LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport City Council on Tuesday honored the city's firefighters and approved a project to repair storm damage on Lakeshore Boulevard.
At the start of the meeting, Mayor Marc Spillman invited up the Lakeport Fire Protection District Board, staff and Lakeport Volunteer Firefighters Association members to present them with a proclamation honoring their contributions.
The proclamation recognized not just their response to all manner of emergencies but their efforts to raise funds for much-needed safety equipment and scholarships, as well as their contributions in such capacities as youth sports coaches, and 4-H and Future Farmers of America leaders.
“... The Lakeport Volunteer Firefighters Association proudly strives to continue an incredible tradition of selfless service, hard work, and dedication, ensuring that the firefighters may safely provide the help necessary to keep our community out of harm's way,” the proclamation read in part.
In other business, Community Development Director Kevin Ingram took to the council a request to approve the construction contract award with Granite Construction Co. for the Lakeshore Boulevard Emergency Storm Damage Project.
Ingram said the damage – from Sayre Street to Jones Street – was done in 2007. It included undermining the existing slope protection, and damage to a small portion of the existing curb and gutter and adjacent pavement area. In its current condition the road is susceptible to future high water events.
Ingram said the project has taken nine years to get to this point because of a considerable amount of environmental review due to the lakeshore location, and permits that were required from state and federal agencies.
He said the goal is to have the work completed at the end of October or start of November when the water levels are low.
The work will consist of restoring the shoreline, removing the existing concrete and repairing it with engineered riprap. There also will be vegetation plantings to stabilize the soil, Ingram said.
Additionally, Ingram said the council could choose to also accept an alternative with a 4-foot asphalt path, at a cost of as much as $24,000, which will be located in an already existing informal pathway and will make the area safer for walkers.
He said staff was confident that the path – which had been included in the bid documents – would be covered by the same 88-percent ratio of government funding as the rest of the project.
The council voted 4-0 to approve the project with the asphalt path. Councilman Kenny Parlet was absent for the meeting.
Also on Tuesday, the council got an update from Jennifer Strong, on behalf of the Lakeport Rotary, regarding the Konocti Challenge bike ride, which takes place Oct. 1.
Strong, who for the past 11 years has been the ride's director, said 85 percent of the event's riders come from outside of Lake County, and most of those from within a three-hour radius.
As a result, the event tends to fill up local accommodations, she said. Last year it brought in more than 1,000 visitors to the community. A slightly smaller number is anticipated this year due to the Clayton fire.
She said the Lake Area Rotary Club Association, or LARCA, kicked off its fire-related fundraising at last year's Konocti Challenge, which took place just weeks after the Valley fire began. To date, Strong said LARCA has raised $850,000 for fire relief.
Spillman said his brother and sister-in-law love the ride and won't miss it. They travel from Crescent City every year to take part in the event. “It's a first class ride.”
In another presentation, Dan Buffalo, who left his job as finance director with the city earlier this year to take a job in Ukiah, returned on Tuesday night with his family to receive the Government Finance Officers Association Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting.
Buffalo thanked the council and staff for inviting him back to receive the award, noting he was thrilled the city had received it for the second year in a row.
He said that, hopefully, the take-home message is that Lakeport has a very standard for financial reporting.
The council and staff gave Buffalo a standing ovation for his work.
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Lakeport City Council honors firefighters, approves storm damage repair project
- Elizabeth Larson
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