CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The city of Clearlake is implementing new business hours at Clearlake City Hall.
City hall will be open for business Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., and from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
The offices will be closed for lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday.
City staff also will be available by appointment.
For more information call Clearlake City Hall, 707-994-8201.
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – City Gate Church in Lower Lake will hold a gourmet spaghetti feed on Saturday, April 2.
The event will be held at the Highlands Senior Center in Clearlake on Burns Valley Road from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
The menu will consist of gourmet-style spaghetti sauces made by various local artisans, garlic bread, salad and drink. Homemade desserts will be available as well.
There will also be a spaghetti sauce contest that the public will be able to participate in that will allow you to pick your favorite sauce with a special prize going to the winner and a raffle for various items donated by local businesses.
The church is looking for more spaghetti chefs out there who think their sauce is the best in Lake County. In order to enter, you must provide enough of your spaghetti to feed several people as part of our fundraiser. There will be prizes for the three best sauces.
There will be a raffle for hundreds of dollars of donated prizes, with live music provided by Mandolin Avenue from Sacramento.
With the purchase of a ticket, attendees will be eligible for the grand prize drawing, which will be for a three-man crew from Jan-Mar Construction for an entire day to do remodel or repair work on your home. They are a licensed and bonded local contractor. You must be present to win.
Advance tickets are available for a donation of $10 children under 12 are $5. At the door will be $12 and $6.
All proceeds will be used for future City Gate Church outreaches in Lake County.
City Gate Church invites you to come have fun with them, eat some great food, meet some new people and support a very worthy cause.
For more information call 707-701-4491 or 707-972-1789.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors approved and presented a proclamation on Tuesday that includes a call to county residents for renewed respect and compassion.
Supervisor Denise Rushing, who asked for the board to consider the proclamation in support of the Lake County Charter for Compassion, presented it on Tuesday on behalf of the board.
The local charter is part of a larger, worldwide effort that noted religious scholar Karen Armstrong launched. At its center is a document – now translated into more than 30 languages – that organizers say “transcends religious, ideological and national difference,” and is supported by many leading thinkers from many traditions.
In 2008, during her acceptance speech of the Technology, Entertainment, Design Prize, Armstrong stated her wish to create the Charter for Compassion.
“Modernity is exceedingly violent,” she said.
At its heart, the document activates the Golden Rule, traditionally stated as, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” or, as the organization explains, using “empathy – moral imagination – to put ourselves in others' shoes,” acting toward them as we would have them act toward us, and behaving in a way that does not cause others harm.
The Golden Rule, notes Armstrong, is difficult. But it's part of her call to move beyond toleration in order to arrive at appreciation for one another.
Accepting the proclamation from Rushing Tuesday was Pastor Shannon Kimbell-Auth of United Christian Parish in Lakeport.
Rushing said the idea for pursuing the proclamation came about as a result of observing last year's bitter local political campaigns and the increasingly degrading comments on the Internet.
She said the community has done very well and can do better in how its members treat each other.
“Our board is a good example of a board that can work together even though we disagree,” she said. “I feel very strongly that we respect one another and are able to work together.”
Rushing read the proclamation, which, quoting the charter, explains that compassion lies at the heart of all ethical and spiritual traditions.
The proclamation calls on all county residents to put compassion back at the center of interactions with one another.
“Compassion is essential in human relationships and a fulfilled humanity,” Rushing said.
In accepting the proclamation, Kimbell-Auth emphasized how important compassion is. She referred to a recent Board of Supervisors meeting she attended in which the board discussed a proposed ban on medical marijuana dispensaries in the county.
“I was so disheartened, not by the issue, but by the way the people in the room were treating the other people in the room,” she said, recalling boos, hisses and derisive laughter. “It was appalling.”
Kimbell-Auth referred to the US Civil War – which is marking the 150th anniversary of its beginning this year – and the lack of compassion apparent at that time in history.
“Every cause that led to the Civil War is present in our community today,” she said, pointing not just to a lack of compassion but to a belief that political ideology is more important than community.
The divisions were so severe 150 years ago, she explained, that churches and communities broke up along political lines.
“There was no moral compass that guided people as a whole,” she said, and nothing to unite around, “and it fell apart.”
She added, “One hundred and 50 years later, it's easy to see that those wounds have not healed for a great many people.”
Kimbell-Auth said the Charter for Compassion is not about being Christian or non-Christian, or being a Republican or a Democrat.
“It's simply about recognizing that we are each of us human, and we have lost this recognition,” she said. “We're more involved in the labels than the people.”
