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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The 2018 Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery Multi-Family Housing Program is meant to develop low- to moderate-income multifamily housing units for those who lost housing as a result of the Mendocino Complex fire in 2018.
The county is eligible to receive $7,594,201 and the city of Lakeport is eligible for $2,433,284, the county reported.
However, officials said the county hasn’t been able to pursue the program’s funding because it lacks an affordable housing program and relevant policies and procedures.
The county previously reallocated Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery funds to the city of Clearlake that were given to the county following the 2017 Sulphur fire and meant to be used for housing, county staff reported.
During the discussion, Board Chair Bruno Sabatier would voice his frustration that the county can’t pursue the funds, noting, “It’s not where we want to be.”
Deputy Administrative Officer Susan Parker told the board on Tuesday that the city of Lakeport approached the county to request the reallocation of the funds. At that time, she said she was unaware of any county department pursuing use of the money. Since then the city formally submitted the request for the reallocation.
Then on Monday Parker said she found out indirectly that the city of Clearlake also is interested in a portion of that funding allocation.
“Unlike the city of Lakeport, the city of Clearlake did not receive a 2018 CDBG allocation,” said Parker.
However, she said she confirmed on Monday with the state Housing and Community Development Department that the board has the discretion to reallocate its funds to the city of Clearlake should it choose to do so.
“I think it’s in our best interest to keep all of these monies within the county of Lake to serve our communities,” said Parker.
She said she asked Lakeport City Manager Kevin Ingram to share an alternative for handling the funds in order to prevent them from being returned to the state.
Ingram, who attended the meeting via Zoom, told the board that over the last few months the city of Lakeport has had conversations with three affordable housing developers – two of them he termed as “serious,” with the third not yet having a final proposal – interested in some sites in the city for projects.
The $2.4 million set aside for Lakeport is enough to get a project off the ground, Ingram said.
He said he reached out to the county to ask for the reallocation of its funding in an effort to prevent those funds from being returned to the state.
Once the money is allocated, Ingram said the city would issue a call for projects in the beginning of June and would review them shortly thereafter. “Determining the amount of money available would determine the number of projects.”
Ingram said that in addition to speaking with Parker, he had discussed the funds with Clearlake City Manager Alan Flora. He said Clearlake can potentially use the funds for some projects they are pursuing. “We’re completely open to that.”
He said he was not sure how Clearlake would get the money and if it would they need to submit a due diligence packet. Lakeport had to submit such a packet in mid-March.
Ingram said there may be an avenue for creating a subrecipient agreement to allow Clearlake to use the money. That might also be an option if there are project proposals in the unincorporated county.
Supervisor Jessica Pyska said it’s a great opportunity that can’t be allowed to slip by, but she said the county needs to take this seriously and have projects in the pipeline to be ready to use the funds in the future.
“The last thing we want to do is return money back to Sacramento if we’re able to use it here,” said Supervisor Tina Scott.
Scott said many of the issues the board talks about go back to the county’s housing inventory, and she agreed with Pyska, wishing the county was prepared with a project. She added that she was concerned about piecemealing the funding.
Sabatier said it was frustrating to read through the report and to see $7.5 million slip through the cracks. He said the board needs to bring back a future discussion about having a housing coordinator or another plan to use the money.
“There will be more funding that comes along and we cannot afford to lose this,” he said, adding that he agrees with sharing this allocation with the cities.
Scott asked if the funds were on a first-come, first-served basis. Parker said the program has fairly stringent requirements and she said points and criteria are needed to meet the obligations.
Ingram agreed, explaining that he would speak to Housing and Community Development to find out about the best plan of action, and whether it’s to split the funds between the cities or to do a subrecipient agreement. He also suggested that the county could participate in drafting a request for proposals and also be on the selection committee.
County Administrative Officer Carol Huchingson said they appreciated Ingram’s offer to let the county have a seat at the table during the process. “We all have a vested interest in the development of housing.”
