LAKEPORT, Calif. – On Tuesday evening the Lakeport City Council heard a detailed report on the county's weed abatement efforts in areas including the city's shoreline, and also approved a plan to participate in the August “National Night Out.”
Mayor Tom Engstrom was absent for the Tuesday meeting, which was presided over by Mayor Pro Tem Stacey Mattina.
Scott De Leon, the county's Water Resources and Public Works director, gave the council an update on the weed abatement efforts taking place on Clear Lake, which began for the summer season last month.
He said the program started in 2011, when the Board of Supervisors set aside $1.3 million for weed and algae abatement.
In the first year the county spent more than $500,000. At that point, the efficacy for handling algae wasn't what they had hoped for and in 2012 the county tried some different techniques for algae abatement. In the end, De Leon said algae proved to be a larger problem than the county could handle, and the board directed him to focus on weeds.
Two contractors – Aquatic Environments and Pestmaster Services – are working on about 207 acres of surface area of the lake this summer, at a cost of about $274,000, De Leon said.
The majority of the treatment being done along Lakeport's shoreline is mechanical harvesting, with some areas treated with chemicals due to the presence of hydrilla, a new patch of which was found by the Skylark Hotel, De Leon said. State rules don't allow for hydrilla to be mechanically harvested
The contractors are cutting boat lanes and a shoreline lane along the outer edges of private docks and piers to help boats move out to the deeper areas of the lake without getting props caught in the weeds, De Leon explained.
The program didn't get started until later in June this year, De Leon said. “We weren't sure we were going to be able to do the program.”
That was because earlier this year the California Department of Fish and Wildlife began a yearlong review period of a petition to list the Clear Lake hitch as an endangered species. During that review period, the hitch are afforded the same protections as a listed species, De Leon said.
The county had to work with the Department of Fish and Wildlife to make sure that an environmental document for weed abatement the county completed in the 2006-07 fiscal year was adequate. Ultimately the state found that the county's plan addressed the hitch, but De Leon said that determination took time.
At the same time, weeds started growing earlier and were farther along by the time the county's contractors were able to get going to clear boat lanes before the busy July 4 holiday weekend, he said.
De Leon said Lakeport is having issues with algae this year, with extremely unusual weather likely a factor. He said there have been record hot temperatures in June and July, as well as unseasonably cool temperatures and strange wind patterns.
He said an east wind was blowing in Lakeport on Tuesday afternoon, with white caps on the lake. “That is an extremely unusual wind event for mid-July in the afternoon,” he said, adding, “For some reason things are changing.”
The wind from the east pushes algae into the shoreline, where boat docks trap it, giving rise to algae mats. De Leon said the wind usually blows out of the west, causing algae to gather in the Oaks Arm of the lake and near Clearlake, where algae problems often are much worse than in Lakeport.
He said it's important to keep the water moving to help break up algae. “We just are at the mercy of what nature brings us.”
De Leon also addressed rumors of a new algae being found in the lake.
It's not new, he said; it's a form of blue green algae, or cyanobacteria, confirmed through a testing sample. Called phormidium, it's always been in the lake but hasn't been predominant until this year.
De Leon said cyanobacteria can create toxins, but he said such toxins are very low in Clear Lake and often are not detectable. “The lake isn't producing toxins like other lakes do.”
He also explained to the council that weeds, as a part of the ecosystem, are important in their own right. They help deal with nutrients and have beneficial uses, although they present problems for boating.
“Our strategy has been to provide access to high use areas and historical recreational areas and then let the rest of the weeds grow,” said De Leon.
Councilman Kenny Parlet said Clear Lake is a statewide, if not a worldwide, treasure, and he suggested that local officials needed to advocate larger government agencies for more money. “It's way too big for us to manage.”
Saying that Clear Lake is an important economic engine, Parlet wanted to know if there was a way to advocate in a concerted way for more resources.
In response, De Leon suggested putting things in perspective.
He said the quagga mussel is probably the greatest threat to navigation, economies and environment, and it's already been found in Southern California.
De Leon said the state thinks it's doing a great job controlling the movement of quagga mussels, “And they aren't doing anything.”
He continued, “So when you ask me if there is a way to get help, I'm going to tell you from my perspective, no, it's going to require a whole lot of effort from way up high in some state agency.”
A few years ago the Board of Supervisors declared a local emergency and tried to get other counties to do the same thing and get state recognition for the quagga threat. De Leon said about half of the state's 58 counties bought into the effort. He and Supervisor Anthony Farrington then went to a meeting of rural counties, where they were barely given any time on the agenda to discuss it.
“We can't seem to find the money to prevent it. And that's the challenge,” said De Leon, who apologized for being a pessimist.
“Give it to me straight,” said Parlet.
De Leon responded by saying there isn't a big pot of money to help the county address its weed and algae issues.
