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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The board will meet beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 10, 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 at https://countyoflake.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx 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 1:30 p.m., the board will consider a draft response to the United States Board on Geographic Names’ Domestic Names Committee regarding Citizens for Healing’s proposal to change the name of Kelseyville to Konocti.
In October 2023, a local group calling itself “Citizens for Healing” submitted a proposal to the U.S. Board of Geographic Names requesting that the name of Kelseyville be changed due to its association with Andrew Kelsey, who along with his partner Charles Stone brutalized, raped and murdered Pomo tribal members.
The men were subsequently murdered by tribal members in 1849, which in turn led to a series of retaliatory strikes on tribes around the North Coast, including the Bloody Island massacre near modern-day Nice in 1850.
In February, the U.S. Board of Geographic Names asked the supervisors for their recommendation on the name change.
In August, the Board of Supervisors voted to put advisory Measure U on the ballot. It asked voters if the name of Kelseyville should be changed to “Konocti,” as Citizens for Healing has proposed.
On Nov. 5, voters made their decision on Measure U, which received a countywide “no” vote of 70.58% versus a “yes” vote of 29.42%.
Now it will be up to the board to decide what action they will recommend. At the August meeting, they indicated they may not follow the result of the advisory measure if they didn’t agree with it.
The proposed response includes three options — reject the name change, recommend it or take no formal action.
Also on Tuesday, in an untimed item, the board will discuss Chair Bruno Sabatier’s recommendation that District 4 Supervisor Michael Green be appointed the board chair for the remainder of his term, which ends Jan. 7.
Sabatier said that Green — appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in October 2022 to serve the unexpired term that resulted from Tina Scott’s resignation — hasn’t had the chance to serve as board chair.
“I would like to offer the opportunity for Supervisor Green to be the chair of the Board for the remainder of his term until new Supervisors have been sworn in and a new Chair and Vice-Chair have been selected for the 2025 calendar year,” Sabatier wrote. “Vice-Chair Crandell would remain in his appointed position until a new Chair and Vice-Chair are selected for the 2025 calendar year, on our January 7, 2025 meeting.”
In other scheduled business on Tuesday, at 9:15 a.m. the board will consider the Lake County Fire Protection District Community Wildfire Protection Plan, to be followed by the 2023 Crop and Livestock Report at 9:30 p.m.
At 9:50 a.m., the supervisors will consider a resolution to form the Lake County Hospital Improvement District.
At 11 a.m., the board — sitting as the Lake County Watershed Protection District Board of Directors — will get an update on the recent invasive golden mussel detection in the San Joaquin Delta and state, regional, and local response and management actions to date.
The full agenda follows.
CONSENT AGENDA
5.1: Adopt resolution accepting official canvass of the general election held on Nov. 5, 2024; declaring certain county officials duly elected; and declaring the results to each measure under the board’s jurisdiction.
5.2: Adopt resolution that will authorize the department head of Lake County Department of Social Services to apply for and accept the county allocation award under Round 6 of the Transitional Housing Program and Round 3 of the Housing Navigation and Maintenance Program.
5.3: Approve county investment policy.
5.4: Approve delegation of investment authority to treasurer-tax collector.
TIMED ITEMS
6.2, 9:03 a.m.: Pet of the Week.
6.3, 9:04 a.m.: New and Noteworthy at the Library.
6.4, 9:05 a.m.: Consideration of the Sept. 30, 2024 report of Lake County pooled investments.
6.5, 9:15 a.m.: Consideration of the Lake County Fire Protection District Community Wildfire Protection Plan.
6.6, 9:30 a.m.: Presentation of the 2023 Crop and Livestock Report.
6.7, 9:50 a.m.: Consideration and discussion of the resolution of formation declaring the formation of the Lake County Hospital Improvement District.
6.8, 10 a.m.: Presentation regarding the Housing Action and Implementation Plan (HAIP).
