News

CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – Authorities are investigating a fatal Thursday morning wreck that took place on Highway 20, east of Clearlake Oaks.

The California Highway Patrol reported that the crash occurred just after 7 a.m. on eastbound Highway 20, about one mile west of Walker Ridge Road.

The initial report said that a white Dodge van had gone into a ditch. No other vehicles were said to be involved.

An evidence tow was ordered for the vehicle, according to the report.

Additional details about the crash were not available early Thursday, as investigators are still working at the scene.

An update will be published as soon as it's available.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Clearlake’s city manager of the past four years, credited with helping turn the city around and put it onto a better path, is leaving for a new job.

On Wednesday morning, the Suisun City Council began its meeting with the announcement from closed session that it had voted unanimously to hire Greg Folsom as its next city manager.

Suisun City, located in Solano County, has an estimated population of more than 28,000, nearly twice the Clearlake population. It’s where Clearlake Police Chief Andrew White came from last year, as Lake County News has reported.

Folsom told Lake County News he was pleased to hear of the unanimous vote.

“It is just a career opportunity,” he said of his decision to pursue the job. “Suisun is similar but in a more organized area with similar issues and I think my background here will be beneficial to helping with their issues.”

"I wish him well and hate to see him go,” said Clearlake Mayor Nick Bennett. “He's done so much for this community it's unbelievable. He's brought our City Hall staff together as a working team. He's brought on a new finance director who is now assistant city manager, He was a major component of passing the Measure V road tax and initiated the state of the city events."

District 2 Lake County Supervisor Bruno Sabatier, who until December worked with Folsom while he was on the Clearlake City Council, said Folsom will be remembered for his great service to the city, and he wishes him the best of luck as he starts a new adventure in Suisun City. “They are lucky to have him.”

Suisun City has been looking for a new city manager for over a year. It was explained at Wednesday’s meeting that Folsom’s hiring will be finalized at the next Suisun City Council meeting on March 5.

Folsom said he believes he’ll be starting with Suisun City on April 2. He doesn’t plan to take a break between jobs; his last council meeting in Clearlake will be March 14 and his final day with the city will be March 30.

Between now and then he said he will be focusing on getting some things onto the agenda and to the council “as well as organizing files and data for my successor.”

Folsom currently makes $151,000 a year for Clearlake, which in Suisun City will rise to $205,000 a year, he said.

Asked if Assistant City Manager Alan Flora will be tapped to succeed him or if an open recruitment will be pursued, Folsom said, “That is going to be up to the City Council.”

The Clearlake City Council appears headed to take up the matter immediately.

The council has a special 5 p.m. meeting on Thursday during which it will consider awarding a contract to demolish several old structures in the city – one of Folsom’s successful efforts to clean up and abate dilapidated structures – and hold a closed session discussion regarding the city manager’s job.

An accomplished career

Folsom began his career in government in 1992, working as a Small Business Administration loan officer, before moving on to work for 20 years for the city of Stockton city manager’s office, specializing in economic development and redevelopment.

In 2014, he went to work as deputy director of economic development for the county of Riverside, and was appointed the following year to the Menifee Planning Commission.

In early 2015, the city of Clearlake began its recruitment after City Manager Joan Phillipe submitted a letter to the council announcing her plans to retire.

Following a lengthy search, the Clearlake City Council voted in May 2015 to hire Folsom, who started with the city the following month.

With his ascent to a city manager’s post, Folsom became one of the few city managers in California who is a tribal member. He belongs to the Choctaw Nation, a federally recognized tribe based in Oklahoma.

At the time of his hire, city leaders said that Folsom’s economic development and business recruitment experience had been of particular interest to them, and they hoped he would help them keep their forward momentum.

More than just maintaining momentum, Folsom gave the city a shot of rocket fuel.

He set about getting grants for city cleanup and a variety of projects, worked on marketing – including new logos and motto for the city – and bringing in new business, assisting with the process that led to the Ray’s Food Place building now houses Tractor Supply and Big 5.

