South Tahoe council pushes back, makes philosophical stand
By Kathryn Reed
What may have been the most significant discussion at last week’s South Lake Tahoe City Council meeting was about a $1,000 bill.
The lengthy discussion on the consent agenda item about a snowblower at Lake Tahoe Airport and the consultant working on the specs signaled a shift in how these five do business. Rubber-stamping what staff brings to them didn’t happen. Making the person prove they worked the hours is new. Chastising staff in public for having the work done without a contract approved by the council is new.
“I’m very troubled by this,” Councilwoman Angela Swanson said. “I don’t want to see this happen again from any of our departments.”
What happened is Airport Director Sherry Miller brought forward a $20,000 bill from Reinard Brandley for engineering and consulting assistance in the purchase of an airport snowblower. This is twice the amount it was originally expected to be.
The city’s portion is $1,000, with the Federal Aviation Administration picking up 95 percent. But it is all taxpayer money.
In the discussions April 19 it was brought up that the Brandley, who has been associated with the airport before the city incorporated in 1965, had to re-do the specs for the bid. The city is being billed for his mistakes.
Councilman Tom Davis was adamant he isn’t going to agree to pay this bill until he sees an accounting of the work done and hours associated with it.
The blower is expected to arrive this summer, so delaying payment to the consultant is not delaying the item being built.
Miller explained a consultant was needed because the airport via FAA regulations has unique requirements. The $507,000 blower is being built just for the South Lake Tahoe airport.
It’s likely the contract with the consultant will be before the council again at the May 3 meeting.
A consultant to buy a snowblower? What does the airport director do? This sounds like a case of fleecing of America. Dissolve city and close airport too-waste of money.
Since when did the City hire a consultant to make the spec’s for Equipment ??? that was always done buy Motor Pool, those are the people that know what is needed.
The Air Port is the largest waste of Tax Payer money we have, Get rid of the AIR PORT, save millions !!!
20K to pick out the right snowblower? LOL, I’d have done it for half the price! And I wonder how much the actual machine costs?
Very glad the council is picking up on this kind of waste. Maybe if the folks in charge had been paying attention all along there wouldn’t need to be talk of raising the citizens’ taxes.
If the media (meaning the Tribune too) had paid more attention to what is important and less to sports and trivia this would not have happened and the stupid airport wouldn’t even be there.
Hey, can I be a consultant for the city? I wont charge much and because I shop locally all my hard earned cash will stay in So. Shore. Call me?
Great article, thank you. Why is the airport stupid? The only thing stupid about it is SLT not promoting it.
Good job City Council!!
This is an illustration of why taxpayers are so utterly fed up with government, its inefficiency, useless and wasteful grants (government grants are actually not free money), unnecessary purchases to burn up bloated budgets, and bumbling bureaucrats overseeing the entire mess.
The airport used to be quite busy. When I moved to Tahoe in the 70’s there were frequent flights from all over. Only $19 from San Francisco or Oakland. And the bar/restaurant was always busy. Over the years Tahoe gave up on the airlines and the airlines gave up on Tahoe.
The airport is not stupid. Not using the airport to its full usefulness IS stupid.
There were flights because of the FAAs must serve rule at the time. This happens every day in gov. The city council even missed $7 mil. transfer to the redevelopment agency.
Well hopefully this is the start of a new way of doing business in our town?! The Council needs to run the bureaucracy, not the other way around! But the bureaucracy clearly was calling the shots with the previous Council!
And as previously inquired-Yeah, what does the Airport Director do if you need to hire a consultant for something like this?
Time to privatize the airport.
A town with no sidewalks subsidizing an airport is kind of stupid.
jman and TahoeKaren are right. The airport should be further utilized. The airport could be one of the largest economic drivers in SLT if the town got behind commuter air service. The TRPA and the Leauge to Save LT are the reasons there aren’t planes full of qualified, 2nd home buyers landing there everyday (prop tax is the #1 revenue source for SLT. Wanna fix the roads? Start landing planes). Just another case of “saving Lake Tahoe” to the detriment of the economy and the people who live and work here.
Well, I guess the airport is only stupid when you don’t reap the immediate benefit Mr. Hildinger. Remember the Angora Fire? If that ramp space and runway had not been available for those 19+ CalFire and other firefighting helicopters, not to mention all of the fixed wing assests, your precious Angora Lakes Resort, with all of your septic tanks (still on septic I think)might not have survived it either. The number of houses and forest lost would have been much, much higher.
