OLYMPIC VALLEY, Calif. – On November 18, the board at Olympic Valley Public Service District (OVPSD) gathered to discuss several items on their agenda, including an annual Fire Impact Fee program, the ongoing project at Village at Palisades Tahoe and an increase in the Tahoe Truckee Sierra disposal garbage agreement proposed rates.

In addition, celebrations were in order to recognize Danielle Mueller for 10 years of employment at OVPSD, and Fire Chief, Brad Chisholm, for 25 years in service.

The meeting hit quorum, and all board members were present with the exception of director Katrina Smolen who was not in attendance. 

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Discussion of several key topics took place. Here’s what was addressed:

Fire Impact Fee Program

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According to OVPSD’s board report, “public agencies are required to adopt a development impact fee when there is a demonstrated reasonable relationship between the development project and the public services being funded.” 

The OVPSD board approved a nexus study to determine how much the fee should be. It was completed by SCI Consulting Group in April of this year, with Placer County following suit to adopt the study. 

In the land use category, the maximum fire impact fee for 2025 varies among residential ($2.81), retail/commercial ($3.13), office ($4.03), industrial ($2.24) and hotel/lodging ($2.61). The study is done every 8 years.

In 2026, these rates could slightly drop, and the adjustment is calculated using the Construction Cost Index (CCI). The maximum fire impact fee for 2026 is projected to have a 4 cent decrease for residential and hotel/lodging, 5 cent decrease for retail/commercial, a decrease of 6 cents for offices, and 3 cents for industrial. The OVPSD must first adopt the rates by resolution before presenting them to the county. Once approved by the Placer County board, the fees will take 60 days to go into effect. 

As reported in the Fire Impact Fee Schedule shown at the hearing, “The purpose of the Fire Impact Fees is to finance the public facilities and equipment as described. Fixed-rate pricing structures are unable to keep pace with changing costs of facilities, vehicles, and general fire protection infrastructure requirements.”  

Olympic Valley Fire Chief, Brad Chisholm, noted the account had about $200,000 and “it was between the fee for the nexus study, and purchasing the utility vehicle, that accounted for 50% of it.” The utility vehicle was around $84,000 and the nexus study was approximately $30,000. 

A motion was made by Director, Katy Hover-Smoot, to waive the reading and adopt the rate adjustment. The motion was seconded by Director, Richard Koffler, and approved unanimously. 

Village at Palisades Tahoe Project Update

OVPSD Vice President, Bill Hudson, recused himself from the room due to a conflict of interest as he works at Palisades Tahoe. 

A board report authored by Charley Miller, OVPSD General Manager, said, “On November 19, 2024, the Placer County Board of Supervisors certified the updated Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and approved the Village at Palisades Tahoe Specific Plan. Within weeks of that approval, Sierra Watch, and the League to Save Lake Tahoe filed a CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) lawsuit (December 6, 2024) challenging the county’s actions.”

Proceeding the filing, the county took part in settlement discussions with Sierra Watch, the League and Palisades Tahoe to address concerns, resulting in a settlement agreement that was finalized in June 2025. 

Substantial modifications to the approved project, according the board report, are listed below:

• Reducing total bedrooms in the Main Village from 1,493 to 896;
• Reducing commercial square footage by 20%;
• Eliminating the proposed indoor waterpark;
• Reducing the Mountain Adventure Camp to 72,000 sq. ft.;
• Permanently protecting Lots 16 and 18 under a conservation easement;
• Updating mobility transit and workforce housing commitments

At the hearing, Miller said, “It’s a fast-paced project, for sure,” with Miller noting the modifications are around a 40% reduction to the original plan.

“We’ve worked on these mitigation measures,” said Miller, “consultants have other work so we’ve been pressing them to accelerate as much as possible, but again, it takes what it takes for us to get the work done.”

There are still mitigation discussions happening regarding Fire and EMS, with Miller saying there are two paths forward.

“One is that we finalize the analysis to determine the mitigations required for Fire and EMS and include that in the county’s development agreement as well as our development agreement in the county’s specific plan. If we can’t come to terms on the timeframe they’re proposing, we have a parallel path opportunity to develop a development agreement with guardrails, meaning restrictions on what we could include and what we could not.”

Miller said there are still questions being asked and certain language being discussed before agreements can be made. “We’re just trying to keep up and ensure we have the best interest of the district and community.”

Tahoe Truckee Sierra Disposal Garbage Agreement Proposed Rate Increase

Included in the OVPSD board report, “The district contracts with Tahoe Truckee Sierra Disposal Company, Inc. (TTSD) for municipal solid waste collection and disposal. Similar contracts are in place with other local agencies including Northstar CSD, Alpine Meadows CWD, Town of Truckee, and Placer and Nevada Counties.”

Service costs for waste collection and disposal paid by the district to TTSD are scheduled to increase for fiscal year 2026-27 by 5.41% with a 0.23% carry-over from fiscal year 2025-26. 

“We go through a spreadsheet of calculated CPI’s,” (consumer price index) “and come up with averages over 2 years,” said Miller at the hearing. 

The report states the increase is partly due to “support compliance with California’s Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Reduction Strategy (SB 1383) and expanded green-waste programs such as Green Waste and Green Waste-Only dumpster rebates.”

The agenda item was informational only, and no action was needed. 

The next board meeting is scheduled for December 16 at 8:30 a.m. at the OVPSD district office. To see the entire meeting agenda as well as board reports, visit ovpsd.org