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LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday night to approve a budget adjustment to pay for a fiscal analysis that’s a key part of moving forward with the proposed annexation of the South Main Street corridor.

The corridor – the most lucrative commercial area in county jurisdiction – has been in the city’s sphere of influence since at least the 1980s, and the city’s more recent attempts to move toward annexing it has led to clashes with the county, which has been loath to part with the area for financial reasons.

The county remains unwilling to give up the corridor, according to county Supervisor Tina Scott, and based on Tuesday’s meeting it appears that the city and county are headed into another struggle over the area, with officials on both sides giving divergent versions of previous negotiation attempts.

Lakeport Community Development Director Kevin Ingram said one of the council’s stated goals is the completion of the annexation this year.

In addition to giving an overall update on the annexation plans on Tuesday night, Ingram said staff also was asking for a $17,980 budget adjustment to do the fiscal analysis.

He said the proposed annexation area is 125 acres south of the city limits, consisting of 52 parcels.

In 2016, the Lake Local Area Formation Commission, or LAFCo, the agency responsible for the review and approval of spheres of influence and annexations within Lake County, reviewed and approved the city’s sphere of influence, he said.

“It would be an understatement to say that this annexation is controversial,” said Ingram.

He said the city has attempted to meet with the county regarding the matter, but the county has said they are not interested. The county also has threatened to cancel encroachments in the area and asked LAFCo to remove the area from the city’s sphere of influence in 2016, according to Ingram.

The importance of moving forward is due to needing to provide public drinking water, fire prevention through hydrants and water laterals, and other water infrastructure because a large road widening project is slated to constructed in the area in 2021 and that water system work needs to be done ahead of, or in concert with, the road project, he said.

Ingram said there also have been several notices of violation by the California Department of Water Resources for water systems in the area due to inadequate infrastructure or poor water quality. Some of those properties have been told that they need to hook into a public water system or make serious improvements.

He said staff has been working diligently on the LAFCo application, which they intend to submit this spring.

The LAFCo submission includes the application, statement of justification, plan of services, legal description, property tax sharing agreement between city and county, California Environmental Quality Act environmental documentation and a resolution of application from the city council, according to Ingram’s written report. Due to the history and controversy associated with the matter, the LAFCo executive director recommended the city conduct a fiscal analysis that looks at the annexation’s impact on both the county and city.

Ingram said the controversy over a tax sharing agreement between the city and county has been a problem.

He said the city plans to move forward with agreements established with the county in 2001 and 2002, in which the city agreed not to annex the South Main Street area for a period of 10 years unless it entered into a new revenue sharing agreement for property tax.

Ingram gave a brief outline of the steps involved in the annexation process, including the council passing a resolution of application and filing the application with LAFCo; the LAFCo executive officer reviewing the city’s application documents and the resolutions effecting the property tax exchange and, if all is in order, issuing a certificate of filing and providing written notice to all affected local agencies; Lake LAFCo conducting the first public hearing and adopting a resolution making determinations either approving, denying or modifying the annexation proposal, and if the application is approved, LAFCo will establish the date for the second public hearing also called the “protest hearing.”

During the protest hearing, written and oral testimony is received. Ingram’s report said that, depending on the number of written protests received from registered voters and landowners, the commission orders the annexation, orders the annexation subject to an election or terminates the annexation.

Should LAFCo order the annexation, the executive officer issues a certificate of completion after receipt and review of the required documents, records the certificate with the county recorder, and files a statement of boundary change with the State Board of Equalization.

Supervisor, business owners speak against annexation

During public comment, Supervisor Scott told the council, “I inherited this situation.”

Scott offered a different version of events than Ingram’s. “The county did sit down with the city many times.”

She said they thought they had a tax sharing agreement, but when she and County Administrative Officer Carol Huchingson returned later for a followup meeting, she said Councilwoman Stacey Mattina explained what the city was offering, and Scott said it wasn’t what they had agreed to previously.

“The county is in no position to give up any tax revenue,” said Scott.

She said she had many phone calls from people demanding that she go to city hall and fight for them. “They have no interest in being annexed with the city.”

Scott said the county has been working diligently to figure out a proper water source for South Main Street in order to get the pipes in the ground before the road project. She said they have some money set aside and also have submitted an application to the US Department of Agriculture.

“We have every intention to bring water to South Main,” said Scott.

Scott added that they had many property owners there who wanted to speak.

In all, five people spoke; two of them asked questions about the process, two property owners spoke against it and another man who doesn’t live in the annexation area but worked for the county said he didn’t support it.

Suzanne Lyons, LAFCo’s alternate public representative, said it gets very confusing when they’re talking about tax sharing.