The county needs more compassionate people if this is going to be a community where people want to live, she said.
Kimbell-Auth suggested the charter be posted at public places like local high schools.
Responding to her observation about the medical marijuana dispensary meeting, Board Chair Jim Comstock agreed. “It wasn't very compassionate a couple of weeks ago. It was pretty ugly.”
More about the Charter for Compassion can be found online at www.charterforcompassion.org and at www.facebook.com/CharterforCompassion .
The local effort's site is located at http://lakecountycompassion.blogspot.com/ and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-Charter-for-Compassion/178350588854966?ref=ts .
The charter, as presented to the Board of Supervisors, is published below.
Lake County Charter for Compassion
Whereas, the principle of compassion lies at the heart of all ethical and spiritual traditions, calling us always to treat all others as we wish to be treated ourselves; and
Whereas, compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures, to dethrone ourselves from the center of our world and put another there, and to honor the inviolable sanctity of every single human being, treating everybody, without exception, with absolute justice, equity and respect; and
Whereas, it is also necessary in both public and private life to refrain consistently and empathically from inflicting pain. To act or speak violently out of spite, chauvinism, or self-interest, to impoverish, exploit or deny basic rights to anybody, and to incite hatred by denigrating others – even our enemies – is a denial of our common humanity.
Therefore, the Lake County Board of Supervisors Proclaims and calls upon all residents of Lake County to restore compassion to the center of morality, to return to the ancient principle that any interpretation of scripture that breeds violence, hatred or disdain is illegitimate, to ensure that youth are given accurate and respectful information about other traditions and cultures, to encourage a positive appreciation of cultural diversity, to cultivate an informed empathy with the suffering of all human beings—even those regarded as enemies; and
Be It Further Proclaimed that we urgently need to make compassion a clear, luminous and dynamic force in our polarized world. Rooted in a principled determination to transcend selfishness, compassion can break down political, dogmatic and ideological boundaries. Born of our deep interdependence, compassion is essential to human relationships and to a fulfilled humanity. It is the path to enlightenment, and indispensable to the creation of a just economy and a peaceful global community.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake City Council will consider implementing a SmartMeter moratorium in the city and also will discuss the hiring process for a new city administrator when it meets this week.
The council will meet at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, March 24, for a closed session to discuss pending litigation before the open session of the meeting convenes at 6 p.m. in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.
One of the main items on the Thursday agenda is the consideration of adopting a moratorium on Pacific Gas & Electric's SmartMeter installations and passage of a resolution supporting AB 37, which would require the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to establish alternatives to the wireless meters.
On March 8, the Board of Supervisors adopted a temporary SmartMeter moratorium, approved a letter to legislators and the governor supporting AB 37, and directed staff to begin legal action to stop the installations, as Lake County News has reported.
Since then, the CPUC has directed PG&E to present an opt-out plan for customers, a plan PG&E has stated it plans to file this Friday.
Earlier this month Council member Jeri Spittler asked for the item to be placed on the agenda, with interim City Administrator Steve Albright suggesting that the county's ordinance could be a basis for the ordinance the council considers.
The other business item on the agenda is the process the council will adopt to review and interview candidates for the city administrator position.
Albright is filling the position on a temporary basis. He told the council in a previous meeting that the goal is to hire a new city administrator ready to start work on or around June 1.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
LAKEPORT, Calif. – At its meeting this week the Board of Supervisors will discuss implementing a fee to help support Lake County's public access television station.
The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. Tuesday, March 22, 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 10:15 a.m. the board will consider the budget for TV8, also known as the Lake County Public, Education and Government (PEG) Channel budget.
As part of the discussion, the board will look at a request to implement a cable television subscriber fee to support the channel's operations, which currently are carried out by a group of volunteers.
Last November, the board agreed to make a $5,000 contribution to the channel for the 2010-11 budget year, based on a request from Clearlake Mayor Joyce Overton, who sits on the PEG Board, as does Supervisor Jeff Smith.
The board followed with with a public hearing on Dec. 14 to consider a proposed ordinance to support establishing a fee of up to 1 percent of Mediacom's gross revenues to support the station. At that time a decision was continued to a future date to allow discussions with the cities of Lakeport and Clearlake, as well as to let the board see a more detailed station budget.
In other board news, at 11:15 a.m. the supervisors will present a proclamation declaring the month of April 2011 as Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and recognizing April 5 as the Sexual Assault Awareness Day of Action, April 27 as Denim Day and April 10 through April 16, 2011, as National Victim Rights Week in Lake County.
