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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The vote was 4-0 to purchase the 13-acre property at 16540 State Highway 175 for $300,000, with a second unanimous vote to approve a resolution accepting the grant deed recordation. Supervisor Moke Simon was absent.
Public Services Director Lars Ewing said the Cobb area is one of the few, if not the only, general plan areas in Lake County without a community park.
As an introduction to the brief public hearing for the purchase, Ewing gave an overview of the process that led to the final action at Tuesday’s meeting.
In February 2023, the board granted conceptual approval of the property purchase and appointed a negotiating team, Ewing said.
The Cobb community has had an ongoing desire to have a park of their own, which Ewing said is referenced in their draft area plan along with a draft parks, recreation and trails master plan.
After the board’s conceptual approval of the purchase, Ewing said Public Services staff worked on a variety of things — including a preliminary title report, an appraisal that valued the property at $390,000, septic and building inspections, hazard tree assessments and removal of abandoned vehicles.
Ewing said that, ultimately, the property’s owner, the Robert Vardanega Revocable Trust, accepted the county’s $300,000 purchase offer.
He thanked county staffer Celia Hoberg, — who has a background in real estate work — for her efforts in the process.
Ewing said that in June the Lake County Planning Commission determined the acquisition to be in conformity with the Lake County General Plan and categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act.
County staff has had tribal consultation with the Middletown Rancheria and the Big Valley Band of Pomo Indians at a conceptual level and also have worked with a landscape architecture firm to prepare a preliminary concept plan for potential park development, Ewing reported.
The board approved $1 million for the project. With the purchase, closing costs and appraisals, Ewing said they have $650,000 to $670,000 left over, which won’t cover all of the construction costs. There also are planning, environmental studies and design still to do.
Ewing said the intent is to get it to a point that infrastructure and other necessities are in place so they can open the park to the public. That will be phase one. For phase two, Ewing hopes to secure grant funding.
Following the purchase approval, Ewing said Public Services staff will initiate a public outreach process to develop both an interim and long-term park use plan, continue consultation with both tribal nations, refine the concept design for future park use by the public, and perform appropriate environmental resource surveys/studies, all with the intent to progress to a public opening of the property.
Ewing said the property is in an area where the county doesn’t have a maintenance yard, so there will be an impact with annual costs, which he said he would discuss with county administration.
Supervisor Jessica Pyska, in whose district the park site is located, said there has been a “big push” to complete the process. She recognized Hoberg for her work, with Ewing adding that Hoberg was “the workhorse” of the project.
Supervisor Michael Green said he was excited to support it. Sabatier agreed.
“Parks is economic development and it’s what attracts people to want to live in areas,” Sabatier said, adding that not having one is definitely a disservice to attracting people to want to build and live in a community. He said he’s looking forward to seeing how it develops.
During the discussion, Sabatier noted wanting to try to connect the new park’s trails to Boggs Mountain Demonstration State Forest. Pyska said county staff is working on that.
The only public comment at the meeting came from longtime Cobb resident Robert Stark, who assured the board that the park project is thoroughly supported in the community.
In the 49 years he’s lived there, Stark said it had been a longtime wish. “The community is very enthusiastic about this.”
Pyska moved to approve the purchase agreement, which Green seconded and the board approved 4-0. Pyska then offered the resolution to accept the grant deed recordation, also approved unanimously.
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
The reason: Lake County Animal Care and Control is currently understaffed and so unable to provide those customary services, officials reported.
Effective Friday, March 1, those services will be suspended while new staff is onboarded and trained.
County officials reported that work has already begun to train one newly hired animal control officer and recruit for the remaining vacancy.
After-hours on-call services will resume when staffing levels allow for safe operation, the county reported.
If injured stray dogs and cats are found outside of Animal Care and Control’s business hours, they can still be taken to a local veterinarian to receive care.
“Our contract answering service will still be receiving after-hours calls during this time,” said Lake County’s Animal Care and Control Director Jonathan Armas. “Any calls received will be documented, and an officer will respond the next weekday.”
Any further questions can be directed to Lake County Animal Care and Control during regular business hours, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., at 707-263-0278.
“We appreciate the community’s understanding and are committed to providing the best possible services within resource and staffing limitations,” said Armas.
