Lakeport >> At the July 15 Lake Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCo) meeting, the commission elected the Chair and Vice-Chair positions for the 2015-2016 fiscal year. Also, public hearings were held on proposed updates to the spheres of influence for the Lake County fire protection districts (FPD), the consolidation of West Lake and East Lake Conservation Districts, and the dissolution of the Tule Lake Reclamation District.
The sole nominee for the Chair position was Commissioner Stacey Mattina, who also served as the previous Chair. The sole nominee for Vice-Chair was Commissioner Jim Comstock, who, likewise, served as the previous Vice-Chair. Both were re-elected unanimously by the commission.
The updates to the fire districts’ spheres of influence (SOI) mainly affected the Northshore Lakeport FPDs. The “Cow Mountain area,” as it was called by LAFCo Executive Officer John Benoit, will be added to Lakeport FPD’s SOI. Also, an area to the north of Lakeport that is currently listed as being serviced by both Lakeport and Northshore will be split into two distinct areas. A large section of land north of the Northshore FPD will be added to Northshore’s SOI. According to Benoit, the respective FPDs already service these areas; the updates to their SOI makes that coverage a matter of official record.
The motion to update was passed unanimously.
The commission also voted unanimously to dissolve the reclamation district due to lack of need from the land owners in the area. According to Benoit, since that district was originally established, all the land owners have signed wetlands preservation agreements, making the district redundant and unnecessary. The remaining balance of the reclamation district’s funds, an amount figuring to less than $400, will be returned to the county for redistribution.
After a short period of public hearing, the consolidation of the East Lake and West Lake conservation districts was continued to the next meeting on September 16. That meeting was originally scheduled to be held in Clearlake, but due to action taken by the commission on another agenda item, that meeting will now be held in Lakeport.
