recreation

The Douglas County Parks and Recreation Commission invites the community to review the phased improvements planned for Johnson Lane Park located on Stephanie Way during its Commission meeting on April 7, 2015, 6:00 pm at Piñon Hills Elementary School.

The Parks & Recreation Commission will be reviewing a conceptual phased improvement plan for the Johnson Lane Park. The estimated construction budget for the improvements is $750,000 and will include the following:
• A new playground system
• A picnic pavilion
• A restroom remodel

Beaches, parks, trailheads, campgrounds and popular Lake Tahoe viewing areas will start opening on April 1 for the 2015 season, almost two months ahead of schedule.

A mild winter has allowed the U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) to start opening the popular areas but they won't be fully opened since they won't be fully staffed until closer to summer.

The most innovative South Shore businesses will exhibit at the 2015 Business EXPO: Innovation in the Basin on Friday, March 27. The largest business and networking event of the year, Tahoe Chamber’s Business EXPO includes 100 local businesses ranging from restaurants and resorts to recreation providers to retailers. The event includes food and drink tastings, giveaways and a new networking lounge sponsored by the City of South Lake Tahoe, Winters Construction Group and Red Carpet Events and Design.

A newly released scientific study highlights the importance of collaborative work to prevent the introduction of aquatic invasive species at Lake Tahoe, and confirms what many public and private stakeholders have feared: That the invasive quagga mussel, if introduced, could establish in our mountain lake’s clear, iconic waters.

You will soon be seeing this state of the art, high tech van traveling through the streets of South Lake Tahoe. Equiped with lasers, GPS, digital measuring tools and cameras, the van will be able to record the conditions of the city's infrastructure, thus allowing the gathered data to be evaluated to priorizie all maintenance.

Nationally it is estimated that there are $2 trillion of backlog mainenance to roads and other items in the infrastruce of cities and counties. Locally the number is estimated at $26 million.

"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.

Boulder, Colorado has one. Portland, Oregon has one. Even Roseville and Truckee, California have one. If plans go as they appeared to during a presentation at the City Council meeting on Tuesday, South Lake Tahoe will soon have one.

What is it?

"It" is a combination BMX track and mountain bike skills park which will be located at the city owned Bijou Park.

Bijou Bike Park Association (BBPA) and Tahoe Area Mountain Biking Association (TAMBA) President Ben Fish laid out the proposed plan to the Council and community.

With the retirement of Nancy Gibson, the U.S Forest Service started the search for her replacement. It was announced Tuesday Jeff Marsolais has been selected as the new forest supervisor for the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit.

The California Tahoe Conservancy Board unanimously voted today to award Sierra Business Council (SBC) $50,000 to expand and enhance the Lake Tahoe Water Trail.

The Lake Tahoe Water Trail is the 72-mile scenic paddling route around the shore of Lake Tahoe. SBC plans to improve trail maps; increase wayfinding, trailhead signage, and outreach and education; launch a Lodge-to-Lodge Network; and establish a new Oversight Committee to develop a business plan to create a more sustainable program.

Learning how to respond to aquatic emergencies is the focus of two American Red Cross Lifeguard training sessions being offered in South Lake Tahoe over the next few months.

Participants must be at least 15 years of age, be able to swim 300 yards continuously while demonstrating breathing control and rhythmic breathing, tread water for two minutes using the legs only, and complete a timed event. The class includes 7 hours and 25 minutes of online learning and 20 hours of hands-on instruction.

It was another packed house meeting on Thursday night for the Tahoe Paradise Resort Improvement District.

The last few meetings have been full of anger, dysfunction, arguing and mis-information. Many came to this board meeting hoping to have answers and a clear understanding of what the future holds for the Tahoe Paradise Park, which the board oversees.

It was clear early on that this meeting was going to be more of the same.

In their meeting of 2015, the South Lake Tahoe City Council will make appointments to four commissions.

Residents seeking one of the two available spots on the Airport Land Use Commission are Ted Long and Michael Siracuse. There are seven openings on the Building/ADA Board of Appeals, and six people seeking the spots: David Huber, Keith Cloutier, William "Chip" Henderson, Robert King, Dale Rise and Randy Vogelgesang.

