TBID Slated to Raise $6 Million
NORTH LAKE TAHOE
The continued process to create a Tourism Business Improvement District in North Lake Tahoe (NLTTBID), bolstering a year-round economy, offsetting tourism impacts, and supporting local businesses, surges forward. On Jan. 26, a public hearing was held at the Placer County board of supervisors meeting, allowing for a presentation on the project that outlined next steps, as well as time for public comment.
The TBID’s approval (which will likely happen March 9 since all conditions for approval have been met) will establish an assessment on businesses in Placer’s eastern county area. Tourism-related businesses will be assessed either 1% or 2% based on revenue of business.
The assessment fees will go toward funding marketing and special events; visitor services and centers; business support; economic development and transportation; and more.
The required 50% plus one approval of businesses in the proposed NLTTBID region accounts not for 51% of individual businesses, but 51% of dollars that would be contributed to the assessment. About 200 businesses of the 5,000 identified total in the assessment district have signed on and satisfied the requirement. The NLTRA will serve as the TBID’s owners association, charged with managing funds and implementing programs.
In a rare move, organizers have engineered this new TBID to be additive funds for the region. The marketing work that has up to now largely been financed by Transient Occupancy Tax, normally allotted by Placer County to the North Lake Tahoe Resort Association to the tune of $4.1 million, will now be funded by the TBID. The move opens up TOT dollars to be allocated to workforce housing and transportation initiatives in the North Tahoe area.
Another novel aspect is that the NLTTBID is an assessment not just on lodging, but also retail, dining, and recreation providers, an aspect modeled after a district from the Mammoth area.
If approved on March 9, the proposed TBID will have a five-year life, with assessments beginning July 1 and renewals in increments of 10 years thereafter. To view the NLTTBID Management Plan, visit bit.ly/36BZwJC.
~ AH, ME
Rue Hilltop Property, Containing Cottonwood, For Sale
TRUCKEE
Sotheby’s International Realty announced that the 43.8-acre property dubbed “Hilltop Site” above Truckee’s historic downtown and the Truckee River including Cottonwood Restaurant is for sale at $11,995,000. The land is classified as mixed-use, and is largely residential with 129 units of a multi-family complex and two separate single-family residential neighborhoods further up the hill. The commercial-zoned area of the site has a total of 19,180 square feet of commercial development allowed, including Cottonwood and Hilltop Cabins, with about 9,000 square feet undeveloped.
~ BL
Urgent Care Closing
INCLINE VILLAGE
Dr. Tim Heilman’s Incline Village Urgent Care will be closing around June. Moonshine Ink confirmed this with the urgent care clinic, but did not receive a statement regarding the reasons by deadline.
~ AH
WinterWonderGrass Announces Postponement
SQUAW VALLEY
The WinterWonderGrass Music & Brew Festival, known for its mix of eclectic bluegrass and Americana artists, local and regional craft brews, and world-class skiing and riding, announced that it is postponing its rescheduled 2020 festival again to April 1-3, 2022, and it will not occur on its initially rescheduled dates of April 9-11, 2021. The festival will take place at its traditional California home of Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows in North Lake Tahoe.
WinterWonderGrass has presented current festival ticket holders, and those without tickets that are interested in attending in 2022, with a handful of options. Those details are as follows:
- Redeem existing tickets from the past two years’ canceled festivals:
- All current single-day, 3-day, and VIP festival tickets will be honored in April 2022. No action is required for those who want to roll over.
- All resort lift tickets purchased for 2020 will be honored for festival weekend in 2022.
- Buy tickets: Tickets for WinterWonderGrass Tahoe 2022 can be purchased at
bit.ly/3pZjo0ISince the event is close to selling out, we anticipate high demand for these tickets; thus, if plans change, you should be able to sell/exchange in the future through Lyte.
