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- Written by: Lake County News reports
The city is inviting applications for four upcoming vacancies on the Lakeport Economic Development Advisory Committee, or LEDAC.
These appointments would be effective as of Jan. 1, 2021.
Membership to this committee is open to anyone who lives, works, shops or does business in the city of Lakeport, including those in the unincorporated areas of the Lakeport trade area.
If you are interested in serving on the LEDAC, applications are available on the city website under the Community News Topic, “Now Recruiting: Commission/Committee Openings” or under the “Government” tab (Committees & Commissions).
The LEDAC consists of seven members appointed by the City Council who serve two-year terms. These are voluntary positions. This committee meets bimonthly, on the second Wednesday at 7:30 a.m.
The role of LEDAC is to develop ideas and strategies for the promotion of economic development through business retention, recruitment, attraction and creation.
Applications will be accepted until Nov. 24 at 5 p.m.
For additional information, please contact Deputy City Clerk Hilary Britton at 707-263‑5615, Extension 102, or by email at
- Details
- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27.
The supervisors will meet in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport, for a hybrid meeting format which also will include the opportunity for community members to continue to participate virtually.
The meeting can be watched live on Channel 8, online at https://countyoflake.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx and on the county’s Facebook page. Accompanying board documents, the agenda and archived board meeting videos also are available at that link.
To participate in real-time, join the Zoom meeting by clicking this link at 9 a.m. The meeting ID is 998 5647 1947, password 911434.
To submit a written comment on any agenda item please visit https://countyoflake.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx and click on the eComment feature linked to the meeting date. If a comment is submitted after the meeting begins, it may not be read during
the meeting but will become a part of the record.
At its Oct. 20 meeting, the board began approving an estimated $5.2 million in annual pay raises, as Lake County News has reported.
Those actions included hefty salary increases – some as high as 42 percent – for department heads. However, the board put off approving some memoranda of understanding with employee groups, including the Deputy Sheriff’s Association and the Correctional Officers Association, who rejected their agreements.
At 9:30 a.m., the board is scheduled to resume consideration of the MOUs with the deputies and correctional officers, as well as the Lake County Employees Association Units No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5 and the Lake County Safety Employees Association.
In an untimed item, the board will hold a second reading of an ordinance that would keep the supervisors at their current pay – $63,714 annually – because otherwise they also would get salary increases because of the other pay raises.
In other business, at 11 a.m. the board will discuss the California Department of Fish and Wildlife proposed eradication of non-native mute swans from Clear Lake.
In an untimed item, the board will consider cannabis tax usage and expenditure policies and procedures.
The full board agenda follows.
CONSENT AGENDA
5.1: Adopt resolution concerning implementation of electronic recording.
5.2: (a) Waive the formal bidding process pursuant to Lake County Code Section 38.2, as it is not in the public interest due to the unique nature of goods or services; and (b) approve the agreement between the county of Lake and Sutter Center for psychiatry for acute inpatient psychiatric hospital services and professional services associated with acute inpatient psychiatric hospitalizations for Fiscal Year 2020-21 to cover payment of services rendered during Fiscal Year 2019-20 for a contract maximum of $49,980.00 and authorize the board chair to sign the agreement.
5.3: Adopt resolution correcting typographical errors in Resolution No 2020-134 Amending the Position Allocation Chart for Fiscal Year 2020-2021 to conform to the recommended budget.
5.4: Approve amendment to the agreement between the county of Lake and county of Yuba on behalf of Yuba-Sutter-Colusa Tri-County Regional Juvenile Rehabilitation Facility Maxine Singer Youth Guidance Center, youth housing agreement for an amount not to exceed $48,000 per county fiscal year.
5.5: Approve the agreement for electrical engineering services for the Hill Road Correctional Facility Generator Project with JMC Corporation in the amount not to exceed $51,000 and authorize the chair to sign the agreement.
5.6: Adopt resolution authorizing the Public Works director to sign the notice of completion for the Cycle 7 & Cycle 8 HSIP Signs & Striping Project; Federal Aid Project No.'s HSIPL-5914(104) and HSIPL-5914(113); Bid No. 18-22.
TIMED ITEMS
6.1, 9:01 a.m.: Public input.
6.2, 9:30 a.m.: Continued from Oct. 20, consideration of memorandum of understanding by and between the Lake County Employees Association Units #3, #4, & #5 and the county of Lake for Oct. 21, 2020, to Oct. 20, 2021.
