At its April 29 meeting, the commission took the position against Proposition 1D after reviewing its impact on local children's services should the ballot measure pass later this month.

Proposition 1D would shift revenues that come from the California Children and Families Action, 1998's Proposition 10, which created the California Children and Families Program or First 5 Commission.

The program uses money generated by a state excise tax of 50 cents on every pack of cigarettes plus other tobacco products to support early child development programs from ages 0 to 5. First 5 reported that research has demonstrated that 80 percent of the brain is developed in the first four years of life.

The Legislative Analyst's Office estimates the 2009-10 revenues from Proposition 10 to be about $500 million, which are estimated to drop 3 percent annually in the future. Twenty percent of the annual proceeds go to the state First 5 Commission, with the remaining 80 percent going to commissions in the 58 counties.

Proposition 1D, the California Children and Families Act, would reduce state First 5 Commission funding by $340 million in 2009-10 and reduce state and local commission funding by $268 million each year beginning in 2009-10 and lasting through 2013-14, according to the Legislative Analyst's Office.

The proposition's proponents say it will help solve California's budget crisis, and that to protect child welfare and foster care programs all of the state's available resources need to be used.

The California Budget Project estimated that Proposition 1D would take more than $1.6 billion from Proposition 10 funds and use them to replace general fund dollars used currently for state health and human services.

It also would limit the use of First 5 funds for providing direct health care and education services such as child care and preschool, and would limit services for families that aren't in the child welfare system.

The proposition would require county commissions to submit audit reports to the Board of Supervisors and the county auditor, with the latter being established as an ex-officio member of the local commission.

In its formal statement against Proposition 1D, the Lake County First 5 Commission said voters are essentially being asked to change their vote and give the funds to legislators.

Lake County Superintendent of Schools Dave Geck, who sits on the local First 5 Commission, also has come out with a formal statement against Proposition 1D.

Lake County First 5 Commission Executive Director Tom Jordan said the commission would lose between $200,000 and $250,000 a year of the $625,000 that forms its base allocation – or about 36 percent of the group's base operating revenue – if Proposition 1D passes.

The commission would lose another $125,000 in the first year after passage. Jordan said that money is currently part of the state reserve fund.

“We’re not hurt as much as counties that have larger populations,” said Jordan, noting that the original negotiations about the proposition could have resulted in a 50-percent cut to local programs.

Jordan said the Proposition 10 funds are declining. One recent impact was in the reauthorization of the federal SCHIP legislation for children's health coverage, which put a 61-cent tax on cigarettes, which Jordan said the state Board of Equalization estimated would amount to about $43 million in less revenue for First 5.

“Whenever you increase the cost of a product, there is a corresponding reduction in the use or purchase of that product,” he said, noting that Congress isn't backfilling the funding that tobacco-based service programs like First 5 will lose.

“It obviously is going to mean a diminution of the services we can provide,” he said.

When the commission prepared to make its statement on Proposition 1D, staff looked at different scenarios from a programmatic perspective, said Jordan.

“We don’t have really large dollars going into any one program,” he said.

The largest amount of money, $110,000, goes to First 5's nurturing parenting program, which Jordan said has been “highly successful.” In March, the program served more than 300 parents and children combined.

Lake County First 5 is proposing to reduce that program by $40,000 if Proposition 1D passes, said Jordan.

AmeriCorps, whose workers serve in pre-kindergarten classrooms, would be reduced from $90,000 to $50,000, said Jordan, An $80,000 local match would be eliminated for a program that helps 50 families with school readiness; Jordan said that program is being considered for elimination. Another program that could be eliminated involves the quality and quantity of local child care and training for 51 local child care providers.

“Early intervention services are the commission’s preferred priority,” said Jordan, which is why the other services will be reduced first.

Lake County First 5 currently only has two full-time staffers – Jordan and Vicki Hays, the commission's secretary. Jordan said he thinks they can protect the positions for now, but maybe not over the next five years. He said it may come down to him having to make the recommendation that his own job be reduced to part-time to keep the program going.

Jordan said the state wants to shift the Proposition 10 money back into the general fund, where they'll use it for Child Protective Services, foster care, adoption and other mandated services in an effort to address larger state problems.

