News
Deputy Redevelopment Director Eric Seely said the county plans to use $20,000 in redevelopment funds to install six gates in areas of the “paper” subdivisions – the hill areas that stretch behind Nice and Lucerne – in order to prevent illegal dumpers from accessing potential dump sites.
The county is partnering with Northshore Fire and Cal Fire to secure the areas, said Seely.
Seely said the funds will pay for concrete, heavy equipment and building materials for the gates, which will be built and installed by Cal Fire.
Northshore Fire Chief Jim Robbins introduced the idea to Cal Fire, said Seely, which in turn is donating staff time for the project.
The gates, said Seely, will be located on Foothill Drive behind Jim Fetzer's Ceago Vinegarden property; on Minor Road off Bartlett Springs Road; on Bishop Extension, which is located on the top of the ridge on U.S. Forest Service Property; on Utopia Extension near where Cal Water is building a new water tank; on Arden Drive; and on Dunstan Road off of Robinson Road near Morrison Creek.
The Dunstan Road area, where it curves around near Morrison Creek, is “the big trouble spot,” said Seely.
Driving the gate project, said Seely, was a big cleanup of Morrison Creek that Code Enforcement conducted last March.
Supervisor Denise Rushing, speaking at a town hall meeting in Lucerne on Saturday, said that during that cleanup county staff removed cars, refrigerators and about six years' worth of garbage out of Morrison Creek, which is a local water supply source.
However, Rushing reported the area has already been dumped in again.
It's a vexing problem, especially considering that local garbage haulers will pick up the large, bulky items often deposited in area creeks and ravines, and county garbage rates are among the state's lowest, according to Rushing.
Seely said Code Enforcement Manager Voris Brumfield took the idea of installing gates in the subdivisions to County Counsel Anita Grant, who issued a legal opinion supporting the idea.
The Morrison Creek area used for illegal dumping is enough of a concern that the California Integrated Waste Management Board has included it in an inventory of dump sites requiring monitoring, said Ray Ruminksi, director of Lake County Environmental Health.
Morrison Creek was never a legal dump site, said Ruminski.
Environmental Health is the local enforcement agency representing the California Integrated Waste Management Board on matters involving waste management.
The state wants Environmental Health to be involved with inspecting and reporting on the site, Ruminski said, which would be in addition to Code Enforcement's efforts.
Robbins said he has agreed to have Northshore Fire be the gate keeper for the areas once the gates are installed.
“If someone has proof that they own property in there, we will allow them to borrow a key to visit the property,” said Robbins.
In cases where people build homes behind the gates, they will be issued a key of their own, Robbins added.
Robbins said there was an effort several years ago to install gates to reduce access to the subdivisions, in large part because of the bad condition of the roads. Now, however, the primary issue has shifted.
“We're just trying to figure out a way to stop all this garbage dumping,” Robbins said. “We don't know that this is the trick yet but we're certainly going to try.”
Robbins said the gates will be surrounded by bollards, to allow walkers and bikers through to enjoy the public roads.
The fire chief himself has caught illegal dumpers in action in the areas which will now be protected by gates.
Several months ago he watched as employees of a Willits tree service company drove onto a dirt road behind the Fetzer property, where they began dumping tree trimmings and mulch. Robbins said he kept the men there and summoned a deputy, who cited them and ordered them take the greenwaste to a proper facility.
“That's what we have to put up with,” said Robbins, who added that a lot of dumping takes place at night.
Seely said the county hopes the gates will be installed by late spring, in time for the beginning of fire season.
The participating agencies will monitor the dumping situation and the effectiveness of the gates, said Seely. If additional gates are needed, they'll be added in the future.
As access to more secluded areas is limited, Seely said it's hoped illegal dumpers will lose their opportunity. If they do try to dump in other areas, they could risk being more easily seen and prosecuted.
To further enhance the effort against illegal dumping, Rushing said that Code Enforcement has named Beverly Westphal as its illegal dumping contact.
Anyone who has witnessed illegal dumping is urged to call Westphal at 263-2309 during business hours, or leave a message 24 hours a day at 263-2308.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
{mos_sb_discuss:2}
- Details
- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
On Friday, former state Sen. Wes Chesbro, who was termed out of the Senate in 2006, announced his plans to run for Berg's First District Assembly seat this year, with her endorsement, as Lake County News has reported.
Berg's term runs out in December.
In a Saturday morning interview with Lake County News, Berg said she's known Chesbro for 30 years and has confidence he'll serve the North Coast well in the Assembly.
“He'll be exemplary,” she said. “He'll hit the ground running.”
Last Tuesday, California voters defeated Proposition 93, which would have given California legislators up to 12 years of time in one or both houses, and extended Berg's years of service.
That would have altered the term limits law, Proposition 140, adopted by the state's voters in 1990, according to the Public Policy Institute of California. Those limits impose a lifetime ban after three two-year terms in the Assembly and two four-year terms in the Senate.
Berg said she was “gravely disappointed” at Proposition 93's defeat, because of its impact on the institution of state government.
With constant turnover of legislators, the only people in Sacramento who have the institutional memory are lobbyists and staff, Berg said.
Since 1990, 21 states have enacted term limits, and six have repealed them, said Berg. Voters, she added, can term out legislators on any election day.
Berg said former state legislator John Vasconcellos, who served in office for 38 years and was termed out in 1996, said it took him a minimum of 10 years to understand the complicated state budget.
“It's all about the budget,” said Berg. “Social policy derives from the budget.”
Berg chairs the Health and Human Services Budget Committee. She said many new legislators with little experience are thrown into the budget mix headlong, with little understanding or experience.
With only six years in the Assembly and eight years in the Senate, Berg said, “You don't even have time to really build relationships, which is what it's all about, too.”
Berg said she doesn't plan to make a run for Sen. Pat Wiggins' Second District Senate seat, which Wiggins will be termed out of in 2014. Berg is now 65, said she would be well into her 70s by that time.
Berg said she isn't ruling anything out. “Right now I'm just going to keep all my options open.”
She does have a goal in mind, she said.
“I've started a committee to run for state insurance commissioner,” said Berg.
Her interest in health care and health insurance drew her to the insurance commissioner post, Berg explained.
She said she feels the health care industry must be regulated, and that health care is a right, not a privilege. “I really care about people being covered.”
Berg said she would run for the insurance commissioner office, currently held by Steve Poizner, in 2010.
Political commentators have pegged Poizner as a possible gubernatorial candidate in 2010. That would open the door for Berg to run for insurance commissioner.
In order to take on the prospect of a statewide race, Berg said she formed the exploratory committee.
For the remainder of her term, however, Berg said she has a lot on her plate in serving the Assembly's First District, which stretches from Del Norte County in the north to Sonoma County in the south, is one of the largest areas of representation in the nation. She called it California's best district.
Some of the issues she plans to work on for the remainder of the year involve health and human services programs, she said, including those dealing with California's aging population – one of her consistent areas of interest.
“My focus is doing the best I can in the time I have left,” Berg said.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
{mos_sb_discuss:3}
- Details
- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
How to resolve AdBlock issue?