She said she feels strongly that the county needs to do something to develop its own capacity to move forward with such housing projects. “It’s been a regular conversation of the Economic Development Task Force and needs to become some form of recommendation the board can act on soon.”
Scott moved to authorize having Huchingson draft a letter to the Housing and Community Development Department authorizing the reallocation of the county’s funds to the cities of Clearlake and Lakeport, which Supervisor Moke Simon seconded. The board vote was 5-0.
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Lake County’s March jobless rate was 7.9 percent, which ranked it No. 35 statewide. It was down from 8.3 percent in February. The county’s March 2020 rate was 6.6 percent.
California’s overall unemployment rate was 8.3 percent in March, down from 8.5 percent in February. A year ago, California’s overall unemployment rate was 4.5 percent. California also posted an 8.3-percent rate in November.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said the federal unemployment rate reached 6 percent in March, compared to 6.2 percent in February and 4.4 percent in March 2020.
California’s jobless rate peaked at 16 percent last April, the same month that federal unemployment rose to its highest pandemic level, 14.8 percent.
In March, both California and the nation reached their lowest unemployment rates since COVID-19 began to impact the economy a year ago.
Lake County’s civilian workforce totaled 29,180 in March, up 90, or 0.3 percent, over February and showing a 1.6-percent rise over last year.
Within Lake County, Hidden Valley Lake had the lowest unemployment in March, 1.8 percent; followed by north Lakeport, 2 percent; Nice, 2.1 percent; Lucerne, 3.6 percent; the city of Lakeport, 4.9 percent; Cobb, 5.5 percent; Clearlake Oaks, 8.1 percent; Middletown, 8.2 percent; Lower Lake, 9.2 percent; Upper Lake, 11.8 percent; Kelseyville, 13.1 percent; and the city of Clearlake, 16.9 percent.
The EDD said Lake’s neighboring counties had the following jobless rates and ranks in the latest report: Colusa, 15.4 percent, No. 57; Glenn, 7.3 percent, No. 23; Napa, 6.6 percent, No. 16; Sonoma, 6 percent, No. 7; and Yolo, 6.4 percent, No. 11.
A snapshot of the state’s industries
The EDD report said the number of Californians with jobs in March was 17,342,600, an increase of 9,900 jobs from February’s total of 17,332,700, but down 962,000 from the employment total in March of last year.
At the same time, the number of unemployed Californians was 1,560,400 in March, a decrease of 49,600 over the month, but up by 696,300 in comparison to March of last year.
California has now regained almost 44 percent of the 2,714,800 total nonfarm jobs lost in March and April 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the EDD said.
The EDD said all but one of California’s 11 industry sectors gained jobs last month.
Financial activities was the lone sector that posted losses totaling 600 jobs statewide. In Lake County, that sector grew by 40 jobs in a month-over comparison, for a total of 320 jobs in March, a 14.3 percent increase. However, it’s down by 5.9 percent compared to last year.
Leisure and hospitality, with an increase of 42,200 new jobs, continued to have the state’s largest month-over increase thanks to full-service restaurants.
That sector in Lake County was at 1,040 jobs in March, down by 10, for a loss of 1 percent since February and a 10.3 percent loss since March 2020.
Trade, transportation and utilities also had large gains, growing by 32,200 jobs, thanks to strength in clothing stores and transportation and warehousing.
Locally, that industry grew by 50 jobs, or 1.7 percent, for a total of 2,990 in Lake County. That sector also is up 4.5 percent over 2020.
Another sector showing strong gains also were posted in professional and business services, which gained 22,000 jobs, led by accounting, tax preparation and bookkeeping firms.
In Lake County, the professional and business services sector has had month-over and year-over gains, growing by 40 jobs, or 5.9 percent, to a total of 720 in March. Job numbers for that sector are up by 4.3 percent compared to March 2020.
Other industries showing improvement, with statewide and Lake County numbers growth presented, were:
– Other services, 7,300 jobs gained statewide, with no growth for the month in Lake County, where the total jobs in that sector number 520. That sector is down 1.9 percent locally over 2020.
