LAKEPORT — The Lakeport City Council unanimously approved environmental findings for 10 water and sewer projects Tuesday, rebuffing criticisms by one county official questioning the analysis and supporting city staff”s recommendation.
“I have more trust in our staff report than I do in Mr. (Alan) Flora”s letter. It seems to be totally a waste of time,” Councilman Bob Rumfelt said during the evening meeting at Lakeport City Hall.
Council members approved a mitigated negative declaration, finding that going forward with the projects would not have the potential to significantly impact the environment as long as the suggested mitigation measures are implemented.
Flora, deputy county administrative officer, was one of two members of the public to comment during the discussion.
The city proposes a range of improvements — including putting in new water meters, repairing sewer treatment ponds, and replacing the water and sewer supervisory control and data acquisition systems — but the conversation Tuesday focused mainly on one component.
That project would loop existing water lines by extending the main down South Main Street, into unincorporated Lakeport, and then joining it with the Parallel Drive line near Highway 175.
City staff said eliminating the dead-end lines would improve system operations, water quality and fire suppression.
Flora argued the loop directly related to the city”s desire to annex land in the county”s jurisdiction along the South Main Street-Soda Bay Road corridor.
“It is a shame that despite the assertions of the need for system upgrades being essential for the health and safety of residents, the apparent desire to leverage annexation is so great that it jeopardizes all of the other proposed projects,” he said.
Lakeport Community Development Director Richard Knoll contended the loop is a “necessary” improvement.
Property owners outside the city limits could not tie into the system but those along the corridor could do so if the area were annexed, Knoll said.
Flora called the environmental document prepared for all 10 projects “faulty,” saying the initial study needed corrections and additional analysis.
“The environmental review process undertaken here lacks a good faith effort in analyzing potentially significant impacts,” he argued.
Knoll told council members they would base their decision on the entire public record (including facts and documents in the staff report as well as comments received during the hearing) not simply the initial study.
“For someone to stand up and say the city is somehow trying to disregard comments or disregard the public or disregard this or that is simply not accurate,” he said.
The city seeks grants and low-interest, long-term loans through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to help fund all the projects.
Flora argued it would be “very unlikely” the USDA would be “interested in funding a project which has not been properly analyzed or was approved pursuant to a procedure contrary to the law.”
He asked the council to direct staff to update the initial study, prepare responses to comments submitted during the public review period and re-circulate the proposal.
Knoll disagreed, saying he was “very comfortable” with the staff recommendation that the council proceed Tuesday.
“It is troubling to the city to have a member of county staff, Mr. Flora, continually show up at these meetings and essentially ambush the city”s attempts to move the process forward,” Knoll added.
The council unanimously supported the city staff proposal rather than Flora”s request.
“If I was somehow a (Lake County) supervisor, I might pull him aside and chastise him a little bit for going out on this limb,” Rumfelt said of Flora just before moving to approve the mitigated negative declaration.
The mitigation measures address issues such as biological and cultural resources, noise and traffic.
In other business, the council said a committee would explore possible changes to the city ordinance regulating mobile food vendors.
The council approved a Lakeport Rotary Club request to renovate the gazebo in Library Park at no cost to the city.
Work would include repainting the gazebo in its original color scheme — featuring black, gold and yellow — and repairing the iron railings as well as some of the wood, according to club president Melissa Fulton.
Councilman Tom Engstrom was appointed as a member of the Clear Lake Advisory Committee. Later, the council named Barbara Johnson and Taira St. John to the Lakeport Economic Development Advisory Committee.
Jeremy Walsh is a staff reporter for Lake County Publishing. Reach him at 263-5636, ext. 37 or jwalsh@record-bee.com. Follow him on Twitter, @JeremyDWalsh.
