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CLEARLAKE, Calif. — The Clearlake City Council on Thursday will review the police department’s military equipment policy, consider a draft request for proposals for a new animal control contract following the August termination of the current provider’s contract and weigh creating two new management positions in the city.
The council will meet at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 18, in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.
The agenda can be found here.
The meeting will be broadcast live on the city's YouTube channel or the Lake County PEGTV YouTube Channel.
Community members also can participate via Zoom. The webinar ID is 819 8866 1218, the pass code is 899422. One tap mobile is available at +16694449171,,82771053751#, or join by phone at 669-444-9171 or 646-931-3860.
The council will hold a public hearing on the police department’s military equipment policy and hear its annual military equipment report, as required under Assembly Bill No. 481.
According to the staff report, the department currently owns a mobile command unit used as a field post for major incidents such as fires, public events and crime scenes, and plans to purchase a drone for search and rescue, tactical operations, crime scene documentation and hazard monitoring.
The department also is evaluating the possible acquisition of an armored rescue vehicle to enhance officer and community safety in high-risk situations and support rescues.
Under business, the council will discuss a request for proposals, or RFP, for animal care and control service.
On Aug 7, the council terminated the animal care contract with North Bay Animal Services, or NBAS.
The agenda item for that meeting was extremely vague and did not indicate what it is now clear was the council’s intention.
North Bay Animal Services also has told Lake County News they were not notified in advance of the potential for contract termination.
Flora sent a notice of termination to NBAS on Aug. 15, according to the staff report.
Staff was also asked to prepare an RFP draft with Mayor Russ Cremer and Councilmember Tara Downey, which is under review for approval this week.
The council will also consider changes to job classifications to create two new middle-management positions — building services manager and finance manager — with a salary range from $79,375 to $96, 481.
The staff report said costs would be offset by revenue from grants, fees and reduced consultant hours.
The building services manager would oversee the Building Department, including code enforcement, budget management, staff supervision, and the rental registration program.
The finance manager, reporting to the finance director, would supervise accounting staff, manage grants, prepare financial reports, and coordinate the annual audit.
On the meeting’s consent agenda — items that are considered routine in nature and usually adopted on a single vote — are second reading and adoption of Ordinance No. 279-2025 amending Section 9-4 of the Clearlake Municipal Code regarding residential rental registration and inspection; warrants; Lake County Vector Control Board minutes; council minutes; and award of contract to All-American Construction Inc. for the Moss/40th Ave Intersection Rehabilitation Project in the amount of $393,007.50, with authorization for the city manager to approve up to 10% for additional unforeseen contract amendments.
The council also will hold a closed session to discuss anticipated litigation, including one potential case pursuant to Paragraph 2 of subdivision (d) of Government Code § 54956.9.
Email staff reporter Lingzi Chen at
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- Written by: Lingzi Chen
A bill to close a loophole in California’s sex offender registration law is now headed to the governor’s desk.
Senate Bill 680 (SB 680) ensures that adults who commit serious sexual offenses against minors can no longer avoid registration due to outdated legal technicalities.
The bill, authored by Sen. Susan Rubio (D–Baldwin Park), passed through the Legislature with strong bipartisan support.
“This bill is about one thing — protecting our girls,” said Rubio. “A predator like Jeffrey Epstein could have been sentenced to decades in prison. But when he got out, current California law might not have required him to register as a sex offender for some of his crimes. That’s appalling. If a grown man sexually abuses a young girl, we’re going to make sure he’s treated like every other sex offender. No loopholes. No excuses. SB 680 makes sure of that.”
Under current law, most sexual offenses involving minors carry mandatory sex offender registration as part of the sentence. But a loophole allows some predators to slip through the cracks.
Currently, the charge of “unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor” does not automatically trigger registration. That means when a grown man is more than 10 years older than a girl under 16, he could avoid registration entirely.
SB 680 closes that loophole by requiring registration in those cases, bringing the law in line with how California treats other serious sex offenses against minors.
Sen. Rubio introduced the bill in partnership with the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office, which identified real-world cases where adult men avoided sex offender registration even after abusing girls, simply because of how California law was written.
Rubio’s office said SB 680 doesn’t create new crimes or increase penalties — it fixes a blind spot that lets some of the most serious offenses against minors be treated as less serious under the law.
“I commend the California Legislature for passing Senate Bill 680, as this critically important bill will close a loophole in our sex offender registration requirement,” said Los Angeles City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto. “I am proud to have worked with Sen. Rubio to sponsor this bill. SB 680 eliminates the so-called Jeffrey Epstein exception for mandatory registration of offenders who are at least 10 years older than their victims.”
“It should not be controversial to say that adults who abuse children should be on the sex offender registry,” Rubio added. “SB 680 makes sure that’s true in every case. No one gets treated differently. If you hurt a young girl, the law will treat you like every other sex offender.”
SB 680 now heads to Gov. Newsom for his signature. If signed, it will finally bring California’s sex offender registry in line with the seriousness of the crimes it’s meant to address and ensure young girls are no longer left unprotected by a technicality, Rubio’s office said.
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