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The group will meet at 5 p.m. via Zoom. The public is invited to attend.
Under old business, the group will get an update on $150,000 in funding and the approve of Fish and Wildlife permits to clear vegetation from Scotts Creek beginning at the Hendricks and Scotts Valley Road bridge and ending downstream from newly installed culvert to the Eickhoff bridge.
They also will discuss Lakeport’s South Main Annexation, which is on the November ballot for a small group of voters in the annexation area; the Multi-Tribal Fire Prevention Grant application to Cal Fire to support the Scotts Valley Firewise Community; and broadband coverage for Scotts Valley.
In new business, the group will discuss new use permits, and get updates on the Scotts Valley Groundwater Protection Committee, the Scotts Valley Firewise Committee and water trucks filling up from a well drawing from the Scotts Valley aquifer.
The group also may have from a Bureau of Land Management representative on the South Couth Mountain Management Area implementation update.
The group will next meet on Aug. 22.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Dr. Annette Lee, EdD, will now oversee the campus as the search for a new dean takes place.
She succeeds Dr. Cirilo Cortez, who was hired as dean of the Lake County Campus in July 2020.
Cortez left this spring to take a job as associate vice president of student affairs at California State University, Chico.
“I am excited to serve Woodland Community College and Lake County in this role,” Lee told Lake County News. “We have a lot of great energy on campus right now and I look forward to working with our staff, students, and community partners!”
Lee, who lives in Middletown, began teaching at the Lake County Campus in 2007.
From 2015 through 2018, Lee served as the executive dean of the Colusa and Lake County Campuses of Woodland Community College.
Since then, she has been a full-time faculty member in the Business and Management faculty.
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The contract between the health care system and insurance company was due to expire at 12:01 a.m. Monday.
That situation left some local patients — particularly those who have the insurance through their employers — extremely concerned because of the potential for their insurance to no longer be accepted at Adventist Health facilities.
Kim Lewis, spokesperson for Adventist Health Clear Lake, told Lake County News on Monday that the two sides had agreed to the two-week extension.
“The extension will give us time to reach a potential agreement. We are optimistic that we will make progress to negotiate a higher reimbursement rate, allowing us to keep care local for our Anthem patients in the communities we serve,” Lewis said.
She said the new contract termination date is Aug. 1.
On Monday, Anthem Blue Cross released its own statement on the situation.
It said: “Anthem Blue Cross has agreed to an extension with Adventist Health so we may continue negotiating in good faith in an attempt to retain the health system in our care provider network. We believe our care providers should be reimbursed fairly, and that will continue to be reflected in our offers during these negotiations. These offers included reasonable increases that are in line with what other provider partners receive for the same services, which will help keep health care affordable for those we serve. Our hope is to reach an agreement with Adventist.”
Anthem Blue Cross spokesman Michael Bowman also told Lake County News, “Our hope is to reach an agreement with Adventist prior to the current contract expiring, but if our efforts continue to be rebuked, we will work closely with our members to ensure they have continued access to quality care from any one of the many care providers in our network, including Sutter in Lakeport.”
In June, Adventist Health sent a letter to patients, which also was posted on its website, explaining that its current contract with Anthem Blue Cross “is not sustainable, and we need to renegotiate our terms.”
The hospital’s letter continued, “As a not-for-profit, faith-inspired organization, we provide services in some of the poorest areas of California and throughout the past five years, have given away more than $276 million in charity care to those in need. Our commitment to the underserved has resulted in multiple years of negative operating financial performance. As a system, Adventist Health provides a hospital network across California and must have rate increases that support overall expenses that continue to exceed the reimbursement we receive.”
Adventist said Anthem Blue Cross “has continued for the past two years to enjoy record profits, even in this highly inflationary environment. While Anthem raised members’ premiums annually, they continue to pay Adventist Health substantially less than other hospital systems. Anthem is one of our lowest paying health plans, and we can’t continue to provide quality care for patients at significantly reduced rates.”
In a statement issued on Thursday, July 14, Anthem Blue Cross said it’s been negotiating in good faith in an attempt to retain Adventist Health in its care provider network. The company said it was due to have a meeting the next day, Friday, July 15.
“While we appreciate hospitals are facing labor, supply and other cost pressures, the reality is that employers across the country, including those we serve here in California, are facing those same pressures. We’ve offered increases that are in line with what other provider partners receive for the same services, which will help keep health care affordable for those we serve. We believe our care providers should be reimbursed fairly, and that has been reflected in our offers during these negotiations,” the statement said.
Adventist said it will continue to keep patients apprised of the situation in the coming days.
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The council will meet at 6 p.m. Thursday, July 21, 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, July 21.
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 one of the shelter’s adoptable dogs before holding a public hearing on adoption of Resolution No. 2022-48 approving the fiscal year 2022-23 fee schedule.
Under business, the council will consider a request from the owners of Lake Vista Farms to initiate a process to annex 300 acres at 2050 and 2122 Ogulin Canyon Road.
In May, the Board of Supervisors upheld an appeal by neighbors against the Lake Vista Farms cannabis project.
City Manager Alan Flora’s report to the council explained that the Lake Vista Farms project is no longer viable and the owners are analyzing other uses for the property, including cannabis, industrial and residential.
“The same owners have worked with the City on a few other projects within the City limits and at this point would prefer to work with the City on the development of the 2050 and 2122 Ogulin Canyon properties as well,” Flora wrote.
In other business, Police Chief Andrew White will ask for the council’s authorization to enter into an agreement with the city of Lakeport for either entity to provide supplemental law enforcement services.
White’s report said the proposal is in response to the Lakeport Police Department’s request for assistance from the Clearlake Police Department to cover patrol shifts due to temporary staffing challenges. “The Clearlake Police Department has sufficient staffing to provide this coverage on an overtime basis without negatively impacting coverage in Clearlake.”
The council also will consider a contract amendment to the state for additional funding for the Chelsea Investments/Clearlake Apartments project, and hold a first reading of an ordinance amending city code relating to appealing abatement orders to the city, with the second reading to take place Aug. 4.
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 June 8, 2022 Lake County Vector Control District Board Meeting; adoption of Development Agreement, DA 2022-01 for a commercial cannabis operation located at 2250 Ogulin Canyon Road, further described as Assessor Parcel Number 010-044-19; second reading of Ordinance No. 263-2022 amending Chapter 8, Section 8-6 of the Clearlake Municipal Code relating to traffic and parking regulations.
The council also will meet in closed session to discuss an ongoing lawsuit against the county of Lake and Treasurer-Tax Collector Barbara Ringen and an anticipated case of litigation.
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