LAKEPORT — The Lake County Board of Supervisors (BOS) Tuesday appointed George Speake as head of the Middle Creek Marsh Restoration project.
Speake, a former head of the Clear Lake Advisory Committee, will serve as a volunteer at no cost to the county.
County Administrative Officer Kelly Cox said the restoration project is a “top priority” for the county. He said the county has requested significant funding from both the state and federal government for use in the project and that it is important to have someone who can stay on top of it all. He said the project is vital to the ecology of Clear Lake and is one of the primary components of long-term plans to address nuisance algae problems.
Cox said it is commendable that Speake offered his services to the county.
“It seems like a tremendous bargain,” Cox said.
The conditions of the agreement state Speake is authorized to drive a county vehicle when working as project manager and will be reimbursed for any expenses incurred in connection with performing the job duties, subject to administrative oversight and approval by Water Resources director Scott De Leon.
The supervisors expressed gratitude for Speake”s volunteer service.
“I can”t think of anybody who would do as good a job as him,” District 2 Supervisor Jeff Smith said.
“He”s a perfect fit for this,” District 4 Supervisor Anthony Farrington said.
Speake”s appointment to project manager was unanimously approved.
In other matters, the BOS approved forming a task force to address implementing requirements to the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Matt Perry, chief deputy county administrative officer, said one issue facing the county in implementing the federal program is the requirement to provide health insurance to “extra help” employees, defined as those who work more than 130 hours per month.
Perry said though the program is not effective until Jan. 1, 2014, implementation guidelines state the federal government will likely use a period of three-months-to-a-year prior to that as the determination period.
Perry said each department needs to be in full compliance with the act by Jan. 1, 2013. Failure to comply could see the county paying penalties of $2,000 per year, per employee, he said, which could total up to $1.8 million per year.
He recommended forming a task force to meet and come up with a plan by July for compliance. The proposed task force is comprised of one supervisor and an alternate; the County Administrative Officer or a designee; County Counsel or a designee; the County Auditor-Controller and the directors of Human Resources, Health Services, Public Services and Social Services.
Cox said Registrar of Voters Diane Fridley requested to be included in the task force. BOS Chair Rob Brown asked to serve on the task force, with District 3 Supervisor Denise Rushing volunteering as alternate. The proposed task force, modified to include Fridley, Brown and Rushing was unanimously approved.
The BOS approved terminating a lease agreement between the Community Development Department and the Probation Department for a Day Reporting Center (DRC) at 16195 Main St. in Lower Lake.
District 1 Supervisor Jim Comstock said many Lower Lake residents, business and property owners expressed concern about having the DRC located downtown.
A satellite facility is needed in the south county because about half of the population of those required to utilize the services are between the areas of Clearlake Oaks and Middletown.
Buchholz said that the number of people on parole and probation in the area is not disproportionate, just that the population is larger in that area of the county.
The purpose of the DRC is to provide a check-in center, perform drug testing and fill out forms. The state prison realignment law created the need for the facility. An existing DRC is located in Lakeport.
Comstock said Acting Probation Officer Steve Buchholz originally wanted to have the DRC in the City of Clearlake and the department was able to procure a site there. He requested terminating the lease.
Smith said the planned new site for the department is a good location and would bring more jobs to Clearlake. The supervisors unanimously approved terminating the lease agreement.
The BOS will consider approval of the new Clearlake location at Tuesday”s meeting.
Kevin N. Hume can be reached at kevin.n.hume@gmail.com or call directly 263-5636 ext. 14.
