Area Council - Regular Meeting

East Region Town Hall. They have Spring Valley, Double Eagle Ranch, the Keys, High Valley, you know, the Clear Lake Oaks proper, you know, Sulurbang, Windflower Point, all of those areas, but they have a representative from each area as well. And so, um, we also have Central Region Town Hall, which is mainly the zip code of Lassern. Now, you might know it previously as LA, but it changed, uh, to encompass more of the Lassern, uh, area. So, um, these groups, they have their meetings. West Region has it on every third Thursday at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, I'm sorry, Wednesday. Okay, thank you.

Uh, [laughter] at 9460 U Main Street in Upper Lake at the community center that heal has. Uh, the East Region Town Hall is at the Moose Lodge and theirs is the first or first Wednesday at 400 pm and that takes place that day. And then central region is the second Monday at 6 pm right here. Uh and so uh those are the times that you can come to those meetings. A lot of people go to each one just to get some information and whatnot. That's all good. I know that other town council members go to different just to be on the same page and that's great. And so that's how it came to fruition. And I've it's been probably one of the best things for me as a supervisor is to get the actual feel of who I'm representative rather representing rather than just going in and making decisions without the knowledge of the people. I have the opportunity to go in and go to their meetings or read the minutes or anything like that or they come to the meeting actually also and they read in public input and they comment on different things. So it's a real big benefit for you especially in this district and for me. So, uh, mo most of the time I do my best to vote with the town halls because that's what they're designed for. So, that's a little bit about the max and, um, those are the benefits of it and I think actually that's what we're coming to, right? The benefits and the activities of this.

Okay. So, my name is Angela Emerald. I'm the chair of Earth for this year and I'm going to speak about the benefits of the MACs. Um, the District 3 MAC Alliance includes representation from each of the three town councils. As you just heard, we meet informally to address important issues to uh to the communities, businesses, and environment in the Northshore. We have many similar issues, highway 20, lake health, CALR, PG& code enforcement, tourism, economy. And we felt that if we united on broad topics, we would have more input in the county decision-making process, such as collective pressure, knowledge to apply for funding, grants, um early notification of projects and ongoing input throughout the planning processes to ensure win-win situations. Create problem solving to deal with issues like illegal dumping and enforcement. regional planning with large agencies like Calrans and PG& development of a district approach to expand the economy and tourism base. Um throughout this process we found the power of working together. The MAC Alliance members network constantly with questions, news updates, project info on items that affect D3 and learn from each other. Worth and Earth now have websites with calendars, documents, agendas, local and county information, and CR is currently developing one. Each MAC has discretionary funds which can be used in our communities. We have purchased school stop signs, developed websites, provided event and meeting mailings, help local events, and done public outreach such as hosting this meeting. Currently, the MACs have been involved with the Lake County 2050, which is the update to the Lake County general plan and our district 3 local area plans, the north lake area plan, and the east lake area plan. U these plans will set the direction for future development in district 3 over the next 25 years. Uh Director Turner couldn't make it here tonight. She was going to bring copies.

Um but we do have some copies on the D3 table in the corner over there. We encourage you to become involved with your local MAC. Sign up to participate, add your voice, attend meetings, or watch the videos. Apply for open council seats. There's currently one opening for Worth. We have handouts with details on our table in the corner over there. Um together we have a greater knowledge base, more transparency and issues affecting us and a stronger voice in our local government. So that is our um our benefits and activities and then I think Lisa is going to give an update as well. Lisa,

hi Lisa Benvitus. Um, so one of the things that we did when we first started having a conversation about whether or not we were going to um, build this alliance was last year we decided we needed to hear from the community if it's something that um, the community at large agreed with. So, we developed a uh Google form survey trying to make sure that we could get not only the folks that come into our rooms or come to our meetings regularly and provide input there, but then also what about the folks that work or can't make it or um for whatever reason maybe they just are shy and don't want to give it in front of everyone else. Um so, we posted that um on our websites. We also created a flyer and posted it um at the bulletin boards across the district. um asking various questions focused on one, do you think it's a good idea to align and two uh what are some important things that you think we should focus on um that have actionable things? Um and so we took a look at like code enforcement or public safety or the uh lake or um recreational activities and we asked folks to rank it one to eight on what's the top priority for um them in their area. We did ask some general demographic information so that we could look at a whole what's going on in district three, but then also specifically what does the Worth residents want? What do the surf residents want and what do um the earth residents want? So, we did receive 86 responses to that. Um, which isn't f, you know, it's not like phenomenal. Everyone in the district responded, but it is a pretty successful I, um, I do community surveys in my day job and, um, to get 80 responses to a Google form, um, is not it's not chopped liver. Um, one thing to note that is important is

that at the time we were asking for um, input for the moment, which was July. Um, and so we do recognize that some pretty big things happened last fall that brought to the community forefront. Perfect example of this is rent stabilization. Um, while that conversation has been happening for a while, it really blew up um, last fall. that was not represented in our survey because the survey happened in July and the blow up happened in like November, December. Um, and so we took that information. The biggest thing is 70% of individuals who responded said that yes, definitely we would like the max to combine forces um in order to address things together. Then another 20% said I don't know, we'll figure it out, right? uh only one person said no. So to us that gave us the the um information we needed to to move forward and create um the MAC Alliance. And what you see today is the fruition of that.

All right. Next, I think we're going to move on to uh item five, which is law enforcement public safety. And we have Sheriff Luke Bingham here. [applause]

Good evening. Uh, thank you for the invitation and I appreciate all you guys coming out here and uh, taking the time to listen to me and having these meetings. I I've said this since the beginning when I took office in the sheriff's office is that my opinion and my philosophy with the sheriff's office is that I can't provide services to every community in the exact same way. It's not a cookie cutter business. I need to listen to the communities. I need to hear from you guys and then we tailor our responses to that. They told me I have five minutes so I can't answer everybody's questions but we are here for that eventually. I want to give you just a heads up on the current status of the sheriff's office. Sure Bingham just so you know. There you go.

There we go. I got four four minutes and 40 seconds to go. Um so unfortunately I wish I had better news but I don't. Our staffing has incrementally improved but not significantly. Um, unfortunately, um, some of you that were at the last meeting in Nice that I was talking to, I had two deputies coming out of the academy. Both those deputies have left. One of them went back to probation and one of them took a demotion to my correctional facility. They decided it wasn't for them. That's kind of where we're at right now. It feels like I'm taking two steps forwards and and one step back all the time. Um, we are still recruiting. If you know anybody that wants in law enforcement, send them our way. Um, I've said this and I will continue to say this. I will not lower the standards of the sheriff's office one bit just to recruit people and put people in cars. I'm not going to do that. So, we're going to work with what we have. Um, one of the things that was asked to me was what are some of the crime statistics on the Northshore? So, I ran some stats today just to give you an idea of what we're looking at in this area. We have not seen a significant increase or decrease in criminal acts or calls for service in the Northshore area in the last year or the last five months. So, I took 2025 and I took 2026. So, January 1 of 25 to 4 2925 and then also the same for this year. Countywide, um the sheriff's office received 13,86 calls for service in 206. We received 14,88 in 2025. So, about a,000 um calls for service reduction countywide in that five-month period. Um in beat three, it's pretty much even. In 26, we've so far received 6,672 calls for service on the Northshore. That's everything from Blue Lakes all the way down to Clear Lake Oaks and then North Lake Port. That's our beat three area that we call B3. Um, and in 25 we had 6,858. So, a slight reduction, but not

