LAKEPORT – The city of Lakeport's budget gap appears to have been solved for the remainder of this fiscal year, thanks to some number crunching and careful spending measures by city staff.

The Lakeport City Council approved a series of staff recommendations to deal with the budget shortfall during a budget workshop held before its regular meeting on March 24. Councilman Jim Irwin was absent for the discussion.

Before the council was a staff report submitted by interim City Manager Kevin Burke, outlining suggestions for spending reductions and alternative revenue to meet a budget gap of about $400,000.

The city's 2008-09 budget included a $400,000 line of credit as a potential source of revenue, but the council decided in previous meetings that they didn't want to draw on that line of credit, which was never set up.

Councilman Bob Rumfelt said he was surprised to see the budget issue raised again, because he had thought the council had settled on how to take care of it, including scaling back on spending.

Burke explained that his report included both the original budget recommendations and some new information, specifically additional funds available through the Regional Surface Transportation Fund.

His report laid out the latest on the city's financial situation, including a savings of $40,000 due to employee furloughs and a clerical error that unnecessarily allocated $17,000 in one budget area, which resulted in an approximate budget gap of $343,000.

That shortfall, said Burke, could be addressed in a variety of ways.

He said staff recommended that the city not draw down any of its funds through the sale of city property.

Instead, he proposed restructuring the Safe Routes to School grant – to be used for street improvements to Lakeport schools – and using $280,000 from the the Regional Surface Transportation Fund to advance for the project instead of using general fund money. Burke would then use general fund money previously allocated for the project to cover the rest of the budget gap.

Burke's report outlined other department head recommendations, including implementing the “golden handshake” early retirement option, which would realize only small savings this year but would see $161,000 in reduced personnel costs over the two fiscal years after it's implemented.

The staff also suggested suspending paving activities in the city for the remaining three months in the fiscal year, which would save $55,000, and freeze citywide travel and training, for another $15,000 in savings.

All told, Burke said all of those proposals would result in $350,000 to apply toward the $343,000 gap.

City department heads have been extremely conservative in their spending this fiscal year, said Burke, which will help create a buffer if revenues – such as sales tax – fall significantly short of what's expected.

Burke emphasized, “Staff never had any intention of using that line of credit.” He said staff never applied for it.

Mayor Ron Bertsch didn't want to see paving suspended. He said the money in the paving account hasn't been spent in the nine months of the current fiscal year, and he wanted to know why.

Public Works Director Doug Grider wasn't at the meeting, so Burke explained that last summer and fall there was a lot of paving going on, especially along Highway 20, and Caltrans ended up taking most of the area's available asphalt. “It was a great frustration on Doug's part.”

Grider had voiced that frustration to the council last year as part of regular reports to the council.

Councilman Roy Parmentier, who is a member of the Lake County City/Area Planning Council, said that council sent a letter to the state about the asphalt issue, adding that Caltrans didn't care.

Bertsch had suggested freezing some other city accounts, but Burke said if they did it could make city operations extremely cumbersome, with the council essentially becoming department heads and needing to approve everyday purchases from paper clips to bullets. “We have routine expenses from those categories.”

Rumfelt supported approving the staff recommendations. “We don't need to tie everybody's hands. Once we've got rid of that $400,000, let's move on.”

Bertsch said he didn't want to suspend the paving, and Burke admitted it was a hard choice.

Parmentier said he went through the budget and found more than $100,000 in potential cuts. “There's a lot of stuff that's in here that doesn't need to be in here,” he said.

Burke said that, overall, the budget is a good representation of the city's funds.

Rumfelt moved to accept recommendations, with Council member Suzanne Lyons seconding the motion.

Bertsch said the next three months may be the only time the city is able to do any paving. Burke suggested that the $55,000 in proposed savings by not paving is small enough that the city's continued conservative spending could absorb it if the council wanted to see paving continue.

Rumfelt amended his motion to remove the paving suspension from the list of recommendations, with Lyons again seconding. The motion was accepted 4-0.

Next up for city staff, said Burke, is beginning work on the 2009-10 fiscal year budget, which will go into effect this summer.

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CLEARLAKE – At its March 26 meeting the Clearlake City Council decided to continue a discussion regarding a loan to the developer of low-income housing complex.

