CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Clearlake Animal Control has a group of big dogs awaiting adoption.
The kennels also have many dogs that need to be reunited with their owners. To find the lost/found pet section, click here.
The following dogs are ready for adoption.
“Bernard.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Bernard’
“Bernard” is a male Staffordshire Bull Terrier mix with a short brindle and white coat.
He already has been neutered.
He is No. 280.
“Blue.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Blue’
“Blue” is a male Staffordshire Bull Terrier with a short blue and white coat.
He is No. 2420.
“Buddy.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Buddy’
“Buddy” is a male Labrador Retriever mix with a short black coat with white markings.
He is No. 2332.
“Cadbury.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Cadbury’
“Cadbury” is a female Staffordshire Bull Terrier mix with a smooth medium-length beige coat.
She is No. 1215.
“Frank.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Frank’
“Frank” is a male American Staffordshire Terrier mix with a short black and white coat.
He is No. 2345.
“Hamilton.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Hamilton’
“Hamilton” is a male German Shepherd with a medium-length brown and black coat.
He is No. 2177.
“Melonie.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Melonie’
“Melonie” is a female American Pit Bull Terrier mix with a short red and white coat.
She is No. 2428.
“Mira.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Mira’
“Mira” is a female Queensland Heeler mix with a short red and white coat.
She is No. 2412.
“Panther.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Panther’
“Panther” is a female Staffordshire Bull Terrier mix with a short black and white coat.
She is No. 2418.
“Sturgill.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Sturgill’
“Sturgill” is a male Labrador Retriever mix with a medium-length yellow coat.
He is No. 2460.
“Tyson.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Tyson’
“Tyson” is a male American Staffordshire terrier mix with a medium-length gray and white coat.
He is No. 1863.
“Wiley.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Wiley’
“Wiley” is a male German Shepherd mix with a medium-length black and brindle coat.
He is dog No. 2451.
“Wynn.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Wynn’
“Wynn” is a male American Staffordshire Terrier with a short brindle coat.
Staff said he is a lovely fellow who has been at the shelter for several months.. He loves affection and is available for adoption or through the foster to adopt program.
He’s believed to be about 6 to 7 years old.
He is No. 969.
Clearlake Animal Control’s shelter is located at 6820 Old Highway 53, off Airport Road.
Hours of operation area noon to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. The shelter is closed Sundays, Mondays and major holidays; the shelter offers appointments on the days it’s closed to accommodate people.
Call the Clearlake Animal Control shelter at 707-273-9440, or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to inquire about adoptions.
Visit Clearlake Animal Control on Facebook or at the city’s Web site.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Another long-awaited road project is about to get under way in Clearlake.
The Meadowbrook Area Pavement Rehabilitation Project is set to begin on Monday, Aug. 12, and is expected to continue through the end of October, the city reported.
Expect traffic delays in the area under flagged control. There will be hard traffic closures intermittently from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The city reported that these closures are necessary for the grinding and paving operations to be expedited. Notification of closures will be sent directly to area residents.
The Meadowbrook Area project will be the last major paving project of this construction season, with a chip seal project to begin sometime in September, the city reported.
The city said gravel road grading and maintenance and pothole patching and crack sealing of many streets will continue.
“There are many areas of the city with roads needing attention and the community’s support of Measure V is generating needed funds to dramatically improve our public streets,” said City Manager Flora.
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – The Middletown Area Town Hall will meet this week to discuss proposed projects and bylaws updates.
MATH will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 8, at the Middletown Community Center, 21256 Washington St.
Meetings are open to the community, and offer the opportunity for additional public input on items not included on the agenda.
On the Thursday agenda is a report from the group’s bylaws committee and from District 1 Supervisor Moke Simon, a presentation from Dave Del of the Cryptorights Foundation and an update on the Wayne Capital LLC project at 13333 Big Canyon Road.
Action items and board reports include proposed revisions to the MATH bylaws, creation of a Firewise Community committee and the Geothermal Inc. landfill, owned by Pacific Gas and Electric. A public comment period on draft waste discharge requirements for the site closes Aug. 13.
The MATH Board includes Chair Sally Peterson, Vice Chair Claude Brown, Secretary Paul Baker, and at-large members Tom Darms and Marlene Elder.
MATH – established by resolution of the Lake County Board of Supervisors on Dec. 12, 2006 – is a municipal advisory council serving the residents of Anderson Springs, Cobb, Coyote Valley (including Hidden Valley Lake), Long Valley and Middletown.
Meetings are subject to videotaping.
For more information email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
Maywa Montenegro, University of California, Davis; Annie Shattuck, University of California, Berkeley, and Joshua Sbicca, Colorado State University
Jeff Jorgenson looks over a partially flooded field he farms near Shenandoah, Iowa, May 29, 2019. AP Photo/Nati Harnik
These are difficult times in farm country. Historic spring rains – 600% above average in some places – inundated fields and homes. The U.S. Department of Agriculture predicts that this year’s corn and soybean crops will be the smallest in four years, due partly to delayed planting.