As the incoming Chair of the 15-member Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Governing Board, this promises to be a hopeful and exciting year. 2015 will be full of opportunities, but also challenges, for the continued protection of Lake Tahoe.

The number one priority among our challenges is funding shortfalls. Federal and state funding that has paid for environmental restoration and protection efforts at Lake Tahoe for years is drying up and new approaches need to be pursued.

The following is a summary of accomplishments during 2014 by the City of South Lake Tahoe.

Strategic Priority: Fiscal Sustainability
The most important issue facing cities and local agencies is continued steadfast attention to the budget, both short term and long term fiscal impacts.

· Implemented “budget watch” approach to financial analysis; a year-long effort evaluating state, national and global economic impacts for South Shore economy, and capital investment opportunities

From exciting bike events to new world-class bike trails, 2014 was a great year for biking in Lake Tahoe. In no particular order, the Lake Tahoe Bicycle Coalition presents ten of the best highlights from the past 12 months:

Lake Tahoe area Sno-Parks can now be enjoyed with the purchase of an annual pass as well as with a daily pass.

The California Department of Parks and Recreation operates 21 Sno-Park sites that provide snow-cleared parking lots with sanitation facilities and access to snow play areas, cross-country ski and snowmobile trails.

In the Lake Tahoe area there are several Sno-Parks: Echo Lake, Taylor Creek, Donner Summit, Hope Valley, Blackwood Canyon, Carson Pass and Meiss Meadow.

The partnership between California and Nevada that created the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency turns 45 years old today, marking nearly a half-century of progress in the protection and restoration of Lake Tahoe and its treasured environment.

President Richard Nixon signed the Bi-State Compact creating TRPA on Thursday, December 18, 1969. Nixon’s signature followed the compact’s ratification by Congress and its approval by both states’ legislatures and former governors Ronald Reagan in California and Paul Laxalt in Nevada.

With the impeding wet storm, the City of South Lake Tahoe reminds all residents that there are free 'do it yourself' sand bags available.

Available for free all year long, most people tend to think about needing them only during storms.

Weidinger Public Relations was presented with four awards by the Public Relations Society of America, Sierra Nevada Chapter at the organization’s 28th annual Silver Spike Awards recently held in Reno. They won the prestigious “Judge’s Choice Award,” denoting Northern Nevada’s best overall campaign.

Zephyr Cove Ski Club is a non-profit organization of parent volunteers who enjoy working with youth in the community to help them learn how to ski and snowboard with the help and skills of Heavenly Ski School. ZCSC is associated with Douglas County Parks and Recreation and the Douglas County School District. Our purpose is to provide an affordable, fun and safe skiing and snowboarding experience for the children of our community.

A brand new, 83,225 sq ft community and senior center will be unveiled December 6. The $16.9 million center was expected to open in February, 2015 but construction is ahead of schedule.

Billed as something to serve the community from cradle to grave, the Douglas County Community and Senior Center located across the street from Lampe Park in Gardnerville, NV will have a senior center with a dining room for 300 people, administrative offices, senior day care, health nurse office, preschool, activity rooms, fitness and workout areas and gymnasiums.

Janet McDougall used the public comment portion of a recent South Lake Tahoe City Council meeting to speak of her concern that people would lose access to Connelly Beach. Council members took interest and the subject is on Tuesday's Council agenda.

McDougall, a resident of South Lake Tahoe since 1963 and a graduate of South Tahoe High in 1975, spent 17 years working in the city attorney's office in town. She said that during that time she saw a growing amount of beaches becoming unavailable to the public.

South Lake Tahoe non-profits were awarded $48,000 during the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority board meeting today. The 22 groups were each given between $1,000 and $3,000. The LTVA, in partnership with NBC Sports and American Century Investments, previously directed an additional $67,200 through on-site volunteer organizations and other efforts during tournament week to area high schools, Soroptimist International of South Lake Tahoe, South Lake Tahoe Booster Club, Boys and Girls Club of South Lake Tahoe, and the Gene Upshaw Scholarship

The Parks, Trails and Recreation Master Plan has identified the South Lake Tahoe Recreation Complex for future renovation, but exactly how that renovation will look is up to the public.

The City's Parks and Recreation Commission is holding a public workshop to gather input from the community on what their desires for the complex are.