LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors has decided to move forward with vetting several proposals to create a community choice aggregation program.

Last year the board began looking at moving forward with such a program, which is meant to give communities the opportunity to have lower power bills while determining where their energy comes from – with the option to build a portfolio that includes renewable energy sources like solar and geothermal.

The effort began after the board heard a presentation early last year from Peter Rumble of California Clean Power Corp., which was proposing to roll out the program in Lake County.

In December, the board approved issuing a request for proposals for development and operations services for such a program.

Deputy County Administrative Officer Josh Jones told the board last Tuesday that the county had received four responses to the request for proposals – from California Clean Power, Sonoma Clean Power, Tanoak Energy Advisors and the Energy Authority.

Since the county first began considering the move to community choice aggregation, there have been changes in state regulations that impact the cost savings that such programs have enjoyed.

In December Pacific Gas and Electric was successful in getting approval from the California Public Utilities Commission to raise by 95 percent the power charge indifference adjustment fee – or PCI – which is the exit fee customers pay when leaving PG&E for a CCA.

PG&E and other investor-owned utilities are allowed to charge that exit fee to cover possible losses when customers opt out for a community choice energy aggregation program.

Opponents raised issues with an increased PCI – which went into effect Jan. 1 – making it harder for community choice aggregation programs to be competitive.

The California Alliance for Community Energy estimated that PG&E would make $70 million in exit fees from community choice energy customers this year as a result of the increase.

“These unwarranted charges will also make it much more difficult for new Community Choice energy programs to compete with PG&E, thereby attempting to stifle the statewide motion toward establishing new Community Choice programs,” the alliance said in a statement on its Web site.

Jones told the board that, in the case of one leading community choice aggregation program in California – Marin Clean Energy – the PCI increase has caused that organization's power to be more expensive than PG&E, with Sonoma Clean Power rates being either slightly up or down.

As for revenues the county might bring in from a community choice aggregation program, Jones said the county's special legal counsel on the program proposal said that, to be safe, those revenues would have to be used for things with a strong nexus to the program itself.

Previously the board and staff had discussed the possibility that the revenues might be unrestricted and could be put toward general uses like road improvement or law enforcement positions.

“We've been advised and concur that that probably is not the case and that we should view any net program revenues as very restrictive to be on the safe side,” Jones said.

He said the respondents to the county's request for proposals had noted that now is an ideal time to create a community choice aggregation program, adding that he advised the board to consider what such a program in Lake County would look like in 10 years – both under ideal and not-so-ideal conditions.

He said all respondents to the  request for proposals also had noted the importance of internal staffing, with Jones suggesting that one full-time equivalent position could be sufficient.

The county has some trouble attracting highly skilled employees and the same would be true for the community choice aggregation niche market, he said. If they could find a candidate, that job could be funded through program revenues.

“The bottom line today is that our RFP respondents are still claiming that there are savings to be had,” he said. “I would just say that, with local control, that's a great benefit. But with that control also comes local responsibility.”

Jones said the county may be able to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and procure power from suppliers in the county locale, but is probably not looking at limitless double digit ratepayer savings or unrestricted revenue.

He presented a few options for the board to consider. The first option, joining Sonoma Clean Power, would offer the least risk, based on staff's assessment. Sonoma Clean Power is well regarded and established, is seeking to expand its service territory and would be fairly safe, as many cities in Sonoma County have joined it, he added.

With less risk comes less reward, Jones noted, adding that Sonoma Clean Power's rates are close to those of PG&E.

Option two would be to go with another of the three respondents, which Jones said would require greater investment in the process and a requirement to have energy experts come in and review the very technical proposals.

The third option was to maintain the status quo and not take action now, Jones said.

County Administrative Officer Matt Perry, who retires April 1, suggested that third option, noting, “The timing is really challenging” due to the transition in county leadership that is taking place and the budget cycle.

He said his successor, Carol Huchingson, agreed that it would be a challenging assignment at this time.

Supervisor Anthony Farrington said he didn't want to close the door on moving forward with a community choice aggregation program, adding, “We don't know what's before us.”

Farrington said the county already has spent money for legal counsel and staff time to work on the proposal. He added PG&E's PCI increase was a slap in the face to all ratepayers.

He wanted to let Huchingson settle into her job and reconsider the matter in another 30 to 45 days.

Rumble, who was on hand for the discussion, strongly encouraged the board to take Farrington's option, look at the proposals and make a decision.

