STILL SCROUNGING FOR DOUGH
Published in the January 25, 2025 edition.
State Senator Alex Padilla’s Senior Field Representative, Margaret Arechiga, visited Mono County last week to discuss how the state can assist local governments.
In order to address Mammoth’s unique challenges, its Town Council held a special meeting with Arechiga last Thursday. Arechiga said that there was no precedent for providing support to a location like Mammoth, an incorporated town surrounded by state forest.
In seeking more state and federal aid, Mammoth Lakes town officials emphasized the town’s unique challenges. Senator Padilla’s representative responded that the path to securing help would also need to be uniquely tailored.
In particular, they discussed federal programs, citing budget cuts from the Forest Service and inappropriate wage and population distinctions.
Arechiga said there is currently no mechanism in place to address these problems. “We have to get creative because the only way we can act is if there is something structurally that tells us we can,” she said.
For the Senator’s office to assist, she would need a presentation from town officials to go through Congress, she said. During public comment section, one person suggested leveraging the SHRED Act, which redirects federal revenue from recreational use back into local forest management.
The meeting began with a discussion on wildfire management, led by Janet Hatfield from the Whitebark Institute, alongside Ales Tomaier, Chief of the Mammoth Lakes Fire Department.
Hatfield emphasized that Mammoth is a rural community surrounded by federal lands, which often receive limited funding and support for wildfire prevention and forest management. She noted that the town is doing what it can to thin the forest and prevent fires as much as possible.
But in funding those projects, she said the town “falls off the map” because of its small population size. Hatfield estimated that the forest mitigation project would cost at least $200 million to $300 million.
“We’re doing everything we can, but the financial aspect is probably where we need the most help,” Town Manager Rob Patterson said.
Arechiga expressed her frustration with Mammoth’s rural designation, calling it “ridiculous” and noting that the area’s categorization needs to change, admitting that Mammoth is indeed unique. She recommended that the town seek seed funding and apply for grants.
Tomaier said that while grants have been applied for and received, it still hasn’t been sufficient. With Mammoth covering only “four square miles” of town land and being entirely surrounded by federal land, he argued that federal partners need to take on more responsibility.
Councilmember Bill Sauser, a resident of Mammoth for 66 years, delivered a self-proclaimed “rant,” asserting that the state adopted federal forest lands to achieve statehood. He expressed concern over the poor oversight of these lands, and said he has witnessed the Inyo Forest deteriorate from a thriving ecosystem to a significant danger.
“This is almost criminal neglect,” he said. “If Mammoth burns down, it will be your boss’s entity to blame.”
Arechiga responded that the Senator’s office has limited control over the situation and that more funding would likely need to come from the Forest Service itself.
However, the Forest Service is facing severe budget cuts and announced in September that it would be eliminating its entire non-fire seasonal workforce. The Sheet covered these budget cuts in the November 2 issue, with a follow-up article in the November 9 issue.
These federal cuts to the Forest Service have significantly impacted the town, as Mammoth relies on federal lands for recreation. Town Manager Rob Patterson explained that the town has been supplementing those costs.
For instance, because the Forest Service cannot afford to hire seasonal employees, local staff is requesting that the town supply five employees.
It is also (isn’t everything?) a housing issue; the Forest Service owns land for housing on Main Street but lacks the funds to develop it, and the town cannot assist legally, Sauser noted.
The discussion returned to the town’s “uniqueness.” Patterson pointed out that the locality pay, which is a pay increase for employees reflecting the local cost of living, is the lowest possible and does not account for the higher expenses residents face.
Town reps also argued that the AMI (Area Median income levels which determine housing qualification) is set too low for the town. Although Mammoth has been able to fund some housing projects, like the Parcel, using state and federal grants, income restrictions largely miss the community’s needs.
Even the minimum hourly rate in Mammoth puts most people above 80% AMI, said Nolan Bobroff, the town’s Community and Economic Development Director. The town needs more assistance housing the “missing middle” of people, within 80-120% AMI.
“Everything is stuck in the resort enclave,” Patterson said.
Arechiga inquired about the impact of short-term rentals and whether the town had considered capping them. Mayor Chris Bubser acknowledged that council had contemplated a short-term rental cap but noted that the proposal had generated significant backlash.
Ultimately, Councilmember John Wentworth said he’d follow up with Arechiga, and Bubser invited her to return in the summer before adjourning the meeting
