LAKEPORT – The Lake County Board of Supervisors has appointed Scott DeLeon as the County’s new Water Resources director, effective May 10.

The action was taken at the board's Tuesday meeting.

DeLeon will head the county’s newly created Department of Water Resources, whose functions were previously operated as a division of the Public Works Department.

The Water Resources Department is responsible for lakebed management, flood control and other programs involved in managing and protecting Lake County’s water resources.

A Lake County resident for more than 40 years, DeLeon is a registered civil engineer who worked for the county’s Engineering and Inspection Division from 1987 to 1998, and has since owned and operated the DeLeon Engineering firm in Lakeport.

DeLeon holds a bachelor of science degree from California State University, Chico.

Board members were impressed by DeLeon’s background in both the public and private sectors as well as his involvement in the community and in particular his familiarity with Clear Lake and lake-related issues.

DeLeon’s proven management skills were also mentioned by board members as an important attribute that will be vital to the future success of the newly established department.

After the unanimous vote of the Board of Supervisors to appoint DeLeon, Supervisor Rob Brown congratulated not only DeLeon but also his fellow board members for having appointed an individual with DeLeon’s qualifications to this important position.

Board members indicated they are anxious to begin working with DeLeon on a multitude of issues that have been waiting until the position was filled.

County Administrative Officer Kelly Cox endorsed the board’s selection.

“In addition to being eminently well qualified for this position, Scott’s love of Clear Lake and Lake County are what motivated him to accept this challenge,” said Cox.

He added, “ I know he will do an excellent job and I’m truly looking forward to working with him in his capacity as our new Water Resources director.”

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The council convened at 5 p.m. for a special workshop that lasted just over an hour and looked at the study itself, which Utilities and Community Development Director Mark Brannigan said the council had previously directed be completed.

He said that the city received $66,000 in state grant funds for the study, which looked at recycling water.

The subject is important, Brannigan explained, because water is a limited natural resource – even in Lake County. That's because water from Clear Lake, a shallow and eutrophic lake, is expensive and complicated to treat, making water not as readily abundant as many people believe.

Clear Lake is one water source for the city, another source is four wells – two on the Green Ranch, two in Scotts Valley, according to the 196-page report.

Bruce Crom of PACE Civil Engineering, the company that completed the study, led the council through a PowerPoint presentation on the study.

Crom explained in his presentation that the existing Lakeport water system has four municipal wells with a maximum capacity of 2.8 million gallons a day; a water treatment plant with a daily capacity of 1.7 million gallons a day; firm production capacity of 2.7 million gallons a day; and a current maximum daily demand of 1.8 million gallons.

The city's water system is estimated to exceed its capacity in 2030, with future anticipated future improvements to the system including replacement of wells in Scotts Valley, a southern water storage reservoir to support anticipated growth and a water treatment plant expansion.

Recycled water could be sold to markets including farmers and vintners, Crom said.

Water that's treated for irrigation could also be used for an 18-hole golf course development that the city has talked about in recent years, as well as the Cristallago development north of Lakeport, Westside Park, development along Parallel Drive and highway landscaping, according to the report. It also can be used to recharge groundwater.

Expanding the city's current wastewater treatment to tertiary levels – which treats water to very high standards – would cost a projected $8.8 million, Crom said.

Crom told the council that there are government grants and loans to support water recycling programs.

“Every great journey begins with a single step,” Crom said. “This is the first step.”

Later, during the council meeting, Brannigan told the council that “a lot went into this report,” including stakeholder input. He said it gives the council options if it wants to look at water recycling options. The report is a foundation for the city to move forward if it's going to seek grant funding, he added.

Councilman Roy Parmentier asked if they could create wetlands to filter water. Brannigan said that's one of many options.

Council member Suzanne Lyons liked the idea of the report, but she had questions about who would pay for projects. She also wanted more time to read the report, which she said the council hadn't had long.

City Manager Margaret Silveira told Lyons that accepting the study didn't commit the council to any of the proposed recycling options. “There is going to be a lot more discussion and a lot more opportunity” to look at the report's proposals, Silveira said.

City staffer Dan Buffalo said the report cost a total of $112,000, and that the city had invoiced the state for part of that amount, and was waiting to send out the final invoice.

Councilman Ron Bertsch said he thought the report was being entirely funded by grant money, and that he wouldn't have supported it if he had known otherwise.

Brannigan pointed out to Bertsch that the council approved the study in 2006. It was at the end of that year that Bertsch took office.

Brannigan said the study is 99-percent completed, Bertsch replied that he didn't think so, and that it was going to cost them more money.