Even before the floods, farm bankruptcies were already at a 10-year high. In 2018 less than half of U.S. growers made any income from their farms, and median farm income dipped to negative $1,553 – that is, a net loss.
At the same time, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that about 12 years remain to rein in global greenhouse gas emissions enough to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Beyond this point, scientists predict significantly higher risks of drought, floods and extreme heat.
And a landmark UN report released in May warns that roughly 1 million species are now threatened with extinction. This includes pollinators that provide US$235 billion to $577 billion in annual global crop value.
As scholars who study agroecology, agrarian change and food politics, we believe U.S. agriculture needs to make a systemwide shift that cuts carbon emissions, reduces vulnerability to climate chaos and prioritizes economic justice. We call this process a just transition – an idea often invoked to describe moving workers from shrinking industries like coal mining into more viable fields.
But it also applies to modern agriculture, an industry which in our view is dying – not because it isn’t producing enough, but because it is contributing to climate change and exacerbating rural problems, from income inequality to the opioid crisis.
Reconstructing rural America and dealing with climate change are both part of this process. Two elements are essential: agriculture based in principles of ecology, and economic policies that end overproduction of cheap food and reestablish fair prices for farmers.
Since the mid-1930s, the number of U.S. farms has declined sharply and average farm size has increased.USDA
Climate solutions on the farm
Agriculture generates about 9% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions from sources that include synthetic fertilizers and intensive livestock operations. These emissions can be significantly curbed through adopting methods of agroecology, a science that applies principles of ecology to designing sustainable food systems.
Agroecological practices include replacing fossil-fuel-based inputs like fertilizer with a range of diverse plants, animals, fungi, insects and soil organisms. By mimicking ecological interactions, biodiversity produces both food and renewable ecosystem services, such as soil nutrient cycling and carbon sequestration.
Cover crops are a good example. Farmers grow cover crops like legumes, rye and alfalfa to reduce soil erosion, improve water retention and add nitrogen to the soil, thereby curbing fertilizer use. When these crops decay, they store carbon – typically about 1 to 1.5 tons of carbon dioxide per 2.47 acres per year.
Another strategy is switching from row crops to agroforestry, which combines trees, livestock and crops in a single field. This approach can increase soil carbon storage by up to 34%. And moving animals from large-scale livestock farms back onto crop farms can turn waste into nutrient inputs.
Advocates say sustainable farming methods are less vulnerable to impacts of climate change than conventional large-scale farming.
Unfortunately, many U.S. farmers are stuck in industrial production. A 2016 study by an international expert panel identified eight key “lock-ins,” or mechanisms, that reinforce the large-scale model. They include consumer expectations of cheap food, export-oriented trade, and most importantly, concentration of power in the global food and agricultural sector.
Because these lock-ins create a deeply entrenched system, revitalizing rural America and decarbonizing agriculture require addressing systemwide issues of politics and power. We believe a strong starting point is connecting ecological practices to economic policy, especially price parity – the principle that farmers ought to be fairly compensated, in line with their production costs.
Economic justice on the farm
If the concept of parity sounds quaint, that’s because it is. Farmers first achieved something like parity in 1910-1914, just before America entered World War I. During the war U.S. agriculture prospered, financing flowed and land speculation was rampant.
Those bubbles burst with the end of the war. As crop prices fell below the cost of production, farmers began going broke in a prelude to the Great Depression. Unsurprisingly, they tried to produce more food to get out of debt, even as prices collapsed.
President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal included programs that directed public investments to rural communities and restored “parity.” The federal government established price floors, bought up surplus commodities and stored them in reserve. It also paid farmers to reduce production of basic crops, and established programs to prevent destructive farming practices that had contributed to the Dust Bowl.
An Agricultural Adjustment Administration representative in his office, Taos County, New Mexico, December 1941. The agency was created under the New Deal to reduce farm surpluses and manage production.Irving Rusinow
These policies provided much-needed relief for indebted farmers. In the “parity years,” from 1941 to 1953, the floor price was set at 90% of parity, and the prices farmers received averaged 100% of parity. As a result, purchasers of commodities paid the actual production costs.
But after World War II, agribusiness interests systematically dismantled the supply management system. They included global grain trading companies Archer Daniels Midland and Cargill and the American Farm Bureau Federation, which serves primarily large-scale farmers.
These organizations found support from federal officials, particularly Earl Butz, who served as secretary of agriculture from 1971 to 1976. Butz believed strongly in free markets and viewed federal policy as a lever to maximize output instead of constraining it. Under his watch, prices were allowed to fall – benefiting corporate purchasers – and parity was replaced by federal payments to supplement farmers’ incomes.
