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COBB, Calif. — Cal Fire’s Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit reported that Boggs Mountain Demonstration State Forest will transition to winter season closures.
Seasonal camping will close at noon on Friday, Nov. 4.
The closure is due to changing weather conditions and ensuing poor road conditions and hazards.
Camping typically reopens for the summer between mid-May, depending on weather and road conditions.
The forest will remain open for day use only from sunrise to sunset.
For public health and safety, forest roads are subject to temporary closure pending wet weather conditions. Off-highway vehicles and off roading are prohibited.
Cal Fire encourages forest visitors to plan ahead before arriving at the forest.
Please call the Boggs Mountain Demonstration State Forest office at 707-928-4378 should you have any questions.
For more information on recreating responsibly during the winter months, please click here.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
In an unanimous vote, the council approved the second extension to the professional services agreement with The Retail Coach for retail strategies and recruitment.
City Manager Kevin Ingram said the city hired The Retail Coach in 2019, a move brought into full focus with the closing of the city’s Kmart store.
Ingram said the pandemic had slowed down the work but The Retail Coach is still making progress.
Austin Farmer of The Retail Coach gave the council an update on the work that’s been done so far and what’s still underway.
He said one of Lakeport’s biggest challenges is that there are a lot of perceptions of the community from the outside that are not accurate based on not knowing how big the city's daytime population is or the size of the retail market.
The Retail Coach geofenced top business locations in the city and put together a profile of the actual retail trade area and population, and Farmer said they are using that information to recruit retailers, restaurants and developers to come into the market.
Farmer said The Retail Coach has a three-person team dedicated to working on the city’s behalf, an effort that includes going to conferences to meet with retailers and property owners.
Lakeport’s downtown area is a continual focus of the work, but Farmer said most national tenants don’t go downtown anymore. So his team is identifying regional and statewide opportunities that could expand into the city.
Recruitment efforts cover a mix — from national and regional retainers, to mom and pop and independent businesses from across the region, Farmer said.
Farmer said they also are recruiting developers. He said he thinks there is a huge opportunity for development and redevelopment, including on the site of the “Lakeport Hub Project,” a shopping center and hotel development on 15.5 acres at 1842 Todd Road proposed by remont-based New Vista Developers.
The Lakeport Planning Commission approved an architectural and design review, tentative subdivision, use permit, zoning permit and environmental review for the Lakeport Hub in January.
Another location that Farmer said has great potential is the Vista Point shopping center. That gateway development site is more challenging, and he said The Retail Coach is trying to find someone to come in and buy and redevelop it.
Farmer said they are pursuing franchise recruitment along with national and regional retail recruitment.
He said they’ve been actively recruiting about 60 retailers and restaurants. About eight companies are reviewing sites or looking for sites in the market, and there have been four market and site visits to date.
The biggest news of the presentation was that Farmer said they’ve received two letters of intent from retailers for the redevelopment of the Kmart property on South Main Street.
He said the biggest sense of urgency was for Kmart, which had potential to not meet highest and best use. “We’re pretty satisfied with it,” said Farmer, explaining it’s going in a very positive direction for the Kmart building.
During the discussion, Farmer explained that one of the retailers that is pursuing the Kmart space was in the area looking at a competing community and The Retail Coach was able to facilitate that retailer into making a visit to Lakeport. The result was that the retailer committed to the Kmart space.
That retailer told them a year ago, “Lakeport isn't a market we would consider,” Farmer said.
Farmer said The Retail Coach is now working to recruit more than 10 retail and mixed use developers, three of which are considering development and redevelopment opportunities in the market.
He said they are setting up calls with property owners and developers potentially interested in purchasing sites, and continuing to build a pipeline of successful, capable developers that could have interest in the market.
Lakeport lacks available development and redevelopment sites or second generation retail space, and Farmer said they are trying to fill a void. He said the biggest challenge moving forward is the time it has taken to get planned developments off the ground and getting the highest and best use of existing assets.
Farmer said most of the retailers they are talking to are Fortune 500 companies. The Retail Coach team came away from a Las Vegas retail conference more optimistic than they expected. While they expected a lot of retailers would be shrinking their plans, many instead are expanding.
“That gives us a little bit of optimism” in terms of the retail model, he said.
Community Development Director Jenni Byers, who has been working in economic development for more than a decade, said she went to a conference with The Retail Coach. She said she couldn’t have gotten in front of some of the groups she was able to speak to without Farmer.
“We tried to do some of this on our own for a few years,” said Ingram.
“We were not getting to the table,” he added.
Ingram said Farmer has taught the city the patience aspect of the work in continuing to pursue retailers, which Farmer had noted during the discussion requires them to constantly stay in front of retailers and developers in order to keep interest from waning.
The council voted unanimously to update and extend the contract.
In other business, the council gave direction to staff to create a recruitment and retention incentive plan to recruit and retain Lakeport Police officers, as the city has been challenged with finding officers, a nationwide issue, said Police Chief Brad Rasmussen.
Also on Tuesday, the council welcomed new Public Works volunteer Ken Kelsen, who is working on projects including street sweeping.
He moved to Lake County four years ago full-time after retiring from the fire service. He walked into the city to point out some problems, was offered the chance to help and came on board.
