39, still in the “poor” category.

Thanks to major repaving projects in recent years, arterial streets improved dramatically, and were up to 83 – in the “excellent” category –- in 2012, up from 34, or poor, in 2005 and 58, or at risk, in 2008, according to the statistics Barrett shared.

The best overall pavement conditions in Lake County are in the county’s unincorporated area, where the rating is 41, also in the “poor” category, she said.

Barrett presented different budget scenarios for the city and how those scenarios would affect street conditions.

At $200,000 a year, which she said is close to the city’s current road budget, “the pavement condition index actually stays fairly level,” although deferred maintenance continues to grow.

If the city had a road budget of $800,000 a year – with $600,000 dedicated to arterials and collector streets, and $200,000 going toward residential streets – it would bring the pavement condition index into the mid 40s and address deferred maintenance, Barrett said.

Barrett said it would cost $1.05 million a year to get to the target of a pavement condition index of 60.

She said pavement conditions are deteriorating rapidly. Asphalt prices have increased five fold since 1999, with available funding for projects not keeping pace with that increase.

“It’s clear to see that some additional funding could greatly benefit the street system,” Barrett said.

Dow explained that one-time funding in recent year from the state and federal governments – including stimulus money – was used for city paving projects. The city received about $800,000 in stimulus funding which Dow said went for repaving projects.

He urged the council to spend money to keep “the good streets good.” While he understood that some people will question that approach, “It’s going to be a whole lot more cost effective to catch it before it gets bad than to let it go while you’re worrying about something else.”

During the meeting he also explained that the criteria used by the Area Planning Council for determining where road funds were spent was based on which local streets and roads were traveled the most.

He said that the council wasn’t in control of how those state and federal monies could be spent.

Dow added, “The federal government doesn’t know you exist, the state doesn’t care,” so the city has to find a way to solve its own problems.

“You have to look at some local taxing opportunities,” he said.

The Area Planning Council is looking at pursuing a ballot measure for a half-cent sales tax, and will be conducting voter opinion polling to gauge the chances of success.

Clearlake resident Jim Scholz said the city needs to institute an educational program to explain to people that they need to pay for roads.

One of the reasons homes in Clearlake are reasonably priced, said Scholz, is that homeowners aren’t paying for goods roads. “You get what you pay for.”

Supervisor Jeff Smith explained that attempts had been made in the past to pass sales tax measures to support roads, and they’ve failed.

However, Smith agreed with Scholz that the idea needs to be sold to community members, and he supported going for a full one-cent sales tax, as he felt a half-cent measure would not bring in enough revenue to address the problem.

“I’m sold, Jeff, give me a precinct,” said Vice Mayor Jeri Spittler.

Chuck Leonard, a retired councilman, said the city missed its opportunity eight years ago to pass such a measure. He agreed if people want to have improved streets they need to pay for them.

“There’s no magic dust we sprinkle on streets,” he said.

Businessman Bob Kiel agreed with Smith’s approach. “We can’t fool around,” he said, noting that the city has been dealing with poor streets for a long time.

Mayor Joey Luiz also supported going for a full one-cent sales tax rather than a half-cent sales tax, noting that it’s as much work to go for one as the other.

“Why not shoot high?” he asked.

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

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport Senior Activity Center is celebrating several large donations during this year's “March for Meals” campaign.

Center Executive Director Jonathan Crooks reported that the center recently received more than $10,000 in critical donations from the Lakeport Lions Club and the county of Lake.

Lion Debbie Blake represented the Lakeport Lions Club and presented a check for $2,075 to Lakeport Senior Activity Center to support the Meals on Wheels program.

The check was a portion of the money raised from the Lakeport Lions 46th annual crab feed.

Anthony Farrington represented the Lake County Board of Supervisors and presented a $8,125 check from the county center’s Board of Directors during their board meeting last Friday, March 16.

The Board of Supervisors has proven to be a source of support to all of the senior centers in Lake County.

The supervisors acknowledge the efforts of the volunteers that make each center successful, and recognize the needs of seniors in the community and have committed to providing whatever support they can.

