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Or just a really nasty epithet To get you visitors up to speed ... Mammoth has a love-hate relationship with you. You probably didn’t know that. Because you think about Mammoth about 1/10th as much as Mammoth thinks about you. We worry constantly about you. Mostly because we (well, at least the local poiticians) suffer from a massive inferiority complex. So in town here, there are some who want to limit how many of you can show up at any one time, because they find you overwhelming and you drive poorly. Others believe we shouldn’t limit your numbers because you have money and we like money, even if some of us won’t admit it. So Town decision makers, in the absence of being able to determine which way the wind is blowing, approved a General Plan which is too general. So they came up with the concept of District Planning to fill in the missing details. Too bad no one really knows what District Planning is. As Mammoth Mountain CEO Rusty Gregory said Wednesday, “It’s not clear what’s triggering District Planning. It’s not clear what District Planning is.” To Gregory and his Community Stakeholder cohorts, District Planning should be a noun. It should be associated with specific zoning rules and regulations. Ambiguity is the enemy. To Community Development Director Mark Wardlaw, District Planning provides the flexibility to make the best decision for each individual development project. District Planning, therefore, is a process, or a verb. From Mac: He attended the Mobility Commission’s inaugural meeting on Tuesday, where very little was accomplished, but Mac thinks that during his slumber he finally figured out that missing piece to understanding Junior High Algebra ... 25 years too late. Sandy Hogan was elected Chair. Eric Wasserman was elected Vice-Chair. Terry Smutney said he was there to represent “the sick, lame and lazy. This is a project that hits close to home for me. The ability to get anywhere at any time on [stormy] days like this is very important.” MMSA’s Bill Cockroft, who also, one presumes, represents the lame (as he’s recovering from a nasty cycling accident) said, “I’m a little immobile, but I didn’t want to miss the Mobility Commission.” Cockroft now manages transportation for MMSA. “If we don’t know where we’re going, we’ll get there too,” summed up Ray Jarvis, who must’ve borrowed that line from John Eastman. I loved Dublino’s stories this week. What a perfect cover for taxeaters. Scour the state for other idiotic counties that pay too much, and demand that you deserve the same. A 24% raise for the Finance Director? I don’t know much about finance, but that sounds like great direction. Sheet staffers attempted the same ploy, but made the mistake of using the Mammoth Times as a comparative source, resulting in pay cuts for Christmas. Thanks for the Christmas gift, everybody! Short takes: Dorothy Burdette reached the number of signatures required to force a recall vote on Lovett last Sunday. She and other volunteers are now working to gain extra signatures to provide a cushion in case some are thrown out. One of the volunteers has been Kirk Stapp. Apparently, he’s garnered some signatures from folks who thought he was trying to recall himself. Speaking of Stapp, he later agendized a discussion on taxes. “I want to make sure we don’t go as low as we did in the ‘90’s,” he said. Which begs the question: Then why do they always propose tax CUTS on the national level to spur the economy? Maybe we should cut taxes locally and lay off a few taxeaters instead ... the City of Bishop is attempting to buy its City Park land from the L.A. Dept. of Water and Power to pave the way for improvements ... Elizabeth Tenney made a presentation on green building and sustainability. A few factoids: 1. For every one degree centigrade of global warming, the snow level will rise an estimated 500’. 2. At the Urban Land Institute conference in October, 2007 in Las Vegas, the “sustainability forum” drew 2,000 attendees. Just two years previous, in 2005, the same forum drew 20 people. 3. Ed Mazzaria, in an article in Metropolis Magazine, noted that “Indoor air is three times more toxic than the smoggiest day outside.” Now this seems counterintuitive to me. If it’s more toxic inside, why do they tell you to stay there during smog alerts? Overheard by Mac at the Clockie last night: First-time visitor from Dallas gushes about the free transportation. She then notes that she falls 2-3 times on the ice each time she walks to the bus stop, where she has to wait in the snow. But it’s great, and it’s free, and they don’t care if you’re shitfaced when you get on. Not too shitfaced, anyway. Mac writes his column last week on coyotes and voila, there was a documented attack on a Golden Retriever at the USFS housing near Shady Rest. The good news is that the Retriever fought them off. Bad news is the cops expect the coyotes to bring reinforcements the next time. Remember how Tony Barrett made a big push for a Town AED (Automated External Deibrillators) program following Dave Fultz’s heart attack at the Mammoth Lakes Foundation dinner a few years ago? On Sunday night, the program paid dividends. Oficer Hornbeck, with the assistance of Sgt. Moscowitz, saved a man’s life at Whiskey Creek. MLPD Chief Schienle said “If we’d used simple CPR, I don’t think that person would be alive.” Council is now so sold on the AED’s that each member has vowed to put the paddles to both testicles (except Sugimura) and see if it improves decision-making.
Mario from Lakanuki reports that he was very thankful for Nathan
Baird luring police on a destructive, low-speed chase last week. He said
that since he knew where all the cops were on 395, he made great time
to L.A. that day.
