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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
City Manager Kevin Ingram asked the council to approve an amendment to extend the professional services agreement with The Retail Coach, which the city hired in 2019 to assess the Lakeport area, assist with bringing new retailers to the city and work with existing businesses.
Ingram said the company was able to do analysis and baseline data that the city had been missing for years.
That analysis found that while Lakeport has a population of about 5,000 people, its daytime population – made up of visitors who come for reasons including employment, shopping and medical appointments – actually swells to 50,000.
That information was “a game changer,” as Ingram said it allowed the city to approach retailers that might otherwise have not considered the city because of its small population base.
The Retail Coach’s staff visited Lakeport to meet with local businesses. Ingram said one of the reasons the city hired the company is that it works with existing businesses in the community.
However, the work was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ingram said the Retail Coach’s proposal to the city included these eight phases:
1. Analyzing the market.
2. Determining retail opportunities.
3. Identifying development and redevelopment opportunities.
4. Identifying retailers and developers for recruitment.
5. Marketing and branding.
6. Recruiting retailers and developers.
7. Downtown revitalization.
8. Retail recruitment coaching.
The delays began after step five, Ingram said.
He said The Retail Coach put together a best fit retail list and started the process of soliciting new retailers but, due to COVID-19, no retailers wanted to take the step to locate here, although he added no one was saying no exactly.
The Retail Coach understood that 2020 was a “flop” year, and Ingram said they were gracious in negotiating an extension with the city that will pick up with 2021 being year two of the contract and reducing the contract price by $5,000 to $25,000.
While retail trade shows were canceled in 2020, The Retail Coach’s staff members were on the phone and working hard on behalf of the city, making sure retailers know Lakeport exists, he said.
Ingram said retailers are seeing the dynamics have changed and that it will be a tougher market.
The city’s main priority for The Retail Coach is filling the old Kmart building and then continuing to engage the city’s small businesses, Ingram said.
He said the company wants to come out and meet again with local retail businesses to help them identify some entrepreneurial openings in the city’s gap and opportunity analysis.
During the discussion, Ingram explained that the best fit retail list consists of businesses expanding in the region and those that have supply chains here.
Ingram also noted that the city has had conversations with The Retail Coach about what the retail industry will look like in the coming years and whether companies will expand or contract their space.
He said that one of the conclusions is that there have been big losers but also some really big winners. The companies that already were having trouble prior to COVID-19 have had continued problems and the pandemic is helping them out the door. On the other side, businesses utilizing new technologies have flourished.
There appears to be a trend for smaller footprints rather than giant big box store developments, Ingram said, which is a positive for Lakeport. However, retail companies pursuing smaller spaces are focusing more on entering urban areas instead of rural ones.
Ingram said the Retail Coach will work on showing retailers that Lakeport’s numbers are a sure bet, especially for things like clothing and home goods, which the city’s data shows offers good opportunities.
While there are certainly still challenges ahead, Ingram said there also is an optimistic forecast as well.
Mayor Pro Tem Stacey Mattina moved to approve the contract amendment, which was seconded by Councilman Michael Green and approved 5-0.
Council honors Wicks for service
The council took time on Tuesday to present a proclamation honoring Ken Wicks Jr., who left the Lakeport Planning Commission in December after nine and a half years of service – with about five of those years spent as commission chair.
The proclamation noted that Wicks was instrumental in the updating, review and implementation of the 2014 and 2020 Housing Element updates, adoption of the Forbes Creek Neighborhood Study, Eleventh Street Corridor Study, the Lakefront Revitalization Plan, as well as several zoning amendments such as the cannabis and telecommunication ordinances.
Wicks “provided a vast knowledge of construction project management that provided invaluable insight and perspective to project phasing and was a benefit to the decision-making process of
the Planning Commission,” the proclamation said.
Councilmembers Michael Froio and Michael Green both served on the commission with Wicks and lauded his service.
“He was always well prepared, professional, thoughtful and conscientious,” said Froio, adding that Wicks was the rudder that gently steered the planning commission and made sure it was doing what it was supposed to do.
Green said Wicks encouraged him to run for city council, and he credited Wicks with teaching him how to run a meeting, read staff reports and appreciate the general plan.
“You were a great asset to the city and I do appreciate the time I spent with you on the planning commission,” Green said.
George Spurr, who stepped down from the city council at the end of 2020, also served with Wicks on the planning commission, and thanked him for his help, noting the wealth of knowledge he has about the city.
“Enjoy this wonderful city knowing you were a big part of it,” said Spurr.
