Plans for Community Ice Pavilion Halted
TRUCKEE
The Truckee Community Pavilion and Ice Arena project has been immediately suspended and will likely be terminated according to an announcement by the Truckee Donner Recreation and Parks District and the pavilion team. The TCP team presented key facts and findings at the Oct. 24 TDRPD Board of Directors meeting, and it was the consensus to halt the project. The overriding factor driving the decision was construction costs. The first construction estimate, when including overhead and profit forecasts, came in approximately $13 million over the budgeted goal of $7.2 million. A second factor impacting the decision was tight timing regarding ongoing tax negotiations between the Town of Truckee and the Truckee Tourism Business Improvement District. Those debates played heavily into facility capitalization and the decision to end the project.
Housing Development Between Ski Resorts
SQUAW VALLEY/ALPINE MEADOWS
Placer County planning officials released plans for a new gated development on the White Wolf property between Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows. The development would spread from Alpine Meadows Road north toward Squaw Valley and west to the Granite Chief Wilderness Area. Plans include a subdivision of 38 single-family custom home lots, 14 guest units, and six employee lodging units; new roads and parking lots; as well as two private ski lifts, equestrian facilities, and tennis courts. Conservationist groups such as Sierra Watch have expressed concern about what the project would mean to the broader Tahoe region, the popular Five Lakes Trail, and the federally protected Granite Chief Wilderness.
Airport Responds to Warren Protestors
RENO
RNO responded to a video shared on social media of Republican protesters confronting Democratic primary contender Elizabeth Warren in a terminal. The airport’s 2016 policy on picketing and the first amendment was intended to “keep politics outside the airport,” said Reno-Tahoe Airport’s official statement on the incident. The standards set aside free speech areas outside the terminal. “The Warren protestors clearly wanted a video harassing a candidate to post on social media,” the release continues. “Unfortunately, permits, policies and good faith don’t play well on social media. But chasing a woman through an airport does.”
Alleged Inappropriate Behavior Addressed
TRUCKEE
Gateway Mountain Center issued a statement regarding an incident that occurred during a three-day adventure trip that they hosted and organized for a Sacramento area school. A field-guide-in-training was accused of inappropriate behavior with girls on this trip and has been arrested. The individual was on his second day as a “shadow” to a more senior guide. GMC said this means that the accused trainee was never alone with any student or group of students and there was always a senior field guide or adult chaperone present, nor did he have contact with any students outside of this specific school group. An official investigation is ongoing and GMC is cooperating with authorities and conducting a thorough review of internal policies and procedures to prevent and future incidents such as this.
Housing Projects for the Homeless
AUBURN
The Placer County Board of Supervisors approved contracts with two local service providers to purchase and operate permanent supportive housing for people experiencing homelessness. The Gathering Inn and Advocates for Mentally Ill Housing Inc. were each awarded up to $2 million to purchase properties and operate them over the next three years. Both providers have extensive experience working with homeless clientele in Placer communities. Additionally, AMI Housing was awarded up to $1.16 million to purchase and operate housing specifically in the North Lake Tahoe region.
Share Input on Transportation Funding Shortfall
LAKE TAHOE
The Tahoe Transportation District, in collaboration with agency partners and the ONE TAHOE project delivery team, invites community members, residents, and visitors to attend two public listening sessions during which the results from the ONE TAHOE project third-tier screening process of proposed transportation funding solutions will be shared.
Listening sessions are designed to offer an opportunity for people to review project information, provide input, and speak with transportation experts who can answer questions about proposed solutions to capture the $1.53 billion in funding needed to realize the complete transportation system envisioned in community plans.