Mammoth Community mourns death of Dave Ebben If the slow start to the ski season wasn’t bad enough, the Mountain had its irst ski-related fatality of the year on Monday. From what we’ve pieced together, 48-year old Dave Ebben, a long-time second homeowner, died from injuries sustained in a crash on West Bowl near Face Lift Express. MMSA Communcations Manager Joani Lynch said the incident occurred at approximately 1:30 p.m. Ebben is reported to have passed away on the life flight to Reno. Stacy Corless said Ebben was a regular on the mammothmountain.com forum, and that many of his fellow bloggers want the mountain to rename West Bowl in his memory. “When I worked at the ski area, part of my job was setting up that forum and monitoring it--Dave and his wife, Sheila, were a big part of the community that formed there. Great people.” The Fifty Center asked McKenna if they could borrow the photograph he took at the Chamber installation party. I had no idea we were partners. If so, great, send Sue Morning by with a CD every week. By the way, the Fifty Center had two photos of Mac and a photo of Pamela this week. Well, I guess if you can’t write, the next best thing is to take photos of beautiful people. Fortunately, Mac was not asked to replicate Jennifer Love Hewitt’s bikini shots from last week. At Planning Commission Wednesday, a public hearing was held regarding design of the new cop shop. The two major concerns involve the 70’ radio tower and, as always, financing. The trick with the radio tower is that it always has to be at least 6’ above the treeline, so in theory, Jack won’t need a beanstalk, he’ll just be able to scale the radio tower over time. If KMMT could piggyback onto this project, maybe someday they could actually reach parts of Fresno ... and Big Pine. As for financing, Commissioner Tony Barrett said, “It seems like a lot of money.” To which Peter Bernasconi replied that the Town will need a couple of good-sized projects (and the resultant Development Impact Fee revenue) to make it pencil. Barrett also asked why the project includes no public art. Public buildings are exempt, said Bernasconi. “We’re send the wrong message [to the entire development community]” responded Barrett. The Sheet recommends a Hooters beer garden on the patio, a Rushmore-type monument featuring James Lovett, Mark Maldonado and Igor, and “Mammoth, not Mammeth” interior wallpaper. Speaking of Mammoth Lakes Housing, Awoldo’s successor, Pam Hennarty, has announced that MLH will begin an aggressive new out-reach effort. This effort is apparently meant to get as many formerly carefree ski bums as possible ensconced in a 30-year mortgage. Elizabeth Tenney also had this gem Wednesday: “Nurses make 20% fewer mistakes if they have a break room with windows. Daylight increases productivity.” Look for a $175,000 proposal any day now from the Town to install a skylight in their windowless break room. From Dublino: The Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center couldn’t have hoped for better weather to precede their Kickoff Party last Saturday, the fresh snow making the on-slope activities considerably more relevant, as well as stoking the attendees into the first powder frenzy of the year. Folks of all stripes enthusiastically revealed which stash they tracked out, along with many enthusiastic denials about hitting rocks. Around 200 people showed up for Gordon Wiltsie’s slideshow, making for the largest ESAC event to date. With the official signing of an MOU with the Forest Service to jointly support an avalanche forecaster, and the maintenance of their information-sharing website, ESAC has succeeded in providing the local backcountry communiuty with a reliable source of information on the outward snowpack. Excellent work, guys and gals, and many thanks from those of us who have grown to rely on the info. Wiltsie’s slide show was an inspiration to all, as he chronicled his rise from an aspiring photographer and teenage mountaineer in Bishop to one of the country’s most recognizable names in the world of expedition photography. His recollections of the good ole days in the Owens Valley, spent with numerous people who have become veritable legends in the Sierra, were just as entertaining as his tales of high adventure in some of the most remote places on earth. It was the best $10 I have spent in a long time, but not nearly as good as the $60 TJ, Jen and Cody Chase spent on rafle tickets that had them at the podium not once or twice, but four times to pick up all kinds of booty including a new pair of K2 Pontoons, which TJ promised he would soon be pointing out the Chair 23 tunnel, snow and camera crew permitting. Final few things. First, I wanted to thank Matthew Lehman for allowing me to tag along on a Rhino Ride with Dave McCoy on Monday. Lehman bid for the trip at an auction to raise funds for the Mammoth Lakes Foundation. I thought it would be a brief little excursion followed by a catered lunch and a little small talk and then he’d send us on our way. Instead, the group, which included Keith Hofer, Ruth and Warren Harrell and Dave’s assistant Brandon Russell was out for six hours, took 700 photos. and enjoyed a most delicious lunch of pastrami and turkey sandwiches made by ... Roma herself. I’ll have the full story next week.
And finally, The Sheet website, after a few weeks of painstaking
remedial work, is now up-to-date and the complete 2007 archives are
available at www.mammothsheet.com.
The Airport EIS is out and I spoke to Town Manager Robert Clark this week. He is very optimistic about air service for 2008-2009. Mammoth Mountain will subsidize Horizon Air's planned two lights a day. The aircraft to be used is a 74-seat Bombardier Q400. Tourism and Recreation Commissioner Jefferson Lanz wondered at the T&R meeting Tuesday what rights the subdsidization confers to MMSA. "The EIS [Environmental Impact Statement] document does not address who will own these seats to sell, but if you were the organization doing the subsidization, wouldn't you want to control them?" What Lanz was really getting at is this: If MMSA controls the seats, they would then also control promotional opportunities (i.e. the ability to create fly-and-stay packages). Initial service is scheduled only for December-April. Summer service is not contemplated until 2012. At present, pricing also remains a mystery. So I got a call a few weeks back from a second homeowner who asked me if he should be concerned by recent correspondence he'd received from the town regarding the rental of his home in Mammoth. "Well, you know, it's illegal to rent your home on a nightly basis," I said. "I know, but I'm going to rent it anyway. I'd like to pay the tax ... " "If you try to pay the tax, you tip them off. Then they will shut you down." "If I don't pay the tax and just rent it, do you think they'll catch me?" "Probably not," I said. "I'd still like to pay the tax." "Well," I said. "And not that my advice is worth squat, but if you really want to contribute to the community, why not just donate what you'd pay in taxes to local non-proit organizations? The Town perenially underfunds them anyway." So the homeowner thought this was a decent idea and hung up. Who knows what he'll do? Councilman Neil McCarroll met with Cypress Equities CEO Chris Maguire when he was in town for his six-hour visit. According to McCarroll, Maguire said, "If y'all have any problems with that airport, just call me and I'll call W. [as in President George]" Speaking of Neil, rumors of his demise have proven to be greatly exaggerated. McCarroll had cancer surgery on Friday, Nov. 30th up in Reno, but he is happy to report that it appears "they got everything."He will return to the Council dais in January. Unfortunately, without McCarroll on the dais Wednesday, there was one less person to rein in Councilman Eastman, who voted against pursuing LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certiication for the new Police Facility. Eastman argued that the anticipated $84,000 cost to pursue the certiication wasn't worth it, despite Associate Civil Engineer Peter Bernasconi's contention that up to $50,000 of that cost may be reimbursed by the State for exceeding Title 24 Energy Eficiency requirements. Eastman said that if we don't plan on building understructure parking for the facility, why should we pursue the LEED designation? *As I interpret this, I guess he was saying that if we were already planning on cutting corners to save money, why not cut more corners? Except that there WILL be understructure parking for the facility. 21 spaces for department vehicles. But you'd have to read the Council packet to know that. "If we don't do it [pursue LEED], we can't ask Developers to do it. We need to lead by example," said Councilmember Kirk Stapp. Mayor Harvey added that doing the "right thing" will also have residual public relations beneit.