Ingram said that when he joined the city as Community Development director six years ago, they had some “doozy” projects that led to packed council chambers. During that time, Wicks kept the commission on the ball and in tune with their mission, while staying professional.
“You’re going to be missed,” Ingram said.
Mayor Kenny Parlet said Wicks knows the regulations. “I don’t think you will be easily replaced ever, at least not soon.”
Parlet said there are few people who have the decorum, experience, knowledge and class Wicks has.
Mattina also congratulated Wicks on his recent marriage. Wicks said he and his wife, Yvonne, are very happy.
Wicks thanked the councils past and present and the public for allowing him to serve. He said Lakeport is a great town with great people, and he was glad to do something to advance the city.
Also during Tuesday’s two-and-a-half-hour-long meeting, the council received the traffic safety biannual review and got the police statistics and training summary report for 2020 from Police Chief Brad Rasmussen.
The council also voted to direct staff to initiate a text amendment to the zoning ordinance to address microenterprise home kitchen operations, which are allowed in a pilot program that continues through July.
As part of the vote, the council directed city staff to work with county staff so that the text amendment would be in effect if the county proposes to continue with a permanent program after the pilot program ends on July 1.
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
California State Parks in cooperation with the Lake County Fire Protection District are planning the prescribed burn in the park on Saturday, Feb. 20, Weather permitting.
This effort will be carried out in cooperation with other partner agencies.
The burn is the first step in a new project that the Anderson Marsh Interpretive Association will undertake, in cooperation with State Parks, to restore the park’s three-acre entrance meadow, which burned in the 2016 Clayton fire.
AMIA has received a $9,026 grant from the California State Parks Foundation’s Wildfire Resiliency and Prevention Fund to conduct the work, as Lake County News reported this week.
State Parks said such burns are part of the prescribed fire program for vegetation management, hazardous fuel load reduction, wildlife habitat improvement, and other ecological benefits.
This treatment will enhance the health of the park by removing diseased materials, restoring essential nutrients to the soil, and reducing the chance of a catastrophic wildfire.
In grassland and scrub areas, fire will be reintroduced as a component of the ecosystem on a rotational basis. The prescribed burns will also help in reducing dangerous fuel loads throughout wildland areas.
All burning depends on weather and air quality conditions that are favorable for smoke dispersal. If the conditions, such as weather or vegetation are not conducive for burning, the burns will be rescheduled.
Some public trails near the burn area will be closed the day of the burn. People traveling near the fire burn areas may see smoke from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the day of the burn.
In the unlikely event you smell smoke, Lake County officials urge you to take precautions and use common sense to reduce any harmful health effects by limiting outdoor activities. Prescribed burns produce significantly less smoke than a wildfire does.
If you see or smell smoke in your surroundings, officials recommend avoiding strenuous outdoor activity and remaining indoors as much as possible. These precautions are especially important for children, the elderly, and people with respiratory and heart conditions.
Please use extreme caution while driving near prescribed fire operations due to fire personnel and equipment in the area.
California State Parks and Lake County Fire Protection District are adhering to the safety protocols set by public health officials and have made accommodations to limit exposure among first responders and field crews to protect staff from COVID-19 during prescribed burns.
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
This proposed project covers approximately 4,500 acres in the middle of the Forest about 15 miles from Covelo and 36 miles from Willows.
The proposed Plaskett-Keller project crosses multiple jurisdictional lines – ranger districts, counties and land ownership – and is an excellent area for partnerships and collaboration on land management. It also contains several campgrounds and major roads used frequently by the public and Forest Service employees.
The proposal includes post-fire recovery activities to remove fire-killed and fire-injured trees in order to improve employee and public safety, capture remaining economic value of dead trees, and reduce post-fire fuels to prevent the excessive accumulation of fuels.
The August Complex burned a total of 1,032,648 acres, including 612,634 acres on the Mendocino National Forest.
For post-fire recovery, forest resource specialists considered the rapid assessment conducted by the Mendocino, Shasta-Trinity and Six Rivers national forests as a foundation to develop a three-phase approach for restoration.
Phase 1 will address time-sensitive safety concerns along roadways and campgrounds as well as economic recovery.
Phase 2 involves restoration activities such as reforestation, additional fuels reduction work, habitat enhancement, recreation site improvements, and more.
Phase 3 will focus on long-term recovery across the landscape using the Watershed Condition Framework approach.
A scoping letter with additional details and maps are available for download from the project website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=59444.
The participation of interested persons, organizations, state and local governments, and tribes is encouraged throughout the process of developing this project.
Forest officials said their desire is to receive comments on the merits of the proposed action, as well as comments that address concerns.