A North Shore listening session will be held Nov. 14, from 4 to 7 p.m., in the Lakeview Room of the Fairway Community Center, 330 Fairway Dr. in Tahoe City. A second session will be held in Stateline, Nevada from 4 to 7 p.m. on Dec. 3 in the Tahoe Chamber conference room, located at 169 US-50. A final recommendation is expected to be made to elected officials and leaders at TTD’s December 2019 Board meeting. Lake Tahoe is impacted by an estimated 50 million vehicle trips annually. More than 70% of pollutants impacting the declining water clarity come from the current transportation system and built environment. Find information at onetahoe.org or tahoetransportation.org.
Council Members Awarded for Sustainability
TRUCKEE
A Silver Level Beacon Award representing achievement in five categories was presented to the Town of Truckee, recognizing efforts toward sustainability through increased energy efficiency retrofits of town facilities and new recycling and waste reduction programs. Also included are activities of other special districts within the town, like the Truckee Public Utility District, whose electricity is more than 65% procured from renewable sources, which accounts for much of the savings that led to receipt of these awards. The individual Spotlight Awards received include: Silver Level Natural Gas Savings (6% savings), Gold Level Sustainability Best Practices, Gold Level Agency Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Reductions (12% reductions), Gold Level Agency Energy Savings (13% savings), and Platinum Level Community GHG Reductions (33% reductions).
Give Back Tahoe Giving Season
TRUCKEE/NORTH LAKE TAHOE
From Dec. 3 to 31, Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation (TTCF) presents the sixth annual Give Back Tahoe Giving Season. This online collective giving campaign features local nonprofits. On their profile pages, nonprofits share their missions, fundraising needs, and ways to become involved. In 2018, the community helped raise over $350,000 for over 50 organizations. This year, TTCF wants to beat that number. By donating as much as $25 from Dec. 3 to 17, you could even help your favorite nonprofits win cash prizes! Donate at givebacktahoe.org.
Join the 2020 Follies
TRUCKEE
Meet new people, get out and have fun, and nurture Tahoe’s creative side by becoming part of the Truckee Follies, a showcase of all things creative. There are plenty of ways to get involved, from writing or acting to singing or playing music. More “backstage-handy” participants can help with the program, decorations, props, backstage area, or food service. The show dates are April 18 to 26, 2020. Contact Aimee Schaller at (530) 448-6599 or Mitch Clarin at (530) 308-9124 for information about the showcase or how to get involved.
Tahoe Conservancy Launches Forest Health Project
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE
The California Tahoe Conservancy will launch a $1.06-million project to restore forest health and combat climate change on 260 acres of Conservancy land in Placer County. At a recent board meeting, the board authorized the conservancy to use crews to hand-thin 260 acres of overly dense understory trees and shrubs on the conservancy’s Dollar Creek property. This effort, to begin in 2020, complements the conservancy’s ongoing, adjacent forest health project using mechanical thinning on 152 acres elsewhere on the same property.
MOVING IN, MOVING UP, MOVING ON
Lucey Will Serve on National Committee
WASHOE COUNTY
The National Association of Counties recently made several key presidential appointments, including Washoe County Commission Vice-Chair Bob Lucey, to serve on the National Transportation Steering Committee. Lucey will serve as subcommittee vice chair. Additionally, it was affirmed that Lucey will become vice president of the Nevada County Commissioners’ Association effective January 2020. He will become president-elect in 2021 and president in 2022.
The Return of Sisson
PLACER COUNTY
Dr. Aimee Sisson, who completed her preventive medicine and epidemiology fellowship programs in Placer back in 2008, became the county’s new health officer on Oct. 21. Sisson is leaving her role at the California Department of Public Health.
New Director for Health District
WASHOE COUNTY
Francisco Vega, P.E., has been announced as the new division director of the Air Quality Management Division for Washoe County. Vega comes to the health district with 18 years of experience in air quality management and environmental engineering, including 14 years at the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection. He most recently served as a senior environmental adviser for NVEnergy.
Main Image Caption: A ROCK WITH A VIEW: Plans for a housing development proposed in the White Wolf property between Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows are opposed by some local advocacy groups like Sierra Watch. Courtesy photo
Author
