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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The council will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 4, in the council chambers at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.
On Tuesday, City Attorney David Ruderman will present the council with a report on options for regulating the rental market in mobile home communities within the city.
The planned discussion on the item resulted from numerous residents of the Clearlake Marina Mobile Home Park approaching the council at its Jan. 21 meeting to complain that their rents are being raised dramatically by a new park owner.
The park is for those aged 55 and above. Residents told the council that many park residents are disabled; the park also is reportedly home to numerous veterans.
The rent increase is presenting a problem for those residents who are on fixed incomes. The park residents also own their homes and said they can’t easily leave or move their homes.
Park residents asked the city to consider implementing a rent stabilization act like the one recently put in place by the city of Ukiah.
Ruderman’s report to the council explains that there are four potential mechanisms for regulating mobile home rents in the city.
They include rent registration, which requires park owners to notify the city of rent increases and provide specific information; rent mediation, which allows park residents to petition for mediation of proposed rent increases; rent stabilization, which limits annual rent increases to a small, set price, such as an inflation adjustment; and rent control, which prohibits rent price increases, with limited exceptions.
Ruderman’s report said this is an informational item only, with no action expected to be taken on Tuesday night.
Also on Tuesday, the council will hold a public hearing and receive public comment regarding the Community Development Block Grant program and possible activities and projects to be considered for funding under the upcoming Notice of Funding Availability process. The council is then expected to direct staff to proceed with the preparation of a CDBG grant application.
In council business, Public Works Director Doug Grider will ask for the council to approve City Manager Margaret Silveira signing purchase orders with Magic Interiors and Caliber Carpets for the City Hall Council chambers carpet and installation. The improvements are new floor coverings in the council chambers for the total amount of $10,875.
The council also will present a proclamation affirming the city’s support of the ongoing State of Our Children effort in the city of Lakeport and the county of Lake.
On the consent agenda – items considered noncontroversial and usually accepted as a slate on one vote – are ordinances; minutes of the regular council meeting on Jan. 7; confirmation of the continuing existence of a local emergency for the Mendocino Complex fire; confirmation of the continuing existence of a local emergency for the February 2019 storms; confirmation of the continuing existence of a local emergency for the October 2019 public safety power shutoff; and approval of the Application 2020-002, with staff recommendations, for the Shakespeare
at the Lake event, to be held July 25-26, 2020.
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020420 Lakeport City Council agenda packet by LakeCoNews on Scribd
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The board will meet beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 4, in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.
The meeting can be watched live on Channel 8 and online at https://countyoflake.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx. Accompanying board documents, the agenda and archived board meeting videos also are available at that link.
At 9:30 a.m., the board will receive an update from Community Development staff regarding the benefit zones in the Clearlake Riviera, Riviera West, Buckingham and the Riviera Heights.
At 9:10 a.m., the board also will get a report on the implementation of the hazardous vegetation program the county instituted last year.
The full agenda follows.
CONSENT AGENDA
5.1: Approve letter finalizing response to the questions of the Northshore Fire Protection District.
5.2: Approve the updated bylaws of the Middletown Area Town Hall.
5.3: Adopt proclamation designating the month of February 2020 Black History Month and celebrating Martin Luther King's Birthday.
5.4: Approve change to board’s annual meeting calendar for 2020.
5.5: Approve late travel claim for Crisis Supervisor Melissa Mathis in the amount of $588 and authorize the auditor-controller to process payment.
5.6: Approve Amendment No. 1 to the agreement between county of Lake and Redwood Community Services Inc. for the Lake County Wrap Program, Foster Care Program and Intensive Services Foster Care Program for specialty mental health services for fiscal year 2019-20 to allow payment of services rendered in fiscal year 2018-19.
5.7: (a) Approve budget transfer and new capital asset in the amount of $7,500 for the purchase of a vote-by-mail heavy-duty envelope opener; and (b) approve the purchase of a vote-by-mail heavy-duty envelope opener and authorize the department head to sign.
5.8: Sitting as the Lake County Sanitation District Board of Directors, (a) waive the competitive bidding process, pursuant to Lake County Code Section 2-38.2, based on the determination that competitive bidding would produce no economic benefit to the county; and (b) authorize Special Districts administrator/assistant purchasing agent to issue a purchase order not to exceed $78,000 to Collier Capital Machine Corp. for an overhaul on the DKM 15 Stage Pump.
5.9: Sitting as the Lake County Sanitation District Board of Directors, approve additional freight and tax costs and authorize Special Districts administrator/assistant purchasing agent to issue a purchase order not to exceed $150,000 to R.F. MacDonald for a New Bowl Assembly for Goulds Pump.
5.10: Sitting as the Board of Directors of the Lake County Watershed Protection District, adopt resolution for the revised grant application and funding agreement resolution for the state’s Quagga and Zebra Mussel Infestation Prevention Grant Program.
5.11: Adopt proclamation commending Water Resources Technician Mark Miller for his service to the county of Lake.
TIMED ITEMS
6.2, 9:06 a.m.: (a) Presentation of proclamation designating the month of February 2020 Black History Month and Celebrating Martin Luther King's Birthday; and (b) presentation of proclamation commending Water Resources Technician Mark Miller for his service to the county of Lake.
6.3, 9:10 a.m.: Consideration of report on Chapter 13, hazardous vegetation 2019 overview and recommendations.