The Lakeport Senior Activity Center’s board is grateful to have the backing of Anthony Farrington and the Board of Supervisors, Crooks said.

With a growing senior population and rising costs, fundraising efforts like March for Meals is the only way to keep services like Meals on Wheels going.

The five senior centers in Lake County provide over 160,000 meals per year and deliver over 100,000 meals to homebound seniors.

Senior centers with meals programs can be contacted at the following phone numbers, or by stopping by Middletown, 707-987-3113; Highlands Senior Center in Clearlake, 707-994-3051; Live Oak Senior Center in Clearlake Oaks, 707-998-1950; Lucerne, 707-274-8779; and Lakeport, 707-263-4218.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors voted on Tuesday to terminate a lease agreement for the Probation Department’s Lower Lake satellite office in response to a negative community response.

Facing a growing caseload due to the state’s correctional realignment, Lake County Probation has need of a south county satellite office and check-in center, as Lake County News has reported.

The department was moving into county-owned office space at 16195 Main St. in Lower Lake, which formerly was used jointly by the county’s building department and Environmental Health until the drop in building permit revenues necessitated a closure.

District 1 Supervisor Jim Comstock, whose constituency includes Lower Lake, brought the lease termination issue to the board on Tuesday.

Comstock said a “fairly large contingent” of about 50 Lower Lake residents expressed their opposition to the Probation Department being located in the downtown, presenting the county with a petition with 75 signatures.

He said acting Chief Probation Officer Steve Buchholz originally had wanted to be located in Clearlake but couldn’t find a site.

In light of the concerns of Lower Lake’s citizens, Buchholz went out and procured a new location, this time in Clearlake, thus the request to terminate the Lower Lake lease, said Comstock.

Although the board did not specify the location at the Tuesday meeting, the board agenda for next Tuesday, March 27, has the new lease agreement listed as being up for approval. The new address is reported as 4477 Moss Ave., Unit B, owned by Gary Weiser and Shelley Weiser.

“The reality is, we’re going to have the same problem wherever we go,” said Board Chair Rob Brown.

Supervisor Jeff Smith, whose district includes Clearlake, said the newly chosen location is a very good one.

Smith said he had wanted the Probation Department to locate in Clearlake from the beginning, pointing out it’s a more convenient location for the department’s officers.

Supervisor Anthony Farrington agreed about the new location. “I think it’s the appropriate place,” he said, noting that Clearlake has the county’s largest population.

“To me,” said Smith, “it’s jobs in the city of Clearlake.”

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

COBB, Calif. – A local environmental group that filed suit against the county last year over approval of an environmental impact report for a geothermal steamfield expansion project has reached a tentative agreement to settle the case.

Hamilton Hess, chair of Friends of Cobb Mountain, said Tuesday that the group and the county have reached an “agreement in concept” to settle the matter over Bottle Rock Power’s expansion project.

He said the attorneys for the two sides are working out the agreement’s details. Hess said he anticipated more information would be available next week.

County Counsel Anit Grant said the county received word Tuesday afternoon about the tentative agreement.

“Everyone has worked very diligently in this process to get to such a positive result,” she said, adding that it is premature to say anything more about the agreement’s specifics at this point.

The suit involves Bottle Rock Power’s proposal to build two new 3.5-acre geothermal well pads, an access road and 1.3 miles of new pipeline to connect to the existing pipeline on High Valley Road in Cobb.

In December 2010 the Lake County Planning Commission certified the environmental impact report, which the Friends of Cobb Mountain appealed to the Board of Supervisors. The Board of Supervisors denied the appeal on March 15, 2011.

Last spring Friends of Cobb Mountain filed the lawsuit against the county of Lake about two months after that vote, alleging that the county failed to observe requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act and the county's own general plan, and violated state and local zoning laws, as Lake County News has reported.

In the suit the group sought to have the environmental impact report fixed and recirculated, and also asked for attorney's fees and associated costs.

If the two sides are able to resolve the matter, Grant said the agreement would go to the Board of Supervisors for final approval. The final agreement, she said, will be public record.