The resulting lock-in to this economic model progressively strengthened in the following decades, creating what many scientific assessments now recognize as a global food system that is unsustainable for farmers, eaters and the planet.
A new New Deal for agriculture
Today the idea of restoring parity and reducing corporate power in agriculture is resurging. Several 2020 Democratic presidential candidates have included it in their agriculturepositions and legislation. Think tanks are proposing to empower family farms. Dairy delegates to the regulation-averse Wisconsin Farm Bureau Foundation voted in December 2018 to discuss supply management.
Along with other scholars, we have urged Congress to use the proposed Green New Deal to promote a just transition in agriculture. We see this as an opportunity to restore wealth to rural America in all of its diversity – particularly to communities of color who have been systematically excluded for decades from benefits available to white farmers.
This year’s biblical floods in the Midwest make any kind of farming look daunting. However, we believe that if policymakers can envision a contemporary version of ideas in the original New Deal, a climate-friendly and socially just American agriculture is within reach.
Salvador Vaca Garcia Jr. Photo courtesy of the Colusa Police Department.
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – The man wanted for the murder of his ex-girlfriend in January 2018 has been taken into custody.
The year-and-a-half-long manhunt for Salvador Vaca Garcia Jr. ended this week when he was arrested in Mexico, according to Colusa Police Department Police Chief Joshua Fitch.
Colusa resident Karen Garcia was reported by her family as missing on Jan. 9, 2018, just two days after her sister and four others were killed in a crash on Interstate 5 in Yolo County. Authorities said the initial report was taken by the Williams Police Department.
Karen Garcia and her vehicle were last seen in Colusa on Jan. 8, 2018, at approximately noon. Fitch said Karen Garcia and her vehicle were subsequently entered into the missing person’s database as the investigation continued.
A joint investigation was initiated with the Colusa Police Department, Williams Police Department, Colusa County District Attorney’s Office and the Colusa County Sheriff’s Office. Fitch said that during the investigation a search warrant was served at Karen Garcia’s residence located on the 400 block of Oak Street in Colusa.
Fitch said evidence found during the search warrant revealed a homicide.
On Jan. 14, 2018, at approximately 3:45 p.m. investigators received information that Karen Garcia’s vehicle was located in a parking lot in Woodland. Her vehicle and body were recovered at the scene, Fitch said.
Salvador Garcia, Karen Garcia’s ex-boyfriend, was identified as a suspect in the homicide and a warrant was issued for his arrest, Fitch said.
Fitch said Salvador Garcia disappeared and the U.S. Marshals Service reached out to local law enforcement to provide their services. Since this time, the U.S. Marshals Service has been working diligently to locate him.
Several agencies including local law enforcement as well as the Riverside Police Department, Sacramento County District Attorney Office, government of Mexico Fiscalia General de Jalisco-Grupo De Ordenes y Apprensiones and the Instituto Nacional de Migracion have assisted the Marshals with the investigation.
As a result of that work, Fitch said Salvador Garcia was located in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, and taken into custody.
On Sunday, the U.S. Marshals Service turned their custody of Salvador Garcia Jr. over to members of the Colusa County Task Force to be booked into the Colusa County Jail, Fitch reported.
“The law enforcement agencies of Colusa County would like to give thanks to the U.S. Marshals Service for their assistance as well as to all who helped throughout this over a yearlong investigation,” Fitch said.
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake Planning Commission will meet this week to hold a public hearing on a minor subdivision proposal.
The commission will meet beginning at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 6, in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.
The main item on the commission’s Tuesday agenda is a proposal to split a nearly 18-acre parcel at 16920 Dam Road.
The staff report said owner Brenda Frey wants to break the property into two parcels and give them to her children.
The proposed subdivision would result in two equal parcels of 8.47 acres. The staff report said the lot is currently vacant and both lots can be accessed by Betz Lane. The parcels will be serviced through private wells and septic systems.
City staff is recommending approval of the plan.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – On Tuesday, Lake County’s elected treasurer-tax collector pushed back on pressure from members of the Board of Supervisors who asked her to resign over what they said are performance issues, refusing to give them a firm date for when she might step down.
Supervisor Bruno Sabatier and Moke Simon, and County Administrative Officer Carol Huchingson were appointed to an ad hoc committee earlier this year to work with Treasurer-Tax Collector Barbara Ringen to resolve concerns raised both by Huchingson’s office and board members starting last year.
On Tuesday they reported to the board and intended to ask the supervisors to accept a proposed retirement date Ringen had given them in writing after they asked her to resign.
On June 14, Ringen – who has been a county employee for three decades – sent an email to Sabatier and Simon, announcing her intention to retire Jan. 10, well ahead of the end of her term, which will be completed on Jan. 1, 2023.
