Remnants of SnowGlobe staying until snow leaves
By Kathryn Reed
SnowGlobe has gone from a noise nuisance to a visual eye-sore.
Remnants from the three-day musical festival in December are beginning to make a section of Al Tahoe Boulevard look blighted. And it’s bound to just look worse as the snow melts.
City officials and the promoter are saying the snow after the conclusion of the last show on Dec. 31 prevented vendors from picking up their stuff.
“We are working with our South Lake Tahoe based production team daily, monitoring for changes in the snowpack that will allow us a window of opportunity to safely continue our load-out as planned,” Chad Donnelly, SnowGlobe promoter, told Lake Tahoe News. “It’s hard to know exactly when that will be — but as soon as that day arrives, we’ll be on it.”
SnowGlobe items, including the structures in the back, remain more than two months after the event. Photo/LTN
According the promoter, the stage was down Jan. 2 and the shipping containers were removed approximately one month ago.
May is likely when everything will be removed. That is what the city has previously said.
In the meantime, residents get to look at what’s been left behind from this city-sanctioned rave. The chain link fence that was put up to keep people out is falling. In places it looks like dangerous twisted metal.
Just inside the grounds, which are not completely fenced off, is a pallet of bottled water. Empty wood pallets are stacked nearby. Machinery and portable buildings are also inside the event space.
Then there are the orange cones that had been put near the school district’s bus barn and the entrance to the jail for those walking to the venue. They are starting to show as the snow melts. It’s obvious some of have been chewed up by snow removal equipment.
Donnelly placed responsibility for leaving behind a mess on one of the vendors.
“The modular offices are property of United and I’ve been told they aren’t able to transport them in inclement weather due to CHP regulations. The vast majority of the issues are attributed to one vendor’s inability to get to the site on the scheduled load out days, remove their assets without damaging them and finally transporting them,” Donnelly said.
The fence for SnowGlobe is a pile of metal in many places. Photo/LTN
This is a brand new field that taxpayers paid for with the assumption it would be used for sports. So far, it’s only use has been for the music festival.
The sod won’t go in until the garbage beneath the snow that SnowGlobers left behind is picked up. Then the local residents will finally get to use what it is theirs.
The city said no environmental hazards are expected from what is sitting on the field.
“The contract states that the applicant must return to the site following all snow melt to ensure complete clean up. We have a $25,000 deposit from the producer to ensure this is complete,” City Manager Nancy Kerry told Lake Tahoe News.
This residual mess is unacceptable! If they can’t perform on time, they should lose their deposit! The college campus is a beautiful, public place that we all want to enjoy. The left-overs pollute the views we have paid for, and make it look like a dump — especially the mangled cyclone fencing pile of debris. It has been sunny for several days this week — it should have all been dug out and removed!
The twisted metal fencing along the entry to the LTCC campus looks trashy & dangerous.
Those of us who live near the college and had to put up with the noise are continually insulted by this event as we drive by this mess every day. This is one more example of why this location is inappropriate for Snow Globe. If the city wants to continue this event it should find a more suitable venue.
The public should get to see names and pictures of the citys’ employees and ‘council members’ that were instrumental in promoting this mess and expense to the taxpayers of SLT.
It’s a great event. Many thoroughly enjoy it. Can’t wait until next year.
TRPA Scenic regulation :
Scenic quality is perhaps the most often identified natural resource of the Lake Tahoe Basin. The Basin affords views of a magnificent lake setting within a forested mountainous environment. The unique combination of visual elements provides for exceptionally high aesthetic values. The maintenance of the Basin’s scenic quality largely depends on careful regulation of the type, location and intensity of development in certain areas.
TRPA’s scenic goals are shared by many in the Tahoe Basin: maintain and restore the scenic qualities of the natural appearing landscape; and improve the accessibility of Lake Tahoe for public viewing.
To achieve those goals, TRPA has established a set of policies relating to scenic quality which require property owners to blend man-made structures with the natural environment. The policies only apply to properties in identified scenic resource areas and most properties in the Basin are exempted from any scenic protection standards.
I still am not sure why this event seems so valuable? Why is this group allowed to keep their remnants? Yet if others had their yard or property looking like this, agencies would be all over it!
I was at the City Council meeting when Mr Donnelly presented to the city and he still cannot/will not provide firm numbers.
When will we get this info from him?
Why do we tolerate this behavior and shifting of blame to others? This is his company’s event and he needs to take responsibility. The event is called “SnowGlobe” duhhhh , it snows during your event, plan for that.
We had a wooden fence for years in the middle of town didn’t seem to be a problem with TRPA’s scenic thresholds. Give it a break. When the snow melts they clean it up. If that doesn’t happen then we have a big issue.
The property should have been put RIGHT BEFORE the company left.
Due diligence…like the HOLE…someone is not doing their job and the local people always pay the price.
As mentioned, if some local person let their yard look like that the ‘local’ enforcer would be all over them with blight forms, fines etc!!!
The City should have cleaned the property immediately and sent the SNO GLOBE people a bill to be PAID in full before their contract is reviewed.
The snow depth reading on 1/3/17 was below average. They have had plenty of time to clean it up. No excuses.