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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved the award of a contract to an engineering firm that will be tasked with designing a project to remove gravel and sediment buildup from the levee channels that protect the town of Upper Lake.
Water Resources Director Scott De Leon asked for, and received, the approval of the supervisors — sitting as the Lake County Watershed Protection District Board of Directors — to waive the county’s formal bidding process and authorize the signing of an agreement with Peterson Brustad Inc. for engineering design services for the Clover Creek Bypass Gravel Removal Project.
The Folsom-based company will be paid $44,820 for the project. The contract term ends on March 31, 2023.
Peterson Brustad was the firm hired to complete the Middle Creek Flood Control Feasibility Study, which covers the Middle Creek and Clover Creek diversion levees, the diversion structure and Old Clover Creek closure structure in Flood Zone 8. That work is still underway.
Those levees do not provide protection in 100 year flood events, and modeling completed last year and described in a video on the feasibility study showed that if the levees failed it could be catastrophic for Upper Lake, as Lake County News has reported.
The Western Region Town Hall hosted a special workshop on the levees last week.
De Leon said the contract is to prepare preliminary plans not only for the Clover Creek bypass but all of the Clover Creek and Ally Creek facility in Upper Lake.
The United States Army Corps of Engineers installed the levees on those creeks in the 1950s, De Leon said.
Now, there is “significant gravel buildup within the channels” and De Leon said one of the projects that’s been identified to deal with the levees condition is gravel removal.
However, in order to pursue that project, De Leon said his department needs to have preliminary plans to develop the project scope — including how many yards of material need to come out. They also need to start preliminary environmental work.
“That is all key to making applications for funding,” he said.
He added, “It’s going to be a very expensive project so we need as much information as we can,”
De Leon proposed to use Peterson Brustad because the company already is doing the feasibility study of that entire creek region, has been analyzing the levees and modeling how the levees perform under certain storm events and conditions. As a result, they have all of the topographic information on the channels.
There are potential funding sources available to pay for the extraction project, said De Leon; those include the Natural Resources Conservation Service, part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
That option was discussed during the June 15 Western Region Town Hall attended by Lake County News. An NRCS representative, Jim Rienstra, who attended that meeting via Zoom confirmed the agency could fund the work through its programs.
“The sooner that we can get some plans done and get a project description prepared, the sooner that we can start chasing grant funds to try to do the project,” said De Leon.
“We also believe that it’s going to require a pretty significant environmental review,” he added.
Supervisor Bruno Sabatier said he didn’t necessarily agree that, under the justifications for waiving the bidding process, that it was a unique service, but that it was more of an amendment to the current contract with Peterson Brustad.
Sabatier said it also wasn’t an emergency yet, but there was the potential for one if the county gets a large amount of rain.
County Counsel Anita Grant said she thought Sabatier was right about the exemption from competitive bidding, and suggested instead that the applicable exemption would be no economic benefit.
Supervisor Moke Simon said the county needs to look at gravel removal in all local creeks, as it’s building up everywhere and affects everyone.
“Getting some of this gravel out of our creeks is very important,” he said.
Referring to Simon’s statement, Sabatier agreed that it’s a larger issue and asked if the same California Environmental Quality Act process being used for Upper Lake’s levees can be used to address future removal of gravel in the area.
“That’s a really complicated question,” said De Leon. “It’s possible.”
He said he didn’t think the environmental work can be reused, but the plan can be.
In the feasibility study, Peterson Brustad discussed the addition of structures or areas where gravel would accumulate as opposed to it going in and disrupting the channel, he explained.
De Leon said there are a number of design options that could be put into play here that could be reused. A routine maintenance project also could be done.
Sabatier moved to approve waiving the bidding process and authorizing the signing of the contract, which the board approved 4-0.
Editor’s note: This article has been clarified regarding Supervisor Sabatier’s questions about whether the California Environmental Quality Act process could be reused again.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The council will meet at 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 6, for a workshop before the regular meeting begins at 6 p.m. 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, Oct. 6.
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.
The council will meet at 5 p.m. for a workshop to discuss annexation and sphere of influence updates.
During the regular meeting, there will be a swearing-in for the new police sergeant and the presentation of a proclamation declaring October 2022 as Domestic Violence Awareness
Month.
Under business items, the council will discuss and consider a proposal to establish a homebuyer assistance program as a retention and recruitment incentive for city employees.
“One of the most difficult tasks of any organization is the recruitment and retention of high performing and committed employees,” City Manager Alan Flora wrote in his report to the council. “We couldn’t be more pleased with the dedicated staff we have and are constantly analyzing tools or programs to ensure we keep our employees. Home ownership is often a
key factor and incentive for employees staying put. With local access to housing still a challenge, and the cost of homeownership continuing to rise, we would like the Council to consider ways to assist with our employee’s commitment to the City via homeownership.”
