In the wake of the closure earlier this year of the Lake County Community Action Agency, North Coast Opportunities, based in Ukiah, picked up the community action agency mantle for Lake County effective July 1, according to Executive Director Wes Winter.

NCO, incorporated in 1968, offers services in seven counties – Sonoma, Del Norte, Humboldt, Napa, Solano, Lake and Mendocino – Winter said.

Winter said NCO also serves as the community action agency for Mendocino County, and plans to use its program there as a model as it expands more into Lake, Winter said.

NCO employs 250 people, serves 8,000 children, families, caregivers and care providers, and has contract totaling $17 million annually.

The bulk of its activities take place in Mendocino and Lake. During the last several years, Winter said NCO spent $6 million to $7 million annually in Lake.

For many years NCO has offered numerous services in Lake County, such as the Head Start Child Development Program, foster grandparent and senior companion programs, Redwood Caregiver Resource Center, Rural Communities Child Care and a nonprofit resource center.

NCO’s 10-member board of directors is half from Mendocino County, half from Lake, Winter said. Lake County residents on the board include Nick Bennett, Jo Bennett, Susan Jen, Louise Talley and Carolyn Ruttan.

The California Department of Community Services and Development distributed to NCO a $250,000 federal grant to go toward duties for the agency, which every community has. Winter said they plan to leverage that money as they’ve done in Mendocino County in order to raise more funds for services.

But Winter and Patty Bruder, NCO’s director of community action, emphasize that NCO’s expanded presence in Lake County is not a reboot of the previous community action agency.

As such, they are not going to offer every service that the Lake County Community Action Agency did, pointing out that overreaching helped lead to the previous action agency’s collapse. Many of those other services, they added, were picked up by other local nonprofits, school districts and agencies.

Instead, NCO will focus primarily on food- and volunteer-related services, with a view toward branching out into other areas over time as more resources become available, Winter said.

He said the new services should be fully rolled out by this coming January. They will have two and a half full-time employees devoted to their efforts once they finish a new recruitment for a local coordinator.

Bruder said food is a critical issue, one that kept “bubbling to the top” in meetings the nonprofit held with community members to gauge need.

She said NCO has started a Clearlake food bank, which now is sharing space in a Lake Family Resource Center. They hope to locate in a city of Clearlake-owned building at 4700 Golf Ave. for $1 a year lease in exchange for repairing and improving the building.

NCO is part of a multicounty food hub, and Bruder said the organization is purchasing fresh fruit and vegetables from local farmers, and working with the Lake County Community Co-op and Food Roundtable.

Lou Denny, who previously worked with the Lake County Community Action Agency, was hired to work part-time with NCO’s food program, Bruder said.

Bruder said Sutter Lakeside Hospital is pitching in to help NCO’s food program with a holiday food drive, and plans for future drives.

NCO has received a warm welcome, from the Board of Supervisors and county administration, to the Clearlake City Council and the wider community, said Winter.

“I’ve found the spirit of people here amazing,” added Bruder.

Regarding volunteerism, Winter said they are offering training and recruitment services to assist local nonprofits, many of which have had to lay off staff during the economic downturn.

For the volunteers who aren’t employed, Bruder said the program helps them keep their employment skills strong.

She said they want to encourage everyone to give back in some way or another, no matter how small.

Other plans include offering low-income families assistance in claiming earned income tax credit in 2012, Bruder said.

NCO also looks forward to working more with Lake Family Resource Center, with which they already have partnered on some grant applications, Bruder said.

“The amount of things we can do together is probably endless,” she said.

Winter offered the community the assurance that the 42-year-old NCO is “an old and stable organization” with a track record of service and fiscal soundness.

“They’ll be able to count on us,” he said.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

Nco Lake Cap 2012-2013 Draft

The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 15, in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport. TV8 will broadcast the meeting live.

At 9:15 a.m. the Lake County Office of Education will present to the board its 2010-11 annual report, which can be seen below.

The agency said the report offers an overview of its accomplishments, activities, program descriptions, financial reports and student demographic information.

At 9:45 a.m., the County Administrative Office will take to the board a request for direction regarding proposed changes to the permitting process to facilitate economic investment.

A full agenda follows.

TIMED ITEMS

9 a.m.: 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.: Presentation of Lake County Office of Education Annual Report.

