city manager

Galt City Council members on Dec. 15 were expected to name an experienced administrator in smaller jurisdictions as Galt’s next city manager.

Eugene Palazzo, who started his career in 1989 as a planning technician in Nevada County, has served as Crescent City’s city manager since 2011.

The council vote was not known at press time.

Galt city staff wrote in the council report that Palazzo has more than 27 years of experience in local government.

City Councilwoman JoAnn Conner filed a lawsuit against the City of South Lake Tahoe and City Manager Nancy Kerry in El Dorado County Court on Wednesday, December 9, asking for the City Council's censure of her be withdrawn.

In a special meeting of the Council on October 19, Conner was censured for interactions she had with City staff which at times were described as bullying and creating a hostile work environment.

The recent reversal of sign ordinance fees reflects on the poor leadership of South Lake Tahoe’s government. After an eruption of dissent from the business community, the City had to reverse its onerous sign permit fees and acquiesce to the demands of the business community.

During a special meeting of the South Lake Tahoe City Council on Monday, October 19, JoAnn Conner was publicly censured, a first of its kind for the City. An overflowing crowd spent over three hours in Council Chambers as comments were made both supporting Conner, and against what they said was "abusive, bullying and intolerant behavior."

MontBleu Resort on the South Shore is undergoing extensive exterior remodeling at the same time they are cleaning house.

Their ten-year-old sign came down on Tuesday and will be replaced. The driveway and hotel entrance area all being revamped.

Last week, the resort let go four directors including the Food & Beverage Director. A call was made to the property's new General Manager Tim Tretton to confirm, but his office said "no comment." Tretton has been on the job since August 4.

The heavy holiday traffic in South Lake Tahoe is showing up on the newly installed CalTrans message boards. As of 11 a.m., it was a 14 minute drive from the intersection of Highway 50 and Pioneer Trail near Stateline to the "Y." It is a 70 minute trip from that same location to Meyers and 160 minutes to Placerville.

Three new message signs were unveiled in South Lake Tahoe just before the 4th of July holiday weekend.

Lake Tahoe radio host, standup comedian and emcee of the Improv at Harveys, Howie Nave is among 62 Nevada radio and television personalities and managers who will be inducted into the Nevada Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame this Saturday in Las Vegas.

Nave, who has been with KRLT FM 93.9 as host of “Howie’s Morning Rush” at Lake Tahoe for nearly 15 years, will be inducted at the Four Seasons Hotel. He joins the ranks of more than 800 broadcasters from around Nevada who make up the Hall of Fame.

It was another packed house at the South Lake Tahoe City Council's meeting Tuesday, which has been commonplace for all of the meetings and workshops on the contentious subject of vacation home rentals.

In a unanimous vote of 4-0 (Councilman Tom Davis had to recuse himself), the City Council voted to implement an ordinance that addresses three key issues:

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.

Who wouldn't want to enjoy the lake a little bit longer, hike or bike a little bit longer, or linger over a big meal instead of sitting in traffic over Echo Summit on Highway 50?

The owners of Heavenly Village Cinemas want to turn an empty third floor space on the property into a restaurant and bar with an entertainment venue with stadium style seating for 110 people. But, in order to do so, they need to buy some extra commercial floor area (CFA) from the City of South Lake Tahoe.

The City of South Lake Tahoe wants to hear opinions and concerns from the public on city matters. In order to hear from the people who cannot make City Council meetings they have created "eComment."

This new way to collect comments on agenda items was unveiled this weekend and is now in place, just in time for the June 2nd council meeting.

Suicide does not discriminate. Suicide does not know income levels, race or neighborhoods. Suicide can happen next door.

Every day in California, Nevada, and every other state, there are friends, family and co-workers who struggle with emotional pain. And, for some, it's too difficult to talk about the pain, thoughts of suicide, and the need for help.

- Nearly 40,000 Americans commit suicide every year.
- In the U.S., suicide rates are highest during the spring.
- Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death for 15 to 24-year-olds and 2nd for 24 to 35-year-olds.