He said his firm recently reevaluated the numbers for a Lake County community choice aggregation program due to the PCI increase. “Lake County is still very much in a competitive position,” he said.

Noting that his firm has offered to provide several hundred thousand dollars up front to support a program and made more than half a dozen presentations on its proposal, Rumble said, “We're here today to reaffirm that commitment to Lake County.”

Rumble said California Clean Power was still willing to fund all upfront costs and help cover additional staffing, noting the county's success is in his company's best interest.

During the meeting Rumble also would explain that the community choice aggregation programs in Marin and Sonoma counties have higher costs due to more staffing.

Brian Pierce, a member of Valley Fire Phoenix Rising, said he wasn't expecting the proposal to shelve the program.

“We've been working for months to organize people around this,” he said, noting his group held a town hall meeting in the south county earlier in March.

Pierce pointed out that millions of dollars are being sent out of Lake County to PG&E that could be used to build a sustainable future here.

“It's worth it,” Pierce said, adding that what Lake County stands to gain from such a program is “unprecedented.”

“These are important choices to make,” said Supervisor Jim Steele, who supported Farrington's approach of getting all the pieces together to consider them.

He added that he believed the Legislature is looking at options to make it fairer for consumers in response to the PCI increase, which Steel said had created a stir.

“Maybe waiting a little bit clears the landscape,” Steele said, adding he wanted time to at least read the proposals.

Supervisor Jim Comstock said they should look at the option if it would save the ratepayers money, but he wasn't prepared to make a decision at that point.

The board reached consensus to have Huchingson form a consultant selection committee that could include more members of the public and fewer members from the ranks of department heads, where the county is stretched thin.

Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly named one of the RFP responders as “Ten Oaks Energy Advisors.”

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – On Tuesday the Board of Supervisors opened bids for the county-owned Holiday Harbor property and approved the top purchase offer.

In January, the board approved moving forward with selling the property, located at 3605 and 3655 Lakeshore Blvd. in Nice, as Lake County News has reported.

The county's former redevelopment agency purchased the six-acre property – which has 400 feet of lake frontage, docks, a launch ramp, boat slips, a two-story residential duplex, commercial building and several outbuildings – in June 2008 for about $2 million, as Lake County News has reported.

Based on a property appraisal and a real estate broker's opinion, the board approved a minimum purchase price of $1.2 million.

During the Board of Supervisors' meeting on Tuesday afternoon, Chair Rob Brown opened two bids that had been submitted for the property.

The first, which at $500,000 was well below the required minimum, was submitted by real estate broker Scott Wolmuth on behalf of Active Realty of Santa Rosa.

The only other bid submitted was for $1,200,100 and came in from Tim Vi Tran of The Ivy Group on behalf of Bella Lago Development.

The board offered the chance for individuals to make bids from the floor for more than The Ivy Group's bid, but no one came forward, and the board voted unanimously to accept the top bid.

By 4 p.m. Tuesday, the winning bidder needed to deposit 4 percent of the proposed purchase price – or approximately $48,004 – with a Lakeport title company, according to Deputy County Administrative Officer Josh Jones.

Jones confirmed to Lake County News on Wednesday that the funds were deposited.

“We got the escrow money so now we suspect the escrow period will be about 60 days,” said Jones, noting that's a typical timeframe for commercial property transactions.

“There's a lot of due diligence to be done on their part still but we're hoping that everything goes through with flying colors,” Jones said.

Tran had held a separate contract with the county to market the property, Jones said, adding that any broker was able to bring a buyer to the table. “He happened to have a buyer.”

The proposed buyer, Bella Lago Development, is the same entity that purchased the 104-acre Robin Hill property on Lakeshore Boulevard in Lakeport in a tax default sale in the spring of 2014.

County officials reported that the Robin Hill parcel was purchased for $723,000, well below the $2.6 million in taxes and penalties that had accrued over 20 years of default between different owners.

In that case, as in that of Holiday Harbor, The Ivy Group also had been hired by the county to market the property, county officials reported.

As for what plans Bella Lago Development might have for Holiday Harbor, Jones said the county has not heard anything about them.

However, he said the buyer has seen the county's original marketing plan for the property, which had included a boutique hotel and restaurant, and marina operations.

As for the income from the sale, Jones said the county's assessment so far is that it would be unrestricted revenue. “Hopefully, that holds true,” he said.

In light of the local government's struggles in the wake of last year's fires, Jones added that it's a good – and timely – inflow of funds for the county.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday got an update on the abatement of the Hoberg's Resort property's fire-damaged wastewater system and discussed moving forward on an overall property cleanup, while hearing from a number of residents concerned about the impacts on their community.

