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UPPER LAKE, Calif. – The two men who represent Lake County in the State Legislature have weighed in on the proposal to close the only bank branch serving the Northshore, urging the state to not let the closure take place.
Assemblyman Bill Dodd and Sen. Mike McGuire have sent letters to the California Department of Business Oversight to register their concerns about Westamerica Bank's plans to shutter its Upper Lake branch – located at 9470 Main St. – this spring.
Westamerica filed a complete notice about the branch closure with the Department of Business Oversight in January – which it is required to do because it is a state-chartered bank – and notified customers the same month, as Lake County News has reported.
While the bank told regulators that impacts would be limited, customers could easily move their transactions to the Lakeport branch and that it would only affect Upper Lake, a groundswell of support for keeping the bank soon showed that community members from across the Northshore would be impacted.
Department of Business Oversight Commissioner Jan Lynn Owen indicated to the bank in a Feb. 13 letter that she would not raise an objection to the closure, initially scheduled to take place on April 24.
However, the circulation of petitions – including an online petition at http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/upper-lake-bank-customers – along with letters from county and community leaders, and a March 4 town hall meeting brought the issues of the branch's closure into sharper focus.
As a result, Owen followed up with a letter to Westamerica on March 6 saying her department was now reopening its consideration of the closure.
Westamerica has refused to answer questions from the media or the community about closing the branch, which in its letter to the state was attributed to “low transactional volume which does not support having a branch in the current location.”
The letters to Owen from McGuire and Dodd – dated March 12 and 16, respectively – reiterate the issues raised by community members
In his letter, McGuire wrote that “the planned closure of the single bank in town could have a devastating impact on local business and on our larger Lake County community. ”
Noting that Upper Lake has had a bank on its Main Street for nearly a century, McGuire pointed to the larger impact, explaining that Westamerica’s Upper Lake branch “is the only bank along Lake County’s Highway 20 corridor, with more than 15,000 people residing in the area. ”
With the Department of Business Oversight reopening its review of the matter, McGuire wrote, “I believe it is imperative that the impact the bank’s closure will have on the entire Northshore region, its businesses and its residents, be taken into consideration. ”
McGuire further asked Owen that if her agency decided to grant Westamerica permission to close the
Upper Lake branch, that an extended time frame be required.
“If there is potential interest from other financial institutions to open a branch in Upper Lake, they need to be given an appropriate amount of time to do so, without the community having to suffer an extended period with no financial institution nearby,” McGuire said.
In his letter, Dodd raised issues of the branch closure's potential effect on businesses, seniors and working families in Upper Lake and across the Northshore.
Referring to the Department of Business Oversight's reopening of its review, Dodd said he appreciated the department “fulfilling its legal obligation” to consider new information brought forward by the community.
“However, I am disappointed that the Department was not more proactive in its initial outreach and evaluation of the significant hardship posed by the closure of this bank branch,” Dodd added.
As the Department of Business Oversight conducts its review of the new information, Dodd said the impact the bank's closure will have on the thousands of Northshore residents “necessitates significant consideration.”
Like McGuire, Dodd also asked the agency to consider an extended timeframe if it approves the closure in order to allow for another financial institution to locate in the area.
In her March 6 letter to Westamerica, Owen asked the bank to grant her agency a 30-day time extension for the consideration.
Tom Dresslar, a special assistant to Owen, told Lake County News this week that Westamerica agreed to the time extension.
Dresslar, who attended the March 4 town hall in Upper Lake that focused on the branch closure, confirmed that the review is under way.
Owen's letter anticipated that the review would be completed and a decision made on or before April 15.
State financial code requires Owen to “consider whether the closing or discontinuance of the branch office will have a seriously adverse effect on the public convenience or advantage.”
Businesswoman and Upper Lake Community Council President Debbie Hablutzel, who has worked to rally community support for keeping the bank, was glad to hear of the efforts of Dodd and McGuire on behalf of keeping the bank.
Despite facing big odds, “I'm still hopeful,” Hablutzel said.
She said employees at the Upper Lake branch have told customers that the branch closure has been delayed to May 22.
Separately, Dresslar said his agency has received no word from the bank about any delay in the planned Apr. 24 closure.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – As California enters its fourth year of historic drought conditions, fire officials are reminding residents to create and maintain 100 feet or more of defensible space around their residences and outbuildings.
This reminder comes months earlier than normal.
“Now is a critical time to clear a large portion of the required defensible space around your home,” said Cal Fire Unit Chief Scott Upton.
“Remove brush and any dead material from within 100 feet or more while temperatures are cooler, when there is less chance of igniting a wildland fire in dry vegetation,” Upton said. “Please help us by doing your part to protect your property and increase safety for both the homeowners and firefighters.”
The intent of defensible space is to increase the survivability of a “building or structure” that resides in grass, brush, and forest covered lands in the State Responsibility Area.
Defensible space is required in the California Public Resource Code 4291 and local ordinances.