– Mining and logging, and construction, up 6,100 jobs statewide. Lake County had no growth in that sector, with 790 jobs total and a 7.1-percent loss since last year.
– Information, 5,400 jobs gained statewide, none in Lake County. Total jobs in the sector locally is 90, with a 10-percent drop since 2020.
– Government, up 2,200 jobs across California, 140 new jobs in Lake County for a total of 4,190 jobs, a 3.5-percent growth over February and a 1-percent increase over March 2020.
– Manufacturing, 1,400 gained statewide, 10 jobs lost in Lake County, which is a 2.7 percent loss for the month and is down by 5.3 percent for the year. Lake County has 360 total manufacturing jobs.
– Education and health services, 1,200 jobs gained statewide and 10 jobs gained in Lake County. Lake County has 4,450 such jobs, which is up by 0.2 percent since February but down by 4.7 percent since March 2020.
In related news, the EDD said there were 680,279 people certifying for Unemployment Insurance benefits during the March 2021 sample week, compared to 794,348 people in February and 424,645 people in March 2020.
The state said 96,212 initial claims were processed in the March 2021 sample week, which was a month-over increase of 5,500 claims from February, but a year-over decrease of 90,267 claims from March 2020.
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The presenter was Dr. Donna Beegle, who was born into a migrant labor family and married at 15.
She is the only member of her family who has not been incarcerated. By age 25, Dr. Beegle earned her GED and then, within 10 years, received her doctorate in educational ;leadership.
“This training is important for Lake County because some in our community have become stuck in that cycle of poverty,” said Lake County Superintendent of Schools Brock Falkenberg.
Over 75% of Lake County students qualify for free and reduced lunches. Household income must be at or less than 130% (free) and 185% (reduced) of the federal poverty guidelines. Because of the high percentage of qualifying students, Lake County is considered a high poverty area.
“I contend that education and schools are the key to breaking this cycle. Education is the key to a fulfilled and productive life,” said Falkenberg. “This is why I am in education.”
This training was impactful to the attendees. One educator wrote on Facebook, “One of the best trainings I have attended in my 24-year career in education!”
The Lake County Office of Education’s Educational Services department will be providing several more trainings for local educators in the next few months, with a focus on social and emotional learning. Dr. Beegle will return in July to work with Lake County teachers.
Visit lakecoe.org/calendar for the most current information on upcoming trainings.
For more information on Dr. Donna Beegle, please visit https://www.combarriers.com/.
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It’s meant to address concerns over both fire hazard and air quality.
All burn permits expire on April 30.
The burn restriction applies to all areas in Lake County. The burn ban includes all open waste burning, though exemptions are possible for agricultural operations, essential control burns for fire hazard reduction projects, public safety burns and others.
The annual burn ban was first implemented in 1986 in response to weather conditions that often create extreme fire danger and poor air quality.
Air quality officials said a managed approach incorporating fire and air agency concerns has been implemented and improved upon for many years.
The ban allows a quick fire agency response to all fires observed from May 1 on, as they are all assumed to be uncontrolled fires unless specifically authorized by an exemption permit.
This program is credited with being one of the primary reasons Lake County has superior and healthful air quality.
To obtain an exemption permit to burn after May 1, first contact Air Quality at 707-263-7000 to determine need, then contact your local fire agency so that your burn site can be inspected for fire safety.
After the fire agency notifies the air district that the proposed burn site is fire-safe then an exemption permit may be obtained from the air district.
Anyone responsible for open burning during the ban without an exemption permit may be subject to citation, fines and fire agency response costs to extinguish the fire.
Burn restrictions will remain in effect until Cal Fire declares an end to fire season.
The Lake County Air Quality Management District asks the community to help reduce the danger and losses caused by uncontrolled fires and protect the county’s clean air.
“Public cooperation is greatly appreciated and results in a safer and more healthful environment for us all,” the district said.