6.9, 11 a.m.: Sitting as the Lake County Watershed Protection District Board of Directors, update on recent invasive golden mussel detection in the San Joaquin Delta and state, regional, and local response and management actions to date.
6.10, 1 p.m.: Consideration of agreement between county of Lake and Smart Easy Pay Inc. (dba Easy Smart Pay).
6.11, 1:30 p.m.: (a) Consideration of a draft response to the United States Board on Geographic Names’ Domestic Names Committee regarding Citizens for Healing’s proposal to change the name of Kelseyville to Konocti; (b) modify and approve the BGN’s standard recommendation form for submittal with your board’s response.
UNTIMED ITEMS
7.2: Consideration of appointment of District 4 Supervisor Michael Green, to the Lake County Board of Supervisors chair for the remainder of his term.
7.3: (a) Consideration of resolution and MOU to create the Lake County Regional Housing Trust Fund (LCRHTF); and (b) consideration of direction to staff regarding the allocation of remaining Permanent Local Housing Allocation (PLHA) program funds for the Lake County Regional Housing Trust Fund for years 2021, 2022 and 2023.
7.4: Consideration of agreement between County of Lake and Archway Recovery Services for ASAM Levels 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.5, and withdrawal management levels 1 and 2 in the amount of $1,750,000 for fiscal year 2024-2025.
7.5: Consideration of a resolution approving a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Regents of the University of California-Agriculture and Natural Resources and the County of Lake for a partnership for the provision of the University of California Cooperative Extension Program and authorizing the county administrative officer to sign the MOU on behalf of the county.
CLOSED SESSION
8.1: Public employee evaluation: Social Services director.
8.2: Conference with legal counsel: Existing litigation pursuant to Gov. Code section 54956.9(d)(1): Center for Biological Diversity, et al. v. County of Lake, et al.
8.3: Conference with legal counsel: Significant exposure to litigation pursuant to Gov. Code section 54956.9(d)(2), (e)(1): One potential case.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The district and the Faculty Association of Yuba Community College District, or FAYCCD, reached that agreement late last week.
The district oversees both Yuba and Woodland colleges, the latter of which has a Lake County campus in Clearlake.
In a Friday statement to association members, the union’ Chief Negotiator Kevin Ferns said, “After 1,008 days of negotiations and 40 negotiations sessions with the District, the Faculty Association negotiations team has at long last reached a tentative agreement on our 2022-2026 contract. In our negotiations session yesterday, we reached verbal agreement on the remaining outstanding contract articles, which include compensation, benefits, evaluations, distance education, retirement stipends, and class size. While we did make some concessions by agreeing to more detailed evaluations forms, reduced retirement benefits for future hires (hired after January 1, 2025), and a cap on summer EP teaching load of 12 units, FAYCCD membership will receive a schedule increase each year of 80% of COLA, which equates to 15.36% over four years and includes retroactive pay for 2022/2023, 2023/2024, and Fall semester 2024.”
On Friday, Yuba Community College District Chancellor Dr. Shouan Pan and Dr. Travis Smith, the faculty union’s president, put out a joint statement announcing the agreement was reached after “2.5 years of rigorous negotiations.”
The statement continued:
“This agreement represents a significant step forward for our institution, our faculty, and, most importantly, our students. It reflects the shared commitment of both parties to fostering excellence in education, advancing equity, and ensuring the success of every student we serve.
“We acknowledge that this journey has not been easy and required perseverance, open dialogue, and a willingness to listen and collaborate. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the negotiating teams, who worked tirelessly and with steadfast dedication to reach this milestone.
“This tentative agreement is subject to ratification by the FAYCCD membership and approval by the Board of Trustees. We are confident that this agreement will lay the foundation for continued partnership and progress as we move forward together.
“Today’s achievement is not just an agreement on paper—it is a testament to the strength and resilience of our community. Together, we are shaping a brighter future for Yuba Community College District.
“Thank you for your patience, professionalism, and dedication throughout this process. We look forward to the next steps in finalizing this agreement and continuing our work to fulfill the mission of the District.”