However, he said there's no guarantee that a comparable amount of dollars will come back to Lake County.

“You lose that local control,” he said. “That is one of the primary problems with the proposed legislation.”

That loss of control is an aspect of the legislation that Jordan said isn't clearly communicated.

Jordan will make a presentation to the Board of Supervisors on the First 5 Regional Impact Report and seek the board's support of the commission's opposition to Proposition 1D at 3 p.m. Tuesday.

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The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. in the board chamber at the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport. TV Channel 8 will broadcast the meeting live.

During its afternoon session the board will hold a discussion to consider permitting medicinal marijuana dispensaries in Lake County, and also will look at zoning for medical marijuana cultivation. The matter is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.

Six medical marijuana dispensaries and cooperatives received notices of violation late last month, because their usage isn't specifically outlined in the county's zoning ordinance, and is therefore not allowed, as Lake County News has reported.

The notices of violation went out on April 21, the same day as the board held a discussion on a variety of amendments to the county zoning ordinance, including dispensaries.

The board at that time asked the county's Code Enforcement Division to rescind the notices until they could specifically discuss the concerns around medical marijuana, which they set for the Tuesday discussion.

In other board news, at 9:45 a.m. supervisors will receive an update from Community Development Director Rick Coel on the possibility of staff reductions in the county's Building and Safety Division.

In a report to the board, Coel notes that the division's revenues aren't much improved since its last report to the board in February.

“This is forcing the Division to cancel its reserves at an alarming rate, and will leave little, if any, reserves for the 2010/2011 budget year despite actions already taken,” Coel said.

With revenues continuing to fall, the division isn't able to put off staff additional staff reductions – one position was eliminated earlier this year – until August, Coel reported.

He said his department believes it's necessary to eliminate two of the four currently filled building inspector positions.

If the 2009-10 budget projections are on target, eliminating the two positions would leave $130,000 in reserves by the end of the year, which would give Building and Safety a small reserve in the coming year if the construction industry continued to struggle, according to Coel.

By eliminating the two positions, “the Division's staffing will be reduced to the absolute minimum necessary to continue to operate the Lower Lake Office,” said Coel. He said the office should only be closed as a last resort, because it provides an important service to the south county.

Coel said he's requesting board direction on the potential layoffs, and will bring back a resolution for their consideration later this month if it's approved, as he wants to give staff as much notice as possible.

At 11:30 a.m., the board will hear a presentation by Lake County Sheriff's Sgt. Dennis Ostini on boating safety and discussion regarding miscellaneous law enforcement activities on Clear Lake, which was continued from May 5.

Another presentation, continued from April 21 and May 5, will update the board on drought management planning for the county's 10 water systems and request board direction on instituting mandatory water conservation measures for the county service areas.

Other items on the agenda include the following.

Timed items:

9:15 a.m.: Presentation of proclamation designating May 8, 2009, as California Peace Officers’ Memorial Day and the week of May 10-16, as National Police Week in Lake County.

9:25 a.m.: Presentation of proclamation designating the week of May 16 through 22, as National Safe Boating Week in Lake County

9:30 a.m.: Public hearing – consideration of proposed resolution approving resolutions and capital fire facility and equipment plans submitted by Lake County fire agencies and updating the Lake County Capital Fire Facility and Equipment Plan.

10:15 a.m.: Discussion/consideration of request for waiver of traffic road fees in the amount of $342, associated with the construction of fire house/garage located at Lake Pillsbury.

10:30 a.m.: Presentation by representatives of Chapter 951 Lake County regarding their endeavors to bring the Vietnam Veterans Memorial “The Moving Wall” to Lake County.

3 p.m.: Overview of the First 5 Regional Impact Report; and discussion/consideration of request to support First 5 Lake Commission’s opposition to Proposition 1D.

3:30 p.m.: Discussion/consideration of proposed agreement between the county of Lake (County Service Area (CSA) #2 - Spring Valley), and Source Group Inc. for groundwater resource assessment

for CSA #2 - Spring Valley Water System Improvement Projects in the amount of $56,672.

