City looks to partner with other entities to provide recreational outlets

Council approves architects for recreation study

LAKEPORT >> The Lakeport City Council, during their Tuesday meeting, approved a proposal to enter into a professional services agreement with BCA Architects for the completion of the first phase of a recreation feasibility study.

This recreation feasibility study is contingent upon obtaining a cost-sharing agreement with Lake County and the City of Clearlake for equal shares of the study.

According to city staff, the contingent cost of the project is $20,000 for the city to start phase one. The total cost of the project in its entirety is $150,535.

The County of Lake Community Services Department and the City of Clearlake verbally

agreed to partner with the City of Lakeport to share the cost of phase one of the project which totals $58,740.

Lakeport Finance Director Nick Walker said city staff feels confident that if the project is determined feasible, additional partners will contribute in sharing to fund phase two.

“We are throwing this out there because the sky could be the limit. Maybe there is a (recreation) center for the city of Clearlake and Lakeport. There are a wide range of people who are looking to see how this project will go and so a $20,000 investment to see what happens is worth it,” Walker said.

Lakeport City Manager Kevin Ingram said this project initially started out with a narrow focus with the hope of rebuilding a community pool.

“As it grew it became clear there were more people who were interested in it,” Ingram said. There is no harm in looking at the bigger picture at play too, for a much wider recreational need.”

He added that this process is the first step in seeing what would work best not only for the city but for all jurisdictions in the county as a whole as it pertains to needing more recreational areas.

According to staff, the initial study of this project will consist of two phases. The first phase will include a project overview, market analysis, generating a citizen participation plan, determining partnerships and reviewing findings.

If it is determined feasible, the second phase will include more technical details including location specific tasks that include conceptual layout and design,

project capital cost estimates, operational analysis and an all-inclusive report.

City staff stated that this project started around 18 months ago when the Lake County Recreation Task Force (LCRTF) began to meet regularly to discuss possible opportunities to improve recreational outlets in Lakeport.

The group of individuals continued to meet virtually when COVID-19 hit as the plans continued to grow creating more interest around the county.

In October 2020, Lakeport city staff assisted the LCRTF in issuing a Request for Proposal (RFP) from qualified consulting firms.

This was done to conduct and prepare a needs assessment and feasibility study so the LCRTF could determine whether to proceed with either creating a multigenerational recreation center or multiple centers.

The city chose BCA Architects out of six applicants because of the organization’s previous work within the

“There are a wide range of people who are looking to see how this project will go and so a $20,000 investment to see what happens is worth it.”

— Lakeport Finance Director Nick Walker

city helping the Lakeport Unified School District develop their needs assessments to pass their general obligation bond in 2014. Because of this experience, officials said the firm is familiar with the community and the surrounding amenities.

BCA Architects was established in 1989 and has extensive experience in the master planning, design, funding and construction administration of civic, commercial and educational projects.