LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday afternoon voted to direct staff to move forward on setting up a county-owned property in Clearlake Oaks as a temporary sheriff's substation.
The Clearlake Oaks visitor center, which is not currently being used, is located at 12580 Acorn St., off of Highway 20.
The vote to designate it as a substation while the county continues to explore other future options was 5-0.
The board also directed staff to work on establishing a policy relating to how such county projects are handled – including how property purchases are negotiated – by department heads.
Board members said they felt the Acorn Street property, which would cost about $4,000 to renovate, was a better option than spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on a property on Shady Lane which Sheriff Frank Rivero prefers.
The need to be fiscally prudent was particularly important in light of a presentation given to the board earlier in the day by Undersheriff Pat Turturici, who received approval for a feasibility study on expanding the Lake County Jail, now seriously taxed by the additional demands of correctional realignment.
That jail expansion may cost as much as $22 million, with a required county match of $600,000.
Rivero and the board members had a tense exchange at the Oct. 16 meeting, during which he denigrated the offer of a $1-per-month space offered at the Big Oak Shopping Center.
That had been the board's preferred option, but after the meeting the center's manager, Milton Pereira, retracted the offer, saying Rivero had insulted the center and seriously misrepresented it.
That sent the County Space Committee – composed of county Deputy Administrative Officer Alan Flora, Supervisor Jeff Smith and Public Services Director Caroline Chavez – back to the board to explore other options for a Clearlake Oaks substation.
Rivero was not present for the discussion, with Turturici and Capt. Chris Macedo appearing before the board instead.
Looking for options
Flora told the board that other issues had arisen for the Shady Lane property, including that it was zoned residential, not commercial as the real estate agent had told the county. That would have to be addressed before moving forward, as administrative office use currently isn't allowed.
After reconsidering the visitor center space, Flora said it was possible to designate parking space spaces, provide the necessary restrooms for both sheriff's staff and the public, and add a kitchenette.
He said he also was going to explore the possibility of moving the visitor center – which is to be manned by the Lake County Chamber of Commerce – to a privately owned commercial space along the highway.
The Big Oak Shopping Center was the only property among those considered for the substation that had a direct line of sight to the county's communication towers on Mt. Konocti, said Flora. All of the other properties will require that a repeater be installed.
Supervisor Denise Rushing said the value on the Shady Lane property also appeared to be less than the owner was asking. Flora agreed, saying the county's research showed that regardless of zoning, the price was inflated.
Rushing said it was unfortunate that the county lost the chance at the Big Oak Shopping Center. While she felt the Shady Lane property was ideal, it is far more than the county can afford. She said the visitor center offered the chance to open a substation and save up for a more suitable future location.
Board Chair Rob Brown said he liked the visitor center because the county owned it, it was relatively easy to move into and it was going to allow them to save money in the face of needed jail expansion.
Smith agreed, noting if they needed to make changes to the visitor center, they were actually adding value to their own property.
Supervisor Jim Comstock publicly thanked Pereira for his original offer, also noting it was unfortunate that the offer was no longer available. He supported the visitor center being an initial substation.
Supervisor Anthony Farrington supported his fellow supervisors. “This shouldn't be an issue or any type of power struggle,” he said.
Clearlake Oaks resident Olga Martin Steele, also a county planning commissioner, referred to a petition submitted to the board from community members wanting a substation. She wanted to hear from Turturici and Macedo about what would work for them.
Macedo wanted additional time, saying Rivero was continuing to negotiate with the property owner and real estate agent, and that the owner had made significant concessions.
“I don't mind seeing it put off,” said Brown. Referring to remarks by Rivero at the Oct. 16 meeting that decentralization of the sheriff’s office was decades overdue, Brown noted, “We were told we were 50 years behind so we thought there was a big hurry there.”
Brown added that he thought it was a bad idea for any department head to go out on their own and try to negotiate on property before a purchase is approved.
Farrington said he didn't mind delaying, but his position was not going to change, explaining that he didn't feel it was prudent to spend so much money on a new substation. “I don't see the economy bouncing back.”
Smith said he also wanted a substation in Clearlake Oaks. “We're not serving the public very well if we keep putting it off.”
Rushing said it was not a good year to be investing hundreds of thousands of dollars in a new substation, but suggested the visitor center was a start, and that they could save up for a better future location. She questioned if the sheriff's office would be enthusiastic about the temporary space.
“We just don't feel like it's big enough,” said Turturici, who said that a temporary fix in the form of a substation on Acorn Street could go on for a few years. “We're swamped with construction projects.”
Turturici said he wants to conduct Neighborhood Watch and rural crime programs, and the visitor center is too small. “We really want to make it a community substation. I feel it's too small for those needs to be met at this time.”
Brown said there is no substation in Kelseyville, yet they are able to find other facilities to host classes and events.
Being fiscally responsible
Farrington said the board has to be very cognizant of the money it spends. He referenced the need to expand the jail and said the proposed annexation by the city of Lakeport for a portion of the South Main Street area could result in the county losing six deputy positions. He said he would not support spending more tax dollars on real estate.
He said it was not about a suggested power struggle between the sheriff and board. “It's about being fiscally responsible.”
Steele said the board needed to give Clearlake Oaks equal treatment, saying she saw them spending more money on other communities.
Board members took issue with her comments, pointing out the time and effort to improve the community, which received significant amounts of redevelopment money. It also is getting a new senior center, has new senior housing, a new plaza, new docks, Clarks Island and Nylander Park.
Smith said Lower Lake needs more help than any place else around. “If we want to start comparing, we shouldn't do anything in the Oaks,” he said. “Let's compare apples to apples and oranges to oranges and move on.”
Rushing moved to authorize use of the visitor center for a sheriff's substation and directed staff to make improvements, which the board approved 5-0.
The board also directed work stop on the Middletown substation, which has hit significant snags, with the front building on the property having issues with its foundation and unpermitted additions.
Brown said he wanted the brakes put on that project until a county policy on managing such construction and acquisition projects was created by staff and approved by the board.
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