CLEARLAKE — Some attendees walked away frustrated from a town hall meeting held on Wednesday in Clearlake. The meeting, which was organized by City Councilwoman Jeri Spittler, was announced to be conducted as a workshop to address violence and safety concerns in the city; however, the meeting”s format was changed at the last minute to accommodate a host of members of area law enforcement.
Spittler said she organized the meeting in response to a shooting incident in the city that left a 4-year-old boy dead. The meeting was initially intended to provide an opportunity for the community to brainstorm and share ideas that meant to lead to solutions for city problems, particularly violence.
The majority of the meeting was spent on identifying problems that audience members said were already evident to those living in the community.
The discussion got hooked-up on graffiti, which was met with resistance as attendees in the back of the room began saying that they weren”t there to talk about graffiti and started voicing a demand for plans of action.
Those speaking from the back of the room called to address lack of opportunities for youth, indicating that prevention would be the best course of action. Pastor Mitch Rodgers offered some guidance saying that change lies within the people of the community.
Lake County Sheriff Frank Rivero led off the panel of guest speakers, which included representation by the Clearlake and Lakeport police departments and California Highway Patrol (CHP) Clear Lake area. Rivero, who began his presentation saying that he represents all areas of the county including city jurisdictions, said the majority of the problems in the county are caused by illegal drugs. He alleged that the City of Clearlake is the hub of the county”s drug problem. He encouraged those in attendance to reach out to law enforcement and the District Attorney”s Office and “demand the safety they deserve.”
Sgt. Jason Ferguson, of Lakeport Police Department, who was introduced by his chief Brad Rasmussen, said he was impressed with the meeting”s turnout. He said while Lakeport is smaller, it suffers from problems similar to those in Clearlake. He emphasized a need for public education. “It”s one thing to say we have a gang problem but most people don”t know what a gang is,” he said. He encouraged future town hall meetings to educate the public.
CHP Clear Lake area Commander Lt. Greg Baarts and Sgt. David Stark said the CHP is currently working closely with the Clearlake Police Department (CPD) to assist wherever and whenever it can, in response to the low staffing levels at the CPD. “We work as a team and that”s what we need from the community,” Stark said.
Clearlake Interim Police Chief Craig Clausen highlighted some programs currently in operation by his department. The Graffiti Removal Intervention Program (GRIP) is experiencing delays in its launch because of non-response from homeowners and injury to the officer leading the GRIP, he said.
The department is also engaged in a Community Oriented Policing (COP) program, which includes media outreach. Sgt. Tim Celli said the program encourages officers to help residents come up with ideas to assist with the problems in their individual neighborhoods. “We need to work in partnership (with the community) to make these programs work,” he said. “We know we have some work to do and we want to keep going in a positive direction.”
Contact Denise Rockenstein at drockenstein@clearlakeobserver.com or call directly at 994-6444, ext. 14.