City Administrator Dale Neiman took to the council a proposal to loan $700,000 to Irvine-based Global Premier to help cover a portion of the $761,877 in cost overruns and $878,239 in developer impact fees for sewer, water and school districts the developer incurred on its local projects.

As part of the deal, the city would receive 55-year affordability covenants on 108 units at the Adagio and Olympic Village apartment complexes. Those 108 units, along with 38 units the city has covenants for already at the Walnut Grove apartments, would bring the city's total to 146, just 22 short of what it needs to meet it the city's redevelopment housing production requirement, according to Neiman's report.

Neiman said the council previously had given him direction to negotiate a $700,000 loan with Global Premier for the Edgewater, Adagio and Olympic Village projects, but he said the Edgewater didn't obtain its longterm financing and won't be built.

The city would receive a total of $853,581 in payments, said Neiman, with interest on the loan set at 3 percent. The interest on the loan wouldn't begin to accrue until the 14^th year of the loan. Global Premier would pay off the loan in its 24^th year.

“If you don't do this deal, you've got to find covenants somewhere else,” said Neiman, suggesting that the city would have to get other developers to come in.

Council member Joyce Overton said its sounded to her like the city was buying the covenants, and she questioned the low interest rate and 13 years with no interest on the loan.

Neiman said they could change the agreement to include interest accrual earlier in the agreement, but that would lengthen the time it would take for Global Premier to pay back the loan.

“The easy thing to do is just ignore this,” Neiman said of the need to pursue affordable housing.

But that wasn't his suggestion, reminding the council that the 38 housing covenants the city current has resulted from the city being forced to get them due to litigation.

Neiman said the city has paid more than $161,000 for each of its affordable housing units previously, while the proposed agreement would mean they would paying a little under $7,000 per unit.

Michael de la Torre, a Global Premier project manager, said the delay in paying interest gives the company a chance to pay back federal tax credits to the Internal Revenue Service. He said they have 15 years to pay back those credits or else the IRS can take away the financing.

“We just have an obligation to pay them back first,” he said.

He told the council that Global Premier is willing to consider the new percentage, but the city wouldn't get its money back as quickly.

Overton said they may not get the money back as quickly but they'll receive more money if the interest rate accrual terms are changed. She said she wanted to postpone a decision in order to have staff bring back budget scenarios. Neiman said there is some financial information that they can't disclose to protect the company.

The council eventually decided in a 4-1 vote – with Councilman Curt Giambruno voting no – to bring the discussion back next month.

In other news, the council voted unanimously to continue a second reading of a resolution to rezone the Provinsalia property. Neiman had proposed they postpone it in order to give the city attorney a chance to provide a report on the city's handling of the Feb. 26 in relation to the Brown Act.

The council also approved sales of surplus property – a 25 foot by 100 foot lot on Austin Drive to be sold for $3,000; a 7-foot-wide strip in Lakeshore to be sold for $5,000; and a lot on Davis Street that dead ends into Highway 53, which is worth $40,000 but needs $30,000 of engineered fill to make it buildable, for a sale value of $10,000.

Also approved was an agreement with the North Central Counties Consortium to give young people ages 16 to 24 education and work experience. Neiman said the city is seeking two people for office work and three to five for park and street maintenance.

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LAKEPORT – The Lakeport City Council will wait until all of its members are present at an April 21 meeting to make a final decision about changes to the language of its draft general plan and certification of the document's final environmental impact report (EIR).

Councilman Jim Irwin was absent from Tuesday's meeting during which the two documents, and their final approval, was discussed at length.

The general plan update has been in the works for years. Following public workshops late last year, it was discovered that language about a specific plan area – relating to the 600-acre City of Lakeport Municipal Sewer District (CLMSD) property south of the city limits along Highway 175 – had inadvertently been left out after being approved by the council in 2007.

At its Feb. 25 meeting the Lakeport Planning Commission approved resolutions that recommended adoption of the general plan update and certifying the final EIR.

The commission at that time also recommended adding in language about the specific area plan, which is meant to provide “sufficient direction and details” regarding the city's future expansion of its sphere of influence (SOI) related to the specific area plan as well as the property's potential development.

The draft general plan's land use element describes the specific plan area this way: “This designation covers the city-owned property and a few private properties south of the current SOI but within the proposed SOI. The area is proposed for single and multiple-family residential; including cooperative ownership properties to serve the vacation market; a golf course; and limited commercial, such as a clubhouse or restaurant. Based on the recommended density range of 1-2 units per acre, the Specific Plan Area could see between 600 and 1,200 residential units at buildout.”

