Mammoth Lakes City Council
December 6, 2023

Town Council Agenda

Wednesday, December 6, 2023, 4:00 p.m.
437 Old Mammoth Road, Suite Z, Mammoth Lakes
Members of the Town Council:

Mayor John Wentworth, Mayor Pro Tem Bill Sauser, Councilmember Chris Bubser, Councilmember Sarah Rea, Councilmember Amanda Rice
NOTE: In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you need special assistance to participate in this meeting, please contact the Town Clerk at (760) 965-3602. Notification 48 hours prior to the meeting will enable the Town to make reasonable arrangements to ensure accessibility to this meeting. (28 CFR 13.102-35.104 ADA Title II)
NOTE: Materials related to an item on this agenda submitted after distribution of the agenda packet are available for public inspection in the Town Offices located at 437 Old Mammoth Road, Suite 230 during normal business hours. Such documents are also available on the Town of Mammoth Lakes website at www.townofmammothlakes.ca.gov subject to staff’s ability to post the documents before the meeting.

NOTE: You may attend the Town Council meetings in person or watch them on the Town of Mammoth Lakes' website at www.townofmammothlakes.ca.gov , on the local government cable channel 18, or via Zoom. Public comments can be submitted to the Town Clerk at [email protected]. before and during the meeting, or may be made in person or via Zoom.

NOTE: All comments will be limited to a speaking time of five minutes.

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1. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL

2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

3. PUBLIC COMMENTS
The Public Comment portion of the agenda provides the public with an opportunity to address the Town Council on matters not otherwise listed on the agenda. Under California law the Town Council is prohibited from generally discussing or taking action on items not included in the agenda; however, the Town Council may briefly respond to comments or questions from members of the public. Therefore, the Town Council will listen to all public comment, but will not generally discuss the matter or take action on it. Requests for service from the Town may also be made at the Town offices during regular business hours.

Members of the public desiring to speak on a matter appearing on the agenda should ask the Mayor for the opportunity to be heard when the item comes up for Council consideration.

4. ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA
Opportunity to add urgency items pursuant to Government Code Section 54954.2(b)2, if necessary.

5. REPORTS FROM COMMISSIONS AND/OR DEPARTMENTS (AS NEEDED)

5.1 December 2023 Public Works Engineering CIP Update.

6. WORKSHOP

6.1 Joint Meeting with Mammoth Lakes Tourism – Annual Recap.

7. COUNCIL PRESENTATIONS

7.1 Recognition of Mayor's Spirit of Mammoth Award.

7.2 Recognition of outgoing Mayor John Wentworth.

8. COUNCIL REORDGANIZATION

8.1 Appointment of Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem.

8.2 Town Council Appointments to Commissions, Committees, and Boards.

9. CONSENT AGENDA

9.1 Approve the minutes of the regular meeting of November 15, 2023.

9.2 Accept Check Register 11/8/23 in the amount of $285,037.35. Accept Check Register 11/16/23 in the amount of $899,234.39. Accept Check Register 11/21/23 in the amount of $899,234.39. Accept Check Register 11/29/2023 in the amount of $2,613,834.90.

10. POLICY MATTERS

10.1 Consider approval of a request for an additional $700,000 in funding for the Eastern Sierra Community Housing Access Apartments project.

10.2 Request to Caltrans to complete a Relinquishment Assessment Report for State Route 203.

10.3 E-Bike Ordinance and Municipal Code Update.

10.4 ESCCRP (Wildfire Fuels Reduction Project) Engagement & Public Comment.

10.5 Council Strategic Priorities and Key Objectives Update for 2024.

10.6 Presentation of Pre-Audit Financial Results for Fiscal Year 22-23, Fund Balance, Projects and Continuing Commitments.

11. COUNCILMEMBER REPORTS
Informational reports from Councilmember representatives on committees, commissions, and organizations; general reports on Councilmember activities

12. CLOSED SESSION

12.1 CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL--EXISTING LITIGATION (Paragraph 1 of subdivision (d) of Section 54956.9) Name of case: Main Street Taxpayer Association v. Town of Mammoth Lakes (Case No. : 23UCM82)

12.2 CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL--EXISTING LITIGATION (Paragraph 1 of subdivision (d) of Section 54956.9) Name of case: Main Street Taxpayer Association v. Town of Mammoth Lakes (Case No. 23UCM12)

13. ANNOUNCEMENT OF ACTION TAKEN AFTER CLOSED SESSION

14. ADJOURNMENT
The Town Council will adjourn to a regular meeting to be held on Wednesday, December 20, 2023 at 4:00 p.m.

Mammoth Lakes Town Council
Agenda Action Sheet
Title: December 2023 Public Works Engineering CIP Update.

Council Meeting Date: 12/6/2023
Prepared by: Public Works Engineering
Recommended Motion: None
Summary: The December 2023 CIP update includes most of the Town’s active construction projects. Many projects are close to completion or under winter suspension. Staff anticipates adding a number of new CIP projects to the list in the next few months in preparation for summer 2024.

Capital Project Update
December Update
Created 11-29-23
Project Notes
2023 Emergency
Infrastructure Repair
All work is complete and the project is being closed out.