- Refund:
- Given the continued stress surrounding COVID, WinterWonderGrass is happy to work with fans on refunds for extenuating circumstances. Please direct ticket specific inquiries to info@bonfirentertainment.com.
~ WinterWonderGrass press release
Partnership to Highlight Nevada Food and Agriculture Products
SPARKS
Made in Nevada and the Nevada Department of Agriculture are collaborating to promote food and agriculture producers and businesses at madeinnevada.org. Thanks to the new Shop Made in Nevada website, it’s easier than ever before to buy from Nevada businesses.
The recent expansion of this ecommerce site was adapted to include meat, produce, and agricultural products and address disruptions to local supply chains due to COVID-19. The platform connects manufacturers, artisans, growers, and other small businesses directly to consumers through an easy-to-use online portal.
Membership in the Shop Nevada site is free to businesses, and participants will receive training and individual assistance with increasing sales through the website.
~ NDA press release
Moving In, Moving Up, Moving On
Former Interim Chief Announced as Official Selection
TRUCKEE
The Truckee Police Department has announced the selection of its new chief of police, Randall Billingsley, after an extensive interview process.
“Chief Billingsley is well prepared to take the reins of the police department with over 27 years of law enforcement experience,” said Jen Callaway, Truckee’s town manager. “Randy has served as interim chief for the past six months, and has demonstrated his ability to lead the Department. I am excited to welcome Randy to the team in the official capacity of chief, particularly after hearing his vision for the organization and plans to carry forward the tradition of outstanding Truckee community oriented policing.”
Billingsley has worked for Oakland and San Mateo police departments and the San Mateo and Nevada county district attorney’s offices in addition to the Truckee PD. He has experience as a detective, a SWAT team member as a sniper, a chief investigator, and police captain.
Billingsley stepped into the interim police chief role after Chief Robert Leftwich’s early retirement on July 3, 2020.
~ Town of Truckee press release
Snow Lab Gets a New Station Manager
SODA SPRINGS
The Central Sierra Snow Lab is bringing on Andrew Schwartz as its incoming station manager, starting April 15. Schwartz is wrapping up his PhD in atmospheric science at the University of Queensland where he is working on quantifying and modeling atmosphere-snowpack energy exchange, quantifying internal snowpack thermodynamic processes, and incorporating machine learning in meteorological data analysis and quality control procedures. Prior to his PhD program, Schwartz obtained his BSc in meteorology at the Metropolitan State University of Denver and worked as an associate scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research.
Read about how the region came close to losing vital snowfall tracking systems in Moonshine’s online reporting, The Saga of the Snow Lab.
~ Central Sierra Snow Lab e-news
NTPUD Welcomes Justin Broglio as Public Information Officer
KINGS BEACH
The North Tahoe Public Utility District has proudly announced that Justin Broglio has been selected as the district’s new public information officer.
Broglio comes to the NTPUD from the Desert Research Institute in Reno, where he spent the last eight-and-a-half years leading communications, public affairs, and marketing. Before that, he served as executive director of the Tahoe City Downtown Association and as a community reporter for the North Lake Tahoe Bonanza newspaper.
Broglio holds a degree in Nature Resource Conservation and Journalism and is an Accredited Public Relations Professional (APR). He has spent the last 15 years working in nonprofit communications and community outreach, public policy, and legislative affairs in Northern California and Western Nevada.
Broglio replaces the late Pam Emmerich, who served as the District’s PIO for more than 15 years before her death in July 2020.
~ NTPUD press release
CATT Announces Hiring of Truckee/North Tahoe Government Affairs Manager
TRUCKEE
The Contractors Association of Truckee Tahoe has taken a historic step to further expand the advocacy efforts of the construction industry in North Tahoe. CATT is pleased to announce that Peter Fenolio has been hired as its Truckee/North Tahoe government affairs manager. This is a new full-time position replacing current CATT government affairs manager, Pat Davison, in her role as CATT advocate. Davison is retiring after 15 years of CATT leadership and service.
