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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — With Lake County’s COVID-19 case rate surpassing every other California county and continuing to climb, the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved a resolution urging community members to take extra precautions by continuing to wear masks while indoors at public places.
The action puts Lake in the company of several Bay Area counties — Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Sonoma — as well as the city of Berkeley, who are recommending that everyone, regardless of vaccination status, wear masks indoors in public places as an extra precautionary measure.
Last week, Los Angeles County reinstituted its mask mandate, requiring masking indoors for everyone, as cases there began to rise.
These actions come more than a month after California fully reopened following 15 months of shelter in place orders, lockdowns and business closures.
On June 15, the same day as the state's official reopening, the California Department of Public Health issued guidance that says face masks are not required for fully vaccinated individuals except under narrowly prescribed circumstances.
However, in recent weeks COVID-19 cases have begun to rise again across the state, with the highly transmissible Delta variant quickly spreading and making its way into more communities, including Lake County.
Last week, Sarah Marikos, Lake County’s epidemiologist, told the board that testing positivity and the case rate were rising. At that time, Lake County’s daily case rate, over a seven-day average, was 10.3 cases per 100,000, the highest daily case rate in the state.
District 5 Supervisor Jessica Pyska brought the resolution urging the public to continue masking in indoor settings to the board as an extra item on Tuesday morning.
She explained in her memo to her fellow supervisors the worsening COVID-19 conditions. “After the posting of our agenda, I learned that our case rate per 100,000 is the highest of all California counties at 17. The state average is 6.9. In addition, at 11.8%, our testing positivity rate is more than twice the state average of 4.9%.”
By late Tuesday, that daily case rate had climbed higher still, to 20 per 100,000, far surpassing other counties in the state, according to data posted on the California Department of Public Health’s COVID-19: California Case Statistics website.
Lake County’s confirmed cases totaled 3,820 on Tuesday, with 135 cases active and 64 deaths, the Lake County Public Health Department reported.
Public Health also reported that Lake County’s weekly cases are at the highest numbers since the end of January.
At the same time, county health statistics show only 51% of residents are fully vaccinated.
Board supports action
The board voted unanimously to add Pyska’s resolution to the agenda and then brought it back for discussion about an hour after the start of the meeting.
“In the last week we’ve watched our case rate and our positivity rate go up quite significantly in our county,” Pyska said.
She said it’s time to go the extra mile to protect ourselves and our loved ones.
“All we’re asking is that you consider wearing a mask when you’re indoors in a public setting. And that is just the simplicity of this resolution. It is not a mandate. We’re not taking this conversation any further,” she said.
Pyska added, “This is a time when we need to have our guard up and this is a real situation our country is dealing with.”
There was public comment that began to be a back and forth more about the COVID-19 vaccine than masking as a precautionary measure.
When some speakers invoked words such as “genocide” and censorship,” Supervisor EJ Crandell indicated his frustration, as his Pomo ancestors in Lake County actually survived genocide attempts.
He took issue with people throwing around those words, similar to how Supervisor Moke Simon — a member of Middletown Rancheria — had voiced his offense at COVID-19 vaccine being compared to a method of genocide last week by a member of the public.
Supervisor Tina Scott thanked Pyska for bringing the proposal forward. “It’s been a really rough year and a half,” said Scott.
Scott said now is the time for people to protect those around them, and questioned how people can be so selfish.
Simon said we’re still in the pandemic. He urged those who aren’t going to get the vaccine to please wear face masks.
Pyska offered the resolution after a discussion that ran a little more than 20 minutes, with the board voting 5-0.
The resolution can be viewed below.
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Resolution Urging the Public to Continue to Wear Masks in Indoor Public ... by LakeCoNews on Scribd
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — For the first time in 16 months, the Lakeport City Council returned to its chambers on Tuesday evening for an in-person meeting.
About half a dozen people, other than staff and council members, were in the mostly empty chambers on Tuesday evening.
It was the first time that freshmen council members Michael Green and Michael Froio took their place on the dais alongside their colleagues.
Green and Froio were elected in November and took office in December, being sworn in virtually and meeting via Zoom since then.
Tuesday night’s meeting did not see the entire council in attendance, however. While Froio, Green, and council members Stacey Mattina and Mireya Turner were back in their seats — all of them unmasked, as were city staff — Mayor Kenny Parlet attended by Zoom.
