Placer Supervisors Appoint New CEO
In June, the Placer County Board of Supervisors appointed David Boesch as the new county executive officer. Boesch most recently served as county manager in San Mateo County, and succeeds Tom Miller, who retired in February.
Boesch stated that he is committed to high-quality, cost-effective services, long-range financial management, and fostering collaboration across sectors.
“Placer County has a well-established reputation as one of the top municipalities in the Western U.S. I am honored to have been chosen for this extraordinary career opportunity and to serve a community that has such strong traditions as well as unmatched potential,” Boesch said. “But there is no question that we face some very challenging near-term economic realities.”
Boesch grew up in a suburb of Washington, D.C. He attended the University of Utah and graduated in 1979 with a degree in urban planning. He worked as a planner in Utah and in 1986 attended the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, earning a master’s in public administration.
He then worked in community and economic development in New Hampshire and Sunnyvale before becoming the city manager in Menlo Park. He was subsequently hired by San Mateo County as its assistant county manager and served in that role for less than two years before being selected as county manager, a position he then held for nearly three years.
Boesch’s starting salary will be $215,384 and he will receive the same management benefits as other county department heads.
Wallace Runs for Eagan’s Airport Board Seat
Mary Hetherington, Tom Van Berkem, and Lisa Wallace have announced their intentions to run for the Truckee Tahoe Airport District governing board in the coming November election. Hetherington and Van Berkem are incumbents seeking re-election; Wallace is running to fill the seat currently occupied by Kathleen Eagan, who is not seeking re-election.
“Lisa Wallace’s wisdom and character are highly regarded. I am confident that Mary, Tom, and Lisa will do an outstanding job representing our region. I proudly endorse them as candidates for the airport board,” said Eagan.
The candidates say they will continue efforts to assure an informed community perspective on the airport board, seek effective solutions that balance the needs of residents, pilots, and taxpayers alike, and bring financial discipline and professionalism to airport decision-making.
In the past four years, the airport has:
• Acquired open space under flight paths
• Partnered with other groups to fund the purchase of the Tahoe City Golf Course. The airport will construct an all-season emergency helipad on the site to improve emergency preparedness at Lake Tahoe.
• Reconstructed the main runway, purchased a dual station self-service fuel station, and built a new Medevac facility.
• Completed a new administration building
• Acquired a Flight Tracking System that identifies actual flight paths taken and helps identify proposed routing that has the least negative impact on surrounding neighborhoods. Info: airportelection.com
Local Utilities Team Up for Emergency Response
Dozens of local utilities and emergency response agencies recently collaborated in a regional exercise to improve emergency responses. The organizations practiced responses to a scenario where multiple lightning-caused fires from Plumas to Mono County created a catastrophic wildfire scenario that would bring together utilities, county and state representatives, and fire agencies from the greater Lake Tahoe region.
Liberty Utilities and NV Energy hosted this exercise to help demonstrate the abilities of electric utilities to work together during emergencies and improve communication and execution during catastrophic emergencies. The Truckee Donner Public Utility District’s facilities were central to this exercise as the multiple fire scenario impacted both electric and communication facilities in the Truckee area.
“With the mild winter, low snow pack, and early dry fire season, we wanted to work with all of the local agencies in the Sierra Front area to be prepared for any potential fire event that may occur,” said Sam Rohn, Liberty Utilities representative.
Tahoe/Truckee Recognized for Reading Program
Tahoe/Truckee was recently named an All-America City by the National Civic League based on its ambitious plan to ensure that more children are reading at grade level by the end of third grade.
Tahoe/Truckee’s plan was submitted by a community coalition that included the Excellence in Education Foundation, Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation, Community Collaborative of Tahoe Truckee, Tahoe Truckee Unified School District, Placer County Health and Human Services, and First 5 Nevada County, and was chosen from a field of more than 100 entries.
