Kings Beach Core Project Open House, Construction to Start This Summer
Tuesday Feb. 19 | The Kings Beach Commercial Core Improvement Project continues to move forward with the completion of the project design. Construction is expected to begin this summer.
An open house on Tuesday, Feb. 19 in Kings Beach at the North Tahoe Event Center from 5:30 to 8 p.m. will include schedules, maps, exhibits, graphics, and an opportunity for one-on-one discussions with design and construction representatives.
At the end of January, the Placer County Board of Supervisors approved the formation of a benefit assessment district for Kings Beach. A majority of property owners favored the establishment of the district, which will levy annual assessments to fund the maintenance of streetscape improvements that will be constructed as part of the Kings Beach Commercial Core Improvement Project. The majority of the assessment will be used for snow management, repair and replacement of sidewalk improvements, power washing of sidewalks, emptying of trash receptacles, and landscape maintenance.
The Kings Beach Commercial Core Improvement Project has been decades in the planning and will reconfigure the stretch of highway into a three-lane roadway with two roundabouts. Sidewalks and other streetscape features will also be constructed. Seasonal on-street parking will be built and additional parking will be provided in parking lots that have either already been constructed, or will be constructed along the highway as part of the project.
In the grid of streets above the highway, the project will install about a mile of sidewalk to further improve safety and pedestrian access to the commercial core. Additionally, about a third of the traffic management features have been installed as part of the project’s Neighborhood Traffic Management Plan.
The project is expected to take about two construction seasons to complete. Info: kingsbeachcore.info
Ski Areas Support Truckee River Watershed Council
Last year, both Squaw Valley/Alpine Meadows and Northstar donated thousands of dollars to the Truckee River Watershed Council. Vail Resorts Echo gave $10,000 to the nonprofit to help produce its 18th annual Truckee River Day event this October, while Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows pledged $25,000 in financial support for the restoration and protection work of the council. This pledge will be fulfilled by payments of $5,000 a year for five years.
Northstar’s $10,000 cash donation will be used to help the watershed council plan, prepare for, and manage this year’s Truckee River Day, a popular community event that draws over 500 volunteers, and another 50 volunteer group leaders who manage 12 to 15 projects. More than 100 Northstar employees also supported the nonprofit on Vail Resorts Echo Day last September by volunteering to revegetate a weed-infested site along the Truckee River Legacy Trail.
Since 2010, Northstar, through Vail Resorts Echo, has contributed $28,000 to the watershed council.
The five-year pledge from Squaw and Alpine increases the watershed council’s ability to tackle 50 priority projects to solve the watershed’s largest problems. For example, this summer the nonprofit began construction in Coldstream Canyon. This project will increase wetland habitat by an acre and eliminate nearly 5 tons of eroded soil from the canyon. Other projects include the work on the main stem of the Truckee River, Martis Creek, and Gregory Creek in Negro Canyon. Info: truckeeriverwc.org
Clean Air Grants Available
Through Feb. 28 | The Placer County Air Pollution Control District is now seeking applications for its 2013 Clean Air Grant Program. The goal of the program is to give incentives to emission-reducing projects in Placer County not otherwise required by law. The open application period will close at 5 p.m. on Feb. 28.
The district has approximately $950,000 available for eligible projects such as heavy-duty diesel on-road (>8500 lbs. GVW) and off-road (> 50 hp) repowers, retrofits, and replacements (which are not currently subject to state emission compliance deadlines within the next three years), public education, and other innovative concepts to reduce criteria air pollutants.
Eligible projects will be evaluated on a cost-effective basis, with respect to the reduction of nitrogen oxide and diesel particulate matter emissions (not greenhouse gas emissions). All projects selected for funding must operate at least 75 percent of their time within Placer County and be completed within two years or fewer of grant approval. Info: Heather Kuklo, (530) 745-2339, placer.ca.gov/apcd
Truckee May Ban Plastic Checkout Bags
The Town of Truckee is considering banning all plastic checkout bags and requiring that Truckee businesses impose a fee on recyclable paper checkout bags. The ordinance’s main intention is to stimulate reusable bag use, and in effect, reduce Truckee’s waste through a dramatic decrease in the consumption of single-use checkout bags.
