LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors will hold a special meeting on Friday morning to discuss an agreement for dealing with hazard trees in the valley fire area.

The board will meet beginning at 9:30 a.m. Friday, Nov. 20, in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.

Public Works Director Scott Le Leon is asking the board to award a contract in the amount of $17,385,000 for Valley Fire hazard tree mitigation services to AshBritt Inc. of Deerfield Beach, Fla.

De Leon's written report to the board explains that on Nov. 6 the Department of Public Works solicited a request for proposals for services to mitigate trees damaged by the Valley fire that present a hazard to the general public. The mitigation work is to include county-maintained roads and parks.

He said five proposals were received in response to the request for proposals, and an evaluation committee concluded AshBritt is the most qualified of the five proposers.

The project will be funded from the Federal Emergency Management Agency Public Assistance program, the Federal highway Administration Emergency Relief program, the California Disaster Assistance Act and local funding, De Leon reported.

“The specific source of funding and proportionate share of the various agencies is dependent upon the functional classification of the road where the trees are being mitigated, as well as the specific type of work being performed,” he said in his written report.

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. – The Clearlake City Council has reduced fees for rental of the Clearlake Senior/Community Center in an effort to increase usage and make the facility more affordable for citizens and community organizations.

While many cleaning deposit fees were increased, rental rates for use of the kitchen remained unchanged following action taken by the council on Nov. 12 during its regular meeting at Clearlake City Hall.

Officials said kitchen rental fees are expected to increase in the near future.

Following a presentation by Finance Director Chris Becnel and public discussion, the council determined that rental rates for use of the kitchen should be increased, which reflected the sentiment of community members.

However, City Manager Greg Folsom said that while decreasing rates under the evening's agendized item was permitted, increasing rates, other than refundable deposit fees, required further public noticing and hearing.

Rates were revised because there was council concern that they were too high for the market and/or did not reflect actual cost of operating the facility.

Becnel said he performed a cost build-up analysis on the facility to determine the actual hourly operating costs.

The hourly cost build-up was based on average operating costs for the past five years, the average costs incurred and a depreciation factor for the cost of the building. The hourly rate was based upon eight hours per day for 365 days per year.

According to Becnel's calculations, the cost for the entire facility for one hour is about $75 per hour, resulting in a four hour charge of $300.

“This is $150 less than the current rate for use of the entire facility, which is currently set at $450 per four time period,” Becnel said.

Discounted rates for nonprofit organizations were determined at a rate approximately $40 less, with consideration of long-term financial factors associated with the building and in recognition of the contributions that those organizations make to the wellbeing of the community.

Becnel said the charges for specific areas in the revised rate schedule are based upon the relative square footage of the identified area as compared to the total rentable area.

He said the rentable area does not include any of the administrative areas specifically identified to the Highlands Senior Services Center, which occupies the building on a regular basis.

The rates Becnel proposed for use of the kitchen were based on usage of a 1,078-square foot area, which is the same as the auxiliary room.

Because the kitchen is commercially equipped at great expense, the council thought it reasonable to charge more for its use to protect investment.

Joe Parker, culinary instructor at Lower Lake High School, supported increasing the rate as well as the cleaning deposit for use of the kitchen, which he said should be the highest.

District 2 County Supervisor Jeff Smith also said the kitchen rental cost should be higher. “It's the place that uses the most power and cost the most to equip. I would up the hourly rate,” he said.

Rental rates for four-hour use of facilities at the Clearlake Senior/Community Center were adjusted as follows:

– Entire building (5,120 square feet): $300 standard ($75 each additional hour); $160 nonprofit ($40 each additional hour); $600 cleaning deposit.

– Building without kitchen (4,042 square feet): $235 standard ($59 each additional hour); $126 nonprofit ($32 each additional hour); $300 cleaning deposit.

– Multipurpose room (2,964 square feet): $174 standard ($44 each additional hour); $93 nonprofit ($23 each additional hour); $250 cleaning deposit.

– Auxiliary room (1,078 square feet): $63 standard ($16 each additional hour); $34 nonprofit ($9 each additional hour); $100 cleaning deposit.

– Classroom (320 square feet): $20 standard ($5 each additional hour); $10 non-profit ($3 each additional hour); $100 cleaning deposit.

Kitchen rental price remains at $50 per four hours with a cleaning deposit of $300. The commercial kitchen is 1,078 square feet.

