- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
Supervisors vote to file suit to recoup costs of removing sunken crane from Clear Lake
The board voted to file suit against Martin Scheel, a former Lakeport City Councilman who before his time on the council had worked as a marine contractor.
During a major storm in November 2010, a crane Scheel was using to build a boat lift in Clearlake Park slipped from its barge and sank in about 50 feet of water. A barge and a push boat also sank and were removed a month later, as Lake County News has reported.
In early 2011 the board voted to have the crane removed, which was completed in August of that year. The crane’s removal cost the county approximately $59,945.07, officials reported.
Officials said Scheel signed the crane over to the county, which recouped $4,039 by selling it for scrap.
The matter became an issue in the 2016 District 4 supervisorial campaign, when Scheel was running to succeed Anthony Farrington.
At that time, the issue of what Scheel owed the county went to the Board of Supervisors, which discussed what action to take over the course of several meetings that summer.
While Farrington had faulted Scheel for not making any payments to the county, it was confirmed at the time that no collection process had been initiated to recoup the costs despite the board having held a nuisance abatement hearing on the crane’s removal and the associated costs in January 2012.
At its meeting on July 19, 2016, the board voted unanimously to approve a contract with Scheel to repay approximately $55,906.07, plus interest, in monthly installments, an agreement secured with a promissory note of $60,312.65.
Failure to pay on the contract’s terms makes the promissory note immediately payable, according to the document.
The reason for the county now taking legal action is that Scheel stopped making payments last year.
Following Tuesday’s meeting, County Administrative Officer Carol Huchingson told Lake County News that Scheel’s last payment on the contract was posted in August.
She said Scheel told her that he was short on funds and asked if he could delay payments for a few months and catch up later.
“I told him the board would need to decide if there was to be a change in repayment terms and I offered to agendize that discussion. But I didn't hear back from him,” she said.
Huchingson said Scheel still owes $54,784.05 on the contract, having so far paid $5,528.60 of the amount required by the promissory note.
Before taking the litigation matter to the board, Huchingson said she sent Scheel a certified letter but it was returned unclaimed.
The board went into closed session following the conclusion of its public meeting on Tuesday. When the board came out, Supervisor Tina Scott – who had defeated Scheel in the 2016 election in which the crane was made a campaign issue – moved to initiate litigation, with Supervisor Jeff Smith seconding and the rest of the board voting to support.
Huchingson said she doesn't yet know when the suit will be filed.
Lake County News contacted Scheel on Tuesday afternoon to get his reaction to the board’s action.
At that point, he did not know the board had voted to sue.
When asked for further comment, Scheel declined.
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