After the meeting was called to order and the Pledge of Allegiance took place, Parlet launched into a statement decrying the larger COVID-19 response and how he is unable to travel and do other things because he refuses to wear a mask and has not taken the vaccine.
Parlet’s comments were apparently in response to the city’s requirement that those who are not fully vaccinated for COVID-19 were required to wear a face covering at the meeting, in accordance with state guidance — particularly revised Cal OSHA Emergency Temporary Standards.
“My liberty has been taken away,” said Parlet, who made a passing comment that suggested he had COVID-19 last year.
He said he would attend the meetings on Zoom rather than coming into the chambers and having to wear a mask. “I remain brave enough to go without a shot and a mask,” even if he has to go it alone, Parlet said.
Supervisor Tina Scott gave the council a short update during public comment about the Board of Supervisors’ unanimous passage earlier in the day of a resolution to urge community members to mask while at indoor events. It’s an action other counties and cities across the state also are taking.
“Our numbers are skyrocketing here in Lake County,” said Scott, who was herself wearing a mask. She added that it’s up to each person to do the right thing.
In addition to Parlet not being present on Tuesday night, the meeting also was missing the presence of the Lakeport Police Department’s new K-9, Olin, who along with handler, Officer Kaylene Strugnell, had been scheduled to meet the council.
The young German shepherd is Lakeport Police’s first K-9 since 2009, when K-9 Max retired. He and Strugnell started working together last month.
Chief Brad Rasmussen told Lake County News before the meeting that Strugnell and Olin were unable to make it and their appearance will be rescheduled to another meeting.
Closing out grant funding, discussing police use of force
The council’s return to the chambers was an otherwise short meeting that ran just over 40 minutes, during which council members voted to close out a grant, addressed general plan-related issues and discussed police use of force.
On the agenda was a public hearing on closing out Community Development Block Grant funding under grant contract 14-CDBG-9883.
Finance Director Nick Walker presented the item to the council, explaining the funding had been used for completing the Lakefront Revitalization Study, issuing five loans totaling nearly $400,000 and contributing $153,593 toward the nearly $300,000 Carnegie Library Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility projects. Walker said all projects are now complete.
The council voted unanimously to approve closing out the grant, which has been underway for several years, and direct staff to submit the final close out documents to the state.
Community Development Director Jenni Byers presented a resolution to approve an amendment to the safety element of the general plan, which she said can be found on the city website. The council also unanimously approved that item.
In police business, Chief Rasmussen discussed with the council the Lakeport Police Department’s 2021 Use of Force Analysis Report, which is on page 83 of the agenda packet.
Like all California police agencies, the Lakeport Police Department must report to the state Department of Justice all incidents where the use of force by an officer resulted in serious bodily injury to a subject, Rasmussen reported.
He said they transmit that data as it happens, and what he presented to the council was his department’s internal analysis of the incidents it reports to the Department of Justice.
The information doesn’t have to be released publicly but Rasmussen said he thinks it’s important for the community and the council to know what the police department is using to reduce such incidents.
From 2018 to 2020, the incidents have steadily declined, by 50% each year. Rasmussen said there were four in 2018, two in 2019 and one in 2020.
As a result of the analysis, Rasmussen said they had identified future internal training recommendations relating to firearms and de-escalation, among other topics. He doesn’t believe the department has critical equipment needs.
Rasmussen said he doesn’t believe law changes reduce use of force incidents. “It takes constant training and the right policy.”
He explained during the discussion that he established a department policy requiring staff to conduct this analysis for the use and betterment of its personnel.
Mattina said that when she’s talked to Rasmussen in the past about such incidents, he’s said it came down to a lack of training. She commended him for going above and beyond to address the matter. “Well done.”
Parlet said Rasmussen always seems to be ahead of the curve and lauded him for “exemplary action.”
“I could not be happier with you as our chief,” Parlet said.
Turner moved to receive and file the report, which Mattina seconded and the council approved 5-0.
In the last item of business for the night, the council appointed Turner to act as the voting delegate at the League of California Cities annual conference, which will be held Sept. 22 to 24. Mattina will be the first alternate and Froio the second.
During wrap up comments at the meeting’s end, City Manager Kevin Ingram said the situation with meetings remains dynamic, with Walker having handled the hybrid meeting operation on the computer. Ingram said he would keep everyone informed if changes to the format are needed.
