city manager

If the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) forecast is correct, South Lake Tahoe could see the largest rain/snow weather event since the memorable floods of 1997 and 2005.

Those traveling to South Lake Tahoe, and those that live here, are being warned to be prepared for the storm which is slated to reach the Sierra overnight Saturday and last until Monday.

Fans of electronic music flock to South Lake Tahoe for the annual SnowGlobe outdoor music festival held December 29-31. The predominately under-30 crowd come from colleges and communities hundreds and even thousands of miles away to enjoy a specially gathered group of top artists in the electronic dance music (EDM) field. An estimated 15,000 tickets have been sold for the three-day event which is held on the South Lake Tahoe community's newly created ball fields.

Along with the fun though comes issues common at most music festivals: noise, trash, drinking and illegal drugs.

"We will continue to stay open," said Cody Bass, founder and executive director of the Tahoe Wellness Cooperative after being told by the City Council Tuesday that he no longer has a Medical Marijuana Dispensary Permit to operate in South Lake Tahoe. "We are going to take this to the end."

One of his lawyers, James Anthony added, "They will be reviewing this decision in Superior Court."

The were some questions surrounding Monday's special meeting of the South Lake Tahoe City Council, a meeting that will both certify the November 8 election results and honor outgoing City Councilmember JoAnn Conner with a plaque of appreciation.

In 2014, a special meeting was held to honor outgoing council members Angela Swanson and Brooke Laine, both who lost in their bids for reelection. Conner lost her reelection bid this year.

The City of South Lake Tahoe now has a new man at the helm of the airport. Mark Gibbs started his job as the SLT Airport Manager on Monday, November 28.

“Mark brings a wealth of knowledge and professional expertise to Lake Tahoe Airport with over twelve years of experience in all facets of airport operations and planning," said SLT City Manager. "The City is very fortunate Mark is joining the City’s Management Team and we look forward to his leadership at the airport.”

Measure P, the two percent raise in transient occupancy tax for lodging properties in the City limits, has passed by a fairly large margin. With 100 percent of the precincts counted, a "yes" vote of 3,214 to 1,537 has passed by a 35.30 percent difference in the unofficial results.

The measure will use the funds raised by the extra tax to support recreational improvements in the City. A new recreation center, competitive pool and ball courts are in the plans.

All candidates for South Lake Tahoe City Council were given the same questions. With just one day to go to the elections, we will be featuring their answers and a video of their interview with Tahoe Regional Young Professionals through the day.

Ted Long, 77, attorney and lecturer, 21 years full time skiing here since 1965.

Discuss your interest in serving on City Council. What is your prior experience in working with civic, community or governmental organizations

The South Lake Tahoe chapter of the Citizen's Climate Lobby recently asked all ten of the candidates their views on climate change, green buildings and our carbon footprint and how they can make a change if elected.

The Citizen's Climate Lobby is an organization focused on national policies to address climate change, and the South Lake Tahoe chapter is one of 354 in the United States and abroad.

Patricia Sussman of the local chapter said just five of the candidates responded to their questions.

Nobody likes more taxes, but voters in South Lake Tahoe will be faced with approving a new tax that would provide funding for one of three areas that have been deemed a necessity in the community, housing, roads or facilities.

The 1/2 cent sales tax proposal is different than most as the voter gets to decide exactly how it will be spent. That works out to be five cents on every ten dollars spent on non-grocery items and would bring the sales tax in the City to 8.5 percent.

"These are needs we cannot fund without funding from the tax increase," said SLT City Manager Nancy Kerry.

The South Lake Tahoe City Council meeting on Tuesday will feature the following topics:

Commercial Floor Space - Doctors Steve Leman and Clint Purvance have applied for Commercial Floor Space allocations (CFA) for three projects at the Y area. Together they are asking for 6,170 square feet of CFA from the City's allotment for a building at 941 Emerald Bay Road. Leman himself is asking for 4,621 square feet at 2215 South Avenue and another 4,025 at 1072 4TH Street. He also wants to purchase another 28,940 Square Feet of 1B Banked Land Coverage from the City.

It's been months of lawsuits, open arguments, censure of a councilperson, a community taking sides and a mounting legal tab. City Councilwoman JoAnn Conner, the City of South Lake Tahoe and City Manager Nancy Kerry have come to a compromise and have signed a settlement agreement.

In October of 2015, the City Council voted to censure Conner over what they said was "abusive, bullying and intolerant behavior."

The City of South Lake Tahoe is still trying to work out a deal with the Halferty Development Company, a $4 million sale of the developable portions of the lots known as the "Knights Inn Properties."

