LUCERNE, Calif. — After several years of winding its way through a government regulatory process, the Lucerne Harbor Park dredging project has received final approval.

At its Oct. 1 meeting, the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to award a $211,700 contract to Marz Engineering of Ukiah, one of two firms to submit bids for the project.

Public Services Director Lars Ewing said the bids from Marz Engineering and Steelhead Constructors JV of Redding, which bid $1,097,777, were opened on Aug. 28.

Ewing noted the “significant discrepancy” between the two bids, explaining that his staff communicated with Marz Engineering to ensure that they had factored in prevailing wage and labor law compliance.

A labor organization contacted the county to ask about the bid’s adherence to prevailing wage, Ewing said, adding he had communicated directly with Marz about that concern.

The company included with their bid submittal the mandatory prevailing wage and related labor requirements certification document, which Ewing said established the company’s acknowledgment that it had to pay prevailing wage and conform to other labor laws.

Ewing said the project is fully funded through Budget Unit 1781, Special Projects. Money from the sale of the Lucerne Hotel was set aside to cover the project.

Board members acknowledged the project was a long time in coming and they are looking forward to seeing it take place.

Supervisor Michael Green, who said he was excited to see the project move forward, noted there was a tribal monitoring agreement with Robinson Rancheria which complicated the process. He asked Ewing if it was a model for other dredging projects.

Ewing said if it was used as a model, it would be for lessons learned and what not to do for a project.

The project originally was put out with a request for review with a proposed categorical exemption to the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, Ewing said.

It’s not abnormal to have tribal monitoring and archaeological monitoring above and beyond that, which is what there is in the case of this project, said Ewing.

“By and large this is not an overly complex project. It was the process, I would suggest that on this, that we can learn from. But I would stop short of saying that it’s a model. Every project is somewhat unique,” he said.

“This is going to be great for Lucerne. It’s great to get boats in the harbor and interacting with the shore, and I just look forward to seeing this project moving forward very much,” said Green.

The project has been in the works for five years. Northshore Supervisor EJ Crandell, whose tribe has the monitoring agreement, tried to explain the delays, beginning with the project starting in 2019, then the COVID-19 pandemic beginning the following year. In 2021, the categorical exemption occurred.

He said there was monitoring and they found “a situation” that slowed the process, an apparent reference to the discovery of an archaeological site. There also was changeover in Community Development Department heads, he said, thanking Ewing for being steadfast.

Board Chair Bruno Sabatier said he doesn’t usually get excited in agenda review, but that was the case when he saw the harbor dredging project being brought forward for the meeting.

“This is exciting. Anybody who’s passed by, especially during the drought, could see the amount of buildup that’s occurred within Lucerne Harbor. This is going to be great. It has been a long time coming. Hiccups happen unfortunately and some of them are out of our control,” said Sabatier.

He said he was happy they found the pathway to get to that point, and he said he hoped that whatever initial study review they’ve done can be used for Lucerne Harbor in the future, as he knows it’s going to happen again in that area.

Ewing said he can communicate with Water Resources and the two cities on the maintenance dredging side of things.

He said it was the first time the harbor was being dredged since its construction. “So there is a pathway through permitting agencies if it’s truly maintenance dredging, if you continually perform this.”

That’s something to consider as opposed to a one-time, standalone project that has different requirements, Ewing said.

Sabatier said the project has potential for economic impact, adding it will be helpful for the Northshore.

Green said the Blue Ribbon Committee for the Rehabilitation of Clear Lake had given a shout out to the Lucerne Harbor dredging project.

He said the committee pointed out that among other benefits of the project, it will take out an estimated two tons of phosphorus and about 0.4 tons of nitrogen by dredging out sediment. That’s roughly equivalent to 2% of the annual input of phosphorus of Clear Lake.

“It may sound like just a little bit, but part of what we know about water quality in Clear Lake is there is a lot of phosphorus present in those deposited sediments,” Green said.

While it’s probably not the best way to scrape the entire lake of phosphorus, there is a tangible benefit called out by the committee, Green said.

Crandell moved to approve the project, which Supervisor Jessica Pyska seconded and the board approved 5-0.

Project needed for several years

The need for the project has been evident for several years, as an island of sediment has built up within the harbor, making a portion of it impassable.

In January 2019 the Lucerne Area Town Hall passed a resolution asking the county to spend a small portion of the $2.5 million sales price from the Lucerne Hotel to dredge the harbor.

Then-County Administrative Officer Carol Huchingson pushed back on the proposal, which the Board of Supervisors ultimately approved in the 2019-20 budget with $250,000 set aside for the project. The project’s estimated price tag later rose to $350,000.

The project ended up being held over for several years.

In November 2020, Public Services had to close the boat launch at the park as a result of the sediment buildup, coupled with the low water level. County officials at that time had estimated the dredging project would be finished by the end of 2021.

At its June 11 meeting, the supervisors approved the plans and specifications for the project as part of the consent agenda.

As followup to the Oct. 1 meeting, Lake County News asked Ewing about the history of the harbor and its construction.

“The record drawings I have show construction/dredging of the launching facility in 1965, followed by a 1977 site improvement project that included construction of the parking lot, restroom, floating docks, landscaping, and other site improvements (but no dredging),” Ewing said in an email.

Asked about when the project could begin, Ewing said, “I anticipate this project will start no later than the end of October. The work window is between Oct. 15 and Dec. 31, to protect the Clear Lake hitch.”

Ewing said that while the project is not an overly complicated one, “it certainly has had more than its fair share of obstacles.”

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.