CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake City Council conducted its midyear budget review Thursday, making adjustments that included the designation of up to $10,000 for needed repairs at the city's skatepark, which was closed last week for safety reasons.

Chris Becnel, city finance director, provided a summary for the council concluding that $125,459 remains unallocated following staff's recommended adjustments. The total reflects that Becnel reported prior to the designation of funds for skatepark repairs.

Becnel said adjustments for revenue and expenditures before midyear spending adjustments total $428,000 to the positive, which are attributed to unanticipated revenues received and lower spending than projected.

According to Becnel, the city received a total of $243,000 in unanticipated revenues, which included a settlement from a property tax administration fee, and reimbursements through Workers' Compensation and the city's liability insurance.

Becnel included in his report revenues, either higher or lower than anticipated, that potentially exceeded $5,000.

Of the most significance, he said, are Highway User Tax Account, or gas tax, funds. He said while gas tax revenues may be about $50,000 more than anticipated in the current, an estimated $100,000 decrease is projected next fiscal year, mainly because of advances in technology and energy efficiency.

Unanticipated costs to the city include $27,000 for attorney fees and $10,000 for police training not reimbursed through the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, or POST.

However, Becnel said the budgeted amount for animal control services contracted through the SPCA of Clear Lake, which was based on the previous year's amount, is overstated by $42,000.

Along with a projected savings of $168,000 compared to those budgeted for police expenses through the remainder of the fiscal year, Becnel calculated these items to a net savings of $173,000.

The council approved spending adjustments, as recommended, to the total of $302,541 as follows:

– $54,500 for updating computers in the police department and administration. Becnel said this will essentially complete the updating of all the city's computers.
– $82,000 for the two new police vehicles. Police Chief Craig Clausen said the amount includes costs to fully equip each vehicle.
– $38,000 for police recruiting, which is set aside to send recruits to the police academy. Clausen said he is working with City Attorney Ryan Jones to develop strategies for increasing the officer retention rate in the department.
– $55,741 for code enforcement for April through June.
– $10,000 for police training not reimbursed through POST.
– $12,300 for animal control expenses not budgeted.
– $50,000 to the Economic Uncertainty Reserve. Becnel said while this is not an actual expense, the city should not pass up an opportunity to add to the reserve when it presents itself.

Becnel recommended the $125,459 remaining in unallocated funds after budget adjustments be set aside for any other unanticipated costs the city may encounter.

Councilman Bruno Sabatier opened the discussion concerning the immediate need for repairs at the skatepark, which was scheduled to be closed the following morning.

Sabatier emphasized the necessity to maintain its operation, less the detriment of the city's youth, especially in light of the approaching summer.

Public Works Director Doug Herren was present and indicated ability to repair the facility at an expense of no more than $10,000.

Previous projects to repair the skatepark, historically in the city, have included volunteers from the community.

Anyone who would like to contribute to the current project should contact city hall at 707-994-8201.

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

Plane with blown engine lands safely

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Firefighters were dispatched to Lampson Airport just before 2:30 p.m. Friday after Lake County Central Dispatch received a report from Sonoma County that a small fixed-wing plane that had lost an engine was coming in for a landing.

Lakeport and Kelseyville Fire were dispatched to the scene, but before arriving REACH 6, which has a base at the airport, reported that the plane has landed safely, with no injuries.

Some oil was reported to be on the runway, which REACH 6 reported was being cleaned up by people at the airport.

The N-Number given over the air for the plane is registered to a Windsor address.


Largest hitch school so far this spring spotted

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The Clear Lake hitch are running in local creeks.

The Chi Council for the Clear Lake Hitch reported that schools of the fish – which have been granted “threatened” status under the California Endangered Species Act – have been spotted this week in Seigler Canyon Creek, and in Adobe and Kelsey creeks at Soda Bay Road.

Victoria Brandon, secretary for the council, reported Friday that the Kelsey Creek hitch school is the largest seen this year, with an an estimated 200 fish.

So far this year, the fish also have been spotted in Alley, Cooper, Hellsbend, Hendricks, Schindler and Scotts creeks, according to the council's Web site.

Full sightings to date are posted to http://lakelive.info/chicouncil/2015results.html .


Pearl Harbor Survivors to celebrate a birthday

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Members of the local Pearl Harbor Survivors Association will gather on Monday for a birthday celebration for “sweetheart” Alice Darrow.

The group will get together for breakfast at 10 a.m. at Main Street Bar and Grill, 14084 Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake.

“Sweetheart” is the group's term for widows of the men who survived the attack on Dec. 7, 1941.

Alice Darrow, a former Navy nurse, is the widow of Dean Darrow, who was aboard the USS West Virginia. He died in 1991.

She'll be joined by another sweetheart, Charlotte Bower, whose late husband Chuck had been at the US Sub Base, and Bill Slater, who had been aboard the USS Pennsylvania.

Happy birthday, Alice!


REGIONAL

Sonoma County authorities investigate school bomb threat

The Sonoma County Sheriff's Office on Friday responded to a report of a bomb at Cardinal Newman High School.

The response included temporarily shutting down Old Redwood Highway.

The agency later reported that their investigation determined that no bomb had been placed at the school.


STATE

California Agriculture Day events planned March 18 in Sacramento

The California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom is partnering with the California Department of Food and Agriculture and the California Women for Agriculture to host California Agriculture Day on the west steps of the capitol on March 18.

The theme for the 2015 event is “California Agriculture: Breaking new Ground.”