9:45 a.m.: Request for Board direction regarding proposed changes to the permitting process to facilitate economic investment.

NONTIMED ITEMS

– Supervisors’ weekly calendar, travel and reports.

– Consideration of appointment to CSA No. 2 - Spring Valley Advisory Board and Kelseyville Cemetery District Board.

– Closed session: Public Employee Disciplinary Appeal No. EDA 2011-06, Government Code Section 54957.

– Consideration of request to authorize out-of-state travel for Administrative Analyst Alan Flora to assist in two wine industry shows in Lancaster, Penn., and Richmond, Virginia, in March 2012 (all expenses to be covered by the Lake County Winegrape Commission).

– Consideration of proposed agreement between the county of Lake and Lake Family Resource Center Partnership for grant writing services.

– Consideration of proposed ordinance amending the charges and fees for Assessment Districts 9-1 and 9-3. Second reading.

– Consideration of proposed lease agreement between the county of Lake and Donald A. Bordessa and Lesley J. Bordessa, trustees, for real property located at 14954 Burns Valley Road, Clearlake, for FY 2011-16, at $950 per month.

– (a) Discussion/consideration of request to waive the formal bidding process and make a determination that competitive bidding would produce no economic benefit to the county; (b) consideration of request to authorize the Public Works director/assistant purchasing agent to issue purchase order to Dietz Equipment Sales in the amount of $49,463, for the purchase and reconditioning of one used Kenworth T-300 truck for county bridge maintenance.

– Consideration of request for approval of late invoices from Pestmasters for algae treatments this past summer in Clear Lake.

CLOSED SESSION

– Conference with labor negotiator regarding negotiations with the Lake County Employees Association, Lake County Deputy Sheriff's Association, Lake County Correctional Officer's Association and Lake County Deputy District Attorney's Association.

– Public employee performance evaluation of Public Works and Water Resources Director Scott De Leon.

CONSENT AGENDA

– Approve minutes of the Board of Supervisors meeting held on Nov. 8, 2011.

– Approve first amendment to agreement between the county of Lake and Pacific Municipal Consultants for preparation of an environmental impact report for the Valley Oaks Planned Development Application (changing terms to enable the county to issue partial final payment), and authorized the chair to sign.

– Adopt amendment to agreement between the county of Lake and Crestwood Behavioral Health for fiscal year 2011-12 adult residential and mental health services, increasing the total compensation from $170,000 to $240,000, and authorize the chair to sign.

– (a) Approve request to waive the formal bidding process and make a determination that competitive bidding would produce no economic benefit to the county, due to utilization of competitive state procurement contract; (b) authorize the Mental Health director/assistant purchasing agent to issue a purchase order for the purchase of office equipment, in the amount of $37,537.50 to the Keeler Group under State Contract No. 1-09-71-52; and (c) approve Budget Transfer B-45 from Salaries & Wages: Permanent, to Equipment Office, in the amount of $37,537.50, for the purchase of office equipment.

– Approve amendment to the agreement between the county of Lake and Metro PCS to add one microwave antenna, relocate another microwave antenna, and clarify various sections of the original agreement, and authorize the chair to sign.

– Approve permit to conduct aeronautical activities at Lampson Field Airport (Tom’s Aircraft Enterprises), and authorize the chair to sign.

– Approve permit to conduct aeronautical activities at Lampson Field Airport (REACH Air Medical Services), and authorize the chair to sign.

– Approve first amendment to agreement between the county of Lake and Jim Steele for professional services related to the quagga mussel program (clarification of reimbursement provisions, with no change to the total cost of the agreement), and authorize the chair to sign.

– Accept stipulation change in assessment for Ronald Layton, on land, improvements, and trees and vines (APN 007-041-120-000), for a change from land $450,000 and improvements $150,000, to land $300,000, improvements $100,000 and trees and vines $43,500, for a total of $443,500 for the 2009-10 tax year; (b) accept stipulation change in assessment for Ronald Layton, on land and improvements (APN 007-030-460-000) for a change from land $925,000 and improvements $500,000, to land $716,000 and improvements $300,000, for the 2009-10 tax year; (c) accept stipulation change in assessment for Ronald Layton, on land, improvements, personal property and fixtures (APN 007-030-450-000), for a change from land $450,000, improvements $500,000, personal property $11,700 and fixtures $12,740, to land $250,000, improvements $375,000, personal property $11,700, and fixtures $12,740, for the 2009-10 tax year; (d) accept stipulation change in assessment for Ronald Layton, on land (APN 007-030-410-000), for a change from land $525,000 to land $328,500 for the 2009-10 tax year; (e) accept stipulation change in assessment for JP Morgan Chase, on improvements (APN 025-372-010-000), from improvements $768,000 to improvements $403,900, for the 2009/2010 tax year; and (f) accept stipulation change in assessment for JP Morgan Chase, on improvements (APN 025-372-010-000), for a change from improvements $766,160 to improvements $402,942, for the 2009-10 tax year.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