Part of Tuesday’s discussion also touched on AB 632, legislation signed last month by the governor that will allow Lake County to consolidate its auditor-controller and treasurer tax-collector’s offices.
Despite the scheduled discussion of that resignation date, a last-minute change threw off the ad hoc committee’s calculations.
Specifically, Sabatier said he spoke to Ringen on Monday and that she had indicated she wouldn’t resign as of January, but was looking at a July 2020 date.
During the course of Tuesday’s meeting, Ringen would go further, refusing to commit to giving the board a specific resignation date by the end of the 2019-20 fiscal year, which ends July 31, and pointing to ongoing challenges, including having only half of her staff positions filled.
It also was revealed during the meeting that should Ringen resign, choosing her successor wouldn’t be a matter for a special election but would be up to the Board of Supervisors, according to County Counsel Anita Grant.
Ringen herself originally arrived at the job by board appointment in 2013 when her predecessor left to take another job. She’s since been elected twice.
The operations of the Treasurer-Tax Collector’s Office have been the subject of board discussions beginning in September, as Lake County News has reported.
Issues raised by the board and the County Administrative Office previously and which Sabatier discussed again on Tuesday have included performance concerns such as lack of consistent tax default sales, transient occupancy tax and property tax checks not being deposited in a timely manner, lack of transparency when it comes to the county’s investment practices and status, and issues of customer service coming to supervisors directly from constituents.
Sabatier said the board had been waiting patiently for a report from Ringen’s department, which they didn’t get. When the report didn’t come through, Board Chair Tina Scott formed an ad hoc committee, with Sabatier and Simon appointed to it, to work with Ringen’s office.
Sabatier said this year no tax auction was held, there have been more complaints about property tax and TOT checks, customer service and transparency.
Due to the continuing issues with the Treasurer-Tax Collector’s Office, which Sabatier said is one of the three key financial offices in the county, the ad hoc committee offered that Ringen resign so they could find a replacement, deal with the issues and alleviate concerns in the midst of a fiscal crisis.
On June 15, the ad hoc committee received an email from Ringen, which can be seen below, in which she said she expected to resign in January 2020.
“I am very committed to addressing your concerns, and will continue to work hard towards resolving these concerns. It has been a difficult decision to make, but it is my intension to retire from service as Treasurer-Tax Collector effective January 10, 2020,” Ringen wrote.
In that email, Ringen said that, beginning this month, she would “arrange to be available on a regular but limited basis to ensure a successful transition.”
Sabatier said the ad hoc committee wanted to get the matter to the board as soon as possible so it could begin the search for a new treasurer-tax collector as soon as possible.
He highlighted Ringen’s 30 years of service to the county, noting she has been polite and kind throughout their conversations, and that she had stepped up to fill the job when her predecessor left.
Sabatier said when he met with Ringen on Monday, she was looking at changing her retirement date so she could finish up the fiscal year.
Simon also thanked Ringen for her long term service. “This is a tough discussion and decision.”
Supervisor Rob Brown also thanked Ringen for her efforts, adding, “This cannabis debacle that the board thrust upon her” didn’t help with staffing challenges. “There are a lot of underlying issues that added to the problems in that office.”
Brown said he wasn’t sure what they were going to do about the matter at Tuesday’s meeting. “I know there’s a road that somebody's planning on driving us down and I’m not really comfortable with it at this point, and that’s combining the two offices.”
He added, “I think there’s a real issue with that,” including the loss of oversight.
Brown said the county has a comfort level with the auditor-controller, referring to Cathy Saderlund, who has held that job since 2011. However, he said Saderlund isn’t always going to fill that office, and noting that he wasn’t speaking for her, he said such a consolidation action could be a reason for Saderlund to leave.
Brown said he wanted them to get input from Saderlund. “I really want to know she thinks, candidly. I’m not sure exactly where to have that conversation. But it has not occurred.”
He said the treasurer-tax collector, auditor-controller and assessor-controller’s offices are elected for a reason, so that voters can decide who holds the job.
Simon said there have been some honest discussions involving the ad hoc committee, and that they had talked to Saderlund. “Ultimately it is up to the board and ultimately it is up to Barbara.”
Huchingson said a transition team and plan haven’t been put in place yet to address the possible consolidation of the auditor-controller and treasurer-tax collector’s offices. She said meetings with auditor-controller have taken place, but no formal steps toward any transition have been taken because this discussion at the board level needed to be had first.
Ringen explains challenges, won’t give firm date for resignation
Ringen, who was invited to speak, said she originally decided to retire in January but soon came to the realization that the date didn’t give adequate time for training and moving in a new direction. As a result, she decided to postpone it until the end of the fiscal year.
However, she said the final date ultimately depended on the training and transition, and so she could give no specific date, noting it’s a work in progress.
“We’re still struggling with staffing,” which is at 50 percent, Ringen said, reporting that another employee resigned last month.
