LAKEPORT– After some debate and hesitation, city council adopted an emergency ordinance at its meeting Tuesday to establish an inspection program for all water vessels launched in the city into Clear Lake in an effort to prevent the invasive quagga and zebra mussels from spreading to the lake from infected bodies of water in Southern California.
The ordinance is based on a county-wide vessel inspection ordinance passed by the Board of Supervisors a week ago and is intended to get the city on the same page as the county, according to Mayor Pro Tem Ron Bertsch. He is the city council”s member tasked with keeping tabs on what the county is doing to combat the quagga.
Bertsch said the county”s legal office advised the city to make its ordinance the same as the county ordinance. A similar vessel inspection ordinance will be considered in the city of Clearlake, according to county officials.
He said he thinks the ordinance is fairly written because it doesn”t penalize people who are already living here. “They can apply online for the certification and it”s free,” Bertsch said, adding that many of the lake”s 6,000 registered boats are moored in the lake year-round and therefore the new ordinance will not cause much of a disruption of routine.
The ordinance includes a special program for local water vessels. Now that the city has adopted the ordinance, that local vessel program is effective immediately through June 30 and watercraft owners in Lakeport can obtain inspection stickers online after April 8 upon confirmation of residency.
What it will require for non-residents is by April 8, visitors bringing watercraft into the city and county must undergo an inspection prior to launching the vessel into any of the county”s bodies of water.
The inspection must be performed by a certified inspector either at Clearlake Oaks Fire Station, Upper Lake Fire Station or Konocti Vista Casino and Marina. By July, additional locations will be set up at the major east, west and south routes into the county.
The inspection is free until June 30, at which time a separate ordinance will establish a fee for every inspection performed.
In other council business, Utilities Superintendent Mark Brannigan reported that a follow-up ad hoc meeting with councilmen Bertsch and Jim Irwin will take place this week to discuss standby fees in the city. He said they will address how a potential change to the current fee system so that only those who receive a specific service will pay a fee, rather than the current fee system wherein all citizens contribute to services.
The council approved sending a letter to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislators expressing concern over the gas tax Proposition 42 recently approved by voters that would reallocate gas tax funds in proportions to counties, cities and transit.
The Legislature is considering reallocating most of the money into the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) resulting in “less funding for local roads,” according to City Engineer Scott Harter. The council made its decision to send the letter after receiving a letter urging it to do so from the county signed by recently retired Public Works Director Gerry Shaul.
In miscellaneous reports, Chief of Police Kevin Burke said he plans to go to Sacramento to lobby against proposed state budget cuts to public safety that would result in the city”s police department losing $40,000 from the half-cent public safety tax Proposition 172, $100,000 from a COPS grant and $20,000 for booking fees.
Public Works Superintendent Doug Grider announced the city was a recipient of a nationwide Safe Routes to Schools programs that funds road improvements. The city is one of 130 projects chosen nation-wide and will receive $499,860 to construct curbs, gutters, sidewalks, a retaining wall, crosswalks, traffic signs and fences on Hartley Street from the intersection of 20th street and extending 428 feet south of city limits. The project is expected to go out to bid with construction starting in August and September.
Contact Elizabeth Wilson at ewilson@record-bee.com