He “had to redo the ‘specs’ for the bid” (?) – as in, maybe the specs have changed since he last did one (?).
The Council was right in ‘calling’ this, but I wish they had also “rebid” the Lakeview Commons project as well, as they simply went to the 2nd, which was originally approximately $ 500,000 over the 1st. . . has anyone asked whether the $ 140,000 paid to the firm that did some work prior to # 2’s suit (which ended up shutting the job down) was deducted from the total (?) – (probably not) – meaning that this job is already over budget and behind time before it even starts . . .
“Haste makes waste” . . . to our ongoing detriment.
The airport is, for South Lake Tahoe, going to be a ‘white elephant’ for the duration, as it is not up to anyone here to “recruit” another use.
That is due to the ongoing Hub system at major airports which determine how the smaller cities are to be served (if at all). Several tried it in the early “70’s” (see TahoeKaren above) after Bill Harrah initiated both the extension of the runway (to accept jets), and its’ first “app” – gaming junkets from Mexico City.
This ‘app’ was premised on the international market seen with the advent of the ’60 Squaw Olympics. . .which Harrah wanted to capitalize on.
Simply put, it is a matter of “simple arithmetic” – at any given time, there are more cars that pass by the airport than planes that ever landed there in a day – even and especially in the shoulder season.
X’s 35-50 folks per plane – does not compute. . . as near profitable.
This means that it doesn’t ‘pencil out’ for anyone to try it again. . . Mammoth is a longer auto trip than Tahoe for most of its’ clientele, and they took over twenty years to establish airline service there, with one of the McCoys’ being an airline executive. And even that was recent. . .
Lastly, given the state of disrepair in South Shore, there are not enough accommodations for the number of flyers’ it would take to create a serious value proposition for an airline.
There are better options. . .for success
Then just close it and return the land back to the original owners, as the deed of trust states is required. But not until repaying the Federal dollars that were paid to it over the years it’s been operated by the City.
If the FEDS try to collect the city could file for BK, they learned it from the hole.
Love LT News for publishing it. Love the council for questioning the expense.
If the City is responsible for plowing the runways, don’t you just buy the same machine you’re using on every other street? Then you use the same maintenance schedule, mechanics, parts, etc. instead of getting into a one-off piece of equipment.
Why consult on that??
A runway is quite different from a city street. It’s grooved the entire length to allow for quicker melting since you cannot use anything on it as far as sand, icemelt, etc. It cannot be plowed with equipment that has chains to allow for greater longevity and has to be plowed quickly to prevent ice build up. That requires personnel. Hard to do when you don’t have any. It’s much easier, and cheaper to remove when it’s fresh, as we all know. The liability is also lessened when the snow is removed in a timely manner and is not a factor. Even the current City equipment can only do so much with the type of snow the basin receives. Over and out.
A V, All FAA runways above a base elevation have the same runway requirements. They could have used Santa Fe, N.M., specs., their at 7000 ft. It seems even if it didn’t snow here you would still be in favor of the airport waste no matter what. And we would be better off giving it back to the county for $1.00 or giving it back to nature.
Airport Supporter – The airport was of value during the Angora Fire – to people who never contributed a cent to its upkeep. Let’s have everyone who benefits from the airport contribute to it – not just the poor suckers who live within the city limits. Its economic benefit goes mostly to the casinos and to Douglas County. However, neither contributes a penny to support it. South Lake Tahoe should get out of the business of subsidizing airport service for El Dorado and Douglas county residents.
Oh Lou, if only you could formulate a proper sentence. You are wrong about the FAA rules. But that’s ok, you are entitled to an opinion, as am I. As for CS, the casino’s do pay for the privilege by way of paying a landing fee every time they bring someone in. They also buy fuel, which also lends to the airport revenue by adding .11 per gallon to help with costs. A lot of businesses out of the city limits also contribute by participating in the airshow and giving rooms and/or volunteering or food. You should really not comment on ANYTHING you know nothing about or even bother to educate yourselves about. Conjecture and speculation has been the problem with the airport and all someone has to do is throw out some random number and that’s all everyone focuses on. If the airport were allowed to operate as an airport and invite and receive commuter service then the subsidy would not have to be a reality. They would be self-sustaining. It’s really not difficult.
