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Mayor Hal Cole on State of the City of South Lake Tahoe

"We need all of you—each and every one—to work together to restore pride in this community. People who demonstrate pride in the community become part of the solution." - Hal Cole, City of South Lake Tahoe Mayor

LAKE TAHOE

OCTOBER 18, 2011

Mayor Hal Cole delivered the State of the City 2011 address at the South Lake Tahoe City Council meeting.

Hal Cole, Mayor of the City of South Lake Tahoe, delivered the 2011 State of the City Address this morning. Pride and stewardship were the focus of his comment. He highlighted past and future projects that are part of the collective effort to create a City “in concert with the natural beauty around us”.

The City of South Lake Tahoe proposes to borrow $25 million “to fund the infrastructure rebuild of our City”, said Cole. “Our City is a tourist destination, and to compete effectively against other tourist destinations we need to invest,” he said. The City has not secured the loans nor finalized the mechanism for funding the payback of these loans but is looking for public discussion of the proposal. The Council is looking in particular at an increase to the Transit Occupancy Tax (TOT) as a mechanism to fund loan payments based on the findings of a recent survey of City residents. The survey shows strong support for a TOT increase as a means to fund necessary improvements.

Mayor Cole highlighted projects that have been a success for the City as examples of the kind of work the City has on the “to do” list for the near future. Lakeview Commons at El Dorado Beach, the Linear Park linking Stateline to Tahoe Boulevard, the Greenway project from Sierra Boulevard to Van Sickle Park and the Trout Creek Stream Restoration are among the projects whose success he highlighted. The City proposes in the near future to replicate the successful model applied on Ski Run in which the businesses pay a tax to support ongoing maintenance of infrastructure installed with public grant monies. The areas contemplated for upgrades and this arrangement include those at Harrison Avenue and those at the foot of Bijou Meadow – the location of CVS pharmacy and Heidi’s Café.

Mayor Cole underscored the importance of Measure R, a measure that is on the ballot for the November 8, 2011 election that vote-by-mail voters are receiving this week. Measure R would authorize the use of funds remaining from Measure S (revenues of the South Lake Tahoe Recreation Facilities Joint Powers Authority) to be used to renovate and maintain bike trails and renovate ball fields. No increase in the special tax levied is authorized under this measure.

Mayor Cole closed his State of the City address with a call for stewardship, “We need all of you—each and every one—to work together to restore pride in this community. Our community is suffering just like every other in the state. People who demonstrate pride in the community […] become part of the solution. Communities with a sense of pride share common goals, common ideals. We need cooperation not regulation to help us get this done. Now is the time to be bold in our actions […] unmatched in our community pride.”

Links

City of South Lake Tahoe | Mayor's 2011 State of City Address

http://www.cityofslt.us/index.aspx?nid=639

Hal Cole | City of South Lake Tahoe Mayor

http://www.halcole.com/edit.html

lake tahoe bicycle coalition | Link to Measure R Documents

http://www.tahoebike.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=158:measure-r-moves-forward

Tahoe Daily Tribune | Measure R ready for November ballot

http://www.tahoedailytribune.com/article/20110812/NEWS/110819946

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