Silveira asked Brannigan for what possible additional costs there might be. Brannigan said there was no additional cost if the council adopted the report.

“They're not talking about anything else other than adopting the study,” said Parmentier, who asked Bertsch what the argument was about.

Councilman Bob Rumfelt said one of staff's proposed motions – to adopt the report and give direction to staff to explore specific projects that the council would identify, along with funding sources – was pretty clear, and that it didn't commit the city to anything.

Silveira said the next step would involve city staff going out and looking for grants. “If there would be any further spending it would need to come back to council,” she said, to which Brannigan added, “Absolutely.”

Bertsch said he didn't have a problem accepting the report if the council didn't offer further comment. He added that the report needed to be talked about more.

Parmentier didn't agree, saying that the council sits and talks about things too much.

“If we don't do something today there will be no tomorrow,” said Parmentier, pointing out that the city is down on revenues for water and sewer services because they can't get one vote for a rate study.

“We're stepping backwards, it's got to stop,” he said.

Bertsch said the reuse projects would be great for a city of 100,000 residents. Rumfelt replied that a city of that size wouldn't be eligible for the available grant funding, which is for cities under 10,000. Lakeport has about 5,000 residents.

Rumfelt added that, if the council wasn't interested now, putting the report off a few weeks wasn't going to help. He said the council has done that before and doesn't accomplish much as a result. “It's just kind of frustrating.”

Lyons said she was only asking for more time to read the report. “I've had it for, what, three days?”

Brannigan said that creating the report had been a lengthy process. “I don't want anyone to be pressured into making a decision,” he said, noting that the document can still be changed.

Rumfelt moved to accept the report and direct staff to look at options and funding, which Parmentier seconded. The motion failed when Lyons, Bertsch and Mayor Jim Irwin voted against it.

Bertsch said he would move to approve the report if the council gave no further directions. Buffalo said that, at this point, the report could be used as a door stop if that's all the council wanted to do with it.

Bertsch moved the report, Parmentier seconded, and the council approved it 4-1, with Lyons voting no.

In other business, the council approved a request from Mike Stevenson, the retired city engineer, and his wife Phyllis for a 23-foot-wide access along the north portion of a property the couple owns at 60 Fourth St., and also approved an application by Latinos United of Lake County for a May 2 event in Library Park.

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California Water Service Co., which controls Lucerne's water system, is proposing the hike, as Lake County News has reported.

In a 4-0 vote – with Supervisor Rob Brown absent for the vote – the board agreed to approve the letter, drafted by District 3 Supervisor Denise Rushing, who represents the Northshore on the board.

“I felt it was appropriate given the economic situation of Lucerne that we weigh in,” Rushing told the board last week, noting that several years ago – when Cal Water was seeking a rate hike nearly four and a half times as large – the board also took up the town's cause with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).

Rushing said times have changed dramatically since then, and with rising unemployment and businesses hanging on she suggested some of the requests in Cal Water's filing were “out of line.” Those requests included asking for wage increases for all Cal Water employees and a request to accelerate the company's capital investment in the town's aged water infrastructure.

She said the letter was strongly worded, and didn't know if the board would agree with the strength of its sentiments. “I felt it was important.”

Rushing's letter – accompanied in the board packet by a letter from Lucerne resident Dr. Wilson Goddard, who pointed out a number of failures in Cal Water's operations and their rate hike justifications – pointed out that the Board of Supervisors also is a governing board for other water systems in the county.

“We are aware of what it takes to run a water system in Lake County, and are painfully aware that many of the local systems are underinvested,” the letter stated. “However, we are also aware of the times we face and that certain expenses in these times are unreasonable. For example: to ask a disadvantaged community to pay more in rates in order to increase employee salaries in the next couple of years is unconscionable (our own employees are not getting increases).”

The letter also drew attention to the area's record-level unemployment, coupled with home and business vacancies. As such, the letter suggested that the “cost-recovery plus rate of return” rate model “is plunging this community into a negative economic spiral.”

That's a situation that no other redevelopment area community is facing “at the hand of its water company,” the letter stated.

Lucerne resident Craig Bach, representing the Lucerne Community Water Organization, thanked the board for considering sending the letter.

When he moved to Lake County four and a half years ago, Cal Water was seeking a 278-percent rate increase, Bach said. “Cal Water was trying to build a new plant and they wanted all the money for it.”

Bach said the company is back “and they'll continue to keep coming back.”

The proposed hike that's currently before the CPUC amounts to a 77-percent rate hike over the next three years just on the cost of water, raising the cost from $5.44 per 100 cubic feet to about $9.33, according to Bach.