2010-11 Lake County Office of Education Annual Report

The council will convene for a workshop at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 15, regarding the new paperless agenda and iPad use before the regular meeting convenes at 6 p.m. in the council chambers at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.

During the meeting, City Clerk Janel Chapman will take to the council a request to purchase iPads and software to implement the paperless agenda process.

Purchasing the iPads for council members is estimated at $2,743, and expected to save the city time and costs for copying agendas, estimated to cost about $2,393 annually, according to Chapman’s report.

The council is expected to adopt a resolution allocating funds from the Supplemental Law Enforcement Services Fund based on a request from Police Chief Brad Rasmussen. The city expects to receive up to $100,000 from the fund for police services.

Rasmussen also will seek the council’s authorization to send a letter to the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control regarding proposed changes to the liquor license for Lakeside Family Fun and Event Center, 872 Lakeport Blvd.

The business owner, Charles Richardson, has requested modifications to the license, which Lakeport Police Department requested due to previous issues at the business location, according to Rasmussen’s report.

Now, however, police are willing to let some of the requirements loosen, including allowing later hours for liquor sales and entertainment events, based on documents accompanying Rasmussen’s letter.

Rasmussen’s report said Richardson “has made several improvements to the location and worked towards eliminating any reoccurrence of the previous problem activity. To date, the Police Department has received a minimal call volume related to the business.”

The council also will consider implementing a warrant ratification process and authorizing the Lakeport Finance Department to issue warrants when expenditures are appropriated and payments due and payable; and will consider a resolution approving a joint powers agreement relating to the California Municipal Finance Authority and approving the issuance of multifamily housing revenue bonds by the authority for the purpose of financing the acquisition and rehabilitation of Sunshine Manor Apartments.

Also on Tuesday, the council will discuss approving a budget amendment to reduce financial liabilities through payment of “old bank” compensation time and vacation time still on the balance sheet.

The council also will hold a closed session to discuss labor negotiations with unrepresented employee groups as well as property negotiations involving 1411 Alden Ave., and two cases of anticipated litigation.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

111511 Lakeport City Council Agenda and Packet

Local veterans gathered for the reading of a proclamation honoring them at the Lake County Board of Supervisors' meeting on Tuesday, November 8, 2011, in Lakeport, Calif. At center with the microphone is Bob Penny, the county's assistant veterans service officer. Board Chair Jim Comstock, who presented the proclamation, is at the far left. Courtesy photo.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – This week the Lake County Board of Supervisors expressed gratitude to all veterans for their efforts to keep the country safe.

Board of Supervisors Chair Jim Comstock, a Vietnam veteran who served in the Navy, presented the proclamation to a group of veterans who came to the board's Tuesday meeting.

“As a veteran it's an honor and privilege for me to stand with you and to present this proclamation,” said Comstock.

As he prepared to read the document, Comstock's voice broke, and he apologized, noting that it was “a little emotional” for him.

The proclamation began by stating, “We have a sacred trust with those who wear the military uniforms of the United State of America,” and they deserve the nation's deepest respect.

Veterans make sacrifices most people can't image and are key to standing up for liberty and self-determination, the document stated.

On each Nov. 11 the country reflects on the sacrifices of veterans. “On Veterans Day we honor the heroes we have lost and rededicate ourselves to all current and future veterans,” it read.

“Gentlemen, it was a pleasure to serve and to stand and be with you,” Comstock told the group of about a dozen veterans.

Bob Penny, the county's assistant veterans service officer, thanked the Board of Supervisors for years of support to local veterans and to the Lake County Veterans Service Office.

The group received a standing ovation.