And to add to Aviation Supporter info regarding the Airport:
The Q400 aircraft is so fuel efficient, that it breaks even on revenue at 35 seats sold, leaving 43 seats for revenue generation (for a total of 78 seat per aircraft). That means, the plane costs about $2500 per flight to break even (at $55-60 per seat operating cost). A far cry from the planes of the 80’s and 90’s, which were very expensive to run. And the entire Air Service industry is different and more efficient industry now. With 9/11, they had to make drastic changes to planes and business models and stop bullying community airports with the same “take it or leave it” deals that SLT got into. An air service program would simply offset the risk of lost revenue on the route for the carrier. Not much money to cover considering a single family flying into SLT is going to spend more than $2500 in a weekend.
Hypothetically, ONE plane a day in and out of TVL, from Thanksgiving to April 24th, with only 50 seats sold (out of 78), would be over 7000 people. Divided into 3 for families, would be 2666 families of 3 into SLT. If each family of 3 spent $2000 per family (extremely conservative even for a weekend) per stay, $4.66 million dollars goes into the SLT economy in ONE season. And that isn’t even counting the “multiplier effect” of what those dollars do within the local economy. We are talking about CA dollars here. Not leakage to NV. The name of the game to economic recovery in SLT is re-branding away from a “has-been” gambling destination, and into the eco-tourism capitol of North America. Of course, that will take years, but commuter service is a large part of that equation.
The Telluride CO air service program is resulting in NINETY ONE dollars returned in direct visitor spending, for every ONE dollar spent on the program by local businesses. And, its grass a roots community effort done entirely by local businesses. No City funding was used (until recently, when it was voted in as a ballot measure 60% to 40%).
Much of this was copied and pasted from comments to a Trib editorial authored by Ms. Nason with The League to Save Lake Tahoe.
That’s what I’m talking about. Thanks Heapstack. Folks, please do your homework before you open your mouths and spew garbage that is not useful or factual. Heapstack has actual numbers, and the info is credible and can be verified if somone bothered to do anything other than sit around and whine about the airport.
Did you know when the airport completed the runway reconstruction project it amounted to the largest environmental improvement project in the basin? They made it a tad bit shorter and 50 feet narrower, (that would equate to 25 feet per side) which also helped in the maintenance requirement, therefore required less snow removal, therefore required less maintenance costs, and contributed to the overall clarity of the lake by adding 12 feet of pourous asphalt on the entire length of the runway on both sides to prevent runoff into the lake and adding native vegetation on both sides (the other 13 feet of either side) to further enhance the environment. And for additional info the runway was 8,544 feet long by 150 feet wide. Most can do the math to figure out how long and wide it is now.
The airport is absolutely necessary and considered a treasure by more than those that oppose it.
First off Douglas Co. contributes to the airport in that they pay to market our community, something the City of SLT abandoned! This in spite of the fact that the funding mechanism that was passed for the marketing of our community, raising the TOT by 2%, the City kept.
Douglas Co. kept its commitment. And the CA side gets many tourists and rooms filled, because of it!
But that is not to say the Airport is efficiently run! As previously stated, if you have a director why do you need to hire a consultant?
And if the Airport is so great, And there’s been all these aircraft improvements, And all these other airports in small, resort communities benefit from air service, And with a director, consultants, board etc., why can’t anyone bring regular air service in?
A S Maybe you could formulate your real name. I used A V to be nice or I would have added an S to the initials you have in the aviation supporter name. You have a vested $ interest in this issue, so give it up.
What’s the matter Lou? Changing the subject because you are up against someone who knows way more than you do?
Lou, I will not provide my real name as it will not disprove my facts. Everything I said is factual and can be verified. It’s moot anyway my real name is. And I do have a vested interest in the airport because a lot of my friends use the airport, work at the airport, and support the airport in many, many ways. Not just to draw a paycheck or store their aircraft, or cars as some do.
And for Parker, you’re right on but the consultant is necessary in any business. The “Director” is there to direct the path of the airport and doesn’t always have the time, expertise, or staff to work on the documents that are required for some projects. Look at the City Attorney’s division. They have 2 attorneys and 2 assistants and they still contract out work. Not necessarily bad because some situations require attorney’s (or consultants in the airport’s case) that specialize in certain issues. If you wanted to replace your roof you’d hire someone that is experienced in doing that rather than doing it yourself, because the insurance would cover the contractor and not you. Right? Or am I to assume that you do all of the work on your own home.
Anyhow, the Director at TVL is doing the best she can with what she has to work with and the consultant has always worked in the best interest of the airport and the aviation community that uses the facility.
Just because other departments in the City are wasteful, doesn’t mean the Airport should be! Money is tight and the Airport Director should have the appropriate knowledge on what type of snowblower the Airport needs!
