South Lake Tahoe's SnowGlobe: "It’s a great event, it's in the wrong location"

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The South Lake Tahoe City Council voted Tuesday to give SnowGlobe a new five-year contract with the criteria that organizers must be working on locating a new location for the event at the end of two years.

If they do not have a good plan in place after those first two years the City could terminate the contract.

After eight years of holding the three-day festival in South Lake Tahoe, SnowGlobe felt they'd proved themselves enough to get a five-year contract instead of an annual one. Overall they have met the demands asked of them, including replacing the community field in 2017, bringing in better grass coverage for 2018, brought in one of the top sound experts to help alleviate noise, added waste management improvements and worked with the No Globe Alliance and the City to address all concerns.

But it wasn't to be. City staff had recommended the five-year contract with a mutual option for a 5-year extension.

Major changes to the 2018 contract had many applauding efforts of those involved in creating the new one. "We tried hard to address concerns," said SLT City Manager Frank Rush.

They included:

- The City agrees to notify the promoter by March 31 annually after the Special Event of any new conditions that will be recommended to be included in the following year’s Temporary Activity Permit based on the Special Event just held. (Originally that was to be January 31 annually)

- The City is no longer providing an annual sponsorship fee. That fee was going up $5,000 a year and would have been $35,000 this year. The Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority (LTVA) has agreed to cover this expense for 2019 as they saw the tourism value to the expense.

- SnowGlobe will contract with the City for event support services (Police, Fire, Public Works, Development Services, etc.) in the amount of actual costs, including annual business license and permit fees, up to a maximum of $75,000. The City covered much of that in the past.

- SnowGlobe must comply with TRPA and City noise requirements. The City will consult with TRPA officials prior to issuing a Temporary Activity Permit for the event, and SnowGlobe will be required to comply with applicable TRPA and City requirements.

- Noise levels shall not exceed 95 dbA and 95 dbC measured over a sustained period of ten minutes at the intersection of Al Tahoe Boulevard and the South Tahoe Public Utilities District access road. In the event that the noise levels are exceeded, SnowGlobe shall reduce the noise levels immediately upon request by the City.

- Fireworks are permitted, but displays are limited to two minutes each on the first two nights, and five minutes on New Year’s Eve.

- Similar to previous agreements, the Promoter shall be required to submit a damage deposit in the amount of $50,000 and a performance bond in the amount of $250,000 annually.

For now, the event must end at 10:00 p.m. each of the three nights including New Year's Eve according to the Bijou Community Plan. If the promoters want to go later they need to request a meeting with the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) and work it out.

One concern stated during the meeting is the mass of people exiting the event at 10:00 p.m. on New Year's Eve is the large number on the streets with nowhere to go. If they go to Stateline with other revelers there could be issues as in the past and tax a law enforcement team that would still be wrapping up at SnowGlobe. The Heavenly Holidays fireworks and New Year's event will be getting over about the same time.

With Viacom (the parent company of MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, VH1, CMT, Paramount Network, TV Land) the new owner of the SnowGlobe brand there are new plans for a global New Year's Eve music party with South Lake Tahoe playing a major role during their television coverage of the festivities.

Even though the City Council approved a new contract by a vote of 4-1 (with Tami Wallace opposing), Viacom may not want to sign it as they were initially asking for one ten-year contract. After working with the City for the past several months on addressing concerns, Donnelly and Viacom thought they had worked through issues and wanted one five-year deal with the option for a five-year extension. The length of the contract allows them to book popular acts early. Donnelly also said it allows them to fine-tune details instead of spending months working out new contracts with the City.

Donnelly said he needs to take the City Council's offer back to the company for their approval.

Rush and Chad Donnelly of SnowGlobe have been researching possible new venues across the South Shore, finding some possibilities but all come with their own issues. Carol Chaplin, executive director of the Lake Tahoe Visitor's Authority told South Tahoe Now they want to build what could be the perfect answer, their planned indoor event center at Stateline.

Mayor Brooke Laine said more than once that she thought SnowGlobe was a great event, just a wrong location. Residents in the Pioneer Village neighborhood are close to the Community Fields venue and have complained annually about the music being too loud, disturbing their animals and vibrating through their homes. She said the noise was "problematic."

A new concern was brought up Tuesday by local businessman Lou Pierini, and a concern echoed by Councilman Cody Bass. Pierini said the animals at the new Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care center on Al Tahoe Boulevard might be disturbed by the noise too. A call was left for them to see if they have knowledge of noise during hibernation and cold months is an issue for bears and other temporary guests at their facility.

Several speakers spoke both against and for SnowGlobe during the Council meeting. Scott Ramirez and Kristen Schwartz of the No Globe Alliance both expressed their continued concerns for noise, something they've said has been violating the Bijou Community Plan for eight years.

Steve Teshara, chief executive officer of the Tahoe Chamber said their members appreciate SnowGlobe and say it has a "significant impact" on their businesses during both heavy and light snow years. He said many of them now market to the attendees. He also questioned the end time of 10:00 p.m. on New Year's Eve saying SnowGlobe alleviates the pressure at Stateline with a 12:30 a.m. end time.

One more issue of SnowGlobe being held at the Community Fields is the condition of the turf when the snow melts. In 2018 there was significant damage so Donnelly and SnowGlobe paid $250,000 to have it repaired and replaced. The heavy winter after the 2018 event caused what is known as "winter kill" on not only the Community Fields but also Edgewood Tahoe and Lake Tahoe Golf Course. Edgewood has replaced fairways and greens to get it back into shape for the season. "Winter kill" refers to any severe damage or death sustained by turf grass lawns during the winter months, and in the case of South Lake Tahoe this year, it was a heavy layer of ice under the snow.

Today the Community Fields are growing back but there are still dead portions. SnowGlobe had protection under the stages and where the large number of crowds dance and those aren't the areas that are damaged. Since it is an unknown as to who or what is responsible for these dead areas, they will be fixed by a partnership of the Lake Tahoe Community College and the Community Play Consortium.

Mark Salmon, VP of the South Lake Tahoe Futbal Club, varsity soccer coach and organizer of this last weekend's Come Up For AIr (CUFA) tournament said the experts brought in the determine the "winter kill" issues on the fields should be believed. "They don’t guess, they use proof," he said.

Salmon said besides Edgewood replacing their fairways and greens, he also saw turf issues at Zephyr Cove, Kahle and the Lake Tahoe Environmental Magnet School during CUFA>.

After the Council's vote Ramirez said he was surprised with the outcome, thinking the Council was going to approve the five-year contract and not require promoters to look for a new venue.

This story was updated on 6.20.19.