insignificant for me to say that it's improved or gotten any better. Um, in the B3 area again in 2025 we took 93 criminal reports and in 26 we took 95 criminal reports. So again pretty status quo. Um, and then sorry that's countywide 93 and 95. In beat three we took 380 criminal reports in 2025 and 428 in 2026. So, a little bit of an increase in criminal reports in 2026 in that 5-month period. The main issues, the main top five criminal reports that were taken in the Northshore are warrant of arrests, controlled substances, violation of court orders, criminal, civil, and domestic violence. Um, battery, which is all kind of misdemeanor battery and domestic battery. And then fifth on the list is auto burglary, burglary, misdemeanor theft, and grand theft. Those are the top five for the Northshore area and our B3 area that we're dealing with right now. On that, if you guys don't know, we have our copter unit that's now working in the Northshore area. I brought Detective Joe Lions with me today. Um, so you guys can talk to him. He is our copter unit deputy that's assigned to this area. His job is not to handle calls for service. His job is to respond to the community needs and respond to a lot of the problems that we have. He also partners with code enforcement and they work together on code enforcement issues that both have a code enforcement component and a criminal component. They'll work together on those cases. So I wanted him to bring him today so that he can introduce himself after at the when we're all done today. If you guys want to talk to him, he's there. I also brought my public information officer, Lauren Berlin. She's my PIO and my community engagement officer. And because one of the things that I always say and you guys are not going to have the time to answer all of the questions or I'm not going to have or you're not going to have time to ask the questions. I'm not going to have time to answer them today probably. So what I would ask is that if you have any questions

because I want to hear from the community all the time. Please send them to PIO Berlin. I may not know the answer because quite frankly I'm the sheriff. I don't know everything. I'm the first one to admit it. I don't know everything. But I have an under sheriff. I have two captains. I have six lieutenants. And I have a lot of sergeants who have that technical expertise. So Lauren will vet out that question that you have and she'll get it to the correct division to answer that question if you have it. Okay? Because I do, again, I really mean this. I want to hear from the community. If we have a car we need to deal with, whatever, we need to know about it because again, if we don't know it's broken, we can't come out and fix it. Okay? Again, our staffing is low. I know you guys don't see us as much as you want. I would love to be in the communities a lot more. I just don't have the people right now. It's something we're working for and it is my goal to get there and to have community. There's my five minutes and I will wrap it up. Give me 30 seconds.

Um my goal, my first goal is once I get staffing is to have communityoriented deputies. That means each beat three, four, seven, and five is going to have a deputy that's assigned to that beat. They work that beat for an entire year. They get to know the community. They need get to know the businesses. They come to these meetings. You guys talk to them. They bring that information back to my command staff and back to me so we can adjust how we're providing services to the communities. That's goal number one. Once I get staffing where I need it, which I need at least six more deputies and I can get beat oriented deputies. That's my goal. That's number one on the list of things. So, thank you for your time. [applause]

Thank you for that, Sheriff. and we'll have to schedule or get coordinate and plan for one of those other meetings that we had that was very productive where we had a nice um sheriff was able to give us a lot of good information there and answer questions with the community and the room was filled like this. So, we'll coordinate and get one of those coming in the near future. Um next uh we have code enforcement Norman Valadez, code enforcement supervisor, if you'd like to come up. [applause] Good evening everybody. Uh my name is Norman Bontz. Others will know me as Joey. Uh I'm with Lake County Code Enforcement. I recently transitioned over to the program super program coordinator uh for the COPER program. Uh and I appreciate the opportunity to share an overview of our recent accomplishments along with what we have planned moving forward. Uh before I end up getting into details, I want to briefly explain what code enforcement does at its core. Uh our role is not just enforcement for enforcement's sake. Uh it's about protecting uh public health and safety, preserving property values, educating property owners, and improving overall quality of life in all of our communities. Uh the copter program is one of these tools that we use to achieve that. Uh the copter program operates as both a proactive and complaint driven enforcement efforts uh with a strong emphasis on public safety, trash and rubbish, inoperable vehicle uh inoperable vehicles, and curb overall curb appeal. Uh [clears throat] this includes addressing issues such as open outdoor storage, the enforcements of homeless encampments, uh hazardous debris such as trash, rubbish, and the occasional sewage issue. Uh as long as well as abandoned vehicles and neglected structures, uh which all tend to escalate into larger safety concerns, fire risk, or other nuisance issues if left unchecked. Uh what makes Copter different from our traditional uh enforcement uh tools is that we don't actively wait or we don't just wait for complaints. We actively seek violations

uh and work to resolve them before things get out of hand or in other instances we're working on projects that have been ongoing for years uh and in other cases uh violations that have been occurring for decades. Um at this time the community complaints remain a critical driver of where we focus our efforts. Uh as of this week, there has been a total uh cases of 478 COPER cases uh with 233 of them closed with more of them to be closed after review about a 50% closure rate. Um we have also conducted uh since 2025, we conducted 24 warranted abatements uh with 14 more warrants on the time frame or on our on our plan list uh with three of those abatements being conducted just this week. uh as well as in conjunction with our AVA program uh abandoned vehicle abatement program uh we've towed a total of 175 vehicles, removed 53 RVs and trailers and I've towed 28 boats for a total of 258 vehicles towed or removed from the northern uh shore of Lake County. [applause] Uh throughout 2025, I was tasked with addressing illegal dumping in the in the hillsides of Nice, Lassern, and Clear Lake Oaks. Uh that area presented unique challenges due to the terrain accessibility in absentee prop property owners. Uh under this grant-f funded effort, we have successfully abated uh 19 sites in Nice, six in Lassern, and nine sites in Clear Lake Oaks for a total of 34 abatements. Uh these abatements were accomplished through a combination of voluntary compliance uh formal enforcements. Uh in many uh cases uh property owners worked with us after receiving notices and took responsibility for cleaning their properties. Uh in other cases where no actions were taken uh we pursued inspection and abatement warrants to move forward with a process for removing those illegal dumps. Um illegal dumping is not just an issue a visual issue. Uh it ends up creating fire hazards. It

attracts vermin and can negatively impact the surrounding property and our environment. um addressing it requires coordination, persistence, and a willingness to take enforcement actions when voluntary compliance is not achieved. Uh we're going to continue to monitor these sites that we have cleaned up to make sure that the illegal dumping doesn't end up occurring. Um I do know uh we do have a specific issue with uh Mountain View Drive in Clear Lake Cokes where it was a failed subdivision rightway um that we're looking to end up potentially getting designated as a fire road. Uh so we can look to install gates to prevent uh further illegal dumping on that road. Um projects like this are important because enforcement is not always the only tool. Uh we need to end up looking for unique solutions to reduce the opportunity for violations to occur in the first place. Um we have also recently increased our focus on graffiti abatement. Uh graffiti is not is also not just a visual uh nuisance. It can end up contributing to uh the perception of neglect and if left unattended often leads to more vandalism and other related issues. Um we have begun issuing formal vote uh graffiti notices to property owners outlining required time frames and other things of that nature. Um, and I'm happy to report that out of the 12 notices that I've issued, even just last week, we have about five properties that have come into compliance, uh, with another two or three individuals that have called me with time frames on when they'll end up correcting their their violations as well. Uh, and for those cases that are not, uh, resolved within the required time frame, we're also going to be seeking to push forward with the administration enforcement via uh, warrants and other things of that nature to end up having that removed. Um, our our goal with this is voluntary compliance first. uh but if we're prepared to take the appropriate steps if that does not occur. Um we're a small team so again your guys' are our eyes and ears for this area. Uh there have been over my course of five years with working for the county. I am still surprised that there are issues that I

am just not aware of uh until they're reported to us. [clears throat] Uh in closing, I do want to end up uh thanking the community for uh their patience and uh understanding with the complexity of these issues and understanding that each code case is unique and has their own set of time frames and legal requirements that were mandated to follow. Um I would like to end up a uh [clears throat] asking for us to give a round of applause for our uh code officer has been spearheading the copper program over the last year and a half, Logan Smith. [applause]