The board will hold a closed session to discuss labor negotiations and conduct a performance evaluation of the county's information technology director.
Other items on the agenda include the following.
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.: Consideration of proposed county information security policy.
9:20 a.m.: Public hearing, public bid opening for the sale of county surplus real property (2 bedroom/2 bathroom single-family manufactured home), located at 9549 Copsey Creek Way, Lower Lake, described as Assessor’s Parcel Number 049-101-05; the minimum bid price of the real property is $70,000.
9:25 a.m.: Consideration of recommendation for the grant of $1,500 to the Resource Conservation District to support its annual creek cleanup efforts.
9:35 a.m.: Presentation of proclamation declaring March 20 through March 26, 2011, as National Surveyors Week in Lake County.
10 a.m.: Presentation of proclamation endorsing the World-Wide Charter for Compassion.
11:20 a.m.: Hearing, consideration of request to modify vicious animal abatement order issued Dec. 13, 2007 (Martha Lois Embry for Merlin the dog; located at 8120 Reclamation Road, Upper Lake).
Nontimed items
– Supervisors’ weekly calendar, travel and reports.
– Consideration of proposed ordinance establishing a prima facie speed limit zone on Hartmann Road (County Road No. 104), from Hidden Valley Road to the end of Hartmann Road (35 miles per hour).
Consent agenda
– Approve minutes of the Board of Supervisors meetings held on March 8 and March 15, 2011. (Minutes from March 8, 2011 were carried over from the March 15, 2011 meeting.)
– Adopt proclamation declaring March 20 through March 26, 2011, as National Surveyors Week in Lake County.
– Adopt proclamation endorsing the World-Wide Charter for Compassion.
– Adopt Proclamation declaring the month of April 2011 as Sexual Assault Awareness Month, April 5 as the Sexual Assault Awareness Day of Action, April 27 as Denim Day, and April 10 through April 16 as National Victim Rights Week in Lake County.
– Approve agreement between the county of Lake, Community Development Services and Mt. Konocti Facilitation to provide a Microenterprise Technical Assistance Program, in the amount of $50,000 over the next two years, and authorize the chair to sign.
– Adopt resolution approving Agreement 11-C0015 with the state of California Department of Pesticide Regulation and authorizing the execution and signature for the electronic submission of pesticide use
data during fiscal year 2011-12.
– Approve Budget Transfer B-156 from Capital Projects budget, in the amount of $15,000, for the purchase of one (1) 1990 Etnyre chip spreader, from Sonoma County, and authorize the chair to sign.
– Approve waiver of 900-hour limit for extra-help Staff Services Analyst II Janice Hubbell, extra-help Eligibility Worker I Jeffree Watts and extra-help Office Assistant III Teresa Newton, as per staff
memorandum, dated March 8, 2011.
– Approve Budget Transfer B-142, in the amount of $59,200 to cover additional expenditures for lateral and manhole repairs, emergency rehabilitation and repairs of lift station No. 2 in the Southeast Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant, and authorize the chair to sign.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
The board was split over the decision, with a final 3-2 vote approving it. Supervisor Anthony Farrington, whose district includes Lakeport, and Supervisor Jeff Smith, whose district includes Clearlake, were the dissenting votes.
The agreement calls for Bruno and Associates to build a new, two story, 11,157-square-foot building on Lucerne's 13th Avenue, which leads up to the county-owned Lucerne Hotel, now under renovation. Mental Health would rent 10,343 square feet of the new building, which also would include additional retail space for rent.
According to the plans, the building is to be completed by Aug. 1.
County officials had crafted the plan as part of a way to aid redevelopment efforts in Lucerne, where additional private investment is interested in locating.
However, Supervisor Denise Rushing said at the Tuesday meeting that some of those private interests didn't want to go first in developing facilities on 13th Avenue, slated to be the town center.
The board had originally approved the idea in concept last October in a 4-1 vote, with Farrington voting no. The vote also included directing staff to issue a request for proposals to build and lease a Mental Health office building.
At its Feb. 1 meeting, the board again voted 4-1, Farrington again voting no, to move forward with plans to lease a new facility for Mental Health in Lucerne, selecting Bruno and Associates' proposal. Farrington argued against the move because he was concerned about moving 40 jobs out of his district.
Nancy Ruzicka, owner of 991 Parallel Drive, where Mental Health's Lakeport office currently is located, had spoken to the board repeatedly against the move, offering a purchase proposal to the county for the building. She also addressed the Lakeport City Council last month to seek support for stopping the move.