CRC A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on November 24 and the CRC is now open to the public, however the contractor has many miscellaneous punchlist items to complete.

CRC - Mobility Hub All site work is complete except for installation of permanent guardrails at the east patio and parking lot lighting to be installed by TOML staff.

CRC - Interior TI Work Plans for interior work have been submitted for building permit, to be bid for construction later this fall or winter.

The Parcel Phase 1 Building B exterior (siding, painting, architectural features) is substantially complete. Building A exterior is approximately 50% complete and will continue into next month. Building B walls and ceilings are nearly complete, and work will begin on corridor flooring this month. Much work continues inside Building A, including ceilings and final painting on the upper floors, with interior utility work on the first floor common area and daycare space. Building systems (e.g. fire alarms, elevators etc) will be inspected and commissioned following connection to permanent power, which is expected mid-December.

On site, asphalt paving of the roads and some of the multi-use paths is complete, as well as concrete sidewalks along Inyo Street connecting the buildings to Center Street. Grading for the childcare playground will occur this week and next, with installation of playground equipment and fencing later this month. Landscaping and public playground installation will be scheduled for next spring.

The Parcel Phase 2 Tree removal began on 11/6 in anticipation of receiving funding and starting construction next year. Additional info regarding funding allocation will be available later this month.

Chaparral Extension (The
Parcel)
Installation of underground wet utilities (storm drain, sewer and water) is complete. Concrete curb and gutter have also been installed, along with asphalt road paving. Underground dry utilities (electrical and telecom), sidewalks and multi-use paths will be scheduled for next spring. 60 Joaquin Site prep for foundations is complete. Underground utility installation on site and into the street is nearly complete. The building permit plan check process is ongoing, and foundation construction may be approved in advance of the modular superstructure of the building, to allow the project to continue moving forward.

OMR Beautification Phase 1 Negotiations with potential contractors have not been successful thus far. Town is considering combining phase 1 of this project with the landscaping work anticipated to be completed at The Parcel next summer.

Main Street Landscaping
Phase 1
Staff continues a conversation with a contractor for the completion of this work, with the intent of starting with confirmation of existing irrigation system this fall, to be followed by new irrigation and planting installation next spring and summer.

HSIP Intersection crossings Overhead signs and beacons have been installed and the project is now complete.

Laurel Mountain Rd Rehab
& Sidewalk
The project is substantially complete, with all utilities, concrete, and asphalt work finished. A ribbon-cutting was held on October 18, and the road and sidewalk are open to the public.

Upcoming weeks will see installation of streetlight foundations and poles, and a flashing pedestrian beacon at Tavern Road, and striping of crosswalks and stop bars. Striping of centerline, bike lanes and parking stalls is temperature dependent and therefore may be delayed until Spring.

Fuel Island Work is complete and the fuel island is now back in service. However, while the concrete material and installation is serviceable, it does not meet Town specifications, and may be removed and replaced in the spring at the contractor’s cost.

New Civic Center Staff expects completion of Design Development documents in early December, at which point the project will be brought to PEDC for Design Review approval, after which the design team will proceed working on construction drawings and specifications adequate for bidding and permit submittal in April 2024. The Town was not awarded the initial $12.6M Emergency Operations Center grant, but is awaiting results of a second substantial grant application. Construction on site – including grading, utilities, and building foundations - could begin as early as July 2024.

Foundation Childcare Staff awaits completion of 100% design/bid documents. We plan to go out to bid before the end of the year and award a contract in early February. Construction on site could begin in early spring, with re-location of the portable units in late June, corresponding with the end of the school year.

This project currently consists of providing a core and shell building only. The details of childcare facility operation are in progress.

Dog Park Infrastructure Site clearing, subgrade preparation and installation of utilities is complete, and the contractor has demobilized for the winter. Construction of concrete curb, asphalt, and fencing will occur along with installation of the restroom and turf in the spring.

SHARP Trailhead
Infrastructure
Staff awaits completion of 100% design/bid documents, with plans to go out to bid in December and award a contract in early February. Construction on site could start in spring of next year.

Mammoth Lakes Town Council
Agenda Action Sheet
Title: Joint Meeting with Mammoth Lakes Tourism – Annual Recap Council Meeting Date: 12/6/2023
Prepared by: Rob Patterson – Administrative Services / Finance Director Recommended Motion: Town Council receive annual recap of achievements presented by Mammoth Lakes Tourism Board and provide feedback as appropriate.

Summary:

The contract with Mammoth Lakes Tourism (MLT) adopted on July 1, 2023, included a number of sections to ensure a proper level of engagement was achieved between MLT and Town Council.

The Town Council and MLT Board have agreed to meet on a quarterly basis to review marketing performance and discuss achievements related to contract deliverables.

The current contract contains the following work assignments:

Local Focus Marketing
 Buy Local – Local Advertising Plans for consumers in the market.  Facilitate a community-based, stakeholder discussion to develop Tourism Improvements Mitigation Program. These recommendations inform work plans for the Town Capital Improvement Program (CIP).
 Natural Resource Steward & related Education Programs  Support for local event producers
 Public Engagement and Outreach (Between Town and Community)  Local Partnerships (Businesses, Chamber of Commerce, MLR, ESTA, USFS) Access and Transportation
 Advanced Air Subsidy 50% of total subsidy
 Marketing for Air Travel in Southern California Market  Locals Discount Program for Air Travel
 Portion of Air Subsidy that represents non visitor travel as % of travel to MMH.  Marketing Campaigns promoting alternative transportation within the Town, in support of Walk Bike Ride initiatives.