Council voted 3-1 to move forward. Note to Bernasconi: Drop the 's'.
Leeds is a town in England.
Remember back when the Town was attempting to justify its increase in Development Impact Fees? At the time, I recall the Town producing a comparative list of fellow municipalities and what they charged in DIF. The town with the most expensive DIF of all was Elk Grove, a Sacramento suburb. Last Wednesday, there was a story by Kris Hudson in the Wall Street Journal about a couple which sued Elk Grove over its DIF. Specifically, Elk Grove had the nerve to ask the couple to pay $240,000 in DIF to get a building permit to build a $500,000 home. By the time it was all over, the couple and the municipality had settled on a fee of $9,750. Which leads one to speculate as to if/when some developer will challenge Mammoth's DIF schedule. What I do know is that Mammoth's DIF schedule is based upon the assumption that the Town is two-thirds built out, meaning that new development is supposed to foot the bill for one-third of the Town's wish-list ($30 million Recreation Center, et. al.). One developer laments that the Town's DIF fund is already $1.5 million in the red. Why? It's the developer's contention that the Town doesn't adequately fund its own share (pay as it goes) when it dips into the DIF. “What's gonna end up happening is that we [developers] will pay 100% of the cost to fund 30% of their [Master Facilities] wish list. FYI, the average impact fee imposed upon a new single-family residence in California is $26,400. The next highest state is Maryland, at $10,830. Ullr Fest In what has to be one of the most foolhardy moves in the history of this foolhardy town, the obviously drunk powers-that-be have chosen Mac to be anointed and/or sacrificed as this year's Ullr God at Tuesday's first official Mammoth Ullr Festival, being held outdoors in the Village and Clocktower/ Alpenhof parking lot from 5-8 p.m. To assure that the crowning of the nitwit and the group prayer for snow will go well, local restaurants will be giving out free samples, Mammoth's award winning local beer will be sold for $2, and a DJ will be spinning. There will also be a trivia contest and lots of free raffle prizes. Ski industry movies will be playing, while ski industry professionals will be there to answer questions. And thanks to Jen Collins, there will even be a tent sent up in the Village that will be accepting unwrapped toys and other donations to help rebuild a village in New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward, which is still struggling with the damage done by Hurricane Katrina. Ullr is the Norse God of Skiing, and ski areas all over the world throw early season parties in his honor, under the belief that the better the party the more likely Ullr is to bless you with snow. Mammoth's version is sure to encompass much of the same. The Ullr Festival is sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce, Alpenhof Lodge, The Village at Mammoth and Mammoth Brewing Co. It's free and everyone is invited to come on down help us party in honor of Ullr and pray that he helps make some white gold fall from the sky this season. Huskies Bested The MHS Football Huskies could have used some help from the Ullr God last week, as the team fell 41-14 to undefeated and #2 seeded Saddleback Valley Christian in the 2nd round of the CIF playoffs. The week before, the Huskies returned a kickoff for a touchdown. In this game, they fumbled the opening kickoff, and quickly fell behind 7-0. Down 20-7, another turnover deep in their own territory in the 3rd quarter led to a quick touchdown which effectively doomed the Huskies. Opposing QB Brendan Chambers had a hand in all six Saddleback Valley touchdowns, throwing for three, running for two, and returning an interception for one. Mammoth hasn't seen an athlete this fleet afoot since Eric “X Factor” Olson ... and he didn't even play football.
Coaches had told McKenna the team needed to play a perfect game to win.
Obviously, they didn't. As fumbles are a part of our game plan every week here
at The Sheet, we certainly can relate to the team's disappointment. We congratulate
them on a fine season.
Where some see only exploitation, others see, well, opportunities for further exploitation As I walked the Ski Back Trail with a mixture of about forty curious and/ or self-interested souls on Saturday morning, I found myself talking to Shields Richardson, owner of the Side Door Cafe in the Village. We were walking along a latter part of the Trail about halfway down the hill, and Sheids turns to me and says, “Now here’s a business opportunity for you. You set up the Squirrel Bar right here. It’s not too far from the road. Bring down a card table and a cooler full of beer and maybe a bottle of whiskey and you’ve got yourself a nice little operation.” As is often the case with Shields, he was half-kidding. But only half. Shields is a big fan of Zermatt, Switzerland, where he says you’ll often come upon small huts while you’re hiking in the mountains, little places where they’ll serve you a beer and a baguette and then send you on your way. If a Squirrel Bar were successful, I can only imagine how quickly MMSA would send you on your way, sans beer and baguette, double the prices, and then place their own stooge out there. But I digress ... A little further along, we reached the point where the Trail ambles past Mammoth Ski & Racquet. The Environmental Assessment stated that there is a minimum separation of 200’ between the Trail and the closest residence. When I pointed out this clear exaggeration, a member of the group turned to me and said, “You know how the guys tell the girls six inches. Well, that’s 200 feet.” Michael Raimondo, owner of the Old New York Deli, feels that it’s high time Village business owners caught a break. if they [Starwood, Intrawest, Town, et. al.] can’t igure out the parking, the least they can do is igure out the Ski Back Trail. An avid mountain biker, Michael was unfazed by how the Trail may impact the Uptown and Downtown mountain bike trails. “I use these trails all the time and this doesn’t bother me.” The Trail appears serviceable for most of its meandering mile-and-a-half course ... until you get to the bottom, And the bottom drops out. Or actually, the bottom doesn’t drop out. That’s the problem. At one point when the trail chugged back uphill slightly, I called out to Rusty, “Hey, is this where you plan to put in the chairlift?” Rusty explained that grading work would take care of the more marginal sections. “I’m becoming more of a supporter than most people think,” Mayor Skip Harvey told me at one point, and now that I’ve printed the statement, I guess that cat’s out of the bag. He does feel we as a community need to extract some additional beneit out of the deal. I saw him lobbying Inyo Deputy District Ranger Mike Schlafmann as to the beneits of a snowplay area while we walked the inal hundred yards back to the Village. Ironically, it appears the people who are most excited about Mammoth’s development potential don’t actually live here. Vista Point Partners, LLC, a private real estate investment and development company with ofices in Walnut Creek and New York, announced Monday that it had bought the 2.14 acre site located at the southeast corner of Forest Trail and Berner. The site is directly across Berner Street from the proposed “1” hotel. Vista Point intends to seek entitlements for the development of a luxury boutique hotel. Vista Point CEO Perry Sudduth said via press release, “We are big believers in the extraordinary potential of this market, and we feel the timing is excellent now for the acquisition of high-quality land for entitlement and development. In a more overheated market, a unique development site like this would be extremely dificult or impossible to acquire.” Drew Hild of Highmark Advisors, which helped broker the deal, said, “What he [Sudduth] went through to get this deal done is extraordinary. The credit markets collapsed during the middle of the deal. He pulled a rabbit out of his hat to keep this deal together.” Sudduth has done his due diligence, said Hild, meeting with Community Development Director Mark Wardlaw, consulting with contractors in both Mammoth and Tahoe, and hiring Mark Carney to go over the land-use issues.
