NTCA President and CEO, Tony Karwowski, shares a recap of CalTravel’s Annual Advocacy Day.

On May 21, I had the privilege of traveling to Sacramento to attend CalTravel’s annual Tourism Advocacy Day.  Well over 100 tourism representatives from across the state convened at our state capitol to voice the industry’s needs related to pending legislation and highlight the importance of tourism’s economic impact on the state.

In small groups, we met with key assembly members and senators alongside counterparts from Mammoth Lakes, Ski California, Visit Fresno County, Visit Yosemite, and Madden Media.  We met with representatives and staff of Assemblymembers Hadwick, Tangipa, and Arambula, as well as Senators Alvarado-Gil and Grove.

Our team focused on the benefits of tourism across the state, including tourism’s $157.3 billion contribution to California’s economy in 2024, which generated $12.6 billion in local and state tax revenues.  We expressed support for SB 370, a bill to establish a grant program for music festival preservation across the state, and AB 1445, the Downtown Revitalization and Economic Recovery Financing Districts, to support struggling city downtowns across the state by establishing a redevelopment financing mechanism to attract new residents and visitors.

We also highlighted the importance of maintaining funding for forest fuels reduction across the state to help reduce the threat of wildfires, especially in areas around ski resorts and mountain communities. Lastly, we spoke about California’s insurance issues and how increased rates due to recent wildfires are hitting our business community particularly hard.

For an up-to-date listing of priority bills Cal Travel supports or opposes and their current status, check out Cal Travel’s Advocacy Toolkit Page.

First Tuesday Breakfast Club is a community forum hosted by the North Tahoe Community Alliance. It presents an opportunity to learn about timely community news, project information, and relevant updates from businesses and influencers in North Lake Tahoe.

Breakfast Club takes place on the first Tuesday of each month from 7:00-8:30 AM.

June First Tuesday Breakfast Club:

June 3, 2025
Human Impact Mitigation
Join the NTCA and community members from 7-8:30 a.m. for a virtual Breakfast Club on Zoom.

Agenda:

• Introductions
• Lake Tahoe Ambassadors – Jenny Hatch and Le’a Gleason
• Truckee Trails Ambassadors – Allison Pedley
• BEBOT – JB Harris and Katy Jo Caringer
• Clean Up The Lake Deep Dive Project – Colin West
• Lake Tahoe Bicycle Coalition – Gavin Feiger
• Destination Stewardship Council – Nettie Pardue
• Q&A, agency updates, community stump speeches

Click the link below to join at 7 am on Tuesday, June 3.

 In mid-March, I was invited to join “Team Tahoe” members on a legislative advocacy trip to Washington D.C. We spoke about the need for Lake Tahoe Restoration Act funding in the 2026 appropriations cycle totaling $42M to address topics including forest health, water infrastructure to fight fires, aquatic invasive species, watershed restoration and water quality, and the Lahontan Cutthroat Trout. Additionally, we engaged Congressional representatives ahead of the coming Surface Transportation Reauthorization to identify opportunities addressing travel demand impacts in the community, including SR 28 corridor safety improvements between Sand Harbor and Thunderbird, the Kings Beach Western Approach Gateway Project, and the SR 89/267 Transit Priority and Emergency Evacuation Lane projects.

The team assembled consisted of a wide range of agencies, tribal, NGOs, and NPOs, including representatives from TRPA, Visit North Tahoe Nevada, the Washoe Tribe, League to Save Lake Tahoe, Lake Tahoe Chamber of Commerce, Heavenly Mountain Resort, and the North Tahoe Community Alliance. We met with a total of 11 representatives and staff, including Rep. Kevin Kiley, Sen. Cortez Masto, Sen. Adam Schiff, Rep. Garamendi, Rep. Amodei, Sen. Padilla, Sen. Rosen, leadership of the House Appropriations Committee, and more.

This was a unique opportunity to showcase how North Tahoe’s strong private/public partnerships have collaborated on our biggest challenges, used a mix of private funds and public dollars generated locally, and how we’ve leveraged those funds on coordinated projects and programs to benefit the community. These well-coordinated efforts utilizing a mix of local, County, and State funds demonstrate the opportunity for additional partnering of Federal resources to further aid the priorities of transportation and environmental stewardship in our region.

