SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – On Tuesday, city council met to discuss the Tahoe Bluefins swim club, parking agreement with Heavenly Mountain Resort and the long-term rental incentive program, among other items.
Mayor Pro Tem Keith Roberts and councilmember Heather Horgan were not present for this meeting.
Public comment and consent agenda
During public comment, Angie Reagan, who previously requested that the Mental Health Month proclamation be presented by Horgan, spoke again on her disappointment that Mayor Cody Bass presented the proclamation. She stated that the council not appearing at the “Talk Saves Lives”, mental health events or the free “Paradise Paradox” community screening was proof that they were not paying attention to mental health in the community.
Reagan also connected the cannabis tax (which used to fund nonprofits in the city) and Mayor Bass’s connection with cannabis business in town as more points against the council’s attention to mental health. Lastly, Reagan criticized the council for removing “Community for All” and “United Against Hate” from official city council priorities. “Mental health is whether people can access support before they reach the edge. It is whether struggling residents are treated with dignity, instead of inconvenience. It is whether leaders show up after the photo is taken.”
Ed Moser commented to request information on Heavenly Village’s development and its total costs in a report. He also commented on the consent agenda to oppose the second reading of the shared mobility devices ordinance, saying that the city still lacked infrastructure for them, that they were unsafe and had injured others.
Astrid Melin also commented and said that she had personal experience with how unsafe the scooters were, where an improperly parked one damaged her husband’s leased car, asking for people to be held accountable.
Council assured people that they were hoping the ordinance would tighten up the concern areas around the scooters. They passed the second reading along with the rest of the consent agenda.
Tahoe Bluefins
Parks and recreation director John Stark brought forward a suggestion from staff to authorize use of the general fund to sponsor the Tahoe Bluefins swim team, which would total $8,343 for a six-month agreement.
Coach Jeff Edmonds spoke on the team and advocated for its positive impacts on youth and the need in this community for swim experience. “This is a commitment that the community must support in order to maintain our programs.” He also said that money should not be a barrier to participation and asked for the city’s support there. Lastly, he advocated for them to change the practice time, which he said was late for younger members of the team.
Melin also spoke, saying that she did not see any other organized sports who were contracted to share with public times. She asked for the same standard to be applied to the Tahoe Bluefins as the high school team, which gets full access to the pool. “We are part of the economic activity this facility was designed to support.” She also asked for the city to consider their previous agreement, rather than a six-month agreement.
Several parents echoed these sentiments, also speaking on the positive impacts of the program on their children. Team members from the swim team spoke on their experiences and the importance of the club to them.
Moser spoke spontaneously to express his support for the Tahoe Bluefins swim team.
Councilmember David Jinkens asked about the potential cost for returning the previous agreement, which is what staff presented for a six-month agreement. Stark also clarified that the city helps to sponsor a 3rd grade swim program.
Councilmember Scott Robbins asked about the lifeguard ratio (1:20 vs. 1:25 as the American Red Cross states) as well as the schedule for the lessons for the swim lessons the rec center offers. He also spoke on the need for properly documenting agreements or arrangements, as well as modernizing previously made agreements.
Bass said he “very much supports the Tahoe Bluefins” and was looking for more equality among nonprofits using the rec center. “We want to broadly make a policy that applies to everybody.”
Council directed staff to produce policies for these kinds of programs before the start of the next school year, as well as accepting the proposed agreement for the Tahoe Bluefins, which passed unanimously.
Amendment to the parking agreement with Heavenly
Lieutenant Doug Sentell presented the assessment of the agreement for the 2025-2026 year. Heavenly reported parking 2,542 cars on the street over 39 separate days, averaging 65 cars a day. The police department issued 56 citations from November 1 to March 22, averaging 1.4 citations a day. They also noted citizen complaints from 1390 Ski Run Boulevard, where parked vehicles created substantial visual obstruction when exiting the complex, made worse on heavy snow days.
Given this data and the police department’s closure of Ski Run Blvd and Keller Road after a heavy snow day, they also wished to clarify and amend Heavenly’s agreement to plow and sand that roadway for parking if it was closed.
The recommendations were to move parking to the east side of the road, where there are no residences and to not penalize Heavenly if they did not plow and sand closed roads.
Heavenly general manager Shaydar Edelmann spoke in support of the amendments and thanked the city for their help on the peak snow days after unusual snow patterns in the past season.
A resident at the complex previously mentioned also asked for the city to not put up “no parking signs” in front of the complex, as they also utilize street parking.
The council unanimously passed the amendments.
Long-term rental incentive program update
Development services director Zach Thomas presented the item that was prepared by associate management analyst Lydia Zuniga. The long-term rental incentive program, previously run as the Lease to Locals program, is the only one in the city that is geared towards moderate-income earners.
The program has assisted 65 households and housed 155 people (including children) since 2021. Staff are looking at new grants, which given the current allocated funds, will exhaust the remaining new grant balance.
Staff recommended that city council pass a motion to allocate $80,000 from the general fund to continue operations.
“I do think we are seeing an uptick in interest now,” said Thomas, citing the end of the vacation home rental ordinance discussions as part of that.
Heather Cade-Bauer spoke on the topic during public comment, asking the city to consider an incentive program for people who are already renting long-term to locals.
The motion carried unanimously.
Reports from staff and city council
City attorney Heather Stroud recently represented South Lake Tahoe and the Sacramento Valley at the City Attorney Conference for the League of California Cities.
Bass opened the councilmember reports and suggested they bring an urgency ordinance to ban the sale and use of glyphosate in the city of South Lake Tahoe, which has been done in other cities.
Jinkens asked for discussions on the redevelopment of Nel’s Garden Center into new housing units.
Robbins spoke on enforcement and the allocation of public staffing resources for private parking at the Crescent V Shopping Center, asking staff to agendize a discussion on the topic.
The next city council meeting will take place on June 2.
