THE ARTICLE HAS BEEN UPDATED WITH NEW INFORMATION ABOUT THE HOUSING ELEMENT.

CLEARLAKE – The future of the city of Clearlake's redevelopment agency will be up for discussion at a special Monday meeting, when the council and the community will weigh in on amending and extending the city's redevelopment plan.

The meeting will start at 6 p.m. at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.

The council will host public hearings to consider four items:

• Certifying the draft mitigated negative declaration and initial environmental study the Clearlake Redevelopment Agency prepared for the proposed amendment to the Highland Parks Community Development Project;

• Consideration of whether the redevelopment agency has complied with redevelopment law concerning the adoption of a housing element and whether the agency has a major violation;

• Adoption of the proposed redevelopment plan amendment;

• Consideration of adoption of the five-year implementation plan by the Clearlake Redevelopment Agency.

If the council doesn't vote to extend the redevelopment plan another 10 years, it will end this July 9, according to City Administrator Dale Neiman.

He estimates that redevelopment agency revenues over the coming years will total just over $42.1 million.

Other information Neiman supplied on the amendment shows that city redevelopment revenues from 1995 to 2010 have totaled $720,000.

If the plan is extended, it could facilitate a rehabilitation project along Lakeshore Drive. According to a presentation Neiman intends to offer Monday, that project would include street improvements, development of a storefront facade program and the sale of the Austin Resort property.

At the meeting, the council also will consider amending the city's housing element.

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LAKEPORT – A consideration of the county burn ban and a public hearing on a special victims unit grant will be on the Board of Supervisors' agenda this Tuesday.

The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. Tuesday, June 1, in the Board of Supervisors chambers at the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport. TV8 will broadcast the meeting live.

At 9:15 a.m., the board will consider a change of the yearly burn ban in years when there is heavy rainfall.

The ban goes into effect each year on May 1, but with this year's heavier – and later – rainfall, the county has received complaints about the ban. The board will consider temporarily suspending the ban this year.

At 10:25 a.m. the board will hold a public hearing on grant funding the Lake County Sheriff's Office is seeking through the US Department of Justice's Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program for a special victims/vulnerable persons unit.

On May 11 Sheriff Rod Mitchell gave the board an update on the $111,130 grant which his agency has received to work specifically on crimes affecting children, the elderly and those with disabilities, as Lake County News has reported.

At that time he reported a new investigator position for the unit is being included in the 2011-11 budget.

An extra item for a California Emergency Management Agency grant for $550,000, to be used for pot suppression, also will be taken to the board by Mitchell as an extra item, according to board staff.

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.

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).

9:45 a.m.: Hearing – nuisance abatement assessment confirmation and proposed recordation of notice of lien in the amount of $4,753.05 - 6294 Sixth Ave., Lucerne, CA (034-113-30 - Ernie Salas).

10 a.m.: Hearing – nuisance abatement assessment confirmation and proposed recordation of notice of lien in the amount of $2,866.41 - 7127 Morton St., Nice, CA (030-182-14 - Charlotte Figueras)

10:15 a.m.: Discussion/consideration of In Home Supportive Services Advisory Committee (IHSSAC) request to authorize payment of funds to committee members ($25 per meeting).

10:30 a.m.: Discussion/consideration of proposed resolution declaring intent to adopt a resolution of public use and necessity – Bartlett Springs Road MPM 21.1 (FEMA Project).

10:40 a.m.: Discussion/consideration of proposed Resolution approving the application for Nature Education Facility Program funds Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality and Supply, Flood Control, River and Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2006 (for Mt. Konocti, Rodman Slough and Clark Island improvements).

10:45 a.m.: Discussion/consideration of proposed memorandum of understanding between the county of Lake and Sutter Lakeside Hospital attesting to Sutter Lakeside Hospital’s commitment to provide health care to indigent, uninsured and underinsured residents of California (attestation required for hospital’s application to Federal 340B drug purchasing program).

Nontimed items

– Supervisors’ weekly calendar, travel and reports.

– Discussion/consideration of proposed resolution to appropriate unanticipated revenue in the amount of $40,000 (penalties paid by Wal-Mart, pursuant to Health & Safety Code Section 25515.2) for the

establishment of a Capital Equipment and Software System designation in Budget Unit 4010 (Environmental Health).

– Discussion/consideration of proposed first amendment to the agreement between county of Lake and Victor Treatment Inc., for specialty mental health services for fiscal years 2008-09 and 2009-10.

– Discussion/consideration of proposed amendments to candidate project list for Proposition 1B bond funds.