6.3, 9:30 a.m.: Continued from Oct. 20, consideration of update on the status of ratification of the memorandum of understanding by and between the Lake County Safety Employees Association and the county of Lake for Oct. 21, 2020, to Oct. 20, 2021.
6.4, 9:30 a.m.: Continued from Oct. 20, consideration of memorandum of understanding by and between the Lake County Deputy Sheriff’s Association Units and the county of Lake for Oct. 21, 2020, to Oct. 20, 2021.
6.5, 9:30 a.m.: Continued from Oct. 20, consideration of memorandum of understanding by and between the Lake County Correctional Officers Association Units and the county of Lake for Oct. 21, 2020, and Oct. 20, 2021.
6.6, 10 a.m.: Public hearing, hearing on account and proposed assessment for 10100 Bell Ave., Lower Lake.
6.7, 11 a.m.: Discussion of potential eradication of mute swans from Clear Lake by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
UNTIMED ITEMS
7.2: Consideration of cannabis tax usage and expenditure policies and procedures.
7.3: Consideration of (a) board appointment of delegate and alternate to the Rural County Representatives Board of Directors for 2021; (b) board appointment of delegate and alternate to Golden State Finance Authority Board of Directors for 2021; and (c) board appointment of delegate and alternate to the Rural Counties Representatives of California Environmental Services Joint Powers Authority Board of Directors for 2021.
7.4: Consideration of proposed findings of fact and decision in the appeal of Clint Nelson/Red Hills AVA Stakeholders Alliance (AB 20-01).
7.5: Consideration of appointments of a director and alternate to the California State Association of Counties Board of Directors for 2021.
7.6: Second reading, consideration of an ordinance amending Section 2-3A.1 of Article I, Chapter 2 of the Lake County Code, Compensation of the Board of Supervisors.
CLOSED SESSION
8.1: Public employee appointment pursuant to Gov. Code Section 54957(b) (1): Appointment of Special Districts administrator.
8.2: Conference with labor negotiator: (a) chief negotiator: M. Long; County Negotiators: C. Huchingson and P. Samac; and (b) Employee Organizations: LCDDAA, LCDSA, LCCOA, LCEA, LCSEA and LCSMA.
8.3: Conference with (a) county negotiators: M. Simon, B. Sabatier, C. Huchingson, S. Carter (b) temporary representatives designated to meet with county department heads regarding salary and benefits and (c) unrepresented management employees.
8.4: Public employee evaluations: Public Health director, Air Quality Control director.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The program is the result of a proposal that City Manager Alan Flora put before the council at its Oct. 1 meeting.
He received unanimous support and the council’s approval to earmark $1 million from Series B bond funds for the program.
Flora said staff is trying to figure out a creative solution to encourage housing development, especially market-rate development in the city.
That’s been difficult not just in Clearlake but in the state as a whole, Flora said.
While Clearlake has been home to a number of affordable housing developments over the years, they’re feasible because of subsidies offered by the state and federal governments, he said.
One of the long-term impacts of Northern California’s wildland fires, Flora said, has been to significantly increase construction costs, which now range about $300 per square feet.
For a 2,000-square-foot home, that’s a cost of $600,000. While that might work in a county like Napa, where average homes cost $719,000, or in Sonoma County, where the average home cost is $652,000, Flora said it doesn’t work in Lake County, where the average home cost is $262,000. It’s even less feasible in Clearlake, where the average home price is $173,000.
Flora said that in order to encourage new home construction, incentives are necessary. It would cost millions of dollars to fund a subdivision, so instead, he proposed focusing on individual homeowners and housing in the mid-range of $250,000 to $400,000.
Those are the kinds of homes sought after by professionals but hard to find in Clearlake. Both Adventist Health and Tribal Health have raised that issue when it comes to their employees finding homes. Because of a lack of housing, many employees for those two health care organizations have had to live in other areas of the county, he said.
Flora said the goal is to offset some of those challenges and make it easier for those professionals to build new homes in the city.
Proposed program requirements include that the home be owner-occupied; the applicant must have an existing job within Lake County or a verified employment offer; income level must be classified as median- to moderate-income level, ranging from $49,500 for a one-person household to $84,850 for a four-person household; have the ability to obtain commercial financing for the construction of a new stick-built home or new manufactured home; complete construction of the home within 12 months of the issuance of a building permit; the applicant must enter into an agreement with the city of Clearlake to meet the program requirements in exchange for various subsidies, otherwise the property revert to the city or a lien will be placed on the property to recover the amount subsidized; all obligation of the program participant to the City will cease with the issuance of a certificate of occupancy; and program participants must meet all local and state codes.