Beyond the award contest, Tahoe Truckee’s plan makes the region a charter member in the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading Communities Network, a national movement that focuses on the point when children progress from learning to read and begin reading to learn. Students who haven’t mastered reading by then are more likely to get stuck in a cycle of academic failure, drop out of school, and struggle throughout their lives. Info: exined.org
Humane Society Seeks Final Shelter Donations
The Humane Society of Truckee-Tahoe is seeking the final $1 million needed to build a new animal shelter that will serve the region. The nonprofit has raised $2.4 million so far for the building’s construction.
The campaign seeks 850 individuals, groups, or businesses to make a commitment to contribute $1,000 each.
The new shelter will provide expanded space and will replace a dilapidated, inadequate facility that was built to house eight dogs and 30 cats, but holds as many as 30 dogs and 60 to 80 cats at any given time. The existing shelter is open to the public only two hours per week; the new shelter will be open to the public 40 hours per week.
The new HSTT animal shelter will be located on land donated by the Town of Truckee just above downtown off of Donner Pass Road on Stockrest Springs Road. Info: hstt.org
New Principal Joins Truckee High
Michael Greg Dettinger has been named the new principal of Truckee High School.
School district superintendent Robert Leri called Dettinger a “student-focused, collaborative, interest-based leader with a record for improving student achievement for those who need it most, those at the mid-level, and for high achievers.”
Dettinger originally hails from California but will be relocating from Milford, Utah, where he is currently the principal and counselor for Milford High School. Dettinger is bilingual in Spanish and has a diverse background, including serving in the U.S. Air Force, working as a California Highway Patrol Officer, and teaching in public schools. He also has experience in marketing with his own video production company, a skill that he plans to use as principal of Truckee High.
Dettinger earned his masters of public administration from Brigham Young University in 2008. He graduated with honors with a criminal justice degree from California State University, San Bernardino, where he also received his K-12 BCLAD, secondary Spanish and secondary English teaching credentials. Info: ttusd.org
Public Meeting Set for Tahoe Basin Plan Update
Placer County is holding a town hall meeting in Tahoe City this month to provide a report on the status of the Tahoe Basin Community Plan Update effort.
The county’s community plan update work is coordinated with the work of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency on its Regional Plan update.
The town hall meeting will be Thurs., July 19 at 6 p.m. at Granlibakken Conference Center & Lodge, 725 Granlibakken Rd., in Tahoe City.
The county has also formed four plan area teams (West Shore, Tahoe City, North Tahoe East, North Tahoe West) and has held two workshops. These workshops allow the teams to develop the zoning, development standards, and design guidelines for each area. The vision statements will be used to help draft the development standards and design guidelines that will direct land use development in each plan area over the next 20 years.
The county will provide a status report on the community plan update process to the board of supervisors at their July meeting, which will be held at the Resort at Squaw Creek on Monday and Tuesday, July 23 to 24.
Info: Crystal Jacobsen, Placer County Planning Services Division, cjacobse@placer.ca.gov, (530) 745.3085, placer.ca.gov/Departments/CommunityDevelopment/Planning/TahoePlanning/TahoeBasinCPUpdate.aspx
Forest Service Seeks Comments on Forest Plan
The U.S. Forest Service proposes to revise the 1988 Land and Resource Management Plan for the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, including an updated forest plan that would guide management of National Forest System lands in the Lake Tahoe Basin for the next 15 years. The proposal updates the management direction for 154,000 acres of forest lands in California and Nevada by describing desired conditions, objectives, suitable uses, standards and guidelines, and monitoring requirements. In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, the Forest Service has prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Draft Forest Plan. The DEIS analyzes the consequences of four alternatives, including a “no action” alternative which would continue management under the 1988 Forest Plan. Alternative B is the Agency’s Preferred Alternative. The alternatives are available for review and comment until Aug. 30.
The U.S. Forest Service will hold two public meetings in July on the North Shore to explain the alternatives in the forest plan and answer questions: Wednesday, July 18 at the North Tahoe Event Center, 8318 N. Lake Blvd., in Kings Beach, 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m.
The draft environmental impact statement, an executive summary, and other background materials are available at http://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/ltbmu/ForestPlanRevision. Info: Denise Downie (530) 543-2683, Matt Dickinson (530) 543-2769.
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