LAKEPORT — The Westshore Pool summer camp is set to have half-day sessions this year after the City Council approved reducing the program in light of funding and staffing concerns.
The 4-0 decision came during the regular council meeting Tuesday evening at City Hall. Councilman Roy Parmentier was absent.
Public Works Director Doug Grider first approached council members in February asking for guidance about how to proceed with the program”s third year in the face of financial difficulties.
The council discussed the matter again Tuesday and ultimately followed Grider”s recommendation to have the weekday sessions run only in the mornings in 2012.
The program lasted from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the previous two summers, Grider said.
Council members directed Grider and other city staff to continue looking into alternative funding and staffing opportunities to supplement the camp.
“If we want to support the program, we need to raise the money,” Councilman Bob Rumfelt said.
He suggested applying for a portion of the city”s anticipated allotment from the Indian Gaming Special Distribution Fund.
Grider said he would also seek help from other groups such as coordinating meals with the Lakeport Unified School District and looking to community college programs and Lake One-Stop, Inc. for possible staffing.
Public Works staff might also develop a plan to let parents of 9- to 11-year-olds in the morning camp approve of their children remaining at the pool for open swim in the afternoons, Grider added.
The pool is set to open for the season June 11 and close Aug. 10. Grider said he hopes to have the camp dates scheduled by the end of March.
In other business, the council voted 4-0 to approve the event application for the annual Cinco de Mayo Fiesta on Park Street, provided that the organizers reimburse the city for the costs of two reserve police officers.
In a memo to the council members, Police Chief Brad Rasmussen raised security concerns because of “issues at the same event last year.”
Grider told the council Tuesday that Rasmussen (who was not at the meeting) asked that Latino United of Lake County pay for the price of staffing the May 6 event with one reserve officer.
Rumfelt said he thought it would be “only fair for safety” if at least two officers patrol the festival.
Councilman Tom Engstrom, a former Lakeport Police Chief, agreed with Rumfelt, saying, “We should not put one guy down there by himself.”
Engstrom said the city should develop a policy for future events requiring city staffing.
Ana Santana, secretary for Latinos United, told the council the provisions could “possibly” work for the nonprofit organization.
“In the years that we have had it here, we haven”t had anything major,” she said.
In a phone interview Wednesday, Santana said the group could have a final decision by the end of next week.
As part of its consent agenda, the council approved an event application for an advocacy walk and children”s festival in Library Park on April 21, a collaborative effort between Redwood Children”s Services, Inc. and the Lake County Office of Education.
The council was supposed to receive an audit report Tuesday, but city staff said the auditor was unavailable, resulting in the presentation being rescheduled.