Non-timed items:

– Update on the emergency action taken on Dec. 9, 2008, regarding the prohibition of fish stocking by the Department of Fish and Game in water bodies of Lake County.

– Discussion/consideration of request by Genetically Engineered Crops Advisory Committee for the board to provide a minutes taker.

– Consideration of proposed ordinance amending Section 2-2.3 of the Lake County Code to correct the designated business hours of the Lake County Redbud Library.

– Consideration of proposed ordinance adding Section 2.5 to the Lake County Code, specifying particular office hours for Lake County Animal Care and Control. Continued from May 5.

– Consideration of award of Bid No. 09-32 to Coastline Equipment for the purchase of one 2009 crane truck in the amount of $100,000, and/or other options for the purchase of this equipment. Continued from April 21, 28 and May 5.

– Consideration of staff recommendation and proposed agreement for construction management and inspection services for the Upper Lake Main Street Reconstruction Project

The board also will hold a closed session to discuss labor negotiations; conduct performance evaluations of Community Development Director Rick Coel and Social Services Director Carol Huchingson; and hold conference with legal counsel regarding a potential case of litigation.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT THE LAKEPORT CITY COUNCIL will hold a Public Hearing in the City Council Chambers at 225 Park Street, Lakeport, California on Tuesday, June 2, 2009, at 6:00 p.m., to consider the following:

1. Ordinance No. 878: An Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Lakeport amending Chapter 5.30 of the Municipal Code to prohibit the sale, use, discharge and explosion of fireworks within the City.

Copies of the proposed ordinances are available for inspection at Lakeport City Hall, City Clerk’s office.

Questions or comments may be made in writing and directed to the Acting City Manager at 225 Park Street, Lakeport, CA 95453.

Dated this 7th day of May, 2009

___________________________________

Janel M. Chapman, City Clerk

LAKEPORT – Plans for this year's Lakeport fireworks display are moving forward.

On Tuesday, April 21, Lakeport Mayor Ron Bertsch signed the 2009 fireworks display contract. Lakeport Regional Chamber CEO Melissa Fulton had made a request on behalf of the 2009 Community Fireworks Committee, requesting that the Lakeport City Council authorize the mayor to sign the contract.

The chamber formed the committee to assure that there will be a fireworks display on July 4 offshore of Lakeport's Library Park. Committee Members include interim City Manager and Police Chief Kevin Burke, Mayor Ron Bertsch, Leslie Firth, Ross Kauper, Sinda Knight, Barbara Breunig. Fulton chairs the committee.

This long-standing tradition, financed by the chamber for more than 20 years, was in danger of not happening, said Fulton. The community is stepping up as they do so often and through the work of the Committee and the Chamber, the display will happen.

To date $6,600 has been raised with minimal outreach. It was suggested in a letter to the editor a couple of weeks ago that if each resident of Lakeport donated $5, the goal would be reached and exceeded very quickly.

Having said that, many thousands of Lake County residents and visitors benefit from the display, adding to their inventory of summer memories in Lakeport.

The committee is asking anyone who enjoys the display in Lakeport to consider making a donation. Should the goal of $18,400 be exceeded, the committee has stated the excess will be held for the 2010 display.

Donations may be made online at www.lakeportchamber.com. Just click on the fireworks banner to make your donation.

The Lakeport Regional Chamber of Commerce will hold its annual Add A Dollar campaign beginning soon and 100 percent of those dollars raised will be donated to the fireworks fund. Watch for Add A Dollar canisters at local businesses soon.

Activities in Lakeport on July 4th will include the Annual Lakeport Main Street Association Street Faire all day starting at 10 a.m. and the chamber's Lighted Boat Parade at 9 p.m. with the fireworks following at approximately 9:30 p.m.

Lighted Boat Parade applications can be downloaded at www.lakeportchamber.com or call 707-263-5092 to have one mailed to you. For any questions concerning the fireworks fundraising, please call the same number.

2009 Fireworks donations and donation levels

– Betsy Ross ($50): Kevin Burke

– Ben Franklin ($75): No donations to date.

– Thomas Jefferson ($100): Jan and Barry Parkinson, Lakeconews.com, Rotten Robbies, Roy and Diane Parmentier, Jim and Sharon Hubman, Lakeport Yacht Club, Ron Bertsch.