Uh, and with that, uh, thank you, Logan, and thank you all for your time and allowing me to come up here and present, uh, our Sassin Hub. Uh, we'll answer any questions over at our table. Thank you all so [applause] much. Um, I I also I also wanted to thank them, too. Last year when they did the cleanups, uh, what was it? One and a half million uh pounds of trash was picked up in excuse me one and a half million no pounds in uh in Clear Lake Oaks, Lucern, and Nice basically.

Yeah, it was wonderful actually and Upper Lake because we did one in Upper Lake as well. So yeah, 1,500,000. Nice. All right. So, I think um if I'm correct, director of public works, Lars Ewing, we're asking him to come up and I think this is about the garbage since it was brought up. I know he's going to be coming up uh a couple more times later on. Uh trash. Yeah, he's going to talk trash first. There you go.

All right. Well, good evening and yes, talk we'll talk trash a bit. Um I appreciate the the work that that was just referenced. I mean, that's that's significant. uh when we talk about um you know pounds that's one thing on our side we we think in tons so uh so while it sounds great uh I don't even know how many pounds comes into the landfill and how much comes into the transfer station so I think it's uh it's it but nevertheless every little bit helps uh so by way of introduction Yuing uh I am the public works director I can say that now uh because today is my my first day officially on the job for that um but [applause] but on the solid waste side formerly public services. I've I've been in that role for for about 10 years. Uh so so in the two and a half minutes I have left uh on the solid waste side, I'm going to touch on a few things uh that are some new, some old. First off, what's old um and and what we need to emphasize is the subscriptionbased service that is available through Lake County Waste Solutions uh countywide. Uh that that is uh that is the number one priority that we have uh for for provision of uh of garbage service. uh that provides curbside if you you know recognizing we live in a rural area that may not be a curb but uh but the side of you know in front of your home uh that's available that includes garbage service uh recycling single stream recycling it includes green waste bin uh above and beyond that if you don't want to sign up for that we have two locations in the county that that you can you can take your garbage take your recycling uh and take your green waste we'll talk about green waste here in a second but uh the Lake County or Lakeport transfer station road in Lakeport uh and then in Clear Lake, just outside of the East Lake landfill on the east end of of Clear Lake is is a a recycling center um privately operated through Lake County Waste Solutions, but on county property at the landfill. Uh for green waste, if you're hauling your own uh variety of different locations, but the the primary one would be Quack and Bush Mountain. Um again, adjacent to the East Lake

landfill in Clear Lake, as well as at the transfer station in Lakeport. Um above and beyond that there are programs uh to emphasize that what we call recycling programs but uh more than just you know uh the blue bin uh recycling programs that are diversion and material specific. So uh there for free mind you for free we can anybody can dispose of not dispose of but drop off tires, oil, paint, mattresses, uh electronics, carpet, household hazardous waste, the list goes on. So I want to emphasize uh here that those are free services uh that are provided either through grants or subsidized through uh uh through through the solid waste funding. Um so that's you know that's really the the the driver that we want to uh emphasize. Uh lastly in in the 20 seconds uh mandatory garbage. So we are we're evaluating uh the the consideration for mandatory garbage service in the on the Northshore at least in community growth areas. Uh we we we looked at it in detail um in the Clear Lake Oaks area. Um and by and large most uh I think it was about 80% of people sign up for 80% of the homes that have people in the homes sign up for for garbage service. Uh we're looking at that at on the Northshore for the community growth boundaries. Um and and we need to evaluate whether that would be something we should consider. It would come to uh to a vote uh to the to the owners of those homes. Um, so that's something that we are evaluating with a a newly hired integrated waste manager, um, who has a good amount of experience in that in that world. So, so he's going to be diving into that, working with Lake County Waste Solutions to, uh, to assess the, you know, the the pros and cons of that. So, um, the last thing that I I want to emphasize too is coming back to curbside service, uh, is organic waste. I talked about green waste. So, uh, in the green bin, yes, you can place your your yard waste, but relatively new within the last year or so, uh, organics can go in there. There's some, uh, some

flyers in the in the back, um, that that show the type of things that can go in the green waste bin that that is more than just yard waste. So, we're talking about food scraps. Uh, we're talking about things that that you may not think could go in there. And it's all to to uh increase or increase diversion from the landfill. We're trying to we're trying to reduce what gets thrown away uh and maximize what we are reusing in the in the world that we live in. So, I will end it there and uh look forward to to any of you talking to me. I'll be up here again for a few other topics, but but I'm in the back for all of that. So, thank you all. [applause] Thank you, Lars, for that information.

Okay. So, we're going to talk a little rent stabilization ordinance. Um, as you know, it's a big issue. I think it was mentioned at the beginning of this uh meeting uh about the rent stabilization ordinance. This started, I want to say in late 24. Uh some folks from Lake Village Estates came to me over in Clear Lake Oaks and they started talking with me about this situation. They were very passionate about it. They came to the town halls after and then uh we started meeting at the actual clubhouse that they have and started talking to talking amongst each other about what was going on. Their owner actually came out, Boa Vista, they came out and started basically saying they were going to start working with them and help them and whatnot. And um it it really was an intense meeting because of course you have some folks who are being affected by this group. And uh they sent out some regional directors, some actual folks from like Sacramento and whatnot. So that was uh that was the initial stages of this. Then they kept coming to the uh east region town hall and talking to other a other areas. Uh one is Meadow Point, a couple others here in Lassern. You got Country Club and then you have uh the lake on the lake. And so u so you have these these areas these mobile home parks that are mainly for seniors on fixed incomes. Now what happens when you raise their rates and they're on fixed incomes, right? We know what happens and that's been the big issue. There's been other areas where these actual agencies and um businesses have done the same thing and it doesn't feel good. It doesn't feel good to know this. I've one thing I don't usually do is kind of like cast out what my vote is or where my stance is. But on this one, it's always been that way. And I even stated that I'm on the side of the seniors. I said this at RCRC, rural county representatives of California, who have similar issues. these rural counties always we always kind of get bounce things off of one another because other counties deal with these things. In fact, the first ordinance that I used was based from Humble County and so uh in talking with them and I had mentioned that I have no sympathy for the owners

