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At the board's Thursday night meeting, directors voted unanimously to present the 17.7-percent base rate increase at a community meeting that will be held at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Northshore Fire District's Clearlake Oaks firehouse on Highway 20.
In August, the board held a meeting in which they presented a proposal for a nearly 40-percent increase along with some lesser hike options to ratepayers. That meeting saw community members shouting at the board, prompting then-board Vice President Mike Anisman to leave. Mike Benjamin began a recall drive against Anisman and board member Pat Shaver, who did not attend the meeting.
Since then, Anisman, Shaver and board President Helen Locke have resigned. Benjamin has since been appointed to the board and is now president.
On Thursday, the board – which includes Frank Toney and Harry Chase – voted unanimously to appoint Judy Heeszel to the fill one of two remaining vacancies. Heeszel was one of several people seeking the appointment, among them Dena Barron, Lee Wisdom and Lowell Estep.
Heeszel began attending board meetings regularly this summer when concerns about the district's financials and the resulting initial rate hike proposal became hot topics around Clearlake Oaks. Since then she has served on the district's finance committee, which she said has taught her a lot. "My whole attitude has changed."
Another board vacancy will be filled at the board's Nov. 20 meeting.
Heeszel and her fellow board members have significant challenges ahead. The district has more than $200,000 in debt currently, with more than $152,000 of that being old debt, said Jana Saccato, the district's secretary.
Benjamin said payroll and expenses are going down but the district is still short about $10,000 a month.
He said the rate proposal, which will take the base water and sewer rate from $56.24 to $66.19 per month per single family dwelling, was carefully crafted to have as little impact as possible on district customers. Overall, customers should not see more than a $9.95 monthly increase. The price of water will not go up.
"You're not going to pay any more for water, you're not going to pay any more for sewer," said Benjamin.
Besides catching the district up on a monthly basis, Benjamin said the increased revenues from the proposed rate hike should help the district slowly rebuild its reserves "as painlessly as possible." Those reserves once totaled about $1.3 million but were drained as the district took on capital improvements while having no rate hikes over several years, as Lake County News has reported.
Audits of the district's books are now under way, according to General Manager Darin McCosker.
Benjamin said the plan is to take the results of the audits back to ratepayers in a year, give them an update on the district's financial situation and decide what needs to be done next.
If the community approves the raise in rates, it would go into effect Nov. 1, said Benjamin.
Along with that, the district has pledged to put a wage and hiring freeze into effect for its employees for the next year, said Benjamin. "These are guarantees we're going to make to the community."
Benjamin said the board also is looking at its procedures, employee benefits and wage packages to find other ways of reducing costs.
Board members and district staff said the creation of the finance committee has made a huge difference in operations and the ability to focus on the financial challenges. McCosker, in particular, said it had taken a lot of pain out of his job.
Toney thanked Benjamin and fellow board members for forming the committee, which he said he had proposed six months ago but which the previous board had shot down.
The finance committee met once a week for seven weeks straight, up until this last Tuesday, each meeting lasting about three hours as members works on the rate proposal.
The committee still has a lot to do in looking at other ways to bring the district's finances into better shape, said Benjamin.
The group will take a little break for a while, as the focus now shifts to getting the rate hike approved.
Looking forward to Saturday's meeting, Benjamin said, "We're hoping for a completely different response from what there was the last time."
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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LUCERNE, Calif. – A county code enforcement officer arrested over the weekend on several drug-related charges says he was wrongly arrested because he has medical marijuana cards, while sheriff's officials say his arrest was justified due to the amount of marijuana in his possession.
Larry Morris Fabisch, 54, of Nice was arrested early Saturday morning and booked into the Lake County Jail on charges of possessing more than 28.5 grams of marijuana, planting and cultivation, possession for sale and carrying loaded firearms in public.
Fabisch has worked for the county for nearly 20 years, and has spent the last five years as a code enforcement officer. He's also a past president of the Lake County Employees Association, the union representing county employees.
Capt. James Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office said a deputy spotted Fabisch's gray Chevrolet SUV parked near Lakeview Market alongside Highway 20 in Lucerne at about 2:30 a.m. Saturday.
