LAKEPORT – At a sparsely attended afternoon meeting at Lakeport City Hall Tuesday, city staff, councilmen and a few members of the public took part in setting up goals for the city’s future. {sidebar id=21}

City Manager Jerry Gillham led the two-and-a-half-hour session, which he said would help drive city priorities.

The Tuesday meeting was a continuation of a brainstorming session held for  councilmembers and staffer on Oct. 2 workshop, said Gillham.

Gillham also presented the group with a draft Lakeport Business Plan that drew from the ideas brought forth at the Oct. 2 session (see sidebar, “City of Lakeport Business Plan”).

All five City Councilmen attended, along with nine city staffers and five members of the public.

The group was broken up into smaller groups, which took turns discussing topics including economic prosperity, special projects, effective governance, infrastructure and livability.

At the end of the meeting, participants took colored sticky dots and placed them next to projects they felt are important, with red and orange dots denoting urgency and higher priority, and yellow and green dots for marking lower-priority items.

Issues like adding eminent domain to the city’s redevelopment powers and transparency of government made their way into the conversation, as they were added on various lists of top priorities.

The following is a brief synopsis of the top items chosen on each list.

Economic Prosperity

• Amend the Redevelopment Agency to incorporate eminent domain.

• Retain/assist small businesses.

Special Projects

• Complete one “green” project for the city, which could include a solar or other environmental project.

• Forming a plan for Bevins Court.

• Consider possible opportunities for Green Ranch, the location of many of the city’s water wells.

Effective Governance

• Reexamine existing franchises and contracts; consider amendments to benefit Lakeport, especially those using city facilities and assets.

• Establish new contracting procedures to ensure compliance and fiscal accountability.

• Update city personnel rules.

• Transparency of government.

• Follow chain of command.

Infrastructure

• Update water and wastewater master plans.

• Continue the chip/seal program on city streets.

Livability

• Examine alternative funding for parks and grounds ongoing maintenance, to include Westside Park and Westshore Swimming Pool.

• Paving streets and roads.

Gillham said city staff will now tabulate the results into a spreadsheet which he’ll bring back to the council.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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