CLEARLAKE OAKS – The Clearlake Oaks Community Recovery Task Force has been reorganized to help improve public safety and code enforcement.

On Feb. 20, the Board of Supervisors approved the task force's reorganization.

“As a result of a recent Clearlake Oaks Town Hall meeting, a fully-functioning task force received overwhelming support, as did the need to improve public safety and Code Enforcement,” said Supervisor Denise Rushing.

The task force had previously enjoyed success in Clearlake Oaks, but several years ago, due to the shortage of staffing in the sheriff’s department, the task force virtually dissolved, said Voris Brumfield, Code Enforcement manager and the new task force coordinator.

Brumfield said Sheriff Rod Mitchell supports the efforts of the task force and anticipates greater participation when his department is fully staffed.

Representatives from the Sheriff’s and Probation Departments serve as liaisons for special task force actions. The Northshore Fire District and Battalion Chief Lou Dukes facilitated the task force office space.

Brumfield said the task force's theme is “recovering neighborhoods for the protection, peace, and prosperity of our community.”

“More than 30 public nuisance vehicles were tagged in our first joint agency action for 2007 on March 21,” she said. “Additional regular joint agency actions are planned as well as regular patrols, so the community of Clearlake Oaks will see a decided increase in County presence.”

Animal Care and Control, Code Enforcement, and Building and Safety are the agencies scheduled to staff the new space and answer questions from members of the public. Brumfield said the task force is open to the public at the Clearlake Oaks Fire Station, Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to noon.

Though office hours are currently limited, the public may access various enforcement brochures, code fliers on preventing illegal dumping, resource documents and Animal Care pamphlets in the lobby of the fire station, which is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Brumfield said the task force has several goals:

– Provide consistent daily presence of enforcement officials in the Clearlake Oaks, Glenhaven, and Spring Valley Communities.

– Provide an office with limited hours for citizens to obtain information on County processes, to file complaints and discuss options for compliance.

– Address the deterioration of previously improved areas in Clearlake Oaks.

– Create opportunities for citizens to volunteer in clean-up efforts, reporting of illegal dumping and monitoring of problem areas.

– Expand education efforts to heighten public awareness of Code Enforcement and work to foster an increased spirit of volunteerism and community pride.

Brumfield said community members may phone for an appointment or contact county staff by phone during office hours at 998-9271. Volunteers are welcome, Brumfield added.

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LAKEPORT – Plans to install a traffic light at the intersection of Highway 281 and 29 – also known as Kit's Corner – are moving ahead.

On Tuesday, County Public Works Director Gerald Shaul received the Board of Supervisors' approval to enter into a cooperative agreement with Caltrans that will enable the project to go forward.

In an interview after the meeting Shaul explained that the agreement is required because, although Highway 29 is a state highway, one of the “legs” – or roads – at the intersection is county maintained.

The agreement also is necessary if the project is to receive California Transportation Commission funds, Shaul said.

The agreement states the responsibilities of the various agencies, Shaul said. In this case, Caltrans will pay for the intersection's maintenance, while the county will cover electrical costs.

Ann Marie Jones, a Caltrans spokesperson, said Tuesday that the project is estimated to cost $500,000. Construction is scheduled to begin in September, she said, and is expected to last about 65 days.

Shaul told the board that the county originally was to have paid $250,000 toward the project. However, he said, further negotiations resulted in the county only being required to pay $33,000.

“I would encourage the board to sign this agreement before someone figures out the math is wrong,” he said.

He said Caltrans was having four copies of the agreement delivered to the county by the end of the day.

The board approved the agreement 3-0, with Supervisors Ed Robey and Anthony Farrington away in Washington, D.C.

The stoplight issue has been one of concern in recent years for residents of the Clear Lake Rivieras, who have pointed to serious accidents around the intersection as the need for a signal.

At community meetings in the fall of 2004, residents asked Caltrans to consider a stoplight. Originally, the response from Caltrans officials was that the intersection didn't meet the necessary standards.

However, by the following summer the agency had changed its mind, and began planning the signal project. At that point, the traffic light was estimated to cost $1 million.

Board approves next phase of Soda Bay project

Shaul also received the board's approval for the next phase in the Soda Bay-South Main Street project, which he said will include placing utilities underground, installing eight-foot bike lanes and a continuous turn lane down to the Manning Creek bridge.

“We need improvements down there,” said Shaul, citing a “preponderence” of accidents in the area and traffic congestion.

The project's next phase involves environmental and archaeological studies of the area, Shaul said after the meeting.

