UPPER LAKE, Calif. – There's been a new development in the story of Upper Lake's efforts to keep a bank branch in downtown, with news that an intended closure is being put off for several months.
Late Tuesday, Lake County's representatives in the state Legislature, Sen. Mike McGuire and Assemblyman Bill Dodd, announced that Westamerica Bank's intended closure on April 24 has been postponed.
Dodd and McGuire said they've been working with Commissioner Jan Lynn Owen of the California Department of Business Oversight to find a solution, and that the bank branch at 9470 Main St. will continue to operate for an additional six months.
“This will allow the community, the Board of Supervisors and Lake County legislators to continue working on a long-term banking solution for the area,” the legislators said in a joint Tuesday evening statement.
In January, Westamerica Bank informed its customers that it intended to close the branch, as Lake County News has reported.
For the town, where there has been a bank on Main Street since 1921, the news didn't sit well, and led to a petition drive and the efforts of the Upper Lake Community Council, county leaders and officials at state level to find a solution.
Initially, Owen did not object to the closure, which Westamerica – as a state-chartered bank – had to report to the Department of Business Oversight.
However, as it became clearer to state officials that the closure would impact a far larger group of county residents than just those in Upper Lake.
There are 15,000 people along the Highway 20 corridor in Lake County alone who stand to be affected, and no other bank branch on the 85-mile stretch of the highway from Ukiah to Williams.
Tom Dresslar, a special assistant to Owen, was on hand at a March 4 town hall to hear firsthand about community members' concerns.
In a letter dated March 6, Owen told the bank that her office was reopening its review of the closure and sought a 30-day extension – which the bank granted – to finalize a decision.
Dodd and McGuire wrote Owen letters after that point, asking her to take into account the entire Northshore region – not just Upper Lake – when making a decision and to consider the serious implications that the closure could have on the community.
They also worked to find an agreement that would ensure the community continued to have banking services.
“We are both thankful to Commissioner Owen for helping the Upper Lake community and grateful to Westamerica Bank for listening to the residents’ needs,” McGuire and Dodd said said in their Tuesday announcement. “We will continue working together with the community and with other banks and credit unions to secure a long-term solution.”
Said McGuire, “Upper Lake continues to grow and recover from the recession, and a community bank is vital to the long term success of the local economy. It’s critical that the needs of Lake County are met and we’ll continue to work hard to see this through.”
“Upper Lake has had a bank on the town’s Main Street for many years and ensuring continuity of banking services is very important to the success of local businesses and residents alike,” Dodd said. “I am pleased by the additional effort of Commissioner Owen and her staff and glad that Lake County will benefit from this collaboration.”
Dodd and McGuire said they are planning a community meeting this summer to hear directly from residents and businesses on the issue of the branch closure.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
Westamerica Bank's Upper Lake branch closure postponed
- Elizabeth Larson
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