“Nobody has any more money than they need,” he said of the community, where people are just trying to make ends meet. “Cal Water doesn't care.”

Most of the requests covered by the rate hike don't relate to Lucerne, which Bach said only amounts to about 1,300 of the company's 500,000 customers statewide. He said the company wants every local district to pay for itself, but Lucerne can't.

Bach said the board's willingness to send the letter is much appreciated by the community. He urged them to address the letter to Administrative Law Judge Jeffrey P. O'Donnell and refer to Application No. 09-07-001.

“I'm convinced that the judge actually does have our best interests at heart,” said Bach, noting that the Division of Ratepayer Advocates told him that the CPUC rarely overturns a judge's ruling.

Rushing said she was suggesting in the letter that the CPUC's model of cost recovery plus rate of return includes no incentive to Cal Water to invest reasonably, as any money they don't spend on the community ends up on the corporation's bottom line.

“I believe that the benefit to the shareholders needs to somehow be tied to the success of the community itself,” which Rushing said is a “unique concept” that has yet to be suggested to the CPUC.

“At this point it's not just perception, it's reality – the corporate interests aren't necessary aligned with the interests of the community,” she said.

Bach noted that the deadline for O'Donnell's ruling is April 26. The board then voted to accept the letter.

Last Thursday, two days after the board voted to send the letter, O'Donnell released a ruling allowing Cal Water to send out “advice letters” in July to districts including Redwood Valley – of which Lucerne is a part – for interim rates.

O'Donnell ruled that companies like Cal Water that experienced a delay in their general rate cases under the CPUC's rate case plan can seek a rate modification.

However, his ruling noted that such interim rates will be subject to refund “and shall be adjusted upward or downward back to the effective date of the interim rates” upon the commission's adoption of final rates in the current case.

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The workshop will begin at 5 p.m. at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.

City officials said that the report was paid for in part by a grant from the State Water Resources Control Board, Water Recycling Facilities Planning Grant Program. Copies of the report are available at city hall or online at www.cityoflakeport.com under the “hot topics” section.

The regular meeting will start at 6 p.m.

During public presentations, the council will consider a request from Mike and Phyllis Stevenson for a 23-foot wide access along the north portion of the east property line of the parcel at 60 Fourth St.

from the city parking lot located between Fourth and Fifth streets.

Also in presentations, the group Latinos United of Lake County is asking permission to hold a cultural community event in Library Park and areas along Park Street on May 2.

Convening jointly as the council and the City of Lakeport Municipal Sewer District, they will discuss the adoption of the 2009 Recycle Feasibility Study Report prepared by Pace Engineering.

The council will hold a closed session to discuss anticipated litigation and property negotiations regarding Green Ranch.

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The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. Tuesday, April 20, in the Board of Supervisors chambers at the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport. TV8 will broadcast the meeting live.

In an untimed discussion, the board will consider several proposed agreements between the county and four helicopter companies for marijuana reconnaissance and eradication on public and private lands

A-15 Sheriff’s Department.

“These services are essential to the effectiveness of the marijuana enforcement program,” Sheriff Rod Mitchell wrote in his report to the board.

Mitchell also reported that Drug Enforcement Administration and US Forest Service will reimburse the Lake County Sheriff's Office for the costs, effective this past Jan. 1.

The proposed contracts are with PJ Helicopters, $700 per hour, not to exceed $30,000; A&P Helicopters, $775 per hour, not to exceed $50,000; Cutting Edge Helicopters, rate of $490 per hour, not to exceed $10,000; and Sierra Air Helicopters Inc., rate of $525 per hour, not to exceed $10,000.

The contracts came under additional scrutiny last year after it was discovered that then-Lt. Dave Garzoli had been learning to fly with a Cutting Edge Helicopter pilot and instructor under the auspices of the grants, as Lake County News has reported.

The DEA said later it had incorrectly approved the plan for pilot instruction but considered the matter closed. The Board of Supervisors has since asked the California Attorney General's Office to review the propriety of using public funds for the flight time, which that agency declined to do, so District Attorney Jon Hopkins agreed last month to conduct an investigation.

In other board news,supervisors will discuss the appointment of a new Water Resources director along with establishing new classifications and the amendment of a position allocation in the Water Resources budget unit.

On the consent agenda, the board will approve awarding bids for street clocks in Upper Lake and Clearlake Oaks and accept a donation for $38,801.51 from Clearlake Animal Welfare Society to be used for the construction of a spay neuter clinic.

The board also will hold a closed session to discuss labor negotiations, conduct a performance evaluation of Public Works Director Brent Siemer and discuss a case of potential litigation.

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).