– Abraham Lincoln ($250): No donations to date:

– George Washington ($500): Lakeport Rotary Club.

– Uncle Sam ($1,000): Gossett Alarm Inc.

– Other donations: Lakeport Main Street Association, $2000; Furia Construction and Lakeport Speedway, $2,000.

From left, Capt. Dennis Faulkner, Sgt. Nelson Gonzalez and First Sgt. Timothy Hodges were on hand Tuesday, May 5, 2009, to receive the Veterans Appreciation Month proclamation from District 1 Supervisor Jim Comstock. Photo by Ginny Craven.

LAKE COUNTY – Veterans and their service to the country are being given special honors this month.

On Tuesday, the Lake County Board of Supervisors issued a proclamation designating May as Veterans Appreciation Month.

District 1 Supervisor Jim Comstock, a Vietnam veteran who served in the Navy, presented the proclamation to Capt. Dennis Faulkner, Sgt. Nelson Gonzalez and First Sgt. Timothy Hodges at the Tuesday board meeting.

The proclamation, which recognizes veterans for their sacrifices in keeping the United States secure and free, received a standing ovation from the gallery.

“This is something that we need to take real seriously,” Supervisor Rob Brown said of the proclamation.

Looking out in the audience, he said he saw many people who have made sacrifices, either as members of the military or because a member of their family is serving. He said the day's agenda was filled with items for debate. “None of this happens without you.”

Frank Parker, president of the Lake County United Veterans Council, thanked the Board of Supervisors. “They support us enormously.”

He also thanked Operation Tango Mike, a group which sends care packages to veterans overseas, and the Lake County Fairgrounds and local businesses for supporting the moving Vietnam memorial wall that Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 951 is bringing to Lake County next month.

“This will be the only stop for the moving wall on the West Coast for the remainder of the year,” said Parker. “This community has really come forward and supported the wall and I thank you.”

May, which also is National Military Appreciation Month, will see a number of military-related observances: Loyalty Day, May 1; Victory in Europe Day, May 8; Military Spouse Day, May 15; Armed Forces Week, May 10 through 16; Armed Forces Day, May 16; and Memorial Day, May 25.

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Surfacing in the discussion was a concern about establishing a consistent direction for the county's Code Enforcement Division as it begins the major effort of making the problem resorts – the majority of which are held by out-of-county owners – comply with local law.

Board Chair Denise Rushing said Tuesday that there are a disproportionate number of such RV parks renting spaces for long-term residents in her Northshore district. She said she had spoken to a number of local agencies that work with low-income, senior and disabled clients, and they've offered to help in the work of relocating the residents.

Some people have been living in such conditions for a very long time, said Rushing, who saw the conditions firsthand when she walked the district during her 2006 campaign. She said she encountered RVs with gardens, decks and other permanent structures around them.

Rushing said it was important to bring the matter to the board for discussion, to consider what they are legally allowed to do and what policies they should direct Code Enforcement to consider.

Community Development Director Rick Coel, who oversees Code Enforcement, said his staff has identified sites with serious health and safety issues which also are the source of community outcry.

He said they've found that a significant number of such sites are held by out-of-county owners.

Code Enforcement has sent out two notices of violation, one to a park in Glenhaven, another to a Clearlake Oaks park. On Wednesday, Coel told Lake County News that the violations went to Glenhaven Beach Resort and Lake Haven Motel & Resort. The latter has been cleaned up by the new owner; however, Coel noted the owner still is advertising studio apartments for rent despite the county telling him that isn't an allowed usage.

Code Enforcement is focusing on sites with lake access, Coel told the board. Noting there are many issues surrounding the RV parks, Coel said they're being extremely cautious and taking a number of steps to verify that violations are happening.

There are so many sites and so much research is needed, however, that his staff can only deal with a limited number of parks at any one time, said Coel.

Addressing a larger concern, he added, “The last thing my department wants to do is create a housing problem or a displacement problem.”

Rushing said she wanted to avoid unintended consequences and “problems we can't solve” that could result from enforcement actions against the parks, noting that some of the residents have nowhere else to go.

