Heavenly Village entities look at new era of cooperation
By Kathryn Reed
Movement is afoot to alter language in the multi-year agreement regulating who pays what and does what at Heavenly Village. South Lake Tahoe officials brought the idea to the board Tuesday with the hopes of possibly being able to offer in-kind services, help with special events and restructuring parking fees as incentives to pay less each month.
“I think everyone at this table wants it to be successful. We’ll put together a group to talk about parking and the existing agreement,” PADMA board Chairman Greg Campbell told City Manager Tony O’Rourke at the Feb. 15 meeting. He said the board would have something to bring to the table at or before the April meeting.
Park Avenue Development Maintenance Association is the organization formulated in 2002 to maintain the Heavenly Village. The two Marriott properties pay 55 percent collectively, Heavenly Mountain Resort 20 percent, South Lake Tahoe 20 percent, Trans Sierra Investments 2.5 percent, and Cecil’s 2.5 percent for the upkeep.
The fee structure at Heavenly Village garage is likely to be altered. Photo/LTN file
Attorney Lew Feldman, who represents PADMA, pointed out there is a separate parking agreement between the city and PADMA that calls for the board to be consulted regarding parking fee changes at the village garage even though it is owned by the city. That hasn’t been happening.
“The parking structure should be an enhancement for the village and it’s not,” O’Rourke told fellow PADMA board members.
He broached the idea of instituting the “Free after 3” program like Vail has, but added, “To do so we need to off-set the costs.”
If the Free after 3 idea were implemented, the city would take an additional $100,000 a year loss on the parking garage that already loses $100,000 and has a debt of $7.2 million that is gradually being paid off. That is why the city, as O’Rourke told the board, “wants relief with our agreement.”
Officials from Vail will be in Tahoe in the next couple weeks to offer advice about what the city can do with its financially failing concrete structure.
The idea is to get more locals to use the garage and therefore frequent the businesses in the village.
But Feldman also pointed out the trend is more people are staying in vacation rentals, so a reasonable parking rate – or free at times – would be incentive for those tourists to venture to the Stateline area village.
He also noted with the garage being the most underutilized during the midweek that in the past the idea of having a parking pass for Heavenly season passholders was brought up but went nowhere.
Pete Sonntag, general manager of the ski resort, is a PADMA board member. He didn’t comment on Feldman’s midweek parking incentive idea.
To offer different types of parking options for people, O’Rourke told the PADMA board it’s possible about 30 spaces could be created at the transit center, with the first two or three hours free.
When it came time to discuss how much retailers pay the city per validation coupon, Feldman said the idea for the movie theater to pay so little compared to others was to get locals to the village.
O’Rourke contends with the length of time movies are in the theater – months not weeks – that would point toward the theater having an eye toward tourists, not locals and therefore wants the board’s help with making the validations equitable. The city manager also asked for assistance with getting all retailers to offer validation that will provide consistency for retailers.
Gary Casteel from Trans Sierra Investments, the group that owns the bulk of the retail buildings, said it’s easier for someone selling high-end art to offer validation than someone selling an ice cream cone.
In the era of trying to all play nicer together, Feldman pointed out there was resistance from officials with the city who are no longer on the payroll for things like banners and other visual displays to spruce up the area.
“Let’s look at this relationship from a different perspective and bury the adversarial tones,” O’Rourke said.
O’Rourke told the PADMA board how the current council wants to build partnerships – which includes with the folks at Heavenly Village. It’s part of the council’s economic development plan.
The more Heavenly Village is successful, the more sales and hotel taxes the city collects – not to mention parking fees.
Feldman said most of the businesses are seeing double-digit gains over the prior year. Campbell noted the Marriott properties are doing well this season, too.
“Luxury items are off a little bit like the rest of the country,” Casteel said.
Kerry David with David & Johnson certified public accountants went over the November and December financials. The numbers prove early snow isn’t always a good thing.
Snowmelt was budgeted to cost $1,746 in November, when in fact the bill came to $16,975. For December, the deficit was $4,584. The good news is a dry January made up $19,000 in savings with no snow on the ground to melt.