– Consideration of request to approve out-of-state travel for Water Resources Engineer Thomas Smythe to Henderson, Nevada, from November 2-5, 2010, to attend the Floodplain Management Association’s (FMA) Annual Conference.

Consent agenda

– Update on emergency action taken on March 2, 2010, regarding the Southeast Wastewater Collection System - Interim Collection System improvements.

– Approve minutes of the Board of Supervisors meetings held on May 11 and 25, 2010.

– Appoint incumbent Mary Cardinale-Stein (Sutter Lakeside Hospital category) to the Emergency Medical Care Committee for a term expiring on January 1, 2011.

– Adopt Resolution No. _____ approving Agreement No. 10-0134, the Organic Program, with the Department of Food and Agriculture during the period of July 1, 2010 through June 30, 2011, and authorizing execution thereof.

– Adopt Resolution No. _____ approving Agreement No. 10-0090 with the state of California, Department of Food and Agriculture for compliance with the Egg Inspection Agreement and authorizing execution thereof.

– Adopt Resolution No. _____ amending Exhibit “A” to the County Conflict of Interest Code.

– Waive 1000-hour limit for extra-help Client Support Assistant II Dow Walton.

– Approve Plans and Specifications for Morgan Valley Road Road PM 5.34 for storm damage repair and authorize Public Works director/assistant purchasing agent to advertise for bids.

– Adopt Resolution No. _____ authorizing the deputy redevelopment director to sign a notice of completion for work performed under agreement for the Lucerne 3rd Avenue Plaza Pier.

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 and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf .

The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. in the council chambers at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.

The full agenda, staff reports and other documents for the meeting can be found at www.cityoflakeport.com/departments/home.aspx?deptid=88 .

Richard Knoll, director for redevelopment, housing and economic development, will take to the council a list of unresolved issues regarding the city's Downtown Improvement Plan Phase 2. The council held a May 18 workshop to discuss the plan.

Knoll will ask for further direction from the council on the plan. Discussion items will include preferred surface treatments, the First Street boat ramp, Main Street and Martin Street gateway enhancement improvements, Second Street improvements and trees in parking areas. Another public workshop on the plan will be held on Wednesday, June 30.

He'll also ask the council for approval of a grant agreement and the authorization to issue a request for proposals for a technical assistance grant for a consultant to complete a neighborhood improvement study. The city received a $35,000 planning and technical assistance grant for the study, which is supposed to target certain areas in south Lakeport.

In other business, during a public hearing, the council is expected to approve a resolution of application and direct staff to proceed with submitting a 2010 Community Development Block Grant Housing Grant application.

City Manager Margaret Silveira will ask the council for direction on forming a Measure I Committee to provide recommendations for the 2010-11 budget. Measure I is a half-cent sales tax the city implemented several years ago for special projects.

The council will consider a proposed resolution from Knoll that would authorize submission of a CalHome application for $500,000. The grant would help first-time homebuyers purchase homes and assist with housing repairs, weatherization and energy-saving appliances for owner-occupied and renter-occupied homes that meet requirements, according to Knoll's report to the council.

Planning Services Manager Andrew Britton will introduce to the council Ordinance No. 880 (2010) amending Title 17 of the Lakeport Municipal Code. The ordinance would establish regulations regarding the development of emergency shelters and related housing issues. The council will then set a second public hearing on July 6 at 6 p.m.

City Attorney Steve Brookes will take to the council a contract with Rau and Associates to provide structural analysis of a portion of the Vista Point Shopping Center.

Also at Tuesday's meeting the council will consider the Lakeport Main Street Association's application to hold July 4 activities, the Lake County Rodeo's request for its annual parade on Main Street on July 10 and an application from the Lakeport Yacht Club for its third annual Cardboard and Duct Tape Regatta, to be held July 4.

The council is scheduled to end the evening with a closed session to conduct property negotiations regarding Green Ranch and discuss employee negotiations.

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 and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf .

Jeri Spittler, owner of Girlfriends salon on Lakeshore Drive, confronted the council once it emerged from a closed session discussion before the start of the regular meeting that involved ABC Hair Salon, located at 14071 Lakeshore Drive.

Spittler, a fixture at council meetings over the past year, has criticized the city for the condition of the building that houses ABC Hair Salon, which is the site of the old Austin Resort.

The property, located across from Clearlake City Hall, has increasingly run into disrepair in recent years, and Spittler criticized the city for having what she has called one of the most blighted properties on Lakeshore.

