How to resolve AdBlock issue? LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — In its last meeting of the year, the Board of Supervisors will consider an appeal of approval for a biochar project in Upper Lake and discuss another contract change order for a Cobb road rehabilitation project.
The board will meet beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 16, in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.
The meeting can be watched live on Channel 8, online and on the county’s Facebook page. Accompanying board documents, the agenda and archived board meeting videos also are available at that link.
To participate in real-time, join the Zoom meeting by clicking this link.
The meeting ID is 865 3354 4962, pass code 726865. The meeting also can be accessed via one tap mobile at +16694449171,,86533544962#,,,,*726865#. The meeting can also be accessed via phone at 669 900 6833.
At 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, the board will hold a public hearing to consider Larry Kahn’s appeal of the Lake County Planning Commission’s approval a year ago this month of Scotts Valley Energy Corp.’s proposed forest wood processing bioenergy project, to be located on county-owned land at 755 E. State Highway 20, Upper Lake.
Kahn and other opponents of the project have raised numerous concerns about it, from its location in a scenic viewshed, to concerns about emissions, questions about whether such a facility can be located on property the county purchased with state grant funds, plan engineering, safety and air quality.
In an untimed item on Tuesday, the board will consider a contract change order for the 2024 Pavement Rehabilitation Project in Cobb.
Last year, the board approved a plan to use a less expensive double chip seal material to pave 16 miles of road in Cobb, awarding a $5.1 million construction contract to Argonaut Constructors for the project in April of this year.
However, over the summer, problems with the project began almost immediately, with Cobb residents reporting that the newly paved roads began to immediately deteriorate, as Lake County News has reported.
That led to the board approving a $1 million change order to the contract with Argonaut Constructors at its Sept. 9 meeting, raising the total contract cost to $6.1 million.
Lars Ewing, the county’s interim Public Works director, is asking the board to approve a third contract change order in the amount of $311,850.
His report to the board said the September contract change order modified the project’s scope “by replacing the planned chip seal surfaces with asphalt concrete on roads that had already been pulverized and chip sealed under the original contract.”
Due to irregular road surfaces, it was necessary to place asphalt at depths of between 2.5 and 3 inches, which Ewing said resulted in the 1,450 tons of paving material being exceeded, “and the paving budget was exhausted before the contractor could complete the four remaining roads within the project scope.”
With the proposed change order, the total revised contract amount will be $6,453,941.38, which Ewing said “remains well below the original construction estimate of $8,929,115.61.”
During closed session, the board will hold interviews in order to appoint a new chief public defender following the departure of Raymond Buenaventura last month. Since then, Deputy County Counsel Carlos Torrez has been filling the position on an interim basis.
The full agenda follows.
CONSENT AGENDA
5.1: Approve continuation of emergency proclamation declaring a shelter crisis in Lake County.
5.2: Approve continuation of proclamation of the existence of a local emergency due to pervasive tree mortality.
5.3: Approve continuation of proclamation declaring a Clear Lake hitch emergency.
5.4: Approve second amendment to the Lake County PEG agreement for fiscal years 2024–27 in an amount not to exceed $17,000 for FY 2024–25, $22,000 for FY 2025–26 and $10,000 for FY 2026–27, and authorize the chair to sign.
5.5: Second reading, adopt an ordinance amending Section 56.3 of Chapter 14 (Personnel) of the Lake County Code to establish a county counsel attorneys unit and add attorney positions to the district attorney unit to reflect changes in membership.
5.6: Adopt resolution authorizing cancellation of Fund 110 reserve accounts in the amount of $212,408 to provide repayment of FEMA and CDAA funds.
5.7: Approve agreement for physical therapy services in support of the California Children’s Services Medical Therapy Program between the County of Lake and Trina Maia for a term of 12 months in an amount not to exceed $114,840, and authorize the chair of the Board of Supervisors to sign.
5.8: (a) Authorize the County of Lake to receive grant funds totaling $210,000 for five grant-funded projects through the California Collaborative Connectivity program; (b) authorize the information technology director to sign a memorandum of understanding between the Imperial County Office of Education and the Lake County Library; (c) adopt resolution to appropriate unanticipated revenue in BU 1904, Information Technology; and (d) amend the FY 2025–26 capital asset list to include inside wiring modernization at the Lakeport Library ($50,000), Redbud Library ($50,000) and Upper Lake Library ($50,000).