Fabisch, who was accompanied by his son and two of his son's friends, told Lake County News he had stopped briefly there to point out the county's Visitor Center, the second floor of which is supposed to be a new home for Code Enforcement officers.
The deputy pulled up behind Fabisch's vehicle, which then moved off and began driving through Lucerne in an “erratic” fashion, before being stopped at Robin Hood Way and Foothill Drive, said Bauman.
Fabisch said he was on his way home from the Sierras where he had grown the marijuana for himself and his 20-year-old son, Thomas – who also has a medical marijuana recommendation – on family-owned land.
He and his son were on their way to drop off his son's two friends, Justin Stephanson, 19, of Scotia, and Aaron Stephanson, 20, of Lucerne, at a Lucerne residence when they were stopped.
Inside the SUV the deputy allegedly found 89 pounds of recently harvested marijuana plants, said Bauman, who didn't have an actual tally of the number of plants involved.
“It's considered significant,” he said of the amount of marijuana alleged to be in Fabisch's possession.
A small amount of processed marijuana also was found, along with a small revolver and a small caliber rifle, said Bauman. Fabisch said the firearms are used for shooting in the hills with his son.
Bauman said Fabisch got out of his vehicle and went back to the deputy's car; at that point he refused to return to his vehicle and so he was detained, said Bauman.
Fabisch said he was trying to show the deputy – who was joined by a second deputy and a sergeant – his two medical marijuana cards, which he placed on the patrol car's hood.
He accused the deputies of being unnecessarily rough with him. Fabisch said he was pointing to his cards when one of the deputies grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back to handcuff him. Fabisch said he wasn't attempting to resist arrest.
Fabisch said the deputies disregarded his medical marijuana cards. “They were not wiling to listen to anything.”
Bauman said Fabisch was arrested due to the large amount of marijuana in his possession. “He had way more than anyone with a card is allowed to have,” said Bauman.
According to Fabisch, his medical marijuana recommendation allows him to have 25 plants or five pounds of processed marijuana.
During the stop, Thomas Fabisch fled the scene, said Bauman. Larry Fabisch said he understood his son's fear about whether or not his medical marijuana card was going to be accepted. “Who's going to stick around to find out when they're handcuffing dad?”
Aaron Stephanson told the deputy that he had assisted Fabisch with harvesting the marijuana; Justin Stephanson said Fabisch had picked him up in San Andreas late on Friday.
Bauman said Fabisch was transported to the Lake County Jail after his arrest and booked. He posted his $10,000 bail at about 10:30 a.m. Saturday and was released.
Code Enforcement Division Manager Voris Brumfield did not return a call seeking comment on the situation, and Community Development Director Rick Coel – whose department includes Code Enforcement – said he did not have any information on Fabisch's case.
Fabisch took Tuesday and Wednesday off and planned to return to work Thursday. He said he was anxious about what to expect when he returns to the office.
County Personnel Director Kathy Ferguson said the county has no personnel policies regarding arrests. She forwarded Lake County News copies of the county's alcohol and drug policies, which allow testing if an employee is believed to be impaired. An employee's use of medical marijuana under Proposition 215 isn't covered by those policies.
Fabisch said he has been open about his use of medical marijuana, and has had a card for about seven years. He said he has a long list of medical issues, including heart bypass surgery two years ago and severe “cluster” headaches which, when they occur, require him to go to the emergency room for treatment.
He said he never uses medical marijuana while on duty. “I don't abuse it at work. I respect it.”
Fabisch challenged his arrest, saying that Proposition 215 – the California Compassionate Use Act of 1996 – does not impose limits on the amount of medical marijuana a patient may have. Attempts to impose such limits, such as SB 420, have been ruled unconstitutional by California courts.
While SB 420 sets a baseline of six mature plants or half a pound of processed marijuana per patient, it also states that patients can be exempted from those limits if their doctor says they need more, according to California NORML, a group dedicated to reforming the state's marijuana laws.
He's enlisted the services of Stephen Tulanian, a formidable defense attorney who previously helped win marijuana activist Eddy Lepp acquittal in the county's first medical marijuana trial.
