LAKEPORT – At a special board meeting Thursday afternoon the Lake County Board of Supervisors took additional steps as part of an action plan to keep quagga and zebra mussels from invading and destroying the ecosystems of local lakes.

Close to 30 people crowded into the Courthouse Museum's upstairs courtroom – since the board chambers at the courthouse were taken – for the two-hour meeting. Supervisor Rob Brown was unable to attend.

By meeting's end the board had formally approved purchase of four portable decontamination stations, valued at $21,646 each, which should take five to six weeks to get here once ordered.

They also approved eight additional recommendations for state-level action, which includes sending letters to the several state agencies calling for, among other things, prioritizing the formation of the California Agencies Team to form an intrastate prevention strategy, calling for quarantine of infected water bodies, a boat registration fee to fund invasive species programs and adoption of a statewide clean dry boat policy by all state agencies working on water bodies.

Water Resources Deputy Director Pam Francis commended the supervisors for being one of the most proactive boards in Northern California in its efforts to keep the mussels out and educate the public.

At the board's regular Tuesday meeting members approved 13 local actions. Francis briefed the board to let them know that Water Resources staff had begun working immediately on all of those directives, which included public education and outreach efforts and drawing up the paperwork to purchase decontamination stations.

Francis also reported that County Counsel Anita Grant is drafting a proposed emergency ordinance to implement a countywide boat inspection fee, which is expected to go to the board next Tuesday.

"I hope that the BOS is satisfied that we have done our due diligence," said Francis.

She added that she was "astonished" when the board adopted all 13 proposed actions, believing they might only adopt some. "If I looked stunned I was actually quite pleased."

Considerable time was spent discussing how the county would deal with a variety of scenarios: How can they ensure that out-of-county visitors have their boats inspected and receive a sticker signifying their boat is clean? Where should the decontamination stations be located? What were the best methods for educating the public?

Choosing locations for the inspection and decontamination stations was a particular point of contention. Supervisor Anthony Farrington wanted to focus on "choke points" along major highways, where inspections and, if need be, boat cleaning could take place. That would protect the county's perimeter, which he said made more sense than directing boaters to decontamination stations within the communities.

Not every boat would need to be decontaminated, said Francis. She reported that the Department of Fish and Game inspected 85,000 boats, finding 183 infested with the quagga mussel and 8,000 more than needed to have live wells and other area cleaned due to concerns.

"What is really critical is the inspection process," she said.

She agreed that locating inspection stations at key county entry ways would be most effective. Whether or not they could also locate a decontamination unit along highways, due to needs for fresh water and places to dispose of the water used to clean the boats, is still undetermined.

The decontamination stations the county is purchasing have the capacity to hold water for an hour and a quarter's worth of boat washing. Francis said a typical bass boat takes 30 minutes to thoroughly clean. Water Resources is talking with the county's Special Districts division to decide how best to dispose of the water that's used in the process.

Lakeport Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Melissa Fulton said stickers to use in the boat inspection can be prepared in less than three weeks, and the inspection program can be implemented quickly.

Besides out-of-county boats, there is the issue of local boat owners who have their boats inspected, receive stickers and then take their boats out of the area. Fulton said there will need to be an "honors system" for those boat owners to get reinspected before putting their boats back on the lake. "Who's going to keep track of us coming and going?"

Hillside Honda in Lakeport has already signified its willingness to host one of the decontamination units, said Francis. Farrington wanted Water Resources to approach other businesses, including Twin Pine Casino in Middletown and merchants at Kit's Corner in Kelseyville to have stations there as well.

Fulton said those businesses are being approached. "There's a lot of effort going on concurrent here."

She said by Tuesday she hopes to have a report that will raise the comfort level of board members by offering specifics of how the prevention program would work, including providing a list of 60 certified boat inspectors.

Businesswoman Nancy Ruzicka, a member of the newly formed Clear Lake Foundation, told the board she believed the county could seal its borders with a "no sticker, no trespassing on the lake" approach that used advertising and volunteers from service clubs to get the word out.

Supervisor Jeff Smith said he felt the sticker program was the only thing that could work. "What we were faced with on Tuesday was the possibility of closing Clear Lake.”

Dr. Paul Marchand called the quagga mussel "an environmental crisis," which can cause rapid and precipitous change. "One slip and you've lost the whole lake."

Turning to a medical analogy, Marchand compared the mussels to an epidemic which may initially hit the lake very hard but drop off after 20 years. He likened it to the worldwide Spanish flu epidemic of 1918, which could have been stopped with the right treatment but wasn't. That flu outbreak killed millions of people around the globe.

"It's important for us to act swiftly and appropriately," he said, which included starting public education immediately.

Farrington said the Clear Lake Foundation is offering to help the county with the quagga mussel outreach effort, considering all of the items being put on the plate of county staff.

Supervisor Denise Rushing asked if they were offering money. Farrington said they planned to try to help raise money, and Big Valley Rancheria Environmental Director Sarah Ryan, who attends the foundation meetings on behalf of Tribal Chair Valentino Jack, said they're aggressively seeking funding and support.

Clearlake Oaks resident Chuck Lamb expressed his concern to the board about his understanding that Farrington had promised the foundation county money for a quagga prevention program, according to a recent statement made by Lakeport City Manager and Foundation President Jerry Gillham.

As a taxpayer, Lamb said, "I would have a real problem with my money being commingled with the Clear Lake Foundation."

He added that he is concerned about "funneling" of funds, and suggested before the foundation "muscled in" everyone needed to understand the situation better. Lamb added that if the foundation can raise the funds to help, they should give the money to the county.

Rushing emphasized that Lake County won't relinquish its responsibility as the lead agency. She said she believed public agencies should lead public-private partnerships.

Lamb said he understood that Farrington was on the foundation's board, and if so asked if he would recuse himself from any board votes dealing with the foundation. Lamb said he saw a potential for conflict of interest.

Farrington said he would recuse himself in such situations. "I think that's a no-brainer."

He said he didn't know what money Gillham was talking about, and said no conspiracy was at work. "Maybe he should use better verbiage,” he said of Gillham.

Smith said he didn't think Farrington would have to recuse himself unless he was receiving funds directly from the foundation, an assessment with which Grant agreed.

The board approved an ad hoc committee to work on the specifics of how to deploy the county's quagga mussel prevention program. The group is scheduled to begin meeting Friday.

Members will include Supervisors Rob Brown and Jeff Smith, Fulton, businessman Bill Brunetti, Clear Lake Advisory Subcommittee Chair Jim Hilton, Gary Jolley of Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 8-8, Debra Sommerfield of the county's marketing program, Sheriff Rod Mitchell, District Attorney Jon Hopkins, Lakeport City Councilman Ron Bertsch, Clearlake City Administrator Dale Neiman, Sarah Ryan of Big Valley and Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 8-8 vessel inspector and former Napa County Supervisor Bob White.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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