- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
Lakeport City Council passes new weed abatement ordinance, gets quarterly police report
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport City Council on Tuesday approved a new weed abatement ordinance, received a report on police activity during the first three months of the year and presented three proclamations.
One of the main items of the evening was the public hearing on a new hazardous weed abatement ordinance, which changes the date by which dry vegetation on private properties must be abated from early July to June 1.
It’s a measure that officials said is being taken to bolster community fire safety.
Community Development Director Kevin Ingram said the city and Lakeport Fire have been working together on a more aggressive approach to vegetation abatement in light of the wildland fires that have hit the county over the last several years. He said the Lakeport area also had major fire incidents in the 1980s and 1990s.
During a brief public hearing only one person spoke – Lakeport Fire Chief Doug Hutchison.
While he had nothing to add about the ordinance itself, Hutchison offered another lesson about fire history, similar to what he gave at the council’s meeting last month when it introduced the ordinance.
He recalled the date Oct. 8, which this past year was the day the devastating Tubbs fire – reported to be the most destructive in California history – started near Calistoga and burned to Santa Rosa, within hours of the beginning of the Sulphur fire, which burned in Clearlake Oaks and Clearlake.
Hutchison said Oct. 8 is an important date in fire history for another destructive incident; it was on that date in 1871 that the Great Chicago Fire began, killing 300 people and leaving more than 300,000 people homeless. He said it’s because of that fire that Fire Prevention Week is marked in October.
On the same day that the Great Chicago Fire began, a fire broke out in Peshtigo, Wisconsin. Hutchison said that, to this day, it’s not known how many people actually died in that fire, with estimates ranging between 1,200 and 1,500. He said the whole town was wiped out, and it wasn’t initially known because the telegraph lines burned. It also got little news coverage because of the Chicago fire.
“This isn’t a new problem. It’s an old problem,” said Hutchison. “Any little thing we can do to take on that enemy, we should.”
Councilman Kenny Parlet recalled a calendar that a local bank had used to put out featuring pictures of Lake County’s historic hot springs resorts. “They all burned to the ground,” he said.
Councilman George Spurr moved to approve the ordinance, with Mayor Pro Tem Tim Barnes seconding and the council voting 5-0.
Tuesday’s meeting also featured an update on police activity in the first quarter of this year, presented by Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen, who commended his staff for the good work they’re doing on the streets.
From Jan. 1 to March 31, there were 2,533 total incidents, which Rasmussen said broke down to 1,004 community calls for service and 1,529 incident that were the result of police-initiated activity, including vehicle stops, foot patrols and arrests.
Among the nine crimes that the police department must report as part of the uniform crime report requirements, Rasmussen gave the following statistics for 2018’s first three months: homicides, 0; rapes, 0; robberies, 3; aggravated assaults, 5; simple assaults, 15; burglaries; 5; larcenies, 32; stolen vehicles, 2; and arsons, 0.
He said there were 193 total arrests, with 164 of those being misdemeanors and 29 for felonies.
A significant statistic for Rasmussen is the number of drunk driving arrests, as his department is on a traffic enforcement and safety campaign. He said that in the previous 90 days there had been 45 drunk driving arrests.
In addition, police officers in that time period issued 147 traffic citations, of which 66 were for moving violations that are primary contributing factors to collisions, such as speed, turning and right-of-way violations, and using electronic devices while driving, Rasmussen said.
Rasmussen said Lakeport Police’s detective also was assigned or completed 15 serious criminal investigations, including the writing of eight search warrants.
Regarding response times, Rasmussen said that for priority one – or emergency – calls, it was three minutes; for priority two, which is not an emergency but someone needs officer assistance in a timely manner, the response time was 10 minutes; and for priority three, in which there is some kind of cold crime, the response was 20 minutes.
“I plan to try to review these every 90 days and come back with a report, and also release it to the public as well,” Rasmussen said.
Lt. Jason Ferguson, who Rasmussen said has been supervising the night shift until the department hires a new sergeant, was on hand to support the chief in making his report.
Ferguson pointed out that this year’s first quarter statistics are well above last year’s numbers. He attributed that to the work of the city’s police officers, who he said are all dedicated to the community’s safety.
“They definitely deserve to be recognized,” he said, explaining that the increased statistics reflected their proactive efforts. Ferguson said he’s proud of them and pleased to work with them.
Rasmussen said during the first three months of this year his officers also have take at least three firearms off of the street.
In one case, they encountered a man in a vehicle who had a gun in his pocket and was trying to hide it when officers were walking up on the car. That incident “could easily have turned very violent,” but because of the officers’ work and alertness, they were able to take the man into custody, Rasmussen said.
Council members noted they had seen officers at work around the city and were pleased with their efforts.
Also on Tuesday, Mayor Mireya Turner presented proclamations designating April as Sexual Assault Awareness Day and Child Abuse Prevention Month to Lake Family Resource Center staff, and a proclamation designating April 14 as Human Trafficking Awareness Day to the Soroptimist International of Clear Lake.
The council approved the updated Sewer System Management Plan as well as a resolution adopting an email retention policy, and appointed Turner as the Lakeport representative to the Public, Educational and Governmental Channel Board of Directors with a term expiring in January 2020.
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040318 Lakeport City Council agenda packet by LakeCoNews on Scribd