LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors has given its support to a regional transportation hub proposed for Clearlake and has agreed to sell a portion of county-owned property to Lake Transit for the project.
At its Jan. 14 meeting, the board unanimously approved a resolution declaring a county property surplus for land at 7175 South Center Drive and authorizing the sale of a portion of the property to the Lake County Transit Authority, and also agreed to send a letter in support of the project for a grant application.
The current bus depot is located in the parking lot between Big 5 and Walmart and is not a safe or adequate bus depot to meet the needs of Lake Transit Authority, according to a report to the board from Supervisor Bruno Sabatier and Supervisor Moke Simon.
The report said the county has surveyed and split off the portion of the property that Lake Transit Authority for the development of a bus depot. The assessor's office is in the process of creating a new APN number for the parcel.
“This conversation’s been happening for a while,” said Sabatier.
He said Lake Transit was, at that point, working on a grant application, with a Jan. 17 deadline, for funds to begin construction of the bus depot.
The Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program grant would fund a regional transit center as well as expanded infrastructure and services linking Lake Transit to out-of-county urban areas, based on the draft support letter.
Sabatier said that, to have access to the grant, Lake Transit needed a letter of intent for the sale of the property from the county.
He said the grant was to address greenhouse gas emissions, with public transit seen as a solution. Sabatier said the chances of Lake Transit receiving the grant look good.
Not many rural areas are building these types of facilities, said Sabatier, noting that there are plans that would enable trips from Lake County to Shasta County and to San Francisco.
“This is an interregional Northern California transit center, which would be really beneficial for us as a whole,” he said.
The new transit center is in the highest density residential area in the entire county – known as the Chapman Track or the Avenues – where about 5,000 people live. Sabatier said the area has access to the courthouse, schools – including Woodland Community College’s Lake County Campus – and the shopping center.
Sabatier pointed out that, during the county’s emergencies, Lake Transit offered rides for free to evacuees. He said the organization has been a good partner with the city of Clearlake and the county of Lake.
To get the project to that point, Sabatier said it had taken the efforts of several county departments, the city of Clearlake and Lake Transit.
In addition to the bus depot, there will be office space for Lake Transit and park and ride spots, Sabatier said.
Many security measures have been added as Konocti Education Center and Woodland Community College don’t want it to attract nuisances for staff and studies. Sabatier said those measures include lighting and security cameras, and there are talks about having a security guard there at least during the day.
Simon said the project will help ease the traffic that flows in the area and is a “good step forward,” especially as the transit company continues to grow.
Sabatier said plans also include seeking to add electric and hydrogen buses to Lake Transit’s fleet.
The board unanimously approved the resolution declaring surplus property and sending the letter of support. Sabatier asked to get the letter and resolution signed that same day in order to make the Jan. 17 grant deadline.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story stated that the property was city-owned, which of course it is not, because the Board of Supervisors voted to sell a portion of it. The error was inadvertent and has been corrected.
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Supervisors support transit hub project
- Elizabeth Larson
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