and a lot of them got up like oh whoa really because a lot of them had to do it for the other side if that makes sense. So they had to like block their rent stabilization ordinances. So it was a real good robust conversation. Some of that I brought back and sent to uh my colleague and the others on the ad hoc committee. Um but after those meetings uh in with Lake Village Estates, we ended up doing a first ordinance that I said I modeled after Humble that died and then we created that ad hoc committee. Since then, we've been putting together and meeting with both not only the uh the park owners but also as you know a lot of folks been have been coming to the the actual board of supervisors meetings and accentuating what they need. Now, as it stands right now, we actually have a product that is sitting on the county council's desk. And so, I don't even know if it's on the desk. I think they're actively working on it because we're meeting again, I want to say tomorrow. And in this meeting, we'll I'm sure we'll determine where it goes from there, whether it be put on the agenda sooner or later, but it we are at that point. So, just want to let you know that we are actively meeting about that tomorrow and we'll know more coming out of that meeting when and where. And once I know, I definitely will let the town halls know and and I'll let uh the public know as well. So that that way if you need to come to that meeting, which I'm sure it'll pack the room, they'll be there. So um with that, uh that's just a quick update on it. I have I'll be here after. So if we want to talk more about it after, we can go ahead and do that. But since I'm finished, thank you. [applause] We're going to move on to the uh fire safety northshore fire protection district. And it says Chief Shannon Banks, but I think there's a new chief, right? Chief Matt Donnelly. [applause]

All right. Well, thank you for coming up and welcome. Welcome aboard to leadership like this. Well, Chief Donnelly, since I talked to Chief Banks, you get seven minutes. Um, that's what we had allocated for you. I don't know if you're going to need it, but Okay, just so you know, I'll do my best. All right.

Well, my name is Matthew Donley, Chief Banks. Thanks the board members. Also thank all of our individuals that are here every day protecting the Northshore. [applause] Thank you for the involvement in the community. It's yours. It's ours. We're here to serve you. And that's what I tell these guys every day. So, I know there's been some little change with how we do some staffing around here. Just like the sheriff was talking about, we deal with staffing issues all the time. Um, trying to get new folks in, new blood, trained up the right way, the correct way, so we can provide a service. So currently we have NICE station 85 staff with three individuals which is always a paramedic, one firefighter, EMT and a officer. And that goes the same for the east side of the district. Same model there at station 75 in the oaks. Our call volume over the last few years stayed pretty constant, right around 3,900 calls. Um, I'm not going to get the decimal points out, but we're staying pretty steady steady right now. And as our neighbors that are here, I think Chief Spade is still around. CalFire's here from the Oak Station 40. David from Lakeport's here from the board. We all help each other constantly. We all have auto agreements. We're constantly running other people. We go into other jurisdictions constantly to support each other. Um, so everybody's given all the effort they can daily um on all levels from the board all the way to our probationary firefighters and volunteers. Some of the programs we have that support the whole

lake is the dive team um that we have that are all volunteers with a couple full-time staff and we have the support team that's a countywide resource. The support team comes out when it's hot, provides hydration, cooling systems, shade, um during structure fires, they come out and fill our bottles, food, coffee. So, they're instrumental in helping us on bigger incidents. Um we have a great explorer program that Captain Rodriguez has been running for forever. Um, we actually have a captain that started with that. Um, Captain Lawler. So, um, that continues and that affects a lot of, um, that's a cool program. I even go out there occasionally when I get a chance just to help them out. It's really fun to see that. Um we have the fuels crew um the hogback fuels crew which we work handinhand with the forest service and clerk um to get u fuels reduction assignments for them and they've been up and running for around four years now. Um let's see. Um as we know funding is a crux to everything. I know it's been going around. We have budget issues right now serious ones. Um, and those are things that we can come and talk to you. Open door policy at the office with any of us. We're here to communicate and talk with you. Um, so we can kind of talk about that a little bit more. Basically, I can give you the the two cents right now is we're going to try to table that and look at special um vote in the spring and we're basically going to take a two-headed approach. the the vibe is right now. Citizenbased and districtbased. So, that's where that is

right now. Um, and that's all I have right now. And I'm pretty quick, so I took only four minutes. I spoke pretty fast. But I just my biggest thing is your engagement in your community across our whole district. Super important. We got to remember our district's fairly large. We're we're probably in the top. There's been some new consolidating throughout the state. So, I think we might be five or six, but I haven't Googled it lately. We cover 355 square miles. So, lots of real estate. And we never know when the next call is going to be. Bartlett Springs, North Indian Valley, out on Walker Ridge, way north cover 46.5 miles of Highway 20. As you all know, it's a dangerous dangerous section of road. So, that's a lot of business for us. We're continually making cuts, um, running our ship as tight as we can. Um, so those efforts are all there. Grant money, you have to remember, federal grant money, it's kind of drying up right now. It's in limbo. So, but we go out for grants. probably over since I've only been here a year. I was a battalion chief the last year. Dove two feet in head first and I'm going to the next dive in. But our guys are constantly looking for um grants. We have probably over um in the last year probably almost over 400,000 $450,000 in grant money that we've received. Everything from purchasing a new type six engine, which is a smaller engine, pickup style chassis, but we're going to try to use it as a multi-functional

squad. So, it can respond to wildland fires. It can go out on in the boonddocks to respond to accidents that we have off-road. Or maybe we have another option where maybe we don't have somebody as qual qualified to drive a big rig, but they can bring this type six, whether they're a volunteer, one of our part-time firefighters or one of our newly hired firefighters. So, we're looking at every option to provide service. We provide once again advanced life support with our paramedics. We transport. That's a big tax too. those turnaround times. We don't have a the hospital's not five minutes down the road. And then if you're treating somebody, those all add up. So that's why with the auto aid and the efforts from our neighbors and our staff, we're providing the best service we can. And it's pretty solid. I've been in this business since I was 18 and it's a it's a special place. So, um, that's all I got. I made up a little bit more.

[applause] We want to please come talk to us at the table afterwards. We we also want to thank Chief Banks for all that he's done for us in this past. [applause] All right. Thank you, Chief Donnelly. All right. Next, we're going to move on to uh transportation, traffic, and roads, and that's our director of public works, Lars Ewing. Once again,

well, it it says CALR, but I don't know why, but

no, I'm I'm ready. Hey, well, I like being ahead of CALR. That's great. Five minutes. All right. Uh, so Laruing, public works director, and this is the the area where I can say yes, this is day one on the job. Um, I do have a background in in in public works. I have been the interim public works director for well since last summer. Uh and prior to that from 2010 to to 2015 I was the assistant public works director. So I do have I do have a general a general background in it. Uh let me flip to the right sheet here. I apologize. All right. So roads um roads is uh roads is a challenge because the expectation that that everyone in this in the audience has uh is that the road is in pristine condition. Right. I I I recognize that I live on a county road. I have that same expectation. Uh the reality is the funding that doesn't come in. Uh the reality is that that you know that we we do not live in in an urban area that taxes itself uh quite heavily uh to provide funding for for locals. The reality is that what comes from the state uh and the federal government for for funding uh we we receive about uh pop well lane miles we have somewhere in the range of about 1% of of the the road miles uh for in comparison to other counties in the in the state. Uh and we receive about onethird of 1% of the funding that that comes down from the state for local government uh road road maintenance. So, uh, it is a challenge, but what you have is you have a very loyal and and hardworking crew out there that that does a heck of a job. Um, is there enough of them? No. Is there enough money to go around? No. Uh, but they they take pride in what they do. Uh, and and and they're out there working every day. Now, uh, that's that's kind of a that's a negative pessimistic way to open. Um, and and I'm also going to comment a little pessimistically on what has been done in the past. Uh and that's not meant to uh you know sling mud. Uh it's just meant

