LAKEPORT – The Lakeport City Council approved placing a question on the November ballots asking voters to approve the annexation of South Lakeport during this week’s City Council meeting Tuesday.
Lakeport City Manager Kevin Ingram said this is the next step in the annexation process. The application was submitted in 2019.
In August of 2019, the City Council approved an application to annex nearly 137 acres. This makes up 50 parcels in the area south of the existing Lakeport city limits, adjacent to South Main Street and Soda Bay Road and east of Highway 29.
According to officials, this area was chosen for annexation because the Lakeport municipal sewer district has provided services to these properties since 1985. The city also plans to install a new water main in the annexation area.
The ballot question that is up for approval is “Shall the order adopted on March 30, 2022 by the Local Agency Formation Commission of Lake County ordering the annexation to the City of Lakeport of the territory described in that order and designated ‘City of Lakeport Annexation to the City of Lakeport (LAFCo file 2019-0006) (South Lakeport Annexation)’ be confirmed?”
This question will only be for the registered voters who are in the annexation area. Ingram said this is about 17 individuals according to the Lake County Registrar of Voters office.
To place the question on the November 8 ballot for approval by the voters, the City Council will need to approve a resolution calling the election and requesting that Lake County provide election services related to the ballot question.
In other council business, the city received a report on the Lakeport Police Department statistics from 2021. The statistics include response times, number of incidents, number of Part 1 Crimes, number of arrests, traffic-related incidents, use of force reporting and hours and types of officer and staff training.
During the year of 2021, the Lakeport Police Department had 6,369 calls for services and a total of 8,785 incidents according to Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen. This includes 552 traffic stops, 1,864 officer initiated incidents.
There were a total of 68 felony arrests and 230 misdemeanor arrests in the city of Lakeport. There were zero incidents of robbery, 90 assaults, 22 burglaries, four incidents of rape and one homicide according to Rassmussen’s report to city council.
The police department has been able to conduct all their efforts and more even with vacancies in the department Rasmussen said.
“There continues to be an issue for recruitment and retention in the state,” Rasmussen said. “People are retiring earlier and leaving the profession to do different jobs and it has affected us here in Lakeport.”
Last year there were three officers who left the job to do non-law enforcement related jobs. Currently the department is down four positions Rasmussen said.
“We are continuing to push efforts to attract and retain officers to the department,” Rasmussen said.
The city council also conducted a workshop to review the recommended budget for the 2022-2023 Fiscal Year.
The total city revenues for the 2022-2023 Fiscal Year is $22.9 Million and the total expenditures are $28 million Lakeport Finance Director and Assistant City Manager Nick Walker said.
General funds are allocated at $331,867. This fund is made up of about 85 percent in taxpayer dollars.
Other fund allocations include water funds at $26,014, sewer funds are $421,912, water and sewer expansion projects make up $1,904,500, and the Lakeside Park funds total $805,000.
The Lakeport City Council also approved the authorization from the City Manager to apply for $250,000 from the State Community Development Block Grant (CDBG). These funds will be allocated towards planning and technical assistance (PTA) activities.
Walker said PTA activities include studies and plans for housing, public works, and community facilities that fall within the guidelines of the CDBG.
“The application could include a program to create and re-establish a housing division within the Community Development Department. It would establish policies, and procedures, as well as train staff to implement the program,” Walker said.
Ingram said it has been a long-term project for the city to re-establish the housing program. There is a critical need for this program Ingram added, and he said this is a good opportunity to get the policies and procedures in place in the city.
City Council meetings are held on the first and third Tuesday of each month. Regular Council meetings begin at 6 p.m. in the City Council Chamber, 225 Park Street. Meeting information including past and upcoming agendas as well as minutes can be found online at https://www.cityoflakeport.com/city_council/index.php
