LAKEPORT— At their weekly meeting on Tuesday at 9 a.m. the Lake County Supervisors considered a letter requesting that the California Department of Public Health reconsider the state’s approval of Any Positive Change’s application to provide syringe services in Lake County.
According to the letter being considered “Recently on Aug. 3, 2023, the County of Lake received a letter from California Department of Public Health (CDPH) that Any Positive Change (APC) had been authorized by the state to provide syringe services in Lake County. We respectfully request for CDPH to reconsider its decision.”
The letter addresses the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that was requested and completed. Included in the letter was support from Lake County Public Health Officer (PHO), Karl Sporer who stated “that the leadership of Any Positive Change negotiate and complete an MOU between themselves and our local health department. We have had several meetings on this subject and were not far apart on the specifics. I believe that a signed agreement would be best for all of us.”
The consideration of the letter was met with much opposition as several supervisors agreed (that in their estimation) there was not enough information to approve of this letter at this time. District 5 Supervisor Chair Jessica Pyska shared concerns stating “There’s just too many unknowns today for me to support this.” District 3 Supervisor Eddie Crandell expressed support stating “I am focused on the letter going to the state, asking them to reconsider.”
Several members of the public spoke in support of the letter including Clearlake City Manager Alan Flora who explained an incident in which the group was operating at a location in Clearlake without the proper permits, stating “That is not the type of behavior that we would like to partner with.” Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen also shared his support stating, “It’s my opinion that they need to suspend their permit until they properly consult with law enforcement agencies.”
In conclusion District 4 Supervisor Michael Green said, “I totally get the concerns of people but what I want to do is not second guess this license, not ask CDPH to suspend it while we spin up a process we don’t have.” Chair Pyska dually noted “I am concerned about the process and how we got here, this is an important issue and it is critical for public health in our county.”
Ultimately the supervisors denied the letter and directed staff to begin organizing conferencing calls with the state to further discuss this issue and work towards a long-term solution. Supervisor Sabatier then added “There are reasons for the program but there are issues in the program and we just lost any ability to try and make sure we benefit in the way that our communities need these to function.” District 1 Supervisor Moke Simon responded stating “It absolutely effects each one of our communities. There’s an active investigation happening in our community. I don’t know what happened there but it’s still happening.” The board will revisit this issue in the coming weeks.
For more information including minutes, agendas and videos please visit the county website at www.lakecountyca.gov
