LAKEPORT — The Lakeport City Council on Tuesday elected Suzanne Lyons as mayor and Stacey Mattina as mayor pro tem during the first meeting after council reorganization.
“I”m delighted,” said Lyons of her appointment. “I was really pleased that there seems to be a new culture on the council.”
Mattina and Tom Engstrom were elected to four-year council terms on Nov. 2, replacing councilmen Ron Bertsch, who chose not to run for re-election and James Irwin, whose re-election bid fell short.
Bertsch and Irwin stepped down Tuesday after the two new members took their oaths of office. The reorganized council voted to appoint Lyons and Mattina to their new positions by a 3-2 margin.
The council received updates and recommendations from a number of staff members during Tuesday”s two-hour public meeting.
The council voted unanimously to adopt a resolution establishing the Lakeport Economic Development Advisory Committee and appoint nine candidates to the committee.
Economic Development manager Dan Buffalo told the council that the nine candidates would serve two-year staggered terms, though some of the candidates” first terms would be one-year terms in order to stagger reappointments in the future.
LEDAC members include local business owners, retirees with financial and economic experience and local business professionals. LEDAC met for the first time Wednesday morning.
Community Development director Richard Knoll updated the council on the Lakeport Transfer Station, describing short-term and long-term options for the property, which has remained unused since the county vacated the site in 2009.
The site incorporates two contiguous parcels on roughly 1.7 acres of land located on Bevins Street.
The property has potential commercial use and would probably not be utilized as a transfer station again, Knoll told the council. At least three firms had contacted his office inquiring about the property.
Knoll said staff recommendations for short-term goals included seeking a deed for the property with the site reverting back to the city after the county”s non-use, asking the county to remove all equipment and potentially hazardous materials and having staff begin to receive proposal requests for the property.
District 4 Supervisor Anthony Farrington told the council Tuesday that he would support the county cleaning up equipment and materials, saying, “At a minimum, we should leave the property in a condition in which we found it.”
Long-term options for the property include its sale for commercial use, Knoll said. The council voted unanimously to accept all staff recommendations.
City engineer Scott Harter described two potential road improvement projects for which the city will be submitting grant applications.
The first project would include adding colored pavement on the shoulders of portions of Lakeshore Boulevard and installing a traffic circle at the intersection of Lakeshore and Jones Street, both serving as traffic calming measures, Harter said.
The second project would occur on Mellor Drive to improve the road conditions and remove a current blind spot, Harter said.
The council voted to direct staff to pursue the grant applications, ranking the Lakeshore Boulevard Traffic Calming Project as higher priority.
The council also voted to approve seven contract orders worth more than $42,000 for completed work on the South Main Street Pedestrian Improvement Project.
Interim chief-of-police Brad Rasmussen asked the council to exempt the police department from the citywide hiring freeze for the purpose of hiring one police officer.
The department is down to eight active full-time peace officers after one officer retired and another was granted extended-leave, Rasmussen said. “We do need that position to carry out our mission,” he said.
The department has grant funding in place to pay the position”s salary and benefits for the next 2.5 years, Rasmussen said.
The council voted unanimously to authorize the exemption and direct staff to begin the recruitment and hiring process. The council also voted to establish the position of Designated Level I Reserve Officer, which Rasmussen said would “allow us to survive our staffing issues.”
City manager Margaret Silveira gave the final update, introducing a construction project on behalf of the Public Works Department. Silveira said the city has expiring funding in the amount of $121,000 that must be used by March 31.
Staff members reviewed potential projects and determined that the “most feasible and most needed project” would be construction on the Library Park restrooms on Park Street.
The council heard that the project would include plumbing and roofing work and potentially the installation of automatic toilets and faucets. “This amount should give us quite a bit to do,” Silveira said of the funds.
The council voted unanimously to authorize staff to move forward with the project.
Contact Jeremy Walsh at jwalsh@record-bee.com or call him at 263-5636, ext. 37.
