- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
Clearlake City Council seeks governance role in Lake County Special Districts
At the April 4 meeting, City Manager Alan Flora led a discussion with the council on the county’s Southeast Regional Wastewater System and issues that have arisen with regard to a new housing development.
“This hasn’t been a very good year for the sewer system in Clearlake,” which is what initiated the discussion, Flora said.
Flora said Special Districts Administrator Scott Harter was invited but had another meeting.
One of the chief issues related to Konocti Gardens, a new 102-unit low-income apartment project built on 11 acres at 3930 Old Highway 53, developed by CSI Construction Co.
Flora said that although Konocti Gardens is ready to come online and be occupied in June, the county won’t allow the project to connect to the wastewater system until upgrades are made to the system.
That means the apartment complex won’t be online until October or November, “causing some pretty significant financial impacts to the project,” Flora said.
Flora said that the decision not to let the complex connect to the system was based on a capacity analysis required by Special Districts for projects over 20 units. He said he wasn’t sure why, but the city didn’t receive the draft report until early February.
That report indicated there is 2,200 feet of pipe in the collection system that would be over capacity as a result of this project, Flora said.
Flora noted later in the discussion that the city had been told by the county that the capacity plan was a formality and that everything would be fine, “but it wasn’t.”
He said the county did an updated sewer model in 2022. “This is a section of the collection system that is a problem with or without development.”
It was the city’s understanding, Flora said, that there aren’t areas of significant concern in the city for collection other than Highlands Harbor, which has spills every time there is a significant rain event.
However, based on this most recent capacity analysis, Special Districts won’t allow Konocti Gardens to connect to the sewer system, Flora said.
As a result, the county — including Supervisor Bruno Sabatier — along with the city and the developer have been having almost weekly meetings. “There’s some promising progress” in the developer being able to get occupancy, Flora said.
Flora said Special Districts is open to doing things to speed up design and construction of the needed upgrades.
If construction can’t be completed, there will be a design for a bypass from that project around the impacted area and added back into the system in another area with capacity to handle it, Flora said.
Flora said Lacosan’s system had a large wastewater spill last winter, and six to seven spills this winter totaling close to one million gallons that have hit water bodies, including Clear Lake, within the Southeast system.
He said Konocti Gardens really illustrates the fact that Lacosan has millions of dollars in reserves that have been accumulated and no apparent upgrade plan for the system. Meantime, Highlands Harbor has been a decades-long problem.
All these things lead to, “what can the city do to get some more answers here and maybe be a little bit more involved,” Flora said.
He added, “It is a little bit unusual that most of the infrastructure was developed before the city was incorporated.”
When the incorporation happened — which occurred in 1980 — it was required that the sanitation district’s board of directors provide at least one seat to the city. Flora said city staff found a 1983 resolution in which the city delegated that seat back to the Board of Supervisors.
Flora said he met the week before with County Administrative Officer Susan Parker, Board Chair Bruno Sabatier and Vice Chair EJ Crandell to share the city’s research and what they believe to be the county’s obligation, which is to give the city a seat on the sanitation district board.
There may be another arrangement with the county. “Ultimately, the city just wants this to work,” Flora said.
He said his discussions led him to conclude the county is interested in meeting and talking more about the situation, and figuring out a way for the city’s concerns to be addressed.
The council ended up unanimously adopting a resolution requesting a role in the direct governance of Lacosan’s operations of the Southeast Regional Collection System.
In other business, the council held the second reading of Ordinance No. 269-2024 updating Clearlake Municipal Code Section 3-5 relating to fire mitigation fees.
The change in the ordinance did not include changing the fire mitigation fees. Flora said they decided to hold off on adopting any changes by resolution until there is interest to have a countywide discussion on fire mitigation fees and construction.
When asked by council members about when the matter could be wrapped up, Flora said it could be done by the end of the fiscal year in the summer.
Also on Thursday, the council presents a proclamation declaring April 2024 as Sexual Assault Awareness Month and a proclamation declaring April 14 to 20 as Public Safety
Telecommunicators Week, offered certificates of appreciation for the Bunny Brunch and received the Recreation and Events Department’s quarterly report.
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