To City Manager of South Lake Tahoe, City Council

RE: motel housing

Honorable City Manager and City Council,

I am writing to you out of concern about the possible new ordinance regarding motel housing. In the past six years I have been involved with working for and advising various properties. The seven different properties opened my eyes to a separate part of our community that goes mostly unnoticed.

There was standing room only at Tuesday's City Council meeting as changes to the current Vacation Home Rental (VHR) ordinance were on the agenda.

Most of the audience was from the real estate and home rental management companies, both of whom felt there would be a lot of loss should a stricter policy be enforced.

Last month, the City Manager and City Council hosted a strategic planning session with all City departments to ensure we are coordinated and pulling together to address key community issues. Community wellness is one such focus area.

"We have good news for the second year in a row," City Manager Nancy Kerry started with during her presentation Tuesday to the South Lake Tahoe City Council.

The budget for fiscal year 2013-14 closed out with a positive cash flow of $910,000. Kerry reported that a conservative fiscal philosophy and being budget conscious got the City through the recession. They have maintained a 25% reserve in the budget since 2005, a move that has allowed the City to be in the position to now grow the economy.

The South Lake Tahoe Fire Department has been unable to keep up with completing the duties of fire inspections due to reduced staff and an increased work load for the busiest fire department in the basin.

When the position of Fire Marshall was eliminated during 2011 budget cuts the tasks fell upon the fire department. SLT Fire Chief Jeff Meston said that his department currently lacks the expertise to complete the fire inspection duties.

A South Lake Tahoe fire captain has been arrested and is on paid administrative leave resulting from a federal criminal investigation into him allegedly receiving child pornography.

Throngs of people were seen throughout South Lake Tahoe Monday afternoon and evening as they made their way to Lake Tahoe Community College and the 2014 SnowGlobe. By 8 p.m., 12,000 people were already at the concert. Many walked, parked nearby or took advantage of the shuttle busses provided by the event planners and the City.

"They have done a good job on signs, parking shuttles, sound and security," said South Lake Tahoe City Manager Nancy Kerry of the event planners. "Sound levels have been on target and below."

The stages were being set up Monday at the Community Play Fields in South Lake Tahoe. Large tents could be seen from Al Tahoe Blvd as work crews were busy getting things ready for SnowGlobe which will be in South Lake Tahoe December 28-31.

Residents in the neighborhoods surrounding the fields and Lake Tahoe Community College received a letter recently from the City of South Lake Tahoe, alerting them that the three day outdoor concert is once again coming to the South Shore.

To avoid going down the bankruptcy path as many cities had to over the past few years, the City of South Lake Tahoe today adopted resolutions to restructure the wage and benefit packages of its employees.

The new wage and benefit plans include a mixture of more clearly defined benefits and contributions. It was the undefined plans of the past that caused $25M in unfunded liabilities.

In front of a packed council chambers full of firemen and other staff, City Manager Nancy Kerry unveiled the results of negotiations between five of the six employee groups and the City.

Douglas County can now say they have a County Manager, a position that hasn't been filled since the former manager left earlier this year.

Jim Nichols has accepted the position of Douglas County Manager at a pay rate of $172,000. He is expected to begin September 29, 2014.

Zawadisha, a Tahoe-based global women’s empowerment organization, announced today that South Lake resident and Lean In partner Rayona Sharpnack will be the keynote speaker at its inaugural “Women as Change Makers: Leading and Thriving in the 21st Century,” conference, to be held October 3rd at the North Tahoe Event Center. Sharpnack, the CEO of the Institute for Women’s Leadership, has facilitated women’s leadership trainings for such Fortune 500 companies as Microsoft, Charles Schwab, and Hewlett Packard.

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The South Lake Tahoe City Council agreed to a settlement agreement on Tuesday with former City employee Stan Sherer who had sued for wrongful termination in 2013. He claimed that his termination was based on age discrimination.

According to documents received by South Tahoe Now, the City was cleared of any wrongdoing and is not required to pay anything to Sherer, including attorney's fee. In turn, the City has agreed to not sue Sherer who served as the Community Services Director for 18 months beginning in January 2011.