MIDDLETOWN —District 1 County Board Supervisor Moke Simon delivered a mid-year State of the County update at the Middletown Area Town Hall (MATH) meeting Thursday at the Middletown Library. Simon noted that over the next seven to eight years Cal Trans will be busy in the south county region.
In 2014 MATH and Cal Trans got together for the Highway 29 corridor study. Cal Trans is coming in August to start work identified in that study. Sidewalks and buttoned crosswalks are planned through Middletown to continue all the way to Hidden Valley Lake. There are plans to fix the high school entrance lane, install a turnaround at Butts Canyon, and many more projects that are lined up, waiting for funding to become available. Simon said he feels that Cal Trans has done a pretty good job with weed abatement.
Additionally, Lake County is getting on board with the Clean California movement with free dump days, trash removal along the roadways and blight removal efforts. They recently collected 1100 mattresses, numerous abandoned trucks and cars and 6,300 tires were removed from yards. The Cal Trans website has a place to identify trash along roadways that needs to be cleaned up.
Lake County has a broadband program that was approved last year. The big orange reels outside of Middletown are for the Middle-Mile Broadband project, Simon stated. The $3.5 billion state initiative will run up Highway 29 through Middletown and on to Route 175.
Ahead of this year’s wildfire season, PG&E is undergrounding their power cable locally, a process that will continue for a few more years. They have been working through Middletown and are now working in the Cobb area. The board is constantly working with PG&E about their trenching technique, eliminating cross-trenching, and pressuring them to return the roads to the condition they found them. While he acknowledged the frustration of motorists being delayed by flagging and work crews, he emphasized that in the wake of the Valley Fire, the undergrounding work was deemed a priority for fire hazard mitigation, to cut down on the utility’s programmed power blackout events, and for infrastructure improvement.
Simon stated that the next week or two will be busy ones for the Board of Supervisors, getting the budget approved for fiscal 2024-25. The county is in good fiscal shape with a balanced budget for the current year. While there is always an end of year rush for funding and the emergence of new projects, he predicts some carryover to put into reserves for future use. The board recently increased the 1 Team 1 Dream economic development project from $30,000 to $50,000. He expressed gratitude to the administrative team for helping the board prepare for their planned two-day focus on the 2024-25 budget June 19 and 20.
There have been a number of changes at the county level since his last report to MATH. He cited the hiring of several new directors at the county level, including: Public Works, Water Resources, Special Districts, Department of Social Services, Health and Human Resources and Behavioral Health. He introduced Matthew Barnes as the new Area Director for Lake and Mendocino Counties for the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources Cooperative Extension (UCCE) who was in attendance.
The board’s administrative office has a new Economic Development Director and a new Housing Coordinator has been hired. There are federal funds coming to the county from the American Rescue Plan, $350 billion earmarked for economic development to state and local governments. The Board of Supervisors has created these positions to focus county efforts on accessing and utilizing these important funds.
Simon is proud that Lake County was able to garner 20% of the California state fire risk reduction budget, amounting to $16 million dollars. Collaborating with state representatives and senators has brought in state funding, while coordination with Congressman Mike Thompson’s office has helped with federal funds.
South county has received a $1 million Risk Reduction grant to take down trees that have been killed by beetles. Public Works and Cal Fire have received new masticators. The board has just requested another grant for weed abatement in south county.
Supervisor Simon said he is excited that projects that have been in the works for years are beginning to get funding. He added that collaboration has been a way to attract funding to the county, and the onboarding of all the new directors is opportunity to move forward.