Fabisch said he is due in court on Dec. 1. In the mean time, he said he doesn't expect authorities will return to him the medical marijuana that was seized.
Officials are planning to seek the same drug charges as those filed against Fabisch against his son – who also will be charged with resisting a law enforcement officer – and the Stephansons, whose stories aren't adding up in the opinion of investigators, said Bauman.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at [email protected].
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THIS STORY HAS BEEN CORRECTED REGARDING THE NUMBER OF VACANCIES BEING FILLED AT THE THURSDAY MEETING.
CLEARLAKE OAKS – The Clearlake Oaks County Water District's board will consider filling one of its two vacancies when it meets Thursday.
The meeting will take place beginning at 7 p.m. at the district office, 12952 E. Highway 20.
Two director seats, vacated last month by Mike Anisman and Helen Locke, have to be filled. In September, Mike Benjamin was appointed to fill a vacancy that resulted from the resignation of longtime board member Pat Shaver, as Lake County News has reported.
Benjamin, who has since been named the board president, and fellow directors Frank Toney and Harry Chase will consider candidates to fill one of the remaining two seats, according to the agenda. As soon as a new directors is chosen, they will be administered the oath of office.
In other business on the Thursday agenda, county Deputy Redevelopment Director Eric Seely will give a presentation on a proposed mural design for the water treatment plant's clearwell tank.
The board also is scheduled to discuss a report from the Finance Committee, draft minutes from the Sept. 18 meeting, financial reports and a discussion of several customer appeals.
General Manager and Chief Water Plant Operator Darin McCosker will give a report before the board adjourns into closed session to discuss an appeal by an employee.
To see the full posted agenda visit the district's Web site, www.clocwd.com.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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Harold LaBonte captured this image of a full October moon rising over Clear Lake on Tuesday evening.
The chase took place around 9 p.m. Friday, leading from Ukiah to the Blue Lakes area, as Lake County News has reported. Law enforcement was in pursuit of a stolen white Ford Focus registered out of Eureka.
Capt. Justin Wyatt of the Ukiah Police Department said the pursuit began just south of the city limits, and continued eastbound on Highway 20.
Ukiah Police officers were joined by one Ukiah-area CHP officer, said Wyatt. Mendocino County Sheriff's deputies also were reported to be involved in the pursuit.
Wyatt said the subjects in the Ford Focus hit a deer near Lake Mendocino but kept going.
Once in Lake County, Lake County Sheriff's deputies responded to assist, according to reports from the scene.
Also responding were local CHP officers, said CHP Officer Adam Garcia.
“Our officers went out and helped out with the perimeter and search for them,” said Garcia.
Wyatt said the vehicle chase ended at Le Trianon Resort, where the subjects abandoned the vehicle and fled the scene on foot.
“We don't have the people in custody so it's still under investigation,” said Wyatt.
A be-on-the-lookout alert was issued to law enforcement to look for the suspects, but Wyatt did not offer any more information about the situation, including descriptions of the people being sought, due to concerns about jeopardizing the case.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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The federal Safe Routes to School program is designed to give students in grades K-8 easier and healthier ways to safely travel to and from schools.
The City of Clearlake will receive $311,530 to close a half-mile gap in a bike lane on Dam Road. A section of Dam Road which is in poor condition will also be rebuilt and widened to accommodate the new bike lane.
Caltrans reported that these improvements will benefit students attending Lower Lake Elementary School, Oak Hill Middle School, Lower Lake High School, Blue Heron and W. C. Carle High.
The county of Lake will receive $474,480 to provide sidewalks, bulb-outs (rounded sidewalk extensions which protrude into an intersection which shortens the distance needed to cross a road, and which tend to slow down traffic), and crosswalks along sections of Route 20 in Clearlake Oaks.
Those improvements will benefit students attending East Lake Elementary School, according to Caltrans.
The City of Fort Bragg will receive $214,000 to provide, at various locations, sidewalks, bulb-outs, crosswalks, accessible curb ramps, and construct bicycle and pedestrian trails.
Also, at Fort Bragg Middle School, sidewalk barriers will be installed to discourage jaywalking.
Caltrans said the improvements will also benefit students attending Dana Gray Elementary School and Redwood Elementary School.
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