COBB >> The Cobb Area Council has invited Mike Wink, Battalion Fire Chief of the Northshore Fire Protection District in Lake County, to its monthly meeting today to announce the funding of two new sirens following the September 2015 Valley Fire. The sirens are being paid for by a grant from the Cobb Community Investment Committee, which is fully funded by Calpine Corporation’s geothermal operations at The Geysers.
Previously, on Sept. 15, the board members of the newly formed Cobb Area Council (CAC) received $3,000 from the investment committee to use as seed money for their coordinating efforts in helping to rebuild the community after the disaster.
“As a formal governmental body provided for under California law, the Cobb Area Council will be an important conduit between the public and the Board of Supervisors on the needs and issues affecting the Cobb area or that have potential to,” said District 1 Supervisor Rob Brown, who sits on the Cobb Community Investment Fund Committee.
Danielle Matthews Seperas, Manager of Government & Community Affairs at the Calpine Corporation, handles the Visitor Center and Calpine’s outreach program in Lake County. She indicated that it is important to the company to be able to support the coordinating work of the new Cobb Area Council and do their part as a corporate member of the community.
The Cobb Area Council was established by unanimous resolution from the Lake County Board of Supervisors in June to support and advise county, state and other agencies on the specific needs of the communities in the unincorporated area of Cobb Mountain. The area covered is bounded by Highway 175 north of Socrates Mine Road, east by Big Canyon Road, north by Red Hills Road and Highway 29, and west by the Lake County line.
The Cobb Area Council holds public meetings every third Friday at the Little Red Schoolhouse, at 15780 Bottle Rock Road in Cobb. Today they will meet to discuss their plans for 2017. Every resident within the Cobb area boundaries is invited to come and vote in person on the council’s decisions.
Eliot Hurwitz, the new Chair of the council, said, “We invite all residents in the Cobb area to come and participate every month and in the committees. Identifying and taking the next steps together will help all of us not only recover from the wildfire disasters but also help develop our area in ways that we have always envisioned for ourselves and aspire to.”