County officials indicated that not only are efforts to get the property cleaned up moving forward, but District Attorney Don Anderson indicated his office is conducting an investigation into criminal wrongdoing relating to environmental damage from the property's condition.

Last week, after a series of storms surcharged the resort's wastewater system – causing it to run off into a nearby creek – the county served resort management with a 48-hour summary abatement based on a health emergency, as Lake County News has reported.

When the deadline came and went at 5 p.m. Thursday without the work being completed, the county hired Cobb contractor Ken Gifford to come in and finish the work, which he did over the weekend, according to Board of Supervisors Chair Rob Brown.

“They did a good job and they did it just in time,” Brown said of Gifford.

Brown said staff is now working on a 30-day abatement for the damage the resort sustained during the Valley fire in September as well as for removal of logs that had been stored there in anticipation of a milling operation that the resort management had wanted to carry out but which the county shut down.

He said the county can't afford to pay for the cleanup should the property owners, Lake County Partners LLC, fail to complete it.

“The taxpayers should not be on the hook for this, so it could potentially mean condemnation of the property in order to pay for it,” Brown said.

He said the county has spoken with the owners about having it cleaned up in 60 days, as it likely can't be completed in just a month. Brown said several different contractors will most likely need to be employed at once.

He said he's remained in constant communication with state Sen. Mike McGuire and Assemblyman Bill Dodd about the property. “They're monitoring this program extensively, daily,” he said.

In January, the California Office of Emergency Services told county officials that they would not allow for further commercial property cleanups, as Lake County News has reported.

That was despite the fact that several commercial properties damaged by the Valley fire had been cleaned up before the end of the year as part of the state-led cleanup effort overseen by CalRecycle, according to county officials.

CalRecycle told Lake County News that the determination, ultimately, was up to Cal OES, which had decided commercial properties were not eligible unless they created a public health risk.

Before the commercial property cleanup was halted, county officials said CalRecycle had conducted cleanups at a tire shop, Havy’s restaurant near Hidden Valley Lake, at the Middletown water company and at Harbin Hot Springs, which Brown said cost $5 million alone.

Lake County Environmental Health Director Ray Ruminski told Lake County News in an interview last week that the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is reimbursing CalRecycle $43 million for a portion of the Valley fire cleanup, doesn't consider commercial properties eligible, meaning the state would have to cover them.

On Tuesday, Brown reiterated that McGuire and Dodd were trying to get assistance for the county in the Hoberg's case.

Brown pledged that the Hoberg's Resort cleanup will be heavily monitored by the county. “We're going to be actively involved in this cleanup from one end of it to the next,” he said, adding, “We're serious about this. We've got to have this thing cleaned up.”

Ruminski said Tuesday that, before the commercial cleanups stopped, CalRecycle's contractor had carried out a site study on Hoberg's. The county has so far not been able to get that information, but over the weekend Cal OES staff told the county they would make the reports available.

He told the board that a significant part of the debris on the resort is burned asbestos waste from the buildings. Ruminski said the asbestos hazards should be identified and removed before the wood slash and logs.

Brown proposed having the property owners – who he said have money available for the cleanup – place those funds in an escrow account or have the county hold onto the money as it would do when an environmental study is done in order to make sure contractors are paid.

He said he also wanted a performance bond on the property, with Scott De Leon, the county's Public Works director and interim head of the Community Development Department, looking into that possibility.

Robert Stark, general manager of the Cobb Area County Water District, presented to the board results of the testing his district had done on the stormwater runoff from the resort's wastewater system.

Ruminski clarified during the discussion that Hoberg's did not have a septic system such as a residence would have, with a tank and a leach field. Rather, it consisted of a series of drains from the buildings to a lift station, which pumped it to an oxidation station.

Stark said the testing found high levels of materials such as aluminum, which was 42,000 parts per billion, when 11 parts per billion is the limit, he said. It was not detectable in the water from his district, located next door to the resort. He said there is no other place the aluminum could come from but the fire debris.

He also said barium – which does not occur naturally – was tested at 280 parts per billion, with 100 being the maximum contaminant level allowed.

While Stark noted that those levels aren't necessarily toxic, they are well beyond the desired limits, and he argued that they are proof that the elements are coming from the debris flow.

During public comment, board members heard from upset Cobb residents who ran the gamut from accusing the county of not taking action until the recent storms to questioning the priority of the cleanup.

