LAKEPORT, Calif. – This week the Board of Supervisors will discuss accepting a resolution related to the rebuilding effort in Anderson Springs, and consider a property donation to the city of Clearlake and an appeal of a large kennel project in Lower Lake.

The board will meet beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 22, in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.

The meeting can be watched live on Channel 8 and online at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Boards/Board_of_Supervisors/calendar.htm . Accompanying board documents, the agenda and archived board meeting videos also are available at that link.

In an untimed item, the board will discuss a proposal from Community Development Director Robert Massarelli to adopt a resolution pertaining to the rebuilding of Anderson Springs, where more than 180 structures on 130 parcels were destroyed or damaged in September 2015 by the Valley fire.

In his memo to the board, Massarelli explained, “There are numerous issues facing the rebuilding of Anderson Springs. The issues are so complex each lot is different and there is no one right answer. Over the past few months, the staff has been trying to address each subject and develop a comprehensive approach. Based on our efforts, the staff has developed a comprehensive policy statement to give guidance on how to proceed.”

Key issues include those related to nonconforming lots and setbacks – particularly from the creek.

The policy Massarelli is proposing “includes a proposal where the County would work with the property owners to prepare a comprehensive and cohesive waterway setback plan. This would include working with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to establish their jurisdiction, a setback line and the required mitigation, and the preparation of an initial study,” he said.

Also on Tuesday, in another untimed item, the board will consider donating a county-owned property to the city of Clearlake, at the city's request, for its Safe Routes to School pedestrian improvement project at Phillips and 18th avenues. Staff is recommending the board approve the item.

In other business, in an item timed for 9:30 a.m., the board will consider an appeal of the Lake County Planning Commission's approval of a mitigated negative declaration and major use permit to allow a large animal kennel at 11767 Candy Lane in Lower Lake.

The full agenda follows.

CONSENT AGENDA
 
7.1: (a) Waive the formal bidding process, Per Ordinance #2406, Purchasing Code 38.2, as it is not in the public interest due to the unique nature of goods or services; and (b) approve the first amendment to the agreement between the county of Lake and Victor Treatment Centers Inc. for specialty mental health services for fiscal year 2016-17 in the amount of $100,000 and authorize the board chair to sign the amendment.   

7.2: Approve minutes from the Board of Supervisors meeting held on Oct. 4, 2016.

7.3: Adopt resolution amending Resolution No. 2016-145 establishing new classifications and position allocations for fiscal year 2016-17 to conform to the adopted budget for Budget Unit 7011, Parks and Recreation.

7.4: Approve memorandum of understanding between Special Districts and Cobb Area Water District for water system consolidation feasibility study, and authorize chair to sign.

7.5: Sitting as the Lake County Watershed Protection District Board of Directors, adopt resolution authorizing the Water Resources director to sign a notice of completion for work performed under agreement dated Aug. 31, 2016, for 2016 Sediment Removal Project, Upper Lake, CA Bid no. WR 16-02.

7.6: Sitting as the Lake County Watershed Protection District Board of Directors, (a) Waive the consultant selection policy as it is in the county's best interest as CDM-Smith is uniquely qualified to perform the work; (b) approve contract for the production of an alternative groundwater sustainability plan to comply with the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act in the amount of $25,000; and authorize the Water Resources director to sign.

TIMED ITEMS

8.2, 9:15 a.m.: Consideration of continuation of a proclamation of a local health emergency by the Lake County health officer.

8.3, 9:16 a.m.: Consideration of continuation of a proclamation of a declaration of a local emergency due to wildfire conditions, pertaining to the Rocky, Jerusalem and Valley fires.

8.4, 9:17 a.m.: Consideration of continuation of a proclamation of a declaration of a local emergency due to Clayton fire.

8.5, 9:30 a.m.: Public hearing, consideration of appeal (AB 16-05) of the Planning Commission's approval of a mitigated negative declaration based on initial study (IS 15-35) and major use permit (UP 15-16) to allow a large animal kennel on property located at 11767 Candy Lane, Lower Lake (APN 122-032-24); project applicant is Blythe Lucero.