“Somewhere along the line, it became more than a deal,” said Hild. “As
with so many, this place got him.”
Hillside Parking Plan Approved You’ve got to have a certain amount of respect for a guy who will fly halfway across the country for a Mammoth Lakes Planning Commission meeting, given that most of us won’t drive halfway across town to subject ourselves to such torture. But then, most of us didn’t just drop $50 million on a real estate investment either. Cypress Equities out of Dallas, Texas bought the Hillside Property from Mammoth 8050 in August. CEO Chris Maguire, longtime (21 years) business partner of Roger Staubach, said Wednesday, “We need to get a few details ironed out ... but we want to get the project started by summer, 2008.” One of those details, the parking plan, was taken care of by Planning Commission Wednesday. Valet parking is required for the life of the project. Locally-based Consultant Steve Black said eight valets are projected to be on-duty during peak hours. The parking will consist of a mixture of single spots, tandem spots, and mechanical lifts spread over three levels. All well and good, but Commissioner Elizabeth Tenney still expressed concern as to how Hillside can guarantee that a random assortment of arriving vehicles will eficiently fit into the current parking coniguration. Steve Black said that 38% of the vehicle spaces provided are constrained by height (due to the parking lifts). So the question is, how likely is it that over 62% of visitors will have vehicles larger than a passenger sedan or small SUV? Black also said that because the property is not commercially zoned, Hillside is not required to provide extra parking for restaurant patrons. Sure, Hillside would welcome these patrons and accomodate extra vehicles to the greatest extent possible, but these visitors will either be walking from other points in the North Village or will need to be accomodated by a public parking structure. As for doubts about valet parking in general, Maguire said a management contract to operate Hillside upon its completion has been signed with a five-star property (reportedly the Ritz-Carlton). Ergo, says Black, “As a five-star operator, guest satisfaction and level of service is paramount.” *As a former valet, Lunch can also tell you that there’s no money in being slow. In voicing support for Hillside. Commissoner Tony Barrett said if we don’t do our best to help these people, we may as well put up a ‘closed’ sign at the entrance to town.
For the record, Maguire and two other members of the Cypress Equities
team lew in from Dallas, landed here at about 8:25 a.m., and were back on
the plane for Dallas six hours later.
Measure S passed, if not by much. The inal tally was 1,027-474, meaning, the Measure passed by 27 votes, with 68.4% of the vote. A 2/3 majority was required for passage. In June, the Measure lost by 12 votes. What I found interesting is that after the June vote, supporters of the parcel tax blamed their loss on a low turnout and insisted that the 300 some odd nay votes were an isolated, if concentrated, bloc. They felt that the nay votes would remain constant in a second election while education and public outreach would spur voter turnout. In short, they thought they’d win in a blowout. School Board President Greg Newbry predicted that Measure S would win with 80% of the vote. The opposite was true. Proof that statistics don’t lie. Any Measure S money dedicated to a probability and statistics class? Town Council appears to have removed one more large obstacle to the Snowcreek Athletic Club deal with the implementation agreement it approved on Wednesday. The agreement allows Linda Dempsey to assign bonus density (garnered through the affordable housing deal for Aspen Village) to her property at the Nevado’s corner of Main and Minaret. Meanwhile, a use-restriction covenant is proposed for the Athletic Club parcel, which will retain no residential or lodging development rights. Elliott Brainard is the titular buyer of the Athletic Club, though several investors are also reportedly involved. The additional density will afford Dempsey the right to build a 198-room hotel on her corner. The Town agrees that it will allow certain set-back variances (of no more than 20%) to make the project work, and will allow an additional 12’ of height (to 67’) and a ifth story. Given what Mammoth Crossing is asking for (see page 5), Dempsey’s requests are austere by comparison. Credit should go to Neil McCarroll for brokering the agreement. It is this type of deal which plays to his strengths – wheeling and dealing towards a win-win compromise. A classic Rotarian. Talk of the town this week has been about the assault on Darrell “Wild Child” Johnson last Saturday night. Johnson, an African-American, was attacked by three white males outside the Auld Dubliner. The attack occurred on Johnson’s birthday. Originally from Louisiana, Johnson had never seen snow in his life until a month ago. He had experienced discrimination and hatred during his lifetime, but didn’t expect he’d encounter it here. On Saturday night, three skateboarders cruising down Minaret fell off their skateboards. They were greeted as one might expect by catcalls from many standing outside the Auld Dubliner. Johnson did not participate in the catcalls. He did run out into the street to attempt to warn the fallen skateboarders that a car was coming. The three subjects thanked Johnson by yelling racial slurs and then assaulting him with their skateboards, knocking him to the ground, knocking him unconscious. While Mammoth Hospital stapled him up, two of his assailants, detained by several onlookers, were booked by Mammoth Police on charges of Assault With a Deadly Weapon with a Hate Crime enhancement. Though Johnson’s family wants him to return home - after all, why would you want your family member thousands of miles away in what is now perceived as very hostile territory - the Mammoth community has responded with kindness (tinged with embarrassment), and wants him to stay. Certainly, Clouds wants him to stay, because who else will play Sir Mix-a-Lot during drive-time?
