CLEARLAKE >> After three postponements, the Clearlake City Council discussed and approved, in concept, a potential veterans” housing project in Clearlake Thursday.
Initially, the Clearlake City Council was scheduled to discuss the veterans” housing project at the Nov. 19 meeting, which was canceled because of the absence of three councilmembers. The discussion was then scheduled for the council”s Dec. 11 meeting, which was canceled because of a winter storm, causing the city to declare a state of local emergency. Finally, the discussion was postponed from the council”s Dec. 22 meeting.
The project was originally discussed by the Lake County Board of Supervisors on Aug. 26, when it was unanimously approved in concept.
The 16-acre property is located at the corners of 18th and Irving avenues in Clearlake.
The property is located near county health department offices, St. Helena Hospital, Yuba College, the Veterans Affairs clinic and the Clearlake Courthouse.
“Its the perfect location, we have the most vets in that area,” District 2 county supervisor Jeff Smith said during the Aug. 26 meeting. Clearlake is part of District 2.
The county has been in discussions with Veterans Resource Centers of America (VRC) as the possible organization that will develop the project.
Clearlake City Manager Joan Phillipe said that “VRC has a track record with these types of community oriented project and is will to host tours of several already functioning centers.”
Clearlake has one of the highest veteran populations in the state, per capita. Data from the U.S. Census Bureau indicates that 1,705 veterans live in Clearlake, out of a population of 14,985. In Lake County as a whole, there are 7,165 veterans. Percentage-wise, 11.3 percent of Clearlake”s population served in the military. The city also reports a fraction over 36 percent of its population living below the poverty live, compared to 23.7 percent countywide.
If the project comes into fruition, it “must be maintained for the intended purposes and used for ? 55 years,” Phillipe said.
Funding for the project is expected to come from Proposition 41, which passed in June with 65.39 percent approval.