UNTIMED ITEMS

9.2: Consideration of letter of board support of Lower Lake Cemetery District’s Request for Assistance from Assemblyman Bill Dodd’s office.

9.3: Consideration of (a) waiving the formal bidding process, per Ordinance No. 2406, Purchasing Code 38.2, as it is not in the public interest due to the unique nature of goods or services; and (b) approving the agreement between the county of Lake and Lake County Office of Education for School-Based Medi-Cal Specialty Mental Health Services for fiscal year 2016-17 for a contract maximum of $690,000 and authorize the chair to sign the agreement.

9.4: Consideration of (a) waiving the formal bidding process, per Ordinance No. 2406, Purchasing Code 38.2, as it is not in the public interest due to the unique nature of goods or services; and (b) approving the agreement between the county of Lake and Lake County Office of Education - Safe Schools Healthy Students Program for school-based specialty mental health services for fiscal year 2016-17 for a contract maximum of $250,000 and authorize the chair to sign the agreement.          

9.5: Consideration of adopting resolution pertaining to rebuilding of Anderson Springs.

9.6: Consideration of an ordinance amending Chapter 5 of the Lake County Code and adopting by reference the 2016 California Building Standards Code, known as the California Code of Regulations, Title 24, Parts 1 through 6, 8 through 12, Incorporating the 2016 Edition of the California Building Code; the 2016 Edition of the California Residential Code; the 2016 Edition of the California Electrical Code; the 2016 Edition of the California Plumbing Code; the 2016 Edition of the California Mechanical Code; the 2016 Edition of the California Green Building Code; the 2016 Edition of the California Energy Code; the 2016 Edition of the California Fire Code; the 2016 Edition of the California Administrative Code; the 2016 Edition of the California Historical Building Code; the 2016 Edition of the California Existing Building Code; the 2015 Edition of the International Property Maintenance Code; and the 2015 Edition of the International Wildland-Urban Interface Code.     

9.7: Consideration of approval of agreement between the county of Lake and California Association of Environmental Health Administrators in the amount of $60,700 for professional debris cleanup services due to the Clayton fire and request permission from the board to waive the normal competitive bidding process.

9.8: Consideration of property donation to the city of Clearlake for the Phillips and 18th Avenue Pedestrian Improvement Project.

CLOSED SESSION

10.2: Conference with legal counsel: Existing litigation pursuant to Gov. Code sec. 54956.9(d)(1): Lakeside Heights HOA, et al. v. County of Lake, et al.   

10.3: Employee disciplinary appeal (EDA-16-04), Pursuant to Gov. Code Sec. 54957.

10.4: Public employee appointment pursuant to Gov. Code Section 54957(b)(1): Appointment of Behavioral Health director.

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. – The city of Lakeport is on track to have its first downtown bike race in the summer of 2017.

On Tuesday, the Lakeport City Council unanimously approved an application from the Main Street Elite Cycling Team to hold a USA Cycling-sanctioned criterium bicycle race in downtown Lakeport on July 15, 2017.

The team's representative, Dave Garzoli, first gave the council a presentation on the plans for the event in August.

The team hopes to draw 300 riders to the criterium, which its proposal described as a “closed course bicycle race held on city streets that involves groups of highly trained athletes racing side by side for up to an hour.”

“It is our goal to showcase the new face of downtown Lakeport and what is certain to be a world class criterium course to all of the Northern California Cycling community,” the proposal said. “We believe that an excellent rider experience, combined with all the charm downtown Lakeport has to offer will create many return visitors, riders and vacationers for many years to come.”

Public Works Superintendent Doug Grider's written report to the council included an estimate of $2,819 to cover staffing needs for policing, traffic control and increased park use during the event.

He said that estimate did not include surfacing repair work that will need to be performed on Fourth Street between Main and Forbes streets before the race.

