LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport City Council had a busy Tuesday night meeting, honoring a local man who helped a police officer, meeting the city's new fire chief, approving the new fiscal year budget and hiring a consultant to assist in an aspect of the general plan update.
At the start of the meeting, Mayor Kenny Parlet presented a proclamation to Mauro Lopez, thanking him for assisting Lakeport Police Officer Joe Eastham on May 23.
Eastham had been attempting to arrest 40-year-old Joseph Dexter Taylor of Lucerne when Taylor began to resist arrest. Lopez came to Eastham's aid and helped subdue Taylor.
Parlet, Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen and Eastham all shook Lopez's hand and thanked him for his assistance.
Retiring Lakeport Fire Chief Ken Wells also went before the council on Tuesday to present to them his successor, Doug Hutchison, whose first day on the job was June 10.
Wells said he had taken Hutchison around to meet city staff on Tuesday and planned to meet with county officials on Wednesday.
Among Tuesday's business items was a public hearing regarding an ordinance to establish new speed limits on Parallel Drive.
City Engineer Scott Harter took to the council the results of a supplemental engineering and traffic study needed because of the Mendocino College Lake Center, the construction of which hadn't been completed when the previous study was performed in 2011.
The study proposed three speed zones: 45 miles per hour from the junction at Highway 175 to Chester Lane (north of the Mendocino College driveway); 50 miles per hour north of Chester Lane to 1,850 feet north of Todd Road; 35 miles per hour from 1,850 feet north of Todd Road to Lakeport Boulevard and from Lakeport Boulevard to the end of improvements north of Craig Avenue.
There was no public input and the council approved the speed zone study ordinance 5-0.
Finance Director Dan Buffalo presented a proposal to establish an after-hours and on-call user fee of $126 for water and sewer services.
City offices are closed on Fridays as a cost-cutting measure, and Councilman Tom Engstrom noted, “I would hope we're not going to charge people $126 on a Friday.”
If it was a nonworking Friday, they would be charged, Buffalo said.
“I can't support that,” said Engstrom.
Engstrom said the service needed to be available during normal working hours – 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
“How often is this happening?” asked Councilwoman Stacey Mattina.
Buffalo said the city's Public Works Department doesn't keep track of the calls, but estimated it happens about four times a month. Typical calls are vacation home owners who forget to have water services turned on ahead of their arrival.
The council agreed with Engstrom that the language needed to be amended, and Engstrom moved to approve and adopt the resolution establishing the fee for requests outside of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. The motion was approved 5-0.
In other business, city Special Projects Coordinator Richard Knoll gave the council a status report on the Lakeport Planning Commission's work on the review, update and amendment to the city's general plan.
The commission has spent several months holding public hearings and workshops, going over the document's language and refining suggestions in order to complete the initial phase of its focused general plan update project, he said.
Among the commission's recommendations is the hiring of De Novo Planning Consultants – the firm currently working on the city's housing element update – to conduct a supplemental environmental impact report on the general plan, Knoll said, with the contract cost not to exceed $29,265. He said De Novo was the only firm to submit a proposal to do the EIR work.
While an EIR addendum could cost less, around $22,000, it would only look at changes that were not substantial. However, Knoll said a supplemental EIR is more like an actual EIR and puts the city in a better position to defend itself if there are any challenges over the document.
A full EIR, Knoll said, could cost between $120,000 to $150,000 to complete.
Parlet praised the commission for its work, saying it did a great job, and Knoll agreed.
“And they're not done yet,” said Knoll, pointing out that the commission will be part of the upcoming environmental review process.
The council unanimously accepted the commission's status report and the recommendation to hire De Novo Planning Group for the supplemental EIR.
Regarding the 2014-15 budget, Buffalo presented the final review of the document to the council, with city revenues totaling $15.73 million and total expenditures of $18.78 million.
After some final questions from council members about various funds and other minor details, the document was approved unanimously.
City Manager Margaret Silveira commended Buffalo for his work on the budget, which he has crafted and improved over the last three years. Buffalo said a lot of the work is done in tandem with city departments.
The council also approved the purchase – not to exceed $14,000 – of an emergency generator for the city's tank site facility; approved a resolution supporting the renewal of the Sonoma/Mendocino/Lake Recycling Market Development Zone; and approved the delegate and alternates for the fall League of California Cities conference.
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