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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
At the April 4 meeting, City Manager Alan Flora led a discussion with the council on the county’s Southeast Regional Wastewater System and issues that have arisen with regard to a new housing development.
“This hasn’t been a very good year for the sewer system in Clearlake,” which is what initiated the discussion, Flora said.
Flora said Special Districts Administrator Scott Harter was invited but had another meeting.
One of the chief issues related to Konocti Gardens, a new 102-unit low-income apartment project built on 11 acres at 3930 Old Highway 53, developed by CSI Construction Co.
Flora said that although Konocti Gardens is ready to come online and be occupied in June, the county won’t allow the project to connect to the wastewater system until upgrades are made to the system.
That means the apartment complex won’t be online until October or November, “causing some pretty significant financial impacts to the project,” Flora said.
Flora said that the decision not to let the complex connect to the system was based on a capacity analysis required by Special Districts for projects over 20 units. He said he wasn’t sure why, but the city didn’t receive the draft report until early February.
That report indicated there is 2,200 feet of pipe in the collection system that would be over capacity as a result of this project, Flora said.
Flora noted later in the discussion that the city had been told by the county that the capacity plan was a formality and that everything would be fine, “but it wasn’t.”
He said the county did an updated sewer model in 2022. “This is a section of the collection system that is a problem with or without development.”
It was the city’s understanding, Flora said, that there aren’t areas of significant concern in the city for collection other than Highlands Harbor, which has spills every time there is a significant rain event.
However, based on this most recent capacity analysis, Special Districts won’t allow Konocti Gardens to connect to the sewer system, Flora said.
As a result, the county — including Supervisor Bruno Sabatier — along with the city and the developer have been having almost weekly meetings. “There’s some promising progress” in the developer being able to get occupancy, Flora said.
Flora said Special Districts is open to doing things to speed up design and construction of the needed upgrades.
If construction can’t be completed, there will be a design for a bypass from that project around the impacted area and added back into the system in another area with capacity to handle it, Flora said.
Flora said Lacosan’s system had a large wastewater spill last winter, and six to seven spills this winter totaling close to one million gallons that have hit water bodies, including Clear Lake, within the Southeast system.
He said Konocti Gardens really illustrates the fact that Lacosan has millions of dollars in reserves that have been accumulated and no apparent upgrade plan for the system. Meantime, Highlands Harbor has been a decades-long problem.
All these things lead to, “what can the city do to get some more answers here and maybe be a little bit more involved,” Flora said.
He added, “It is a little bit unusual that most of the infrastructure was developed before the city was incorporated.”
When the incorporation happened — which occurred in 1980 — it was required that the sanitation district’s board of directors provide at least one seat to the city. Flora said city staff found a 1983 resolution in which the city delegated that seat back to the Board of Supervisors.
Flora said he met the week before with County Administrative Officer Susan Parker, Board Chair Bruno Sabatier and Vice Chair EJ Crandell to share the city’s research and what they believe to be the county’s obligation, which is to give the city a seat on the sanitation district board.
There may be another arrangement with the county. “Ultimately, the city just wants this to work,” Flora said.
He said his discussions led him to conclude the county is interested in meeting and talking more about the situation, and figuring out a way for the city’s concerns to be addressed.
The council ended up unanimously adopting a resolution requesting a role in the direct governance of Lacosan’s operations of the Southeast Regional Collection System.
In other business, the council held the second reading of Ordinance No. 269-2024 updating Clearlake Municipal Code Section 3-5 relating to fire mitigation fees.
The change in the ordinance did not include changing the fire mitigation fees. Flora said they decided to hold off on adopting any changes by resolution until there is interest to have a countywide discussion on fire mitigation fees and construction.
When asked by council members about when the matter could be wrapped up, Flora said it could be done by the end of the fiscal year in the summer.
Also on Thursday, the council presents a proclamation declaring April 2024 as Sexual Assault Awareness Month and a proclamation declaring April 14 to 20 as Public Safety
Telecommunicators Week, offered certificates of appreciation for the Bunny Brunch and received the Recreation and Events Department’s quarterly report.
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MATH will meet at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 11, in the Middletown Community Meeting Room/Library at 21256 Washington St., Middletown. The meeting is open to the public.