Many of our representatives were interested in the stories we shared and look forward to advocating on our behalf in the appropriations cycle for funding that continues to move priority projects and programs for North Tahoe.  

To help prepare for this trip, the week before, the NTCA, Placer County and the TRPA jointly hosted Jack Thompson (Kevin Kiley’s regional representative) for a full-day tour of North Lake Tahoe. Our discussion focused on economic development, redevelopment of our downtown cores and resort villages, and current and planned infrastructure, transportation, and housing projects and programs. We also talked about how our business community stepped up to form the TBID, the additional funding it unlocks in support of housing and transportation projects and programs, our partnerships with private businesses, NPOs, and agencies that collaborate on improvement projects in our region, and the need for and role federal funding plays in amplifying the variety of projects and programs that help us continue to invest in our infrastructure, services, and environment. 

We toured Jack through the Tahoe City and Kings Beach downtown cores, visiting with developers and business owners to showcase the private investment underway in support of workforce housing and economic development, and wrapped up the day talking with Palisades Tahoe representatives about regional transportation enhancements, the Hwy 89 and 267 adaptive corridor management plan, and the Palisades Tahoe Specific Plan recently approved by Placer County. Jack will be in the North Tahoe area several times a year to learn and understand more about our regional priorities and how the congressman can help.

– Tony Karwowski, NTCA president and CEO

The North Tahoe Community Alliance is focused on fostering economic health, community vitality, and environmental sustainability that benefits local residents, businesses, and visitors. The organization seeks candidates for its Board of Directors to help guide the work of the organization in its responsibilities under the North Lake Tahoe Tourism Business Improvement District (NLT-TBID) and in contracts with the County of Placer that focus on destination management and marketing, housing and transportation, and sustainability initiatives.

There are nine seats open for election as identified:

• Homewood Mountain Resort (organization designated seat)
• Everline Resort & Spa (organization designated seat)
• Northstar California (organization designated seat)
• Palisades Tahoe (organization designated seat)
• Squaw Valley Business Association (organization designated seat)
• Tahoe City Downtown Association (organization designated seat)
• North Shore Lodging/Property Management
• At-Large, Food & Beverage
• At-Large Seat

Ballots were sent out in February 2025, the election will occur in March 2025, and new board members will be seated at the April 2025 Board of Directors meeting.

Applications are now closed. Please review the candidate statements below, and submit your ballot no later than 5:00 p.m. on Monday, March 3, 2025. The results will be announced at the March 5, 2025 Board of Directors meeting.

You may deliver your ballot in person during regular business hours (9 am – 5 pm) before 5:00 p.m. Monday, March 3, 2025 to: McClintock Accountancy Corporation, 305 West Lake Blvd. Tahoe City, CA 96145 

OR mail it back in the enclosed pre-paid envelope for receipt by Monday, March 3, 2025 to: NTCA, P.O. Box 1757, Tahoe City, CA 96145 

Please direct questions to NTCA at 530-581-8700 or hello@NorthTahoeCommunityAlliance.com

Candidate Statements

Read the current candidate statements to learn more about the candidates for the NTCA Board of Directors:

Andy Buckley
Jill Schott
John Lincoln
Danny Scott
Caroline Ross
Dave Wilderotter
Nicole Gorman

As part of the TOT-TBID Dollars At Work program’s Annual Grant Cycle, the NTCA Board of Directors recently approved and recommended a total of nearly $7.5 million in tourism-generated funding for projects and programs designed to enhance community vitality and improve quality of life for residents, businesses, and visitors. This funding unlocks $8.8 million in matching grants, for a cumulative investment of over $16 million in the North Lake Tahoe community.

“The TOT-TBID Dollars At Work program provides the ability to direct funds generated by those who visit North Lake Tahoe – whether for the day, or if they stay overnight – to initiatives that enhance the day-to-day experience for all of us,” said Sue Rae Irelan, NTCA board president. “During this Annual Grant Cycle, projects that were put forward for funding consideration were primarily trail projects, however we hope to see funding requests for more workforce housing initiatives that can provide new housing options for our friends, neighbors, and colleagues in future cycles.”

At the recommendation of the broad coalition of local residents who make up the TBID Advisory and Zone 1 committees, the NTCA Board of Directors approved the expenditure of up to $565,606 in TBID funds. Through the TBID, both day visitors and overnight visitors contribute to North Lake Tahoe’s vitality through purchases at activity providers, restaurants, and retailers. TBID funds must be spent on programs and activities that directly benefit the businesses paying the assessment.