PERB decision and growing tensions
The agreement followed months of increasing tensions between the district and its faculty, said to be among the lowest-compensated educators in the California Community College system.
The situation started coming to a head in the wake of a July ruling by the state Public Employment Relations Board, or PERB, that found the district violated labor law and workers’ rights in its negotiations with district faculty.
Specifically, PERB found that the district violated the Educational Employment Relations Act by eliminating the right of first refusal because it changed the procedure for assigning classes to full-time faculty without affording the union adequate notice and the opportunity to bargain the decision or effects of the change.
Pan and district officials had indicated they were considering an appeal of the decision, but the Sept. 16 deadline came and went without the district making that filing. Instead, Pan told Lake County News that the district was in negotiations with the faculty union on a new contract.
In the early fall, in response to negotiations appearing to be bogged down, faculty members began holding informational protests to bring attention to the situation.
In late October, the union called for new leadership at the district.
In an Oct. 29 Facebook post, the union said, “It’s time for the Yuba Community College District Board of Trustees to relieve Chancellor Shouan Pan of his position. Employees are not getting paid correctly for months on end, the District is still out of compliance with PERB, protracted negotiations with full-time faculty are costing taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars, the faculty have lost faith and we need new leadership now!”
A breakthrough
By November, there were concerns that the start of the spring semester could be impacted by a staff strike if negotiations didn’t yield a new contract.
Smith told Lake County News on Dec. 2 that the union was “hoping for the best but preparing for the worst” while it waited for counter proposals from the district on its four remaining articles: compensation, benefits, class size and evaluations.
At that point, he said compensation proved to be the biggest hurdle to getting a new contract, which the union hasn’t had since July 2022.
He pointed to the district’s financial situation being “extremely strong” — with enrollments way up and the district having a robust reserve.
On Dec. 4, the district board held a special meeting to discuss labor negotiations with groups including FAYCCD.
Negotiations continued the next day, at which point the tentative agreement was reached.
Asked about what led to the breakthrough, Smith said it came down to pay and benefits.
“The District increased their compensation proposal and agreed to accept our seniority process to teach the classes we have been teaching and that proved to be the breakthrough,” he wrote in an email to Lake County News. “Although our membership will only receive 80% of the state-provided COLA, FAYCCD feels that it is important to our communities and students to accept the District’s offer and move forward.”
On Saturday, the association followed up with a Facebook post that said, “The Faculty Association extends our thanks to all of you who attended rallies, wrote letters, picketed, made signs, called board members, created videos, and shared our story with the community to help full-time faculty get a fair contract! THANK YOU!”
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The council will meet Tuesday, Dec. 10, at 5 p.m. in the council chambers at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.
The agenda can be found here.
If you cannot attend in person, and would like to speak on an agenda item, you can access the Zoom meeting remotely at this link or join by phone by calling toll-free 669-900-9128 or 346-248-7799.
The webinar ID is 973 6820 1787, access code is 477973; the audio pin will be shown after joining the webinar. Those phoning in without using the web link will be in “listen mode” only and will not be able to participate or comment.
Comments can be submitted by email to
On the agenda are appointments for the Lakeport Economic Development Advisory Committee, or LEDAC; the Lakeport Planning Commission; and the Measure Z Advisory Committee, or MZAC.
Applicants for the committees and commission are as follows:
• LEDAC: Denise Combs, Bonnie Darling, Lissette Hayes, Laura Sammel, Marie Schrader and Wilda Shock.
• Lakeport Planning Commission: Mary Claybon, Fred Christensen, Alex Spillman and Danny Wind.
• MZAC: Meg Harper, Carl Porter and Dennis Rollins.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The kittens and cats at the shelter that are shown on this page have been cleared for adoption.
Call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278 or visit the shelter online for information on visiting or adopting.
The shelter is located at 4949 Helbush in Lakeport.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
A#11b
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Foster#9819(Shelby)
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