Council Meeting

Editor's note: This is part of a series on all of the change going on in South Lake Tahoe. We'll be updating you with photos and news.

What was once a run down trailer park, and sometime homeless camp, will soon be a three story, 28 unit condominium complex named Tahoe Woods Condominiums. In an area at the southern end of Cedar and Manzanita Avenues, seven separate buildings are currently being constructed amidst the trees. The northern tip of the property is a pathway that runs adjacent to the Tahoe Meadows community.

Lake Tahoe Community College gained the support of the South Lake Tahoe City Council today in their pursuit of $55,000,000 in bond funds through Measure F. The Council voted unanimously to adopt the support resolution.

Dr. Kindred Murillo, Superintendent/President of the Lake Tahoe Community College District, was on hand at Tuesday's City Council meeting to provide an explanation of what the bond would mean to the South Shore community and answer any questions the five council members had.

8/24/14 Update - this event has been canceled according to MontBleu Resort.

Almost once an hour a military veteran commits suicide in the United States according the the Department of Veterans Affairs and among those on active duty the number is still sobering, one a day.

In an effort to bring the plight of American military members suffering from Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) and Post Traumatic Stress (PTS) to the forefront, a Broadway like show and wellness festival are coming to South Lake Tahoe.

If you own a home or business in the City of South Lake Tahoe you will soon be able to install renewable energy, energy efficiency, and water conservation improvements and pay for it with a voluntary lien against your property.

Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) is a volunteer program which will give property owners a chance to improve their properties. Figtree Financing and the California Enterprise Development Authority (CEDA) will facilitate the program in the city.

After lengthy debate during Tuesday's South Lake Tahoe City Council meeting, a 3-2 vote changed the direction of the second phase of the plastic bag ban.

In January, 2014, a ban on single use bags was implemented for all grocery stores and food vendors in the city limits. That portion of the ban has not changed. What has changed is the second phase which was going to expand the ban to retail stores starting on October 15, 2014.

The fourth session of the City of South Lake Tahoe’s Citizens Academy graduated during Tuesday’s city council meeting.

The Spring 2014 academy was held from April 9-May 21, 2014 and consisted of 13 attendees including: Douglas Bolton, Tom Burkart, Ian Caruth, Tobias Devor, Janill Gilbert, Misty Johansen, Jen Menzel, Jo Mutz, Lannette Rangel, Jonathan Schank, Leslie Schultz, Brandon Swartz, and Judy Weber.

After two hours of discussion at the South Lake Tahoe City Council meeting on Tuesday, the event permit for the Tahoe Wellness Coop's 4th Annual 420 T.W.C. Cup was denied for a second time.

The result of months of work and public input on the Tahoe Valley Area Plan will be unveiled at the South Lake Tahoe City Council meeting on Tuesday, April 15. There are three concepts that were discussed during previous workshops and presented to the Planning Commission on March 13: A Greenbelt Concept, A Town Center District and a Healthcare Campus District.

A landscaped plaza near the intersection of Lake Tahoe Boulevard and Lakeview Avenue intersection will be named Champions Plaza. The plaza was part of the previously approved plans for the Harrison Avenue project and will be renamed after the suggestion by City Manager Nancy Kerry at Tuesday's City Council Meeting. Champions Plaza will recognize local athletes who have gained worldwide attention for the South Lake Tahoe community.

The approximate location of the plaza is identified in the photo by an "x."

The City of Berkeley's camp at Echo Lake, located at the top of Echo Summit just west of South Lake Tahoe, has long been a tradition for many families to visit and vacation.

It's also been one of the lowest cost family camp bay area families could attend, but that may be history after Tuesday night's Berkeley City Council meeting.

Paid parking remains a hot topic in the city which was proven by the packed house at Tuesday's South Lake Tahoe City Council meeting. On the agenda was discussion and possible action on an initiative to prohibit paid parking on city streets.

Tahoe 4 Tahoe (T4T), a local group organized to fight paid parking, gathered more than the required signatures to get the initiative put on the ballot, but legal precedence and unforeseen consequences of the proposed initiative led the city council to vote unanimously to have a Fiscal Impact Report completed in the next 30 days.