Following the May 13 council meeting – at which the council voted to cut 9.5 full-time equivalent positions, and eliminate code enforcement and other services to deal with an increasingly bleak financial outlook – Spittler said she approached Mayor Judy Thein about fixing up the 6,000-square-foot building and renting out five other spaces in it to make money to help keep the city's parks open.

Spittler said she got the go-ahead from Thein as well as Public Works Director Doug Herren to do what she called a “grassroots redevelopment project” to fix up the building.

The event was planned for June 5, and Spittler said that she has received overwhelming community support, with businesses chipping in to offer services at discounted prices and community members donating money.

She had lined up help, paint and building supplies, and enough donations to spruce up the building. Even new windows were put into the salon, where the owner had a cracked window.

But when the council emerged from the closed session, they asked Spittler to hold off.

Thein and Herren both were absent from the Thursday meeting. Vice Mayor Joyce Overton had the gavel, and she announced the council had directed City Administrator Dale Neiman to negotiate with the salon owner regarding moving out. She asked Spittler to hold off on the project, which Spittler responded to with harsh words for the council.

During public comment, community member Pete Gascoigne asked about the negotiations, and Neiman said the council was asking the salon owner if she is willing to move. The city will have to pay to relocate her, and then they can tear the building down.

Standing at the back of the room, Spittler called out to ask why the action was being taken now. Gascoigne wanted to know if it was a move to get the building taken down.

Overton said removing the building was always the idea.

She acknowledged that Spittler had worked hard to put the project together.

“Why would you do that to me when it's all planned?” Spittler said.

A still-incensed Spittler called the decision “a power move” in a Friday interview with Lake County News.

Neiman told Lake County News on Friday that when the city purchased the building several years ago “the goal was remove the buildings and sell it to someone who would build what the city wanted on the property.”

He said the city can't legally evict anyone from the property, and they're required to pay relocation expenses in accordance with the procedures in state law. He suggested they would need a written legal opinion by the city attorney to know the possible implications of renting out the building.

Neiman said it's his understanding that several businesses have been relocated from the original

buildings on the property, including a restaurant that the city paid $60,000 to relocate in 2006, and $10,000 for another business in 2005. Attorney fees also are paid for each relocation, he said.

In the first year he worked for the city Neiman said he recommended a building to the south of the current one be demolished, a proposal the council agreed with and the building was then taken down.

He said the city has endured past criticism when tenants were in the building, and there also is an issue with the government competing with the private sector in offering rentals. “Is it appropriate for the city to invest money in the building so it can rented it while there are approximately 40 vacant buildings on Lakeshore Drive?”

Neiman said that the building has “serious problems that would be costly to fix before it could be rented,” including dangerous electrical wiring, ramps, walkways and doorways that aren't compliant with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements, no emergency exit signage with backup lighting, a structural hazard from drywall that's coming down, a leaking swamp cooler, lack of adequate heating and ventilation, eaves with dry rot, and windows and doors that do not have safety glass and this creates a safety hazard.

He said all of those problems constitution violations of the ADA rules and city building codes. “The cost would be substantial to fix these problems and it would not make sense to spend the money to do so.”

Neiman said the council authorized him to explore the potential relocation over the next two months. If that's not successful, then the building could be painted.

He said the council hadn't approved “whatever is being proposed” for the building currently, and that with the city's staffing problems “we are not able to respond to various matters in a timely manner.”

Neiman added that Spittler “tends to lecture and yell at the council and staff and dismiss our rationale for dealing with various situations and problems.”

Spittler, who has called on the council to fire Neiman in recent months, called his explanations “baloney.”

The project would have cost the city no money, she said. “There's absolutely no reason that building can't be generating money for us.”

She added that the building is in a fabulous location. “There's nothing wrong with that building that a couple of hammers won't fix.”

Spittler said she still plans to host a barbecue at the building at noon June 5.

Also at the Thursday meeting, the council confirmed penalties for a nuisance abatement case that wasn't cleaned up on time, voted to confirm seven other nuisance abatement cases, approved the city's draft housing element and an extension until October of the city's 2009-10 budget.

The council also approved making a loan from taxable housing fund bond proceeds to cover a payment of city state redevelopment funds to the state.

At Neiman's suggestion, the council approved a plan for short-term borrowing from special revenue funds. “We need to be able to do short-term borrowing so we can pay our bills,” Neiman said.

The money will have to be paid back to the special funds, he noted.

The council voted 3-1, with Councilman Roy Simons voting no on the borrowing resolutions.

Neiman had also taken to the council a proposal to drop out of the county's marketing program, which costs $10,000 a year.