Shaul briefly explained to the board the project's “complicated funding picture,” which he said includes federal funds that Congressman Mike Thompson got for the project through Congress, as well as State Transportation Improvement Project money.

Rather than approving the project all at once, Shaul said after the meeting, “The board preferred that we did it in phases.”

There are many more phases to come in the project, said Shaul, and a lot of variables that make it difficult to predict when the project might be complete.

However, he said the county hopes the project's environmental study portion will be completed by next year at the latest.

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

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City workers put out floating docks for this week's tournament. Photo by Harold LaBonte.

LAKEPORT – If you're seeing blocked off streets and parking lots, and a lot of activity around the City of Lakeport's Library Park, that's because the 2007 ESPN-Bassmaster Elite Series' Golden State Shoot Out is coming to town.

The bass tournament, scheduled for March 29 through April 1, will feature 108 tournament professionals.

The public is invited to attend and view this nationally-televised bass fishing event.

City officials were blocking off streets and putting out floating docks for the event on Tuesday.

Much of the action will be centered around Library Park, with several parking lot and boat ramp facilities in the vicinity of Library Park and Lakeport City Hall being closed.

The area north of Library Park between Third and Fourth Streets will feature a stage, vendor booths, and vehicle and equipment displays and will be open to the general public free of charge.

Street and parking lot closures include the parking lot adjacent to (north of) Lakeport City Hall, through April 2; the Third Street boat ramp and the vehicle-trailer parking lot between Third and Fourth Streets will be closed through April 2; the Fifth Street boat ramp and the vehicle-trailer parking lots between Fourth and Fifth Streets and north of Fifth Street will be closed to the general public and reserved for tournament fishing participants through April 1; and the city-owned Dutch Harbor property at 910 N. Main Street will be closed to the general public and reserved for tournament fishing participants through April 1.

For information about parking lot closures and road closures, please contact Lakeport City Hall at 263-5613 ext. 25.

The tournament's colorful trucks are setting up near Library Park. Photo by Harold LaBonte.

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CLEARLAKE – Clearlake's interim police chief on Thursday received a unanimous vote from the City Council to institute a new vehicle replacement policy.

The new police department policy is intended to save the city money and ensure officer and public safety, said Chief Larry Todd, who took over as chief on a temporary basis in January.

“This is the first city I've worked for that did not have a policy for vehicle replacement or equipment replacement," Todd told the council March 22.

Todd told the council that the department has traditionally budgeted between $60,000 and $80,000 annually to purchase used California Highway Patrol vehicles.

CHP sells the vehicles, Todd said, after the state rules them no longer fit for public safety use.

Those cars, he said, were usually purchased for about $5,000 each, with an additional $3,000 put into making them road ready. Most of the cars, he added, had about 100,000 miles on them when they went into CPD's service.

“They're wore out when we get them,” he said.

Most were then passed down to Community Patrol volunteers, Todd said, with between 170,000 and 180,000 miles on the vehicles at that point. Many of the cars have been in the police fleet for upwards of 10 years, he added.

The end result, said Todd, is that those aging cars are costing the city between $100,000 and $150,000 annually to maintain.

The department now has 50 vehicles, he said, many of which are assigned to Community Patrol members, who take them home.

But with Community Patrol being dissolved in favor of a new police volunteer program, Todd no longer intends to let the vehicles go home with private citizens, which he said is a liability issue.

Instead, he intends to sell or send the more battered vehicles to the wrecking yard. He estimated he can reduce the police department's fleet by 20 cars while still ensuring that each of the department's 27 officers still have a police car assigned to them.

Todd said the city has a moral and legal responsibility to provide its officers with vehicles that are safe to operate.

City Administrator Dale Neiman agreed, saying the issue was a high priority. He added his concern that the cars' poor condition could lead to a higher likelihood of accidents.

Todd said the CHP each year goes through a bid process for law enforcement vehicles with different manufacturers, and has awarded the state's bid to Ford.

He proposed leasing four marked 2007 Ford Crown Victoria patrol cars from the county's only Ford dealership, Holder Ford-Mercury in Lakeport, at a cost of $23,995 each; one unmarked 2007 Crown Victoria for $22,265; and five unmarked 2008 Ford Tauruses, priced at $22,533 each.

Those cars, he said, will have special law enforcement packages, which are specifically designed for high speed pursuits and law enforcement's more strenuous uses.

Todd suggested staggering car purchases over two-year cycles, so that within six to eight years the fleet will have been completely replaced.

The vehicle policy sets a schedule for vehicle replacement; it specifies that, after four years, police cars be rotated to code enforcement officers for another four years of use.

