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The council will meet at 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 3, in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.
The meeting will be broadcast live on the city's YouTube channel or the Lake County PEGTV YouTube Channel. Community members also can participate via Zoom or can attend in person.
The agenda can be found here.
Comments and questions can be submitted in writing for City Council consideration by sending them to City Clerk Melissa Swanson at
To give the council adequate time to review your questions and comments, please submit your written comments before 4 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 3.
Each public comment emailed to the city clerk will be read aloud by the mayor or a member of
staff for up to three minutes or will be displayed on a screen. Public comment emails and town hall public comment submissions that are received after the beginning of the meeting will not be included in the record.
At the start of the meeting, Police Chief Andrew White will swear in a new officer and present the annual police department report.
Under business, the council will consider offering a letter of support for the Lake Area Planning Council’s pursuit of a rural regional energy network, or RuralREN, program in Lake County.
City Manager Alan Flora’s report to the council explained that RuralRENs “are a solution for delivering energy efficiency programs envisioned in the early 2010s by the California Public Utilities Commission.”
He said the networks were created “as an innovative framework for local governments to design and administer energy efficiency programs and report directly to the commission. The goal was for the regional energy networks to create energy efficiency programs that would serve customers not otherwise served by the investor-owned utility programs.”
He said Lake APC, which will have staff at the meeting to give an update, is partnering with the seven other members of the Rural Hard to Reach Working group to submit a business plan to the CPUC for a new RuralREN. The business plan will be submitted by Feb. 15 and will seek funding from Jan. 1, 2023, to Dec. 31, 2031.
“The RuralREN is a direct response to the unique issues and urgent needs of rural California energy customers and will address energy equity in our communities by providing programs for residents, businesses, and public agencies,” Flora wrote in his report. “Opportunities for community investment will include hands-on career training and placement, incentives for energy efficiency projects, and localized lending. The RuralREN will provide the resources our communities need to play an equitable role in California’s transition to a clean energy economy.”
In other business, council members will consider confirming assessments totaling for city-funded abatements on six properties.
On the meeting's consent agenda — items that are not considered controversial and are usually adopted on a single vote — are warrants; the second reading of Ordinance No. 258-2022, approving a development agreement for Ogulin Canyon Holdings LLC to allow a cannabis operation located at 2185 Ogulin Canyon Road, Clearlake; waive the requirement for multiple proposals, and authorize the city manager to sign the contract/proposal provided by Weeks Drilling & Pump Co. to rehabilitate the agricultural well near the northeast corner of the Burns Valley Development property for future irrigation demand; minutes of the Dec. 8 Lake County Vector Control District Board meeting; approval of a letter of support for the Berryessa Snow Mountain Expansion Act; authorize city manager to enter into a contract with Argonaut
Constructors for the Burns Valley Development Project and authorize the city manager to approve up to 10% for additional unforeseen contract amendments; move to approve the amendment of contract with Resource Environmental for the waterpark demolition and authorize the city manager to approve up to 10% for additional unforeseen contract amendments.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
The meeting will begin at 4 p.m. at the Moose Lodge, located at 15900 Moose Lodge Lane in Clearlake Oaks.
The meeting can be attended in person or via Zoom; the meeting ID is 935 8339 6020, the pass code is 448228.
On the agenda is a presentation from the Lake County Community Development Department, with Code Enforcement Manager Marcus Beltramo and interim Chief Building Official Jack Smalley to speak to the group.
There also will be updates on Spring Valley, Sonoma Clean Power geothermal, a consolidated lighting district in Clearlake Oaks, commercial cannabis cultivation permit applications for District 3, the Roadmap Task Force update, a report from Supervisor EJ Crandell and new business.
ERTH will next meet on Wednesday, March 2.
ERTH’s members include Denise Loustalot, Jim Burton, Tony Morris and Pamela Kicenski.
As a result of the omicron variant of the coronavirus, many school districts across the country are finding themselves short of teachers, who are quitting, getting sick or even dying.
Some schools have even called on parents to step in to provide adult supervision in classrooms. In New Mexico, the governor has asked National Guard members to serve as substitute teachers.
Normally schools hire substitutes to cover teacher absences. But there are so many teachers out with COVID-19 that the demand is much higher than usual.