“It's a big project that’s being taken on down there,” she said. She added that the cost benefits to the different agencies aren’t clear, and she questioned if anyone actually had done the short- and long-term analysis.

City Manager Margaret Silveira said that’s what was on the agenda, working with a consultant to conduct that fiscal analysis.

Lyons said she had been waiting for that a long time, then returned to her seat in the audience and said, “There’s no meat on the bone.” To which Scott, sitting near her, replied, “There’s meat, that’s why they want it.”

Business owners Paul Breunig and Ron Rose said they were against the annexation, and Rose said the property owners would go to former Supervisor Anthony Farrington – who had been meeting with property owners to rally against the annexation – and have him file a class action lawsuit on their behalf.

John DelSignore, a retired county well expert, said the annexation “has been an ongoing problem,” and said he’s opposed to it, calling it a money grab. DelSignore does not live in the annexation area.

Council members defend city plans

Councilman Kenny Parlet said Farrington previously was responsible for an extremely aggressive campaign to give a one-sided depiction of what was going on with the annexation. “He's the go-to guy if you're against annexation.”

Parlet said the city now has a necessity and obligation to grow, noting the sphere of influence and the water problems.

“The county, they love it the way it is,” he said, accusing the county of taking the money from the corridor’s tax base and doing nothing with it for that area, while the city has plans to improve the water line. “I don't think today is the time we talk about that because we've kind of been hornswoggled.”

He disputed Scott’s portrayal of the city and county having many meetings. He said there were maybe two, and by the third meeting – which city officials later clarified happened last year – county officials refused to discuss the matter further after Mattina told the county what the city was offering.

“We were prepared to do whatever was necessary to get this done,” said Parlet, who explained that Supervisor Rob Brown told the city at that final meeting that the county was done talking about the matter.

“They're worried about losing their revenue, that's all they cared about,” Parlet said, adding that the city had been willing to offer the county much of the property tax income.

“There's two sides, and you've only been given one side,” he said.

He said it’s an extremely complicated issue, but he maintained that citizens would see more benefits if they were in city jurisdiction. “This will be our town and we will take care of it better than the county ever did.”

Councilwoman Mireya Turner said the council will have plenty of opportunities in the future to discuss the benefits of annexation, but that what was before them on Tuesday night was the opportunity to gain more solid data to help them and the public in moving forward.

“It's unfortunate how much misinformation is still out there. It's mind-boggling,” said Mattina.

Mayor Tim Barnes asked if the fiscal analysis would be a comprehensive study on the financial consequences for the city and county. Silveira said yes.

Mattina moved to approve the budget adjustment for the fiscal analysis, with Parlet seconding and the council approving it 4-0. Councilman George Spurr was absent for the meeting.

Following the vote – which occurred about two-thirds of the way through the meeting – Scott, who usually remains throughout the council meetings she attends, left the chambers along with the others who had come to speak against the annexation and didn’t return.

Supervisor Brown explains his role in negotiations

Lake County News later contacted Supervisor Brown to ask him about the statements made about city-county negotiations.

Brown denied calling off the negotiations, as Parlet had claimed, and said that last year when they went to discuss the matter, it was the city who said they wouldn’t negotiate as they already had an agreement that would allow them to move forward. That agreement is likely one of those from 2001 or 2002 mentioned by city staff at the meeting.

“Whatever the agreement was in 2001 really doesn’t make any difference now,” said Brown.

He said at that last meeting involving city and county officials last year, Mattina and Parlet were present, and by that time the county “had already agreed on what it was that we needed and we couldn’t take anything less.”

Brown added, “They weren’t willing to negotiate so I asked if we can hold off until we did a little more research as to what it was we could, or would be willing to do.”

He said at one point city officials told the county that they could sue them over the annexation, which he said he told them changed the situation.

He said Special Districts Administrator Jan Coppinger is working on designing a system for the area and, like Scott, he related that Coppinger is working on grant funding through the USDA, which was slowed by the shutdown.

Brown said the city taking over the area would be a “big loss” of much-needed revenue for the county, which is already facing major fiscal challenges.

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.

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MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – The Middletown Art Center is pleased to announce that the EcoArts Sculpture Walk, formerly held annually at the Middletown Trailside Park, will reopen with a reception June 1.

The 107-acre park, a county preserve, was burned in the Valley fire. Nine of 10 directors and half of the members of EcoArts and Middletown Art Center lost their homes. This means the 14th year of the EcoArts Sculpture Walk will be exceptionally challenging but also a unique opportunity to revitalize a local cultural and recreational gem.

On Feb. 9 from noon to 2 p.m, Cathy Koehler, ecologist and resident director at UC Davis McLaughlin Reserve, will lead a group tour of the park with focus on the 2019 Sculpture Walk location. Artists are encouraged to join the tour to gain firsthand exposure to the changed environment.

