CLEARLAKE >> The Clearlake City Council appointed a new member to the planning commission at its regular meeting, filling the seat that was vacated by Bill Perkins earlier this month.
In a 3-1 vote, the council chose former Bank of America appraiser Russell Cremer, 67, to take the seat until March 2017. Mayor Russell Perdock removed himself from the vote because of his relationship with the candidate.
“Cremer was the better fit,” Councilman Bruno Sabatier said. “Bill Perkins was a real estate guy and we felt that would be lacking from the planning commission.”
Sabatier cast the only no vote. He backed the other candidate, 70-year-old Peter Shandera, because of his schedule availability and his participation in land use studies over the last couple of years. He also said he liked Shandera’s strategy of asking his constituency when faced with a challenging decision.
Overall though, Cremer’s direct experience with real estate development and building safety codes won out. According to councilwoman Joyce Overton, his previous five-year tenure as the Director of the Lake County Fire District will prevent a lot of headaches moving forward regarding department regulations.
“It’ll help us not go back and forth on something we needed to go to the fire department about,” Overton said. “He knows our area very well and he knows what’s worked in the past. I think he’ll remember these and hopefully be a part of some development that would bring tourism to our area.”
But that doesn’t mean Shandera wasn’t well qualified, both councilmembers said.
It was very hard … We were really luck that we had excellent candidates. It’s unfortunate that you can only pick one,” Overton added. “I hope Peter keeps involved with the city and if there’s a spot on the commission, I hope he reapplies.”