Experience and Attractions
 Event Promotion, Development & Support
 Marketing to Attract World Class Sporting Events
 Develop strategy to expand event calendar with broad appeal, family-oriented events.  Promotion of Regional Amenities within County and Eastern Sierra – To support regional visitation.

Mammoth Lakes Tourism
FY 2022-23 - DELIVERABLES RECAP
The FY 2022-23 deliverables reflect MLT’s commitment to a community-first approach in presenting the Town of Mammoth Lakes to our residents and visitors and in maintaining our brand awareness in existing and emerging destination markets. Stewardship for our community and environment are paramount.

I. Overarching Organization Strategy: Community Vision of Sustainable Revenue Generation The Town of Mammoth Lakes continues to thrive as a tourism-based destination from the revenues associated with visitation. Mammoth Lakes Tourism will continue to work to maximize revenues for our businesses and the Town while taking the lead role in education, stewardship, and responsible travel.

Balancing resident quality of life, environmental protection and economic prosperity will be the ongoing focus. Considering staffing challenges throughout the town, more people or 100% occupancy is no longer the goal; instead, the focus will be on enhancing the experience of our visitors, and our locals, while maximizing revenues.

In this case, “sustainable” means “to be able to be maintained at a certain level or rate” and “to use a resource without it being depleted or permanently damaged” such as our natural recreation resources.

II. Overarching Organization Objectives:

1. Increased Brand and Community Awareness

2. Enhanced Community Engagement and Communications

3. Access and Mobility Awareness and Expansion
III. Overarching Organization Deliverables:

A. Achieve $23m in TOT revenues for FY 2022-23 with 6 months at $2m+ and 5 months at $1m+. a. Achieved – October is the only sub-$1m month left at $901,599 in 2022 B. Achieve $6m in TBID revenues for FY 2022-23 via increased length of stay & visitor spend. a. Achieved – total for FY 2022-23 was $7,024,700
C. Increase midweek blended average occupancy in January, February & March from 59.5% to 62% by significantly increasing investment for destination marketing for winter 2022-23.

D. Enplanement goals for FY 2022-23 of 4,500 at MMH and 15,000 at BIH (goal of 10,000+ at MMH in the coming years).
a. Missed – for FY 2022-23 MMH was 4,440 and BIH was 10,177 E. Renew TBID (10-years) by September 2022 and achieve 66% support from assessed businesses. a. Missed – TBID was renewed for 5 years and we achieved 63.19% F. Coordinate with TOML, MLH, MLR, MMSA, USFS and other entities to begin developing a comprehensive Sustainable Destination Management Plan for our future success. a. Missed held one meeting but no follow up
G. Create a NPS (net promoter score) baseline for community perspective by April 2023. This is to set a baseline of “How likely are you to recommend Mammoth Lakes as a vacation destination?” a. Achieved – NPS Score was implemented, and we baselined at 73.58% and will be included in our visitor profile study this fall as well.

I. Increased Brand and Community Awareness:

1. Responsible Travel & Visitor Education
A. Heavily educate via stewardship messaging to visitors both before they arrive and while they are here and promote alternative activities/locations to limit overcrowding in popular recreation areas. Focus 75%+ of summer 2022 marketing spend on stewardship & visitor education efforts. a. Achieved – The REAL Unreal campaign was all about stewardship and was very well received both locally and in-market
b. Additionally our Be Patient, Be Considerate. Be Kind. messaging was key to letting visitors know what to expect when visiting the area during a historic winter, as well as looking out for our locals.

B. Achieve five (5) quality (2m+ UVM) domestic PR summer story placements with community stewardship talking points included.
a. Missed - 4 stories achieved, including one on affordable housing.

2. Domestic Marketing
A. Develop air service marketing plan for potential new markets starting in winter 2023-24. a. Neutral – no new air service markets were explored for 2023-24 B. Major marketing focus on midweek winter visitation to minimize the off-peak periods. a. Achieved – winter marketing was focused on driving midweek traffic and major emphasis was placed on destination markets for longer stay and higher spend C. Email database growth increase by 10% (approx. 1,300) as compared to FY 2021-22 numbers. a. Achieved - 20% growth through partnership with LA Kings and Ducks D. Launch new brand campaign with focus on stewardship by Oct 2022. a. Achieved – The REAL Unreal was launched with strong approval in October 2022 E. Design and launch future-proof, mobile-first website based on new brand campaign by April 2023 and set new baseline for all web stats (i.e., page views, unique users, etc.) a. Missed – the new website is on track for an October 31, 2023 launch