The commission accepted Community Development Department staff recommendations that would require a specific plan be prepared for developing the area. That document would analyze development and its proposed distribution, as well as infrastructure and “other essential facilities proposed to be located within the area covered by the plan and needed to support the land uses described in the plan.” It also would lay out standards for land development and conservation.

Additional language the city's general plan consultant suggested should be added included the following paragraph: “The Specific Plan Area is a high priority for the City for a number of reasons. First it is the site of the City's wastewater treatment, storage, and disposal facilities which must be operational at all times and expanded periodically in order to comply with the Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) permit and accommodate future growth. Second, a preliminary analysis has been completed that indicates that the existing treatment facility could be upgraded to tertiary treatment and the treated water used to irrigate parks, golf course, landscaping, and food crops (subject to RWQCB permit). This is beneficial because water is a valuable commodity in Lakeport. Third, the City has had an interest in the feasibility of developing a golf course for many years.”

The specific plan area has never been subject to public land use evaluation or a planning process by the city except for activities associated with the city's wastewater facilities. The city will have to complete a specific plan before submitting an application to the Local Area Formation Commission to amend the city's sphere of influence.

At Tuesday's meeting, several local residents raised issues with the plans, including Upper Lake resident Betsy Cawn, who said she had wanted to appeal the planning commission's decision but found there was no way to do so under the California Environmental Quality Act.

She rebutted a statement made by staff that the general plan itself had been reviewed in December workshops, saying at no time during those meetings were the drafts of the general plan or EIR discussed. Cawn also pointed to inconsistencies in the documents, and read a long list of other problems she had with them.

“You guys can't have it both ways,” she said, adding that they can't attach a large-scale subdivision to the city's south end and still maintain Lakeport's small town charm and support the integrity of its downtown plan. “Those two things are really in conflict.”

Cawn said she believed the major changes being sought in the documents require that they be recirculated to the public.

Anthony Farrington, who represents the greater Lakeport area on the Board of Supervisors, said he received an e-mail from Council member Suzanne Lyons asking for county input.

Farrington suggested the city look at a standalone water element such as the county had created as part of its general plan process, which concluded last fall. He also discussed traffic mitigation fees and noted restrictions on the size of “big box” stores that can help local businesses.

He questioned why the city wanted to keep its sphere of influence on the western side of Highway 29 when some residents in that area had been resistant to annexation.

Community Development and Utilities Director Mark Brannigan said the city is looking more to the south where they see the growth taking place. He said that's what the community wants.

Business owner Cheri Holden said she also had concerned about the way the documents were being handled. “I have some problems in general with our general plan and the EIR.”

She said the city needs to do the best job they can with the plans. Holden said she didn't believe the documents addressed climate change and suggested taking out the enlarged sphere of influence altogether.

“I don't think our community is ready or needs that at this point,” she said, suggesting the council wait for Irwin to return before taking a vote.

Roberta Actor-Thomas, who lives in Kelseyville but owns property at Lakeport's south end, said the city has enough commercial and industry development area – about 60 acres – to last until 2025, and enough residential lots to go through 2017. She suggested having mixed use areas where residential development is located over businesses.

She said formula store and national chains “suck money out of our community,” and don't create high quality jobs.

Longtime city resident Bob Bridges said the council has, over the years, done a good job preserving the city's small-town charm.

However, like others who spoke before him, Bridges questioned the general plan, saying he felt it was playing down important factors such as proposed growth.

The draft general plan suggests that by changing the city's sphere just over, 2,800 new residents will be added, which he said sounds reasonable for a city of just over 5,000.

However, he said he started doing the math, and when adding up all of the potential building sites the new plan would include, it comes to more than 2,000. At 2.5 people per home, the number of new residents is much higher then the plan reports.

A 3-percent growth rate, which he said is aggressive, would require 75 new houses a year and a total of 1,100 building sites.

“This plan has just got so much extra area built into it. I don't know how it got by everybody,” said Bridges. “We're going to become like a Rohnert Park the way this is looking.”

Bridges, who works in the county counsel's office but was speaking as a private citizen, said he's seen a lot of economic studies over the years, and all show that residential development doesn't pay for itself.