Public questions and comments regarding this proposal are an integral part of the environmental analysis process. Comments will be used to identify issues and develop alternatives to the proposed action. To best assist the Forest Service in developing this project, comments should be as specific as possible.
Comments would be the most useful if they are received by Wednesday, March 17.
All comments, including source information, will become part of the public record, and therefore will be subject to release upon request.
How to comment: Comments may be submitted via email to
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Anderson Marsh Interpretive Association is among 15 state parks and park partners receiving grants to help restore fragile habitats, rebuild parks and create a climate-resilient state park system.
The California State Parks Foundation is awarding $135,000 in grants from its new Wildfire Resiliency and Prevention Fund to help 15 parks – 10 of which are in the Northern California region – recover from devastating wildfires.
The Anderson Marsh Interpretive Association, or AMIA, will receive $9,026, with the grant term running for a year, beginning March 1, the foundation reported.
The grant will allow AMIA to partner with the Department of Parks and Recreation in restoring and rehabilitating the three-acre entrance meadow that first greets visitors to Anderson Marsh State Historic Park, which burned in the 2016 Clayton fire, the association reported.
“AMIA is grateful for the financial support of CSPF that will allow this project to help protect the park’s historic ranch house and barn complex, as well as creating an opportunity to educate the public about the benefits of native plants in reducing the risk of wildfire,” said AMIA President Roberta Lyons.
The nonprofit California State Parks Foundation, which advocates for and supports California state parks, created the Wildfire Resiliency and Prevention Fund in 2020, a record-setting year for wildfires in California.
“The 2020 California wildfires were horrifically destructive, and our beloved state parks have undergone devastating damage. There is a real need to restore fragile habitats and rebuild parks, while building climate resiliency to mitigate the impact of climate change,” said Rachel Norton, executive director of California State Parks Foundation.
The Wildfire Resiliency and Prevention Grant opportunity includes $135,917 in grant funding that supports activities resulting in outcomes including assessment, restoration, preparedness and education.
AMIA, a nonprofit association cooperating with State Parks to support and promote educational and interpretive activities at Anderson Marsh State Historic Park, said its project will begin with a prescribed burn at the park.
The project focuses on making the park more resilient to the ever-increasing wildfires that are being caused by climate change, as well as educating the public about what can be done to reduce the risk from wildfire, including the planting of native plants.
“The project will help create a defensible space around the park's historic ranch house and barns through the clearing of non-native species and overgrowth and the replanting of native grasses, shrubs, and trees,” said AMIA Grant Director Henry Bornstein. “At the end of the project, the entrance meadow will be restored to a more natural state and a native plant demonstration area will be created where visitors can compare the treated native entrance meadow to the adjacent untreated areas, and learn about the advantages of native plants in the control of wildfires.”
“State Parks and AMIA have continued to work together on projects which further enhance visitor experiences at Anderson Marsh State Historic Park,” said State Parks Northern Butte District Superintendent Matt Teague. “This project will provide an excellent opportunity to educate users of the park on the benefits of native habitat as it relates to wildfire intensity and management.”
In addition to Anderson Marsh, other grant winners are the California Native Plant Society for the Big Basin Redwoods State Park and Henry W. Coe State Park; California State Parks for Mount Diablo State Park; California State Parks, Bay Area District Natural Resource Management Program for Trione-Annadel State Park and Sugarloaf Ridge State Park; California State Parks, Sierra District for Ed Z'Berg Sugar Pine Point State Park; Gold Country Avian Studies for Big Basin Redwoods State Park; Sonoma Ecology Center for Sugarloaf Ridge State Park; South Yuba River Citizens League for South Yuba River State Park; Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods for Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve and Austin Creek State Recreation Area; Anahuak Youth Sports Association for Rio de Los Angeles State Park and Los Angeles State Historic Park, Bowtie Parcel; California State Parks/Poppy Reserve Mojave Desert Interpretive Association for Arthur B. Ripley Desert Woodland State Park; California State Parks in partnership with Chino Hills State Park Interpretive Association and Hills For Everyone for Chino Hills State Park; and Los Angeles Audubon Society for Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook State Park and Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area.
AMIA has received previous grants for projects from the California State Parks Foundation, including $5,000 in 2020 to repair the wooden boardwalk on Cache Creek Nature Trail; $3,000 in 2015 for purchasing interpretive equipment for nature walks, school field trips and senior tours; and $6,000 in 2014 for general operations.
For information about Anderson Marsh State Historic Park or AMIA, visit www.andersonmarsh.org or contact AMIA at either
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