CLEARLAKE >> The Clearlake City Council postponed its meeting Thursday to Nov. 19, because of the absence of three councilmembers.
Joey Luiz, Joyce Overton and Vice Mayor Gina Fortino-Dickson did not attend the meeting, scheduled for 6 p.m. at Clearlake City Hall.
While it is unusual for three members to leave their seats vacant for an evening, it is common for work commitments or illness to keep one away from their elected duties. Fortino-Dickson was absent because of illness. The reason for Overton”s absence could not be confirmed by press time.
Luiz”s failure to show may have had more to do with the allure of food and fame in nearby Napa, if social media is to be believed.
“This lame duck had a choice,” Luiz stated in a post on Facebook shortly after 4 p.m. Thursday. “1: Attend his second to last council meeting as a councilman. 2: Go to the Napa Valley Film Festival gala and have dinner with Kevin Costner and Mike Meyers….ahhh #2 of course.”
The agenda for the canceled meeting included 12 items on the regular agenda, including a discussion and consideration of the use of county-owned property on 18th Avenue for the development of a veteran”s housing project.
In August, the Lake County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the project in concept, with District 3 Supervisors Jeff Smith and District 4 Supervisor Anthony Farrington sorting out the next steps for the project through an “ad hoc” committee. District 1 Supervisor Jim Comstock will serve as an alternate committee member, in the event that Smith is unable to attend a meeting.
The 16-acre property is located at the corners of 18th and Irving avenues in Clearlake. With the passage of California Proposition 41, which is known as the California Veterans Housing and Homeless Prevention Bond Act, during the June 3 primary election, Farrington said he thinks the project is financially feasible. Proposition 41 passed with 65.39 percent approval in June. The property is located near county health department offices, St. Helena Hospital, Yuba College, the Veterans Affairs clinic and the Clearlake Courthouse.
The agenda also included a request to use city-owned property on Lakeshore Drive as a warming center, a status report on the Redbud Thompson Harbor Project and a report on the next steps in updating planning documents and agreement negotiations with Price Consulting Services to update the city”s zoning code.
The agreement would include a design review manual and would total approximately $85,000.
A first reading of an amendment of the Clearlake Municipal Code in regards to a speed zone study conducted in 2013 was to be introduced.
Additionally, a lease agreement between the city and the Konocti Unified School District for the property on Golf Avenue was to be considered.
All item will be discussed at the 6 p.m. Nov. 19 meeting at Clearlake City Hall, which is located at 14050 Olympic Drive in Clearlake.
Contact J. W. Burch, IV at 900-2022.