Todd said there is some flexibility built in, with the department chief needing to do regular cost analyses of whether or not to keep the vehicles for longer or shorter periods of time. Some of the factors to consider will be the cars' repair records, overall condition, and efficiency and safety.

That, he said, will help avoid having a “rolling piece of junk" that will cost a lot to maintain.

“I think this program is long overdue," said Mayor Judy Thein, who used to work in the city's finance department and said she knew well of the expense required to maintain the older, battered vehicles. “We have bought junk and junk and more junk."

She added, “If we keep our officers safe, they will keep us safe.”

Todd also suggested the city consider an equipment replacement fund, not just for vehicles but for computers and other city equipment. He said the city could annually pay into the fund and then be able to afford buying equipment outright, which would save it interest.

When questioned by a citizen about whether or not he had considered alternative fuel vehicles for the fleet, Todd said that he had done so while police chief in Los Gatos. He called his experience with natural gas vehicles “a dismal failure.”

However, he didn't discount alternative fuel vehicles joining the city's fleet in the future. “I just don't think that we're there yet," he said.

The council approved the new vehicle policy unanimously.

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

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NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Lakeport City Council will hold a Public Hearing to consider Ordinance No. 863 (2007) Amending Ordinance No. 712 and amending Section 9.08.040 of the Lakeport Municipal Code to allow for dogs on a leash in parklands on Tuesday, April 17, 2007, at 6:00 p.m., in the Council Chambers of City Hall, located at 225 Park Street.

If you have questions or comments or would like a copy of any of the proposed ordinance, please call the City Clerk’s Office at 263-5615, Extension 12.

Dated this 26th day of March, 2007

_____________________________

JANEL M. CHAPMAN, City Clerk

CLEARLAKE – Clearlake City Council members were unanimous – and generous – in their praise Thursday night of interim City Administrator Dale Neiman, and approved removing the “interim” from his title to make his hire permanent.

Neiman joined the city the first week of January on an interim basis.

His past experience includes 25 years in community development, he said Thursday Night. Of that time, he spent 17 years working for the City of Fortuna, serving nine years spent as that city's manager. He left Fortuna in 2002 and spent time doing redevelopment consulting before coming to Clearlake.

At the time of his initial hire, the council enacted a 60-day trial period before making a decision on whether to hire Neiman permanently.

Both Mayor Judy Thein and Neiman said at the time would allow he and the council time to determine if he was a good fit. Neiman also said at the time that the trial period would give them time to finish his salary negotiations.

The contract that Neiman and the council agreed to will pay him $120,000 annually during a four-year contract, with raises and contract renewal at the council's discretion.

Early on, Thein had cited his redevelopment experience and professional abilities as a reason the city chose Neiman.

Shortly after Neiman came on board in January, Thein said of the city's search for a permanent administrator, “In my personal opinion, we have been up to bat several times. I think we finally hit that ball!”

Before voting on his appointment Thursday, Thein and the rest of the council gave Neiman definite signs of support and confidence.

"I think Dale has been a find for us," said Councilman Chuck Leonard, who said he appreciated Neiman's constant communications with council members in an effort to keep them informed. “I think he's well worth the money we're going to pay him. I hope we can keep him for  8 or 10 years."

Councilman Curt Giambruno agreed. "He's been phenomenal for us," he said, adding that Neiman has so far helped the city with issues that Giambruno doesn't believe anyone else could have resolved.

“I think in time we could teach him to do the job," joked Councilman Roy Simons.

Joyce Overton, adding to comments by fellow council members, pointed out that Neiman has already saved the city large amounts of money through his efforts, and said the city is led by department heads that compose “probably the best team the city has ever seen."

Thein, who herself was a city staff member before joining the council, said she's seen many city administrators come and go. “Finally, we have found our leader,” she said.

Supervisor Jeff Smith lauded the council's decision, saying in Neiman they had found a “diamond.”

He said he and Neiman have been working together and discussing approaches to local issues. Smith said there is now an “excellent working relationship” between the city and county.

“You guys have got something you've deserved for a long time,” he said.

He added he wished that interim Community Development Director Irwin Kaplan and interim Police Chief Larry Todd could stay on longer (both of those men are retirees who can only work a certain length of time).

“You've got a team in the City of Clearlake that can't be matched anywhere,” said Smith.

Leonard moved to approve Neiman's contract, with Overton seconding. The unanimous vote was followed by applause from the council and audience for Neiman.

Thein said to Smith after the vote, “Jeff, you have your Kelly Cox, we have our Dale Neiman,” referring to the county's capable and talented administrator.

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

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