Supervisors allow Squaw Valley Ski Museum

Published on July 22, 2015

A museum dedicated to memorializing the heritage of the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley and the legacy of alpine and Nordic sports in the Lake Tahoe area moved a step forward today. The Placer County Board of Supervisors voted to direct staff to develop a park master plan that would further assess the feasibility of locating a museum at Squaw Valley Park.

The Squaw Valley Ski Museum Foundation has been working with the county and numerous other entities since 2008 to secure a site for the museum and identify the funding needed for its construction and operation.

An alternative property across the street from the park and behind the Olympic Tower of Nations display was also considered. Although the alternative site was preferred by Supervisor Jennifer Montgomery, in whose district both sites are located and who cast the dissenting vote, the board voted 31 to allow the foundation to work with staff to further investigate the park site.

At the meeting, Supervisor Montgomery said she would support the park site only after all other options had been explored and found infeasible. She supported the alternative site, she said, because the county’s analysis showed it is feasible and would provide enhanced economic development opportunities, and because the public favored the alternative site.

The park site is not currently zoned for development like the museum, and alternative use will require rezoning, a traffic study and further development of sewer and power utilities.

“Nothing gets built unless private money can be raised,” said Board Chairman Kirk Uhler. “The park site is where the foundation is telling us they will be successful. Let’s see if [the foundation] can be successful raising the money.”