Frank Parker, president of the local United Veterans Council, thanked the county's citizens for everything they do for veterans.

County staff dressed in red, white and blue on Tuesday to show their support for local veterans.

The Lake County Veterans Day ceremony will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11, at Konocti Vista Casino, 2755 Rancheria Road, Lakeport.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

Last Friday, Nov. 4, Community Development Director Rick Coel and his staff served notices of violation on all 10 dispensaries in the unincorporated portions of the county, and on the same day mailed letters to dispensary landlords informing them of the action.

The Board of Supervisors had approved a dispensaries ordinance on Aug. 16 following more than two years of hearings and discussion. The ordinance capped the number of dispensaries in the county’s unincorporated area at five, half the number of the dispensaries operating at that point.

However, on Oct. 18, when Lake County Registrar of Voters Diane Fridley went before the board to report that a referendum in opposition to the ordinance had enough signatures to go before voters next year, the board unanimously rescinded the document.

“We spent two years trying to accommodate, and of course it was not a perfect ordinance,” said Coel, explaining that the board could have shut all dispensaries down two years ago.

Instead, a moratorium was placed on the opening of new dispensaries until the board passed its ordinance.

At the same time as it rescinded the ordinance, the board directed Community Development Department staff to move forward with enforcement actions against dispensaries, which – according to the county’s interpretation – prohibits such facilities because it doesn’t specifically allow for them.

“This is the reality of it, dispensaries are not allowed and the Board of Supervisors affirmed that” at the Oct. 18 meeting, said Coel.

After taking a few weeks to focus on some other priorities, Coel said he and his staff served the notices last week.

Coel said he had begun getting complaints from other business owners about enforcing the board’s action by the time he served the violations to the dispensaries.

He said he couldn’t be selective about who received the notices, so everyone got one, a fact he lamented, noting that while there are bad operators there also are good ones.

The notices inform dispensaries that they must close down by Dec. 6. Coel said that if they don’t comply, they will be served with a notice of nuisance and an order to abate.

When the notices were served, The Patient’s Choice in Upper Lake already had shut down, and Coel said he spoke with two landlords of other establishments who indicated they would be terminating their leases with dispensaries renting their buildings.

Peggy Dimauro of Visions of Avatar – which has been operating just outside of Lakeport’s city limits since the summer of 2009 – confirmed her dispensary received a notice.

Dimauro, who called it a “sticky situation for everybody,” said she wasn’t planning to shut down, but to wait and see what will take place.

“I don't think they have the manpower to shut everyone down at once,” she said.

However, Dimauro indicated she does have a backup plan that involves stopping sales of any medical marijuana.

She said she has t-shirts, glass and other items that she can sell to keep her doors open, but that’s not an option everyone enjoys.

Some of the clubs, she said, “have nothing but the medicine.”

Dimauro said she was not involved in the referendum effort.

Coel said he was working with five dispensaries on their permitting, and they were ready to submit their applications to operate under the new rules. “I was looking forward to getting those five permitted,” he said, explaining that he felt positive about the operations.

However, the process was halted due to the referendum.

Coel said the local dispensaries trying to follow county rules were the ones that were harmed.

If the dispensaries don’t comply with the Dec. 6 shutdown deadline, all costs associated with the county’s actions, including administrative fines, can become a lien against the dispensary properties, Coel said.

For those that don’t shut down as directed, Coel said he will schedule abatement hearings with the Board of Supervisors. “We’ll have the board decide each and every one of these.”

The hearing process also will allow dispensary owners to make their case to the board, he said.

Coel said those hearings also should provide him with board direction on how to proceed with shutting down any noncompliant dispensaries, which could be pursued in different ways, including restraining orders.

In the mean time, he said he’s getting phone calls from angry elderly medical marijuana users, giving him their lists of ailments.

More challenges to county rules ahead

There are more marijuana issues on the horizon for the county, beyond those concerning dispensaries.

On Sept. 20, the Board of Supervisors passed a marijuana cultivation ordinance – crafted by Coel and Sheriff Frank Rivero – which also is the target of a referendum by the Lake County Citizens for Responsible Regulations and Lake County Green Farmers Association.

On Tuesday the groups submitted to the Registrar of Voters more than 3,600 signatures – about 1,500 more than needed – to qualify for the June 2012 ballot.