However, he said at the beginning of a brief discussion that he wanted to put off having the council make a decision until he had a chance to speak to the chamber and local businesses about other options to remain in the program, which helps bring tourism to the area.

Supervisor Jeff Smith urged the council not to drop out of the program, which he said is well worth the money.

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 and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf .

The charge illustrates major crime data in Lake County, Calif., from 2005 to 2009. The orange line represents sex crimes, the yellow line drug- and alcohol-related crimes and the blue line violent crimes, which include homicide, forcible rape, robbery and assault. Lake County News illustration.

LAKE COUNTY – Despite hard economic times, recent reports from state, federal and local officials show that 2009 witnessed a drop in crime rates, particularly for violent offenses.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation released its preliminary figures for 2009 on Monday, the same day as the Lake County Sheriff's Office released its 2009 report.

The California Department of Justice released its preliminary 2009 report on May 14. By law, the state DOJ must present its annual report on the crime for the previous calendar year to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on or before July 1.

The FBI's preliminary report shows a 5.5-percent decrease nationwide in violent crime – specifically, homicide, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault – and a 4.9-percent decline in property crimes, such as burglary, motor vehicle theft and larceny – or theft over $400 – compared to 2008.

Those figures are based on information from 13,237 law enforcement agencies that submitted between six and 12 months of data in both 2008 and 2009, the FBI reported.

The initial data suggests that violent crimes were down for the third straight year across the United States, with property crime down for the seventh straight year, according to the FBI.

In California, violent crimes decreased 8.5 percent from 2008 – from 129,046 to 118,134 – and property crimes decreased 11.1 percent – from 413,661 to 367,745 – in 2009, the DOJ reported based on statistics from 87 agencies serving populations of 100,000 or more and accounting for 64 percent of the crimes reported in the state annually.

For the Lake County Sheriff's Office report – which doesn't include statistics for the cities of Clearlake and Lakeport, or information from the California Highway Patrol or other agencies, like the Department of Fish and Game – the data showed downward or flat trends, and an overall decrease in all crime types since 2005.

At the same time there was a 10-percent increase over 2009 in total case numbers for the unincorporated county population, which numbers about 44,600, based on a recent state report.

Total incidents – approximately 51,451 – showed a 6-percent decrease over 2008, with property crimes and sex crimes showing no percentage increase. Property crimes for the year totaled 927, just down from 928 in 2008, while sex crimes numbered 50 in 2009 and 51 in 2008.

Violent crime decreased by 11.3 percent, from 530 in 2008 to 470 in 2009, while alcohol- and drug-related crimes dropped 15 percent, from 749 to 635, the report showed.

The rollback in violent crimes reported in 2009 essentially brings the county back to its 2007 level. Sheriff's Capt. James Bauman reported that during a review of the 2008 annual report, the stated percentage in the rise in violent crimes from 2007 to 2008 – from 469 to 530 – was discovered to have been incorrectly reported as 22 percent, when it fact it was 13 percent.

The unincorporated county area covered by the Kelseyville zip code – which has a large population spread over a significant area – had the largest number of property crimes reported, with 197, followed by Clearlake Oaks with 107 and the unincorporated county area in the Lakeport zip code, with 97.

In 2009 the county's top three areas for violent crime reports were Kelseyville, 93; Lucerne, 65; and unincorporated Lakeport, 64. Two homicides were reported in the county area, one in Kelseyville and one in Clearlake Oaks.

Kelseyville had eight reports of sex crimes in 2009, followed by unincorporated Lakeport and Lower Lake, which each had seven, according to the report.

Unincorporated Lakeport led with the most number of reported drug- and alcohol-related crimes, with 126, followed by Lucerne, 87, and Nice, 86.

Bauman said the sheriff's office is fully staffed currently, with 24 deputies and eight sergeants assigned to patrol.

“We are better staffed right now than we have been in the past,” he said.

Local police departments show mixed trends

While the county's unincorporated areas reported less overall crime incidents in 2009, Lake County's two cities showed more mixed statistics, with increases in some crime areas and notable drops in others.

In Lakeport, with a population of about 5,100, total crimes reported went from 332 in 2008 to 360 in 2009, Burke said. That's an 8.4-percent increase.

From 2008 to 2009, rapes stayed flat, at four reported each year, while robberies went from three to five, according to Lakeport's data.

Assaults showed an increase from 72 in 2008 to 97 in 2009, a 34.7-percent increase. Burke said larceny cases rose from 169 in 2008 to 192 in 2009, a 13.6-percent increase.