Councilman Martin Scheel asked how close the county is on the Middle Creek Restoration Project, meant to restore more than 1,650 acres of former wetlands on the Northshore to Clear lake.
The US Army Corps of Engineers is the lead agency, said De Leon. While a lot of effort has been put into it by county officials and a consultant, George Speake, hired to help the supervisors with the project, and while it has generated interest and momentum, even then, it just crawls forward.
De Leon suggested to the council that there needs to be consideration for marketing Clear Lake a little differently than it has in the past, recognizing that at some times of the year the lake is not in good condition.
He said the county needs to recognize it has a season, and encourage people to come when the lake is good. “There are times when it doesn't behave nicely.”
However, De Leon pointed out that even during times of the year when the lake isn't in as good of shape, a small percentage of the overall lake is negatively impacted, and a boat ride out into the lake can allow a person to see spectacular water where swimming or any activity can take place.
“It's not Lake Tahoe and it's not a swimming pool, and it will never be that way,” De Leon said.
If the county has money next year, they will do another program. “We'll do whatever the available funding I have will allow me to do,” he said, noting that without such programs conditions will just get worse.
Appreciation for cooperating agencies, agreement to take part in 'National Night Out'
Following De Leon's presentation, Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen gave the council an update on operations during the city's July 4 celebration.
He acknowledged several outside agencies who sent personnel to assist Lakeport Police that day, including Clearlake Police, California State Parks, Lake County Sheriff's Office, California Highway Patrol, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Lake County Probation, and Lakeport Fire and Chief Ken Wells.
In addition, Rasmussen said Lakeport Grocery Outlet donated a significant amount of drinks and supplies to the command center that was set up in the council chambers in Lakeport City Hall that day. Rasmussen previously gave the business a citizens commendation for its generosity.
He also thanked Councilman Marc Spillman and Scheel for stopping in at the command center.
“It worked out well,” Rasmussen said of the day's operations.
Scheel said people could see officers coming and going from City Hall throughout the day, which he suggested helped set the tone for the event.
Also on Tuesday, City Manager Margaret Silveira took to the council a proposal to cancel the regularly scheduled Aug. 6 meeting and instead take part in National Night Out, which will be held in the parking lot of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on 16th Street that evening.
The annual event, which began across the nation in 1984, is meant to raise awareness of crime prevention and community policing, she said.
Silveira said it will provide an opportunity for safety awareness outreach.
Staff suggested having the city council and staff on hand to meet with the community at the event, where the Lakeport Kiwanis have agreed to cook up the free hot dogs the city will provide. Lakeport Fire Chief Ken Wells is planning to bring a fire truck and fire personnel, Silveira said.
“Sounds fun,” said Mattina. “We've been wanting to do this forever.”
The council approved the proposal 4-0.
Council members present also unanimously approved a resolution brought forward by Public Works Director Mark Brannigan to amend the sewer user rates for commercial customers volume charge, increasing the allotted consumption amount from eight units to 10. The council had discussed the matter at its June 18 meeting and directed Brannigan to come back with the resolution.
Residential users have a flat rate, but commercial customers have to pay more after topping eight units, Brannigan said. He said the higher sewer charges were being assessed to customers whose water usage was not going into the sewer. He said the fiscal impact will be a loss of $16,435 in revenue.
Parlet said he thought it was a good move, suggesting that the lost revenue actually was money that was coming from commercial customers who shouldn't have to pay the fees in the first place.
“I think it's a great move and I think it shows we're trying to help advocate for business in any way we can,” Parlet said.
Parlet moved to adopt the resolution, which was approved 4-0.
In other business at the Tuesday evening meeting, on its consent agenda the council approved a contract for interim city manager services with the law firm Colantuono & Levin. Silveira introduced to the council attorney David Ruderman, who sat in on the meeting in the city attorney's spot.
At its meeting two weeks to the day before, the council had emerged from closed session to announce its unanimous vote to terminate the employment of longtime City Attorney Steve Brookes, who was in the audience for Tuesday night's meeting.
Also on Tuesday, Dennis Rollins, chair of the Westside Community Park Committee gave the council an update on the park, where phase two is nearing completion.
He said the baseball field needs a mound, and they want to get a drinking fountain and trash cans for the area.
A July 25 ribbon cutting will commemorate the new “Jane Barnes Field” sign in honor of a longtime youth advocate and park benefactor, Rollins said.
On Aug. 3 the committee will host the annual “Grillin' on the Green” event to raise funds for the park's development, according to Rollins.
Wilda Shock, chair of the Lakeport Economic Development Advisory Committee, gave an update on LEDAC's activities the first six months of this year.
The group – which includes residents of Lakeport as well as other parts of the county – is focusing on city branding, marketing efforts, looking at a regional economic development plan and helping to find future uses for the city's historic Carnegie Library.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.