9:15 a.m.: Presentation of proclamation designating the week of April 18-24 as National Volunteer Recognition Week in Lake County.

9:20 a.m.: Presentation of proclamation designating the week of April 19-25 as National Work Zone Safety Week in Lake County.

9:25 a.m.: Presentation of proclamation designating the week of April 18-24 as National Crime Victims’ Rights Week in Lake County.

9:30 a.m.: Hearing, notice of nuisance abatement, 2070 Finley East Road, Finley, CA (APN 008-055-06 – James Allen and Dawn Allen).

9:45 a.m.: Hearing, nuisance abatement assessment confirmation and proposed recordation of notice of lien in the amount of $4,010.50, 12658 East Highway 20, Clearlake Oaks, CA (035-163-27 – Jane

Ventura).

10 a.m.: Hearing, notice of nuisance abatement, 2646 Lakeshore Blvd., Lakeport, CA (APN 028-283-06 - Fred E. Reinell and Vicki S. Reinell). Continued from March 23 and April 6.

10:15 a.m.: (a) Discussion/consideration of request to submit a Transportation Enhancement Grant Application to the Lake County/City Area Planning Council for funding for the Bridge Arbor Recreational Trail; and (b) Discussion/consideration of advanced construction of the bridge on

Bridge Arbor South and accept a contribution in the amount of $20,000 for the construction of the bridge (received from the adjacent landowner, Weger Interests Limited).

10:45 a.m.: (a) Update on emergency action taken on March 2, 2010, regarding the Southeast Regional Wastewater Collection System – Interim Collection System improvements; (b) discussion/consideration of Contract between the Lake County Sanitation District and Waterworks Engineers for design services for the temporary sewage lift station and force main piping at the Southeast Wastewater Collection System in the amount of $30,000; and (c) discussion/consideration of contract between the Lake County Sanitation District and Miksis Services for smoke testing services to locate sources of inflow within portions of the Southeast Wastewater Collection System in the amount of $70,000.

Nontimed items

– Supervisors’ weekly calendar, travel and reports.

Consent agenda

– Adopt proclamation designating the week of April 18-24 as National Volunteer Recognition Week in Lake County.

– Adopt proclamation designating the week of April 19-25 as National Work Zone Safety Week in Lake County.

– Adopt proclamation designating the week of April 18-24 as National Crime Victims’ Rights Week in Lake County.

– Accept donation in the amount of $38,801.51 from Clearlake Animal Welfare Society to be used for the construction of a spay neuter clinic (to be deposited in the Budget Unit No. 1761 – Animal Shelter

Construction Fund).

– Authorize the destruction of bid files from 1999 and years prior to 1999 - Purchasing Division; Purchase Orders from 1999 and years prior to 1999 - Purchasing Division; budget preparation files for Fiscal Year 2004/2005 and years prior to Fiscal Year 2004/2005 – Administrative Office; copies of confirming requisitions for Budget Units 1011, 1012, 1014 and 1081 for Fiscal Year 1999/2000 and years prior to Fiscal Year 1999/2000 - Administrative Office; and video tapes of Board of Supervisors meetings from the year 2005 and years prior to 2005 - Clerk of the Board Division.

– Approve amendment No. 1 to the agreement between the county of Lake and Smith & Newell, CPA’s, for audit services in the amount of $54,800 (one year extension), and authorize the chair to sign.

– Approve first amendment to the ground lease agreement between the county of Lake and Edge Wireless LLC, for lease of property located on Mount Konocti, commonly known as Buckingham Peak (in the amount of $20,528.52, to be paid to the county), and authorize the chair to sign.

– Approve leave of absence (medical) for Animal Control Director Denise Johnson for the period of April 28 through June 7 and authorize the chair to sign leave of absence request form.

– Adopt Resolution No. _____ approving the application for grant funds for the Urban Greening Grant Program under the Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality and Supply, Flood Control, River and Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2006 (Proposition 84).

– Approve plans and specifications for Bartlett Springs Road Road PM 29.3, for storm damage repair and authorize Public Works Director/Assistant Purchasing Agent to advertise for bids.

– Adopt Resolution No. _____ approving Right-of-Way Certification for asphalt overlay on Bottle Rock Road - Federal Project No. HSIPL - 5914(056).

– (a) Waive the formal bidding process and make a determination that competitive bidding would produce no economic benefit to the county for the purchase of two vehicles; and (b) authorize Social Services Director Carol Huchingson to issue a purchase order to Holder Ford in the amount of $34,644.51 for the purchase of two 2010 Ford Fusions and authorize the Social Services

Director to sign purchase order.