In the last year and a half her office has had 17 recruitments, only two of which were successful, Ringen said.
“It’s impossible to do the day-to-day operations successfully with 50 percent staff,” both on the treasury and tax collector sides, Ringen said.
For tax collector staff, Ringen said it takes three to five years to become an effective employee and learn the process.
Regarding the complaints about her office, she said they get a lot of them – many are unfounded – and that’s the nature of the business.
“I do want the department to move forward in a positive manner,” she said, noting she has worked for the county for 30 years and is proud to serve taxpayers.
Sabatier said the ad hoc committee had the conversation with Ringen about her resignation because they were not seeing what they wanted. He said they had received calls from a school district about not receiving payments and from the Tourism Improvement District about not getting its revenue. A tax default property auction also hasn’t taken place.
“We’re hitting some of those roadblocks,” he said.
Regarding Ringen’s resignation date, “To leave it open-ended to me does not fix the problem that we know that we have,” Sabatier said.
Brown said Ringen’s staffing problems fall back on the board. “We need to do everything we can to increase those staffing levels.”
When the sheriff came to the board about having a 15 to 20 percent vacancy rate, Brown said the board gave pay increases to staff, they didn’t ask the sheriff to resign. “Let’s commit to do the same thing with other departments that are struggling and having the same problems in order to resolve those issues. This falls back on us, ultimately.”
Sabatier asked Ringen, flat out, if she would agree to put July 31, 2020, as her resignation date
“No, I do not,” said Ringen.
Simon said the board was having the discussion because “an email came in response to a question we asked you,” namely, that she would resign.
“A date would be nice, obviously,” he said.
Despite Ringen refusing to give a firm date, Simon later would move to accept Ringen’s intended resignation and establish a transition team for the anticipated resignation by the end of the fiscal year. The board voted 4-1 – with Brown voting no.
The board also received a brief informational update on AB 632 from County Administrative Office staffers Matthew Rothstein and Patrick Sullivan.
The governor signed the bill on July 9. It gives the county the flexibility to combine the auditor-controller and treasurer-tax collector’s offices.
“That’s part of why we haven’t had more robust conversations of all the details of what this may look like,” said Rothstein.
Lake County also has the clerk’s office consolidated with the auditor-controller, which was authorized by county ordinance in October 1993. To bring the offices into alignment, Rothstein said the board also would need to break up those two offices, also by ordinance, which would take effect at the end of an elected term. The next election for those offices is November 2022.
Rothstein said the two department heads would be important contributors to the overall evaluation of a consolidation, with Saderlund already having said she is willing to be involved.
Sullivan said the board’s options for what to do with the county clerk’s office would be consolidating it with the assessor, with the recorder or having it as a standalone department. He said they are limited on what they can consider based on state law.
Huchingson said there really is no option to act under AB 632 until the end of the terms of the current officials, which run for another three and a half years left on their terms. She said the time to look at it is two to two and a half years from now, to allow for planning.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake Police chief will present to the city council this week a proposal for providing a new shelter for Clearlake Animal Control.
The council will meet beginning at 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 8, in the council chambers at Clearlake CIty Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.
Chief Andrew White is asking the council to hold a discussion and give staff direction on his proposal – including a funding plan – for a new shelter.
White’s report explains that the Clearlake Animal Shelter currently operates out of the Public Works Corporation Yard on Airport Road.
He said the shelter consists of kennels located inside the old hangar building and a collection of outdoor kennels, while another old airport building holds the laundry room and an office that doubles as a cat kennel.
“The facility was not built for the current use and lacks adequate space for the volume of animals regularly taken in. The indoor kennels are often doubled up from their intended capacity. The outdoor kennels, which were intended for overflow, are also often filled with animals. There is no exam room for the contract vet to conduct comprehensive exams on animals. There is also a lack of space for proper quarantine,” White explained in his report.
White said the facility’s office building is in major disrepair and lacks enough space to support the operations, and the site overall “is not conducive to animal shelter operations due a lack of fenced corridors and access ways to prevent the escape of animals. There is also no defined area for potential adopters to visit with animals.”
His report said that, over the past year, the city’s Animal Control Ad Hoc Committee and department staff have looked at options for upgrading the shelter. “The options explored have included relocating to other sites in the city as well as renovating an existing building or erecting new buildings.”
On Thursday, White will present the options that the committee and staff have settled on after reaching consensus – acquisition and installation of two modular kennel buildings with HVAC, a combined capacity of 18 kennel boxes and 18 runs, a storage room, cat room, exam room and lobby area; one modular office; and with site improvements that include secure fencing and pathways, a landscaped central area for visiting with animals, concrete walkways and Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant parking.
White said the city engineer has estimated the project could cost $376,000, which covers demolition of the current office building and relocations of other items.
