UPPER LAKE, Calif. – The townspeople of Upper Lake want to keep their bank.

That came through loud and clear in a town hall meeting attended by about 75 people and hosted by District 3 Supervisor Jim Steele on Wednesday night at the Odd Fellows Hall.

It was Steele's first town hall as supervisor, and while there were several items discussed during the two-hour meeting – including road, sidewalk and trail projects, a community garden and cleaning up creeks – the topic that garnered the most attention and discussion was that of the planned closure of Westamerica's Upper Lake branch.

The bank notified customers in January that it planned to close its Upper Lake branch – located next door to the Odd Fellows Hall at 9470 Main St. – on April 24, as Lake County News has reported: www.bit.ly/1wHJ3yd .

In Upper Lake, where there has been a bank on the town's Main Street since 1921, the bank's customers are putting up a fight, circulating paper petitions as well as creating an online petition at http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/upper-lake-bank-customers .

Local officials – including Steele and County Administrative Officer Matt Perry, who also attended the Wednesday night meeting – along with Lake County Chamber of Commerce Chief Executive Officer Melissa Fulton have been working to assist the town on the bank matter.

They've forwarded community concerns and petitions to the California Department of Business Oversight, which has a say in the matter because Westamerica is a state-chartered bank.

Although initially Department of Business Oversight Commissioner Jan Lynn Owen told the bank in a Feb. 13 letter that she didn't object to the branch closure, the agency is now considering reopening the case, according to Owen's special assistant, Tom Dresslar, who also was at the Wednesday meeting.

No Westamerica representatives were present at the Wednesday night town hall.

Dresslar told Lake County News that the agency is considering taking another look at the matter because it has become more clear that the loss of the branch would impact communities across the Northshore and not just Upper Lake, as Westamerica had claimed.

Steele explained that banks have to follow regulations in closing or moving, and the interest now is in how much the community would suffer.

He said a county survey found there are 7,000 people within the branch's service area who might be influenced by the closure. Steele and Perry wrote a letter to the Department of Business Oversight quoting those numbers and also raising concerns about the damage the branch closure could potentially do to public and private investment in the community.

The Northshore as a whole has a total of 15,000 residents, with the Upper Lake bank branch the only bank in that area, said Steele, adding there are no other banks anywhere along Lake County's Highway 20 corridor.

“So, yes, we would be impacted by this,” he said.

Steele asked if any community members would be open to having a credit union in town. About half of the people in the room put their hands up.

Some of those in attendance said they wanted Westamerica to stay, preferring it because of its stability and for its involvement in the community – including Wild West Days and the Christmas light parade – over the years.

Steele said the community had to mobilize very quickly, encouraging people to sign the petitions, which he said are very important.

Also at the Wednesday meeting was Richard Cooper, president and chief executive officer of Mendo Lake Credit Union, which has branches in Clearlake and Lakeport.

Cooper – who noted several other credit union staffers were there – said they were interested in offering services to the community, and asked if the townspeople considered it a good option to have a Mendo Lake Credit Union branch there.

Asked if the credit union was definitely looking at an Upper Lake location, Cooper was careful in his responses.

“We heard that the community was concerned,” he said, explaining that credit union representatives have come over and talked to businesses.

Cooper explained that he wasn't being evasive, but that he didn't have the final say on such an expansion plan, which ultimately is up to the credit union board. He said such any expansion would need to be vetted to gauge its impact on the entire credit union membership.

Resident Annelle Durham asked Cooper what would happen if community members came over to occupy credit union meetings to show interest. Cooper responded by inviting her to the credit union board's annual meeting at 5:15 p.m. Thursday, March 26, in the Chenin Blanc Room at the Ukiah Conference Center, 200 South School St.

Steele noted that the whole Northshore area needs service, and Cooper agreed. “There's so much potential,” Cooper said.

Cooper explained that Mendo Lake Credit Union's board talked long and hard about opening its Clearlake office, which took place in the middle of the recession with high unemployment.

What seemed like a risky decision has turned out well, with Cooper noting, “The community has supported us in record numbers,” and brought in a strong volume of business.

He was asked if the credit union would consider opening an ATM in downtown Upper Lake; it currently has one at nearby Running Creek Casino.

“That is one of the options that we certainly would look at,” said Cooper.

Businesswoman and Upper Lake Community Council President Debbie Hablutzel asked Cooper if the credit union decided to come to town, would it buy the Westamerica Bank building. Cooper said there is a lot of available real estate on Main Street, noting that parking is important – he said it is always something that makes or breaks a financial institution.

Invited to speak, Dresslar told the group that the commissioner of the Department of Business Oversight “feels it's very important that the community's voice be heard in this process.”

The agency also wants to make sure it makes the best decision for the community, Dresslar said.

He said the Department of Business Oversight will will make its decision about whether to object to the branch closure ahead of the intended April 24 closure, and if it does object, the closure will be stopped.

Hablutzel asked if he had received the petitions, and Dresslar confirmed he had. He added that when his agency started looking at the online petition, the commissioner was very interested in the fact that the impact extends beyond Upper Lake.

Cooper told the group that Dresslar's presence at the meeting meant the community's voice is being heard. “Somebody's listening to you,” Cooper said.

He thanked Dresslar for coming, noting of the attention Upper Lake's bank matter is getting, “This doesn't happen very often.”

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.