Folsom partnered with community groups such as Citizens Caring for Clearlake to address illegal dumping and abatements.

Folsom earned the respect and affection of longtime staff and brought in new administrators as well. He has been lauded for his leadership and team building, and the ability to bring the best out of Clearlake’s employees.

He and his staff crafted rules to give commercial opportunities to cannabis businesses, placing the city well ahead of the rest of the county in that regard.

When the county pursued the creation of a tourism improvement district, Folsom advocated for it and after its creation was finalized earlier this year, he was named as a member of its board.

He’s also a member of the Clear Lake Chamber of Commerce board, and his efforts helped complete the long-running project to renovate the chamber’s lakeside headquarters.

Folsom also has instituted “State of the City” events, which are annual celebrations of the city in which goals and accomplishments are highlighted and community members are invited to take part.

“Bringing in the ‘State of the City’ events, one of the strategies was changing the image of Clearlake,” Folsom explained. “You have to talk about what you're doing in order to change the image. The strategy was to talk about our successes. It’s turned out to be a successful effort.”

While racking up these accomplishments, Folsom had to face unique challenges for the city.

Within months of Folsom arriving, he would be among the local leaders responding to that summer’s furious wildland fire season, which endangered the city and ended up leaving a trail of devastation in the south county.

Fires hit close to home again in 2016, when the Clayton fire burned Lower Lake, and then in October 2017, when the North Bay Fire Storm – which included Clearlake’s Sulphur fire – struck.

The Sulphur fire burned 2,207 acres and destroyed 162 structures – most of them in Clearlake – and led to the evacuation of thousands of people, Folsom and his wife included. The city has since joined litigation against Pacific Gas and Electric over the fire.

With its lakeside location, the city of Clearlake also suffered some damage from the 2017 atmospheric river storm that caused Clear Lake to top 10 feet Rumsey and led to a temporary closure of the lake.

‘A game changer’

It was Folsom’s work to get Measure V passed – the 1-cent sales tax dedicated to repairing and rebuilding Clearlake’s system of roads – that may be one of his most enduring accomplishments.

It wasn’t an easy task. By the time Measure V passed in November 2016, the city had attempted several sales tax measures for various uses, all of them failing to get the necessary supermajority.

But with Measure V, the city listened to what voters wanted and crafted it to be a dedicated funding source specific to roads, which can’t be used for anything else. “What we did different was we asked what people would support. They said they’d support dedicated funds and sunset and they did,” he said.

“Measure V is an absolute game changer,” said Folsom, noting he’s very proud that the city managed to get it passed. He personally donated his time and expertise – not working on city hours – to ensure the effort was successful.

Prior to its passage, the city had about $50,000 to $100,000 each year for road work. Now, Measure V brings in more than $2 million annually, according to Folsom. “That’s how we’re able to do a lot of the projects we have planned. The city didn’t generate enough to repair the roads in the past.”

He said Measure V is helping pull Clearlake up by its bootstraps. “If you can fix and maintain roads, home values and property tax revenues go up.”

Folsom said that, over the long run, Measure V will improve properties and revenues. “It’s going to take a few years to see big impact but it’s happening.”

Last year, the city spent about $1 million on new road repair equipment to replace the 20-year-old equipment it had. Now, they’re looking at road patching equipment. Folsom said they’ve been using short-lived cold patch equipment and are looking at switching to hot asphalt equipment for much more permanent fixes. “I hope to have that on the agenda prior to leaving.”

Having the money to purchase equipment such as an asphalt recycler and a hot box “was way beyond our ability to purchase in past.”

As to what he’s most proud of, Folsom explained that one notable thing is that the comments he’s hearing about the city are completely different than when he first started.

He said when he and his wife, Georgianna, were looking for housing, they asked around and were told to choose a place “anywhere but Clearlake.”

Folsom added, “Now the comments are that Clearlake has turned around.” He’s also proud of the changes and progress that have been made “and that Clearlake is now the example of how to do better.”

