How to resolve AdBlock issue? The board chambers at the Lake County Courthouse will be closed, so members of the public who want to provide real-time input during any upcoming board meeting should write the clerk to the Board of Supervisors at
Input on any board item can likewise be shared via
The meeting can be viewed at https://countyoflake.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx .
In response to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Executive Order 33-20, the state Public Health officer recently designated a list of “essential critical infrastructure workers,” those who must continue working despite the statewide order to shelter-in-place.
The governor’s order defines essential critical infrastructure workers by sector including health care and public health, emergency services sector, food and agriculture, energy, water and wastewater, transportation and logistics, communications and information technology, critical manufacturing, hazardous materials, financial services, chemical and defense industrial base, according to a report to the board from County Administrative Officer Carol Huchingson.
The Board of Supervisors was additionally given authority to define, “Critical government workers.”
At its Tuesday meeting, the board began discussing the workers’ definitions and assigned an ad hoc committee consisting of Huchingson, Board Chair Moke Simon, Supervisor Bruno Sabatier and County Counsel Anita Grant to work with department heads toward final recommendations, which will be presented during Friday’s emergency meeting.
Huchingson said the committee’s goals were the safety of county employees and compliance with shelter in place order and as many employees as possible working productively from home.
During the COVID-19 shelter in place order, the committee concluded that the county “must be focused on critical duties that cannot wait because they are essential to the County’s continuity of operations and/or on critical infrastructure work (as defined above in the 12 specific sectors) to support disaster response efforts,” Huchingson said.
“The committee found, and department heads concurred, that general office workers who are responsible to provide support work, such as reception, clerical, and other internal and/or routine functions are not essential workers during the disaster and such workers should shelter in place,” Huchingson wrote. “The committee found that such non-essential workers, when feasible to do so, should be allowed to work remotely. For those situations where it is not feasible to work remotely, non-essential employees should be offered work as Disaster Service Workers, subject to assignment by the Lake County Emergency Operations Center.”
She said that the committee also found that department heads are best equipped to serve as decision-makers with respect to the nonessential workforce “and should be afforded flexibility to make changes in their determinations due to the fluid nature of the crisis.”
The ad hoc committee suggests directing department heads to immediately send workers they have determined to be nonessential to shelter in place during the COVID-19 disaster; that the board should authorize department heads to periodically adjust their determinations of nonessential workers due to the fluid nature of the disaster; department heads should provide remote work assignments to nonessential workers when feasible, offer disaster service work or approve such employees the use of accruals and other leave benefits while sheltering in place and not working; and direct the ad hoc committee to continue to be available to department heads to assist with resolution of issues that arise and return to the Board no later than April 14.
Once those determinations are made, the board will consider a resolution amending its previously approved Resolution No. 2020-32 relating to workplace safety, employee leave and remote work in response to COVID-19.
In other business, Health Services Director Denise Pomeroy will ask the board to consider appointing Dr. Charlie Evans as the county’s designated alternate Public Health officer and approve a professional services agreement with him.
Pomeroy said that Public Health Officer Dr. Gary Pace has been working 12-hour days, seven days a week.
“This Agreement would allow Dr. Pace to receive assistance when needed and take a day off if necessary. Dr. Pace has worked with Dr. Evans over the last several years and recommends him as Designated Alternate Health Officer,” Pomeroy wrote.
Pomeroy said the agreement states that Dr. Evans may only act as alternate health officer when mutually agreed upon in writing by her or Dr. Pace.
Evans graduated with honors from University Of California, San Francisco School of Medicine in 1982 and has more than 38 years of medical experience, including work in emergency medicine, family medicine and public health, specializing in tuberculosis control.
He has served as the communicable disease health officer at the Mendocino County Health Department for 18 years, works as an emergency medicine specialist in Ukiah and has affiliations with several regional hospitals.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