He said staff has contacted the US Department of Agriculture about grant funding opportunities, and the city will be submitting a grant to the USDA by the end of September for up to 35 percent of the project cost, or $131,600. The remainder of the project cost is proposed to be covered by Series A Bond Funds, $200,000, and the general fund, $44,400.
In other business, staff will take to the council a proposed $45,000 contract with HD Excavating for the properties at 16216 34th Ave., 14170 Konocti St., 16052 19th Ave. and 3191 Sixth St. The abatements are pat of the city’s CalRecycle Illegal Disposal Site Abatement Grant.
Also on Thursday, the council will consider staff’s proposal to extend a moratorium on the establishment of tobacco retailing businesses, smoke shops, or hookah or vapor lounges within the city.
During Thursday’s meeting the Clearlake Code Enforcement Department also will make a presentation to the council.
On the consent agenda – items considered noncontroversial and usually accepted as a slate on one vote – are warrant registers; minutes of the July meetings; adoption of Resolution No. 2019-35, approving a temporary street closure for the inaugural soap box derby; second reading and adoption of Ordinance No. 231-2019 amending the Clearlake Municipal Code regarding reserve police officers; acceptance of annual audit report for fiscal year ending 2018, including the report to those charged with governance and the appropriations limit report; and consideration of continuation of declaration of local emergency issued on Oct. 9, 2017, and ratified by council action Oct. 12, 2017.
Following open session, the council is scheduled to hold a closed session to discuss labor negotiations and an existing lawsuit against Pacific Gas and Electric Co.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors is set to consider accepting the resignation of the county’s elected treasurer-tax collector and proposed changes to the deputy registrar of voters job classification.
The board will meet beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 6, 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. Accompanying board documents, the agenda and archived board meeting videos also are available at that link.
In an item timed for 9:30 a.m., Supervisors Bruno Sabatier and Moke Simon and County Administrative Officer Carol Huchingson will take to the board a report from an ad hoc committee tasked to work with Treasurer-Tax Collector Barbara Ringen, who has submitted her resignation, with the board to discuss options relating to consolidating the treasurer-tax collector’s office with the auditor-controller-county clerk’s office.
Sabatier and Simon, who were appointed to the ad hoc committee, along with Huchingson, said that during the course of its meetings, Ringen advised them of her intention to retire as of Jan. 10, 2020.
“The committee, therefore, recommends the Board take action to accept the resignation of the Treasurer-Tax Collector, discuss strategies for filling the Treasurer-Tax Collector position for the remainder of the term pursuant to Government Code Section 25304, and provide related direction to staff,” their report explained.
Last month, the governor signed AB 632, written by Assemblywoman Cecilia Aguiar-Curry at the board’s request. That bill allows Lake County to consolidate the treasurer-tax collector’s office with that of the auditor-controller-county clerk’s office, now headed by another elected official, Cathy Saderlund.
Sabatier and Simon are asking for the board to discuss the options for what actions to take now that the legislation has been approved.
Also on Tuesday, in an untimed item, new Registrar of Voters Catherine McMullen will ask the board to consider an amendment to the deputy registrar of voters job class specification.
McMullen, who joined the county in late June, said in her report, “My focus in the first few weeks has been understanding County of Lake and California elections practices and building a strong and complete ROV [Registrar of Voters] team. After reviewing the job descriptions within the Department there are changes that should be made before reopening the Deputy ROV recruitment.”
She said the county’s Classification, Compensation, Recruitment and Retention Committee has reviewed and supports her proposed changes.
McMullen said the prior recruitment for the job “did not yield a sufficient candidate pool and changes are needed now, before another recruitment is opened and before the results of that study will be available.”
She’s asking for several changes, including amending the previous work experience to include elections or administrative support functions that are comparable to that of an Elections Assistant I/II or Office Assistant III, changing the minimum required previous work experience from five years to three years with at least two years equivalent to that of Elections Assistant II or Office Assistant III and lowering the physical requirement to lift and move objects weighing up to 25 pounds, down from 75 pounds.
Additionally, she’s asking that the board approve adding the preference for a bachelor’s degree in public administration, business administration or a closely related field.
Last year, Huchingson had unsuccessfully proposed the board consider making a bachelor’s degree a requirement for the registrar of voters job, as Lake County News has reported.
McMullen said the deputy registrar of voters class has been more limiting than the registrar of voters class “in that it has no equivalency guidelines allowing substitution of similarly complex work experience outside of elections administration.”
She added, “The proposed changes should increase the pool of qualified and potential applicants for a critical position in my department. The changes broaden the scope of desired work experience so that potential applicants may be considered who have the diverse skills and strengths that match the current needs of the Department. The proposed updates to the Deputy ROV class specification will greatly assist in forming a strong ROV team now, and moving into the future.”
The full agenda follows.
