Clearlake has not improved in any way
Disincorporate the city? As a property owner for nearly 30 years and just outside the city limits, I am unable to vote for anything that pertains to the city. I have owned and remodeled many homes within the city limits in those years and thereby increased tax revenue to the city.
As I see it the “city” under all the past city officials has not improved in any manner nor has it even kept up with Lower Lake, Middletown, Kelseyville etc. All the city buildings with the exception of the City Hall have been a disgrace.
Take a look in back of City Hall. Roads are a joke with virtually no maintenance. Code enforcement/abatement is a joke with junk vehicles and trash all over for months and years.
Disincorporate? No-brainer, yes! There is one major item that should be addressed immediately by the citizens: Austin”s Resort property is redevelopment property and in reality I believe it is owned by the citizens of Clearlake.
When the city acquired the property many years back it evicted the tenants. And to my knowledge it was done illegially, which cost the taxpayers money. Now the city officials are attempting to sell the same Austin”s Resort property. Question is, are the city officials “qualified” to sell a multi-million dollar property? Qualified to negotiate in the best interest of the citizens? Qualified to look for highest and best use of the site? Answerable/liable if there is a “error” in the sale?
I am a real estate Broker, licensed for 28 years and dealing in real estate since the 1960s. I know that I am not qualified to market this property!
Do you Clearlake citizens think that possibly the property should be put on the “open” market by a qualified Broker that has knowledge in the development/resort field and will be paid accordingly upon sale or lease of the property? Should said Broker be picked from a field of three to five submitting brokers and determined upon public review of their qualifications?
It”s your city. Thanks for your time.
Norm Winters
Clearlake Park
Dissatisfied with Redbud
I was admitted into Redbud Hospital for a major surgery. Due to the failure of their equipment for a biopsy, I am now forced to endure another major surgery, which obviously will not take place at this hospital. While I was there, I was not given my daily medications nor was I exercised as per doctor”s instructions.
My bedding was never changed, nor were my incisions checked. The room and restroom were not cleaned during my stay at the hospital. The hospital is filthy and the employees which I had contact with were uncaring and very unprofessional excluding the surgical staff, the registration staff and the preparation surgical staff. This is unacceptable. I hope these concerns are taken seriously and corrected.
Barbara Carver
Hidden Valley Lake
Adios and goodbye to the City of Clearlake RDA
We have finally laid to rest this City”s Redevelopment Plan (RDA)! It”s over!
Last year the City of Clearlake sold a bond of $17 million and immediately loaned it to the RDA.
Part of the money was used for paying off past debts, which, because of their financial blight, they were unable to do.
This is a little like paying off a debt to one credit card company by borrowing from another company, thus putting one self further in debt!
Now, to place a rose on the coffin for RDA, the City put forth a plan (which passed thru the council by a 4 to 1 vote) to sell 61 land parcels for $1.5133 million to the RDA. The RDA does not have to make any payments until after 2010. At this time, with accrued interest, the debt will be $2,133, 870 plus interest during payoff period.
Putting together these figures puts the RDA to a deficit of $20 million at a time when it could not payoff only 6 million of debt!
With all of this in mind, does anyone believe that any lending agency would take a chance on RDA with this record?
One might ask, why the City doesn”t sell them?
There are still arguments against this rip-off, but the old argument “You can”t fight City Hall” still stands.
Adios and goodbye.
Bill Shields
Clearlake
Racing with the moon
I was a young man when first we met. She held for me, a beauty beyond my descriptive powers. My youthful exuberance held a perennial optimism that the love affair would last forever.
Or was I racing with the moon?
As the insidious clock continues ticking, a line here ? a slight bulge there and perhaps a little snow on the roof. But, the love is there, and though my optimism wanes somewhat, the bedding together continues.
I know I”m racing with the moon!
Turn back the clock. Not for me. I must soon leave and she will remain behind. Perhaps to thrill a new lover. It is beyond me and I must now languish in a bordello of despair.
I”d rather be racing with the moon!
Her name you ask? Her name is as beautiful as the surface of her waters.
Clearlake.
Roy Simons
Clearlake
Breed fanciers condemn shelter animals to death
Breeders have killed the bill that would have required them to pay a small fee for being so thoughtless as to add to the dog and cat overpopulation crisis.
What a perfect time to coin a new definition of the term “responsible breeder.” Yes, they are “responsible” ? for the deaths of animals who lost their chance to be placed in a home because some “breed fancier” insisted on adding another litter to the equation.
Lisa Lange
Senior Vice President of Communications
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)
Don”t forget to write!
The Clear Lake Observer*American welcomes letters responding to articles and opinions that have appeared in this newspaper, as well as on topics of general interest. Letters can be sent to letters@clearlakeobserver.com or mailed to PO Box 6200, Clearlake, CA 95422. Pleases include complete name, address and telephone number.