He noted that the city just won a special award at the Stars of Lake County Community Awards ceremony. “For Clearlake to be first municipality to win that award says a huge amount.”

While he has accomplished a lot, he said he didn’t quite complete everything he’d hoped to do, such as the Austin and Highlands Park projects. “But they are in process and I hope to be back for the grand openings.”

"Greg is one of my heroes,” said Bennett. “I've been in the political business a couple of years but around municipalities since 1964 through my work in law enforcement and he's the best city manager I've had the pleasure of working with."

“Greg Folsom was the leader that Clearlake needed for its revival,” said Sabatier, who served as Clearlake’s mayor and worked closely with Folsom. He was elected to the Board of Supervisors last year and took his seat in January.

Folsom and his wife plan to maintain a presence in Lake County. He said they own property here and are planning to keep their house in Clearlake.

He said they’ve come to love Lake County. “It’s actually very difficult for us to make this decision because we love it here so much.”

Folsom said their eventual plan, barring life changes, is to return to Lake County and retire.

“I appreciate the opportunity that the City Council gave me,” he said. “It’s been an honor working with the council and I had a tremendous staff. Between all of us, we’ve made a difference.”

John Jensen contributed to this report.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport City Council on Tuesday night indicated it is willing to grant the city’s new Dollar General store a liquor license to sell beer and wine, a process expected to be completed next month.

The new store, which opened in January, is located at 1405 S. Main St. It’s the third Dollar General in Lake County. Two on the Northshore, in Clearlake Oaks and Nice, opened in 2015.

There also have been efforts to build a Dollar General in Kelseyville, which the community has so far fended off.

In Middletown, there has been an ongoing fight to keep out a Dollar General, but that project has received the go-ahead from the county and is now awaiting final design review and a hearing before the Lake County Planning Commission.

More recently, an application has been submitted for a Dollar General in Upper Lake. That project is incomplete, but once the final items are submitted, a 180-day environmental review period will begin. No Lake County Planning Commission hearing has so far been set, according to Mireya Turner, a Lake County Community Development Department staffer handling the Dollar Projects who also is a member of the Lakeport City Council.

Turner and her fellow council members on Tuesday heard a presentation from Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen, who recommended they approve the Dollar General liquor license.

The staff report for the discussion begins on page 146 of the agenda packet below and can be seen starting at the 1:02:35 mark in the video above.

Rasmussen said the company is seeking a Type 20 off sale beer and wine sales license. In granting it, California’s Alcohol Beverage Control looks at several factors, including location in a crime reporting district which has a 20-percent greater number of reported crimes than other reporting districts within a particular law enforcement jurisdiction, and undue concentration of current alcohol licenses.

In this case, Rasmussen said there is an undue concentration of liquor licenses in Lakeport based on the definition in California Business and Professional Code Section 23958.4. He said there are not separate crime reporting districts in the city; the only district is the entire city itself.

According to Rasmussen, despite the undue concentration issue, ABC can still issue the license if the City Council determines public convenience or necessity would be served by it.

“Based on our police department’s calls for service and knowledge of the types of calls we get as related to liquor license establishments, I do not feel that the issuance of a beer and wine license for that Dollar General location will create any increased crime, just based on the fact that they’re selling beer and wine,” he said.

Rasmussen said he also looks at loitering and other nuisance crimes when assessing such a request, explaining that those types of problems aren’t seen with such beer and wine liquor licenses in the city.

City Attorney David Ruderman said that the council has broad discretion in determining public convenience and necessity, and that it’s up to the council to make such determinations on a case by case basis. He asked the council to provide staff with direction so they can return with a resolution with the appropriate findings.

Regarding the matter of undue concentration, Ruderman explained that it means that the ratio of such licenses within Lakeport is greater than it is within the county as a whole. “That’s all they look at.”

There was no in-person public input on the matter at Tuesday night’s meeting, but a letter was submitted by Lakeport resident John Saare, who had been at the meeting but had to leave for another event, as well as an email from Sacramento-based Grundman Law, both advocating against approving the liquor license request.