Alcohol use requires an additional deposit of $200. 

Email reporter Denise Rockenstein at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The city of Lakeport is seeking community members interested in serving on its Traffic Safety Advisory Committee.

Officials reported that there are five general openings and one opening for a member of the insurance industry on committee as a result of the expiration of existing member terms.

The committee consists of five general members and one member from the insurance industry, who consider and make recommendations to the Lakeport City Council regarding traffic issues, pedestrian facilities and parking as it relates to traffic safety.

Committee members must be residents of the city, and are appointed by the Lakeport City Council on the basis of interest and qualifications. Familiarity with traffic safety and/or the California Vehicle Code is desirable, but is not required.

Membership on the Traffic Safety Advisory Committee is for a four-year term and is a non-compensated volunteer position.

The committee normally meets once a month, provided there are traffic issues to be addressed that fall under the purview of the committee.

Individuals interested in serving should submit an application form – available at Lakeport City Hall or at www.cityoflakeport.com – to acting Deputy City Clerk Hilary Britton, 225 Park St., Lakeport, CA 95453.

The deadline for application is 5 p.m. Monday, Dec. 7.

If you have any questions regarding the position, contact Britton at 707-263-5615, Extension 43.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – And then there was one.

Four weeks after adoptions began for Valley fire animals that had not been reclaimed, 49 of the 50 animals – 27 cats, nine dogs, eight goats, three horses and two chickens – have gone to new homes.

That just leaves one dog, according to Animal Care and Control Director Bill Davidson.

When adoptions began on Oct. 29, the animals had been held for several weeks, according to Davidson, who pledged that none of the Valley fire's surviving animals in his agency's care would be euthanized but that every effort would be made to rehome them.

On the first day of adoptions, 20 of the animals were adopted – 11 cats, four dogs, three horses and two chickens, as Lake County News has reported. Eight goats made available a week later also went on the first day they were offered.

For the last few weeks, it's been primarily cats and dogs left needing homes.

The last of the cats were adopted on Tuesday, Davidson said, with one going to a rescue and another cat with special needs to be picked up by an out-of-county adopter on Thursday.

The remaining dog is a male pit bull mix with a short gray and white coat that Davidson estimates is 3 years old.

The friendly dog was brought to Animal Care and Control on Oct. 1 by a person who Davidson said had found it a few days earlier behind the Store 24 gas station on the north end of Middletown.

At one point a person was lined up to adopt the dog, but their landlord said no, Davidson said.

Davidson said the dog gets along well with other dogs and is recommended for a family with children older than age 12.

The Board of Supervisors approved waiving all county adoption fees for Valley fire animals, with the exception of the spay/neuter costs.

As such, Davidson said the total cost to adopt the dog is $80.

The dog is in kennel No. 5, ID No. 3720.

Animal Care and Control is located at 4949 Helbush in Lakeport, telephone 707-263-0278, http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control/Adopt.htm .

Office hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. Kennel hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.

They're also on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/L.C.AnimalControl/?fref=ts .

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. – On Tuesday the Lakeport City Council heard the latest developments on the next phase of the city's Downtown Improvement Plan, and agreed to maintain an existing driveway to a city thrift store that the plan proposed to eliminate.

Community Development Director Kevin Ingram and Paul Curren, the contract city engineer, gave the council a status report on where the project is currently and where it's set to go next.

The nearly $2.6 million project's boundaries run along North Main Street, between First and Fourth streets.

Improvements in the plan will include narrowing Main Street by 5 feet, repaving and restriping it; putting in 12-foot-wide sidewalks and new curbs, and new handicap ramps at intersections; installation of new street trees, grates and decorative cement; and limited improvements to the water and sewer infrastructure. The city's commemorative lamp posts and their power supply will be moved a few feet to accommodate the new design.

Ingram said the plans are now at the 60-percent design stage. Originally, the project was to have been much more extensive, but when redevelopment went away several years ago, the project had to be scaled back.

Ingram said city staff have met with upwards of 80 percent of property and business owners along the project corridor, and on Oct. 7 hosted an evening meeting with community members to go over construction phasing and times of day for work.

It's proposed that the work on the project take place at night, six days a week, which Ingram said will allow for completion in a quicker time frame and gives businesses a chance to stay open uninterrupted during the day.

During the earlier phase of the project business owners had complained to the city about interruption to their operations and a drop in business due to access issues.