We wish you a speedy recovery, Darrell, and we wish your assailants,
Anthony Carlos Saucedo, 21, and Kevin Michael Malburg, 21, a long stay
at the Bridgeport Hilton where they can relect upon what assholes they
are.
More, unfortunately, doesn’t equal merrier Word is Bullet Bob Reitz is out as the Publisher of the Fifty Center. This makes four the number of persons who have served as Publisher of the Fifty Center since Lunch founded The Sheet in May, 2003. So there you have it. The Fifty Center triumphs again. More pages. More television listings. More publishers. More fun. Why do we even exist? Speaking of not-so-fond farewells, Armin, the infamous Big Wood condominium manager for the past 17 years, has also been ousted in a coup de Michalski (Fifty Center Ad Dude Dave Michalski is on Big Wood’s HOA Board). On the subject of fond farewells, Deputy Community Development Director Bill Taylor has tendered his resignation. His last day of work will be December 28th. Taylor says he’s got a few other goals and dreams he’d like to realize. He’s been employed with the Town since 1984. The L.A. Times story on Steve Searles ran on Tuesday. Searles was disappointed by the fact that it was a luff piece aiming for the lowest-common denominator. “We didn’t need a another story telling people I’m a nice guy, or have a ponytail, or didn’t graduate from high school ... that’s exactly what we didn’t need.” Searles feels the piece ignored the larger, deeper message, which is the pride in the Mammoth community at being able to appreciate and co-exist with nature. He also feels that the bears offer a starting point to greater understanding in the community. “We can agree on not feeding bears. What else can we agree on?” Problem is, the bears have been agitated lately, and the bear whisperer, Searles, who refers to bears as an “indicator species,” thinks the human community has been agitated too. “I feel like I’m in an “Emperor has no clothes,” moment. Outwardly, everybody says things are okay. They paint a pretty picture. And meanwhile, not-so-pretty stuff is going down.” Searles says people counsel with Searles and his wife Debra all the time. They talk about inidelity, addiction, quality-of-life issues, a lack of spirituality “from all different faiths.” “Everybody’s got the ‘queasy tummy.’” he says. Perhaps even Searles himself. The whole mess with the Mammoth Lakes Police Dept. has clearly left him saddened, as well as without oficial access to do what he loves the most. Mayor Skip Harvey acknowledged this week that Council has initiated an investigation into MLPD Chief Randy Schienle’s dismissal of Searles. The investigation will delve into whether or not Schienle perpetuated a hostile work environment. The investigation may have been instigated as a result of a subcommittee meeting on the wildlife specialist issue which took place following a Council meeting last month in which the public demanded Searles’ reinstatement. The subcommittee consisted of Schienle, Harvey, Coun- cilmember Wendy Sugimura, Assistant to the Town Manager Michael Grossblatt and Town Manager Robert Clark. Searles was invited to testify before the subcommittee, although Searles had no idea he was actually “testifying” before he got there. “I thought I was on the subcommittee. After all, I invented the program.”
It turns out he was being interviewed. During the interview, Searles answered the questions posed in “as truthful a manner as possible.” Chief
Schienle disputed many of his claims. But it wasn’t the disparity in their
accounts which created doubt in other subcommittee member’s minds
so much as the manner in which the accounts were given. Searles was
calm; Schienle was emotional. Even, well, hostile.
At least not until 2009, anyway Oh yeah, I unbelievably forgot to include this little tidbit last week. MMSA CEO Rusty Gregory did acknowledge that there is a strong possibility the Little Eagle base lodge project will not start construction until 2009. Starwood had been hoping to break ground next spring. It came to my attention this week that the Town (or at least one member of upper staff ) is now using The Sheet as a litmus test question during job interviews. I kid you not. One recent job applicant was asked whether or not he/she read The Sheet. The ensuing conversation was described as follows. Applicant: Sometimes. Interviewer: Do you believe what’s printed in The Sheet? Applicant: I’m an adult. I take most things with a grain of salt. Yeah, I tend to believe some stuff, and maybe not some other stuff. Interviewer: Well, everything The Sheet prints about the Town is 100% wrong. Needless to say, the applicant came away appalled by the behavior of the interviewer, withdrew his/her name from consideration, and found another job. Aside from driving away good people with such tactics, the Town may be reminded that such tactics are illegal. You can’t discriminate against a candidate based upon what that person chooses to read. The public forum organized by Leigh Gaasch drew some twenty residents on Monday night. The chief topics of concern were the declining quality of life in the Sierra Valley Sites as well as trafic enforcement. Bill Gural, a longtime resident of the Sierra Valley Sites neighborhood, said succinctly, “Everything gets dumped in the ghetto. No one gives a crap about it.” He feels overdevelopment of the area, a situation exacerbated by code variances approved by the Town, has put “too many rats in the same cage.” He says 30-40 people trespass through his property every day. “Stacking” of apartments is also an issue. Unfortunately, said Building Oficial Byron Pohlman, it’s virtually impossible to igure out how many people are living at a particular residence, and the “chances of getting an inspection warrant from a judge aren’t very good.” There were also concerns raised about trafic calming, and I really thought Cleland Hoff had the best idea. If you want trafic calmed, start with yourself. Overall, Gaasch was encouraged by the first forum. “In my heart, I believe the Town is listening now.” Lt. Jim Short represented the MLPD at the Monday forum. He also has a ball he’s trying to get rolling. The acronym is CERT, which stands for Community Emergency Response Team. You’d think he’d just dreamed up pursuing such an idea in the wake of the Southern California fires, but in fact, he applied for the grant to start the program about eight months ago. CERT is a nationally recognized program operated under the auspices of the Dept. of Homeland Security. Short says CERT focuses on disaster preparedness and disaster response. It will be loosely modeled on Search-and-Rescue in terms of character and operation. 24 hours of training gets you a basic CERT certiication, and continuing education is provided thereafter. “I’ve got about fifty names so far,” said Short, who said more and more have shown interest as the word has gotten out. The organization will offer key support for many local organizations such as the MLPD, MLFD and the Public Health Dept. “It’ll be able to fill in where we just don’t have the manpower.”