Us locals are savvy enough to know where FREE, NO HASSLE, alternative parking is. Here is some economic common sense – if you are charging a ridiculous amount of money for a product that customers can get for free just down the street, YOU WILL FAIL!
As a Heavenly season passholder, why would I bother coming to the Heavenly Village to pay excessively for parking, then ride the Gondola 15 minutes (minimum) to get up on the mountain, when I can drive to California, Stagecoach, or Boulder lodges in 10 minutes or less, and park for free all day? Even taking BlueGO is a cheaper and more convenient option than utilizing that worthless parking garage.
I remember seeing an ad for the parking garage permits months ago, and couldn’t believe the price. I wonder if there were any takers?
Park cars down in the hole for now. Plenty of space down there.
Force parking fees at Boulder, Stage Coach, and California Lodges, then you will see people paying for parking.
You’ll get more locals to frequent the businesses in the village by issuing a “locals only” parking pass to get us there. Show your state issued Stateline or South Lake Tahoe ID and get a pass.
Why on earth are city taxpayers on the hook for 20% of the maintenance costs at this private shopping center, Heavenly Village? Who agreed to that, were the taxpayers at that table in 2002? Obviously there was the owner of the retail storefronts, Trans Sierra Investments, his share is only 2.5%
Just another example of corporate benefits from Redevelopment, paid for at the expense of local citizens and businesses. A tradition of obfuscation and confusion continued by Eugene Paloser and his redevelopment cronies.
7% increase in property values to pay for Redevelopment? Oh, really Eugene!
GREAT idea, Joe.
(sarcasm font)
Joe says to have parking fees at Boulder, Stagecoach, and California lodges. If that was instituted, yes, many would pay. BUT…I think a considerable number of folks residing here, or visiting here, will ski elsewhere’s, such as at Sierra, ETC.
Locals…and that means that most visitors will eventually find out from them and pass it on…know that the cost to drive to Sierra, or Kirkwood, is offsetting to Heavenly’s higher skiing prices. That would lessen.
BTW…I have high hopes for O’Rourke…and new City Council Members.. to bring some fresh air to the City’s old ways of NOT dealing with things properly. Time will tell.
$19,000.00 below budget in Jan. just makes up for loses in Nov. and Dec. for the snowmelt system. I’am not sure but I thought the city pays 100% of the snowmelt systems cost. Very littfe labor involved in removal unless we turned off system and let our 19% plus unemployed get some temp. work from the $ budgeted for snowmelt. There was some snow on the ground the first week in Jan. so if we saved at least $19,000.00, about $700.00 a day, the city could pay 7 temp. workers $100.00 a day, or 30 people $700.00 a mo. if it snowed everyday.
Lou, you’re forgetting the additional expenses of workmen’s comp, social security, medicare, etc etc etc. . .That hundred dollar a day employee actually costs $150.
Only a Opinion:
Kind of funny how many smoking, burnt bridges, they left in the smoldering aftermath.
I’ve talked to many visitors that said they never come here again because of the parking, patrol by ticket freaks, after spending hundreds of dollars.
The bay area people aren’t stupid and neither are the local spenders.
They been barking at each other for years over the Garage and Airport…..been years since anything really got done or approved.
Too Many don’t belief a G**D*** word they utter.
What gets me, they whole bunch locals are finally waking up to these problems after years of pathetic progress in residents and council relation”, really they Suck!”The general public has let them get away with it for years, only a hand full greedy business people are really involved and it’s all about them, not us as a whole.
The city has for years ignore the residents request for about anything they ask for….That screwy hole took all their time and resources to be left open to the elements. They literal put the most important things we as community people needed in the back of their files of things to get done.
Remember rust never sleeps and when you keep electing the same bunch of plugged in, over amped council members, there’s bound to be a circuit burn out. None the cronies seldom got along because they HAD too many self agendas for special interest groups and screw the ball fields, sidewalks, new plows, we’ve needed for years. The roads just didn’t start grumbling yesterday it’s been years of plain neglect.