If the city is to pursue having the work done at night, Ingram said the project's environmental document will need to be amended, a process that staff already has under way.

While the business community has indicated support for the night work, Ingram said there will still be impacts including noise for nearby residents. As such, he said the city is reaching out to neighbors to discuss the plan.

Curren said the project budget includes $1,967,128, or 74.6 percent, that came originally from redevelopment funding, with city water funds providing 10.3 percent, or $254,946, and sewer funds 15 percent, or $370,225, for an approximately project cost of $2,592,298.

Curren said the project remains pretty much on target with its original scope.

Project milestones Curren and Ingram presented to the council include completion of design by Jan. 15, opening bids on Feb. 16, the council's award of the contract on March 1 followed by a notice to start work on March 21.

The timeline also includes a completion of utility and sidewalk work by June 27, in time for a break for the city's busy July 4 holiday. Work would then resume on July 11 and be completed by Aug. 8.

Curren pointed out that six elements must be completed in the 14 weeks between March 21 and June 27. He said one block at a time will be done, which gives two weeks for demolition, forming and pouring of new sidewalks and roadway, and utility work. Overall, it's a “pretty optimistic” schedule, he added.

Curren said the work is proposed to take place from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., which not only met with approval from the business community but has terrific advantages for pricing, safety and other issues. The noise level would be limited after 11 p.m.

He said they are thinking about contingencies to handle any delays that arise, noting that there always are surprises when underground work is done. “We're dealing with old streets and old buildings.”

Curren added that the design team is working to finish this as quickly as they can.

Ingram said next steps include taking the input from the council meeting back to the design team of Crawford and Associates Inc. of Ukiah as it completes the project design. The city also will follow up with businesses in early December and plan another public meeting in the near future.

Ingram told the council that design of new utilities is within the project costs, but the physical installation and construction costs are not. One of the project's original components is the upgrade of an existing water line, but Ingram said that also is outside the project's scope, as is the cost of the street furniture.

The street tree proposed for the plan is the “green vase” zelkova, a deciduous shade tree which has a canopy that will rise above the buildings' general facade line, Ingram said.

Ingram said that tree is disease- and drought-resistant and has a deep rooting structure that won't wreak havoc on the sidewalks. However, it will need pruning due to its average 25- to 30-foot diameter crown being 9 feet away from the buildings.

Councilwoman Mireya Turner asked about the anticipated lifespan of the street pavement. Curren said it's at least 15 years, but more like to be more than 20 years. Turner followed up by asking about the sidewalk, and he said those should last 50 or more years.

“Generally it takes something else to shift the sidewalks,” he said. “The material durability will be a long time.”

Councilman Kenny Parlet asked if the downtown center turn lane will still fit within the project's parameters. Ingram confirmed it will, noting that Main Street is quite wide currently, so there is enough room to accommodate the turn lane despite the removal of 5 feet of street width. He also explained that narrowing the street is a traffic calming technique.

Senior center asks for change in plan to protect thrift shop

One of the key concerns raised over the project came from the Lakeport Senior Center regarding the proposal to get rid of an existing driveway encroachment onto Main Street at 110 N. Main St., next door to the senior center's Meals on Wheels Thrift Shop at 120 N. Main St.

That proposal – meant to make the plan consistent with the Transportation Element of the General Plan – would have left the thrift store with just one entry to its parking lot, from First Street.

Lakeport Senior Center Executive Director Jonathan Crooks said the center has served 600 seniors at its main location on Konocti Avenue this past year and another 130 homebound seniors daily through its Meals on Wheels program.

He said that, in 2008, the senior center was dealing with budget cuts, staff reductions and potential waiting lists for seniors to get their meals each day.

“Faced with an uncertain economic future and government funding, the center started its thrift store,” he said. “The success of the store enabled the senior center to thrive in the worst economic environment it faced since it began.”

With the success of the store, the senior center was able to continue and expand its meal program, Crooks said. The center board later decided to purchase the building its thrift store was operating in to secure the financial future of its meal program.

“Our parking lot is a vital competitive advantage,” and an important deciding when the center purchased the property, he said.

He said the center was told by city officials that the council wouldn't want people driving over the new sidewalk. However, Crooks said the driveway has existed there for 50 years.

“There's no solid justification for removing our existing configuration,” Crooks said.