Program participants will receive assistance valued at $40,000. They can have a city-owned lot or assistance of up to $10,000 in purchasing another lot.
Flora said he’d hoped by now the city would have been able to acquire some of the tax-defaulted properties throughout the city and work them into this program. That’s not yet reasonable yet with the ongoing situation with the county’s treasurer-tax collector, he said.
While the $40,000 offered by the program wouldn’t cover all costs to build a house it would help cover fees and plan checks for a house up to 1,800 square feet in size, Flora said.
He said the city also has started reaching out to some banks and has talked to contractors, who have said it’s a great plan.
Another idea that’s being considered is to have an architect draw up some sample floor plans, he said.
“I think this is exciting,” said Vice Mayor Dirk Slooten, who raised the issue about whether people who are telecommuting could apply.
Flora said the program currently isn’t written that way, but since it’s a part of the changing workforce that’s likely to linger, if the council supported it, staff could figure out how to make the program work for such applicants.
Slooten asked if the $40,000 value would become a lien, but Flora said that wasn’t staff’s recommendation.
“Ultimately, I think, the goal here is new quality houses,” said Flora.
If an applicant built a home and decided to leave later, Flora said the city would still have what it wanted – a quality new home. He believed the banks, through a construction loan, would be a partner in making sure the construction was finished.
Councilwoman Joyce Overton said she’s fine with new housing but not fine with not putting on the lien requirement. She said she is concerned people will build the homes then sell and take the profit elsewhere, and she doubted they could depend on the banks.
Flora said staff wanted to move forward with developing the program, including coming up with an application. He said requirements could be changed.
“This is great. This is exactly what we should be investing in,” said David Claffey, a member of the city’s marketing committee and a candidate for council this year.
Claffey said that, in quickly doing the math, he estimated the program as presented could help develop 20 to 25 homes.
He asked how many homes have been developed yearly in the city. Flora replied that the bulk of them over the last few years have been Sulphur fire rebuilds.
Councilman Russ Perdock called the program “very exciting.”
The council voted to approve the proposal 5-0 and, in a separate motion, approved amending the budget to allow for use of the funds for the program.
Flora told Lake County News that he’s moving forward with putting the program together.
He’s developing some program flyers that can be shared with employers and others to get the word out about the program.
“I am also developing some partnerships with banks and contractors. The goal is to have a few places that are aware of the program and are willing to partner on these projects to make it as easy as possible for those interested in building,” he said.
Flora said he expects to be ready to take applications by Nov. 1 or before.
“There has been a lot of interest in this, so I am looking forward to getting some homes started,” Flora said.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – Sunday was another red flag warning day on the vast August Complex starting.
Crews have been challenged by numerous red flag warning days since the complex started August 16 and 17 due to lightning.
The entire August Complex, including the North and South zones, is estimated at 1,032,648 acres and 93-percent containment, with 729 personnel. It’s burning on the Mendocino, Shasta-Trinity and Six Rivers National Forests.
The August Complex South Zone encompasses 594,249 acres and is 90-percent contained with 164 personnel assigned, officials said.
Fire Behavior Analyst Mike Beasley discussed the extreme fire weather conditions at the Sunday morning briefing.
“Any heat sources near the perimeter need to be checked and patrolled carefully today as the wind increases. If fire becomes established outside containment lines, crews can expect very active fire behavior with torching, spotting and running,” he said.
On Sunday, the Forest Service said crews held and patrolled firelines in those areas where heat sources may be lingering in berms near the perimeter.
Of utmost importance will be maintaining awareness for trees possibly falling across roads during the windy conditions. Fire will continue to smolder and creep in the Hellhole Canyon, the Forest Service said.
Officials said the South Zone fire managers are coordinating with incident management organizations for the northeast and northwest sides of the August Complex in order to share information and maximize the use of resources.
The complex is expected to be fully contained on Nov. 15.
Closure Order No. 08-20-14 is in effect for the Mendocino National Forest. Private properties accessed via a Forest System road may require a permit from the USDA Forest Service.
Contact the Mendocino National Forest at 530-934-3316 for more information. Safety hazards include unstable trees that may fall, loose rocks and boulders, burning stumps and deep ash pits.