For immediate release
Jan. 27, 2006
Contact: Anita Yoder, 530-889-4012, or
Mike Fitch, 530-886-4515

BOARD AWARDS TRANSIENT OCCUPANY TAX FUNDS FOR TAHOE PROJECTS

The Placer County Board of Supervisors awarded $275,000 recently to help fund the fourth phase of the Lakeside Bike Trail in Tahoe City.
The trail funding is part of a $306,100 funding package approved by the board at its Jan. 10 meeting.
The package includes $25,000 for the Squaw Valley Institute to develop a long-term financial plan and $6,100 for maintenance of a portable stage that nonprofit groups use for community events throughout North Lake Tahoe.
The board voted unanimously to approve funding for the three projects, acting upon a recommendation from the North Lake Tahoe Resort Association.
The funding source is transient occupancy tax revenue collected by the county at North Lake Tahoe. The tax is a surcharge paid by people who rent rooms in hotels, motels and other lodging establishments.
“Use of the transient occupancy tax to accommodate residents and visitors to the North Tahoe region only makes sense,” said Supervisor Bruce Kranz, the board member who represents North Lake Tahoe. “It’s reinvesting in those services and attractions that help make Lake Tahoe such a remarkable place to visit.”
In 1996, North Lake Tahoe voters approved a small increase in the tax to help fund local infrastructure, transportation, visitor-service and marketing programs.
The $306,100 approved by the board Jan. 10 will be allocated to the Resort Association for the three projects.
Managed by the Tahoe City Public Utility District, the Lakeside Trail has become a public promenade used by bicyclists, pedestrians and others who simply want to get a good look at the lake.
Work on phase four is scheduled to get under way this year. It will run from the east end of Commons Beach to Grove Street.
The public utility district expects the total cost of phase-four work to be more than $1.5 million. The California Tahoe Land Conservancy is contributing more than $890,000 to the project.
In October, the county Board of Supervisors allocated $250,000 in county redevelopment funds for lighting that will be installed along the new section of trail. The lighting will make the trail more attractive for bicyclist and pedestrian use into the evening hours.
The Squaw Valley Institute received $50,000 in transient occupancy tax revenue when it was formed three years ago. Its main goal is to develop cultural events that will broaden Squaw Valley’s array of visitor attractions, bring in overnight visitors during off-peak times and attract types of visitors who in the past haven’t frequented Squaw Valley.
Since its creation, the institute has held 45 events.
Placer County purchased the portage stage with transient occupancy tax revenue in the early 1990s and sold it to the Tahoe City Public Utility District in 2003 after declaring it to be surplus property.
Since then, nonprofit groups have used the stage for musical and other types of events in Tahoe City, Northstar, Squaw Valley, Alpine Meadows and West End Beach in Truckee.
The $6,100 is needed to do routine maintenance and make repairs that include replacing the roof and repairing the stage’s flooring.