6.4, 9:30 a.m.: Consideration of update from Community Development staff as it relates to the benefit zones in the Clearlake Riviera, Riviera West, Buckingham and Riviera Heights.
6.5, 10:30 a.m.: Continued from Jan. 14, public hearing, consideration of Appeal AB 19-02 Dawson/Guerra.
6.6, 11 a.m.: Consideration of memorandum of understanding between the county of Lake and San Francisco VA Health Care System for meeting space usage at Bevins Court Apartments in Lakeport.
UNTIMED ITEMS
7.2: Consideration of the following appointments: Lower Lake Cemetery Board.
CLOSED SESSION
8.1: 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.
8.2: Public employee evaluations: Community Development Director.
8.3: Conference with legal counsel: Existing litigation pursuant to Gov. Code section 54956.9 (d)(1) – County of Lake, et al v. PG&E, et al.
8.4: Conference with legal counsel: Decision whether to initiate litigation pursuant to Gov. Code section 5456.9(d)(4) – One potential case.
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The following cats at the shelter have been cleared for adoption.
‘Milo’
“Milo” is a male domestic short hair cat with a seal point and cream-colored coat and blue eyes.
Also, he looks awesome in a bow tie.
He’s in cat room kennel No. 15, ID No. 13475.
‘Duster’
“Duster” is a young male domestic short hair-Russian Blue mix with gold eyes.
He’s quite handsome in a tie.
He’s in cat room kennel No. 80, ID No. 13491.
Lake County Animal Care and Control is located at 4949 Helbush in Lakeport, next to the Hill Road Correctional Facility.
Office hours are Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The shelter is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Visit the shelter online at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control.htm.
For more information call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278.
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- Written by: Ian Christopher Davis, The Ohio State University
Scientists at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity in Melbourne, Australia, announced Jan. 29 that they were able to grow the Wuhan coronavirus from a patient sample in the laboratory. This was the first time the virus had been grown in a lab outside China.
This is good news, since it will allow researchers to quickly develop new diagnostic tests for the virus, which will be essential if scientists want to be able to track its spread across China and the rest of the globe. There is so much we scientists still do not understand about this fast-moving pathogen.
I am a veterinary researcher, and I study how respiratory viruses such as influenza cause lung disease in animals and humans. I see this development as an encouraging sign.
A market with a global reach
The virus appears to have originated at an animal and seafood market in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in Hubei Province toward the end of 2019.
It is important to note that here have been no deaths yet outside of mainland China, and the majority of most cases seem to be confined to the area around Hubei. This may be thanks to the prompt, if perhaps slightly draconian, quarantine measures instituted by the Chinese government. At the same time, some critics are saying that Chinese officials did not act quickly enough, allowing 5 million people to leave the city before it announced the seriousness of the virus.
Still, all of us, scientists and non-scientists, should try to maintain some perspective here. The city of Wuhan alone has a population of more than 11 million. In that light, perhaps the roughly 7,000 confirmed cases is not really so many after all? The problem is that right now, the public, scientists and health officials don’t know if those 7,000 cases could be just the beginning of a major outbreak.
It is possible that some, or even many, of those who contract the virus only experience mild disease and are therefore not tested for infection. Moreover, this coronavirus appears to be less deadly than the SARS coronavirus of the early 2000s. That said, the 7,000-plus cases of the new coronavirus in China already exceeds the 5,327 cases of SARS.
At the moment, confirming infection requires time-consuming polymerase chain reaction-based tests for viral genes that can only be performed in a few laboratories. The technique behind this test allows researchers in the lab to make millions of copies of a particular section of DNA, but it’s not quick. The technology developed in Australia will help develop new and more rapid antibody-based diagnostic tests for infection that can be used in the clinic, not the lab. This will allow doctors to identify infected patients much faster and deploy appropriate infection control measures as needed.
This would allow scientists to get a far clearer picture of how readily this virus is transmitted from person to person, how many of those infected get very sick, and if there are any groups that are particularly prone to severe and potentially lethal disease. This information is essential if we wish to respond to the outbreak rationally.
The ability to grow the Wuhan coronavirus in the laboratory will also make it easier to develop a vaccine. Developing and manufacturing a vaccine requires large amounts of viral proteins that can serve as vaccine antigens that will induce an immune response in people. This can realistically only be done by growing large amounts of the virus in cells in a laboratory or vaccine manufacturing facility. Vaccines against several coronaviruses already exist, including SARS and MERS and such vaccines tend to elicit good immunity. Again, that is good news.
But vaccine development, manufacture and testing takes time. Theoretically, the first doses of a new vaccine might be available by late spring, although that would be a best-case scenario. But even then, making enough vaccine doses could take a year. Hence, it is unrealistic to think that vaccination will allow us to control disease in the short term.
Read more: When will there be a coronavirus vaccine? 5 questions answered
So what can one do to stay safe? First, don’t panic. There is as yet no reason to believe that the Wuhan coronavirus will have a devastating impact upon humanity. Second, wash your hands frequently because doing so removes virus from your hands. Because people touch their hands with their faces, virus that remains on hands can then enter the body through the mouth or nose. Also, a person with virus on their hands can spread it to other people through touching someone and by spreading it onto surfaces such as door knobs. Third, if you get sick, stay home and avoid spreading whatever virus you have to others. And finally, get your flu shot – right now. Influenza is a far bigger threat to the health of the average American than this faraway virus.
Ian Christopher Davis, Professor of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.