“So happy to be back in this room,” he said.
Mattina said she was happy to see everyone’s face.
Green, responding to Parlet’s comments at the top of the meeting, took the opposite view about the pandemic’s impacts.
“When people make choices to not vaccinate, there are consequences,” said Green.
Part of the consequences now, he suggested, are that masking up is necessary and the city needs to amend its policies, noting that the emerging Delta variant is very transmissible.
While Green said he was grateful the community is past the worst of the first wave, there are plenty of warning signs about second and third waves.
“So buckle up,” he said, adding he appreciates those who did get vaccinated.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
072021 Lakeport City Council agenda packet by LakeCoNews on Scribd
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The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. Thursday, July 22, in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.
The agenda is here.
To participate in real-time, join the Zoom meeting by clicking this link.
The webinar ID is 940 1721 4597, the pass code is 359803.
The meeting also can be viewed on the county of Lake website and on the county’s Facebook page.
At 9:15 a.m., in an item continued from the July 8 meeting, the commission will hold a public hearing to consider approving a use permit for Sourz HVR, Inc./Aviona LLC for a major cannabis operation at High Valley Ranch, located at 11650 High Valley Road in Clearlake Oaks.
The cultivation and related activities are proposed to take place on a 649-acre portion of the 1,640-acre ranch.
Combined canopy area is estimated at 3,485,000 square feet and 11 buildings totaling 110,000 square feet for storage and drying of cannabis. The existing 13,000 square foot conference center will be used for packing, distribution (shipping and receiving), and other ancillary uses such as office space.
The commission held the matter over from July 8 in order to get more information from the applicant on water, as Lake County News has reported.
The staff report includes an updated water report that explains that the project will use 353 acre feet, or 115 million gallons of water per year.
Other items on the agenda include a 9:05 a.m. public hearing for a major use permit for Pasta Farms LLC, located on 235 acres located at 10750 and 10417 Seigler Springs North Road and 10833 Diener Drive, Kelseyville. The applicant is Peter Simon, with DiCesare Vineyards owning the property.
The property currently includes a vineyard, a house, a well and septic system. Approximately 20 acres of vineyard would be removed as well as approximately 100 walnut trees to make room for the project.
The applicant also is proposing to add one 27,201 square foot nursery area, four 22,000 square foot greenhouses and 113 hoop houses. The project is to be phased over four years.
The available staff report does not give an estimated annual water usage.
Pasta Farms anticipates using what it claims is a shared well as a water source. However, planning documents include a letter from a nearby property owner stating that the water source identified for the project isn’t owned by Pasta Farms or located on the property, and that litigation is starting.
In other business, at 9:10 a.m. the commission will hold a public hearing to consider a parcel map to divide a 406.69 acre property to create three new parcels.
The property, located at 21700 and 22000 Butts Canyon Road in Middletown, is owned by Langtry Farms LP.
The property currently contains a vineyard, one single family dwelling, several small sheds, a well for potable water and several internal driveway, according to the staff report.
“No plans for development are proposed by the applicant, and the site has been significantly disturbed over the past several decades by the use of the property as a vineyard,” the staff report explains.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Lake County Chamber of Commerce said it has selected Laura McAndrews Sammel as its new chief executive officer.
McAndrews Sammel will succeed Melissa Fulton, who retired at the end of June after more than 30 years.
After an open search, the chamber board of directors voted on July 12 to extend the offer of chief executive officer to McAndrews Sammel, which she accepted on July 16.
She will begin her new job in the middle of August.
McAndrews Sammel has numerous college degrees, including a Master’s of Business Administration from Western Governors University.
She leaves her role as chief financial officer and executive human resource and leadership coach at Combs Consulting to embark on this new challenge.
McAndrews Sammel has also served on many local volunteer organizations and committees, and currently serves as president of the Rotary Club of Lakeport.
She has been elected as a member of the Lake County Chamber Board of Directors before, so she is very familiar with the organization.
The chamber leadership said its mission is to promote the economic vitality and prosperity of
the region.
“We have no doubt that Laura will be a catalyst for our organization in that mission,” the chamber said in its statement on McAndrews Sammel’s hiring.
“We eagerly look forward to this new chapter in our organization’s future,” the chamber said.