Pay for substitute teachers averaged $17 an hour in May 2020, according to federal figures. Assuming a substitute worked as much as possible – seven hours a day for 180 school days – that’s $21,420 a year, which is about one-third of the national average pay for full-time teachers. It is also below the poverty line for households with three people. Because school breaks are short, people who are regular subs may not be able to pursue longer-term work.
And that’s on the high end. Substitute teaching work is not always steady and doesn’t usually earn benefits, so it’s less attractive in a job market where workers have many options.
As education administrators and scholars of school leadership, we see school districts across the U.S. adjusting their requirements, and their compensation, for substitute teachers – all in an effort to keep schools open despite large numbers of staff out sick.
Why are there substitute teachers?
With the rise of compulsory education in the U.S. in the early 20th century, and the subsequent emergence of collective bargaining agreements for public school teachers, schools began needing to hire substitute teachers. Contracts often gave teachers a specific number of sick or personal days off. School districts had to provide coverage when a regular teacher was out, either for a short period of illness or a longer time, such as a maternity leave.
In general, states set minimum requirements for substitutes. In Alabama, Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Montana, Virginia and Wyoming, anyone with a high school diploma can be a sub, unless a specific school district has implemented a higher level of requirements. But most states require at least some college credits, and local school boards often set additional requirements, such as licensure in the subject where the person will work as a substitute teacher.
Subs are employed in a variety of ways, sometimes through collective bargaining agreements with school districts, including formal approval as employees with negotiated compensation and working conditions, or as independent contractors, or through external temporary staffing agencies. Their pay is typically determined by school districts. In general, short-term subs, who fill in for a teacher for a day or so at a time, are paid the least. Subs tend to get paid more if they work some number of days in a row, or if they are engaged to fill a longer-term absence. Pay also can increase depending on a sub’s educational level, license status or prior teaching experience.
Though the national average in 2020 – the most recent year for which data is available – was $17 an hour, actual pay varies widely by location. Districts in and around southeastern Maryland paid an average of $42.13 an hour in 2020. But school districts on Alabama’s Gulf Coast paid $8.35 an hour on average that same year.
What can be done to address the shortage?
The standard approach to a worker shortage is to raise pay and other compensation. One school district outside San Antonio, Texas, has temporarily raised its substitute teacher pay by as much as 20%, to between $98 and $150 per day, depending on a person’s qualifications.
In education, however, we have more often seen a reduction in required qualifications for a particular job, demanding a lower-level license or less prior experience. That’s happening, too, such as in Kansas, which temporarily eliminated the statewide requirement that subs have at least some college-level education.
However, our experience as school district leaders has shown us that attracting and keeping substitute teachers requires more than fair compensation.
Often, substitute teachers are viewed on the school system’s periphery rather than as an integral core. For instance, subs often are not included in district events such as professional learning opportunities or districtwide communications. Research has demonstrated that even though substitutes are necessary for the continuing function of schools, substitutes do not see the organization as valuing their contribution.
Some substitutes, such as retired teachers, may prefer to be more detached from general school operations. But other subs could interpret that distancing as a message that they are not really a part of the school culture. Principals and fellow teachers could welcome subs more directly, greeting them, visiting their classrooms, and making sure they know where to find a coat rack or a fridge for their lunch. Offering subs access to a break room and professional development also helps connect substitutes to the broader school community.
Opportunities for change
We also think it might be time for schools to consider alternatives to the current substitute teaching model.
Some districts pay regular teachers to cover for absent colleagues during planning or preparation periods. If this model is set up correctly, teachers substituting in other classrooms will have existing relationships with students and expertise in the subject matter needing to be taught.
Binghamton University, where we work, has developed a program called “Substitutes with a Purpose” in collaboration with regional educational leaders. This program sets up graduate students in education as substitute teachers, using that time to fulfill state requirements for in-classroom teaching.
We have found that this effort helps regional school districts address substitute shortages and helps university students earn money and fulfill academic requirements. It also provides an opportunity for these future teachers to become known in local schools, furthering their efforts to secure future full-time employment.
Suzanne McLeod, Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership, Binghamton University, State University of New York and Dr. Larry Dake, Adjunct Professor of Educational Leadership, Binghamton University, State University of New York
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
The CHP did not release the 23-year-old crash victim’s name on Monday pending the notification of family.