Consultant Steve Rawlings of Murietta-based Alcoholic Beverage Specialists appeared before the council on behalf of Dollar General.

“Dollar General, I know, is happy to be here as part of the community,” he said, explaining that the company, previously based mostly east of the Mississippi, is one of the largest U.S. retailers with more than 15,000 stores in 41 states.

Dollar General has more than 200 stores in California and more than 200 active ABC licenses, with beer and wine standard inventory items, Rawlings said.

Rawlings said the stores usually have two to four cooler doors and one to three shelving units devoted to beer and wine, and they don’t sell singles. He said their inventory is intended for the person shopping for the entire family, and it’s meant to be convenient.

Councilman Kenny Parlet, who owns Lakeview Market and Deli in Lucerne, quizzed Rawlings about what kinds of meat and fresh vegetables are available at the stores. Rawlings acknowledged that they may not have those items.

Later in the discussion, Parlet said he was shocked to find out Dollar General didn’t already have a beer and wine license. In spite of not being a fan of Dollar General, he didn’t think it was fair to deny the license to the store.

Turner said she thought the area where the store is located is appropriate for such retail.

City Manager Margaret Silveira said staff could have the resolution approving the liquor license ready for the next city council meeting.

Ruderman said the city had only received the completed application on Feb. 12, and an additional meeting will be sufficient to meet the license requirements.

“I don’t particularly care for the Dollar General,” said Mayor Tim Barnes, but he said not allowing the store to have the license “is kind of petty.”

The council gave staff direction to bring back the resolution for the March 5 meeting, which Rawlings indicated he would attend.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

021919 Lakeport City Counci... by on Scribd

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The current project of the Lake County Land Trust is the purchase of the 200-acre Wright property, a parcel located in the Big Valley Wetlands area of Lake County.

This area is the No. 1 priority for the Lake County Land Trust, or LCLT, as it seeks to protect the largest remaining area of unprotected wetland habitats adjacent to Clear Lake.

The project includes the Clear Lake shoreline and uplands from Clear Lake State Park west to Lakeport. It consists of high value habitats – pristine lakeshore vegetation along with mature oaks and other trees required by a variety of wildlife species.

To determine their priorities, LCLT held a comprehensive series of public workshops in 2007 and again in 2017, which included participation from federal, state, and local agencies and experts in land use and conservation. As an outcome of these sessions, the Big Valley area become the clear leader for prioritization.

Five major streams run through this area: Cole, Kelsey, Hill, Adobe and Manning creeks, providing a total of 25 percent of the drainage for the Clear Lake Watershed.

The Big Valley Wetlands is also home to the Clear Lake hitch, a fish which found nowhere else in the world. It is on the California Endangered Species Act’s Threatened Species list, and is currently being considered for placement on the Endangered Species list by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

Once numbering in the several millions, according to the Center for Biological Diversity, “these fish were a vital part of the Clear Lake ecosystem and an important food source for numerous birds, fish and other wildlife. They were also a staple food and cultural component for the original Pomo inhabitants of the region. Hitch once spawned in every tributary to Clear Lake but have disappeared from most former spawning streams. Now fewer than a thousand fish regularly spawn in only two streams – Kelsey and Adobe creeks south of Clear Lake.”

“Conserving this land is in the interest of all who reside in Lake County, live downstream, or enjoy Clear Lake. Protecting the wetlands, which filter the nutrient rich waters that run into Clear Lake, is the first step in helping our lake get healthy. And a healthy lake appeals to everyone, from tourists to local businesses. It’s good for the economy of our county,” said Lake County Land Trust President Val Nixon.

Nixon also noted that once the plans to purchase the Wright property had been announced, several other landowners in the Big Valley area began expressing interest in protecting their lands.

LCLT is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and conserving land in Lake County for the protection of native plant and animal species as well as the appreciation and study of nature by current and future generations, and for the beneficial biological impact of keeping the land natural.

