Citing the concern over the slipperiness of the road, the Truckee Police Department put the kibosh on the race on Thursday afternoon.  Sorry everyone — a lot of disappointed runners out there.

I’m going to try to make it around the lake tomorrow without slipping — by myself — not in a race — if you would like to join me, be there at 10:30 am.

Since its origination about 3 years ago, the paid parking in downtown Truckee has continued to be a contentious matter.  The tourists don’t like it because it is confusing and expensive, the locals don’t like it because they have never had to pay to park and now they are incensed by the requirement.  Downtown employees are stymied by the pay-to-park situation and how that affects their bottom line.  Well, over the past year, the town and the townspeople have been carrying on discussions and it seems that they have reached agreement on several new policies that will take effect on November 14, 2011.  They are as follows:

1)  2 hours of free parking at the Beacon gas parking;

2)  free overnight parking at the Beacon parking lot (6pm to 10 am) — awesome idea for those who find themselves having to take a taxi home after socializing;

3)  revised, easier to understand labels on the current parking meters;

4)  downtown will carry a flat rate of $1.50 per hour; Jibboom and West River Streets’ flat rate will be $1.00 per hour;

5)  when using a credit card with the meter, there will no longer be the $2 mimimum;

6)  no more parking at the Old Assumption Catholic Church lot;

7)  downtown employees will be allowed to park for free all day with free employer distributed permits.

According to the article in the Sierra Sun, these changes are temporary and will not become permanent until everyone is satisfied that they will work.

I just had the opportunity to speak with Brent Armstrong of North Tahoe Fire District.  This Fire District is on the warpath to avoid experiencing another year where propane leaks cause fires and possible loss of life and injury.

Apparently in 1983 there were some code changes that required retrofitting the propane tanks but over the years, and with the introduction of natural gas to our area,  the importance of complying  lost its sense of urgency and some tanks have slipped through the cracks.

In an effort to put some teeth into compliance, North Tahoe Fire has set a deadline of  November 1st for the Alpine Peaks and Ward Canyon areas.  What this means is that anyone who is not in compliance by that time will not be able to have their tank filled.   The remainder of their district will be taken in a sort of grid like pattern until all homes are covered.  If you live in the Northshore, you can contact Brent at armstrong@ntfire.net or (530) 583-6911 for more information.  Or you can check it out here.

If you are the owner of a home ANYWHERE in the Truckee-Tahoe-Donner Summit area that has propane service, be sure to contact your local fire district and your propane supplier to make sure you are in compliance with the current code.  It is the ONLY safe way.

When contacted today on the availability of these funds David said that the program is still active and ready to go.  So far only one business has made application.  Contact David at 530 582-2910 or by e-mail at dgriffith@townoftruckee.com to get in on the offering.  Opportunity knocks for those who are awake enough to hear it!!!

Additionally, the Town has resolved to make the permit process for this type of endeavor much simpler, vowing to process tenant improvement plan check applications for existing commercial buildings in three business days.  According to Community Development Director John McLaughlin: “We want to be part of the solution to grow our local economy and work in partnership with the business community.”  The Town’s building counter is open Tuesday – Friday 8:00 am – 4:00 pm and there is no appointment necessary to submit plans.

If you are interested click here to read more information about applying for this and other related loans.

The full-service luxury hotel at the base of Squaw Valley Ski Resort was built in 1993 but in 2005 it underwent a $53 million resort-wide renovation transforming hotel rooms and suites into 238 beautiful condos with luxurious finishes and extraordinary views.  March of 2005 was the launch of sales for the newly converted condos at which time nearly 70% were sold as fee simple ownership. After a short break the remaining units became available and currently the re-sale market offers a selection of units for sale. Condos include one, two, and three bedroom suites with lock off ability to independent bedroom suites for separate renting. 2 story penthouse units are located on the 8^th & 9^th floors providing fantastic views of the Squaw Valley Ski area. RSC as we refer to it, offers an incredible list of amenities:

• True Ski-In, Ski-Out with direct access to Squaw Valley USA, site of the 1960 Winter Olympics
• Ice Rink and Cross Country Skiing
• Full Service Spa, Gym & Fitness Center
• Hot Tubs, Saunas and Heated Swimming Pools
• 18 Hole Championship Golf Course
• Tennis Courts, Hiking & Biking Trail Access
• Convention, Private Party & Wedding Facilities
• Restaurants and Shopping Promenade
• Concierge Service & Valet Parking

Resort at Squaw Creek property management will handle the rental of units, and it seems that the Resort does a good job as 90% of owners participate in the rental program. $4.4 million is spent annually in marketing to bring in seminars and conventions to augment the shoulder seasons.