Since the board's Feb. 1 vote, a lobbying effort had arisen among Lakeport businesses, with the Lakeport Main Street Association starting a petition drive to block the move from Lakeport that yielded more than 100 signatures that were submitted to the board this month.
The supervisors were due to make a decision at the March 8 meeting, but Cliff Ruzicka came before the board to offer to “gift” the Parallel Drive building to the county over 15 years in exchange for more than $4.1 million in payments.
The board delayed that decision while administrative staff considered the offer, which was more expensive than two previous purchase options the Ruzickas had offered, one requiring $750,000 down with a monthly payment of $11,880 per year for 10 years, for a total of $2,175,000; or no down payment with 20 years of monthly payments of $20,790, for a total of $2,494,800.
Deputy Administrative Officer Matt Perry told the board at its Tuesday meeting that the “gift” offer was essentially a lease option. “In analyzing that offer last week, we've determined that that offer would actually be less advantageous to the county from a financial perspective than the original offer.”
He said staff analysis concluded that the Ruzickas' latest offer would cost the county between $900,000 and $1 million more for the building under that offer, which comes out to paying $55,000 to $76,000 more per year. “That's money that could be used for client services.”
Entering into a lease option agreement could result in problems for the county if the state were to decide that such a purchase didn't qualify for state funds. Perry said that would mean the obligation would fall to the county. In purchasing the Ruzickas' property, the county also would be removing the building from the tax roll.
For Mental Health, leasing a building is better than owning, Perry said, explaining that Mental Health funding is complex and requires a balancing act. “We feel that leasing the building in Lucerne is the best option to meet that balancing act.”
The county needs to keep costs as low as possible but, on the other hand, they need to incur some costs to support the overhead rate that Mental Health charges state and federal sources, Perry said.
Perry explained there would be countywide benefits to moving to Lucerne. While he said they weren't ignoring the effect that it would have on Lakeport, there would be a benefit that “would have a significant impact upon Northshore communities and Lucerne in particular.”
The board has made significant investment in Lucerne already, he said, referring to the Lucerne Hotel.
“That's just the first step, it's not he final one,” said Perry, explaining that in order to make Lucerne more welcoming for visitors, they needed to help develop 13th Avenue, an effort which he said is critical in order to attract investors.
Perry said there are already hundreds of county jobs in Lakeport, and the city would continue to benefit from those jobs.
“It's also significant that we can use state money to advance this local objective” with no cost to the county's general fund, he said. That's important because redevelopment agencies are on the ropes, with Gov. Jerry Brown targeting redevelopment for elimination.
If the offices are moved to Lucerne, Kelseyville residents can obtain services at Mental Health's Clearlake office, Perry said. He explained that 66 percent of the department's clients live in Cobb, Middletown, Kelseyville and Clearlake, with 34 percent in Lakeport and on the Northshore. Perry said of that 34 percent, 14 percent of the clients come from Lakeport and the remainder from Northshore communities.
“There might be a legitimate argument to be made that that area's underserved,” Perry said.
Farrington asked about funding availability over the next 20 years. Perry said the proposed lease agreement includes a clause that allows the county to terminate without penalty if appropriations for the building cease.
County Administrative Officer Kelly Cox said the county's intention was to have long-term funding, which he didn't think would be an issue.
Rushing called the issue a complicated one. She said moving the 40 jobs to Lucerne was a “seed effort.”
“We're trying to bring Lucerne up and investment from out of county in, and that idea will be benefiting all of Lake County,” she said.
Rushing said the University of California, San Francisco is looking at having a facility in Lucerne, and others also are interested but nobody wants to go first. “So we're going first,” she said, adding that she believed more Lucerne residents will be able to take advantage of the county services as a result.
Farrington said he didn't think it was a fair way to do business, calling it a “Trojan horse” for moving jobs and decentralizing county jobs in the future. He also didn't agree with hinging redevelopment efforts on government services, which he said he hadn't seen work. Rushing said it worked with a conference center built in Fortuna.
Mayor argues against move
During the meeting the board heard arguments against the move from the perspective of its possible impact on clients of the services, and also heard from two Lucerne residents, one in support, one not because of concerns for existing Mental Health clients having services moved.
But the strongest opposition voiced at the meeting Tuesday came from Lakeport Mayor Suzanne Lyons, who had spoken against the action in previous meetings and also had taken a hand in the lobbying effort.