As a nonprofit run by a volunteer board and three part-time staff members, LCLT relies on the generosity of its members and concerned citizens. As donations to the Land Trust grow, the organization will continue to invest in land that will be able to stay forever wild, adding properties in the Big Valley Wetlands area until the vision of several adjacent properties can be strung together creating a large, park-like area for individuals to enjoy and respect the native land.

In 2016, the Land Trust completed the purchase of the Melo property, a 32-acre parcel in the Big Valley Wetlands, its first property in this area, and the fourth in its land portfolio.

The Wright property would increase – by five times – the size of the Big Valley Wetlands protected by the Lake County Land Trust.

The Lake County Land Trust needs $120,000 to acquire the Wright property. It’s off to a great start with a generous matching gift of $40,000 from Lynne and Bernie Butcher and an additional $26,000 raised in individual gifts.

“If you love Clear Lake and Lake County, now is a great time to donate, because the Butchers’ match grows each donor’s gift by 50 percent,” said Melissa Kinsel, outreach coordinator for LCLT.

With $54,000 for the Wright property still needed, the Land Trust has a way to go before the end of the year.

To donate, visit www.lakecountylandtrust.org or call 707-262-0707.

As a result of improved water supply conditions, the California Department of Water Resources on Wednesday announced an increase in 2019 State Water Project allocations.

State Water Project contractors south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta are set to receive 35 percent of their requests for the 2019 calendar year, up from 15 percent allocation announced last month.

Allocations are reviewed monthly based on snowpack and runoff information and are typically finalized by May.

Clear Lake is part of the Sacramento River Watershed, which also drains into the Bay Delta.

“Recent storms boosted California’s snowpack and total precipitation well above average, which allows us to have a more abundant water supply allocation,” said California Department of Water Resources Director Karla Nemeth. “Although we’ve got more water in the system now, we must always manage our precious resources with tomorrow’s climate uncertainties in mind.”

Statewide, the Sierra snowpack is 146 percent of average for this date. Most of the state’s major reservoirs are at or above their historical averages for this time of year.

Lake Oroville, the State Water Project’s largest reservoir, is currently at 53 percent of capacity and 78 percent of average for this time of year. It has been managed conservatively to provide additional flood capacity to ensure public safety as work continues on the spillways.

Shasta Lake, the Central Valley Project’s largest reservoir, is at 74 percent of capacity and 105 percent of average.

San Luis Reservoir, the largest off-stream reservoir in the United States where water is stored for the State Water Project and Central Valley Project, is at 93 percent of capacity and 112 percent of average.

In Southern California, the State Water Project’s Castaic Lake is 94 percent of average.

Reservoir storage, snowpack, precipitation and releases to meet local deliveries are among several factors used in determining allocations.

The Department of Water Resources transports the State Water Project water to 29 contractors which serve more than 27 million Californians and 750,000 acres of farmland. The 2019 allocation of 35 percent amounts to 1,473,046 acre-feet of water.

UPPER LAKE, Calif. – A vehicle crash near Blue Lakes west of Upper Lake has led to an extended closure of Highway 20.

The California Highway Patrol reported shortly before 4 p.m. Wednesday that Highway 20 is closed from Potter Valley in Mendocino County to the junction of Highway 20 and Highway 29 in Upper Lake due to the crash.

The CHP said the hard closure is anticipated to be in effect for up to 14 hours.

Several emergency vehicles, along with AT&T and Pacific Gas and Electric trucks, are working in the area, the CHP said.

The crash was first reported just after 1:15 p.m. at Midlake Road and Highway 20, according to the CHP.

Initial reports from the scene indicated a truck had hit a utility pole, and that a big rig also may have been involved. Utility lines also were reported to be down.

One crash victim was reported to have been flown to Santa Rosa for medical treatment.

PG&E's online outage center is reporting a small outage affecting 17 customers in the area, which began at the same time as the crash. The company hasn't yet offered an estimate of when power there will be restored.

Additional details will be posted as they become available.
 
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.