With the economic downturn, financing of these “condo-hotel” type properties became non-existent limiting most sales to all cash deals.

Please contact us for a list of available units or if you would like more information about the Resort at Squaw Creek.

If you take advantage of this program you will not only be saving yourself some initial outlay but obviously you will save on the monthly metered water charge we will soon all be getting since Truckee is close to becoming a water metered community — Yeah!!  Besides all of that money you will save, you will be saving the environment — water is a PRECIOUS resource.

Homeowners can receive credit for up to 3 toilets per household.  Check out the PUD’s website for more information, or call 530 587-3896 for more information on the program.

From the Tahoe MLS: the solds from November 1 – 30, 2010:

Tahoe Donner: 16 homes (we sold 2 of them) (1 SS, 2 REO), 4 condos, (1 REO, 1 SS)

Northstar: 2 homes, 2 very pricey condos

Gray’s Crossing: 0 residences

Glenshire, Cambridge, Juniper Hill, Juniper Creek, The Meadows: 10 homes  (2 SS, 2 REO)

Prosser Lake Area: 1 home (1 SS)

Pine Forest: 1 home

Sierra Meadows, Ponderosa Palisades: 1 home, 1 condos (1 REO)

Lahontan: 0 residences

Timlick: 0 residential properties

Old Greenwood: 0 residences

Martis Camp: 1 home

Truckee Proper: 5 homes (3 REO, 1 SS), 1 condo

Donner Crest: 0 residential properties

Donner Lake: 3 homes

Donner Summit: 2 homes

West shore Lake Tahoe: 9 homes (1 REO, 1 SS), 3 condos

Tahoe City: 2 homes, 3 condo

North shore Lake Tahoe: 6 homes (I REO)

Kings Beach & Tahoe Vista: 4 homes (3 SS), 1 condo

Alpine & Squaw Valley: 8 homes (1 REO, 1 SS), 4 condos (1 SS, 1 REO)

Shared Ownerships – entire region: 5 (1 REO)

Mobile Homes – entire region: 2 (both in Plumas County)

Condos and Homes sold over $1M in Truckee & North Lake Tahoe: 14

Highest priced home or condo sold:  Another all cash deal for a spectacular Lake Tahoe Lakefront located at 7087 West Lake Blvd.  This 7 bedroom, 7 bath, 5800 Square foot home was built in 1929 and is located on 2.3 acres.  Again, this home never was put on the market but has only be reported for statistical information.

Lowest priced home or condo sold:  Some lucky vacationer picked up this well priced studio condo located at 1300 Regency Way in the Kings Run complex in Tahoe Vista.  They got it for $110,000 and should.  They should feel good about it, enjoy it and never look back.  This is an example of a real deal that this market is now offering.  This was NOT a distressed sale by the way.

The list to sell ratio on the median this month 94%. In other words, the homes sold within 94% of the list price.  The median list price for this period was $569,000 median sale price was $535,000.  Using the median price tends to take the extreme highs and lows out of the picture as it is based on the sale of the house in the middle of the pack.  The median days on the market were 82.

My girlfriend has been out of town and I had promised her that I would exercise her doggie (who is my doggie’s best friend) while she was gone so Jennifer and I, Ceilidh, Roxie and Kaiha went for a little snowshoe out behind the Glenshire subdivision.  We broke trail pretty much and so did the dogs.  We were only able to go about a mile all total but all of us got our exercise — as you can see in the photo here.

As much as I am not excited about snowstorms, this has been a really nice one so far.  With just a few breaks and the sunshine streaming through, it really makes you appreciate the season.  I know that the ski areas and ski and snowboard enthusiasts  are just ecstatic over the beginning of a wonderful season.  I can’t remember when the Thanksgiving Holiday has been this well set up for skiers!!!  Come on up and enjoy!!