to share facts of over the the last five years um on average over the last five years uh the road crew has has maintained or has has done what we call pavement preservation and I'll go into a little bit of detail on that on on about on average 17 miles of road per year. Um this past year this past summer 2025 uh we we did over 30 miles of road. Uh the forecast uh for the future uh is is 35 miles per year. So we're we're getting to the point where we're doubling that. Uh that's not just magically I came in and and snap my finger and it happens. I'm that is not that's not why I'm up here. There's funding that that is coming in that we you know that is new SB1 for those that that might be familiar with track Senate bills. Uh we we do have an additional source of funding. Uh but what we're doing is is putting that money in the hands of the road crew. Um, there might be contractors out there that would love that money, but we get a heck of a lot more bang for our buck if if we allow our road maintenance crew uh to do that. So, what you're going to see uh is is a lot of uh doing our best to keep the roads in good condition. You're not going to see road widening. You're not going to see a whole lot of entirely repaving. What you're going to what you're going to see is a lot of what we call prep work on the roads, doing some isolated digouts, uh uh doing uh clearing out um clearing out vegetation, clearing out drainage. um uh uh pothole patching essentially but but extreme pothole patching followed by what we call a chip seal and and you know we're talking about preserving our investment not rebuilding the investment. Uh so so next year um actually I'm sorry this year 2026 um we do have quite a lot of work uh that and I'm focusing on the on the uh the work that is going to be done in the Northshore. Um, so in 2026, we're looking at uh significant amount of work in in the the Nice area. I don't have the the the road mileage. Um, but I do have the the list of roads. Uh, one significant one I will comment on is Nissern Cutoff. If you drove it within

the last couple of days, you saw some asphalt being placed on there. Uh, that's just an example of the type of prep work uh that is going into that. So um so this this year 35 miles of of roads uh being again preserved and in the next few years the the same thing. Um now uh locally here I'll I'll comment on some other stuff that is that is going on. 2027 uh we have some uh some crosswalk improvements. Now CALR is doing some some on Highway 20 you see the the the flashing beacons uh going on. Similar uh similar work there. uh Lucern Elementary, Upper Lake, Second Street, uh and Upper Lake High School areas. So, crosswalks there. Improved crosswalks. Also, um uh variable speed signs. So, essentially feed driver feedback signs to tell you how fast you're going. So, we're looking at Sulfur Bank Drive, New Long Valley Road, Nissorn Cutoff area, uh variety of of uh bridge projects, uh First Street, Bridge Arbor North, Foothill Bridge, Wolf Creek. These are uh bridge replacement projects that are funded through uh through the federal government coming in through through CALR. Uh so those are u not cheap projects and and those are grant funded. Uh so that's you know that's a key thing to factor in on. Um looking ahead looking ahead uh I I would just say that I'm going to say that the future is bright because that road crew is um uh they we have a a new what we call a new chip cart. We have uh funding coming in. We have a it's it's a plan the work and then work the plan. Not to be cliche, uh but we do have a 5-year work plan. We do we have put that in into place this past year. Uh and for those that have seen it, I I I think you're going to you're going to see that there are improvements. That doesn't mean that we're going to be out in front of your road tomorrow. Um but uh but I I I understand that that's that to you and that's the most important road. I I completely understand that. Where I live uh that I'm the one that needs to say where I live, that's not the most important road to me. every other road needs to be. Um, I won't give you the name of my address or my address because everyone that lives on that road is

probably going to be upset that I just said that. Um, so I will wrap it up and again in the I'll be in the back. We can have a I have the work plan. I have the list of roads. Happy to show that to you for for what is planned for this year and the next four years looking ahead. So, thank you. [applause] I hope you're walking up with some money for me because I'm sure Calrans has a lot more than we do. So, thank you, Lars. Well, good evening everyone. My name is Omid Vazir and I'm a project manager with Calrans uh District 1 divisional program project and asset management. I'm also here with my colleague uh Talitha Hartson. She's also an office chief with divisional planning and local assistance and we're also sitting back there so if you have any questions at the end we'll be happy to answer. Uh I do have a PowerPoint uh presentation but I guess uh we cannot uh connect it to a computer today. So I'll just try my best to explain these projects. So I have u nine projects that I want to go through today. Um and these projects uh cover uh you know they they start from the western region they cover uh central region and also the eastern region. Um the first project is blue lakes safety project. Uh the purpose of this project is to reduce the frequency and severity of collisions uh on

Oh really? Okay. uh severity of uh collisions on state route 20 in Lake County between post mile 2 and 2.8. Basically uh this project includes uh enhancing visibility by improving an existing curve. That's their um the estimated construction uh for this project is about $17 million and uh the project uh started back in uh fall of 2023 and as I understand um uh the project has been completed and is currently in plant establishment where the contractor is uh working on vegetation uh control. The next project uh is a two-phase project. Uh the first uh the first project uh basically covers uh the uh Nice and also uninccorporated community of Glen Haven. It's a complete streets project and it's supposed to um improve uh transit stations um and also bike and ped facilities and also other elements that will improve the safety of the roadway. Uh this project is estimated to be around $37 million and we uh estimate that it will start construction in 2035. The next project is very similar to the first one. Um it will have similar very similar improvements. Uh it is a complete streets project, a bike and ped improvements, uh transit improvements, roadway improvements, and uh Oh, we can HDMI.

I think so. There you go. Maybe I can't get more than five minutes. [laughter]

It's It's easier to explain on the screen, but Hey, there you go. [laughter]

Awesome. [applause] Thank you. Thank you so much. Appreciate it. Thank you. So, this is the second project that I mentioned. It's a complete streets project. Uh it will cover uh the uh upper lake and also clear lake oaks. Um and as I said, it's it is intended to um improve transit SP stops and uh bike and ped facilities and also um other roadway improvements. And this project is at the capital estimate is about $35 million. And uh we the the estimate to I guess start construction is still to be determined. We're trying to our team is trying to create a second project. Uh so we'll have more information for everyone at a later time. Uh the next project is these are short-term maintenance projects. Um and this one uh is Lake 20 pedestrian enhancement. Uh the design is complete. Uh it is intended to prevent passing in center turn lanes at new crosswalks um near transit stops and also improved delineation at few large intersections. Uh the capital estimate is about $2 million and uh we are uh planning to start construction in summer of 2026 which is coming up and also end construction in 2027. Uh next maintenance project is pedestrian safety enhancements. Um this project is uh basically installed 16 high visibility crosswalks and eight rectangular rapid flashing beacons uh in Upper Lake uh Nice uh Lousern and also Clear Lake Oaks. Um the estimate for construction was about $1.7 million and since it's complete you should see some of the improvements already. Uh next maintenance project is um uh is pedestrian safety enhancements. The per purpose of this project is to install nine rectangular flashing uh rapid flashing beacons in Lucern and also install high vis high high friction uh surface treatment between Country Club

