Laine and Novasel appointed to the California Tahoe Conservancy Board

Now that elected officials are allowed back on the California Tahoe Conservancy (CTC), the South Lake Tahoe City Council and El Dorado County Board of Supervisors (BOS) both appointed their representatives today.

Governor Brown signed AB1191 on July 24, 2017, defining who could serve on the CTC after the use of elected officials was questioned earlier this year.

Supervisor Sue Novasel was appointed by the BOS, and Council member Brooke Laine by the City Council.

AB1191 states that the CTC governing board will be composed of seven voting members and one nonvoting member:
- One member of the City Council of the City of South Lake Tahoe, or a designee appointed by that city council who is a resident of the City of South Lake Tahoe.
- One member of the Board of Supervisors of the County of Placer, or a designee appointed by that board of supervisors who is either an employee of the county or a resident of the county and the Lake Tahoe region.
- One member of the Board of Supervisors of the County of El Dorado, or a designee appointed by that board of supervisors who is either an employee of the county or a resident of the county and the Lake Tahoe region.
- The Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency or his or her designee.
- One member appointed from the general public by the Senate Committee on Rules.
- One member appointed from the general public by the Speaker of the Assembly.
- The Director of Finance or the director’s designee.
- A representative of the United States Secretary of Agriculture shall be an ex officio, nonvoting member of the conservancy.

For the 32 years of the Conservancy's existence, one South Lake Tahoe City Council member and one El Dorado County Supervisor sat on the board but in January of this year their participation was called into question by CTC Executive Director Patrick Wright and the California Attorney General's Office.

Tom Davis had been serving as the Council's rep, and Novasel as the County's rep at that time, and both resigned. Until the issue could be worked out at the state level, former Mayor Hal Cole was appointed to serve in Davis's spot, and County Counsel Paula Frantz was in Novasel's spot.

The next Conservancy Board Meeting is at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, September 21, 2017. The meeting will begin with a tour of Van Sickle Bi-State Park by the day-use parking area adjacent to the historic Van Sickle barn; the regular meeting will be held at the Lake Tahoe Community College starting at 1:00 p.m.