CLEARLAKE >> Clearlake needs a new council member and the officials decided to commence the appointment process at its regular meeting on Thursday
With the action, City Clerk Melissa Swanson will now be accepting applications for the seat that was given up by Councilwoman Denise Loustalot on March 25. According to state law, the position must be filled within 60 days.
One of those interested in the position is former councilman Joey Luiz. He was on the council from 2010 to 2014 and lost his reelection to now-Mayor Russell Perdock.
“He was next in line,” Councilwoman Joyce Overton said, describing Luiz’s reasoning for the seat.
Former Clearlake Police Department Detective Sgt. Nick Bennett may also apply for the job.
“He’s one of the most respectful people I’ve ever met,” Councilman Bruno Sabatier said. “As far as I know, there is nothing bad I can say about him as a person.”
Sabatier also had some thoughts on Luiz, saying that he “definitely brings a level of experience that we probably won’t see in the applications we get.”
With the council currently at an even number, there is a potential for gridlock. The council hasn’t had a case of it in months, but Overton said there was a chance of a deadlock occurring when the universal garbage collection ordinance was introduced.
The controversy was about covering the debt for those property owners who don’t pay Clearlake Waste Solutions. To solve for this, she said, the city will use the franchise fees it collects from the company and front the cost until the property owners pays for it in his/her property taxes.
“It leaves us to where they make all the profit and it cost us,” she said.
She and Sabatier were hesitant about this but ultimately decided to vote for it and see how the program works.
According to him, the finances of the proposal weren’t given to the two beforehand. Eventually, they were informed at the meeting, convincing him to cast an “aye” vote.
“The money we’d make in franchise fees would cover the worst case scenario,” he added.
The vote ended up being unanimous, but the council may have ended up with an unbreakable tie.
“It’s not a good way to do politics,” Overton added. “You need that breaking point.”