“I keep hearing this is going to be a benefit to all of Lake County,” she said, but she questioned the benefit for Lakeport.
Rushing asked her to imagine that the county had established a conference center in the Lucerne Hotel and that Lucerne also had a university satellite campus. There would need to be housing for faculty and accommodations for visitors, and Rushing said Lakeport would benefit by offering those services.
Lakeport and the rest of the county also will benefit if more people are drawn to the county through the efforts in Lucerne. Rushing said they wanted to use the new building to “show how it can be,” with offices above and retail below along 13th Avenue.
“It's not a zero sum game,” said Rushing, who said it was “painful” to see a fight over 40 jobs.
She said the kinds of educational programs and business opportunities they're trying to bring to Lucerne would involve the environment, culinary arts and sustainability. “Certainly it would be all about Lake County.”
Cox said the Northshore Redevelopment Area is important because that's what people traveling along Highway 20 see. He said there wasn't much nice to see there before redevelopment.
He said the goal is to get people to stop and see what the rest of the county is about. That's why a visitor center is located in Lucerne, where it helps capture visitors and send them elsewhere in the county.
“The more we can improve the economic conditions on that Northshore corridor of Highway 20, the more that's going to attract investment to all of Lake County,” Cox said.
Lyons wasn't convinced. “I think you’re really, really pushing it with that one,” she said, adding she didn't see any benefit to Lakeport “any time soon” from the plan.
She asked how they could reconcile decentralizing services with being “green.” Cox replied, “You're assuming everybody lives in Lakeport then, nobody travels.”
Supervisor Rob Brown told Lyons, “I don' think it's going to hurt Lakeport at all.” He reminded Lyons of the county's effort to fight in support of building a new courthouse in Lakeport and not near the jail. He said he believes the county has done a lot to help Lakeport.
He then pulled out a copy of an e-mail that Lyons sent to Rebecca Curry, a local Democratic Party leader, asking Curry to get people to contact Brown to get him to vote against the proposal. In the e-mail Lyons suggested that awarding the contract was not about helping Lucerne but about making a gift of public funds to Origin Construction, as well as Bill Brunetti of Bruno and Associates and Dr. Bob Gardner.
Lyons replied that it was a private e-mail.
“We're not gifting public funds,” said Brown. If that were the case, he said the county would have been gifting public funds to the Ruzickas, which he didn't think was the case.
Brown continued reading the e-mail – a copy of which he shared with Lake County News – which said Brunetti was going to run against Farrington, which Brown said he had confirmed was not true.
She also wrote in the e-mail, “At the BOS meeting it was announced that the new county policy is to decentralize social services and spread them all around the Lake. In times of rising gas prices this is lousy policy.”
Brown asked her where she came up with the decentralization statement.
Cox emphasized that there was no such county policy. “That is absolutely untrue,” he said.
“I heard it here,” she said.
“No, you didn't,” Cox replied, with Board Chair Jim Comstock tapping the gavel to calm down the exchange between Cox and Lyons.
Brown said he'd received no e-mails advocating against the move.
Comstock asked Lyons to find the date and time of the decentralization statement, and who made it.
Mental Health Director Kristy Kelly said the whole discussion had arisen because the rents they are paying for the Parallel Drive facility are “excessive for what we can afford,” and that Nancy Ruzicka was confident in her rates and was staying with them.
The county came up with an estimate of $1.44 per square foot for the new building, and the proposal is within three cents of that, Kelly said. Because of their current rent, they will need to look for another location anyway.
The estimated $55,000 annual difference between the old and new locations was enough to pay for a case manager or another staffer. “It's a significant amount of money,” said Kelly, noting that what's good for the county is the maximum number of people available to work with clients.
At the meeting Cliff Ruzicka came forward with another offer to sell the county the Parallel Drive building, offering what he said was a savings of $860,000 over the term of the lease.
Cox said while he thought highly of the Ruzickas, the matter had gone through a competitive process.
“We could go on and on with counter proposals,” said Cox. “There's got to be some integrity maintained in the process,” he added, noting the other firm had won the bid “fair and square.”
Rushing moved to accept the proposed lease with Bruno and Associates, which was approved 3-2.
In other board action Tuesday, the board voted 4-1 – with Rushing voting no – to turn down the Friends of Cobb Mountain's appeal of the Lake County Planning Commission's certification of the final environmental impact report for Bottle Rock Power's expansion. The board also voted 4-1 – with Rushing again voting no – to approve Bottle Rock's rezone of nearby lands for the project.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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