CONSENT AGENDA
5.1: Adopt resolution in support of the California Public Utilities Commission's Disaster-Only 2-1-1 Service Dialing Implementation, with 2-1-1 Ventura County.
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 Restpadd Inc. for acute inpatient psychiatric hospital services and professional services associated with acute inpatient hospitalizations for Fiscal Year 2019-20 in the amount of $200,000 and authorize the board chair to sign the agreement.
5.3: (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 Willow Glen Care Center for adult residential support services and specialty mental health services for Fiscal Year 2019-20 for a contract maximum of $50,000 and authorize the board chair to sign the agreement.
5.4: (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 North Valley Behavioral Health LLC. for Fiscal Year 2019-20 for a contract maximum of $150,000 and authorize the board chair to sign the agreement.
5.5: (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 Crisis Support Services of Alameda County for crisis support services for Fiscal Year 2019-20 for a contract maximum of $31,296 and authorize the board chair to sign the agreement.
5.6: Adopt a resolution to accept the county noncompetitive allocation award under The No Place Like Home Program received from the California Department of Housing and Community Development.
5.7: Adopt proclamation designating the month of August 2019 as Child Support Awareness Month in Lake County.
5.8: Adopt resolution authorizing the 2019-20 Grant Project-Lake County Victim-Witness Assistance Program and authorize the chair to sign the certification and assurance of compliance.
5.9: Adopt resolution authorizing access to state, local and federal criminal history information by the county of Lake.
5.10: Sitting as Lake County Watershed Protection District Board of Directors, adopt resolution to form the Big Valley Groundwater Sustainability Agency.
5.11: Approve the building and rooftop space license agreement between the county of Lake and Cellco Partnership, d/b/a Verizon Wireless; and authorize the chair to sign.
5.12: (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; (b) approve equipment repair and service contract between the county of Lake and Peterson Tractor Co. for a total not to exceed $225,000 for FY 19/20 and authorize the chair to sign.
5.13: Adopt a resolution authorizing submittal of an application, acceptance of an allocation of funds and execution of a grant agreement with the California Department of Transportation, for an Airport Improvement Program Matching Grant.
5.14: Approve agreement between the county of Lake and SHN Engineers & Geologists Inc. for material testing services for the three SB1 rehabilitation projects in Lake County in an amount not to exceed $29,741.20 and authorize the chair to execute the agreement.
TIMED ITEMS
6.2, 9:10 a.m.: Presentation of proclamation designating the month of August 2019 as Child Support Awareness Month in Lake County.
6.3, 9:15 a.m.: Consideration of Resolution No. 2019-10, of the board of directors of Northshore Fire Protection District, to enable the Lake County Registrar of Voters, to add a special fire tax measure to the Nov. 5, 2019, election.
6.4, 9:30 a.m.: (a) Consideration of report from ad hoc committee tasked to work with the Lake County Treasurer-Tax Collector; consideration of resignation from the treasurer-tax collector effective January 10, 2020, and (c) consideration of staff report on board options relative to the recent passage of AB 632.
UNTIMED ITEMS
7.2: Consideration of allowing cannabis use permit for outdoor cultivation licenses to follow Fire Code 4290 as “agricultural” activity.
7.3: Consideration of the following appointments: Scotts Valley Community Advisory Council.
7.4: Consideration of (a) Lake County Fish and Wildlife Advisory Committee’s recommendation for developing new premiums for the Lake County Fair Book in the amount of $360 annually; (b) Lake County Fish and Wildlife Advisory Committee’s recommendation to support Lake County Department of Water Resources to design, develop and distribute drainage signs in the amount of $9,234.
7.5: Consideration of (a) waiving 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) approval of the agreement between the county of Lake and Crestwood Behavioral Health for adult residential support and specialty mental health services for Fiscal Year 2019-20 for a contract maximum of $800,000 and authorize the board chair to sign the agreement.
7.6: Consideration of amendment to the deputy registrar of voters class specification.
7.7: Consideration of the award of bid for the three SB1 rehabilitation improvement projects; Bid No. 19-10 to Granite Construction in the amount of $566,052.25 and authorize the chair to execute the notice of award and the agreement.
7.8: Consideration of the award of bid for the FEMA FMAG Culvert Replacement No. 1 and No. 2 Project, Bid No. 19-01, to Coleman Environmental Engineering Inc. in the amount of $649,497.50, and authorize the chair to sign the notice of award and execute the contract.
CLOSED SESSION
8.1: Public employee evaluations title: Special Districts Administrator Jan Coppinger, Public Services Director Lars Ewing.
8.2: Conference with legal counsel: Existing litigation pursuant to Gov. Code Sec. 54956.9 (d)(1) : Drake v. Kennedy, et al.
8.3: Conference with legal counsel: Significant exposure to Litigation pursuant to Gov. Code Sec. 54956.9( d)(2)(e)(3): California River Watch.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The county of Lake has released new details about a volunteer event scheduled for next week that aims to clear vegetation on a several-mile-long stretch of Highway 281 in the Soda Bay corridor.
