File photo: Lake County Publishing. Photo Caption: In 2019, flooding occurred on Clear Lake just south of the Lakeport Yacht Club as a result of the Atmospheric River storm, which reduced rainfall totals from 4 to 9 inches in 72 hours across parts of Lake County.
City of Clear Lake << A mid-year budget review driven by maintaining positive housing counts and development impact fees showed the City of Clear Lake outperforming all neighboring towns in Lake County. Incorporated and unincorporated as the economy grows.
“It was exciting to look at the trends in the City of Clear Lake’s housing market and see the comparison between December 2023 and December 2022,” City Finance Director Kathy Wells said on Feb. 15 in the City Council chambers. Told. Wells noted that the median home sales price increased 32% year over year. The City of Clear Lake sold 9 homes in December 2023, an increase of 12.5% compared to December 2022. “Market trends in Kelseyville, Clearlake Oaks, and Lakeport are in direct contrast to the city of Clearlake, with lower median sales prices and fewer homes.” are listed on the market,” Wells said.
Meanwhile, Wells noted that since ACL Property Management transitioned to overseeing short-term rental and transient occupancy tax collections, the city has collected from 28 short-term rentals. The city has also begun efforts to collect currently uncollected revenues. Real estate listed online is worth $2.2 million in FY22/23, and forecasts for the next few years are -3.6% in FY2024/23, +2.2% in FY24/25, and May 2026. 2019 is expected to increase by 2.5%,” she reported. . She will also make internal hires, including a grants management analyst, where she will work with Adams Ashby, who has 30 years of experience in grants management.
“We had our first audit last year and found nothing,” Wells said. “And we conducted our first solo audit with a federal grant…and we are in the process of hiring a chief building inspector and at the same time contracting professional services to BCR Consulting. , Wells said hiring in-house saves money. But she also mentioned some drawbacks: When it comes to reducing abandoned vehicles, the company has already exhausted its budget and needs an additional 30,000 “Although the discretionary fund is relatively flat and so is the general fund, the overall budget is on track and we expect a small amount of investment in FY23/24, so staff will We recommend the adoption of Resolution 24-06,” Wells said. The board approved it unanimously.
But frequent public commentator Martha Garcia questioned why the city needed to contract with ACL and the data on short-term rental rates. Mr. Wells explained that ACL sought short-term rentals for Air B&B advertising. “They have to get a business license and pay TOT (transient occupancy tax) and ACL informed us that there are 28 short-term rentals. But there are many more rentals out there. I realized that,” Wells said. “Anyone with common sense would know there are more than 28 short-term weekend travelers. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see the people coming,” Garcia countered. She said, “You guys are missing out on a lot of rental income. I don't see why you should hire a company. That's definitely something to focus on.”
In other areas, City Manager Alan Flores highlighted the challenges posed by this month's winter storms. Flora pointed out that as director of emergency services, he has the authority to declare a local state of emergency. This would give them additional authority to move contracts (particularly for roads affected by landslides), allow them to work with multiple agencies and vendors to move them forward more quickly, and allow them to meet needs beyond local capacity. To maximize the speed at which resources can be procured, he urged Congress to: Ratify the resolution.
“We're likely to get some funding, and we have two options at this point,” he said. “There is potential for funding from FEMA, and with Lake County declaring a disaster for the city of Lakeport, we believe there will be a county-wide impact, so we need the necessary criteria for FEMA to participate.” But we also have emergency response funding through Caltrans, and this project will be eligible.'' He added that the Department of Public Works has already submitted paperwork and an emergency declaration.
“We are awaiting final plans from the engineers and the contractor will proceed with modifications,” he said. “We're going to try the Caltrans route first,” he added. “It might be more efficient than going to FEMA.” The motion was introduced to approve the 2024 winter storm emergency declaration and passed unanimously.