He told the council that the center thrift store would lose quick and easy access onto Main Street if the plan, as proposed, goes forward. That would be a hindrance and interrupt the flow of the business, which he said is very busy, with multiple cars coming going constantly from its parking lot.

He said customers also have told them that they would shop there if it wasn't easy to get in and out of the parking lot.

Along with Crooks, several center board members and supporters asked the council not to remove the parking lot's Main Street access.

While some of the council members were concerned about safety, Parlet noted, “You cannot protect every person in the world from every contingency every time.” He said he had no problem keeping the parking lot in its current configuration, which he felt was safer.

Senior Center Board Member Doc Starin told the council that the center serves 200 meals a day thanks to the thrift store.

However, “It doesn't really end there,” Starin said.

For the participants in the Meals on Wheels program, the person who delivers their meals may be the only person they see all day, he said. “Sometimes they come to the door in their pajamas.”

Anything that would interfere with the thrift store's customers would impact those Meals on Wheels participants, he said.

The discussion worked its way back around to concerns about nighttime noise, with Curren telling the council staff that there are only five people who live on Main Street above the businesses. Parlet was concerned that the noise would need to be cut down starting at 10 p.m., not 11 p.m.

Ingram said that night work on projects doesn't work in a lot of situations, but it lends itself well to this project. He acknowledged that the situation with the hour between 10 and 11 p.m. will be difficult, and it's likely to be one of the more controversial elements of the plan.

City Manager Margaret Silveira thanked Ingram and Curren for their work, noting the project started well before either of them joined the city.

The council reached consensus to direct staff to allow the senior center thrift store's encroachment to remain in place. Councilwoman Stacey Mattina called the center's Meals on Wheels volunteers “living angels,” adding, “I wouldn't want them to lose the ability to use that parking lot.”

The council then voted unanimously to receive and file the staff report, and have staff forward the information to the consulting engineer.

In other business on Tuesday, the council approved an upgrade to the city's Nixle account, a contract change order for the city's USDA-funded Water and Wastewater Improvement Project and the issuance of a request for proposals for a new bathroom facility at the Library Park Fifth Street boat ramp.

The council also voted unanimously to create a new industrial development authority for the purposes of funding the city's new police department and other future budget transactions, and formed a joint powers authority for the industrial development authority, including appointing the governing body members and staff.

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. – On Tuesday the Board of Supervisors voted to continue emergency declarations related to the wildland fires earlier this year and the ongoing drought, and received a number of updates from county department heads about the progress on fire recovery activities.

County Health Officer Dr. Karen Tait returned to the board to ask for another two-week extension of the local health emergency she declared in response to the Valley fire in September, a request the board granted.

Along with Tait, county Environmental Health Director Ray Ruminski reported on the cleanup efforts.

Of the 1,214 sites that have registered right of entry forms for cleanup with the county, 307 parcels have been cleared of debris, Ruminski said.

Of those 307 parcels, 139 have been sampled for heavy metal contamination in the soil. Ruminski said that of those 139 sampled, 55 have had the samples returned from the lab, reviewed and approved.

He said 50 teams are assigned to cleanup, plus a double team is working on the commercial structures cleanup this week.

Regarding the Rocky and Jerusalem fires cleanup, Ruminski said 56 sites have registered with rights of entry and 46 sites have had the debris removal process completed.

County Administrative Officer Matt Perry also asked the board to continue the drought emergency declaration – first passed in March 2014 – and the wildfire emergency declaration from this summer, as the conditions for both still exist. In separate votes, the board unanimously approved extending those declarations.

Ongoing issues with donations, campground

Social Services Director Carol Huchingson, who the board also appointed to be the county's recovery coordinator, gave updates on other aspects of fire recovery, including offering assistance to people who continue to camp at the Hidden Valley Lake Campground.

She said the county is working with the Hidden Valley Lake Association on plans to close the campground at noon on Monday, Dec. 7.

A letter was being prepared to present to the campers explaining the risk to the campground due to the close proximity to Gallagher Creek, she said. Officials have been concerned about conditions at the campground facility should predictions for a wet winter prove true.

Huchingson said county shelter and housing staff will host a resource fair from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday at Coyote Valley Elementary School for those still at the campground.

Separately, she said they are receiving reports that many of the people who are still staying at the campground are now making other arrangements, with some of the tent campers planning to move on this week.

On Mondays and Thursdays Huchingson is holding office hours in Middletown at the Gibson Museum and Cultural Center, 21267 Calistoga Road.