During Tuesday's City Council meeting a purchase agreement was scheduled to be voted on, but SLT City Manager Nancy Kerry had to pull it off the agenda.

"We are still working on it," Kerry told South Tahoe Now. "We are still negotiating and have some issues to work out."

For the past 18 months, South Lake Tahoe City Councilwoman JoAnn Conner and the City have been at odds since she filed two lawsuits against them on December 9, 2015.

During Tuesday's Council meeting, Mayor Wendy David made the following announcement about the potential end of the legal matters after both sides met with a mediator on June 14:

For months the operators of taxicabs in South Lake Tahoe have said the regulations they have to abide by when operating in the City limits were unfair since app-based rideshare services such as Uber and Lyft didn't have to follow the same controls.

After Tuesday's City Council meeting, the cabs and rideshares will now be on a more level playing field with less regulation.

The "cabbies" at the meeting all left happy with the 5-0 vote of the Council to reduce the number of regulations they once had to abide by, and with a new ordinance created through group meetings with both sides.

The following is a reprint of a story South Tahoe Now carried on the 4th of July weekend in 2015. With the anticipated traffic on roads headed out of the Lake Tahoe basin on Tuesday, we felt this information would be helpful.

Three new message signs were unveiled in South Lake Tahoe this week, just in time for the holiday weekend. Since the fourth of July is a big tourist draw, it is the perfect time to test out all the message signs can provide to those on the road.

After seven years on the job in South Lake Tahoe, Sherry Miller is headed to Chico as their new airport manager. Hired by David Jinkins in 2009 as the City's airport manager, Miller's last day on the job will be Friday, June 24.

Miller was in Chico last week to meet the five members of their airport commission prior to their confirming her appointment by Mark Orme, the Chico City Manager.

To improve security at the South Lake Tahoe Police Department, a new security fence is being installed.

In the plans since 2014, the black metal fence with three rows of razor wire at the top should be completed by the beginning of July.

"This is a need we've had for a long time," SLTPD Lt. Brian Williams told South Tahoe Now. "We received support from the City Council and City Manager, and the fence has been a long held desire for this department."

The City of South Lake Tahoe has hired a new Development Services Director to replace Shawna Brekke-Read, who left the position in December after a year on the job.

City Manager Nancy Kerry today announced the selection of Kevin Fabino for the position. Fabino will be leaving his job as the head of the City of Reedley's Planning, Building and Engineering Divisions and will start the new job in South Lake Tahoe later this month.

South Lake Tahoe Fire Chief Jeff Meston and the City's representatives on the Cal Tahoe JPA have repeated several times publicly that the City will not leave the area stranded without adequate ambulance service when they pull out of the Cal Tahoe JPA. Both Meston and City Councilmember Tom Davis, who sits on the JPA board, said the City will continue to supply ambulance personnel for at least 90 days after their original termination date of April 15 to ease the transition of EMS services to Lake Valley Fire Department.

The City of South Lake Tahoe would like to know where you want them to invest their resources when it comes to roads and recreation. There are many needs, as most residents are aware, and the City is going to listen to the public to see where efforts should be concentrated.

"We want to measure community opinions regarding proposed funding solutions for investing in streets, roads, parks and recreation as well as other community priorities," said City Manager Nancy Kerry.

The survey can be found here: City Survey.

Visitors to South Lake Tahoe have several options to charge their cars, with the newest location added in the City owned Heavenly Village parking garage.

The City partnered with ChargePoint, the largest electric vehicle charging station company, and added a system on the first floor of the garage near the elevator. Users will need to have an account with ChargePoint.

Owens Financial, the owner of the mixed-use development project known as Chateau at the Village, is looking for a buyer, or buyers, for the 11.5 acre area in South Lake Tahoe once known as "The Hole."

In an effort to not leave the county without a leader, a contract for Larry Werner to be the Douglas County Manager for one year will be voted on by commissioners during their February 4, 2016 meeting.

His contract will be for $172,008 with a car allowance of $700 per month. The former Carson City Manager, and former interim Douglas County Manager will start on March 7. Werner last served the county in the position after the departure of Steve Mokrohisky in 2014.

Jim Nichols is officially not a Douglas County employee beginning January 29, 2016. The Board of County Commissioners approved a voluntary separation agreement Thursday between the county and Nichols, their County Manager.

Nichols and the County came to a mutual agreement that he would leave his position. During the on January 21, the Commissioners reiterated the fact that Nichols was not fired, nor did he quit. Nichols will be receiving a check for more than $115,000, the equivalent of six months pay plus sick pay and vacation pay.