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 A site on Parallel Drive has jumped to the top of the list of locations for a new Mendocino College Lake Center. Photo by Elizabeth Larson.
LAKEPORT – Mendocino College is nearing a decision on where to locate its new Lake Center, and indications are that the college is close to choosing a Lakeport property as the site of its new campus.
While the college's board of trustees hasn't made a final decision, the college has made an offer to Arizona-based Goldwater Bank to purchase a 31-acre property at 2565 Parallel Drive in Lakeport, according to college President and Superintendent Kathy Lehner, who confirmed the offer on Saturday to Lake County News.
On June 3 the college entered escrow on a 14-acre property at 3360 Merritt Road, which currently is planted in Sauvignon Blanc grapes, as Lake County News has reported. The proposed purchase price for the land, owned by Greg Hanson, is $770,000.
“Barring any unforeseen issues, it looks like it's going to end up on Parallel Drive, which really disappoints us,” said Gary Olson, one of the leaders of the grassroots Committee for Mendocino College Lake Center in Kelseyville, which formed to support the Merritt Road site.
Lehner said Saturday that the college had been working on both land options, but that they have reached a tentative agreement with both the city of Lakeport and the bank to purchase the Parallel Drive property.
She said the final decision is up to the college board of trustees, which will meet at 5 p.m. this Wednesday, Nov. 4, in Room 1060 at the Ukiah campus, 1000 Hensley Creek Road. A closed session item will address property negotiations on both pieces of land.
The $7.5 million campus project is being funded by Measure W bond funding, which voters approved in 2006.
One factor in the decision appears to be a soils report on the Merritt Road property, completed recently as part of the due diligence period, which ends Nov. 30, said Olson.
“The environmental issues of the past caught up with it,” said Olson, who said the report – which found evidence of pesticide residues from past farming practices – came in at the end of week before last.
The Parallel Drive location was the college's first choice. They had begun looking at the site in 2007, but earlier this year their negotiations with Tom Adamson, a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based developer who owned the property at the time, fell apart.
Adamson wanted $2.9 million for the land, nearly twice its appraised amount, and the college couldn't go that high, officials reported.
But Adamson's property already was in distress at that time, and in August, Goldwater Bank purchased the property for $1.6 million on a foreclosure sale, according to county records.
Officials have reported that Goldwater Bank subsequently approached the college to resurrect the previous purchase discussions.
Over the past few months community leaders both in Kelseyville and Lakeport had stepped up their efforts to woo the college to their respective areas.
The Committee for Mendocino College Lake Center in Kelseyville formed, created a Web site and began circulating a petition which collected well over 850 signatures.
The Lakeport Main Street Association also began a petition to bolster efforts by Lakeport city officials who supported putting the Parallel Drive site back on the table.
The college board toured both sites on Oct. 20, and were joined by dozens of community members who were interested in their final selection.
The Merritt Road site encountered opposition from both Sierra Club Lake Group chapter and the Lake County Farm Bureau.
The Sierra Club came out against choosing the site for its location outside of the Kelseyville Community Growth Boundaries and the inherent issues with converting agricultural land. The local group also circulated a petition in support of Parallel Drive.
The Farm Bureau found that choosing the site for a campus conflicted with its policies, including conversion of agricultural land. However, on Oct. 21, the Farm Bureau took the position that if a 28-acre easement were placed upon the property's western and northern sides, they would take a neutral position on it.
The group noted that it gave consideration to the fact that the project was an educational facility and the easement would limit future growth. Still, the Farm Bureau urged the college to consider other options within the urban growth boundaries identified in the Lake County General Plan.
Supervisor Anthony Farrington, in whose district both sites are located, came out against Merritt Road also, while his supervisorial colleague Rob Brown supported the site, which is about half a mile from downtown Kelseyville.
At the Lakeport City Council meeting this Tuesday, Nov. 3, staff will update the council and ask for direction on the city's participation in providing utilities and other project improvements for the Parallel Drive site.
A report to the council from Redevelopment Manager Richard Knoll also mentions the offer the college has made for the property.
On Oct. 22, city staff met with college representatives to discuss several key issues, including constructing a $550,000 water main – the cost of which is proposed to be shared 50-50 between the college and city, according to Knoll's report.
They also considered an easement through the property, fees and permits, right-of-way agreements and a memorandum of understanding between the college and the city, a draft of which will be presented Tuesday.
As soon as it became clear that Hanson's Merritt Road property has slipped from the No. 1 position, Olson said the Kelseyville committee immediately put forward an 18-acre property across the street and next to Kelseyville Lumber as a backup. They're not sure it's being considered, he said.
The turn of events appeared to be a disappointment for Hanson, whose land hadn't been for sale until college officials expressed an interest.
“I feel grateful to and have a lot of empathy for all the acutely disappointed county wide supporters of the Merritt Road site,” Hanson said Saturday. “Kelseyville, as usual, revealed that the town continues to have incredible leadership and community spirit.”
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It's not fair to lump these hard working folks in with politicians and lobbyists.