LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport City Council this week honored a longtime planning commission on his retirement, discussed upgrades to City Hall and considered changes to the meeting schedule for the Parks and Recreation Commission.
One of the council’s first items of business on Tuesday was honoring retiring Lakeport Planning Commissioner Harold Taylor, who stepped down in December after 14 years of service.
Mayor Mireya Turner presented the proclamation to Taylor, who she said “conscientiously executed the duties associated with his position.”
During his tenure on the commission, Turner said Taylor was instrumental in the updating, review and implementation of the 2009 General Plan Update, 2009 and 2014 Housing Element Updates, and adoption of the Lakeport Lakefront Revitalization Plan in 2017.
Turner said Taylor’s knowledge of construction development practices “provided invaluable insight and benefit to the decision making process of the Planning Commission, most specifically in regards to the 2010 Martin Street Senior Apartments and 2017 Martin Street Multi-Family apartment projects which have and continue to provide greater affordable housing opportunities to the community.”
Taylor received a standing ovation from the council and the audience.
Afterward, he said he would be keeping his eyes on things.
Following the proclamation presentation to Taylor, the council unanimously voted to appoint Kipp Knorr to the Lakeport Planning Commission to fill Taylor’s term, which expires Dec. 31 2018. Knorr was the only applicant.
Community Development Director Kevin Ingram went to the council to ask for direction on a proposal to remodel a portion of City Hall in order to make it more customer friendly. This year’s city budget has $70,000 set aside for the project.
He said staff was seeking the council’s input on priorities and its permission to go out and beginning seeking area contractors to do the work.
He said the goal is to create a “one-stop customer service center” that will update the layout of the lobby and other public areas, clustering customer services in one location and allowing for staff to help more people at a time.
City Manager Margaret Silveira said that, currently, the finance window can only serve one person at a time, which can back up a lot.
The proposed changes outlined in Ingram’s written report include relocating the Community Development Department public window from its current location to the main lobby and adjacent to the Finance/Utility customer service window; providing public counter space large enough to view building plans and serve multiple customers at once; creating more usable space to accommodate Finance Department Staff and serve multiple customers at once; create a public window compliant with the American with Disabilities Act; allow for storage area in the council chambers for extra tables and chairs currently stacked at the back of the room, and moving the council chamber doors beyond the entry to the conference room to reduce conflicts between the users of those space.
Staff also suggested the council consider related improvements that include a City Hall security system upgrade, constructing a fur wall along the north building concrete wall in order to achieve greater energy efficiency within the entire building, and repairing the exterior building coating to prohibit water seepage through concrete exterior walls currently creating efflorescence in the council chambers.
Ingram said the primary goal of the discussion was to seek council input, have staff put together proposals and solicit responses and cost estimates.
Councilman Kenny Parlet moved to approve moving forward on going out for proposals, with the council voting 5-0.
In other business, the council, after a lengthy deliberation, decided to go against a staff recommendation to make Parks and Recreation Commission meetings quarterly and instead make them monthly. The current ordinance doesn’t specify how often the commission – established in 1984, needs to meet.
Staff had said the number of meetings and meeting times were cumbersome, according to some commission applicants. It also requires staff time to attend the meetings, which staff has had to cancel repeatedly over the past 16 months. During that time, there have only been six meetings.
Commissioners refused to compromise with a reduced meeting scheduling, arguing that they wouldn’t be able to get anything done.
The council also approved a proposed resolution authorizing the police department to conduct criminal background checks for commercial cannabis licensing purposes. Such background checks are a requirement in the city’s new commercial cannabis ordinances.
In other business, the council voted 5-0 to appoint Pamela Harpster, Dan Peterson and Andy Lucas to the Lakeport Economic Development Committee effective immediately, with those terms expiring Dec. 31, 2019.
There was no reportable action coming out of the council’s closed session to discuss property negotiations related to 800 N. Main St., 810 N. Main St. and 910 Bevins St., Turner said.
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020618 Lakeport City Council agenda packet by LakeCoNews on Scribd