The first organizational meeting is set for Monday, Nov. 5th at 6 p.m.
at the new fire station. If you’re over 18, don’t have a felony on your
record and can pass a background check, you’re eligible. Interestingly,
citizenship is not a requirement for membership.
Or I Might Buy You a Drink Somewhat ironic that at the same time the State's Alcohol and Beverage Commission is considering granting ten new liquor licenses for Mono County, a random sting last weekend busted seven of fourteen businesses for selling to minors without proper identification. By contrast, the Bishop sting operation, says our source, netted seven of twenty-eight. T.J. Chase has given his notice at the Ski Museum. Ruth Harrell will take over the reins on an interim basis. The Tourism and Recreation Dept. received some 600 responses to its Parks and Recreations Needs Assessment Survey. These results will be tabulated and distributed for public consumption prior to a consultant-facilitated workshop scheduled for 4/23. Of some concern, according to Stu Brown, is that a mere 1% of the surveys were completed by those identifying themselves as Hispanic. Stroud said outreach to the hispanic community is continuing and surveys have been distributed through the school system in the hopes the survey is transferred from backpack to parent. When asked if there were any preliminary results which she found surprising, the surveys said (according to Stroud and Richard Dawson) that more facilities for baseball and basketball are not needed while there is demand for more parks and grass. "The goal is to identify gaps in current parks and recreation programming, to develop programs people are looking for and to identify partners who can help us [provide these services]." These next two items are from McKenna: Auld Dubliner Waitress Jerrilyn Henderson was involved in a one pe son auto accident on 395 while driving back up to Mammoth from down south. Despite endo-ing her truck and being put in a full body cast, Jerrilyn is expected to recover from her injuries. Recovering from her medical bills, won't be as easy however. Anyone wishing to help can stop by the Auld Dubliner where they've got donations baskets set up. HIP-HOP-POTAMUS "Our goal is to bring in more headlining, underground Hip Hop shows to town," said Jake Wallace, the Bar/Entertainment Manager for Whiskey Creek. Much to the delight of some big crowds, that's exactly what they've done this winter. The big difference, Jake explained, between mainstream Hip Hop, like Justin Timberlake or Snoop Dogg, and the underground forms of the music are subtle but appreciable. "This type of music is really big in the snowboarding industry and it's used in a lot of movies and video games," Jake said. "It's a little more flowing and free formed than the main stream stuff. They're naturally talented lyricists who take a more positive spin on life, so it's more like spoken word poetry than gangsta rap." The well received musical series kicked off with industry heavy weights, Swollen Members, and about a month later, Zion I and The Grouch played to an enthusiastic crowd. Now this Thursday night, members of Oakland's highly acclaimed Living Legends, Eligh and Mystik Journeymen, will be playing. Deep Fried Funk Brothers and Tahoe's O.C.T. will also be performing, with Mammoth's own DJ Rodney-O spinning between sets. Tickets for the show are available (and recommended) in advance at the Looney Bean, or at the door the night of the show, for $20. John Vereuck recently bought the Lee Apartment property (next to the Mogul). As he was having the place cleaned out, they unearthed some back issues of various newspapers come and gone. All it showed is that very little changes. Some gems. From a August 27, 1981 headline on the front page of The Review, "Mammoth's Peak Day Population … Can We Handle It?" The lead paragraph: "The Mono Plan projects Mammoth's peak visitor day population to be 46,000 when Mammoth Mountain and the Town are totally built out. Permanent population is expected to be 12,000." USFS District Ranger Dick Adams is quoted as saying the number's way too low. "We'll hit that in the next two years!" he exclaimed. Another source believed peak day population could approach 70,000." A 1981 water district study stated that it believed Mammoth only had the capacity to serve 46,000. On the cover of the 10/2/75 issue of the Lakes District Review, Supervisors discussed ... parking. One solution they discussed was the possibility of dropping parking equirements altogether – that competition (I've got more parking than you) would solve the problem. *Yeah, competition. These days, developers all compete to build the least amount of parking possible in order to maximize their profits. Once they've sold out, then it's someone else's problem. On the cover of the same issue, Mammoth Husky QB Dan Schaller was pictured carrying the ball for the Huskies v. Mojave. From the 5/3/79 edition of the Mono Herald: Mono County looks into establishing a Housing Authority. Took ‘em nearly 30 years. From a Jan. ‘74 edition of the Lakes Distric Review: Mammoth has 11,000 skier days over the (Christmas ‘73) holidays. From the 10/19/78 edition of the Mono Herald: Ski tickets priced at $13 for the upcoming season. Mammoth Airport's EIR approved! Mammoth grapples with a seasonal employee housing shortage.