“That wasn’t exactly what I was expecting,” Kelsen said.
Public Works Superintendent Ron Ladd said it’s been a pleasure having Kelsen as a volunteer, noting his great attitude that spreads to the rest of the crew.
The council also adopted the 2022 California Building Codes through an amendment to the Lakeport Municipal Code and received an update from Chief Building Official Bethany Moss on the city’s code enforcement operations.
At the end of the meeting, the council held a closed session performance of evaluation of Ingram that ran under 15 minutes before council members emerged and adjourned the meeting.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
In an unanimous vote, the Board of Supervisors approved a donation of 620 acres along East Highway 20 in Clearlake Oaks and an as-yet unspecified amount of funds from the John T. Klaus 1994 Trust.
The process of bringing the final donation to the board has taken a few years.
The board received an initial report on the donation from Public Services Director Lars Ewing at its July 7, 2020 meeting and had been scheduled to consider approving the resolution to accept the park property and funds at its meeting on Feb. 9, 2021, however, the item was pulled.
County Counsel Anita Grant told the board on Tuesday that the delay was due, in part, to the previous attorney for the trust having died.
A new attorney had to come in “and essentially begin again in order to ensure that the terms of the trust and the expenditures of money were all scrupulously adhered to,” Grant said.
Ewing told the board in July 2020 that the trustee at that point had reported assets including bank accounts totaling approximately $1.5 million, appraisal values of properties owned by the trust and not yet sold amounting to approximately $650,000, and recurring annual lease income of approximately $127,000 from a property in Livermore that has been leased to an oil change business for more than 20 years.
Staff didn’t report new totals for those assets, although Grant’s written report for Tuesday’s meeting noted the sale of the additional properties had resulted in “considerable proceeds.”
The resolution to accept the donation has conditions including that the property be named “John T. Klaus Park,” with one-third of the land on the rear of the property to be reserved as a refuge for wildlife and the rest of the park to be developed for sporting and athletic activities for youth.
The document also agrees to begin initiating the transfer of sale proceeds from various accounts into a county account established solely for the receipt of the monies, Grant said.
She said the attorney for the trustee is preparing for a final accounting that will be filed in court, with all the details becoming known as the attorney’s work steadily progresses.
Grant said the only issue before the board on Tuesday was whether to formally accept the donation and then to move forward again to initiate the process of transfer pursuant to the terms of the trust.
Ewing said he’d previously received direction from the board to develop a business plan for the park. However, because it would be a county park, Ewing said he felt it was premature to develop a management plan without getting public input first.
He said he’s been out to the property a number of times with the trustee. The county has received a quote for the needed cleanup on the land.
“I think it's an opportunity that doesn't come along very often,” Ewing said, comparing it with the Mount Konocti Park that the county purchased. That park didn’t come with any money, while this project has both property and funding.
Supervisor Bruno Sabatier said he was thankful to Klaus for wanting to leave a positive legacy behind him.
“I do have some concerns and those concerns I think can easily be taken care of with a management plan, a fiscal plan,” said Sabatier, who wanted to know the cost of managing the property. Even if it’s left in its natural state, there will be a need for fire mitigation.
Clearlake Oaks residents Holly Harris and Chuck Lamb submitted a letter to the board supporting approval of the resolution.
“This particular piece of property is very scenic, and is the ‘gateway’ to Clearlake Oaks and the Lake County north shore, when headed west. The ability to have 620 acres preserved for outdoor activities and wildlife refuge — along with Mr. Klaus' donation of funding sources — will ensure that the property can be enjoyed by many,” they wrote.
The Clear Lake Keys Property Owners Association and Redbud Audubon Society also submitted comments to the county urging acceptance of the property.
The board voted to approve the resolution to accept the park 4-0. Supervisor Moke Simon was absent for the meeting.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The council will meet at 6 p.m. Nov. 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, Nov. 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.
On Thursday, the council will meet November’s adoptable dogs and present a certificate of appreciation to Halloween event volunteers.
Under business, the council will consider adopting a resolution authorizing the application and adopting the plan for the Permanent Local Housing Allocation Program and consider an agreement between the city of Clearlake, Lake County Economic Development Corp. and Clear Lake Chamber of Commerce for use of the Clearlake Visitor Center facility.
The council also will discuss providing city financing to complete the 36th Avenue Road and Storm Drainage Construction Project as well as a five-year agreement with Axon Enterprise Inc. for 30 body worn cameras and digital evidence management.
In other business, staff will discuss with the council the possible appointment of a city treasurer.
On the meeting's consent agenda — items that are considered routine in nature and usually adopted on a single vote — are warrants; authorization of road closures for the Dec. 3, 2022, Christmas Parade; award of contracts for HVAC and plumbing on-call and emergency services; authorization of an amendment to the Clearlake Municipal Employees Association memorandum of understanding to modify the uniform voucher program to a uniform; minutes of the August, September and October meetings; continuation of authorization to implement and utilize teleconference accessibility to conduct public meetings pursuant to Assembly Bill 361.
The council also will hold a closed session to discuss property negotiations for 6885 Old Highway 53.
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