Local governments usually only get about 12 cents on every dollars of property tax, Bridges said. So for every $300,000 home built, the city would get $360 of the annual $3,000 property tax bill. If the city grew at 3 percent a year, those 75 new homes would only bring in $27,000 in property tax annually, but would cost about $250,000 annually to police.

Pointing to a city mission statement on the wall that mentioned the city growing to a population of between 10,000 and 20,000 – not the 7,500 the updated plan is said to cover – Bridges said he believed that was the city's real goal.

Bridges suggested more utilities rate hikes will be necessary to cover water and sewer system expansions, so he said the general plan should focus on infill. He stated the specific plan area was “unneeded and unjustified.”

“It's reasonable to build in a surplus factor,” said Bridges. “I just think you're getting carried away.”

Council debates how to plan for the future

During the council's discussion, Lyons said she believed the expanded sphere of influence seems to be about the CLMSD property and its development.

When she's asked city staff about its inclusion, they've told her that it's what the council wants. “This may be a different city council and a different time in which this project was started,” she said.

She added, “Maybe the model we're looking at is more of a 1950s, drive-to-it-subdivision around a golf course that is not viable for 2009.”

There already are concerns about water availability and golf courses are very water intensive, said Lyons. She suggested that, by not changing the city's sphere of influence, several problems – including “significant, unavoidable impacts” the plans cites – would go away.

Kim Hudson, who works with Quad Knopf, the city's planning consultant, explained that even if they took out the sphere of influence there still would be traffic issues. “We usually expect to have unavoidable impacts, especially on a program level EIR,” Hudson said.

Councilman Bob Rumfelt said many of the questions about the plan and impacts can't be answered now because they don't know how technology will change in the years ahead.

Referring to water supply, he said many things are changing in the field of wastewater treatment. “Water is going to be the new petroleum.”

He said there's talk about being able to treat wastewater to the point it may be drinkable, but the technology isn't cheap enough yet. He added that in 20 years they may not even use roads anymore.

Lyons posed the question, “What is it that we really want?”

She believed the EIR and plan could be approved without the sphere of influence changes.

Mayor Ron Bertsch asked if she thought the city should have influence over land it owns. Lyons pointed out the land is still being paid for and isn't owned outright by the city.

Councilman Roy Parmentier, who has long advocated for the golf course development on the CLMSD property, said it should be brought into the city's sphere.

“We're gonna grow,” he said. A golf course will bring tourists and money. “If they like it here they'll move here.”

The houses that will be built won't be low-income, he added, and the owners will pay their taxes.

Lyons said she saw just that day 10 foreclosures published in the local paper. Some of those homes were valued at more than $400,000. “Maybe they don't have as much money as we think they do,” she said of homeowners.

Parmentier, who appeared clearly annoyed during the discussion, said they need to plan for their city's future, even if the land isn't developed. If a development was built, however, he said the city would get a new tertiary treatment plant that would produce water for its parks and golf course. “We'd be saving water.”

He added, “Don't say no 'til you see the picture.”

Lyons said everything she's heard about golf courses is that they don't make money. Both Parmentier and Rumfelt responded that nothing had been finalized. Parmentier added that there isn't even a concept on the table.

That land and its development, however, had been the subject of extensive discussion in 2006 and 2007, with the city looking at having Boeger Land Development build a project there. As part of that proposal, the company was given a first right of refusal on purchasing the Dutch Harbor property on the lakeshore, where a hotel was proposed to be built.

Council asked City Attorney Steve Brookes for his thoughts on what to do next, and he suggested they bring it back for a full council.

Before the council continued the matter, they agreed by consensus to remove restrictions on the size of big box stores from the plan. Rumfelt said if the market won't handle such businesses, they won't attempt to locate here. He agreed with Bridges that residential development doesn't bring communities money, but businesses do.

Parmentier said he thought the big box provision wasn't in the plan. Brannigan said the council asked it to be added after a workshop last November.

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

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CLEARLAKE – Clearlake city staff is recommending the Clearlake City Council delay a decision on the Provinsalia subdivision plan rezone.

 

The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive. TV Channel 8 will broadcast the meeting live.

 

On the agenda is a second reading of the resolution – approved on its first reading on Feb. 26 – to rezone the land that's part of the Provinsalia project from resource protection to specific plan.