The celebration March 18 will include farm animals, educational displays and entertainment.

Ag Day is the agricultural community’s annual opportunity to educate and inspire the farmers and ranchers of tomorrow, showcase new technologies in agriculture, and highlight the diversity of California agriculture.

“National Agriculture Week gives us the opportunity to celebrate agriculture, an industry that provides a safe, abundant, and affordable food supply, a strong economy, and a world of job opportunities. Please join me and other leaders in agriculture as we support the education of our next generation of consumers and voters during National Agriculture week events,” said California Department of Food and Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – As part of the ongoing effort to encourage the purchase of locally-grown produce by schools in Lake County for student lunches, snacks and breakfasts, North Coast Opportunities Inc. announced that it recently was awarded a $397,899 grant from the California Department of Food and Agriculture to serve five Lake County school districts.

The Specialty Crop Block Grant was awarded to North Coast Opportunities Inc., or NCO, by the California Department of Food and Agriculture, or CDFA.

NCO will work with five Lake County school districts to address barriers to the utilization of specialty crops in school meals.

Specialty crops – as opposed to commodity crops – include fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, and dried fruits.

“With this grant, we have the opportunity to increase the amount of fresh, in season, locally grown specialty crops served daily to 6,000 Lake County students,” said Terre Logsdon, Lake County Farm to School Project coordinator. “Additionally, this grant will give local specialty crop farmers the opportunity to expand production to meet the needs of the school – a win-win for our health and local economy.”

The Lake County Farm to School Project will assess school needs, upgrade kitchen equipment, and help adapt kitchen space in Kelseyville Unified School District, Konocti Unified School District, Lakeport Unified School District, Middletown Unified School District, and Upper Lake Union Elementary School District.

Having the proper kitchen equipment – and knowing how to efficiently use it to process local produce – is a large part of this CDFA grant.

Food service staff in the participating districts will receive specialized equipment based on their needs assessment.

They also will receive training on equipment use and local specialty crop procurement, preparation and processing.

Students will have the opportunity to participate in summer programming that will teach them how to process and preserve local specialty crops for use in school kitchens throughout the school year, thereby extending the use of local produce in school meals.

The Lake County Farm to School project will also work with local farmers to help them understand the needs of area schools, provide technical assistance to meet school purchasing requirements, and link farmers and food service directors to help create production schedules based on school needs.

The project is modeled after NCO’s successful Mendocino County Farm to School project.

Anticipated outcomes include increased capacity to incorporate local specialty crops into school meals, increased school purchasing of local specialty crops, increased utilization of specialty crops in school meals, increased consumption of fresh specialty crops and improved nutrition for 6,000 students, and increased farm income generated through sales to local schools and businesses.

Over the past decade, NCO has leveraged relationships with numerous community partners to revitalize the local food system by supporting food production, distribution and infrastructure, marketing and promotion, and nutrition education.

As a result, local production is increasing, as is community demand for and access to healthy local foods.

“We’re excited to add this project to our local food system efforts,” said NCO Executive Director Patty Bruder. “It aligns with our mission at NCO to empower people through community action, it will help support Lake County on the Way to Wellville, and it’s wonderful to be able to work directly with a younger generation.”

For more information on NCO, visit www.ncoinc.org .

AccuWeather reports though the skies opened up over California during the last month of 2014, the dry start to 2015 has officials bracing for the state's fourth consecutive year of drought.

Reservoir levels have been on a roller-coaster ride since December, when several inches of rain inundated much of the state. San Francisco received 10.66 inches of rain and Sacramento had 8.60 inches during December.

Still, every single major reservoir in California was running below 50 percent of capacity at the end of December, according to the Department of Water Resources.

And January brought a turn for the worse.

For the first time on record, parts of Northern California received no measurable precipitation in January, the month that is typically wettest for the state as a whole.

February kicked off with a promising start, however, as a pineapple express setup sent heavy rain to northern California again in the first week of the month.

More than 10.10 inches fell over Mt. Shasta, California, through Feb. 9, while Santa Rosa received 4.20 inches.

The rain also broke the dry spell for San Francisco after 43 days, becoming the second longest dry spell on record for the city.

“Realistically, this is the first decent event we've seen since the middle to later part of December,” Climatologist for the National Drought Mitigation Center Brian Fuchs said.
 
“One big event is helpful, but it's not going to be the cure-all,” he said.

While periods of heavy rainfall do benefit reservoirs in the short term, they don't put a significant dent in the long-term drought crisis.

“Though rain brought some short-term relief to reservoirs, it's snow that's essential for most of California,” AccuWeather.com Western Weather Expert Ken Clark said.

“What is needed now is snow in the Sierra, and right now it is far below normal.”

Melting snow in late spring and summer feeds the reservoir system and is key to how much water will be available for farming in the summer.

As of Feb. 6, the snowpack in the central and southern Sierra was at only 21 and 22 percent of normal, respectively. The northern Sierra is faring worse, with only 19 percent of normal snowpack for the date.

Fuchs speculates that the spring will bring a curtailment of water used for irrigation.
 
A second season for precipitation is forecast to arrive from late March through April, according to AccuWeather.com Long-Range Forecaster Paul Pastelok, but it won't be enough to fill the enormous deficit.

Overall, time is running out for the state to increase its snowpack in the Sierra.

“The clock is ticking and, realistically, we're not making much headway,” Fuchs said.

Jillian MacMath is a staff writer for www.AccuWeather.com .