Denise Rockenstein–Staff writer
CLEARLAKE — Requests submitted by Lake County Community Action Agency (LCCAA) were presented to the Clearlake City Council on Sept. 13. The requests concerned a waiver of fees for use of the Clearlake Senior/Community Center and permission to perform upgrade work at the “Hot Spot” youth center, respectively.
The council had a tough time with the request for waiving the fees for use of the senior/community center. Discussion of the item resulted with Councilmember Joyce Overton walking out of the meeting. Had she stayed, she would have witnessed the tremendous display of generosity that resulted in $630 in donations for the organization.
“The generosity of the community and the gratitude that we have that people donated the money out of their own pocket for us to able to secure the deposit for the senior center for the youth programs was really overwhelming to me,” said Georgina Lehne, LCCAA executive director. “I just really can”t thank those people enough for stepping up to the plate and helping us with that because we are still trying to figure out ways to recoup the money (lost in the Blue Heron Rally) so that was just wonderful.”
LCCAA is planning to host a dinner, silent auction and dancing event in order to make up the deficit it saw in holding the Blue Heron Rally, which was held on Aug. 18 in support of the Lake County Youth Center (LCYC) for youth programs. Overton, who is president of the LCYC, has attributed the rally”s poor outcome to excessive police presence during the event.
Following the Blue Heron Rally, Overton reported to the Clear Lake Observer-American newsroom that due to the excessive police presence, several riders who were in Clearlake to contribute to the community turned around and went home, which she had said resulted in a severe financial loss for the event.
Discussion of the waiver among the council Thursday night reflected upon a decision made several months ago by the members to offer a standard 50-percent discount to all non-profits for use of the center, which the council had voted unanimously to accept.
From her chair at the council bench, Overton expressed a desire to make an exception to the policy. “You have to look at the circumstances,” she said. “We could get into details but we don”t want to do that.”
Mayor Judy Thein spoke of the council”s ongoing support of youth in the community, both individually and as a panel. “It has been voiced in the past by several members of the public that we do not support our youth,” she said. “This is without merit.”
Thein continued with several examples displaying various ways the youth have benefited from the city”s administration and individual members of the council. Examples included providing the LCYC with its building at an annual rental fee of $1; the city-sponsored Halloween party in 2006; open communications with the school district; and police association- and police department-sponsored programs, to name a few.
“We gave $2,000 to the Blue Heron Rally without hesitation. We gave $2,000 to the Bluegrass Festival without hesitation,” Thein said.
Thein herself is currently working extensively on an underage-drinking campaign throughout the county in effort to educate the community and the youth on the consequences of drinking and driving; while Leonard and his wife, Vicki, have been consistently chaperoning the youth dances at the club. Giambruno and Thein have combined efforts to bring a safety-oriented event to the youngsters of the county with support of several military and emergency agencies. The event is being planned for May 2008.
Following the mayor”s speech, Overton abruptly collected her belongings and walked out of the meeting. After Overton left, the discussion continued with several members of city administration and the audience stepping up to contribute to the LCCAA”s event, which is tentatively being planned for October.
City Administrator Dale Neiman got the ball rolling with a $250 contribution from himself and his wife. Former councilmember Jo Bennett followed with a $50 contribution. Police Chief Allan McClain said he”d match Neiman”s donation and wrote Lehne a check for $250 on the spot. Councilmember Roy Simons threw in $25 and the Leonards anted-up $30. Mayor Thein brought a check to Lehne the next morning for $25.
The request to perform upgrade work at the “Hot Spot” was accepted with little discussion on the contingency that there will be no expense to the city. The project is expected to include landscaping improvements and irrigation, new flooring, murals in the interior of the building and painting of the entrance to the facility. Exterior paint will require approval of the council and the agency will have to submit a drawing showing the design and paint colors.
The request was accepted on a 4-0 vote as Overton never returned to the meeting.
Contact Denise Rockenstein at drockenstein@clearlakeobserver.com.
