Lake County board accepts 2025 roads projects and files 2026 transportation plan update

The Lake County Board of Supervisors on a unanimous 5-0 vote accepted and filed the county's 2025 roads projects and the 2026 Regional Transportation Plan/Active Transportation Plan update following a presentation by Glenn March, the county's Public Works Director.

Glenn March told the board he was providing "an update on the road work that we intend to do this year in the county," and outlined planned resurfacing, bridge and landslide repairs, pedestrian and school-crossing work, and grant-seeking efforts tied to the updated plans.

The nut of the presentation was that the county uses the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) and Active Transportation Plan (ATP) lists to support grant applications. "These plans identify the most important projects in the County," March said, and projects listed in those plans will be cited in grant packages the county submits.

Major items March described include a 37-mile chip-seal program focused in Kelseyville and Lower Lake; preliminary design work on South Main Street and Soda Bay Road improvements; pavement rehabilitation in the Cobb area (a construction contract is expected to be brought to the board at a future meeting); and the design kickoff for about five landslide-repair projects. He also said the county has roughly 20 bridge repair or replacement projects in the pipeline and will begin design work on several temporary-bridge replacements.

March said the county has applied for a $21,000,000 grant for the South Main Street and Soda Bay Road widening projects and that staff will aggressively pursue additional grants. He said the department will bring a contract for grant-writing support to the board soon. On school-area safety, March said staff will hire an engineer to study speeds, signage under the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices and pavement markings to identify Safe Routes to School improvements. On existing school-improvement funding he noted, "Originally, we proposed $250,000 for the improvements. We were able to get Caltrans to give us another 750,000 for those improvements."

Board members and members of the public asked for more specificity on timing and costs. Vice Chair Rasmussen and other supervisors pressed for a clearer picture of revenues and longer-term targets, asking whether the county's 10-year pavement plan would be revised and requesting dollar estimates to match projects to likely funding. March said he will provide an update on the overall pavement rehabilitation program when he brings a contract amendment for the 2025 pavement rehabilitation project.

Public comments during the item highlighted local safety and drainage problems the updated plans should address. Margo Kambara, a resident, warned that certain roads pose evacuation risks and said, "The concern is that until those safety issues are addressed for the road, those residents are at risk." Tom Lasik asked for more signage and pavement markings on Highland Springs Road, saying drivers "don't even realize they're in the park." Julia Carrera and other Upper Lake residents described flooding and collapsing culverts on the north end of Main Street in Upper Lake; Donna McQuitson described an unsafe crossing at East Lake School and said drivers did not stop when attempting to cross. Betsy Khan urged coordination with the Watershed Protection District to address unpaved roads that drain into Clear Lake.

Board directions and next steps stated during the discussion included: start design on the Morgan Valley landslide repair now that the county has received a funding letter from Caltrans; bring a construction contract for the Cobb pavement rehabilitation project back to the board; pursue STIP and CDBG funding where applicable; present a Capital Improvement Program (CIP) and a more detailed funding picture in early summer; and run a new fee study (the last fee study was 2014) to recalculate building-permit and refuse-hauler road fees (March estimated the study cost at about $30,000).

During public comment and board discussion supervisors also raised long-term options for revenue, including discussion of a possible road tax to address chronic shortfalls. No tax measure was proposed or scheduled during the meeting; supervisors said such policy steps would require further board action.

The board voted on a motion to accept and file the 2025 roads projects and the 2026 RTP/ATP update. Vice Chair Rasmussen moved to accept and file the report; a second was recorded. The clerk announced, "Motion carries 5 0 0." The action was recorded as "accept and file" and no additional binding appropriations were made during the vote.

March closed by noting staff will continue design work, pursue grants, and return to the board with contracts and the CIP-level discussion in the coming months. He also said the department will pursue a countywide study of school-area speeds and signage to inform future Safe Routes to School projects.

Details discussed but not yet decided include specific construction schedules, exact engineer cost estimates for each project and final funding commitments contingent on grant awards.

Votes at a glance

- Motion: "Accept and file the 2025 roads projects and the 2026 Regional Transportation Plan/Active Transportation Plan update." Mover: Vice Chair Rasmussen. Second: not specified on the record. Outcome: approved. Vote tally announced: yes 5, no 0, abstain 0.