The application of a fee on paper checkout bags will be an incentive for customers to bring their own bags, intending to make the practice habitual. All monies collected by a business under this ordinance will be retained by the business and used to cover its implementation costs.
Other cities and counties that have successfully implemented a ban on plastic bags include San Francisco, Marin County, and also tourism-based mountain destinations such as Aspen and Telluride, Colo.
The businesses affected by this ordinance and the amount of the fee to be imposed on paper bags have not yet been determined.
Before making any recommendations to the Truckee Town Council, town staff is soliciting feedback through two surveys:
• Community Survey: surveymonkey.com/s/CXTQYRC
• Business Owner Survey: surveymonkey.com/s/2FBT7VJ
Info: Nichole Dorr, Town of Truckee recycling coordinator, ndorr@townoftruckee.com, (530) 582-2909
Plumas Energy Alliance Project To Buy Loyalton Biomass Plant
The Plumas Energy Alliance’s mission is nearing completion on two projects: the purchase of the Woody Biomass Power Plant in Loyalton and the conversion of 20 percent of the Plumas County bus fleet to run on B20 biodiesel.
The Plumas Energy Alliance’s work was supported by the Energy and Climate Leadership module of the Sierra Business Council’s Sierra Leadership Institute program. Info: gjones@sbcouncil.org, (530) 582-4800
Truckee Institutes New Trash Fines
The Town of Truckee will fine residents who repeatedly leave trash outside of an animal resistant enclosure, with maximum fines reaching $1,000.
The trash fine ordinance was passed on Nov. 27 and went into effect on Dec. 27.
The ordinance was meant to dissuade citizens from leaving trash accessible to animals, including bears and dogs, said Dan Olsen, code compliance manager for the Town of Truckee. Trash must be kept in a secure enclosure or a garage, and only put out on the day that trash is collected. A first offense will draw a warning, a second offense will draw a $235 fine, and a third offense will draw a $1,000 fine. The $1,000 fine may be waived if the offender puts in an animal resistant enclosure within 30 days of the third infraction.
Invasive Species Watercraft Inspections Set for Donner Lake
A new Town of Truckee ordinance requires that motorized and/or trailered watercraft be inspected prior to launching in Donner Lake, as well as other water bodies within town limits. Non-motorized watercraft will be subject to inspection if identified as high risk for transport of aquatic invasive species into Truckee waters.
If established in local waters, aquatic invasive species such as quagga mussels and Eurasian water milfoil could degrade aquatic ecosystems, inhibit recreation, damage infrastructure and equipment, and cause depreciation in property values, according to the Town of Truckee.
Donner Lake inspections will be conducted by Truckee Donner Recreation and Park District staff at the public launch ramp on Donner Lake. Additional off-ramp locations will be announced as appropriate to accommodate increased boating activity. An inspection fee schedule is currently under development by the town and will likely include a range of annual or monthly rates.
California Sen. Gaines Calls for Fire Fund Investigation
California Sen. Ted Gaines (R-Rocklin) sent a letter to California Attorney General Kamala Harris requesting an investigation into the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) following recent reports revealing that the agency hid $3.6 million with the California District Attorneys Association instead of depositing it into the state’s general fund.
This news comes on the heels of the California Department of Parks and Recreation concealing $20 million in a hidden account last year. Following that revelation, auditors found more than $200 million that other state agencies had stashed away.
“How can the state get away with charging rural Californians a $150 illegal fire fee specifically to support Cal Fire operations, and at the same time Cal Fire is hiding millions in a secret fund?” said Gaines.
Senator Gaines also strongly supports the efforts of the joint Assembly and Senate committee hearings into whether there are millions more hiding completely off the grid. Info: cssrc.us/web/1/