“The public is starting to come in and talk with me about disaster concerns and I would have to say that trees are the No. 1 issue at this point,” she said, explaining that includes not only felled trees people are left with in their yards and on building sites, but also dead trees.

She said the county's Valley Fire Recovery Task Force is working to address those tree-related concerns.

Deputy County Administrative Officer Jeff Rein updated the board on continuing efforts to deal with the donations that have inundated the county in the fire's aftermath.

He said the enormity of the situation overwhelmed the county's ability to respond, and created the potential for a health and safety risk.

In light of the urgency of dealing with the donations, and at the suggestion of the California Office of Emergency Services, Rein said he enlisted the services of the California Conservation Corps, which arrived in October to assist with sorting donations.

He said he believed – based on conversations in the Emergency Operations Center and a followup email with state officials – that Cal OES would cover the entire cost of having the corps' assistance.

However, now there is a concern that the state may only cover 75 percent of the bill, which has come to $262,000, Rein said.

“We were overwhelmed with donations. We still are,” said Huchingson, noting that efforts continue to sort, manage and distribute the donations.

She pointed out that donations aren't as free as one might think. Referring to the corps' bill, she said, “It costs that kind of money to manage them. It's very, very significant.”

Even with putting out the word several weeks ago that the county is no longer accepting donations, Huchingson said, “Nonetheless, they keep coming.”

Rein said the county is still finding out about donations in various locations. “There's frankly no end in sight right now.”

He said he has discontinued the California Conservation Corps and is now looking at enlisting the help of AmeriCorps, which is free.

The supervisors acknowledged that, in the recovery process, mistake are going to be made.

“We're learning this as we go along,” said Supervisor Rob Brown.

A countywide effort

In other news, Undersheriff Chris Macedo told the board that the sheriff's office is continuing enhanced patrols of the Valley fire area in an effort to catch any illegal activity. He said he had nothing significant to report on that point.

On the Office of Emergency Services side, Macedo said that on Tuesday morning Sheriff Brian Martin, Huchingson and Perry met. The sheriff's office is poised to take over Lake County OES again at the board's direction.

“The county as a whole – county OES, the county government – wasn't prepared for this type of disaster,” Macedo said of the Valley fire.

He said officials thought they were prepared after the Wye fire of 2012, “But not to this magnitude.”

Now, Macedo said, county officials are going back and looking at what they did right and what they did wrong, so they can improve response for the future.

For that process to succeed, he said the board will need to be engaged in determining what they want the Lake County OES to look like going forward.

“It's not just about one agency in the county responding to this. It's about every agency in the county responding to this,” Macedo said, explaining that everyone from new employees to more senior department heads have a role.

He foresees a lot of training for county staff in the future, with some people likely to be out of their comfort zones. All county employees are registered disaster service workers, he added.

Macedo said county officials will put together a comprehensive emergency plan to be more prepared for future incidents.

The board also received updates from Special Districts Administrator Mark Dellinger, who reported on the potential for a huge number of demands on the county's Middletown sewer treatment property.

Those potential demands include Calpine's need for a 15-acre temporary housing site – for between two and six months – for a crew to rebuild the geothermal steamfield cooling tower damaged in the fire, he said.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the US Army Corps of Engineers also are looking for areas for temporary housing not in the floodplain, he said.

“Your board may have to set some priorities,” Dellinger said.

Community Development Director Rick Coel told the board he and his staff are working to get a permit center set up in the Pine Room at the Middletown Senior Center next week.

“Staffing that facility is going to be difficult,” he said, explaining that his department currently is operating under personnel shortages.

Even if he fills his currently vacant positions, Coel said he expects he will need more staffing next year.

He estimated that if 600 homes – half of those destroyed – are rebuilt over the coming two years, there will be $750,000 in building fees, or an average of $1,200 per stick-built home.

Perry also reported that Macedo is working on memorandums of understanding with the nearly 40 law enforcement agencies that helped respond to the Valley fire, with more than 30 agencies from across the state offering supports on the Office of Emergency Services side.

Of those agencies that offered assistance, Perry said some are charging for their help and others are not.

In other Valley fire-related news, the board approved sending a letter to Assemblyman Bill Dodd and state Sen. Mike McGuire asking for special legislation to backfill the loss of property tax to the county due to the fire and for a state waiver of the local cost for projects eligible for funding under the California Disaster Assistance Act.
 
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.