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
As California enters the last month of the traditional snow season, recent storms have raised the snowpack to near average levels in most regions.
The Department of Water Resources conducted the third snow survey of the season at Phillips Station on Thursday.
The manual survey recorded 47.5 inches of snow depth and a snow water equivalent of 18 inches, which is 77 percent of average for this location.
The snow water equivalent measures the amount of water contained in the snowpack and is a key component of DWR’s water supply forecast.
Thursday’s results reflect continued improvement in the snowpack since the slow and dry start to the water year.
DWR’s electronic readings from 130 stations placed throughout the state indicate that the statewide snowpack’s snow water equivalent is 18.7 inches, or 80 percent of average for this date, an improvement from just 28 percent of average on January 1.
The statewide snowpack is currently only 70 percent of the critical April 1 average, when the snowpack is typically at its peak. An incoming storm is expected to bring several feet of snow to the Sierra Nevada this weekend.
“We are now in the last month of the traditional snow season and while conditions have dramatically improved since the beginning of the year, March will be critical in determining if we finish above or below average,” said DWR Director Karla Nemeth. “No matter how the season ends, we are ready to take advantage of the water we do have to benefit communities, agriculture, and the environment, and continue storing stormwater in our groundwater basins for future use.”
While California saw a number of storms in January and February that caused flooding in many areas of the state, the storms were warmer than average, dropping more precipitation as rain rather than snow, especially in Southern California.
Overall statewide precipitation is 103 percent of average for this date, running well ahead of the snowpack.
While surface water storage in California’s major reservoirs is currently 119 percent above average and the state continues to benefit from efforts to capture and store as much water as possible, the latest forecasts from DWR project snow runoff could be below average this spring due to the unusually dry start to the water year.
DWR recently increased projected allocations from the State Water Project, and the forecasted allocation is expected to be revised again next month based on recent storms.
“California has seen several extreme climate events so far this water year, including record rainfall in Southern California,” said Dr. Michael Anderson, state climatologist with DWR. “While this pushed statewide precipitation above average, the snowpack still has not caught up from the dry conditions earlier this winter and local conditions still vary significantly from region to region. The upcoming storm will deliver more snow, but the critical month of March will have to deliver enough snowpack to make up for the dry fall and slow start to the year.”
On average, the Sierra snowpack supplies about 30 percent of California’s water needs. Its natural ability to store water is why the Sierra snowpack is often referred to as California's “frozen reservoir.”
Data from these snow surveys and forecasts produced by DWR’s Snow Surveys and Water Supply Forecasting Unit are important factors in determining how DWR manages the state’s water resources.
DWR conducts five snow surveys at Phillips Station each winter near the first of each month, January through April and, if necessary, May. The next and possibly final survey is tentatively scheduled for April 2.
For California’s current hydrological conditions, visit https://cww.water.ca.gov.
For more information on finding your flood risk, visit https://myhazards.caloes.ca.gov/.
For information on obtaining flood insurance, visit https://www.floodsmart.gov/.
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
The California Climate Credit — automatically applied to Californians’ bills every April and October — is a direct result of the state’s nation-leading cap-and-trade climate program that requires polluters to pay for climate action.
Since 2014, California households have already received an average of $971 in combined automatic April and October climate credits on their utility bills, totaling more than $14 billion statewide.
“Every year, California’s nation-leading climate laws deliver real climate action while giving you money back on your utility bills,” said Gov. Gavin Newsom. “This relief will support millions of California families.”
See how much your climate credit will be here.
California will provide a total of $2.7 billion in credits — $1.6 billion for electric customers, $1 billion for natural gas customers, and $160 million for small businesses.
The credits range from $32 to $175 for electricity bills — with most set to receive $55 to $86 — and approximately $58 to $86 on natural gas bills for residential customers of PG&E, Southern California Edison, San Diego Gas & Electric, Southern California Gas Company, Bear Valley, Liberty, PacifiCorp and Southwest Gas. Californians can check how much their credit will be here.
Californians do not need to do anything to get the credit. The California Climate Credit comes from the State’s Cap-and-Trade Program managed by the California Air Resources Board. The credit on utility bills represents the consumer’s share of the payments from the State’s program.