The four projects to receive TBID funding support initiatives that contribute to community vitality, economic health and environmental stewardship:

• Keeping Tahoe Blue Beach Pilot at Kings Beach
• Dollar Creek Trail Grooming
• Revitalize the Watson Cabin Phase II
• Tahoe City Gateway Beautification

In addition, the NTCA Board of Directors voted in support of the TOT Advisory committee’s motion to recommend to the Placer County Board of Supervisors up to $6,914,220 in TOT funds (generated by overnight visitors who stay in local hotels or short-term rentals) be invested into eight projects.

In January 2025, the Board of Supervisors approved funding for the following:

• North Tahoe Trail Access Improvement project
• TCPUD West Shore Trail Reconstruction
• Martis Valley Trail
• North Tahoe Shared Use Trail Segment 1
• Tahoe City Downtown Access improvements
• A community art and gathering space for Kings Beach and Tahoe Vista
• New radar speed signs as part of the North Tahoe Neighborhood Traffic Management Plan

At a recent meeting, the Placer County Board of Supervisors approved nearly $1 million in TOT funding through the Annual Grant Cycle for winter shuttle service and enhanced transit in North Lake Tahoe. The funds are being used for Regional Transit Park and Ride programs with additional shuttles for the Highway 89 corridor between Tahoe City and Olympic Valley, an additional weekend of service on the Highway 267 corridor between Truckee and Northstar, plus new shuttles between Truckee and Donner Summit/Sugar Bowl Resort.

Included in the nearly $1 million approved TOT funds were allocations for extended winter commuter services in North Lake Tahoe that will run from Dec. 4 through April 7, 2025 and supplement existing TART fixed-route bus services. The new service will operate along the three major highways with the goal of providing service to commuters, residents, and visitors each morning and evening.

“The TOT-TBID Dollars At Work program has helped advance efforts to work toward solving some of our region’s most challenging issues,” said Tony Karwowski, NTCA president and CEO. “Although we still have a long way to go, having access to two sources that generate funding primarily paid by tourists visiting our region gives our community a greater opportunity than ever before to address some of these pressing needs.”

Learn more about the TOT-TBID Dollars At Work program and how it supports a vibrant, year-round economy in North Lake Tahoe here.

In a story published in the Sierra Sun, reporter Katelyn Welsh features North Lake Tahoe resident Justin Sheaff and the grassroots passion project he’s pursued for the past 15 years benefitting the local community – winter grooming of the Dollar Creek Trail.

Welsh profiles Sheaff, how he got started, and how the project has evolved over time to now include the 4+ mile Dollar Creek Trail and a connector to Tahoe XC. This endeavor, which now requires funding to support the cost of fuel, maintenance, storage and repairs to the snowcat, plus wages for those who groom the trail, has become a costly one.

The NTCA awarded $125,000 in TBID funds to support the grooming effort, which local business owners are quoted in the story saying they’ve benefited from.
Click here to read the full story.

Sue Rae Irelan

Published in the Sierra Sun on December 21, 2024 >

When the North Lake Tahoe Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID) was formed by the business community, it created, for the first time, a way for both day and overnight visitors to help contribute to the region’s vitality. It also launched an entirely different way for our community to leverage revenues generated by tourism and a new opportunity for local decision-making related to reinvesting these funds back into our community.

Why does this matter? Simply put, when our community is actively involved in decisions that impact those who live, work and play here, the outcome is better for us all. We – as a collective community – have representation on the committees and the Board of Directors convened by the North Tahoe Community Alliance (NTCA). These members are local business and community organization representatives and residents representing all geographic areas of our region and businesses, both large and small. The collective “we” are vested in this community’s success while recognizing that success relies on achieving balance in the unique environment we all are fortunate to call home.

Prior to the TBID, approximately $5M per year in Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT), paid only by overnight visitors who stay in local hotels or short-term rentals, was reinvested in North Lake Tahoe. Those funds were used to support quality-of-life services like transportation initiatives, bike paths, and other infrastructure upgrades. It also supported economic vitality efforts, including marketing the destination to encourage tourism – the cornerstone industry of our region.