3. Multi-Season & Need Period Opportunities
A. Emphasize marketing of fall months to re-establish and stabilize TOT revenues in September at $1+ million and October at $800,000+ for 2022.
a. Achieved – September actual TOT was $1,235,431 and October actual TOT was $901,599 B. Host 2 international media visits and 3 domestic media visits to promote fall through story a. Domestic achieved - four visits as well as the MTJA writers conference, where we hosted 15 writers and photographers for a conference focused specifically on fall. International Achieved; hosted 4 media visits

4. Public Relations / Communications
A. Coordinate 20 high quality domestic media (non-syndicated) placements over 2021-22. a. Achieved, 230 non-syndicated placements in 22/23 versus 193 in 21/22 B. Achieve 10% growth in unique impressions domestically over 2021-22 (non-syndicated).

a. Achieved - 899.3M in 2021/22 and 3.815B in 22/23
C. Coordinate 12 high quality international media placements over 2021-22. a. Achieved
D. Achieve 10% growth in impressions internationally over 2021-22. a. Achieved
E. Host 15 domestic and 5 international highly qualified media visits. a. International Achieved
b. Domestic achieved
F. Host the Midwest Travel Journalists Assoc from Oct. 5-9 focused on fall & air service messaging. a. Achieved – we hosted this group with roughly 15 journalists from the midwest G. Promote high altitude training through Crib visitation and collaboration with Mammoth Track Club (Olympic focus). Host 40 athletes throughout the year and incorporate stewardship messaging in content.
a. Achieved - We hosted 42 athletes
b. Achieved - We incorporated stewardship messaging into approximately 5 of the visits c. Achieved - We continued our collaboration with MTC and continue to work with them on an Olympic focus

5. International Marketing
A. Work with Visit California and Alterra to re-establish visitation from key international markets with initial focus on the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Latin America, India, and Europe. a. Achieved: Renewed all 7 international agency contract; partnered with Alterra and VCA to promote in all these markets
B. Host 5 travel trade FAM trips to promote Mammoth Lakes as a year-round destination. a. Achieved: Hosted 8 FAM visits
C. Increase the international traffic on VisitMammoth.com by 20%. Symphony dashboard to track. a. Achieved total spend was up 79.1% for International CC spend tracking through VisaVue data tracking through symphony.

D. Represent MLT at 8-10 international trade and media sales missions / industry conferences to promote Mammoth Lakes as a year-round destination.
a. Achieved: attended 12
II. Enhanced Community Engagement and Communications

1. Local Promotion and Advertising Programs
A. Create advertising and promotion plans (including work with MLCC, Lodging and Restaurant Associations) for local outreach both to residents and visitors for restaurants, retail, activities, gift cards, air programs, events, etc.
a. Achieved - by actively participating in the MLCC, Lodging & Restaurant Associations, the organization is able to stay up to date on relevant content for our website, special offers, lodging pages, and blogs.

b. Event Marketing was achieved by fulfilling each of our grant requirements by sharing on our social media pages and on our website
c. Air Programs: Radio ads, Newspaper ads and Mail box drops to Bishop area and Mammoth Lakes area.

B. Track website pass-throughs to local businesses and events and achieve 5% (approx. 14K) increase over 2021-22 actuals.
a. Missed - we saw a year over year growth of 2.43% growth

2. Public Engagement and Outreach
A. Continue Community Coffee events, virtually, with a goal of 40+ participants monthly. a. Achieved - 43 people attended on average
B. Distribute 5-in-5 weekly via email – grow email distribution list by 20% percent. a. Achieved - 20% growth
C. Monthly Tourism Insights email – grow email distribution list by 10% percent. a. Missed - 4% growth - due to the historic winter, our efforts to grow this list turned into efforts to simply use it to communicate effectively to those already on it D. Host an annual open house in Spring 2023 with a goal of 50 attendees. a. Missed - due to the historic winter, our snow and safety messaging efforts were the main focus of our spring efforts
E. Expand board member engagement including their roles and expectations within the community. a. Partially achieved with TBID renewal but still needs work F. Work with global research leaders to provide actionable recommendations for engaging residents/businesses by November 2022.
a. Missed but we are currently in the middle of this process with several agencies

3. Local Partnerships
A. Assist TOML in the marketing of the workforce housing program to help educate locals on efforts to mitigate the ongoing housing crisis.

B. Craft a communications plan to promote the ESCCRP 50,000-acre wildfire reduction effort (“The Donut”) and the preventative steps being done to protect Mammoth Lakes. Have staff participate in the Citizens Wildfire Academy
a. Put out informational posts on social about Donut Project clearings C. Continue to participate in, and provide promotional support for, Camp Like a Pro program. a. Continued to participate with Education committee for Camp Like A Pro

4. (B2C) – Banners & Signage
A. MLT to produce quality banner product promoting 4-seasons and work with TOML to replace broken banners, hardware and hang banners as needed. Banners should go up in April and down in November and replaced by lighted snowflakes November through April. a. Achieved - in coordination with the Town timing has been clearly developed.

B. Coordinate with TOML to secure digital safety and event message board on the corner of Old Mammoth Road and Main Street by summer/fall 2022.