Grider said at the meeting that after the summer presentation, the council gave staff direction to begin discussions with the event promoters.

“To date we’ve had three meetings with them. I think that we’re making some great progress. It’s quite an undertaking,” he said.

Grider said staff is in favor of the event. “We're all very supportive of this.”

He asked the council to approve the application for use of public areas, with several conditions, among them, getting buy-in from affected residents and businesses, providing plans for parking and staffing, providing the necessary insurance certifications, signing a contract that releases the city from liability and requires the promoter to defend and indemnify the city for any injuries during the race or setup and takedown, obtaining required health permits from Lake County Environmental Health, and working with city staff to resolve issues concerning the detour route, the surfacing of Fourth Street and any other issues that arise.

Garzoli, who also spoke to the council Tuesday, said all of the conditions placed on approval were what the club had anticipated.

He said the team has asked Granite Construction for help with fixing the small portion of Fourth Street needing repair, and Granite's response is still pending.

“Our club has a lot more work to do beyond this,” said Garzoli, explaining that the council's approval of the downtown venue would clear the way to allow them to move forward.

Garzoli said the team also must get the permits from USA Cycling and the Northern California Nevada Cycling Association. “This is the first step and so far, so good.”

The event will include areas for vendors and a beer garden. Councilmember Stacey Mattina asked if those areas had been designated yet, and Grider said that hadn't yet been determined.

The map of the race course included in the council packet showed it moving along Main and Forbes streets from Martin to Fifth Street. However, Grider said the course is being pulled back to Fourth Street so that Fifth Street can be used for handling the detour and for spectators walking through to Library Park.

He added that Fourth Street is not now in the necessary condition for the bike race, but he didn't think getting it repaired is insurmountable and that it can be repaired to make it acceptable for the event.

Mayor Marc Spillman said the city looks for positive events that will promote Lakeport and Lake County, especially to out-of-area residents.

Garzoli said that team members have been reaching out through social media to other racing organizations around the region, and are getting a lot of positive feedback on the plans.

Grider told the council, “I think we have a real winning event here if we can get it all put together.”

Councilman Kenny Parlet mentioned the popular annual Konocti Challenge, held in October, which also draws hundreds of visitors. He said it would be great to have another such event in Lakeport.

Parlet moved to approve the event, which the council voted to accept 4-0. Councilman Martin Scheel was absent from the meeting.

The vote received a round of applause from the team members in the audience.

In other news on Tuesday, presented a proclamation designating the month of November as Hospice and Palliative Care Month to Hospice representative Cindy Sobel, the council authorized acceptance of the USDA Water/Wastewater Improvements Project and approved recording a notice of completion with the county, and council members heard a presentation on the other post-employment benefits actuarial report prepared by Total Compensation Systems Inc.

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.

LOWER LAKE, Calif. – Clayton fire survivors have been given an extension in order to apply for low-interest loans from the federal government to help them rebuild homes at an affordable cost.

The original deadline to apply to the Small Business Administration was Nov. 7, but that has been extended to Nov. 21.

Team Lake County Secretary Voris Brumfield and Chairman Ed Robey approached Board of Supervisors Chair Rob Brown to seek a deadline extension.

Brown then made a successful appeal to federal officials for the two-week extension.

The Small Business Administration offers loans for homeowners, business owners and nonprofits.

Businesses and nonprofit organizations may borrow up to $2 million to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate, machinery and other assets, as well as borrow additional funds to help with the cost of improvements to protect, prevent or minimize the same type of disaster damage from occurring in the future, the agency said.

There also are Economic Injury Disaster Loans to help small businesses and nonprofits meet working capital needs caused by the disaster.

Homeowners can qualify for disaster loans up to $200,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate, and homeowners and renters are eligible for up to $40,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed personal property.

Interest rates can be as low as 4 percent for businesses, 2.625 percent for nonprofit organizations and 1.563 percent for homeowners. Loan amounts and terms are set by the SBA and are based on each applicant’s financial condition.