5.9: Approve agreement between the county of Lake and Strata Architecture Planning Management for architectural and engineering services in the amount of $127,956 for the Emergency Operations Center renovation project.
5.10: (a) Approve the Department of Boating and Waterways 2026–27 application for financial aid in the amount of $536,071.90; (b) authorize the sheriff to sign the application; and (c) adopt resolution authorizing application for and acceptance, if awarded, of FY 2026–27 Boating Safety and Enforcement Financial Aid Program funding from the California Department of Parks and Recreation, Division of Boating and Waterways, in the authorized amount of $315,312, and authorization to participate in the program.
5.11: Approve the purchase and use of small unmanned aerial systems by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office using a Sourcewell contract.
5.12: Approve the county investment policy and authorize the chair to sign.
5.13: Adopt resolution further amending Resolution Nos. 2024-51, 2019-70 and 2019-162 to clarify procedures used in the collection of taxes due pursuant to the Lake County cannabis cultivation tax ordinance.
5.14: Approve delegation of investment authority to the treasurer-tax collector.
TIMED ITEMS
6.2: 9:03 a.m. – Pet of the week.
6.3: 9:10 a.m. – Consideration of an update on the transfer of the Lake County Housing Commission to the Regional Housing Authority.
6.4: 9:30 a.m. – Consideration of the 2026–2030 county road pavement preservation work plan.
6.5: 10:30 a.m. – Public hearing: Consideration of appeal (PL-25-22; AB 24-06) of the Planning Commission’s approval of a major use permit (UP 23-05) and initial study (IS 23-10) for the AG Forest Wood Processing Bioenergy Project, located at 755 E. State Highway 20, Upper Lake (APN 004-010-04); appellant: Larry Kahn (continued from May 20, June 17, Aug. 26 and Oct. 28, 2025).
6.6: 11:15 a.m. – Hearing: Consideration of hearing request for code enforcement notice of nuisance and order to abate for 10674 Edgewater Drive, Kelseyville (APN 043-433-09); property owner: Annette M. Encalada.
6.7: 11:30 a.m. – Hearing: Consideration of hearing request for notice of nuisance and order to abate for 9685 Nancy Drive, Kelseyville (APN 114-100-04); property owner: Victor Hall.
6.8: 1 p.m. – Public hearing: Adopt ordinance amending Chapter 5 of the Lake County Code and adopting by reference the 2025 California Building Standards Code, known as California Code of Regulations, Title 24, Parts 1–6 and 8–12, incorporating the 2025 editions of the California Administrative, Building, Residential, Electrical, Mechanical, Plumbing, Historical Building, Fire, Existing Building, Green Building and Referenced Standards codes.
UNTIMED ITEMS
7.2: Consideration of a letter of support for the “Advancing Community Wildfire Resilience: Capacity Building and Local Leadership Development, Phase II” project of the Lake County Resource Conservation District through the Coalitions and Collaboratives Action, Implementation and Mitigation Grant Program.
7.3: Consideration of approval of Amendment No. 5 to the agreement between the County of Lake and Community Behavioral Health for specialty mental health services for fiscal years 2023-24, 2024-25 and 2025-26.
7.4: Consideration of contract change order No. 3 to the contract with Argonaut Constructors Inc. for the 2024 pavement rehabilitation project for an increase of $311,850, and authorize the chair to sign.
CLOSED SESSION
8.1: Public employee appointment pursuant to Gov. Code Section 54957(b)(1): Interviews for appointment of chief public defender.
8.2: Conference with labor negotiator: (a) Chief negotiator: S. Parker; county negotiators: S. Carter, C. Moreno, P. Samac and D. Rico; and (b) employee organizations: LCDSA and LCCOA.
8.3: Public employee discipline, dismissal or release.
8.4: Conference with legal counsel: Existing litigation pursuant to Gov. Code Section 54956.9(d)(1) – FERC Proceeding No. P-77, Potter Valley Hydroelectric Project.
8.5: Conference with legal counsel: Existing litigation pursuant to Gov. Code Section 54956.9(d)(1) – Sorenson v. County of Lake et al.
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