C. Explore installing digital kiosks in key locations of town to provide real-time guest information and stewardship messaging on touch screen monitors.
a. Achieved – digital kiosk test location set at MLT offices

5. Experience & Attractions: Event Promotion/Support
A. Increase budget to $300,000 (31% increase YOY) for 2022-23 event grant funding cycle for events in spring, summer, fall 2023 including a new Tier 1 event to fill off-peak event calendar. a. Achieved – we distributed $300,000 to local events and secured the OCR World Championships for October 2023 (five-year agreement)
B. Expand event promotion/advertising plan for summer 2022 to include campground hosts. a. Achieved – campground hosts were well educated on events happening C. Develop an event survey to better understand visitor use, event success and local economic impact and implement for 2022-23 season.
a. Missed – this was not achieved due to changes in MLT staff III. Access and Mobility Awareness and Expansion

1. Air Access
A. MLT to continue to support MMH Airport and scheduled charter air service through marketing efforts, airline contracting, and subsidy negotiation and payments. a. Achieved
B. Explore possible expansion to year-round service at MMH and BIH in spring 2023. a. Achieved – explored but not fiscally feasible with rising operating airline costs C. Work towards adding one new carrier, one new market & upgraded aircraft type to BIH for Winter 2023-24.
a. Neutral – no new carrier or market but new E175 aircraft effort resulted in that plane being available for winter 2023-24
D. Look at additional scheduled charter markets in California and the region for winter 2023-24. a. Achieved – looked at new markets but not fiscally possible for 2023-24

2. Air Service Promotion
A. Increase marketing funding for both commercial and scheduled charter services by at least 60%. a. Achieved – marketing support went from $750,000 to $1,250,000 (66% increase YOY) B. Promote local air discount programs to encourage both commercial and scheduled charter flying to fill outbound, off-peak flights and increase the number of locals’ discount codes requested/distributed by 5% over winter 2021-22.
a. Missed - gave 362 through end of march 22; 366 end of march 23 - missed 5% growth by 14 codes

C. Track fluctuations in BIH air service via NPS scores related directly to “visiting Mammoth Lakes”. Benchmark set at 79. Work with the TOML, business partners, transportation providers, MLCC and MMSA to reach an NPS score of 81 for summer 2022 and winter 2022-23 air visitors. a. Missed – NPS came in at 73.58 on a benchmark of 79 for winter air service at BIH

3. Regional Mobility
A. Continue to assist with coordination and subsidization of transportation services for air passengers arriving at BIH and MMH.
a. Achieved - Subsidization for winter 2022-23 was $111,000 on a budget of $200,000 – no subsidy will be offered for FY 2023-24
B. Actively seek additional rental car options for both BIH and MMH. a. Neutral – had discussions with multiple companies but did not secure an additional car rental company
C. Develop comprehensive action plan for crisis management of winter highway closures and diversion plans for scheduled charter from MMH to BIH.
a. Neutral - it was determined that passengers were able to seek out their own solutions in the event of highway closure and flight cancellations

MLT 2022-2023

ANNUAL REPORT
DECEMBER 6, 2023

WELCOME, ALL.

TODAY’S AGENDA
• Financial Overview
• Air Service
• Departmental Updates
• Communications/PR
• International Sales
• Special Events
• Local Marketing
• Digital Marketing
• Marketing
• TBID Annual Report

FINANCIAL OVERVIEW
JULY 2022 – JUNE 2023

OVERALL TOT GROWTH

TBID REVENUE BUDGET

ANNUAL TBID REVENUE

BY SEGMENT

MEASURE A EXPENSES

TBID EXPENSES

COMBINED EXPENSES

AIR SERVICE REPORT
JULY 2022 – JUNE 2023

AIR SERVICE 2022-23
Year-over-year roundtrips
Denver was up 2,711, which is 39% YOY.

San Francisco was up 1,179, which is 23%
YOY.

Carlsbad was up 967, which is 45% YOY.

Hawthorne was up 1,420, which is 129% YOY.

Burbank was up 347, which is 22% YOY.

Total we were up 6,624 round trips across all
markets – roughly 3,312 individual passengers.
0 1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000
9000
10000
Denver San Francisco Carlsbad Hawthorne Burbank
6957
5152
2132
1102
1568
9668
6331
3099
2522
1915
Air Service Comparison 2021-22 vs 2022-23
2021-22 2022-23

AIR SERVICE 2022-23
Advanced Airlines
• The ability to divert to BIH when weather
at MMH makes it impossible to land
meant that an additional 15% of flights
were able to be completed and not
cancelled.
• In comparison to 2017, with JSX, we saw
a completion rate of just 87.1% compared
to a completion rate of 91.1% this past
winter which was a slight improvement.

AIR SERVICE 2022-23
United Airlines
• United’s weather challenges in areas
other than BIH caused some of our
cancellations including Denver, Aspen and
San Francisco which effected our
completion rates.
• In comparison to 2017 when United flew
into MMH – we saw a completion rate of
just 79.9% compared to a completion rate
of 95.7% this year which is a major
improvement.

COMMUNICATIONS
RECAP
JULY 2022 – JUNE 2023

COMMUNICATIONS RECAP
Be Patient. Be Considerate. Be Kind.
• Our goal was to educate visitors on what to expect when planning a trip to Mammoth Lakes during a historic winter, and to remind them to act with humanity upon arrival. Working closely with local partners such as the Town, Mammoth Mountain, Mono County and more, we created a cohesive message that was well received by visitors and locals alike.