 

Lake County Resort Partners Inc. is proposing that the project's 665 housing units and nine-hole golf course be built at 17012, 17055 and 17065 Dam Road. The total project area encompasses 292 acres along Cache Creek.

 

The rezoning ordinance also was on the March 12 meeting agenda, at which time Vice Mayor Judy Thein asked for an opinion from Malathy Subramanian, the city's attorney, on whether or not the city had properly conducted a public hearing on the project on Feb. 26. The council agreed by consensus to seek the opinion.

 

The council had limited the scope of public comment on Feb. 26, leading to a public outcry and a grand jury complaint alleging Brown Act violations.

 

However, a brief report to the council from City Administrator Dale Neiman said Subramanian did not believe she could have a report for the Thursday meeting. He urges the council to continue the matter to the April 9 meeting, at which time Subramanian's report will be ready.

 

In other business, Neiman will take to the council a proposal for a redevelopment agency loan to Global Premier to finance developer impact fees and cost overruns for the low-income Olympic Village project. The proposed loan amount is for $700,000

 

The council also will consider selling surplus property and a portion of Davis Street; entering into an agreement with the North Central Counties Consortium to employ people between the ages of 16 to 24; look at authorizing the GAP grant application; review the city's insurance services office rating of the building department; and make presentations to Linda Gibson of St. Helena Hospital-Clearlake and Cathy Wilson for a street cleaning event planned for May 9.

 

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

 

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LAKEPORT – Citing concerns about fire danger and safety for children, the Lakeport City Council on Tuesday voted down applications by four local nonprofits seeking to sell fireworks during the July 4 holiday.

 

The Lake County Channel Cats, Miss Lake County Scholarship Program, the Clear Lake High School Boosters and the Terrace School Parent Teacher Organization applied to the city to once again sell safe and sane fireworks, which the groups say is a major fundraiser for them during the year.

 

The applications went to various city department heads, with interim City Manager and Police Chief Kevin Burke suggesting that a detailed review by Lakeport Fire Protection District Chief Ken Wells due to drought concerns was in order.

 

Wells did review the four groups' requests, and denied all of them based on the state's drought declaration and his district's economic constraints.

 

The nonprofit groups and about 60 supporters packed the council chambers Tuesday to ask the council to approve the applications despite Wells' stance.

 

The city of Lakeport is the only place in Lake County where safe and sane fireworks can be purchased during the July 4 holiday. Last summer, Wells asked for a temporary suspension of fireworks sales because of the catastrophic fire season. At that time, all of the groups voluntarily agreed not to sell the fireworks because of those concerns.

 

On Tuesday, Dennis Revell – whose company, Revell Communications, is the public relations arm for American Promotional Events Inc./TNT Fireworks, the state's leading wholesale distributor of state fire marshal-approved fireworks – appeared before the council Tuesday to argue against the proposed denial.

 

Revell said 113 communities in 28 counties across Northern California allow the use of fireworks. He said the groups had supported the temporary suspension last summer, but he emphasized that none of the fires that raged across the state in the summer of 2008 resulted from safe and sane fireworks. Revell also argued that the state's water situation is not as grim as some previous drought years.

 

The groups are all struggling to raise funds, said Revell, which is becoming tougher because of the present economy. “It's basically a perfect storm for these nonprofits organizations.”

 

The safe and sane fireworks industry helped craft SB 39 to stop illegal fireworks, said Revell. He recommended the city allow the fireworks sales this year, but suggested they codify a restriction that fireworks only can be sold for four days rather than the six currently allowed for under city code. In addition, he suggested prohibiting use between 11 p.m. and 9 a.m. during the four-day use period, and assessing fines as high as $1,000 for improper firework usage.

 

Wells said the governor's Feb. 27 drought declaration resulted from three years of below-average rainfall. That, added to the economic constraints faced by the district, led him to deny the fireworks applications.

 

He said he didn't have the staff to deal with potential fire situations. Wells also had letters of support from fellow Lake County fire chiefs.

 

“Fireworks do not stop at the city boundaries,” said Wells, adding that the sales affect everyone in the county.

 

Lakeport Fire Capt. Bob Holbrook told the council that fire officials were obligated to bring their concerns forward.

