LAKEPORT, Calif. — Federal funds are helping ensure that the Lake County Sheriff’s Office will have a new headquarters in north Lakeport.

On Wednesday, Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-04) presented a check for $988,600 to the county of Lake for the Lakeport Armory Facility Repurposing Project.

This funding was secured in the Fiscal Year 2023 government funding bill.

A year ago, the county completed a transaction in which it traded a vacant 15.5-acre property at 15837 18th Ave. in Clearlake to the state in exchange for the Lakeport Armory property, located on seven acres at 1431 Hoyt Ave. in north Lakeport next to the Lake County Jail.

The property on 18th Avenue in Clearlake is now being developed for affordable housing.

“Lake County has been significantly impacted by natural disasters and having an efficient and robust response is essential to the safety and well-being of our community,” said Thompson. “I was proud to work with Lake County officials to identify the need for this funding to repurpose the Lakeport Armory as an Emergency Operations Center and help serve the people of the county. This project will help mitigate the risk in Lake County and strengthen our response to wildfires, floods, landslides, and other natural disasters.”

The project began under the tenure of recently retired Sheriff Brian Martin, who aimed to trade the aging sheriff’s office headquarters at 1220 Martin St. for the armory location, where all of the agency’s divisions can be located on the same campus.

Martin was on hand for the Wednesday check presentation, along with his successor, Sheriff Rob Howe.

“I acknowledge that the majority of this project, to date, has been accomplished under recently retired Sheriff Martin. However, as the current sheriff and for those current and future department employees, I would like to express my sincere appreciation for Congressman Thompson’s support of this project. I look forward to continuing the relationship with the Congressman, our Board of Supervisors, County Administration, and all other stakeholders,” said Sheriff Howe. “The idea of a unified sheriff’s department campus that will improve efficiency, response, team cohesiveness, and, ultimately, public safety is very exciting.”

Within the first year, facility rehabilitation improvements may include energy efficiency upgrades — replacement of the HVAC system; roof replacement with solar; weatherization measures — and accessibility alterations.

The planning tasks and initial improvements will assist in repurposing the Lakeport Armory for permanent use by most, if not all, Lake County Sheriff’s Office Divisions and the Emergency Operations Center.

In addition to providing Emergency Operation Services, the repurposed facility will also serve as a Regional Training Center for multiple jurisdictions and public safety disciplines.

As a result, officials said emergency response operations throughout the region will be more resilient, mitigating risks to Lake County and surrounding communities.