Fenolio will be working alongside the CATT Local Government Affairs Committee on regulatory issues of importance to the CATT membership and facilitating decisions on position and strategy. He will also serve as the administrator for CATT’s sponsored Political Action Committee.
Fenolio is uniquely qualified for this position specializing in grassroots organizing, municipal administration and policy advocacy. He started on Jan. 25. He will be joining CATT South Lake Tahoe Government Affairs Manager Natalie Yanish in furthering construction and housing advocacy efforts lake-wide.
~ CATT press release
Tahoe Donner Hires Two Directors
TRUCKEE
Steve Turner has been announced as Tahoe Donner’s new food and beverage director. Turner brings nearly 30 years of executive culinary experience and will oversee Tahoe Donner’s restaurant offerings with a focus on providing exceptional customer service and premier quality to members and guests.
In 1993, Turner began a long career as director of food and beverage at several ski resorts including Sierra-at-Tahoe, Mammoth Mountain, and most recently Vail Resorts at Heavenly Mountain Resort. This past year, Turner served as senior director of food and beverage operations for Caesars Entertainment Lake Tahoe, which includes Harrah’s and Harvey’s. He had the opportunity to successfully open Lake Tahoe’s first celebrity restaurant, Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen in South Lake Tahoe.
Turner and his wife Lorraine are long-time Tahoe locals. During the shoulder seasons, they love to travel to Napa and Sonoma for wine tasting and dining experiences. They have 19-year-old twins who are attending their sophomore year of college.
The resort community has also hired Todd Martyn-Jones as its director of finance and accounting. Martyn-Jones brings nearly 25 years of experience in finance, accounting, and business operations to Tahoe Donner Association.
Most recently, Martyn-Jones joined Tahoe Donner from ASM Global, the world’s leading venue management and services company, overseeing financial operations for the Reno-Sparks Convention Center, Reno Events Center, National Bowling Stadium, and Reno-Sparks Livestock and Events Center.
Martyn-Jones is a passionate skier who also enjoys seeing live music from artists such as U2 to any house band playing at a local venue. A self-described “inconsistent” golfer, he looks forward to improving his skills at the Tahoe Donner Golf Course this summer. Martyn-Jones and his wife Michelle are proud parents of Oliver and Sophia.
~ Tahoe Donner press releases
Tahoe Forest Health System Brings Aboard Physician
TRUCKEE
Tahoe Forest Health System announced that Joshua Kreiss, MD, MPhil, has joined its team at the Tahoe Forest MultiSpecialty Clinics.
Dr. Kreiss specializes in the evaluation and treatment of disorders of the brain and nervous system, including stroke, epilepsy, muscular dystrophy, Alzheimer’s disease, and other memory disorders.
Dr. Kreiss attended medical school at the Warren Alpert School of Medicine, Brown University, and completed his neurology residency at Brown University and Rhode Island Hospital. He is certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.
The office of Dr. Kreiss is located on the second floor of the Gene Upshaw Memorial Tahoe Forest Cancer Center at 10121 Pine Ave. New patients are accepted. For appointments, please call (530) 582-6368.
~ TFHS press release
Corcoran Global Living Names New Equity Partner in Truckee/North Tahoe Area
RENO
Christy Morrison is now equity partner in Corcoran Global Living’s Truckee/North Tahoe region. The Corcoran Global Living family of associates represents the market and community leaders of the communities they serve. With Morrison’s exceptional sales performance, customer dedication and community involvement, she has earned the designation of equity partner.
Morrison, a Truckee/North Tahoe resident since 1988, has stood out as a leader in the Tahoe area real estate market. Her proactive business approach keeps her ranked in the top one percent of local agents. She has spent the last 21 years building her real estate business consisting of a dynamic team of talented people to accompany her along the way. Morrison may be reached at christymorrison.corcorangl.com or at (530) 412-0484.
~ Corcoran Global Living press release