There has finally been a lot of construction action at the site of The Chateau Project in South Lake Tahoe over the last couple of months. Many locals have called this area "The Hole" since construction stalled in 2008 but they are now seeing life being put into one of the cornerstones of the South Lake Tahoe Tourist Core.

Mayor Tom Davis touched on more than a couple of dozen points during his State of the City Address which was presented to an overflowing full house at Tuesday's City Council meeting.

Among the Davis's highlighted city successes for the year:

Linear Park - Over $600,000 was spent on a paved bike path, landscaping and an additional 22 lights on a stretch from Wildwood Avenue to just before Pioneer Trail.

Did the Tough Mudder again at Northstar and I got to say, Tahoe North
oops North Shore sure has their act together when it comes to events
and how to put them on. They work with promoters who don't threaten
them and are willing to compromise to bring world class events to
their side of the lake.

Although I must admit they do not, for the most part, have to deal
with the TRPA and councils that don't have the best interest of their
own community at heart. Now I am not saying that our council is
totally dysfunctional, only a little. Most everything that is getting

With a vote of 3 to 2 in favor, the City Council today voted to ban single use carry out plastic bags in the South Lake Tahoe city limits. This issue was passionately debated by council members and the 8 citizens that offered their comment during today's City Council meeting. The city council is expected to finalize the ordinance later this month. The ban will take effect in grocery stores and farmers markets three months after adoption and will apply to all retail establishments after one year. Pharmacies,restaurants, and non-profits are exempted.

The South Lake Tahoe Fire Department received a Technology Innovation Award by iPCR, the Electronic Patient Care Reporting System for Fire and Ambulance Services, at Tuesday's City Council meeting.

This award has only been given to five agencies in 20 years. It is for the “2013 Technology Innovation Award” and was given to SLTFD to recognize the exemplary work in implementing a technologically advanced patient care system that is fully electronic.

The South Tahoe Amateur Hockey Associations Tahoe Grizzlies Bantam Ice Hockey Team received a Certificate of Recognition for winning the State Hockey Championship from the City of South Lake Tahoe’s Mayor Tom Davis at Tuesday's city council meeting.

The Tahoe Grizzlies bantam hockey team is comprised of youth ages 13-15 from the South Tahoe Amateur Hockey Association were the underdogs in the state tournament. They managed to win the California State title April 14 at Sharks Ice in San Jose. It is the first state title ever won by a team from Lake Tahoe.

The South Lake Tahoe City Council made appointments to the Parks and Recreation, Clean Tahoe, City Lay Member Appointee to the TRPA Advisory Planning, and El Dorado Commission on Aging at Tuesday's City Council meeting.

The deadline for submittal of applications for one appointed seat on the South Lake Tahoe City Council closed Friday at 5 p.m. and nine applications have been received, City Clerk Susan Alessi reports.

Applicants will be interviewed in the following order at the Special City Council meeting Tuesday, Jan. 29, beginning at 9 a.m. The first interviewee is Howard Bittner, followed by Kathay Lovell, Joan Walthall, Brooke Laine, Bruce Grego, Austin Sass, Billy Crawford, Scott Valentine, and Kay Ogden.

South Lake Tahoe City Manager Nancy Kerry announced the appointment of Bruce Martin as South Lake Tahoe Fire Departments Interim Fire Chief at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.

“I am very excited to welcome Chief Martin to lead, encourage and support our dedicated team of fire fighters,” said Kerry. “Chief Martin’s long and exemplary career in fire service provides him with a platform to be an excellent leader as the Interim Fire Chief.”

Follow the money trail on the “Hole” fiasco and you will find a mess. When the hole first stopped all of the reasons that were given by Randy Lane were false, wrong and an outright lie to the people of South Lake Tahoe. The real reason work was stopped was due to the two liens filed by two Nevada companies that did work and never got paid.

Loop road poop road, you do realize that the state is going to do what they want, how they want and when they want with concerns to the Loop road. This is probably the best chance we have to get out of our financial obligation with regards to pensions, healthcare, unsound financial decisions, raising taxes, giving away the keys to the city to every con artist around and quite possibly the clap.