- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
Clearlake City Council to consider franchise waste hauler sale
The council will meet in closed session at 5 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 5, to discuss potential litigation as well as a lawsuit against the county treasurer-tax collector and an opioid lawsuit against Amerisourcebergen Drug Corp. and hold negotiations with Burbank Housing Corp. for property at 6885 Old Highway 53, before the public portion of the meeting begins at 6 p.m. in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.
The meeting will be broadcast live on the city's YouTube channel or the Lake County PEGTV YouTube Channel. Community members also can participate via Zoom or can attend in person.
The agenda can be found here.
Comments and questions can be submitted in writing for City Council consideration by sending them to City Clerk Melissa Swanson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. You can also visit the city’s town hall site and submit written comments at https://www.opentownhall.com/portals/327/Issue_9055. Identify the subject you wish to comment on in your email’s subject line or in your town hall submission.
To give the council adequate time to review your questions and comments, please submit your written comments before 4 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 5.
Each public comment emailed to the city clerk will be read aloud by the mayor or a member of staff for up to three minutes or will be displayed on a screen. Public comment emails and town hall public comment submissions that are received after the beginning of the meeting will not be included in the record.
The council on Thursday will present a proclamation promoting tolerance, respect, equity and inclusion, and get an update on the progress of the city’s 2021 Chip Seal Project.
Under council business, the council will be asked to approve the sale of its franchise waste hauler, Clearlake Waste Solutions, to Waste Connections.
City Manager Alan Flora’s report to the council notes that the city entered into a franchise agreement with Clearlake Waste Solutions in 2011 for waste services.
“The franchise agreement requires that the City approve any sale of stock outside of the three primary stockholders. The owners have negotiated a sale to Waste Connections in July and are asking for the City’s approval of the sale,” Flora said.
He said city representatives have met with both the owners of Clearlake Waste Solutions and representatives of Waste Connections.
After the sale Waste Connections will be hiring Bruce McCracken, the vice president of Clearlake Waste Solutions, to run the company locally, and the name and other operations of Clearlake Waste Solutions will remain the same.
“Staff believe that with the retention of Mr. McCracken and the process of allowing continued local control of the operations, the positive partnership the City has enjoyed with Clearlake Waste solutions will remain in place,” Flora wrote.
In a letter written to Flora dated July 14, McCracken and David Carroll, Clearlake Waste Solutions’ president, wrote that due to factors including increasing costs and the ever-changing regulatory environment, they had been considering a “stronger partner.”
Ultimately, they chose the Texas-based Waste Connections US Inc., whose subsidiaries serve 25 other California communities.
“Why WCI? We chose WCI as our suitor because of their proven commitment to staying local,” McCracken and Carroll wrote.
They added, “WCI ownership provides everything necessary to ensure the continued strength and success of both CWS and the CIty of Clearlake.”
Also on Thursday, staff also will update the council regarding the status of ongoing Code Enforcement cases at 14541 and 14525 Lakeshore Drive and consider rejecting bids for the Sulphur Fire Roadway Disaster Repair Project.
In other business, the council will consider authorizing the city manager to prepare and submit two program income only applications for $420,000 through the California Housing and Community Development CDBG Program for the Senior Community Center Rehabilitation Project and Red Bud Park Facilities Improvement and Safety Enhancement Project; consider a resolution certifying the appointment of David Deakins as Building Inspector II; hold the first reading of Ordinance No. 256-2021, an amendment to Chapter 17 of the Clearlake Municipal Code repealing and replacing floodplain management regulations, and consider joining the Joint Powers Authority of the Lake County Community Risk Reduction Authority.
On the meeting's consent agenda — items that are not considered controversial and are usually adopted on a single vote — are warrants, minutes of the June 9 Lake County Vector Control District Board meeting, continuation of the declaration of local emergency issued on March 14, 2020, and ratified by council action on March 19, 2020, for COVID-19, and continuation of the declaration of local emergency issued on Oct. 9, 2017, and ratified by council action Oct. 12, 2017, for the Sulphur fire.
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.