I don’t do all the work on my house. But I don’t need to hire consultant for things. And what I do, I’m doing with my own money not the taxpayer’s!
If its fact A S why don’t you provide your facts. BS will not support your vested interest. Give it up to everybody and we will know where your facts come from. All Gov. employees work for the public, but you don’t get that part.
Well, Parker has something there. Yes, other departments are wasteful too, and they will evenutally pay the price for it. It’s only a matter of time. As for Lou, I did provide facts or did you have a difficult time with comprehension? I will never let you invade my privacy and my anonymity just so you can badger me like you do everyone else that provides their identity. Besides, I could put someone elses name as my real identity and you’d never even know the difference. How about this, I’ll just say that my real name is
A S you are all style and no substance or idenity, give it up.
Right. You’re so smart. What was I thinking, trying to add some factual comment. My bad. Go back to the head in the sand stance. That’s what works for you best.
I will let you make my comments, then you can feed on that and give your name, even your made up one. Why not one more hole in the ground, we’ll call it the airport pit. Where are the facts?
Lou, you are coming off as very childish.
“It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his job depends on not understanding it.”
The 11 cents per gallon fuel tax paid by the planes that the casinos charter doesn’t pay the bills at the airport. South Lake Tahoe taxpayers probably pay more in subsidies for each flight than the operators pay in fuel taxes.
Hypothetical planes will never fly in and out of this airport. Several years ago the City and the casinos pooled 1.2 million dollars to buy empty seats so American Airlines would schedule regular service to the airport. Six months later, on the day the money ran out, the airline stopped flying.
The casinos promote their own businesses, and not the South Shore. Their self-promotion contributes nothing to the maintenance of the airport.
The airport is nothing but dead weight for the city. The city should turn it over to a regional authority funded by those who benefit from it, or shut it down.
Mr. Pierini, congratulations for standing your ground in the face of anonymous slander.
Hey Lou, do you own a business in town?
yes, Lake Tahoe Coin Jewelry & Loan, 3452 Lake Tahoe Blvd.
Funny no one brought up the idea that Airport Director Sherry Miller and Reinard Brandley might have split the $20,000. Afterall the bill was twice what was expected and no one here has even questioned why the amount doubled except for Davis? Isn’t the Airport Director’s job to have a clue about all of this to make sure the consultant isn’t over paid? Further investigation of Sherry Miller should take place as well if you ask me. Something else is going on here. The use of consultants in this town has got to stop by the way. Consultant use is one way to embezzle funds out of a city illegally without being caught by the way.
All the info. you need for any town this size is on line. If you can’t find it there it can’t be found. Snowblower info. gets a million hits.
Yes Bob, the use of consultants has to stop as Yes, it is a way to embezzle money! Rarely is it a case of the hired consultant cutting some sort of commission check to whomever hired them. Rather you might find that whomever hired them ends up ‘doing some work’ for the consultant or consulting firm. Or after they leave their current job the consulting firm ends up hiring them full time!
Would love to know the full extent of the relationship between the consulting firm Dave Jinkens hired and Mr. Jinkens, that concluded that top mgt. in the City, including Dave Jinkens, needed a 30% raise!!
Yes it needs to stop! Is it as bad as all the nepotism in the City Government? Don’t know? But yes, it needs to stop!!
For once and for all folks, there is NO Nepotism in the City. Not one person that is married or related by blood works directly with the other in the same division/department. This is a small town, compared to other incorporated cities, and it’s more common than not. And, they’re all very hard working individuals with their own separate careers.
Baloney! Don’t have the list LTN compiled in front of me, but for nepotism to occur to don’t have to work directly for or with a relative! One dept. head hires a relative of another dept. head, and then that dept. head reciprocates. Things like that! And if the hiring is all so above board, then the City needs to release and show the standards for hiring in ALL its depts!
Air. Supporter, has the facts wrong again, and in his position he should know better.
Can you be more vague?
the conservation robot, You have posted this about me, I change the subject, I’am childish, and I’am vague. Well you must be buddies with aviation supporter and I don’t want to spoil the fun, so I’ll try get out of the center, so you can be vague.
Moron
make my
The sad thing about all the government waste, is these are our fellow citizens, that have become so accustomed to a mentality of overcharging, overpaying, and overconsulting for everything. They have forgotten that it’s their tax money too, and it’s their city, county, state, and country that is being driven into bankruptcy by this inefficient use of all of our money!
Careaboutthecommunity-EXACTLY!!