– Approve consulting and technical assistance agreement between the county of Lake and the Regents of the University of California, Davis for Peer Quality Case Review services in the amount of $14,600

(county’s share of cost is estimated as $2,774 and state and federal funds will cover the remaining amount of $11,826), and authorize the Social Services director to sign.

– Waive the 900 hour limit for extra-help Agricultural Programs Associate Daniel Suenram.

– Approve letter of support for the Lake County Winegrape Commission’s application to the California Department of Food and Agriculture for funding under the 2010 Specialty Crop Block Grant Program for the marketing and promotion of Lake County wines and other specialty crops and authorize the chair to sign.

– Award Bid No. 10-32 to Electric Time, for the purchase of two street clocks at a price of $15,656 per clock, plus sales tax, as per the April 18, 2010 memorandum from the deputy redevelopment director

(funding in the amount of $5,393 provided by the Upper Lake Women’s Protective Club for the Upper Lake clock and $14,420 provided by the Clearlake Oaks-Glenhaven Business Association for the Clearlake Oaks Nylander Park clock)

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Children, parents and participants in the first child abuse awareness advocacy walk in Lakeport, Calif., on Saturday, April 10, 2010. Photo by Tera DeVroede.

This year’s campaign theme is, “Early Years are Learning Years.”

“Our community isn't necessarily aware of the amazing impacting quality early childhood education can have on children, especially children who are at risk because of poverty or other risk factors,” said Shelly Mascari, Lake County Child Care Planning Council Coordinator.

The Lake County Child Care Planning Council launched an extensive campaign to get the community involved. Paper dolls, handmade by children from ages 2 to 12, can be seen hanging in the windows of many homes and local businesses around the lake.

“Approximately 98 percent of the child care programs in Lake County, along with several elementary school classrooms, participated,” said Mascari. “They received large paper dolls that they used in an art project as a reflection of their self image.”

The dolls, along with a flyer, stated that the business is a proud supporter of Lake County’s children and families.

Aside from the dolls, a Board of Supervisors proclamation and a flag raising in Library Park occurred earlier this month. The flag raised was “the flag of the missing child” and is a practice done nearly nationwide, said Mascari.

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) has many different resources available for those who care to get involved in their communities.

One in every 20 children is a victim of abuse in California. For more child abuse statistics visit http://ca.rand.org/stats/health/childabuse.html and www.childwelfare.gov.

“In Lake County, the numbers are higher,” said Mascari through the loud speaker at the beginning of the first child abuse awareness advocacy walk, which took place on April 10 and stretched along Main Street from Natural High to Library Park in Lakeport.

The theme for the march was the color blue for child abuse awareness and crazy hats. A crowd of 250 people were registered for the event and made their way down Main Street in Lakeport around 11 a.m. The curbside parking was closed off for the safety of the demonstration and people driving by honked to show their support.

Participants were required to register, either by phone or on site the day of, but there were no fees. Better yet, there was a free children’s art festival at the end point – Library Park.

The festival featured a jump house, music by DJ Dre, and tent-booths with kids’ art in exchange for donations. There were also craft activities like painting for kids and information about family resources, advocacy and child abuse prevention. The music and festivities attracted even more people as the morning went on.

“I believe several programs were going to use the money to help pay for their fun preschool graduation ceremonies, for the children entering kindergarten next year,” said Mascari.

The following organizations had tents set up at the art festival: Early Connection Preschools in Lakeport and Kelseyville, Lake County Office of Education After School Program – Burns Valley, Garrison's Family Child Care, North Coast Opportunities, Head Start – Lakeport , Head Start – Upper Lake, First 5 Lake, Redwood Children's Services, California Highway Patrol, Americorps, Lake Family Resource Center, Health Start, Department of Public Health, Children's Health, Lake County Child Care Planning Council and Easter Seals.

The Lake County Child Care Planning Committee’s mission is to ensure the availability and accessibility of high-quality child care for the families and children of our community.

If anyone would like to get involved in child abuse prevention activities, the Children's Council is the county's child abuse prevention council, and is open to all interested residents, Mascari said. They also have child abuse prevention packets available. For more information, call 707-262-4146.

If anyone would like to get involved with advocating and working for quality, accessible child care for Lake County's children and families, please contact the Lake County Child Care Planning Council at 707-994-4795 or visit their Web site at www.lakecountychildcareplanning.com.

For more information about Child Abuse Prevention Month and Week Of the Young Child, visit http://www.naeyc.org/woyc/resources .

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Chipper, the California Highway Patrol's mascot, visits with young Gary Means at Library Park in Lakeport, Calif., on Saturday, April 10, 2010. Photo by Tera DeVroede.