Finally, I just need to reiterate that Noah Manduke is a different breed of cat. He's the smartest guy they've hired. And I liked his exit line Tuesday, "We're not just building a brand but creating a cause. "
USE IT RESPONSIBLY No, this headline does not refer to any sex education class being taught in the local schools. Rather, it refers to the Town's position regarding the processing of development applications in lieu of a completed general plan update. The tool in question is the density bonus, and there are many suitors out there interested in the Town's tool. Will the Town consider giving increased building density to developers in exchange for "community benefits?" What kind of benefits? How many benefits? Some, such as former Planning Commissioner Dave Harvey, like the tool and want to use it. To summarize Harvey's thoughts, as outlined at a Town Council workshop Tuesday night (and with apologies to Flannery O'Connor), "a good tool is hard to find." "Why would Council want to give up its leverage?" asked Harvey. He argued that the tool was a strong element in the Town's "arsenal" when it comes to negotiating with developers. "It's your tool, not the developers' tool," he said. Councilmembers Skip Harvey and Wendy Sugimura have no problems with the tool, they just want to keep it stashed inside the toolbox until the general plan update is completed. It took Harvey 14 words to elucidate this thought. It took Sugimura 314. "The greatest community benefit we could bestow right now is to build to code," said Harvey. Attorney Mark Carney disagreed. He said the underpinning of the Clearwater project [proposed for Old Mammoth Rd.] mandates the use of the tool. You're talking about getting rid of that which allows us to provide so many benefits, he said, benefits such as affordable housing, commercial retail space and underground parking. Councilmember John Eastman agrees it is okay to use the tool as long as it is used with discretion. Finally, Skip Harvey asked Planning Commissioner Rhonda Duggan if the whole discussion had given her any clarity. "Clear as mud," replied Duggan. It was a workshop, so there were no vbotes taken, but it appeared Eastman and McCarroll are interested in staying the course, Harvey and Sugimura would like to wait, and Stapp? Well, Stapp just waffles and waffles and in his waffling, that is where his decisions are made. No decision = stay the course. So Stapp is with Eastman and McCarroll. Eastman approached me on Wednesday and bemoaned to some degree these endless meetings where the words fall from the sky like the snow used to, and I just had to stop him and say, "John, what's a few hours wasted here and there to get what you want?" No action = Eastman policy. Okay, here's my take on the Steve Searles deal. First off, I like Searles. He's got a heart of gold. He's been here far longer than I have and has done a helluva lot for this community. He literally speaks to the bears. And he speaks a language most of us wish we knew. He's also shared this knowledge. As Police Chief Randy Schienle said Thursday, "Our officers have been trained in bear diversion for ten years now." So in some ways, Searles has been a victim of his own success. Schienle said Searles acknowledged to him that there wasn't enough work anymore. And Schienle tended to agree. The big stumbling block, apparently, was what type of contract the partie could agree to and what duties a position as ‘wildlife specialist' would entail. Perhaps Searles felt unappreciated. Perhaps he felt lowballed. But the Town did not want to sign him on full-time and didn't want to pay him his price. A raise, yes. Full-time with benefits, no. A reader, Martin Kleinbard, made the following point which I thought was pretty good. "Does the police station close the doors once crime has been reduced beyond a certain point? Are the bears going to behave and follow the rules just because the program is over?" In other words, we may be okay for awhile, but then what? Schienle feels there is enough experience on the police force now where they can maintain the trail that Searles has blazed. And if they can't? Hire him back.
As to the meth stickers, I think that's a red herring, and I don't think that issue had much to do with this one. As a private citizen, Searles had every right to print the stickers and per usual, Searles has his finger on the pulse of another very important issue. I hope we can help him publicize it.
ORDERED IT NEAT Ice Deal Melting? MammothTown Staff has clearly never listened to Kenny Rogers, because they seem to have developed a rather irritating penchant for counting their money before the dealing's done. A few weeks ago, Tourism and Recreation Director Danna Stroud proudly announced that the Town had cut a deal with the Mono County Office of Education and Mammoth Unified School District to place a multi-use ice rink facility behind the new library (currently under construction). Great news! Except for one small detail—MCOOE Superintendent Catherine Hiatt and MUSD Superintendent Mike DeRisi haven't signed any agreement. So it proved awfully awkward Wednesday when Stroud rambled on and on about programming plans for the facility, and Engineer Peter Bernasconi busted out the laser pointer to go over drawings (think Alice's Restaurant). "I like that rugged, massive steel," cooed Planning Commissioner Elizabeth Tenney. But that wasn't the awkward part. The awkward part came when Rich McAteer, appearing on behalf of his successor Hiatt, voiced concern about the impact the Town's facility would have on the library. When this all started, noted McAteer, the County merely offered the Town a temporary site for their ice rink. Since that time, temporary (3-4 years) has been extended to 30 years (Town demand for a 20-year lease with a 10-year option). Some house guests never leave. McAteer didn't say the County has changed its mind about negotiating a deal, but he did say, "We're not getting there nearly as fast as the Town would like to think. December, 2007 might be too optimistic. December, 2008 seems more reasonable." Or not. Per usual, the Town is desperate because they've got a recreational grant and a deadline within which to use it (by June, 2007) and so once again, the Town is left scrambling to get its act together before the grant disappears. And again, the Town's problem necessarily becomes everyone else's problem. "The grant is driving the process," acknowledged MUSD Superintendent DeRisi. Some of the other details which have proven somewhat problematic to the Town's "partners" include building height (35', thus partially obscuring the library's views of the Sherwins, noise (oh yeah, you can't have an ice rink without the bitchin' soundtrack of ‘Grease' blaring over the loudspeakers), and more intensive summer programming than expected. "The intent has always been a 365-day/year facility," said Deputy Town Manager Karen Johnston. Finally, there's parking. Will 70 spots be enough for both facilities? The rink location, as depicted in the photo on the front page, is set back just 75' from the library. Odds and Ends As of Thursday, Steve Searles was officially out as the MLPD's animal resource specialist ... MUSD plans to float another parcel tax measure this June to replace the measure passed in 2003. Same price. $59/parcel. Quoting a recent survey by consultant Coldwell, Flores, Winters, MUSD Superintendent Mike DeRisi said the measure has 70% support, even though 67% of those surveyed don't have children in the system. Not-So Heavenly Response to New Lift From Dublino: The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, which oversees development in the Tahoe Basin, put the brakes on a proposal by Heavenly Mountain Resort (owned by Vail Corp.) to put a new ski lift through a stand of old growth trees in the Edgewood Creek drainage. The TRPA originally agreed to the proposal, but 3 of its members subsequently cited a rarely utilized statute that allows the group to "reconsider" an action within 7 days of its approval.
Environmental groups applauded the decision, maintaining that the TRPA had used outdated and inaccurate science to allow the development. The lift, which would trim 6 minutes off current trips to the top,has other feasible alternatives that would allow the trees to stand.