However, the groups are going a step further, and are now collecting signatures to put a ballot initiative before voters next year that would offer their own rules for cultivation.

Last Friday, Nov. 4, the initiative was submitted to County Counsel Anita Grant, who must now provide a ballot title and summary to the Registrar of Voters within 15 days of the submission.

“We believe that our initiative proposal meets the needs of patients, caregivers and the general community,” the groups said in a statement. “We believe that medical marijuana cultivation can be done in such a manner that is environmentally sustainable, beneficial to the local economy and respectful of the community at large, and that our initiative provides the framework for this to occur.”

Unlike the county’s 20-page cultivation ordinance, the proposed six-page initiative would allow outdoor cultivation in residential zoning districts; would not require a landlord’s permission to cultivate in rental properties; would not prohibit changes to the insides of homes to allow for growing; and would not prohibit cultivation in homes where children are present.

Cultivation would be required to have a 600-foot buffer from schools, but the proposed initiative does not require a buffer for churches, or for daycare centers and other facilities providing services for minors.

It also would allow up to 12 plants on parcels of a half-acre or less or 24 plants on a half acre or more in residential districts; and up to 84 plans on parcels seven acres or more.

The proposed initiative also calls on the county’s Right to Farm Ordinance, which limits the circumstances under which agricultural operations or activities may be deemed to constitute a nuisance. Community Development’s authority to abate marijuana nuisances would have to be handled similarly to complaints against agricultural operations.

Further, the document states, “Due to constraints currently imposed by federal law, and the current state of flux of California law, the collection of taxes or fees is not practicable at this time.”

It continued, “County regulation of outdoor medical marijuana cultivation is limited to this ordinance, except that the County of Lake may pass an ordinance that provides for the payment of taxes or fees on outdoor cultivation in excess of 36 female plants, to pay for administration costs and for inspections by independent third parties to ensure that all county ordinances are complied with and that no unlawful chemicals, herbicides or pesticides are used; furthermore, any such ordinance shall be based on the needs and interests of Lake County citizens and medical marijuana farmers, including the farmers’ need for privacy and their right to privacy under Article 1, Section 1 of the California Constitution.”

The goal of the document is also to supersede any county code, law, ordinance or resolution with which it conflicts.

In response to the initiative, Coel questioned how officials can protect county residents against nuisance and safety issues.

“How do we protect them if we cannot regulate it?” he asked.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

110411 Lake County Marijuana Cultivation Initiative

The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 10, in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.

City Clerk Melissa Swanson will take to the council a proposed memorandum of understanding with Konocti Unified School District for a school resource officer.

Konocti Unified has asked the Clearlake Police Department for the officer to promote safety on district campuses, Swanson reported.

The school district board approved the proposed memorandum of understanding at its Nov. 2 meeting, with Superintendent Dr. Bill MacDougall signing it the following day, according to the agenda packet.

While the officer will remain a city employee, the district has agreed to pay for the officer's salary, benefits and training up to $60,000 for the remaining 2011-12 school year, Swanson reported.

Another Thursday agenda item is a proposed contract, not to exceed $5,000, with Don Fraser and Associates to conduct a feasibility analysis on the Clearlake Redevelopment Agency's required payment to the state government, resulting from legislation passed over the summer.

The California Supreme Court is scheduled on Thursday to hear oral arguments in a lawsuit filed against the state over the legislation. If the court does not find for redevelopment agencies, the city would have to make a first year's payment of $974,000, with $244,000 annual payments for the following years.

Interim City Administrator Joan Phillipe said she and Sandra Sato, the city's interim finance manager, want more information about how those payments might impact the city, and so are requesting the analysis.

In other business, the council will consider proposed changes to the lease with North Coast Opportunities for the city-owned property locate at 4700 Golf Ave.; decide on whether to cancel or reschedule the Nov. 24 regular meeting; and hold a discussion to identify the council's issues and concerns on code enforcement so Phillipe – who joined the staff late last month – can provide them with “reasoned recommendations” going forward.

Also on Thursday, the council will present certificates of appreciation to supporters of the city's annual trick or treat party.

Phillipe is asking that the council continue a planned public hearing on an ordinance that would establish a 1-percent pass-through to support the public access channel, TV8, to allow her more time to research the plan.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

111011 Clearlake City Council - KUSD MOU