“We've always considered this to be a priority. We don't establish the priorities for the state,” Brown responded at one point.

Jessyca Lytle, who watched Hoberg's be engulfed by flames as she was evacuating family members, told the supervisors, “It behooves this entire board to act swiftly,” going on to ask all of them what they have been doing to deal with the situation and wanting assurances that they will follow through.

Lytle also volunteered to help with lobbying state officials for assistance. “It's a job of many, not of one, not of a few.”

Brown said during the meeting that the county does not want to get stuck with owning the resort property, which accounts for $25,000 a year in property taxes on the county tax roll. He said the county is looking at a huge drop in property taxes in the near future. “We've got to have every nickel we can.”

He said the documentation provided by Stark will be very valuable in the effort to prove a health hazard exists to state officials.

Dave Svec, a business consultant for Lake County Partners LLC, said the county has been good to work with, and noted that the resort had issues attempting to find contractors to do the work last week.

Svec also distinguished the current owners from Cobb Mountain Partners, under whose ownership manager Dan Nelson had carried out a cleanup on the resort that resulted in him being prosecuted.

Nelson was convicted last spring of a misdemeanor for willfully violating a Cal/OSHA standard for potentially exposing his employees to asbestos during a 2012 renovation project. Earlier this month, he began serving his 60-day sentence in the Lake County Jail.

The resort could be looking at more issues with the law, based on comments made by District Attorney Don Anderson at the meeting.

Anderson spoke to the board, accompanied by Rachel Monten, a circuit environmental crimes prosecutor with the California District Attorneys Association.

“We have an independent investigation going on into the Hoberg's environmental crimes,” said Anderson, explaining that he wants to partner with the county on that effort.

He said they have reached out and spoken to some county officials, but have been unable to get testing and other information from others.

The California District Attorneys Association, he said, offers resources to help the county get the cleanup completed.

“We have a hammer. We have a big hammer. Not only criminally, but through civil litigation, which we can do through the DA's association. But we really need cooperation and to work together with you guys,” Anderson said.

Monten said the most important thing she and the District Attorney's Office need is copies of any sampling that's been done on the resort property.

“I need to know what's on the site so we can make an assessment about what charges, if any, would be appropriate,” Monten said.

Brown said he would send out an email to schedule a meeting with all relevant county staff on Wednesday, adding he couldn't imagine any of them wouldn't be cooperative.

Anderson referred to his office’s previous work on issues relating to Hoberg's before, mentioning Nelson, who he confirmed remained in custody. The audience applauded him as he ended his remarks.

Brown told Lake County News later on Tuesday that he is scheduled to meet with department heads at 10 a.m. Wednesday to discuss Anderson's request regarding the investigation.

He said staff continues to work on the 30-day abatement of the full resort property, but didn't yet have a firm date of when it is expected to be served.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – With one of its members having announced her plans to resign, the Clearlake City Council this week will discuss options for filling the soon-to-be-vacant seat.

The council will meet in closed session at 5:30 p.m. to discuss labor negotiations before the public portion of the meeting begins at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 24, in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.

At the March 10 meeting, Councilwoman Denise Loustalot announced that she was resigning her seat because her family had just purchased a home outside the city limits.

She said her resignation would take effect March 25. Her term is set to expire in December.

The council will discuss options for filling the seat, which could include an appointment or a special election.

Also on Tuesday, the council will hold interviews of applicants for a vacant seat on the Clearlake Planning Commission.

In February, Commissioner Bill Perkins announced his resignation after a decade on the commission. His term ends next March.

The council will consider two applicants, Russell Cremer and Peter Shandera.

In other business, the council will hold a public hearing for the granting of an updated franchise to Golden State Water Co., review real estate owned by the city and the former redevelopment agency, accept the final master plan for Highlands Park, and hold a first hearing of an ordinance which will reinstate administrative items and building permits within the area served by the Southeast Wastewater System.

Also on the agenda is a presentation to former Planning Commissioner Bill Perkins; presentation of proclamations declaring April Sexual Assault Awareness Month and Child Abuse Prevention Month; and the presentation of the Lake County Economic Profile Report.

On the meeting's consent agenda – items considered noncontroversial and usually accepted as a slate on one vote – are warrant registers; the first amendment to the Clearlake marketing agreement with the county of Lake; the first amendment to the agreement between the Public, Educational, Governmental (or PEG) cable access television station and the cities of Clearlake and Lakeport, and the county of Lake; and the general plan update for the additional parks expansion component.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

032416 Clearlake City Council Agenda Packet

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport City Council has given city staff the go ahead to pursue the next steps in the ongoing effort to create a municipal solar project that is expected to save millions of dollars in electricity bills.