Today, our community has more decision-making ability on how funds generated by tourism are reinvested than ever before. The formation of the TBID gave the NTCA’s locally based volunteer Board of Directors the final decision on the expenditure of TBID funds. And, together with the new committees formed to represent a diverse collection of local voices, the NTCA Board can better advocate for community needs regarding the recommendation of TOT funding expenditures that the Placer County Board of Supervisors ultimately has the authority to approve.

This broad coalition of community members, 56 people in total, meets regularly to evaluate projects and programs that have requested funding support and decide which to invest in – projects like Lease to Locals, the expansion of TART Connect’s service hours, and the Sierra Community House’s Workforce Housing Advocacy & Direct Assistance Program.

Because of the TBID, the revenue available to address community needs, help support the business community, and bolster a year-round economy, has increased from $5M to approximately $11M annually.

Another major change that occurred because of the TBID was the shift in the NTCA’s focus. The organization now serves as North Lake Tahoe’s Destination Management and Stewardship Organization and has refocused its marketing strategy to support the destination during off-peak seasons and mid-week, while refocusing the peak season messages to educate visitors about how to help take care of Tahoe when they’re here. TBID funds also support locally produced events that contribute to the character of our community and are used to help mitigate tourism impacts by funding projects like the BEBOT beach cleaning robot and the Lake Tahoe Ambassador program.

Because of the TBID, more TOT dollars are available to support critical transportation and workforce housing initiatives that benefit those who live and work in our community. This shift, which requires local committee recommendations in the process of reinvesting TOT funds in North Lake Tahoe, gives our region greater influence over our destiny than ever before.

In 2026, the North Lake Tahoe business community will have the ability to renew the TBID. Its continuation will allow the valuable work being done through the TOT-TBID Dollars At Work program to support local businesses and our community’s top priorities.

If it is not renewed, we’ll have roughly $6M less in available funding annually for workforce housing and transportation projects and programs, and less direct, local influence over how tourism revenues are allocated. 

In simple terms, without the TBID and the additional funding it provides, we lose a broadened funding bucket that has local oversight and is directed at tackling our community’s most important priorities as set by those who live, work and play here.

Interested in learning more about the TOT-TBID Dollars At Work program and how tourism generated funds are being reinvested in our community? Read the NTCA’s Annual Report at http://www.northtahoecommunityalliance.com.

Sue Rae Irelan is the Chair of the North Tahoe Community Alliance Board of Directors

Mindful travel to North Lake Tahoe is a vital driver of our local economy. Tourism revenue allows our region to create more travel-related jobs as well as fund greater investments in infrastructure, amenities and innovation through the TOT-TBID Dollars At Work program. The North Lake Tahoe Marketing Cooperative offers a variety of initiatives that restaurants, local businesses, and lodging properties can take part in to promote visitation to the region and to their individual locations. Are you ready to promote your business through website updates, social media collaborations, sharing assets and more?

As the winter season gets underway, not only are North Lake Tahoe resorts continuing their ongoing investments in the skier experience, this year marks significant milestone anniversaries as Sugar Bowl celebrates 85 years, Palisades Tahoe turns 75, Boreal commemorates 60 years, and Tahoe XC starts its 25th year as a nonprofit organization serving the community.

There’s no doubt that North Lake Tahoe’s impressive concentration of ski areas and outdoor recreation providers have helped shape our community and the distinct California ski culture. They’re what stand us apart from other winter destinations with the unparalleled sense of place and unique character they offer.

Essential to North Lake Tahoe’s success, ski areas are some of our region’s largest employers and have long been the primary drivers of the region’s winter economy. They’ve also pioneered many “firsts.” From offering the first chairlift in California at Sugar Bowl to hosting the first Winter Olympic Games in the western U.S. at Palisades Tahoe, to being on the leading edge of the rise of snowboarding up on Donner Summit, our winter sports legacy runs deep. These mountains have introduced countless first-timers to winter sports and turned out a cadre of Olympic and World Cup athletes.

They’ve also found ways big and small to give back to our community. Whether through support for local nonprofits to hosting events that bring people together and build community, local ski areas have undoubtedly taken an active role in our region since their inception.

As the snow starts to fly and throughout the season, expect to be immersed in local ski history and tradition as area resorts celebrate their legacy and recount the various stories, people and events that made it all possible.