COMMUNICATIONS RECAP
• 17 newsletter communications
were sent from Jan-April
through a combination of
Visitor and B2B lists
• The average open rate was 50%
- well above industry standard
In times of crisis, Mammoth Lakes Tourism has a
track record of stepping up for its community, and
the winter of 2022/23 was no different.

COMMUNICATIONS RECAP
• Domestic Media Placements:
• July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2023
• 279 Placements
• 13.5B Impressions

INTERNATIONAL
RECAP
JULY 2022 – JUNE 2023

INTERNATIONAL RECAP
• Renew contracts with our 7 international agencies that represent MLT in both the travel trade and media in 18 International markets • Increase the media placements of Mammoth Lakes in print and digital outlets
• Continue to train the travel trade
• Continue to work closely with Mono County Tourism, the HSVC, Visit California, the Alterra Mountain Co / MMSA, and Brand USA Strategy to continue the rebound of International Visitation

INTERNATIONAL RECAP - TRADE
• 363 B to B training
sessions
• 3211 travel trade
agents trained on
Mammoth Lakes

INTERNATIONAL RECAP - MEDIA
• 303 media
placements
• PR value of
$1,928,275
• Overall number
of impressions
was 226,169,024

SPECIAL EVENTS
RECAP
JULY 2022 – JUNE 2023

SPECIAL EVENTS RECAP
• Increased budget to $300,000 (31% increase YOY) for 2022-23 event grant funding cycle.
• Secured Tier 1 Event: OCR World Championships for October 2023 (five-year agreement)
• Expanded event promotion/advertising plan for summer 2022 to include campground hosts
• Summer/Winter '23: delayed or moved events due to excessive winter.
• Prism cam

LOCAL MARKETING
RECAP
JULY 2022 – JUNE 2023

LOCAL MARKETING RECAP
• Local Marketing Projects
• Yiftee Gift Card
• Apres Ski Trail with Bandwango
• United/Advanced Air Promotion Efforts
• AAltitude membership pack promotion
• Local's discount codes
• Special offer for Local Businesses
• New occupancy reporting system (open rate?)
• Digital Kiosk

DIGITAL MARKETING
RECAP
JULY 2022 – JUNE 2023

DIGITAL MARKETING RECAP
Website
• Contracted with Tempest to start MLT website redesign on February 10, 2023
• (Launched website redesign on November 1, 2023)
• Total users: ~1.25 million
• Average time on site: 49 seconds
• Organic search yielded the highest engagement rate at ~67%

DIGITAL MARKETING RECAP
Social Media (Facebook & Instagram)
• Total impressions: 69.5 million
• Average Engagement Rate: 4%
• Post Link Clicks: 192,233
Safety messaging & Be Patient. Be Kind. Be Considerate. • Total posts – 62 posts Between Dec 30th – May 31st
• Total impressions (Instagram only) – 1.9 million in reach • Total engagement 242,000 engagements

MARKETING
RECAP
JULY 2022 – JUNE 2023

MARKETING RECAP

IMPRESSIONS
149

MILLION

SESSIONS
674

THOUSAND

VIDEO VIEWS

20.8 MILLION

MEDIA SPEND
$2.65M

MILLION
FY22-23 PAID PROGRAM DELIVERY

PARTNERS
YouTube
Facebook/Instagram
Journera
Google (GDN, Search)
Dog Trekker

FLIGHTING
September - October

MARKETS
California & Nevada
Base
Spot Markets: LA,
San Diego, SF,
Las Vegas, Sacramento

CHALLENGES/OPPORTUNITIES
Continue to build a fall images library, utilizing local photographers to allow a quicker reaction to the timeliness of fall color changes.

Develop dedicated fall video assets
115%

TO GOAL
126%

TO GOAL
:32
GOAL
$1.82
GOAL
113%

TO GOAL

IMPRESSIONS

15.7M
SPEND
$148K

SESSIONS
74K
TOS
:42
CPS
$1.12

VIDEO VIEWS

1.7M

FALL PERFORMANCE

MARKETING RECAP

FLIGHTING
Near Markets:

November – Mid-April
Far Markets:

Mid-October –
Early-March

PARTNERS
YouTube
Facebook/Instagram
Pandora
Hulu
Undertone
Matador
Journera/TTD
DogTrekker
Google (GDN, Search)
Clear Channel/ODH
INK Global (United)
TravelZoo

MARKETS
California & Nevada
Base (Mid-Week
Push)
Spot Markets: LA, SF,
SD, Denver, Northeast

CHALLENGES/OPPORTUNITIES
As the winter season extended into spring, the far-market flights were pushed into March.

Due to unsafe conditions caused by record snowfall, the winter campaign was paused on March 14.

Continue to balance use of Brand campaign creative and custom content partnerships
Expand Ink Global partnership, which drove highest number of flight referrals.