The agency’s reports said that at 7:50 a.m. Sunday, the CHP’s Ukiah Communication Center received a call of a vehicle crash on Highway 20, east of Walker Ridge Road, involving a possible fatality.
Northshore Fire personnel responded to the scene and confirmed the driver had died of her injuries, the CHP said.
When CHP officers arrived on scene, they determined it was a solo-vehicle crash that occurred during the hours of darkness, several hours before it was reported.
The CHP said the driver was traveling westbound on Highway 20 in a 2009 Subaru Forester when, for unknown reasons, the Subaru veered to the right of the roadway.
The Subaru hit an embankment, crossed the roadway to the south and went down another embankment, into the creek bed and overturned several times, the CHP said.
The CHP said the driver was wearing her seat belt and remained in the driver’s seat where she succumbed to the injuries she sustained during the wreck.
The Subaru was equipped with front and side air bags which deployed as a result of the crash, the CHP said.
So far, the CHP said it is unknown if drugs or alcohol were factors in the crash.
The board will meet beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 1, in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.
The meeting can be watched live on Channel 8, online at https://countyoflake.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx and on the county’s Facebook page. Accompanying board documents, the agenda and archived board meeting videos also are available at that link.
To participate in real-time, join the Zoom meeting by clicking this link.
The meeting ID is 992 8044 5927, pass code 645363. The meeting also can be accessed via one tap mobile at +16699006833,,99280445927#,,,,*645363#.
All interested members of the public that do not have internet access or a Mediacom cable subscription are encouraged to call 669-900-6833, and enter the Zoom meeting ID and pass code information above.
To submit a written comment on any agenda item visit https://countyoflake.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx and click on the eComment feature linked to the meeting date. If a comment is submitted after the meeting begins, it may not be read during the meeting but will become a part of the record.
On the consent agenda, the board will consider a resolution — which is in response to requests from the cannabis industry at the board’s meeting last week — to postpone cannabis tax payments from Jan. 31 to May 15, suspend late payment penalties during the period of postponement and suspend tax rate increases based on the consumer price index until 2024.
Cannabis business owners said they need the help because they are struggling to stay afloat.
At 9:15 a.m., the board will get a presentation from Patrick Blacklock, president and chief executive officer of the Rural County Representatives of California, or RCRC.
In untimed items, the board will consider appointments to the Lake County Vector Control, Lower Lake Cemetery Board and Law Library Board.
The full agenda follows.
CONSENT AGENDA
5.1: a) Approve memorandum of understanding by and between county of Mendocino and the Lake County Air Quality Management District for air pollution control officer duties, effective Feb. 1, 2022; and b) authorize the chair to sign a report of appointment increasing Air Pollution Control Officer Douglas Gearhart’s salary by 20% during this limited agreement.
5.2: Adopt resolution postponing cannabis tax payments to May 15, 2022, suspending late payment penalties during the period of postponement, and suspending tax rate increases pursuant to the consumer price index until 2024.
5.3: a) Waive the formal bidding process, pursuant to Lake County Code Section 38.2, as it is not in the public interest due to the unique nature of goods or services; and b) approve agreement between county of Lake and Adventist Health St. Helena and Vallejo for acute inpatient psychiatric hospital services and professional services associated with acute inpatient psychiatric hospitalizations for fiscal years 2021-22 and 2022-23 for a maximum compensation of $300,000 and authorize the chair to sign.
5.4: Approve Board of Supervisors meeting minutes Jan. 4, 2022.
5.5: a) Approve purchase order for the purchase of a Ford Escape for the Community Development Department, and authorize the Community Development director/assistant purchasing agent to sign the purchase order; and b) approve budget transfer to increase capital asset in the amount of $500 to facilitate the purchase of the Ford Escape and authorize the chair to sign.
5.6: Approve continuation of resolution authorizing teleconferenced meetings during a state of emergency.
5.7: Approve addendum to lease for commercial property located at 858 Lakeport Blvd., Lakeport from Feb. 1, 2022, through Feb. 28, 2023, at $2,100 per month and authorize the chair to initial all pages of the addendum.
5.8: Approve continuation of a local health emergency by the Lake County health officer for the Cache fire.