To join the meeting via Zoom click on this link; the meeting ID is 869-1824-5695, pass code is 808449. Call in at 669-900-6833.
MATH is meeting earlier than usual in order to hold a community workshop on the area plan.
The meeting will get started with an update on the Middletown Art Center’s Water Basket Project.
The town hall’s members also will discuss and consider approving MATH’s proposed response to the Lake County Community Development Department’s request for a review of the updated Guenoc Valley Project. The deadline to respond is April 12.
At 6:10 p.m., MATH will host the Lake County 2050-Middletown Area Plan Update community workshop.
Community Development Department Director Mireya Turner and her staff, along with planning consultant PlaceWorks, will provide an overview presentation of the process for the Middletown Area Plan Update.
The two-hour workshop will include breakout sessions and time for public input, questions and answers.
MATH’s next meeting will take place on May 9.
MATH — established by resolution of the Lake County Board of Supervisors on Dec. 12, 2006 — is a municipal advisory council serving the residents of Anderson Springs, Cobb, Coyote Valley (including Hidden Valley Lake), Long Valley and Middletown.
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The Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, or ABC, recognizes the importance of Alcohol Awareness Month every April due to the high number of alcohol-related deaths each year in the U.S.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, about 178,000 people die each year from excessive alcohol use. In 2021, 13,384 people died in alcohol-related car crashes, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA.
"This month serves as an important reminder to engage in conversations about the risks associated with excessive alcohol consumption and to encourage safe and responsible behavior.” said ABC Director Joseph McCullough.
ABC regulates the sale, manufacture, and distribution of alcohol in California.
The department recognizes the serious health and public safety concerns surrounding alcohol, especially when it is misused.
Licensees and bystanders are also encouraged to do their part by reporting any signs of excessive or underage drinking to local authorities.
The effects of alcohol misuse are both deadly and expensive. Alcohol is the fourth-leading cause of preventable death in the United States, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and has a role in at least 7.1% of all emergency room visits.
The financial burden of alcohol misuse cost the U.S. an estimated $249 billion per year. NHTSA estimates that drunk driving crashes cost the U.S. $68.9 billion annually.
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Assemblymember James C. Ramos (D-San Bernardino) authored the 2022 legislation that took effect a year ago.
“The Feather Alert is a tool to enlist the public’s assistance when a Native American might be at peril,” Ramos said. “Earlier this year, the Assembly reviewed the effectiveness of this important tool one year after it began, and listened to tribal members and law enforcement. We are committed to ensuring that this lifesaving notification system works effectively and easily for families worried about missing loved ones.”
Since the Feather Alert’s implementation, tribal communities made five requests, but the California Highway Patrol, in consultation with local law enforcement, granted activation in two instances. Of the two approved alerts, only one missing individual was found.
AB 1863 would streamline the process for activating the Feather Alert and make it more easily accessible.
The proposed changes would also expand definitions of endangered and missing for purposes of the alert notification and would require the CHP to issue a reason for denying activation within 48 hours.
“We carry the strength of our ancestors to ensure our tribal citizens are safe and protected,” said Bear River of the Rohnerville Rancheria Chairwoman Josefina Frank. “The work that has been done on AB 1863 has provided tribal nations their voices back to ensure we end MMIP.”
Chairwoman Frank continued, “We are the voice and movement for those we have lost, those who are hurting and the generations to come.”
“We are grateful to Assemblymember Ramos for introducing the Feather Alert and putting forth AB 1863 this session to directly address concerns from those at the forefront of this crisis,” Pechanga Band of Indians Councilwoman Catalina Chacon said. “Allowing our tribal governments to communicate directly with the State affirms our sovereignty, saves critical time, and will further help bring our missing people home safely.”
“I thank Assemblymember Ramos for creating this mechanism to quickly get the word out when Indigenous people go missing or are at risk,” said Yurok Tribal Chairman Joe James.
In citing his support for AB 1863 James stated, “We supported previous legislation that created this alert because it will help reduce the disproportionate rate of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People cases in California. The next generation of Indigenous California should not have to live in a world where they have to worry about family members going missing or worse. With the updates in this legislation, we will take action to address the remaining root causes of this complex crisis.”
AB 1863 is sponsored by the Bear River of the Rohnerville Rancheria, the Pechanga Band of Mission Indians and the Yurok Tribe.