For those who can’t be there, a video of the tour will be available on the Web site. Everyone is welcome. Please RSVP to the Middletown Art Center if you plan to join.

They will meet at the center at 11:50 a.m. Call 707-809-8118, for further information or to confirm the trip due to weather.

“Recovery is the word we use when we refer to what happens after an ecosystem is disturbed like the park, which is part of a valley oak woodland ecosystem,” said Koehler. “What we hope to see is the native plants and animals returning. Thoughtful intervention on our part can assist the natural recovery.”

Artworks will address the park environment in its current state through thoughtful artistry and/or restoration including animal habitat, vegetation and our place in nature. Healing is helped through creation.

Middletown Trailside Park is located off Dry Creek Cutoff on Highway 175 approximately a mile north of Middletown. The Sculpture Walk exhibit will be located along a small portion of the south side trail of the park, encompassing about five acres once dotted with trees, shrubs and meadows.

“We are so pleased that this piece of Middletown’s cultural heritage will return,” said Middletown Art Center Director Lisa Kaplan. “Fire has informed life in Lake County for far too long. We have an exceptional opportunity to help reinvigorate the park through creative action. Projects will integrate the spirit and materials of the park and the sense of place that is Lake County.”

This year’s Sculpture Walk will exhibit art in response to an ecosystem in distress. A team of experts in ecology, land management and art has been assembled. With the return of the annual exhibit, EcoArts will focus on a more disciplined approach to ecological stewardship and the environmental part of our mission.

A call for proposals for this years’ EcoArts Sculpture Walk is available at www.middletownartcenter.org/artists. Submissions are due March 1. Installation will begin mid-May and a free public reception will be held on June 1.

The 2019 Walk is a collaboration between artists, ecologists, Lake County Public Services and the community.

Community members interested in working with exhibiting artists in fabrication and installation are invited to visit the MAC website for further details, or contact the MAC at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The California Highway Patrol will offer a free “Start Smart” traffic safety class for soon to-be-licensed, newly licensed, and teenage drivers and their parents or guardians on Thursday, Feb. 28.

The class will take place from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Clear Lake Area CHP office, located at 5700 Live Oak Drive in Kelseyville.

The CHP said a teenager is killed in a traffic collision every four hours nationwide. That equates to more than 1,870 teenagers killed each year. Another 184,000 teenagers are injured in traffic collisions.

These deaths and injuries can be substantially reduced or prevented by eliminating high-risk driving behaviors through education, and the CHP said its “Start Smart” program can help prevent these tragedies.

The Start Smart program focuses on providing comprehensive traffic safety education classes for teenagers and their parents.

Start Smart employs innovative techniques to capture the attention of teenagers and parents, providing a lasting experience.

The curriculum includes information on collision statistics, teen driver and passenger behaviors, graduated driver’s license laws, cultural changes in today’s society and the need for stronger parental involvement in a teenager’s driving experience.

Space is limited for this class. For more information or reservations, call Officer Joel Skeen at the CHP office, 707-279-0103, or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

One of Lake County’s members of Congress was critical of President Donald Trump’s State of the Union speech on Wednesday night, faulting the president for not mentioning key national concerns.

Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-05) was present for the address, and took as his guest Dr. Joseph V. Sakran, assistant professor of surgery, associate chief of the division of acute care surgery, and director of emergency general surgery at The Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Dr. Sakran was nearly killed by a gunshot wound as a teenager and has spent his life working to care for trauma victims, including those injured by gun violence.

Thompson is chaif of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, and said Sakran’s presence “will send a message that Congress will act to help prevent gun violence and to honor those victims like Dr. Sakran and his patients.”

In response to the address, Thompson said Tuesday night, “Tonight’s address was what we have come to expect from this president – empty rhetoric aimed at fulfilling useless campaign promises and calls for unity that are not reflected with action. I was disappointed the president did not even mention gun violence prevention or efforts to combat climate change. I was also disappointed with continued discussion of the wall on our southern border. I have said before and will say again – there is no need for a border wall that is just a seventh century solution to a 21st century problem. Democrats are ready to work to fund smart, effective and technologically-advanced security solutions to keep our nation safe, just not a useless wall.

“The president discussed several areas where he would like to work in a bipartisan manner – including health care, infrastructure and growing our middle class – issues I have long worked on in Congress. While I welcome his ideas and participation, our new majority is not waiting around. In fact, we have already started, and we will continue to work to make health care more affordable and accessible, and modernize our infrastructure for the 21st century, no matter what the president tweets about tomorrow,” he said.

“As with anything this president does, the proof is in his action and not just his words. It remains to be seen what action he will take. I said after the election and I say again tonight – I will always work with anyone, regardless of party, who has ideas to help our district and our nation. Regardless of what was said tonight, I will keep working to advance policies that put our community first and help our district move forward,” Thompson said.

