LAKEPORT— On Tuesday the Lake County board of supervisors held their weekly meeting discussing long term changes to cannabis taxes as well as the extension of the Emergency Warming Shelter located at 1111 Whalen Way in Lakeport. They also considered rescinding the 2017-05 formation of the Middle Region Town Hall (MRTH) and 2018-334 amendment from MRTH to the Lucerne Area Town Hall (LATH) and Establishing the Central Region Town Hall (CeRTH) as the Municipal Advisory Committee for the Central Region in District 3.
District 2 Supervisor Bruno Sabatier and District 4 Supervisor Michael Green presented regarding permanent changes to cannabis cultivation tax and amending resolutions for the purpose of “extending the end date for changes made to cannabis cultivation taxes in regards to suspension of CPI increases, using canopy area only, and a decrease of the tax by 50%.”
Green said, “The only thing we’re giving is time to our growers to mature their operations and to stabilize our markets and look ahead at what’s coming next.” Treasurer/Tax Collector Patrick Sullivan shared “I think the canopy area has been successful, I know the board has been looking at that on a temporary basis, I hope that’s something that can be considered permanent, that puts us more in alignment with the state.” The board approved the amendments in a 4-1 vote with District 3 Supervisor Eddie Crandell dissenting.
The discussion on permanent changes to the cannabis cultivation taxes continued with many members of the public joining the conversation. Jennifer Smith of the Cannabis Task Force noted, “We would be very much in favor of changing to a permanent canopy calculation. It aligns with the state which is the whole process of the current cannabis task force’s aligning with the state as much as possible.”
District 5 Supervisor Chair Jessica Pyska said, “We are heavily invested in what has already been created and I don’t think changing to a new way of doing things is going to be helpful, I think that will set us back.” The board directed staff to focus on placing leads for enforcement, looking at the late tax penalty rate, and a permanent canopy calculation. The board also announced round two of the Cannabis Local Equity Program Grant, applications are available now and eligible applicants may initially qualify for up to $150,000 and must apply no later than 5 pm May 8, 2023.
The board also discussed the possible extension of the emergency warming shelter in north Lakeport and development of an interim Shelter Crisis Plan. Before discussions began Crandell recused himself from the discussion due to a conflict of interest, which he explained following questions from the public.
“I recused myself because my wife is consistently attacked by a certain faction of people due to the fact they dislike me. Because she is on the Continuum of Care I don’t feel comfortable making a vote to incur more negative attention to my wife.”
Green asked the board to explore all options in extending this shelter despite temperatures including reaching out to Congressman Thompson stating, “We’re in the middle of what I think has been a really useful, valuable thing.” Program Manager at Redwood Community Services and Vice Chair for the Lake County Continuum of Care (LCCoC) Kimberly Guerra presented information from a special meeting they held regarding this extension. The LCCoC approved a 90-day extension while they develop an RFP (request for proposal) and plan for future operations. Sabatier reviewed the financials of operating costs for the shelter and what could be changed moving forward including the facility’s location. District 1 Supervisor Moke Simon said, “It’s much needed in the communities, I think there’s going to be other conversations coming down from the state looking for places like this.” With overwhelming public support the board approved the 90-day extension returning before July first for review.
Returning to a complicated issue the board considered the plan for establishing the Central Region Town Hall (CeRTH) as the Municipal Advisory Committee (MAC) in District 3. Despite some opposition from prior members of the LATH Kurt McElvey and John Jensen, the board approved the resolution unanimously.
More information including minutes, agendas and video are available on the county website www.lakecountyca.gov and also their Facebook page.
