- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
Supervisors approve purchase of 124-acre property in Middle Creek Restoration Project area
In a Tuesday morning vote, the board — sitting as the Lake County Watershed Protection District Board of Director — unanimously approved an administrative agreement to purchase two parcels totaling 124 acres at 2200 Point Land Farms Road in Nice for $1,495,600.
The property’s owner is Michael S. Mountanos, trustee of the Michael S. Mountanos Living Trust.
The property will be part of the Middle Creek Flood Damage Reduction and Ecosystem Restoration Project.
That project aims to remove failing levees and return 1,650 acres of farmland between the Nice-Lucerne Cutoff and Upper Lake to Clear Lake in order to improve the watershed and water quality by reducing sedimentation and phosphorus loading.
County documents said the project’s construction design by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been estimated at around $3.2 million, of which the county must pay $800,000.
In her written report to the board, Deputy Water Resources Director Marina Deligiannis called the property purchase “a big step” toward the project’s development.
On Tuesday, Deligiannis said that the county’s consultant, Paragon Partners Ltd., had reached the sale agreement with Mountanos.
She said the county is using a grant from the California Department of Water Resources to purchase land for the project from willing sellers.
That grant, for $15 million, expires March 31, 2022, and Deligiannis said they still have more land to acquire. The county is seeking an extension of the grant from the state.
“This parcel is one of our priority parcels for a variety of reasons,” she said, and one of the biggest reasons is that the property borders the Rodman Slough.
In a May project update to the board, Deligiannis said there were eight priority parcels, with a total of nearly 50 properties still to purchase.
It also was explained at that May meeting that Paragon is tasked with working on the acquisition of the priority parcels, which are prioritized due to potential impact if the levees fail.
Since May, the board has approved one other property purchase for the project. In a consent item on the June 22 agenda, the supervisors voted to purchase a 10-acre parcel at 8100 Sailor Ave. in Upper Lake from Francisco and Angela Ortega for $170,000.
On July 27, the supervisors also approved committing $400,000 in cannabis tax funds toward the county’s share of the design cost in an effort to get the federal government to approve the appropriation that will allow the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to start the project design.
During Tuesday’s discussion, Deligiannis said that in March the state approved an appraisal for $1,371,000 for the Mountanos property. Mountanos’ broker submitted a counter offer for $1,000 more per acre, bringing the total to $1,495,600.
When Paragon submitted that counter offer to the county, the county in turn sent it to the state for consideration, Deligiannis said.
The State Department of Water Resources did not approve paying the additional $124,600 for the property, but Deligiannis said the state offered the county several options.
The one with the quickest turnaround, which the state has approved, allows the county to be reimbursed by the grant for $1,371,000 and to use reserves to cover the additional $124,600. Deligiannis explained Lake County Water Resources would then look at other grant opportunities for getting reimbursement for the reserve funds.
Board Chair Bruno Sabatier said the property is a very large and important piece of land that will help the project move forward. The acquisition of this and another piece of land will allow the county to start looking at where to locate a new bridge to account for the new historical flow of the lake through the Rodman Slough.
“This is one of the key pieces we’ve been working hard on,” he said.
Sabatier said it was exciting to have the land purchase brought forward. “I’m happy the state is working with us and I’m glad we’re able to find ways to make this happen today.”
Supervisor EJ Crandell moved to approve the purchase, with Supervisor Jessica Pyska seconding and the board voting 5-0.
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