She noted that many of the affordable housing complexes around the lake require passing a credit check, and many of those living in RV parks are there because of financial difficulties.

State won't enforce compliance

Coel said that the state's Housing and Community Development (HCD) Department, which is in charge of enforcing housing laws as they relate to trailers and manufactured homes, is not doing annual inspections of such resorts, and in effect is allowing the RV parks to become de facto mobile home parks.

“That is a real problem,” he said. “We've been unable to convince HCD to take any lead role in enforcing the situations.”

Because RVs do not meeting the standards of permanent dwellings, that leads to a health and safety issues, which includes fire risks, said Coel.

He said he's looking at having the county's Building Division take over inspections from HCD. The county turned over its records to HCD in 1986 and lost its local control.

The challenge, he said, is that in the current lean times those inspections will not pay for themselves, and it will require a full-time building inspector to properly oversee the parks. But there's something to be said for local control.

RV parks renting on a long-term basis are a clear violation of the county's zoning ordinance, said Coel, who called the situation “a mess” that will have to be worked on gradually.

“It's important for the public to know how we got to where we are with this discussion to begin with,” said Supervisor Rob Brown.

Supervisor Rob Brown said there should be a consistent message from the board to staff about what is to be done. Brown said that, in the past, before Supervisor Jim Comstock were elected, the board gave unanimous direction that the parks be brought into compliance. It's disproportionate in District 3, he said, because that's specifically where direction was given.

“There's an assumption here that all of a sudden hundreds of people are going to be homeless and out on the streets,” he said, noting that didn't happen when the city of Clearlake cleaned up some similar areas.

Supervisor Jeff Smith noted that Clearlake didn't deal with its resort situation “in the correct way,” which led to lawsuits. But Smith felt the problems can be solved in the county.

The lake has a lot of problems with nutrient load, said Brown. “We know darn good and well that this is a contributing factor to it,” he said of the parks.

Brown said he didn't think anyone wanted the lake's shoreline to become a big trailer park. Converting those RV parks to mobile home parks never came up during the process of updating the county's general plan, he added.

“There's a lot of ways to tackle this, and I think we just need to tackle it,” said Smith. “We've talked about this thing as long as I've been on the board.”

Supervisor Anthony Farrington said the board has “kind of tiptoed around the issue,” and now it's coming to a head. He said he expected Tuesday's discussion would be the first of many.

Farrington said by converting the RV parks back to their proper use, the county could make up lost transient occupancy tax dollars, which could be used to help the enforcement program. He added that he found it “counterintuitive” that affordable housing required credit checks and good FICO scores.

Community members voice concerns for park residents

County Counsel Anita Grant said other jurisdictions have put together relocation programs to address such parks. Under certain circumstances, resort owners could be held responsible for expenses to relocate residents. If they didn't pay, the county could place a lien on the properties.

Comstock said one of the most prevalent comments local residents hear from visitors involves getting rid of the trailers. “Having low income housing that is not filled and people living in substandard housing, that's a problem.”

Rushing complimented Coel and his staff for careful research. “They're starting with health and safety risks just as the board asked them to do.”

She said she wanted the situation handled with dignity for the residents, and said she was disappointed in the state. “Unless you deal with the root causes, you're going to be dealing with it again.”

Spring Valley resident Janis Paris said month-to-month rentals shouldn't be done away with altogether, noting she and her husband, Paul Frindt, had depended on that kind of housing when they first moved to Lake County.

She said she and Frindt did a calculation based on the estimated number of permanent residents in the RV parks, and came up with $2.4 million in rental dollars.

Dennis Fay, executive director for Ukiah-based Community Care Management Corp., said his agency deals with the aged, poor and those with medical conditions such as AIDS. He said his agency is aware that at least a portion of its clients are the affected population the board was discussing.

He asked the county to be selective in its enforcement, explaining that most of the people receive only about $1,000 a month to live on. “We are not finding abundance of housing for poor people.”

Smith told him the county can't do selective enforcement.

Frindt told the board that there are separate issues at work. Beyond the enforcement there is the need to get people into better housing. Although some people believe there's a surplus of affordable housing, Frindt said, “Frankly I find that very hard to believe.”