The following is a list of the regulations:
– Maintain 100 feet of defensible space around all structures of all dead or dying vegetation.
– Remove all leaves and pine needles from rain gutters or on top of roofs.
– Remove dead trees or shrub branches that overhang roofs, and below or adjacent to windows.
– Keep branches a minimum of 10 feet away from chimney and stovepipe outlets.
– Relocate firewood piles outside the 30 foot zone unless covered with a fire resistant material.
– All exposed wood piles must have a minimal clearance of 10 feet down to bare mineral soil in all directions.
– Remove all flammable vegetation or items that could catch fire from adjacent to or under combustible decks, balconies and stairs.
– Dead and dying woody surface and aerial fuels shall be removed within the 100 foot zone.
– Loose surface litter consisting of leaves, pine needles, and twigs shall be permitted to a maximum depth of 3 inches.
– Cut annual grass down to a maximum height of 4 inches.
– Liquid propane gas storage tanks shall have a minimum 10 foot clearance down to bare mineral soil and no flammable vegetation for an additional 10 feet.
For more fire information on preparing for wildfires and defensible space visit www.ReadyForWildfire.org .
Other fire prevention tips can be found at www.preventwildfireca.org .
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Prices in Lake County's real estate market are continuing to show signs of improvement.
The Lake County Association of Realtors, or LCAOR, reported that the median sales price of single family residences for Lake County rose from $159,000 in January 2015 to $180,000 in February, a 13.2-percent increase.
Similar sales in February 2014 had a median sales price of $162,450, which LCAOR said indicates there was a 10.8-percent increase when comparing year to year sales.
The number of units selling in February 2015 decreased by 20.4 percent when compared to February 2014 falling from 54 units in 2014 to 43 units in 2015, according to LCAOR. With fewer units selling the months of inventory increased from 6.5 to 7.4.
In January there were 305 single family residences listed for sale and in February there were 318. It is not uncommon to see fewer units available during the winter months, LCAOR reported.
LCAOR's report showed that in 2014 the maximum number of units for sale in any one month was 505 in August and the low was 318 in January.
“Despite the lower number of sales real estate activity has been on the upswing,” said Yvette Sloan, 2015 President of LCAOR. “The next few months will be a good indicator of how the rest of the year will go.”
Distressed sales, homes sold after foreclosure or for less than what was owed, declined slightly from the January percentage, 18.6 percent from 19.2 percent. However, LCAOR reported that the decline was significant – 18.6 percent from 42.6 percent – when compared to February 2014.
Cash only purchases were down to 18.6 percent of the sales, which LCAOR said is the lowest percentage in a few years. Conversely conventional loans rose to 41.9 percent of the sales, up from 32.7 percent in January.
USDA loans were the next most common type of loan used with those making up 16.3 percent of the transactions, LCAOR said. USDA loans have qualifying factors such as income and the selling price of the home. Potential buyers should contact a qualified lender to determine if they qualify for this type of loan. All loan types have qualifying factors, but they vary from loan type to loan type.
The median time that a property was on the market increased from 81 days in February 2014 to 118 for the same month in 2015. In January 2015 the median days on market was 112, LCAOR reported.
It is not substantiated but one possible reason for the increased days on market offered by LCAOR was the possibility that fewer transactions are being purchased with cash and more are being purchased via loans which have a processing time not associated with cash transactions.
NUMBERS AT A GLANCE
Lake County, February 2015
Median price: $180,000
Median days to sell: 118
Units Sold: 43
Lake County, January 2015
Median price: $159,000
Median days to sell: 112
Units Sold: 45
Lake County, February 2014
Median price: $162,450
Median days to sell: 81
Units Sold: 54
Visit LCAOR online at www.lcaor.com/members/ .
As California enters a fourth year of drought, a new statewide poll reveals that the vast majority of Californians – some 90 percent – are willing to make significant changes to conserve water both inside and out.
In addition, more than 80 percent believe it’s important to conserve water regardless of whether the state is in drought or whether conservation is mandated by local water agencies.
The statewide poll of 801 registered voters – commissioned by the Association of California Water Agencies in partnership with the statewide conservation education program Save Our Water – also found that more than 80 percent of Californians view the drought and water shortages as “extremely” or “very” serious problems.
Some 86 percent of polled residents believe that California is in a state of persistent water shortage.
The polling also indicates that Californians nearly universally agree that the drought is the most pressing problem facing the state and is more concerning than the economy, education, health care costs and taxes.
“California is indeed a dry state that can expect to see persistent droughts in its future. This polling underscores the fact that a vast majority of Californians understand this new normal,” said ACWA Executive Director Timothy Quinn. “But the poll also shows that an overwhelming majority of Californians are willing to significantly change their water usage whether we are in a drought or not. This is a sea change in public opinion and bodes well for our future.”
Mark Cowin, director of the Department of Water Resources, noted that the poll indicates over three-quarters of Californians have been getting the message about the state’s ongoing drought. DWR is a partner with ACWA in the Save Our Water program.
