LAKEPORT — An evening forum for Lakeport city staff to hear what the community has to say about the possibility of hosting BoardStock 2007 at Library Park in August will precede this Tuesday”s City Council meeting. After a Wednesday morning discussion raised concerns over the event”s cost and its possible effect on the city, Acting City Manager Richard Knoll arranged for the council to meet at 5 p.m. to allow a forum for public input.
“The intent of this community workshop is to explain how BoardStock may be carried out in Lakeport,” said Knoll. City staff will have information about the preliminary concept, the dates and hours, event layout and operation. According to a press release, the public is encouraged to offer ideas and express concerns.
Since only three City Council members will be present next week, and all three may not be able to attend the community meeting, Knoll noted it is not an official council meeting.
When Knoll learned that BoardStock was canceled at Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa because of problems with underage drinking, Knoll was inspired to explore the possibility of hosting the event in Lakeport. He called a meeting Feb. 21 at city hall with city and county officials to begin gathering information.
Mayor Roy Parmentier said dollar figures were discussed in a subsequent meeting on Wednesday. Parmentier said he was optimistic, but raised concerns about the cost to the city.
“We need all the business we can get, but I don”t want to see our city ruined in the process or our budget put in jeopardy because of one event,” said Parmentier.
Preliminary estimates put the city”s cost around $7,500; Lakeport Police Department”s figure was $15,000. Knoll said the cost for the Lakeport Fire Protection District”s involvement would be $10,000, based on what Kelseyville Fire Department”s expenses were in previous years.
“The biggest issue in a situation like this is how do we generate revenue,” said Knoll.
Ideas offered Wednesday included vendor sponsorships, food and beverage sales and the possibility of charging onlookers for prime, shaded bleacher seats for the MotorCross and water events. The city also receives 10 percent of the transient occupancy taxes generated by the city”s motels.
But a need for public input became apparent, along with a need for city officials to make its ideas known to the public, said Knoll.
Lakeport resident Jan Bruns, former owner of Lake Vacation Rentals, shared her own troubling BoardStock experience with approximately 15 people in attendance at the Wednesday morning meeting.
“I am concerned because as the owner of Lake Vacation Rentals, I experienced BoardStock for two years, and the client?le are 16- to 24-year-olds who have lots of money and want to party and have no respect for property, and things could get out of hand,” said Bruns.
She rented out about 40 homes around the county, some of those to BoardStock attendees the first year it was hosted at KHRS. Bruns said they caused damage to the homes, and she consequently decided not to rent to them the following year.
Bruns added that she is not totally opposed to the idea of having BoardStock in Lakeport, if the city can find a way to make it an alcohol-free, family-based event.
Promoter Rob Stimmel said that was just what he hoped it would be as well. Most of his sporting events end around 4 p.m., with score tallies and awards ceremonies lasting not much longer than that.
“If they (the city) want me, then I”d love to bring them a world-class event,” said Stimmel. He added that BoardStock is televised in over 120 countries around the world, saying the event would bring positive attention to Lake County.
When KHRS manager Greg Bennett told Stimmel that the resort would not be hosting BoardStock, creator and promoter Stimmel started looking at other potential sites in Lake County as well as out of county.
Among other options, he said, are two cities in Arizona and the city of Stockton, where he said he received a letter of recommendation from law enforcement after staging the event there for three years.
The event began in Lake Shasta outside of Redding with around 1,500 attendees, said Stimmel. Between its inception in 1996 and 2001 the event grew too big for the U.S. Forestry Service to handle with 10,000 people, 353 houseboats and more than 700 tournament boats in one cove, said Stimmel.
It was precisely because of the event becoming “an alcohol party” during its years in Lake Shasta that Stimmel decided to close all of the sporting events at sundown in more recent years.
“I”d love to keep the event here,” said Stimmel. He implored the public to contact Lakeport City Council and the Lake County Board of Supervisors to offer input into the matter, whether they support having BoardStock in Lakeport or not.
Knoll said the community feedback from the meeting will be used “in part by the City Council to decide whether or not to go forward with the event.”
The community meeting concerning BoardStock will be held at 5 p.m. in City Council chambers in Lakeport City Hall at 225 Park Street.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com.