 

“We realize that this is a touchy situation and topic but it's our responsibility as the fire department to protect the lives and property of the people we serve,” he said. “If we did not do that we would not be performing our responsibilities.”

 

Holbrook emphasized the potential for danger to life and property that fireworks – even state-approved ones – pose.

 

Nationwide, fireworks are responsible for $20 million in property damage and 10,000 injuries during the July 4 holiday, Holbrook said. The average age of those going to emergency rooms is between 10 and 14.

 

Most of Lake's neighboring counties have accepted full bans, and some partial firework bans, Holbrook said, adding that they wanted to see Lake County added to that list of those with full bans in place.

 

Holbrook said the district didn't have the funding to put more people on duty during the July 4 holiday, when the city is crowded with visitors.

 

Because of district constraints around the county, Holbrook said they can't rely on mutual aid as they normally would during the summer holiday. “We're going to be pretty much on our own.”

 

Holbrook showed a short video about a family whose 3-year-old child was hit in the head by a firework and died the next day.

 

Councilman Bob Rumfelt asked Wells about various fire scenarios and how much it costs to suppress a grass fire of a few acres – a few thousand dollars, including $750 an hour for a fire engine, said Wells – up to tens of thousands of dollars for larger wildland fires.

 

At the beginning of public comment, City Attorney Steve Brookes went before the council as a board member of the Kelseyville Fire District, where a fireworks ban is in place. It makes sense for that area, said Brookes, because of the wildland areas and fire danger.

 

“I can see both sides,” said Brookes, who spoke in favor of letting the groups sell fireworks in Lakeport.

 

Groups struggle to find alternative fundraisers

 

Tom Jordan, president of the Clear Lake High School Boosters, acknowledged the council was facing a tremendous challenge. “To me, the issue is risk versus benefit.”

 

He suggested there is an economic benefit for both the city and the groups.

 

Last year, when the nonprofits agreed not to sell fireworks, they walked door-to-door to seek donations and raised a total of $600 – a fraction of the $15,000 to $18,000 each group raises annually through fireworks sales, Jordan said.

 

“We don't know of an alternative fundraiser,” he said.

 

Maile Field, the parent of two Channel Cats, said she was impressed by the competence of local fire officials. At the same time, however, she was offended by the emotional plea of the video Holbrook showed.

 

There's nothing worse than losing a child, said Field. “Statistically, we're saving more lives by teaching our kids to swim.”

 

Field said the club teaches 80 children to swim each year. Fireworks sales support those activities and bring money into the community. She urged everyone in the room to have a can do attitude and think of ways to help the fire department to make the sales happen.

 

Rob Alves, treasurer of the Terrace School Parent Teacher Organization, said the group is now being called on to fund some very basic educational needs because of the schools' budget challenges.

 

“We'd love to have something else to do to raise the kind of money we need to raise,” he said.

 

Several young Channel Cats also spoke to the council of how important the club is to them, not just for learning to swim and competing in swim meets, but getting to meet other children.

 

During the meeting it also was pointed out that the Lakeport Unified School District will no longer help pay a third of the funds for the Westshore Pool, which the Channel Cats will have to find a way to offset. Pool supporters also noted that people must be 21 or older to purchase the fireworks.

 

Supervisor Anthony Farrington attended the meeting and spoke, pointing out there were good arguments on both sides.

 

“The pendulum has swung pretty hard toward public safety and the prohibition against fireworks,” he said.

 

He said the bigger debate is whether or not it makes sense to ban fireworks, and he also took umbrage with the video Holbrook showed, saying it had nothing to do with the principal issue – drought – that the fire district had cited in denying the applications. The video would be more applicable in a larger debate about using fireworks.

 

He stated there are more drownings in Clear Lake and water bodies in surrounding areas than injuries resulting from fireworks. Farrington suggested the council designate certain areas where the fireworks can be used, such as the old Nylander's shopping center on High Street and Vista Point Shopping Center on Lakeport Boulevard, both of which have a lot of asphalt and water access.

 

Rumfelt suggested to Farrington that they work together on a property tax assessment to help make grants to schools and recreational groups. Farrington said the county has looked at reviving its recreation district but polls suggest that there isn't the support for it, largely because of the economy.

 

Bonnie Bonnett of the Clear Lake High School Boosters said she's been selling fireworks since her son was 8 years old, and the nonprofits that sell the fireworks have had a good working relationship with local officials.

 

She was concerned about all the fear she was hearing about fireworks. There were better choices than banning fireworks, and she embraced the ideas of stiffer fines and other solutions. Bonnett said the boosters gave $8,000 to help cover school transportation needs this year.

 

Revell suggested that the council could add a value-added tax to fireworks to help pay for police and fire services. He added that the child profiled in the video Lakeport Fire showed was hit by a kind of firework that is illegal in California.

 

Rumfelt asked Burke about the situation on a typical July 4 holiday. “Fourth of July is hands down the busiest night of the year for the police department,” Burke said, explaining that it's the only night of the year that every staff member – including him – is on duty.

 

Because of dealing with a full city, he said his staff wouldn't have time to enforce new fine ordinances. Usually, they simply confiscate illegal fireworks and move on.

 

Mayor Ron Bertsch and Councilman Roy Parmentier both were concerned about the potential for injuries from fireworks.

 

Council member Suzanne Lyons, however, said she didn't know where all the fear came from, pointing out that Christmas trees are responsible for home fires each year.

 

“I am just wondering how this became this amazingly terrifying proposition,” said Lyons, said added that she likes fireworks. “It kind of escapes me.”

 

Rumfelt said he's also enjoyed fireworks over the years, and he struggled with solutions to help the groups find alternative funding sources.

 

Lakeport resident Melissa Fulton asked the council to postpone a decision on the applications, pointing out that the nonprofits have struggled for a year to replace the fireworks funding. “They've not been able to do that.”

 

Rumfelt said the fireworks issue hadn't arisen overnight. He said he's talked to many people about fireworks, many of them opposing the sales.

 

Fulton argued that it would be fairer to the organizations involved to table the decision.

 

After about two hours, the council closed the public discussion, at which time Rumfelt moved to deny the applications, which Parmentier seconded. The council voted 3-1 to deny the applications, with Lyons voting no. Councilman Jim Irwin was absent from the meeting.

 

Brookes said the groups can reapply to sell fireworks.

 

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LAKE COUNTY – The Lake County Board of Supervisors recently approved a strategic effort targeted at attracting commercial and resort investment to Lake County.

At its Feb. 24 meeting, Supervisor Anthony Farrington asked the Board to direct the County’s Economic Development staff to develop a marketing strategy designed to position local projects as investment opportunities and to allocate one-time funds to recruit a firm to assist in a targeted attraction effort.

The board agreed with the concept and directed Economic Development staff to prepare a draft set of criteria for determining which projects to include in the promotional effort and also to prepare a draft request for proposals to seek consulting assistance with the outreach effort.

Both drafts were approved by the Board at its March 17 meeting.

“With the current state of the economy, it is extremely important that our board do what we can to assist local business,” Farrington said. “I believe this effort, which will represent a public-private partnership, has the potential to lure capital to local projects, many of which are in need of investment dollars to either get off the ground or to continue development that already has begun.”

Farrington said he envisioned reaching out directly to potential investors at all levels – local, state, national and perhaps even international.

Lake County’s Administrative Officer Kelly Cox said, “We see this effort as a direct way to promote local investment opportunities that will have a positive impact on our local economy, and most importantly, create or retain local jobs.”

The board acknowledged several types of opportunities in the county, from commercial and light industrial projects to resort developments, all in various stages of planning and completion, as well as differences in the scale of job creation and/or retention.

Also noted was the need for property owners to demonstrate their own investment in the development by having completed some level of project planning, such as conceptual designs, feasibility analysis, or environmental reviews.

To that end, the approved set of criteria addresses these issues and puts forth a selection committee consisting of the chair of the Board of Supervisors, the Community Development director and the deputy chief administrative officer for Economic Development. The committee will use the approved criteria to determine which properties will be included in the effort.

The board also approved staff’s recommendation to pursue advisory assistance from CALED, the California Association for Local Economic Development. In addition, staff will be working to develop professional promotional materials specifically for use in this investment attraction effort.

Those interested in having their project/property considered for inclusion in this attraction effort will need to complete a project submission form, available from the Lake County Administrative Office, and submit it no later than April 7.

For more information, contact Debra Sommerfield, Deputy Administrative Officer for Economic Development, in the Lake County Administrative Office at 707-263-2580.

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