5.9: Approve the continuation of a local health emergency related to the 2019 Coronavirus (COVID-19) as proclaimed by the Lake County Public Health officer.
5.10: Approve the continuation of a local health emergency and order prohibiting the endangerment of the community through the unsafe removal, transport, and disposal of fire debris for the LNU Complex wildfire.
5.11: Approve the continuation of a local emergency in Lake County in response to the LNU Lightning Complex wildfire event.
5.12: Approve the continuation of a local emergency due to the Mendocino Complex fire incident (River and Ranch fires).
5.13: Approve the continuation of a local emergency due to COVID-19.
5.14: Approve the continuation of an emergency declaration for drought conditions.
5.15: Approve the continuation of a local emergency due to the Pawnee fire incident.
5.16: Approve continuation of a local emergency by the Lake County Sheriff/OES director for the Cache fire.
5.17: Approve plans and specifications for the Cooper Creek at Witter Springs Road Bridge Replacement Project Bid No. 22-03, Federal Aid Project No. BRLO-5914(078).
5.18: Approve a purchase order for engineering services to complete a local road safety plan and authorize the Public Works director/assistant purchasing agent to sign the purchase order.
5.19: Authorize the closure of the Special Districts administration office from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 4, for all staff training.
TIMED ITEMS
6.2, 9:15 a.m.: Presentation by RCRC President and CEO Patrick Blacklock.
UNTIMED ITEMS
7.2: Consideration of the following advisory board appointments: Lake County Vector Control, Lower Lake Cemetery Board, Law Library Trustee.
CLOSED SESSION
8.1: Conference with legal counsel: Existing litigation pursuant to Gov code sec 54956.9(d)(1) — City of Clearlake v. County of Lake.
8.2: Conference with legal counsel: Decision whether to initiate litigation pursuant to Government Code section 54956.9(d)(4) — One potential case.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
The council will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 1, in the council chambers at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.
The agenda can be found here.
The council chambers will be open to the public for the meeting. In accordance with updated guidelines from the state of California and revised Cal OSHA Emergency Temporary Standards, persons who are not fully vaccinated for COVID-19 are required to wear a face covering at this meeting.
If you cannot attend in person, and would like to speak on an agenda item, you can access the Zoom meeting remotely at this link or join by phone by calling toll-free 669-900-9128 or 346-248-7799.
The webinar ID is 973 6820 1787, access code is 477973; the audio pin will be shown after joining the webinar. Those phoning in without using the web link will be in “listen mode” only and will not be able to participate or comment.
Comments can be submitted by email to
On Tuesday, the council will give a presentation on the Lake Area Planning Council’s efforts regarding the formation of a rural regional energy network, which will take advantage of available energy efficiency programs.
City Manager Kevin Ingram also will ask for the council to approve the mayor signing a letter supporting formation of the network.
Assistant City Manager Nick Walker will seek direction to formalize a spending plan for the council to review regarding Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds.
Walker also will present the annual comprehensive financial report for fiscal year 2020-21.
On the consent agenda — items usually accepted as a slate on one vote — are ordinances; minutes of the council’s regular meeting on Jan. 18; adopt a resolution authorizing continued remote teleconference meetings of the Lakeport City Council and its legislative bodies pursuant to Government Code section 54953(e); adopt the proposed resolution to reaffirm the necessity of AB 1600 development impact fees; adopt the proposed ordinance adding Chapter 17.53 of the Lakeport Municipal Code regarding the water efficient landscape requirements; authorize the out of state travel as requested by the city manager for Council Member Turner to attend the National League of Cities’ Congressional City Conference to be held in Washington DC, March 14 to 16; receive and file the draft minutes of the Jan. 19 Measure Z Advisory Committee meeting; approve event application 2022-002, with staff recommendations, for the 2022 Memorial Day Parade; approve event application 2022-003, with staff recommendations, for the 2022 July Fourth Street Fair; approve event application 2022-004, with staff recommendations, for the 2022 Taste of Lake County event; approve event application 2022-005, with staff recommendations, for the 2022 Pumpkin and Dia de los Muertos Festival; approve event application 2022-006 fee waiver request, with staff recommendations, for the 2022 Trick or Treat Main Street event; and approve event application 2022-007, with staff recommendations, for the 2022 Dickens’ Festival.
Email Elizabeth Larson at