Crimes showing decreases from 2008 to 2009 were burglaries, which Burke said dropped from 67 to 60 – a 10.4-percent decrease – and vehicle thefts, down to 12 from 17 the previous year, a 29-percent decrease.

While there have been expectations from some experts that a large crime wave could result from the economic downturn, Burke said that, for the most part, they're not seeing that. “In fact, we've seen the opposite,” he said, pointing to the nationwide trends.

When fuel prices climbed a few years ago, there was as spate of fuel thefts, he noted. “So you do see certain crimes linked to certain economic trends.”

At Clearlake Police Department, which serves a city of about 14,300 residents, Chief Allan McClain provided Lake County News with crime statistics for 2008 and 2009.

Total violent crimes – homicide, forcible rape, robbery, assault and burglary – plus larceny and motor vehicle crimes totaled 825 in 2008 and 810 in 2009, a 1.8-percent decrease.

In both years, murders numbered two, forcible rapes went from 16 to 15, and robberies rose from 17 to 21, the statistics showed.

Total assaults dropped 16 percent, from 255 to 214, while the data showed that burglaries declined from 181 to 166, accounting for an 8.2-percent decrease.

Larcenies rose from 271 to 307, or 13 percent, and motor vehicle thefts increased slightly, from 83 to 85, Clearlake Police statistics showed.

Lakeport Police currently has 13 sworn officer positions. Burke said they're not going to be filling a few of their vacancies, so his agency will be down a police officer.

Over at Clearlake Police, the employment situation is much more dire. On May 13, the Clearlake City Council voted to eliminate 5.5 full-time equivalent positions. Since 2007, the department has lost 20 percent of its staff, according to McClain.

In all, McClain has lost 13 personnel, among them nine officers.

Besides that, calls for service this year already are on the rise. “We're way up over the last two years,” said McClain, estimating a 20-percent increase in calls.

Between the higher calls for service and the staff cuts, “We're getting killed,” McClain said.

Nationwide statistics show decreases in urban, rural areas

The nation's four major regions all showed decreases in violent crime from 2008 to 2009, the FBI reported. Decreases were 6.6 percent in the South, 5.6 percent in the West, 4.6 percent in the Midwest, and 3.5 percent in the Northeast.

The FBI reported that, from 2008 to 2009, robbery dropped 8.1 percent, murder decreased 7.2 percent, aggravated assault declined 4.2 percent and forcible rape decreased 3.1 percent.

Cities with populations of 500,000 to 999,999 residents had the largest decrease in violent crime – 7.5 percent – while violent crime declined 4 percent across all of the nation’s metropolitan counties.

Smaller cities, however – with 25,000 to 49,999 inhabitants – were the only city population group to report an increase in the number of murders, 5.3 percent. The number of murders in the nation’s nonmetropolitan counties also rose by 1.8 percent, according to the FBI reported.

In nonmetropolitan counties like Lake, nationwide a 3.0-percent violent crime decrease was reported, including a 0.7-percent drop in robberies. However, a 0.3-percent increase in rapes was reported in those same nonmetropolitan areas over the previous year, the reverse of the trend seen in cities.

Nonmetropolitan areas experienced a 9.5-percent decrease in larceny-thefts, the FBI said, but constituted the only population group where a rise in burglaries took place, for a 0.5-percent increase, the report showed.

Concerning property crimes, from 2008 data to 2009 the West reported the biggest decline in property crime, with a decrease of 6.8 percent, the FBI said. Property crime declined 5.6 percent in the Midwest, 5.3 percent in the Northeast, and 3.2 percent in the South.

Arson decreased 10.4-percent in 2009, with decreases across all population groups and across all regions – 11.6 percent in the West, 10.6 percent in the South, 9.2 percent in the Midwest and 8.6 percent in the Northeast, according to the FBI.

State numbers also show decreases

The California DOJ's report showed that homicides have decreased 10.5 percent from 2008 to 2009, dropping from 1,643 to 1,470.

Aggravated assault decreased 7.3 percent from 70,103 to 64,971; forcible rapes were down 2.9 percent from 5,654 to 5,490; robberies dropped 10.5 percent, from 51,646 to 46,203; burglaries were down 5 percent, from 147,101 to 139,703; motor vehicle thefts were down 17.4 percent, from 126,739 to 104,742; and larceny showed an 11.8-percent decrease, from 139,821 to 123,300.

See the reports:

Lake County Sheriff's Office report: http://lakesheriff.com/stats/CrimeStats.asp .

California Department of Justice: http://ag.ca.gov/crime.php (see “Latest Reports”).

FBI report: www.fbi.gov/ucr/prelimsem2009/index.html .

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 and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf .