LAKEPORT – The Lakeport City Council will hear a report on traffic impact fees, discuss expanding the city's business loan program and reconsider a general plan issue it voted on last month.

The council's regularly scheduled meeting will begin at 6 p.m. at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.

An hour before that regular meeting, a 5 p.m. workshop for the council on the Brown Act and requirements of the Fair Political Practices Commission will get underway.

Brown Act-related concerns also are bringing back to the council a discussion on language that was left out of the city's general plan.

On Jan. 6, the council held a discussion about the general plan language, which had been inadvertently overlooked and not forwarded to the city's general plan update consultant, as Lake County News has reported.

During that discussion, Mayor Ron Bertsch neglected to open the discussion for public comment until after a vote had been taken and a local resident Janet Cawn questioned them about it.

The matter came up again at the council's next meeting on Jan. 20. At that time, new Council member Suzanne Lyons said she wanted the council to rescind the vote and allow input, saying she believed the council broke the Brown Act in the way the vote was conducted.

City Attorney Steve Brookes said that there was no need to characterize it as a Brown Act violation since the council had finally opened the discussion for public comment. “We tried to cure it,” he said.

Cawn faulted Brookes for what she said was a “snide” attitude, which she said didn't encourage public input on the topic.

Bertsch said at the time that it would be placed back on the agenda.

No staff report accompanies the Tuesday reconsideration, but Lyons confirmed to Lake County News on Sunday that the item is supposed to be back up for a vote. “That's what the plan is,” she said.

Traffic impact fees return to council

County Public Works Director Brent Siemer will give a presentation to the council on the restructured traffic impact fee program,

Traffic impact fees would be assigned to development projects in order to fund future road improvements around the county.

A report to the council from City Engineer Scott Harter explains that the Lake County City/Area Planning Council has been working to develop a countywide traffic model for the year 2030, which includes the suggested fees and road improvements.

Last year, the fees were presented to the council, which pointed to numerous concerns, chief among them the cost. The fees as proposed at that time, as proposed for Lakeport, would have risen from $22,300 to $46,419, as Lake County News has reported.

However, Harter reported that elements of the draft study have since been revised and include a new fee structure that he said is consistent with the surrounding zones in the study. Siemer's report suggests maximum fees to range between $5,000 and $10,000.

The proposal also includes incentives and discounts on projects for nearness to essential services and incorporating green technologies.

“Traffic impacts will occur,” Harter's report to the council states. “They are the direct result of the council's vision to encourage development as embodied in the general plan. Adoption of a fee will provide a mechanism to assist in mitigating the effects that the increased traffic will have on the city's infrastructure.”

He added that the fees raised can only be used for projects the study specifically identifies. That will have the affect of freeing up general fund monies to be used for much-needed maintenance projects, Harter said.

Harter's report suggests that the council accept the draft report and direct city staff to work with the Area Planning Commission's Technical Advisory Committee to develop several items including the leveled fee structure, incentives and a program for stewardship of the fees.

Formal guidelines of business loan program to be presented

At the Jan. 20 City Council meeting, Redevelopment Director Richard Knoll presented the idea of having the city sell certain properties – including Dutch Harbor, a parcel on Bevins Street, and the city's fire and police departments – to the Lakeport Redevelopment Agency in order to bring new funds into the city's general plan.

The idea, as Knoll explained, was to use some of the money to help expand the city's business loan program, including the Business Stabilization Loan Program.

The stabilization loans – ranging from $15,000 to $75,000 – would provide working capital to local businesses at a very low interest rate at a time when credit is hard for many business people to secure. Knoll said many Lakeport businesses are barely hanging on due to the sputtering economy. It could significantly affect the city and its sales tax revenues if many of these businesses close, he said.

There will be some risk to the city, Knoll's report said. The loans will therefore require underwriting guidelines and approval of the city's Business Loan Committee.

Legal fees, committees and applications on the agenda

In other council news, council members will consider accepting a bill for more than $17,000 in legal fees for outside legal help for a lawsuit involving the Vista Point Shopping Center, in which the city is named as a defendant.

Last year developer Barry Johnson sued the city and Matt Riveras, the man who was awarded the opportunity to buy the shopping center, saying the city had an exclusive negotiating agreement with him for the sale and that Riveras was given an unfair advantage because then-Mayor Willis “Buzz” Bruns is his father-in-law.

The legal bill from McDonough, Holland and Allen arose at the Jan. 20 meeting and the council sought further information about it before they approved it. Bertsch said the $17,271.34 bill wasn't budgeted.

Brookes responded that he didn't know why, since he said he told City Manager Jerry Gillham it needed to be budgeted. Gillham currently is on leave with the Oregon National Guard, and had been overseas in Iraq before having a mild stroke late last year, as Lake County News has reported.

In other council matters, the council will consider applications from the Norcal Aircooled Group to hold a Volkswagen car show on Park Street, between First and Third Street and on Second Street between Park and Main streets, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, June 27; and a multi-event application from the Main Street Association for Taste of Lakeport on Aug. 21 from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m., the July 4 crafts booths and beer both from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., dinner night at Library Park from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. May 24 and the Children's Push Pull and Doggie Parade on Friday, Dec. 11, from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Under city council communications, formation of a citizens committee to address budget issues including Measures I and J will be discussed.

Following the open portion of the meeting, the council will go into closed session to discuss property negotiations for 1473 Martin St., 902 Bevins Court and the Green Ranch; discuss existing litigation, in particular the City of Lakeport vs. Browning and City of Lakeport vs. Vincent; and for negotiations with employee groups.

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

{mos_sb_discuss:3}

LAKEPORT – School district consolidation will once again be before the Board of Supervisors this Tuesday.

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

On the agenda again this week is a proposed resolution supporting a feasibility task force by the Lake County Office of Education to explore school district consolidation in Lake County. The discussion is set to begin at 9:15 a.m.

The resolution had been set for consideration at last week's meeting, but was delayed because Lake County Superintendent of Schools Dave Geck could not attend.

The consolidation discussion first went to the board on Jan. 6. Businessman Lowell Grant asked the supervisors to help get the discussion started with a view to using thinning educational resources in the best way possible.

In untimed items, county Chief Administrative Officer Kelly Cox will make a mid-year budget review presentation to the board and offer revenue estimates for the fiscal year 2008-09 final budget.

Other items on the Tuesday agenda include the following.

Timed items:

10:15 a.m.: Public hearing to consider recommendations for the allocation of Supplemental Local Law Enforcement Services.

10:30 a.m.: Public hearing: Discussion/consideration of future grant applications for the Community Development Block Grant Program.

Untimed items:

– Consideration of applications from members of the public for appointment to miscellaneous Lake County committees, commissions and advisory boards.

– Consideration of proposed letters to congressional delegation requesting support for federal appropriations for Kelseyville Wastewater Treatment Plant Facility.

– An ordinance temporarily suspending the 2008 fee increase approved by Ordinance No. 2829, establishing the fee schedule for Environmental Health Programs of the Lake County Department of Health Services (second reading).

– Ordinance amending Chapter 15 of the Lake County Code providing for dogs to be on leash under the control of the their owners or the owners' agents in designated areas of six county parks.

A closed session will be held for a conference with the county's labor negotiators and to discuss potential litigation.

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

{mos_sb_discuss:3}

LUCERNE – Lucerne residents received an update on projects in their community and the state of the county's finances on Saturday.

Hosted by District 3 Supervisor Denise Rushing, the afternoon meeting was held at the Lucerne Alpine Senior Center, the site of all of Rushing's previous town halls in Lucerne.

“We're not going to solve world problems. We're going to work on Lucerne,” Rushing told the crowd of close to 70 people.

The meeting focused on updates on several fronts, from redevelopment to the county's fiscal health.

Accompanying Rushing to the Saturday forum were Deputy Redevelopment Direct Eric Seely and county Chief Administrative Officer Kelly Cox.

Seely updated town residents on a variety of redevelopment projects.

One of redevelopment's most recent accomplishments is the Harbor Village Artists colony next to Lucerne Harbor Park on Highway 20, said Seely. The county recently installed new street lights there and is preparing to have a mural painted.

There's also the Lake County Sheriff's regional office across from the park. Seely said Sheriff Rod Mitchell intends to assign deputies there full-time to serve the entire Northshore.

Regarding the Lucerne Hotel – known locally as “the Castle” – Seely said the Board of Supervisors gave redevelopment and county administrative staff direction to give the building's owners technical assistance in finding a buyer. That includes using grant funds for a structural evaluation and appraisal.

Seely said the county wants to see the building renovated and used as a lodging facility that can act as an economic catalyst to create jobs and bring money to the area.

The sellers, a group of Northern California churches, can only hold the property for a limited time, and Seely said the county is considering purchasing parcels of the property to help give the current owners more time. That also would give the county a stronger negotiating position to make sure the property is used for a beneficial purpose.

Seely said that, if the price was right, the county could consider buying the land and holding it for resale to a developer.

Another important local landmark, the senior center itself, has received help from the county in the form of funds to pay off old debt and to make facility upgrades. Some of those work projects are set to begin soon, Seely said.

The state's current budget crisis has stopped one redevelopment effort – the Third Avenue Plaza and Pier. Seely said the state can't sell bonds right now, which has stopped the project in its tracks.

“We're basically in a freeze until they accept a budget,” he said.

As soon as those funds are released the project, which includes a new pier and park improvements to the east of the exiting Alpine Park, will be ready to go, Seely said.

Two projects that Seely said aren't hampered by those funding concerns are the Fourth and Fifth Avenue sidewalk project and a new sidewalk at the corner of Ninth Avenue and Highway 20, the latter supporting a new pharmacy set to break ground in about a month. The sidewalk projects are set to start within the next few weeks.

Seely said the county has been working with Cal Fire on a system of gates to protect the paper subdivision above the town from illegal dumping. Those gates were supposed to have been installed last year but the project was delayed.

“This is going to be an ongoing project,” said Seely, who guessed that illegal dumpers will move to other areas – possibly where there is a larger population – which could lead to more arrests because of the likelihood of witnesses.

Work also is under way to start a utility undergrounding district in Lucerne such as exists in Nice, said Seely.

It likely would take close to 10 years to accomplish, but the district would result in power poles being removed in areas of Country Club Drive and the Highway 20 corridor, with lines placed underground. He said the best place to relocate utilities is underneath current sidewalks, which would mean new sidewalks also would be installed.

Other redevelopment-aided projects on the Northshore that benefit Lucerne are the breaking of ground on a 23-unit senior housing project in Clearlake Oaks and a new fire truck for Northshore Fire Protection District, Seely said.

Rushing told the gathering that both Seely and Cox are working hard to help Lucerne.

She then introduced the Ninth Street community art project, which will build a bench and art piece out of natural building materials. The project is especially aimed at young people, said Rushing.

Informational coffee meetings will be held March 6 and April 3, with the project itself being built between May 11 and 24. She said more information will be announced closer to those dates.

The county has contracted with natural builder Massey Burke to lead the effort. Burke – who has worked on many natural building projects, including a temporary arch on the mall in Washington, DC, said natural building uses soil, sand and straw. Lake County has great colored soils filled with clay that are perfect for the building technique, she said.

In other community planning news, Rushing told the group that the draft fire safe plan for the area will be released at the start of April. The Shoreline Area Plan is expected to be released soon, and Rushing said the county's planning department noted that the group that worked over several years to assemble it was one of the most functional they've worked with so far.

Code Enforcement Manager Voris Brumfield gave an update on projects being pursued by her department, which has moved to the second floor of the Lake County Visitor Center on Highway 20 in Lucerne.

She said they're organizing a large illegal dump site cleanup in the spring and are working on the abatements of the Lucerne Motel and Lake Sands Resort on the lakeshore.

Rushing said the motel and resort properties have been long-running concerns in the town, and she thanked the Affinito family – members of which were in attendance – for working with the county to abate the buildings, which should be down soon. The buildings may, in fact, be burned down as a practice fire by the Northshore Fire Protection District.

Brumfield said the Code Enforcement Division will focus on the highways and other high visibility areas and then move into the communities. A discussion about requiring universal garbage collection in the county may be before the Board of Supervisors soon to help reduce illegal dumping.

Lucerne Friends of Locally Owned Water and Lucerne Community Water Organization (LCWO) representatives also were allowed to make brief presentations, and they encouraged town residents to get involved with their activities, which include keeping California Water Service honest, said Craig Bach, president of LCWO.

During a brief “State of Lake County” report, Cox said the Board of Supervisors will have a mid-year budget review at this Tuesday's board meeting.

“We're going to have to have to make some adjustments in our budget,” said Cox, noting that some revenue areas are showing declines which will affect the county's general fund, his area of greatest concern.

Cox worried about possible state plans to withhold payments from counties for services such as mental and health services, and transportation and roads, which could force the county into having to borrow money, which it so far has refused to do.

During the meeting, Rushing polled attendees on several issues to see if they had a sense of changing trends. Business and infrastructure appear to have less activity, while law enforcement response, civil liberties and community investment are the same. Volunteerism, local projects, code enforcement and environmental efforts are up.

She said the county has focused in Lucerne on building community, cohesiveness, economic vitality, code enforcement and illegal dumping. Now she wants to “plug the leaks” regarding water and energy.

Looking ahead, Rushing said the county and the country at large can expect further financial system distress.

Rushing then moved into a brief discussion of the local economy, including food and energy security.

She said she formed two groups to look at energy and food security. Both are well-attended, with the food security having an attendance about three times the size of energy.

During the meeting Rushing emphasized the importance of strengthening the local economy.

“Old timers who remember the Great Depression will tell you that Lake County didn't notice it,” she said.

That's because the county had its own economy that could sustain itself, she said.

Rushing said there are resource limits on all fronts, and the trick is to manage those limits.

She said it's estimated the county is spending more than $2 million annually on energy. It's also estimated that county residents spend as much as $100 million on energy each year, money that is leaving Lake County – a place that generates more energy than it consumes, thanks to The Geysers and the growing number of private and public solar installations.

All sustainability efforts, said Rushing, start with individuals and their personal choices.

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

{mos_sb_discuss:3}

MIDDLETOWN – The Middletown Unified School Bord this week appointed a new member to fill the vacancy that resulted with the departure of Jim Comstock, who was sworn in as the newest member of the Board of Supervisors earlier this month.

The board met on Wednesday to select a provisional appointee.

Four applicants were interviewed by the board in their public session – Jean Rudy-Goulart, Lynette Carrillo, Angela Carter and Eileen Anderson.

The candidates answered questions from the board, and then the board took input from the public. The board appointed Lynette Carrillo to fill the provisional seat.

The decision was clearly a very difficult one for the board members with four very qualified candidates, according to a Friday statement from the Middletown Unified School District.

Board Member Jay Albertson, during deliberations, commented on how difficult a decision this would be, then asked, “Can they all serve?”

Superintendent Korby Olson then invited all of the candidates to attend the strategic planning meeting being held on Feb. 11 as a means of tapping their energy and interest in the school district.

Albertson nominated Carrillo with a second from Yvette Sloan. The board then voted 4-0 to select Carrillo to fill the provisional appointment. She will take the oath of office on Feb. 11.

In other action the board approved a contract with AMS.net for the installation and configuration of security cameras at all of the campuses in the district. They also approved the educational specifications for the new Minnie Cannon campus to be constructed on Big Canyon Road.

The architectural firm TLCD met with teachers, parents and other school officials to define the educational needs for the new campus. The educational specifications help guide the work of the architects in developing the plans for the buildings and grounds.

{mos_sb_discuss:2}

CLEARLAKE – The city of Clearlake is facing a compliance order and possible daily fines following a state determination that the city is not meeting its requirements for diverting recyclables from the landfill.

City Administrator Dale Neiman reported to the Clearlake City Council on Jan. 22 that the California Integrated Waste Management Board has notified the city that it's not meeting the mandatory 50-percent diversion rate.

A Jan. 13 letter to the city states that the waste board plans to discuss issuing a compliance order to the city during two public meetings in Sacramento. The first, on Feb. 17, will be before the waste board's permitting and compliance committee; the second, on Feb. 24, will be during a waste board meeting.

Following a review of the city's diversion rates, the state concluded that Clearlake's 2005 rate was 45 percent, which fell to 38 percent in 2006. The tonnage estimates for 2007 also look to be below the 50-percent mark, according to the letter.

A compliance order would require the city to work directly with waste board staff to develop a local implementation program, essentially a strategy for getting the city to its required diversion rates, the letter states.

If the compliance order is issued and the city fails to meet the order's requirements, the letter warns that the waste board can issue civil penalties of up to $10,000 a day.

Neiman told the council that some of the issues impacting Clearlake's diversion performance are illegal dumping, the city's abatement of buildings and a growing problem of people stealing recyclables from bins around the city. In the latter case, the city gets no credit for the diversions when the recyclables disappear.

Clearlake also doesn't have the resources to hire a person to track diversion and oversee recycling programs, which most cities Clearlake's size have, said Neiman.

Until the late 1990s, burn barrels were allowed in Clearlake, he said. When those were banned, that garbage was added to the local waste stream. People who haul their own garbage to the landfill, he added, don't always recycle as much as they can.

Councilman Curt Giambruno saw a possible solution to the problem.

“Maybe, just maybe, this is the time we need to discuss going to mandatory garbage,” he said. “Maybe we need to really get down to brass tacks.”

Councilman Roy Simons agreed with Giambruno's suggestion, relating that his next door neighbors had a garbage dump in their garage.

Supervisor Jeff Smith said the county began considering mandatory – or, as it's more properly known, universal – garbage collection several years ago.

He suggested it would go a long way with the waste board for the city to look at universal trash collection.

Smith said he had wanted to introduce the discussion about universal collection throughout the county last month, but then he found out that the county's unincorporated areas are currently at an 85-percent diversion rate.

He pointed out that Lakeport has universal garbage service. Lakeport instituted that service in January 2004, as Lake County News has reported.

“The people that care are the ones that have the garbage service,” said Smith.

Smith said the county will be happy to help the city, because they don't want to see them hit by the fine.

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

{mos_sb_discuss:3}

LAKEPORT – Lakeport's city leaders are concerned that the city's financial problems may be deepening as they prepare for a midyear budget review.

A candid discussion over the stretched finances arose during a workshop with city staff and council members on Jan. 20.

There was no direct mention either of layoffs or specific services being cut, but there were allusions to tough decisions ahead as the city gets through the rest of this current fiscal year and begins to craft its budget for the next.

Council members and the city's interim city manager, Kevin Burke, discussed trade-offs, shortfalls and crafting a realistic budget.

"The budget is our best guess," said Burke. "It's a road map. It's never reality."

If there is overspending in one area, then the effort has to be made to make cuts in others, he said. There has to be some flexibility within reason when managing the city's finances.

Councilman Jim Irwin said the city's expenses so far look to be in line with what was budgeted. However, he added, "We were spending too much six months ago when we approved the budget."

Irwin said the city needs to make changes to get its spending under control as it moves forward.

Burke said city administration is concerned about revenues, particularly sales tax, which is why they worked out a plan to furlough employees, which saves both money and jobs. As part of that program, city hall was closed for two weeks during the Christmas and New Year's holidays.

Revenue reports weren't available for the council to review on Jan. 20. Burke said they would be ready for a meeting next month.

Irwin asked if Burke had any idea about the current state of the city's revenues. Burke said no, however, with a reduction in property values due to the market and reassessments, "We expect a downward trend in property taxes."

The city's property tax predictions were very conservative for this year, he added.

Irwin said he wanted the city to close a $400,000 gap between revenues and expenditures, which the city has a line of credit to fill if necessary. "I think we need to take action on that immediately."

Mayor Ron Bertsch said they not only have the $400,000 gap but overspending in some budget areas as well.

Burke said he thinks an early retirement plan the city has approved could help realize about a 10-percent savings.

He suggested that not spending on some planned city projects has kept the city going.

Irwin, however, said if the projects aren't going to be done, they shouldn't be included in the budget.

Burke said the best thing for the city to do is turn in a structurally balanced budget.

"I can't say enough about how this is a small rural community, and we don't have enough staff," he said, noting that every city employee is "fairly burdened" with their workload.

Burke said he plans to bring a budget proposal to the council that will address its issues with spending.

"I take the role that the council has placed me in very seriously," he said. "We're going to work hard to deliver to this council a budget that will be balanced."

That will require trade-offs and setting of priorities, but Burke said he plans to offers the council some options in what he called "a tough, tough economic climate."

"What we do this year is not going to be what we do in a normal year," he said.

Burke said he doesn't believe the city will need to reach into that $400,000 credit line, but that could mean that certain capital improvements that are important to the council aren't done.

Irwin said he doesn't want to see the city use Measure I sales tax funds – meant to assist with roads and other large projects – to balance the budget again in the coming year.

"You have my vote," said Councilman Roy Parmentier.

Bertsch said the city's No. 1 expense is its 60 employees. He estimated that the city's employee-to-resident ratio is 1 to 52.

"This is a definite a crossroads for the city of Lakeport, there's no doubt about it," said Burke.

When anticipating cuts, they're talking about decisions affecting the city's basic services, Burke said.

"Measure I is what's been keeping this city afloat," he said.

The city has deferred maintenance on its infrastructure, and needs to replace some of its equipment. Burke said when it comes time for the council to decide where to spend its money, "I think it's going to be really hard."

He said it's going to be roads versus employees, roads versus police, roads versus aging equipment and infrastructure.

But Burke suggested if the city takes the leash off of redevelopment, it can generate projects that can bring revenue into the city.

He said Redevelopment Manager Richard Knoll has made a believer out of him regarding what the agency can be and what it can do.

With employees being placed on furloughs and not receiving annual cost of living increases, Burke suggested that Measure I is not so sacred a cow that it shouldn't contribute, in an amount determined by the council, to keep the city going.

The council questioned the fact that one cost of living increase was being given to city employees, which Burke said was included in their contract. But the furlough agreement essentially wiped it out. "We're giving with one hand and taking away with the other."

"I hope you'll keep an open mind" and be receptive to hearing different points of view, Burke told the council.

Irwin said he'll be willing to listen, but they've not managed to reduce their spending below their income over the last two years. As a result, the money from the Vista Point Shopping Center sale – which gained the city more than $1 million but has since been the focus of a lawsuit in which the city was named – were eaten up.

He said he couldn't see going into a third year with spending unchanged. "It's just time to face up," Irwin said.

Burke pointed out that it isn't just the city having struggles, and said the choices that will be made about the city's budget hopefully will reflect the choices community members themselves would make.

Irwin said if they don't change their spending and begin to work on infrastructure improvements, the city will never catch up.

"Infrastructure is aging, our streets need significant work," Burke agreed.

Bertsch suggested that the situation is going to get worse in the next few years.

In preparation for the February budget review, he asked fellow council members to come up with ideas about where they would make budget cuts.

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

{mos_sb_discuss:3}