First thing the people who elect the council need to do “put a frigging Claus about how many times you can be there.”
A lot people are just fed up with the same BS, year after year with the old saying gives us time; they bring so many things back at ever meeting to really get anything done in a reasonable amount time.
We need transactions of meeting that go somewhere, designed to work swift, more efficient than what’s been happening there for 15 years.
This town got some really great people living here; we need solid direction, better dedication and most of all, someone who can shove some these agencies into the holes they crawled out of.
There’s something here we all love, we starve, we go without, we put up with forest fires ,casinos bombing, snow crushed homes, slick roads, high prices, washed away highways, to live here….Sure be nice to get some loving from our county seat and our representatives that are supposed to be there to help us all out fairly with dignity.
I do find it ironic to try budget 5 years in advance.
H, you are wrong that a lot of us just woke up and are starting to do things. I have for years been attending council meetings, reporting on and generally making a nuisance of myself when it comes to the way things are done. I pointed all this stuff going on last year and the year before and offered solutions to council members but was ignored everytime. I was told I am just a Skibum who writes fiction lol. Davis has not clue one on what to do about the garage fiasco even though that his signiture on the 1999 aggreement including the Gondola. Say’s he was voted down so that means he is not taking responsibility.
D W, These temp. workers come from a hiring agency which pays the costs you’ve mentioned. The temps only net apx. $80.00 per day because of the costs you mentioned and the agency fee.
Ski…..If everyone woke up,good-morning Mr.Accounted and all the sailors that figured out, we are taking on more than water.
A lot people have gone to council meeting,just too bad no one knows what to say without consultants or a city attorney to show them…. this Charmin,here’s the hole,OK..now do you know how to wipe?Can you say,who’s your momma?
There is no wrong in a right world…first you got figure out, which ways which!
I take my hat off to you Sir Ski..you just keep bugging, I’ll keep trying to make sense of the whole lack of solutions.
There’s many a local who say “show me first”?
I still feel it should be at minimum 2 hours free at minimum. That is an easier idea for people to grasp, and remember, then having to remember they can’t go there until after 3pm.
Really you should try to work the numbers, and see if you could do free parking. Do a trial of one year, see how it goes. Talk to other towns that have done the same thing.
The parking beat goes on and on. The good old boys will get what they want.
Bankruptcy is the only to make PADMA back down. The city should file for many other reasons including this one. The sooner the better because this town will take between 10 and 20 years to recover from redevelopment, housing bubble, and the impacts of Indian gaming.
HARDtoMAKEaLIVINGinTAHOE … One question. Why do you live here? There has to be something about South Lake Tahoe that you like. I hope.
Why 3wits,
I’ve got a castle on a hill ,I’VE GOT IT MADE,A casinos for fun, that plays my game, dance joint down the block with plenty of thrills, nice looking women that don’t wear heels, a ski resort, real close bye, ride the snow for a white powder high, A boat on the lake with plenty thrills, tons of friends, we share our skills, a oil pumping gold mine that pays my bills, A good looking woman in a low cut dress, a maid that cleans up all our mess, plenty time, to check it out,A good account that does his best.
You asked the question, how you know why,I’ll sure hate to lose my Tahoe life.
My husband and son went skiing last Saturday at Boulder. Parking was filled; were told they could park on street. After skiing went back to vehicle and it was towed away along with 40 others. Someone in that town made a lot of money that day. There were no visible parking signs and we did not even get a citation from police. My son got sick because he could not get to his medication in our vehicle and my husband ended up with two blackened toes on each foot with a bleeding foot due to having to walk so far in ski boots. Boots were in the vehicle. Towing company, not only was rude, but charged $301 for a two mile tow. We also had to wait in the cold for a cab, another $20. I am doing an investigation into how something like this could happen and who told the tow company to take the vehicles away …stranding adults and kids on a very cold winter night outside on the streets of a ski resort is unthinkable. We have spent lots of money skiing there, no more. They are greedy, ruthless people.