No Snow? Then How About More Green I just got a note from MMSA last week informing me that if I want to stay in the MVP club, a 2007-2008 Mammoth Value Pass (MVP) will cost me $549. This represents a 13% price increase over last year (when the pass sold for $485) and a 22% increase over two years. I just zipped through MMSA's forums page to gauge public sentiment, largely because I'd heard there were some choice comments posted about the rate hike and was warned I better check the site immediately before the posts were removed. To MMSA's credit, it appears they've let the good, the bad and the ugly public comments remain on the website. I found the reaction pretty split. Though most still consider the MVP a deal, it's not quite the screaming deal it used to be, and some are starting to cast an eye elsewhere. As one post read: "Funny ... this increase really makes me think the unthinkable for the first time ever: am I better off finally enjoying other ski resorts and dumping the Mammoth pass? Believe me, I know that no tears will be shed for me if I finally bail. But, the truth is that I do ALL of my skiing at Mammoth. In fact, I have no idea what Tahoe, Utah, Whistler, etc. are even like. Since I have the MVP pass, I ONLY ski Mammoth to make sure I get the most out of my money each year. I take about 4-5 trips and drop a lot of money around at the shops, restaurants and the Mountain itself. Well, a ridiculous increase of 13% after a lousy season is uncool. So, I really have some stuff to think about as maybe I should just plan two or three trips at resorts I've never tried next year. Yeah, it will be less skiing. But, it will be more than I did this year." Which elicited this reply: "I'm not sure a 13% increase is unjustified. Perhaps the original pass was underpriced? Especially given the higher costs of fuel nowadays … " Another post simply said, "Remember the $1,200 season pass? Quit yer bitchin'." MMSA CEO Rusty Gregory didn't cite fuel costs as one of the explanations for the increase. He did, however, cite capital improvements. "I believe that the [skiing] product will be materially better with the addition of Chair 9, a new high speed detachable 6-pack. It will take 4-5 years to pay for its $6.5 million cost even with new pricing. Also, I think we are priced well below any other major resort's unrestricted pass product. Kirkwood's best price homeowners pass sells for $649. MVP still breaks even in slightly less than 7 days at next years $79 daily ticket. It also includes an option to purchase a Mammoth Resort Card in increments of $120 for $100 - $20 free with every $100 purchased." Fabulous February So Mammoth's Tourism and Recreation Dept. has been printing these one page color flyers (I first noticed Fabulous February. Now there's Marvelous March) which they've strewn about town, mostly in places like Suite Z where only locals who don't need them can find them. The flyers are meant to highlight various local activities. Or at least I think that's the point. On the February flyer, there were 25 activities listed. Six of those activities, however, had nothing specifically to do with Mammoth and weren't really activities at all. How does Washington's birthday qualify as a "Mammoth" event. For that matter, what do the Academy Awards show, Presidents Day, Chinese New Year, Lincoln's Birthday and Super Bowl Sunday have to do with Mammoth?
Your tax dollars at work.
Thanks for the Memo So Dublino heads off to a Town-County liaision meeting on Thursday, Feb. 22 and hears that Mammoth's target date for commercial air service has been pushed back yet again to December, 2008. So I call Councilmember Neil McCarroll and ask him, "What's the deal? When did this happen?" February 5th, I am told. Hmm. There was a February 7 Council meeting. No mention. A February 21 Council meeting. No mention. In fact, the only mention I can find is buried as the third item in the Town Manager's weekly update dated February 12th. McCarroll insisted there was no conspiracy to keep this information from the public, That it was merely an oversight. The reason for the delay, he said, is that the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is taking longer than expected. The noise component is the sticking point. Our proximity to Yosemite has precipitated a bit of a turf war between the Federal Aviation Administration and National Park Service. But I find it interesting that while this setback has been downplayed, I did receive a press release this week from the ubiquitous Public Relations Czar Stu Brown entitled, "Mammoth Yosemite Airport Scoring Rave Reviews From its Customers." Which is nice. I'm happy to report that. They've been conducting surveys out there for three years and apparently have some satisfied customers. The surveys ask about ramp service, terminal service, infrastructure, value for services and ancillary services. The average score = 9.42. I'm assuming that's on a scale of 1-10. Not that this score has comparative value to any other airport, but hey, statistics don't lie, especially if they're compiled by Bill Manning. Now onto my own setback. Superior Court Judge Ed Forstenzer denied The Sheet's petition to become a newspaper of general circulation, so we do not have the ability to take legal classifieds, and based on Forstenzer's decision, we will not have that ability until 2009 at the earliest. Hats off to the 300 Percenter for exploiting a technicality and thus retaining their monopoly. According to the statute, the language reads, " … and has been established and published at regular intervals of not less than weekly in the city, district, jurisdiction, or judical district for which it is seeking adjudication for at least three years preceding the date of adjudication." The 300 Percenter, which opposed our petition, pointed out that over Thanksgiving, we published two issues over three weeks' time. My reasoning for that was as follows. Our printer shut down over the long Thanksgiving weekend, so our regular print schedule would have been compromised anyway. Therefore, we published the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, meaning a 10- day interval from the last issue before that date and a 10-day interval until our next issue. Which, found Forstenzer, may have been a sound business decision, but violated the statutory phrasing of ‘not less than weekly.' Forstenzer did find that The Sheet was in "substantial compliance" with the statute. I have no idea whether that opens the door to an appeal or not, but regardless, I apologize to the community for my oversight. It will cost us all a lot more money in the near-term to subsidize the 300 Percenter, which seems to have decided that a monopoly (and large rate hikes) on legal classifieds is an excellent business model. I would urge the 300 Percenter not to screw people just because it can, but alas, screwing people is what scared people do when they realize they can't compete with them. The 300 Percenter winning in court last week was, in my mind, the equivalent of winning a tennis match on a foot fault, or winning a football game on a pass interference call. Regardless of what the State of California says, The Sheet is now considered the newspaper of record in this county by the people, and we will strive to remain so. As it stands, we are the only paper in Mono County which actually covers the County Supervisor meetings on a regular basis.
And as my father said to me this week, "It's not about what happens to you, but how you respond." We will respond by working harder and getting better.
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