Applicants may apply online using the Electronic Loan Application (ELA) via SBA’s secure Web site at: https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela .

Disaster loan information and application forms also are available from SBA’s Customer Service Center by calling 800-659-2955 or emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing may call 800-877-8339.

Applicants can reach TLC’s Clayton Fire Recovery Office at the Clearlake Methodist Church by calling 707-994-2134.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors this week continued emergency disaster declarations related to the county's wildland fires over the past two summers and also got an update on the process to remove debris from the Clayton fire.

Lake County Health Officer Dr. Karen Tait and Environmental Health Director Ray Ruminski went to the board on Tuesday to ask for the continuation of the health emergency Tait  declared regarding the Clayton fire, which must be renewed every two weeks based on state law.

Tait encouraged the board to continue the health emergency through the end of the debris removal process.

And that process – specifically, the state-led cleanup – is close to nearing completion, according to Ruminski.

The 3,929-acre fire burned 300 structures, about 200 of which were homes, as Lake County News has reported.

Ruminski said that, as of the end of the day on Monday, 89 of the lots have been cleared, and 52 more were scheduled and in the pipeline. That work is being led by CalRecycle, which also was responsible for the Valley fire debris removal and cleanup.

Of the 89 that were cleared, soil samples have been taken on 76 of them to confirm completion. Ruminski said they are now getting soil sample results back. Nineteen have passed and five have not and must have more soil removed.

“At this point there are 10 teams working,” he said, and they're getting ready to start winding down.

Ruminski said some of the teams are expected to be released soon. The debris removal is scheduled to be finished a week and a half after the Thanksgiving holiday.

Followup tasks include soil sampling, erosion control and some damage repair, all of which is expected to continue until the middle of December, Ruminski said.

Running parallel to the state-run cleanup program is one involving private contractors. “That is nearly completed at 42 lots,” he said. “Most of them were done by one local contractor.”

Board Chair Rob Brown estimated that about 70 lots total are left to be cleaned up. Ruminski added that properties that are potential abatement candidates are now down to 15 at most.

Ruminski said the geography of the Clayton fire area and the way the homes were grouped together has enabled the crews to more efficiently move from one lot needing cleanup to another, as compared to the fire areas for the Rocky, Jerusalem and Valley fires.

“It's amazing how quickly things are getting done,” said Supervisor Jeff Smith. He added that it will be good to get the lots cleaned up before Christmas, which will allow people to move forward.

Supervisor Jim Comstock lauded Ruminski and the crews for their work.

He said he also has been monitoring the creek in the fire area due to concerns from community members, and that he has observed no impacts on the creek.

Brown also thanked the crews working at the debris removal operations center, which is open six days a week.

Comstock moved to continue the health emergency, which the board unanimously approved.

The board also approved an emergency declaration for the Rocky, Jerusalem and Valley fire, and a separate declaration for the Clayton fire.

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.

COBB, Calif. – The recently formed Cobb Area Council will hold its next meeting on Thursday, Nov. 17.

The group will meet from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Little Red Schoolhouse/Cobb Mountain Lions Club, 15780 Bottle Rock Road.

On Thursday the council will unveil its new mailing address and Web site, and discuss desired features.

Presentations will include an update from Mike Dunlap on a long-term recovery center at the Little Red School House.

Board of Supervisors Chair Rob Brown will give an update on CalRecycle’s insurance claims and other pertinent issues from the supervisors.

Team Lake County Vice Chair Moke Simon will discuss the status of the organization's recovery services, and Jeff Lucas, president of Community Development Services, will give a presentation on assistance to small businesses in the fire recovery area.

Under “discussion/decision” are consideration of a potential new ad hoc committee to monitor ongoing relief efforts, celebrating successful rebuilding in the Cobb area, a potential Cobb business summit and December meeting agenda items.

There also will be information and discussion on the Hoberg's cleanup process.

The agenda also includes committee repairs on emergency preparedness, rebuild advocacy,
Neighborhood Watch and Cobb abatement monitoring.

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.