To the community,

Did you know Placer County cut a deal in December 2013 with State Parks and their partner California Tahoe Conservancy to utilize 40 percent of the Kings Beach State Recreation Area Parking for more than two years to house/stage construction equipment for Kings Beach Core Improvement Plan project? Most of us didn’t either, until this past week. Now that we know, we have some questions.

How much was State Parks paid for the utilization of the parking area? What is State Parks doing with that money? Building the community center ADA facilities? If not, why not?

Who’s considering the impacts to the loss of revenue this summer/fall to the NTPUD for maintenance due to the parking area being downsized? I believe State Parks takes over in November.

Who’s considering the impacts of this deal on other areas nearby Kings Beach on the North Shore? That said, I strongly urge State Parks to provide additional staff to police Moon Dune Beach and Speed Boat Beach (due to the lack of parking at KBSRA) as there will certainly be increased usage that will exacerbate the weekend crowds that visit those locations and are already parking along residential streets.

This is just one example of our agencies making decisions that will impact our communities without telling us. Last month approximately 200 community members passionately and definitively voiced objection to State Parks taking over the maintenance of the KBSRA parking at a public hearing hosted by state Sen. Ted Gaines and Assemblyman Brian Dahle, yet this new agreement was never mentioned.

Why wasn’t the public made aware? What an opportunity the agencies passed up to truly engage the community with over 200 of us there. It makes us wonder if they really wanted us involved. Where is the local jurisdiction transparency on this contentious issue? Why such secrecy?

The KBSRA parking is equally essential for public and local access to the beach, the lake, and parking for the community center operations.

Ellie Waller, Tahoe Vista