Thompson represents California’s Fifth Congressional District, which includes all or part of Contra Costa, Lake, Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – As forecasters had predicted, snow came to Lake County on Monday, dusting mountaintops, covering cars and making mountain roads more precarious.

The National Weather Service has Lake County and other parts of Northern California under a winter storm warning that continues through 7 a.m. Tuesday. That warning noted the possibility of rain and snow down to elevations of 750 feet, with snowfall accumulations expected from the 1,000 foot elevation and above.

On Monday, there were reports of snow throughout the county, as well as rain and brief periods of hail.

By early evening, Mount Konocti and the hills along the Northshore were adorned with a bright white layer of powder.

Throughout the afternoon there were snow flurries. As the snow fell steadily in Lakeport, it didn’t stick to the ground but left a cold white layer over vehicles. Readers in Clearlake reported snow falling off and on, and on the Northshore there also was intermittent snowfall into the night.

The National Weather Service had predicted less than an inch of snow in low-lying areas of Lake County, with the possibility of 6 inches or more in the mountains.

On Monday night, the California Highway Patrol reported that chains were needed on Highway 175 into Cobb due to increasing snowfall.

More snow is forecast to fall before 10 a.m. Tuesday, forecasters said.

Conditions from Tuesday on are predicted to be mostly sunny through Thursday, before rain returns to the forecast through early next week. Daytime temperatures will range from the mid 40s to low 50s and fall as low as 30 degree mark at night through the weekend. Light winds also are in the forecast.

Ahead of the snow, in Lake County overnight Sunday and into early Monday there was several hours of steady rain. Total precipitation totals for the 24-hour period from 12 a.m. Monday through 12 a.m. Tuesday are as follows, in inches:

– Bartlett Springs: 0.88.
– Boggs Mountain: 0.83.
– Colusa County line: 0.56.
– Hidden Valley Lake: 0.57.
– Indian Valley Reservoir: 0.51.
– Kelseyville: 0.45.
– Knoxville Creek: 0.73.
– Lakeport: 0.49.
– Lower Lake: 0.62.
– Soda Creek (near Lake Pillsbury): 0.65.
– Upper Lake: 0.78.
– Whispering Pines: 0.64.

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. – The Clearlake City Council has selected a local businesswoman to join the Clearlake Planning Commission.

At its Jan. 24 meeting, the council voted unanimously to choose Lisa Wilson, owner and general manager of Clear Lake Campground, to fill an open commission seat that resulted when Dirk Slooten was elected to the City Council in the fall.

City Clerk Melissa Swanson’s report to the council explained that the city received applications from Wilson, as well as Steve Gibson and Erin McCarrick for the four-year term, ending in March 2023.

“This is an extremely important position to our community,” Mayor Nick Bennett told the three applicants as the council began its interview and selection process, which lasted under an hour. “Many things go through the planning commission before it ever comes to the council.”

Each of the applicants was interviewed while the others were out of the room. All of them offered enthusiasm and a love for Clearlake, as well as a desire and a commitment to improving the community.

Wilson, who also serves on the city’s marketing committee, said her parents bought the resort she now owns in 1980. She went off to school and a career in e-commerce, living in both the Bay Area and New York, before eventually returning due to illness in the family.

She decided to keep the resort and invest in the community, adding she feels good about that investment.

Wilson also told them that, thanks to her work in the community, she knows what is going on in the county, not just the city.

She said she’s a critical thinker, curious, open-minded and fair, and has good communication skills. “I think those characteristics would be of value to you on the planning commission.”

During her interview, she also demonstrated her knowledge of current city projects and planning priorities.

Councilman Phil Harris asked her about her future vision for the city.

“What I would like to see here is an engaged community, happy and proud to live in the city of Clearlake, living the lake life,” she said.

As the council deliberated on its choice, Councilwoman Joyce Overton thanked all three applicants for stepping forward, noting that she can tell their care about the city and have heart.

Both Councilman Russ Cremer and Bennett encouraged them to apply for other committees as well, with Bennett also suggesting they attend council meetings.

In tallying up the council members’ rankings, City Clerk Melissa Swanson said they ranked the candidates with Wilson first, followed by McCarrick and Gibson.

Slooten moved to appoint Wilson, which was seconded by Harris and approved unanimously.

The Clearlake Planning Commission meets the first and third Tuesday of every month at 6 p.m. in the City Council Chambers at City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.

The commission’s Feb. 5 meeting was canceled, so Wilson’s first meeting as a commissioner is expected to take place on Feb. 19.

She joins commissioners Richard Bean, Kathryn Fitts, Nathalie Antus and Robert Coker.

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.