Council briefs
Calling all clean air projects
At Wednesday’s regular Mammoth Lakes Town Council meeting, Clean Air Projects Program Administrator Lisa Isaacs announced that the Request for Proposals for clean air projects in the Eastern Sierra would be available to the general public on Monday, Dec. 12. Those interested will be able to access the RFP at http://capp.gbuapcd.org. Proposals will be due Feb. 15. The CAPP program will award a total of $5 million to qualifying projects.
Sierra Valley Sites gets trashed
Town Public Works Director Ray Jarvis said that illegal dumping is becoming a big issue in Sierra Valley Sites. He estimated that the Town has picked up 150 random pieces of furniture since Town Cleanup Day at the beginning of summer. The extra trash is a strain on Town staff as well as Mammoth Disposal’s budget. The disposal company is not being compensated for many of the extra pickups. “We need to mitigate the problem,” Jarvis explained. He added that staff believes at least 25 percent of the illegal trash to be from “dump-and- run” scenarios. “People are bringing it into Sierra Valley Sites and leaving it. This could be because the dumpsters are close to the road and it’s easy to quickly dump something next to them and leave.” Moving dumpsters back from the streets may be one solution. Jarvis plans to come back to Council with further recommendations.
Lions lose Gateway argument
Gateway Monument Project Leader Elizabeth Tenney brought the winning entries for the monument’s arrival and departure messages before Council for approval. “Eat your heart out Big Sky, Montana, it looks great,” opened Tenney. The local Mammoth Lakes Lions Club, however, did not fully agree.
Lions representative Joe Joerger stated that the club, which has historically owned the entry sign to town under a Forest Service permit (however the permit has currently expired according to Gateway Monument architect Bruce Woodward), would prefer the entrance sign to read, “Welcome to Mammoth Lakes,” followed by the John Muir quote that was chosen by the voters rather than just “Welcome” plus the Muir quote as the Gateway Committee has planned.
“We like the new sign, but historically it has always said, ‘Welcome to Mammoth Lakes.’ It should tell you where you are,” Joerger said.
Council disagreed and felt that the sign should be allowed to change for the better. The sign on the left-hand side of the road as you enter town will read Mammoth Lakes. Council felt that between Welcome on the right and Mammoth Lakes on the left the message would be loud and clear. It voted unanimously to approve the verbiage as presented by the Gateway Monument committee.
Night of Lights traffic control
Mammoth Lakes Police Chief Dan Watson announced that Canyon Boulevard will be closed to inbound traffic from 5-7 p.m. on Dec. 17 during the Night of Lights in order to avoid traffic congestion. Cars will be diverted to Lakeview Boulevard. The public is encouraged to use public transportation since there will be plenty of it available.
Air service
Winter air service kicks off on Dec. 15. The Town will hold a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new sprung structure on Dec. 14 at 2 p.m.
Council’s next regular meeting is scheduled for Jan. 4, 2012 at 6 p.m. in Suite Z.