Drive and Ogden Road. The estimate for this project is about $1.2 $2 million and the construction started back in summer of 2025 and we're hoping that it will be completed by the end of the spring 2026. This project I'm actually the project manager on this one. Um it is the Lucer and completed streets project. Um similar to the first couple projects that I mentioned um it is a complete streets project. It is intended to uh improve uh transit stops also bike and ped facilities and also a median island. uh basically uh intended to uh calm traffic within the corridor. And the estimate for construction is about $20 million and uh we're hoping to begin construction in the spring of 2031 u with the anticipation of ending the construction in fall of 2032. The next project is Clear Lake Oak uh Clear Lake Oaks School Crossing. Um the purpose of this project is to improve safety uh for pedestrians using a crosswalk um at East Lake Elementary School. The project is needed to improve sight distance um lighting and also drainage. Uh the uh the estimate for construction of this project is about $1.2 million and uh the uh we're hoping to start the construction in summer of 2028 and finish it by December of 2028. So about six months of construction. The next project which is in the eastern region is a but mine curve improvement project. Uh the purpose of this project is to improve the design characteristics of the roadway um and to reduce frequency and severity of collisions within uh this segment of uh State Route 20. Uh the construction capital is about $6.5 million and we are hoping to start construction in about a year and a half in fall of 2027. Last but not least, uh N corridor lighting. Uh the purpose of this project is to improve safety for all road users um by enhancing the corridor lighting and to reduce uh the frequency of

pedestrian collisions uh within the segment of uh state route 20. The construction is estimated to be around $5.7 million and we're hoping to begin construction in 2029. And uh those are all the projects. Uh I know I'm at five minutes. You can always Google uh district one uh current projects and you will have find more information. But as you can see, there are about hundred hundred million dollars or more that we're investing in safety projects uh near uh Clear Lake. And uh so I hope that uh we'll see these improvements uh you know in the near future. And yeah, that's all I have.

Thank you. [applause] Can can we ask you to send us a copy and uh of that presentation so we can put it on our websites? Wonderful. Thank you. I think we're going to have to take note that we have to take a win on it actually popping up. Tech doesn't usually work out for us. All right. Next, we have uh Clear Lake Rehab rehabilitation projects by the water resources department. We have uh director Dr. Pano Padier coming up. [applause]

All right. Thank you.

Uh, good evening everyone. Uh, my name is Pawan Upady. I'm the Lake County water resourcer director and we manage department of water resources as well as Lake County Wateret Protection District. Um, so I will start with uh update on the staffing. So currently we are better staffed than anytime we have been in a long time. So um so we expect like probably will provide better services moving forward. Um and we are almost at full stop at this point. Uh some of the projects or the programs we manage uh includes um ensuring compliance with everchanging state regulation for storm water, groundwater uh groundwater management, flood plane administration, uh invasive species management which includes like the quaga monitoring program which you might have seen around the ramps. um lake bed management um clear lake hitch recovery projects uh which is basically studies hydraological studies around the uh county and which we also include like a community science program where individuals can participate on um and I think um the other projects we have as you might know that uh clear lake is a drinking water source for almost 60% and more than 60% of the county residents. So we have a series of program which is um funding provided by the blue ribbon committee which is an advocacing and um legis legislator committee to direct fund from state towards the county and um one of the project which was recently completed was the utrofix project which you might have heard in the upper lake arm we have like some of the posters there like a

pamplate like if you want to look into that uh which which The in in like brief the project was about applying um some um agents which binds the phosphorus in the lake because lake has like excess uh phosphorus which is a problem which also contributes to harmful alklooms. Um so hopefully so we just uh almost completed that project um last month actually this month. So and um another project which would be going around. So this was in upper lake. The next project is in the lower arm of the lake which is the LG sonic buoy projects and that would be implemented around June of this year. So um and the purpose of that thing is also somewhat similar like to prevent the harmful alky blooms which happens from in the lake from time to time. Um and another projects um I would probably like to mention is the which you might be familiar about the middle creek uh restoration project. So uh middle creek is like one of the largest contribut lake in terms of runoff as well as the sediment load. So the idea the general area of that project lies between N lusen cutoff highway 20 and highway 29 in general like it's it's that area there um the idea behind that project is to convert um a large section of that into wetlands which basically filters the nutrients which comes with the runoff and probably contribute less to the lake and um and the probably reduce the

algae blooms which happens in the lake and for that we have also hired recently a dedicated project manager for that. So we have been making some good progress on it. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you. [applause] Um excuse me. I just wanted to mention a couple other things that we have down in clear.

Okay. Sorry. Sorry. Um, we just had a couple other um projects that are down in the Clear Lake Oaks area. Uh, first of all, I wanted to mention that the we have the Hypolimnetic project which is going to be starting in the next year. Steve Camden from uh Tahoe Environmental Research Center is here and he's got handouts showing it in which basically they're going to be um uh pushing uh oxygen around Rattlesnake Island in trying to reduce the uh syobacteria blooms. Uh we also have the uh Clear Lake Oak Schindler um Creek Keys initiative uh which is taking a look at the sediment runoff um coming down Schindler Creek uh and into the Keys and trying to reduce the sediment there. Uh there are handouts over there and Donna Mowitz is involved with that and you can talk with her. And then the big thing we have coming up is um uh the Sulfur Bank mercury mine over next to Elum Colony over in Clear Lake Oaks. Uh next week uh basic next week uh at the earth meeting which is Wednesday um next Wednesday the 6th at 4 pm Carter Jessup who's the manager for the Sulper Bank mercury mine will be coming and presenting his the plan for cleanup. Uh this is a big thing. They're going to be capping uh a lot of the tailings there. But uh it's going to have a big effect locally because the last time we heard there were going to be 20,000 truck trips going down Sulfur Bank Drive. So, anybody's interested, please come to our meeting next week. But there's information on that over there, too. [applause]

This next one is uh we're going to move on to parks, rec park parks, recreation, and the economy. And this is I will call up I swear last time Lars, [laughter] the director of public work, Lars Euing, and then Holly, I think you're part of this as well. All right. I I think I need to take a a hint from the fire chief and the sheriff and and speak once and and bring all the muscle behind me. I just brought myself and I'm up here three times. So, you know, that's I need to do it better next time. Uh parks parks and wreck um for for the county. I was asked actually when I when I walked in um what is what is parks and wreck, right? What is that for for Lake County? Uh so unincorporated lake county uh uh operated through county government. We have about and I know it's odd to say about but we have about uh 26 parks around the the county in the unincorporated community of Lake County. I say about because whether you want to call a boat launch a park uh you know that that can be kind of the depend you know the the the variable there. But those parks range from uh tiny little postage stamp size parks. I'll use an example of a triangle what we call triangle park in in Nice. It's actually in CALR rightway. Uh, and your parks crew maintains that. It's really a beautifification project. Uh, directly across from from Holiday Harbor on the on the east, excuse me, the north side of Highway 20. Uh, ranging from that all the way up to thousand acres plus on on Mount Kakai. Uh, and everything in between. Uh, so on the parks side of of parks and wreck, what I wanted to highlight here, obviously on the north shore, some some projects that are that are up and coming and and in progress. I'll start with Hammond Park in uh in Nice. Uh Hammond Park. This was a $2.3 million state funded grant. Um it's improvement of of Hammond Park, which if you're not familiar with with where Hammond Drive is uh near Sentry Market

