CLEARLAKE, Calif. — The Clearlake City Council kicked off the new year with a brief meeting in which members approved a series of appointments and received updates from staff.
New Mayor David Claffey took the gavel for the first time on Thursday night, leading the meeting, which ran under 45 minutes. Joyce Overton will serve as Claffey’s vice mayor this year.
Claffey started off the meeting with honoring outgoing Mayor Russ Perdock, noting that he believes 2023 was one fo Clearlake’s most successful years.
He also offered a proclamation declaring January 2024 as Human Trafficking Awareness Month. The presentation to the annual Breakfast with Santa volunteers was held over to a future meeting.
The main part of the meeting was approving a series of annual appointments.
Claffey recommended to the council that Overton remain the city representative to the quarterly CalCities Redwood Empire division business meetings — which includes representing the city and voting at the division legislative committee meetings — with himself as the alternate. The council approved that recommendation unanimously.
The council also approved a lengthy list of regular appointments, all of which Claffey suggested keeping the same as in 2023.
However, he said the ad hoc committee to advise on the Burns Valley Sports Complex project was not on the list, and he asked for Council members Russell Cremer and Dirk Slooten to remain on that committee.
City Manager Alan Flora asked for the council to make appointments to two additional committees in partnership with the Elem Indian Colony, which recently reached an agreement with the city for a new travel center. One will be for advising on a community benefit fund and the second will be for the city and tribe to meet quarterly to discuss and work through issues that arise.
Claffey said he and Perdock would sit on those two committees with the tribe.
Flora said there needs to be a lot of energy to deal with water issues and he asked for an ad hoc committee with two council members to work with staff. Claffey, who acknowledged it’s a very important issue, appointed Slooten and Perdock to that committee.
Claffey wanted to appoint two regular members, rather than just one, so the city’s traffic safety committee. His choices were Overton, the current member, and Perdock, the current alternate.
City Clerk Melissa Swanson said that committee was created by adoption of a resolution, so that will need to be brought back for council approve at the next meeting.
Slooten moved to approve Claffey’s appointments, which the council accepted 5-0.
In other news, Flora reported on a new mixed income project near the senior center which is nearing completion and has a temporary certificate of occupancy. He said it has 79 affordable units and one manager’s unit, and already 54 occupant applicants have been approved, with other units in process.
Flora said the move-in date is Jan. 20, and they expect 100% occupancy the following day. A ribbon cutting is expected sometime in February or early March.
In other updates, Flora said the city narrowly missed getting another Clean California grant through Caltrans, an issue he attributed to a mapping algorithm that made it appear that Clearlake is not as economically challenged as it is.
He said the city is preparing for the environmental analysis for the airport development project, with various contracts for the study expected to come to the council at an upcoming meeting.
Flora also said the city hall renovations are nearly complete. In July, city administration and staff moved out of city hall and over to the Lake County Campus of Woodland Community College while the work was underway. The police department remained in place and City Council meetings continued in the chambers.
He said staff was moving back into city hall and was pleased to be back.
Regarding the city’s request to be involved in the Golden State Water Co. rate case, Flora said the California Public Utilities Commission notified the city that the filing has been accepted.
Claffey moved to closed session at 6:42 p.m. in order to hold a confidential discussion with legal counsel to discuss a liability claim filed by June Linet Cejavasquez and two cases of anticipated litigation.
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Clearlake City Council starts off year with new appointments, updates
- Elizabeth Larson
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