Flora is asking the council to consider an incentive amount, requirements that home purchases be within the city and owner-occupied, income limits, requirements for time of employment and ensuring any method is tax free to increase effectiveness.
Also under business, the council will consider appointing Curt Giambruno to the Lake County Vector Control District Board for a term of four years.
On the meeting's consent agenda — items that are considered routine in nature and usually adopted on a single vote — are warrants; minutes of the Aug. 10 Lake County Vector Control District Board; continuation of authorization to implement and utilize teleconference accessibility to conduct public meetings pursuant to Assembly Bill 361; adoption of a resolution appointing the finance director as city treasurer, authorizing signing and endorsing checks, electronic funds transfers, deposits to and withdrawals from operating and investment accounts and authorizing the certification of the names and signatures of the authorized persons to the financial institution(s); and consideration of updated salary range for the Public Works director position and salary schedule.
The council also is scheduled for a closed session to discuss two potential cases of litigation and the city’s ongoing case against the county of Lake and Treasurer-Tax Collector Barbara Ringen.
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- Written by: LAKE COUNTY NEWS REPORTS
Christopher Franklin Hill, 20, was arrested earlier this week for killing Aaron Joseph Vossler, 18, according to a report from Lt. Andrew Porter of the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office.
Porter said that on Thursday Mendocino County Sheriff's deputies assigned to the North Sector were dispatched to contact a resident of Laytonville regarding a missing person's report.
The reporting person reported Vossler had been traveling with a friend known only by a nickname. The pair left Laytonville on Sept. 26 in a black Toyota Prius and they were supposed to be traveling to a known address in the city of Ukiah.
Vossler did not return home and the reporting person contacted his friends in an attempt to locate him, Porter said.
Porter said the reporting person learned from one of Vossler's friends that he never arrived at the reported destination in Ukiah and Vossler had not made any recent social media posts, which was unusual.
A missing person's report was taken at that time with the deputies conducting a follow up investigation in an attempt to locate Vossler, according to Porter’s report.
Deputies started to hear rumors that Vossler had possibly been the victim of foul play; however they had a difficult time substantiating any of the information, Porter said.
Porter said sheriff's detectives began to assist the patrol deputies throughout the weekend and on Monday they were able to contact someone who possibly had seen Vossler just before his disappearance.
This person was identified as Hill and he was contacted at a family member's residence in the 8200 block of East Side Road in Potter Valley, Porter said.
While at the location, sheriff's detectives along with a patrol sergeant interviewed Hill and they were able to observe evidence of a possible violent crime in and about Hill's vehicle. Porter said a search warrant was obtained for the residence and Hill's vehicle.
During the search warrant service on Monday, human remains were located in a shallow grave on the property, Porter said.
Porter said Hill was subsequently booked into the Mendocino County Jail on the charge of murder as a result.
The scene was maintained by Sheriff's Office personnel throughout the night until Tuesday morning, Porter said.
Crime scene specialists from the California Department of Justice assisted the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office, Mendocino County Major Crimes Task Force and Investigators from the Mendocino County District Attorney's Office in processing the crime scene, which Porter said included exhuming the human remains from the grave.
Once exhumed, the remains were identified as being Vossler, Porter said.
This investigation is ongoing, and any persons who may have information about this incident are encouraged to contact the Mendocino County Sheriff's Investigative Services Unit by calling the Sheriff's Office Tip line at 707-234-2100 or the WeTip anonymous crime reporting hotline at 1-800-782-7463.
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- Written by: GOVERNOR’S OFFICE
The additional $1.4 billion that Gov. Newsom and the Legislature allocated in this year’s budget will be distributed by year’s end to support Californians who are still struggling to pay the bills.
Of that amount, $1.2 billion will address residential electric utility arrearages through the Department of Community Services and Development to mitigate the outstanding debt leading to increased utility rates, and $200 million will address residential water and wastewater arrearages – complementing $116 million in federal funding for water and wastewater arrearages.
“No other state in America did as much for those struggling during the pandemic than California, with tens of billions of dollars for stimulus checks, small business relief, and past-due rent and utility bills to help Californians. We got $1.4 billion out the door to help 2.2 million families with overdue utility bills and we’re sending another $1.4 billion to support those who are still struggling amid rising costs,” said Gov. Newsom.
This is an important part of Gov. Newsom’s financial relief package to help support Californians who are dealing with higher costs right now.
This builds upon last year’s Golden State Stimulus, which distributed $9 billion to millions of California families, and the billions that went to help Californians pay their rent, cover overdue utility bills and support small businesses.
For the utility relief that went out already:
•The Department of Community Services and Development provided assistance for electric and gas utility bills for more than 1.4 million households and commercial customers, distributing $989 million throughout the pandemic.
•The State Water Resources Control Board covered unpaid water bills for more than 800,000 residential and commercial customers, distributing $435 million in just 10 months for debt accrued during the pandemic.