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

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Facing new federal health care requirements for employers, the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday appointed a task force of county officials to address the law’s implementation.

At the request of the County Administrative Office, the board voted unanimously to appoint the task force to report back to the board with policy recommendations on how to fulfill the requirements of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

The task force will include one supervisor – Board Chair Rob Brown volunteered for the duty – along with the county administrative officer or designee, county counsel or designee, county auditor-controller, and the directors of human resources director, health services, public services and social services.

The Registrar of Voters Office also asked to have a representative on the task force, since that department relies heavily on extra help, according to county staff.

Chief Deputy County Administrative Officer Matt Perry said one of the main issues the county will face in complying with the bill relates to the requirement to offer health care coverage to extra help employees working 130 hours a month.

Failing to provide that coverage could earn the county a $2,000 per employee, per year fine, which in Lake County’s case could total $1.8 million annually, according to Perry.

“This affects a lot of departments,” Perry said.

While the bill’s requirements are not effective until Jan. 1, 2014, Perry said county administration anticipates there will be a “lookback period” of three to 12 months before that date by the government to see if they are in compliance.

To be fully compliant, and to allow county departments to adjust to the new requirements, Perry said county staff is setting a target date of July 1 to implement the new policies, work out the quirks and determine new restrictions on using extra help employees.

County Administrative Officer Kelly Cox told the board, “This is a very significant issue.”

Cox said the county relies heavily on extra help employees, and the new law will change how the county uses extra help.

Supervisor Denise Rushing asked about the estimated costs to provide health insurance to part-time employees.

“We haven’t defined that cost yet,” said Perry.

Trying to ascertain that number, he added, is one of jobs for the task force.

Supervisor Jim Comstock moved to approve appointing the task force as proposed by the County Administrative Office. The vote was 5-0.
            
While the county is moving forward to make sure it complies with the law, the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is still at issue.

The U.S. Supreme Court said last week that it will hear arguments on the bill Monday, March 26, through Wednesday, March 28.

The court isn’t allowing cameras in the courtroom for the arguments – a rule it’s adhered to in the past – but said it will post the audio recordings and unofficial transcripts of the arguments as soon as the digital files are available for uploading at its Web site, www.supremecourt.gov .

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

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport City Council received a favorable audit report on the city’s financial conditions at its Tuesday night meeting.

“All of our audit opinions are unqualified, which as far as auditors go is the best you can get,” Joseph Arch, a certified public accountant, president and chief executive officer of the auditing firm JJACPA told the council.

City Finance Director Dan Buffalo introduced the report with a brief presentation on budget highlights.

For the year ending June 30, 2011, Buffalo said Lakeport’s net assets totaled nearly $21 million, with an unassigned general fund balance of $2.39 million and excess revenue of $182,729. Water and sewer enterprise funds totaled about $1.5 million and were down slightly.

Net assets in the city in the 2010-11 fiscal year increased by $1.29 million, which Buffalo said was mostly a result of reorganizing revenue from city-issued loans.

Buffalo said the city contracted with JJACPA, an independent auditing firm based in Pleasanton, to look at the city’s books and examine internal controls. The city, redevelopment agency and sewer district were assessed, and an audit also was performed based on a requirement for receiving federal funds.

Arch, whose firm has more than 25 years of government auditing and accounting experience, brought a team of three auditors to the city and spent 14 days reviewing the city’s general ledger and internal controls, and performing tests.

“I’m happy to say there weren’t any problems,” said Arch. “Everybody was very helpful and we were able to do our audit in a timely basis.”

He said he and his team didn’t come up with any recommendations regarding internal controls that needed to be brought to the city council’s attention.

Arch told the council that the Lakeport audit was the first time that he and his team came out into the field and actually had a report ready to audit. “It was really a pleasure to have that to work on.”

“We’re so proud,” said Mayor Stacey Mattina.

“You should be, it’s an accomplishment,” said Arch.

Arch, who also is a reviewer for the Government Finance Officers Association, said he can usually tell if a city prepares its financials or has an auditor do it, noting that it’s interesting to see how many cities don’t prepare their own.

The council voted unanimously to accept and file the audit report.

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