He urged the board to take the board view. “We're trying to remake our lakeshore and our county as a whole and in some ways take it back to the glory it once had a few generations ago,” he said, but that's a slow process. “Take your time, think it through, I beg of you.”

Lucerne resident Lenny Matthews noted the “trilogy of responsibility” that includes the county, park owners and renters. She said there are large numbers of people who will be displaced, and she hoped it wouldn't be into the hills above Lucerne.

Nikki Tavares, a mobile home park owner, said she depends on RVers in her park. “I do have a problem with kicking out all of the RVers. I don't think I would be able to continue keeping my property.”

Brown said enforcement needs to be handled on a case-by-case basis. But he noted that he didn't have any sympathy for a certain element of people who, as he told Lake County News on Wednesday, “have a second home at the county jail.”

“I don't care where they go,” he told the board. “We don't need to provide housing for them. That's not our responsibility.”

Another issue is that the parks aren't paying their fair share for water and sewer hookups.

Special Districts Administrator Mark Dellinger was asked to come over to the meeting. He provided numbers that showed that the RV parks are charged $1.48 for units without a sewer hookup, and $2.48 for those that are hooked up to sewer. In a mobile home park, hookup fees are $19.50 a year, the same as a single-family home.

That amounts to $16.75 of lost county revenue per spot, plus lost transient occupancy tax on top of it. “Those are the kind of things that are going to get peoples' attention,” said Smith.

On top of that, the county is raising rates for legitimate ratepayers, said Brown.

Dellinger said hotels and motels are charged $19.50 for the hookup for the managers' quarters, $4.43 for units without kitchens and $5.51 when kitchens are included. Cox added that he's as concerned about motels and hotels converting to long-term rentals as he is the RV parks.

Upper Lake resident Betsy Cawn said the situation with RV parks has evolved over the last 40 to 60 years. “This is a rural, tough place to live.”

Smith, however, said that Cawn was wrong about the RV and trailer parks issue being spawned that many years ago. Rather, he said in the early 1980s, when the Homestake gold mine took off, every resort in the south county was filled with transient workers. About the same time, The Geysers became active.

A two- to three-year boom in resort rental activity began the conversion from seasonal resorts to more permanent living conditions, he said. Some of those resorts were sold in the early 1990s and the long-term rentals continued. Past boards didn't jump in, and Smith said it's time to fix it.

Coel said many of the resorts are being purchased by new owners who intend to run them as permanent housing.

Board votes on a direction

Cox said he knew of several resorts that have changed hands in the last few years in which the owners have converted them to permanent rentals.

“I have tried to do something about that,” he said.

Cox said he's taken it to Code Enforcement, where the staff “is getting mixed messages from the Board of Supervisors about what you want them to do.”

The board voted unanimously to direct staff to identify and prioritize the correction of zoning violations on newer resorts which have illegally converted to long-term housing, and to have staff compile a comprehensive list of resort locations currently in violation of the zoning codes.

The 5-0 vote, said Smith, should make it very clear to Code Enforcement how the board feels.

Brown said if there are other concerns that arise due to enforcement, they should be brought to the full board.

Rushing said she was confused by the implication that such concerns hadn't been brought to the board. She said, for the record, that she didn't remember ever asking Code Enforcement to stop an action on a noncompliant RV park.

“I've not been asked by any board member to stop,” Coel told Lake County News on Wednesday. “I think the concern was just to be cautious because peoples' lives are going to be affected.”

He estimated that the number of RV parks, mobile home parks with RV spaces and other types of resort properties with some kind of RV rentals available could number about 100. The ones with the biggest problems will become Code Enforcement's priority.

The RV park enforcement arises, however, just as the funding for enhanced Code Enforcement is running out. Coel said the money will be completely spent by June 30, which could necessitate eliminating two positions or reducing the entire division to four-fifths time.

The county may be able to recover transient occupancy tax to help cover the enforcement, but Coel said that will take time.

“The good news is the property owners are responsible,” he said.

If someone qualifies for relocation money, that comes from the property owner, Coel said.

Resort owners who rent on a long-term basis, he said, “are doing so at their own risk.”

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