um and and Hammond Hammond Drive, which is uh uh just uh east of of Sentry Market. Uh that that grant and it's under construction now. Um encourage you to drive or walk down there. You'll see it under construction. has been for months. Uh it will be adding in uh a playground, a basketball court, a pickle ball court, a grass field, a fitness fitness area, uh an improved parking lot, um walking trails throughout, improvements to the uh to the dog park, and a variety of different amenities. So, uh so we we successfully secured that. Completion for that is is scheduled in in July of this this summer. Um so, we look forward to a groundbreaking there. Um just continuing from there, heading uh heading further east, uh Lousern Harbor Park. Uh you may have seen dredging occurring last year, um uh a follow-up to that is is the installation of uh what we call transient boat docks um at Lucern Harbor. Uh so in fact, just today, uh I believe the environmental document was uh was completed for that. So we'll be able to to start in on on the construction here very soon. So, you should see that this uh um if if not uh this summer, it might even be this maybe not this month since it's at the end of April, but very soon you'll see that coming in. Uh then continuing uh further to the east, um a a future park uh John T. Klouse Park. Uh the name that's the name of the uh the individual who uh who donated the land and a significant amount of fund of money to the county uh for for the development the creation of a park on the 600 give or take 600 acres of of property that that he owned um uh for for just a sense of understanding of where that is. Uh it's near the roundabout essentially between the the quarry and the um uh the Moose Lodge more or less or at least the the private properties that are adjacent to the Moose Lodge from Highway 20 up to the to the uh to the north up into the ridge. So if you know pretty much you're you're driving along Highway 20 and you see that open open space, you might see some

horses out there. You might have seen llamas and peacocks and coyotes, I heard, and a golden eagle. And so that's that's the property that we are uh uh we are working toward developing and and when I say develop, we're not turning it into a a parking lot. We're we're we're essentially looking to open it up to the public to get out there uh for for trails for um you know there there be a potentially an environmental center. There's a lot of lot of things that are in the works. So over the last couple years we've worked toward a concept plan and that concept plan we are advancing now into what we call the environmental phase. So, we are uh doing environmental studies, uh doing some preliminary design, uh and and assessing the the environmental impacts of the project. Um I would love to be able to open it up to the public. Uh but as you can imagine, it prior to um Mr. Klaus passing away, it was a single family property essentially. Uh now we open it up to the public and you can imagine that the driveway that was available before right off of Highway 20, I can't imagine CALR would be too keen that that a whole lot of cars are going in there. that that would create some problems. So, we're working on an entrance that would go off of Almond Lane. Um the the the road the one of the roads that was constructed relatively recently with the roundabout that goes that accesses the Moose Lodge. So, so that we're working towards a design on that. Um uh so you can you can look to that. It's a we want to make sure we're doing it wise. We can't just go out there and start construction without ensuring that the environmental uh process is followed and that includes cultural analysis, cultural involvement. uh tri and when I say that I mean the the the tribal involvement ensuring that that uh that they that that there's an opportunity for review there uh biological studies the list goes on. So um let me finish just by talking briefly about recreation programming if you don't if you don't mind. That's the the wreck side of parks and wreck. Um uh that's uh kind of a small but mighty and growing and I uh arm of of parks. It used to be that really there was no parks and wreck. Now now there is. Um uh

we we don't have any staffing for it, but we just dog on it, we're going to make it work. So we did. Uh two years ago, we had the first uh first ever kids summer day camp. Uh we started that at Lakeside Park in um uh in the in the Kelseyville Lakeport area. Uh that was a three-day uh three-day half-day camp. We extended that again last year. Uh we did it at Kabatan Park. Um just out of recognition of the new park there, we partnered with the city. Uh this coming year we will be doing it at at Hammond Park. will open up Hammond Park and and soon thereafter have a have a kids day camp. Uh July 20 my dates are right should be right in front of me. July 28th, 29th and 30th. I have a flyer in the back. Um and by the way, I do have some information about those the the two park improvement projects that I mentioned. Have some plans back there for you to look at. Um and uh the the last thing that I want to emphasize or just mention uh it's not in the district here or in in this supermac region but um Mount Konai we also did for recreation uh we we put on the first ever Konai climb last year uh the second Saturday in November. We're going to continue that this year. Uh so if if you are a runner, a walker or any anywhere in between uh it's it's essentially right at the gate at at KCAI. Um, you know, we got a horn and and and here we go. Run to the top and uh may may the best men and women win. Uh we we had goodness uh oh 120 pe participants last year and we expect that to grow. Um so it's you know what we're looking to do on the recreation side is you know it's one thing to to have a park uh you know if you build it maybe they'll come. Um but dog on if you put on some programming then you're providing something for them to do. Um whether that's at a park or or otherwise. So uh so we are ramping that up. In fact uh just in two days I have interviews for uh for a recreation manager um so that we can actually have some support to uh to put on those programs and more. I I you know I'll end with uh just coincidentally enough there's a one of my co-workers who's here not not as

backup. She's here because she she wanted to participate and you know she's she's a she's a a kind of on the finance and admin side. Well dog on it she steps up at each of those recreation programs and she's helping out. uh she she's there on on site along with with other staff that we have. So, you know, that's that's how we make it work. So, uh parks and wreck, it's it's it's a lot more optimistic than than than roads, probably a lot more optimistic than talking trash. Um but, um but it's and and it's varied. Yes, it goes from, you know, from it runs the gamut, but it's but it's exciting. Uh and and looking forward to improving the parks. And I I want to I want to just really thank the the board of supervisors u both current and and past going back decades for their I think their recognition of the value of of parks and recreation uh and and putting putting funding to that end. So uh we we want to maximize the use of other people's money through grants uh and and donations uh for example that John T. Claus Park. Um but that's that's not to say that we don't put local funding on that. I think it's it's money well spent. So so thank you all very much.

[applause]

All right. So, uh, did are you next, Holly?

Oh, I am. Lake Pillsbury. Okay. That's what I thought, but it's kind just it flows together and I just I'd seen seen where it's me. Okay. Sorry about that. So, uh, everybody knows about Lake Pillsbury and the situation with the Potter Valley, uh, project and the two basin solution, the Russian River Water Forum, all that stuff. Um, actually started out as the EE Russian River Commission as well with the county. So, they would meet because the Lake Pillsbury because Scott Dam uh because uh, PG& decided to pull out and surrender the dam. Obviously, uh, they were trying to either find someone to to take it over. That didn't work out. So, they've been talking a lot about decommissioning. And so, that's where we're at now. And, um, in in thinking about that, just going a little through history, you know, uh, it's been going on for years. Uh, my predecessor, Supervisor Steel, has been dealing with it as well. He started out with the Potter Valley TV solution. Um, and now it's come to a point where it's called Nerf. I don't even know what that stands for anymore, but that's what it's called. Um and so so because they created this group, it's just another rinse and repeat of Potter Valley, the two basin solution and then the NOI and then the actual Russian River Water Forum. So it's just another one of those groups where they all come together for their own interests for the water basically that's in our district. Right. So uh this year because of the situation we decided to do a letter to the executive administration to ask them for any type of help. And so uh you know in doing so you know it was a long shot. We thought maybe we would not get somewhere that we but at least we're trying what we can and you know what we always look at uh whoever our higher up leaders are to try and help us and and we tried in every other aspect in this in the uh state. We actually did get help from the department of state department of water resources so that we can do a study with SLR and get some sort of objective study to help determine seismic fish situation and all of the interest that we put in