Mike Adams, who retired as Mendocino College's facilities planning director, has been consulting with the city on the project.

At the council's meeting last Tuesday, Adams gave the council an update on the options available to the city, with Finance Director Dan Buffalo following up by asking for the council to select a financing option and direct staff to negotiate with the most suitable financier.

Adams said the first and second phases of planning on the project have been completed.

The first included reviewing utility loads, selection criteria, funding options, developing a planning schedule and budget, investigating potential sites, reviewing existing site topography and soils, and identifying solar program options through Pacific Gas and Electric.

In the second phase, a planning budget was adopted, the first phase soils investigation was conducted, a solar electrical engineer was contracted for system design recommendations, a cost and benefit analysis for the recommended system was developed, as was a final project budget.

The project is expected to cost between $2.4 million and $2.9 million, with Adams explaining that the preferred option is a prepaid power purchase agreement, which calls for the project to be installed and owned by the operator at an estimated cost of $2.9 million.

The city can purchase the project after five years from the investor for 82 percent of the total cost, or about $2,378,000, according to Adams.

He said the city's projected net savings in electricity bills over a 25-year period is estimated at approximately $8,122,146.

The 1.150-megawatt system will have two segments – a 750 kilowatt system at a city site meter location on Highway 175 and a 375 kilowatt system at the city's Linda Lane pump station meter, Adams said.

Mayor Marc Spillman asked where Lakeport is in the curve when compared to other municipalities pursuing solar projects.

Adams said many cities have completed solar installations. “It's a large investment. It's not a small investment, so for a smaller city it's a bigger deal.”

He said it took a few years for Mendocino College to carry out its own solar project.

Adams noted, “The good thing is, you've got land. A lot of them don't,” he said, explaining that many cities have to place the utilities up on roofs, an option he doesn't like because roofs need maintenance.

Buffalo said city staff was proposing a hybrid approach of a prepaid power purchase agreement with a solar company that allows the city to do a buyout, which would allow the investor to capitalize on depreciation and tax breaks. He said he believed that option was the most beneficial to the city and its residents.

He said the city's sewer, water and general fund would all need to participate in the purchase because of how the city's energy costs are accounted for in the budget.

Council members agreed with the proposal.

Councilman Martin Scheel said the project offered the council a way to save substantial money for taxpayers.

“This is the kind of thing that the public likes to see,” said Councilman Kenny Parlet. “This is the kind of thing that we need to do to be environmentally sound, to be proactive and try and do the right thing for the long term.”

Scheel moved to approve the proposal, which was seconded by Councilwoman Stacey Mattina and approved unanimously by the council.

Mattina said she was excited to plan for something that will help the city so far into the future.

In other business, the council gave conditional approval to Mendocino College's request to use Library Park for its inaugural Northern California Shakespeare Festival production of “Midsummer Night’s Dream” on July 30 and 31.

“I'm excited,” said John Tomlinson, a drama instructor at Mendocino College's Lake Center in Lakeport.

“It's been awhile since we've been able to do a play here through the college,” said Tomlinson.

He said there has been good reception for the idea of the “Shakespeare at the Lake” production, which he will direct. Richard Smith, who was on hand with a mock up of the stage design, will be the producer.

Tomlinson said the production will be centered south of the Library Park gazebo, with the audience facing the lake.

“You guys are going to have a beautiful backdrop there,” said Spillman.

Parlet asked if they have addressed sound issues in the open air location, and Councilwoman Mireya Turner asked about possible conflicts with nighttime construction that's due to be under way at that point on the Downtown Improvement Project's second phase. Community Development Director Kevin Ingram said he would look into the latter issue.

“Jackhammers and Shakespeare just don't go together,” said Spillman.

Mattina moved to conditionally approve the application, which Turner seconded and the council approved 5-0.

Also at the March 15 meeting, the council met new police officer trainees Andrew Welter and Dale Hoskins, heard a presentation on the Lake County Economic Profile Report, presented the Government Finance Officers Association’s Distinguished Budget Presentation Award to Buffalo, adopted resolutions to reaffirm the necessity of AB 1600 development impact fees and establishing regular meeting dates of the Municipal Financing Agency of Lakeport, and adopted a resolution authorizing the city manager to submit payment requests of the administration of the Beverage Container Recycling Payment Program.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.