“Clearly, Californians understand the magnitude of this drought,” said Cowin. “Just as important, they understand that they can help California cope through the collective power of individual actions. If we all shut off sprinklers, make the effort to fix a leak, and urge friends and neighbors to do the same, it will make a difference.”
The poll of registered voters was conducted Feb. 22 to March 1 by the polling firm Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates, or FM3.
Its findings arrive as the State Water Resources Control Board prepares to act on proposed new emergency water conservation regulations today and extend existing ones as the state remains locked in a grinding fourth year of drought.
The Sierra snowpack is at record low levels and January was among the driest months on record.
“This poll’s findings stand out among our many years of tracking water issues in California,” said Dave Metz, principal and president of FM3. “We’ve never seen such a huge majority recognize the severity of the water crisis as well as such a large group that views the water problems as ongoing and warranting continued conservation.”
Metz noted that 83 percent of those polled said conserving water is “extremely” or “very” important whether or not water agencies are requiring water conservation, suggesting that for Californians “conserving water has become more of a core value than simply a reaction to regulations, restrictions or other external factors.”
A summary of the poll’s findings can be found below.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Konocti Regional Trails (KRT) team is pleased to announce that the KRT Web site at www.KonoctiTrails.com has been awarded the Social Media, Websites and Technology Award from the California Trails and Greenways Foundation.
The award is given for “achieving excellence in design and creative approaches in developing trails or greenway information systems using technology, social media or Websites.”
The KRT Web site was first created in 2010. This past year, the site was updated by Lake County Trails Coordinator Gigi Stahl, partnering with the Lake County Marketing Program with the intent to increase tourism and economic development.
Through the creative use of social media, calendaring, blog posts, videos, phone apps, electronic newsletters, QR codes and downloadable trails maps, the group has been able to maximize a global presence, drawing recreational enthusiasts to Lake County with minimal expense.
KRT's use of Google Analytics propelled the Lake County Marketing Program to place more emphasis on trails and outdoor recreational activities.
Working together, KRT has promoted local recreational retail and rental businesses, outdoors events such as the well-known Konocti Challenge and the local Road Scholar wildlife and birdwatching tours, as well as support of local photography and music talent.
All KRT outreach combines information on outdoor activities, blended with cultural, historical, geographical and environmental facts, providing each visitor with a better understanding and appreciation of Lake County's special qualities.
KRT also has encouraged regional destination tourism by collaborating with neighboring trails organizations through links, blog posts and events.
“Receiving a California Trails and Greenways Conference Merit Award is a great honor, and we're very grateful to our supporters,” said Stahl. “This year's competition included large California entities with deep resources. The KRT Website was put together with a part time trails coordinator and a core of generous, dedicated volunteers.”
The award will be presented at the annual California Trails and Greenways Conference Awards Dinner on April 23 at the Tenaya Lodge at Yosemite. This year's theme is on “Building Connections: Enhancing the Links between Communities and Trails.”
The mission of the California Trails Conference Foundation is to inspire recreational trail leadership through the annual California Trails and Greenways Conference in collaboration with California Dept. of State Parks.
The California Trails and Greenways Conference Awards acknowledge and show appreciation for worthy individuals, organizations, agencies and businesses that, through their hard work, integrity and social responsibility, have made outstanding contributions to promote, enhance or expand public awareness and use of trails and greenways in California during the year.
The Web site is located at www.KonoctiTrails.com . Besides locating trails for hiking, horseback or bike riding, and paddling, visitors can sign up for the email/newsletter distribution list, trails events notifications and volunteer opportunities.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County is receiving funds through a new state grant program to prevent quagga and zebra mussel infestations.
The Quagga and Zebra Mussel Prevention Grant Program, managed by the California State Parks Division of Boating and Waterways, is funded by a recent boating registration fee increase.
It is providing funds on a biennial basis in an effort to “aide in the infestation prevention of the dreissenid mussel in California reservoirs,” according to the grant's Web site.
The funding is going to protect water bodies that are not already infested, the state reported.
On Wednesday, Lake County Water Resources received word that the state had awarded it $189,649.60 for its mussel prevention efforts, according to Carolyn Ruttan, Lake County Invasive Species Program coordinator.
“The reason that we were funded is because we have such a strong prevention program in place,” Ruttan said.
Ruttan said the grant is going to be used to strengthen the county's current mussel prevention plan by providing part-time seasonal staff managed by two coordinators to monitor primary county and city public launch ramps.
County personnel will monitor all water vessels and trailers for compliance with the mussel prevention plan, provide informational handouts and be ambassadors for the county’s mussel prevention efforts, Ruttan said.
She said ramp monitors shall be trained according to the “Uniform Minimum Protocols and Standards for Watercraft Interception Programs for Dreissenid Mussels in the Western United States,” established in January 2012.
For more information on Lake County's mussel prevention program, visit http://www.nomussels.com/ .
Email Elizabeth Larson at