the letter that was to PG& and to the agencies. And so we got a really good report on that. It really helped kind of support what we were doing and what we wanted. But at the same time, we wanted to make sure it was objective as possible. So, we picked a group that really didn't have a lot of involvement. They had a very objective time to look through it. So, anyhow, we're at the point now where um Lake Elsenor Water District is trying to purchase the building or not building, I'm sorry, the dam and they've been working with the Secretary Rollins and the group to do so. Uh Dr. uh Dr. Brazil uh has been working with them and as a medium with us as well and Keley uh Keely Brazil as well. And so, we've been working with this group. They're based out of Potter Valley to help us get get this communication moving forward and a coalition basically with the Lake Pillsbury Alliance. And so again, we've been meeting with them. Um, and as you've seen that there is uh some other information out by Congressman Huffman. He's going to do a study or investigation of some sort. In the meantime, we continue to meet. We do meet in close session. We meet in close session because when we started these these groups, Friends of the Eel, all these other interests would come forward and crash our party, crash people coming, Lake Pillsbury Alliance, they crash them. And so what happens is they gain strategy, they gain momentum, they make backdoor deals like they like they blame everyone else for doing and some other strategy comes out. Most likely an article will come out and an article will be swayed in a different way. That's why we meet in close session about it. But when we have some more solid information, we will definitely bring it out to the people and have a meeting so that that way you guys have some input on that. And so I'll stop there uh as my timer went off. Thank you for the opportunity. [applause]

So, um, basically, I'm sorry. Basically, uh, up to this, uh, point, you've heard about the state of the district, uh, the challenges we're facing, the projects currently underway to improve the Northshore. And now we want to turn our attention to our vision for the future here. Uh, at a recent meeting, former supervisor Steele made an observation that really resonates. Uh, if you follow a GPS route from Sacramento to Lakeport, it typically directs you along Highway 20 to Highway 53, then down Highway 29 into Lakeport, you never see the lake. But if you stay on Highway 20 into Lakeport, Clear Lake and Mount Kendai are front and center the entire way. And that's the difference. Um, this difference captures something essential about the Northshore and highlights one of our greatest assets. Uh during public outreach meeting for the shoreline and upper lake Niece area plans, uh community members consistently shared a common vision for the northshore. Uh they emphasize the importance of natural tourism, trail development, recreation, lake access, protection of the viewshed, preserving the small town character, maintaining open space, and expanding opportunities for visitors. Uh our conceptual approach builds on that input by positioning the Northshore as a premier recreational destination. Uh each of our three municipal advisory councils plays a distinct role in this vision. Earth on the east side serves as the eastern gateway to Lake County and Clear Lake with opportunities to highlight assets such as the upcoming Claus Park connections to BLM Menescino National Forest and the lake. Cir in the center has embraced its identity as a gateway to the monument offering multiple lake access points and strong potential for premier hiking t trails if we can solve the paper subdivision issues. Worth represents the western gateway to the county with the potential to become a world-class destination with access to lakes Pillsbury and Blue Lakes

as well as bird watching, paddling, and hiking as the Middle Creek restoration area moves towards completion. Our focus is to celebrate and promote Lake County's extraordinary environmental assets uh by investing in lakefront amenities, trail systems, cultural and historical experiences, backcountry access, and preserving our views of and from the lake. In doing so, we can create a sustainable and vibrant future for the Northshore. Uh and with our communities and the three councils working together, we have a stronger voice in shaping our future. And that's what the MACs are about. Thank you. [applause]

Thank you for that. Now, it looks like we're at the time where we can do some public input and questions. And it looks like we have about 10 minutes for this. Yeah. Yeah. 10 minutes overall. Well, um if uh maybe a minute per person and if you can if you really have a question, you can write it down and put it in the box back there or leave it up here and we will answer all the questions and post them on the website. Uh as we said before, though I don't believe we were online then uh we will um

we're Yeah, right. uh we will um we are having copies of all the handouts and we'll be trying to put post those online so that the people that are not here can have access to all of that. So um anyway, we'll start with we'll start with that. All right. Uh any questions or comments? Dam. Yeah, I really enjoyed listening to all this stuff, but I really like the stuff going on with the kids and them having some kind of day uh but what was it called? Yeah, the camp.

A camp. Yeah. And I think that's great. I'm just wondering, you know, uh about a better way to communicate with all the communities to let them know about all these things that are going on. Not all the things, but things like this day camp and stuff, you know, and it might be a good idea. I don't know how many homeowners associations we have around the lake, but just a one email to them. Hey, this is going on. Let your community know. I think that might be a a good way to get it out to all the folks. Not everyone picks up the newspaper and some people are working two and three jobs, so they don't hear all this stuff,

right? Thank you for that question. [applause] comments and actually there one thing and I'm not sure if you can give me a thumbs up or thumbs down Lars if the Lake County Recreation Authority has an has a website yet. Not yet. The Lake County Recreation Authority is a is a JPA comprised of the city of Lakeboard, city of Clear Lake, and Lake County. I'm actually an alternate on that group. So, they meet monthly. I think it's the third Thursday. Is it the third Thursday, I think, of the month? Uh, and it's usually either in in uh in Clear Lake or Lakeport. But anyhow, that's another place where you can get that information when it comes out with that recreation authority that that that's a group that works on the things that you're talking about. Okay. Next question. All right. What we can do is we can go to the tables.

Great.

So, um I I just wanted to say we have tables set up all around here. Uh over here we have Calran and public works. Uh over I can't remember. Oh yeah, we have parks and wreck. Sorry, Lars. Yeah, way back over in the corner we have all of the um the water resources and uh all of the projects that are dealing with Clear Lake. Uh then we have uh Calire and we have fire uh Northshore Fire uh protection district. We have law enforcement over here. We have code enforcement over there. And then we have information on the district three max each of the councils how you can get uh information you know how we work etc. Plus we have uh some information on the uh general plan and the local area plans. And then we have Jennifer from is it NRE

Northern Rural Energy Network. Okay. The Northern Rural Energy Network and she has uh presented at some of the MACs in the past too. So energy saving things. Grant information from special districts. Yes. Uh we also have grant information from special districts on uh how you can uh certain uh single families can upgrade uh some of their water systems etc. And that's that's it. Thank you.

So with that, if you want to visit the tables and talk with anybody uh about your questions or comments or just get some information, by all means, let's go to each one of them and get the information. But most of all, thank you for coming to this. It's very important. And I'm very glad and I want to thank not only the town halls for putting this together, but I want to thank Thomas for doing the video and being a part of this for us. [applause] Yeah. [cheering] Right on. I also want to thank the Lern Alpine Senior Center for hosting us and hosting sir. [applause] Um, I also want to uh thank Habime Tribe and then also the Moose Lodge for the East Region Town Hall and the West Region Town Hall. [applause]

All right. All right. Thank you again and we're here. We'll see you around at these tables and we'll adjourn the meeting at 7 o'clock.