CLEARLAKE >> At the third annual Clearlake State of the City meeting Wednesday, which reviewed the past year and looked toward the next, City Manager Greg Folsom was adamant that Clearlake is on its way to becoming a better city. A number of new funding sources like Measure V Bonds and the SB1 gas tax, according to Folsom, will help the city to meet the four goals Folsom outlined at the meeting: to become “visibly cleaner,” “statistically safer,” and to improve public facilities and the “image of the city.”
Clearlake is a city of 15,066 with a 38.1 percent poverty rate and 27,081 law enforcement reported incidents in 2017, according to the Clearlake Police Department and the U.S. Census. Folsom recognized that the city “has a lot of challenges, maybe more than most cities,” citing high crime rates, roads in need of work, a large homeless population and a lack of jobs.
Many of the ups and downs Clearlake has seen in the past year have been in its police department. The CPD, according to Folsom, lost 9 officers in the past year, which he called “a huge challenge for our agency.” Since then the department has added three new officers to its ranks as well as one Dispatcher and one Community Service Officer. Nine officers are currently in background. “I think we are going to be able to fill out our police force this year,” Folsom said.
According to the 2017 CPD annual report and Folsom, Clearlake had 11.7 percent more police incidents than in 2016. From those incidents, however, almost 10 percent fewer arrests were made than in 2016. While many crimes, like burglary, larceny and arson, were seen less often in 2017 than in 2016, others were more frequent. Forcible rape was up 38 percent, vehicle theft was up 27 percent, and aggravated assault was up 20 percent.
But from 2016, the city was down 6.26 percent in the overall number of crimes it reported to the FBI. According to Folsom, “There were some challenges, but we were able to make some progress as well.”
Folsom noted that the CPD has added upgraded technology to its toolkit, like the online crime mapping program “Citizen RIMS” as well as laptops and paperless reporting for officers.
Police Chief Andrew White said that though he went into the event expecting some complaints from citizens, he was happy to hear compliments instead. White, who has a background in technology and communications and has stated that he plans to implement better technological practices in the CPD, could push the kinds of improvements Folsom mentioned even further in the next year.
Many of the highlights Folsom noted from the past year and projected for the coming months stemmed from the availability of new funding for infrastructure in Clearlake, largely from two new sources: Measure V Bonds and the SB1 gas tax.
According to the City of Clearlake, Measure V—a one cent sales tax hike passed in 2016 and put into effect in April 2017—is expected to raise $1,700,000 each year for road improvement in Clearlake. Folsom highlighted this new funding as a major contributor to what he called “exciting” new projects like the Pine Street Road rehabilitation and installation of guardrail along a stretch of Highway 53, among numerous other striping, grading, and rehabilitation undertakings.
Folsom expressed his support for the California State SB1 gas tax that could be subject to repeal if Proposition 6 is passed in November. Folsom said that he expects $4.35 million over ten years for the City of Clearlake from the tax.
Folsom said that the Dam Road Extension, Clearlake’s first new road in many years, is not funded by Measure V but is “the most important project that we have going on right now in the City of Clearlake.” The project starts at Dam Road Extension and Center Drive and ends at 18th Street and Phillips Avenue, directly connecting two major sections of the city and allowing for better evacuation routes during emergency.
In light of the recent fires and Clearlake’s evacuation of thousands of residents during the Sulphur Fire, Folsom was excited to inform the audience that Clearlake had received $112,000 for a Hazard Mitigation Plan. The grant will allow for much-needed improvements to the city’s preparedness in an emergency like fire, flood, or earthquake. An HMP “identifies hazards and mitigations to reduce damages for these future problems,” said Folsom. By developing such a plan, the City of Clearlake will gain access to grant funding in order to implement it. A consultant from Lake County will help Clearlake draft its plan, and Folsom called for public input in the process.