The “1,000 Hands to Protect Lake County Homes,” the brainchild of District 5 Supervisor Rob Brown, is set to take place from 6 to 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 17.
Brown said he’s hoping to get 500 volunteers to help clear vegetation in the area, which is particularly vulnerable to wildland fire.
Plans for the event include six worksites in the Soda Bay corridor, beginning at the intersection of Highway 281 and Tenino Way in the Clear Lake Riviera.
Work sites will be marked A through F; volunteers can go straight to the worksite of their choosing, and crew leaders will provide direction and important safety information.
The southbound lane of Soda Bay Road, from Riviera Heights Drive to Point Lakeview Road, will be closed for the hours of the project, in order to allow volunteers to safely work and park. The county apologizes for any inconvenience.
Volunteers are asked to bring nylon-stringed weed eaters, hand tools, loppers, pruners, shovels and rakes.
They should wear hats, sunscreen, long-sleeved shirts, long pants and gloves that can be comfortably worn in warm weather
Water and gloves for those who do not own them will be provided.
Kelseyville Fire Protection District also will patrol and attend to medical needs.
Prior to starting work, all participants must sign a volunteer services agreement, which can be found at http://www.lakecountyca.gov/1000HandsAgreement/ and returned, by email, to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or given to a crew leader the day of the event.
As a special incentive, anyone interested in participating in the fire extinguisher giveaway the following morning, Sunday, Aug. 18, at Riviera Elementary School, can receive a voucher and be first in line to get a fire extinguisher by participating in the 1,000 Hands effort.
For more information, call Supervisor Brown at 707-349-2628 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
LOWER LAKE, Calif. – Through a new traveling exhibition, discover an overlooked moment in U.S. history when people with disabilities occupied a government building to win their rights.
The exhibit “Patient No More: People with Disabilities Securing Civil Rights” will be on display at the Lower Lake Schoolhouse Museum from Aug. 15 to Oct. 4.
The exhibition uncovers the stories behind a turbulent April in 1977, when people with disabilities successfully launched protests across the nation to get Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 signed into law.
In this exhibition, visitors will get a chance to appreciate how the occupiers built networks of support, from unions to the Black Panthers; how protesters influenced the media and changed the language used to cover the protest; and the controversies of 504, especially in regards to race and deafness. Above all, this exhibition reminds all of us that disabilities are a source of creativity and innovation, not pity or tragedy.
Large print, braille copies of exhibition text, audio descriptions, and audio-described and captioned videos combine to make this show as accessible as possible.
Additional related programming includes a speaker series:
– Saturday, Aug. 24, at noon: Photographer and disability rights activist Anthony Tusler will be speaking on his experience at the 504 sit-in.
– Saturday, Sept. 14, noon: Illene Dumont and other members of People Services Inc. will be speaking on the history of People Services and on disability in Lake County.
Additional speakers are pending. Please check the Museums of Lake County Facebook page for more dates and speakers.
Patient No More is presented by the Paul K. Longmore Institute on Disability at San Francisco State University, made possible with support from California Humanities, and traveled by Exhibit Envoy.
The Museums of Lake County raised funds to bring this exhibit to Lake County through private donors as well as through Lake County Department of Mental Health’s Prevention Mini-Grant Project.
The Lower Lake Schoolhouse Museum is open Thursday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and is located at 16435 Main St.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport City Council this week will consider approving a resolution that will pursue collection of delinquent utility bills.
The council will meet in closed session beginning at 5:45 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 6, to discuss a potential case of litigation before the public portion of the meeting begins at 6 p.m. in the council chambers at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Finance Director Nick Walker will present to the council a resolution to confirm and approve the utility billing delinquency list during a public hearing.
As part of the hearing, the council also will be asked to direct staff to submit the list to the county auditor-controller for inclusion on the property tax roll.
Walker’s report shows that there are eight properties with total outstanding bills totaling $3,385.44.
His report said the accounts on the list have been identified by the Finance Department as delinquent as May 31.
Final notice to delinquent accounts, as May 31, were sent to property owners on July 17, he reported.
“In order to collect on these accounts, the city is required to notify the delinquent account holders and give them an opportunity to bring their account current. The city provided this notice, which provides account holders until 4:30 p.m. on August 8th to bring their account current. Therefore, a current Delinquent Utilities Account List will be provided at the time of the meeting with any accounts for which payment has been made removed,” Walker wrote.
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 July 16; the Aug. 1 warrant register; 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; approval of sending a letter of support for a League California Cities resolution calling on the California Public Utilities Commission to amend Rule 20A to add projects in very high Fire Hazard Severity Zones to the list of eligibility criteria and to increase funding allocations for Rule 20A projects.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