SPEND
$1.95M

SESSIONS
383K
TOS
:30
CPS
$1.45

VIDEO VIEWS

14.1M

REFERRALS

14.2K

IMPRESSIONS

98.5M
97%

TO GOAL
83%

TO GOAL
$1.40
GOAL
100%

TO GOAL
84%

OF GOAL

WINTER PERFORMANCE

MARKETING RECAP

TIMING
Extended Winter:

Mid-April – Mid-July
Spring/Summer:

Mid-July - August

PARTNERS
YouTube
Undertone
Matador
Facebook/Instagram
Google (GDN, Search)
Journera
The TradeDesk
TravelZoo
INK Global (United)

MARKETS
California & Nevada

CHALLENGES/OPPORTUNITIES
As a result of the record-breaking snowfall, and the ski season extending until August, winter-focused creative continued to run through mid-July, when it was replaced with Spring/Summer creative.

Journera display program was paused in July due to subpar performance. The platfrom was replaced with The TradeDesk resulting in above goal performance for the remainder of the season. 114%

OF GOAL
111%

TO GOAL
109%

TO GOAL
$1.02
GOAL
111%

TO GOAL
114%

OF GOAL

IMPRESSIONS

34.4M
SPEND
$555K

SESSIONS
217K
TOS
0:49
CPS
$0.81

VIDEO VIEWS
5M

SPRING/SUMMER PERFORMANCE

MARKETING RECAP

MARKETING RECAP

CREATIVE EXAMPLES

MARKETING RECAP - RESEARCH
• Monthly Symphony Dashboards
• Ad Effectiveness Studies + ROAS
• Seasonal Air Service Studies

TBID

ANNUAL REPORT
JULY 2022 – JUNE 2023

TBID ANNUAL REPORT
• Renewed by Town Council for another 5-year term with 5-0 Vote • September 2023- August 2028
• Achieved 62.4% approval based on businesses assessed revenues • No changes to the district boundary are planned for FY 2023-24 • Lodging will be assessed at 1% (no change)
• Retail will be assessed at 1.5% (no change)
• Restaurant will be assessed at 1.5% (no change)
• Ski Area will be assessed at 2.5% (increase of .5%)
• This category also now includes golf courses at 2.5% on greens fees and lessons (not season passes)

TBID ANNUAL REPORT
• Lodging exceeded FY22-23 budget by $333,888 and 17.5% • Retail exceeded FY22-23 budget by $69,341 and 4.3%
• Restaurant exceeded FY22-23 budget by $189,766 and 14.5% • Ski Area exceeded FY22-23 budget by $131,704 and 8.9% • Overall, TBID exceeded FY22-23 budget by $724,700 and 11.5% • TBID reserves are now held in a FDIC insured Money Market account and total $4,254,626

THANK YOU

Mammoth Lakes Town Council
Agenda Action Sheet
Title: Appointment of Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem
Council Meeting Date: 12/06/2023
Prepared by: Jamie Gray, Town Clerk
Recommended Motion: Appoint a Mayor and then appoint a Mayor Pro Tem.

Background Information: Annually, typically at the first meeting in December, the Town Council meets and chooses one of its number as Mayor and one as Mayor Pro Tempore. The Council has the authority to use any method it wishes to select a Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem.

Mammoth Lakes Town Council
Agenda Action Sheet
Title: Town Council Appointments to Commissions, Committees, and Boards Council Meeting Date: December 6, 2023
Prepared by: Jamie Gray, Town Clerk
Recommended Motion: Review the list of appointments and make changes as appropriate. Council may also wish to eliminate assignments that are no longer relevant, and/or make appointments to new commissions/committees as appropriate.

Background Information: The Town Council is represented by its members on several commissions, committees, and boards. The selected Councilmember represents the Town by serving as a voting member of the body and reporting back to other members of the Council at regular meetings under the “Councilmember Reports” agenda item. Typically, the Council reviews the Committee/Commission assignments annually, as part of its reorganization process. A description of each committee/commission/board is attached.

The majority of the meetings held by the various commissions, committees, and boards are subject to the Brown Act as they meet the legal requirement of being legislative bodies. Councilmembers may attend any of the noted meetings to listen and learn what is being discussed. Two of the current assignments, the Mono County Collaborative Planning Team (CPT) and the Mono County Treasury Oversight Committee, are currently assigned to staff, per Town Council direction. Staff members also serve as alternate members, where designated. The following list represents current assignments of the Town Council.

Councilmembers may request assignments or change their assignments.

Land Use:

Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) – Rea, Rice, and Bubser as alternate Airport Land Use Commission – Rea, Rice, and Bubser as alternate Mono County Collaborative Planning Team (CPT) – Senior Planner Kim Cooke and Rice as alternate Intergovernmental Relations:

Town and County Liaison Committee – Sauser, Bubser, and Town Manager and Rea as alternates Desert Mountain Division of the League of California Cities – Sauser and Town Manager as alternate Eastern Sierra Council of Governments (ESCOG) – Bubser, Wentworth, and Sauser as alternate Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District – Wentworth and Bubser as alternate League of California Cities City Voting Delegate – Sauser and Town Manager as alternate California Joint Powers Insurance Authority Board – Rea and Assistant to the Town Manager as alternate Transportation:

Local Transportation Commission (LTC) – Wentworth, Sauser, Paul Chang, and Town Manager as alternate
Eastern Sierra Transit Authority (ESTA) Board – Bubser and Sauser Local Issues:

Mammoth Lakes Tourism (MLT) Board – Sauser
Mammoth Lakes Recreation (MLR) Board – Rea
Eastern Sierra Community Housing Board – Rice
Treasury Oversight Committee – Finance Director and Town Manager as alternate STR (Short Term Rental) Advisory Committee – Bubser and Rice

1 Airport Land Use Commission
This Commission is mandated by the State Public Utilities Code 21670. The purpose of the Commission is to provide for the orderly development of the airport and the area surrounding the airport so as to promote the overall goals and objectives of the California airport noise standards and to prevent the creation of new noise and safety problems. This Commission is administered by Mono County. This Commission is subject to the requirements of the Brown Act.

The Commission includes:
 2 members – Mono County Board of Supervisors
 2 members – Mammoth Lakes Town Council
 2 members that represent airports (staff members)
 1 member of the public
Current Council Appointments
Sarah Rea, Councilmember
Amanda Rice, Councilmember
Chris Bubser, Councilmember (alternate)
Meeting schedule
As needed; infrequently (last meeting was in 2015).

California Joint Powers Insurance Authority (CJPIA) Board Each CJPIA member agency has an appointed director that serves as a member of the board of directors. As a member of the CJPIA, the Town is required to certify a director and alternate(s) every year. The director must be an elected official, but an alternate can be either elected or a staff member. The director participates in Board meetings and votes on behalf of the Town.

Current Council Appointments
Sarah Rea, Councilmember
Pam Kobylarz, Assistant to the Town Manager (alternate) Meeting schedule
One annual meeting typically held in July in La Palma, CA.

Note that the CJPIA provides the attendee with a $100 stipend and also reimburses for lodging and travel costs up to $600.

2 Desert Mountain Division of the League of CA Cities
The Town of Mammoth Lakes is a member of the League of CA Cities. There are 16 Regional Divisions of which the Desert Mountain is one. The Desert Mountain Division is comprised of both elected and professional city staff from 15 cities/towns that work together to develop regional informational programs and carry out grassroots activities to support specific legislative, regulatory, and ballot measure goals. The Division also participates in policy development by appointing representatives to the League’s board of directors, resolutions, and policy committees.

The Councilmember assigned to the Desert Mountain Division of the League of CA Cities acts as the Town’s representative for the League. An appointed representative (or alternate) is required; however, this could be a staff member if desired by the Council. Administration of this meeting is conducted by the Secretary/Treasurer of the Desert Mountain Division, who is usually a staff member of the current president’s agency.

Current Council Appointments
Bill Sauser, Councilmember
Town Manager (alternate)
Meeting schedule
Quarterly meetings that rotate location between the member cities.

Eastern Sierra Council of Governments (ESCOG) Joint Powers Authority (JPA)
The ESCOG JPA consists of two representatives from each of the following agencies:

Mammoth Lakes Town Council, City of Bishop City Council, Inyo County Board of Supervisors, and Mono County Board of Supervisors. Since the Town of Mammoth Lakes is a member of the COG, two appointments are required. The purpose of the Committee is to have an open meeting process to discuss items of mutual interest and to have a process in place to give updates on projects and work programs of mutual interest and benefit. This Commission is subject to the requirements of the Brown Act.

Current Council Appointments
John Wentworth, Mayor
Chris Bubser, Councilmember
Bill Sauser, Mayor Pro Tem (alternate)
Meeting schedule
The Committee meets quarterly, the second Friday of every three months (March, June, September, and December). Meetings may be adjusted and/or cancelled based on members’ availability, agenda items, or other conflicts.

3 Eastern Sierra Transit Authority (ESTA) Board
The Joint Powers Authority (JPA) that established ESTA requires that two representatives from each of the member agencies sit on the Board. These agencies include Town of Mammoth Lakes, Mono County, City of Bishop, and Inyo County. The Board addresses policy matters and makes recommendations and/or actions on other items that impact the Authority such as grants.

ESTA staff are responsible for administration of this meeting. This Commission is subject to the requirements of the Brown Act.

Current Council Appointments
Bill Sauser, Mayor Pro Tem
Chris Bubser, Councilmember
Meeting schedule
Monthly, the second Friday morning of each month. Meeting location alternates between Bishop and Mammoth Lakes. Occasionally meetings are cancelled due to lack of agenda items; this Board meets approximately 9-10 times per year.

Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District (GBUAPCD) Board Pursuant to the provisions of Article 7 of Chapter 2 of Division 20 of the Health and Safety Code, the Air Pollution Control Districts for Mono, Inyo, and Alpine Counties, along with the Town of Mammoth Lakes, have been merged into one district. The Unification Agreement adopting the GBUAPCD requires two elected officials from each agency to sit on the Board.

The Board takes action on policy matters and other items impacting the District. The Clerk of the GBUAPCD Board is responsible for administration of this meeting. This Commission is subject to the requirements of the Brown Act.

Current Council Appointments
John Wentworth, Mayor
Chris Bubser, Councilmember (alternate)
Meeting schedule
Meetings are generally bi-monthly, but there is no set meeting schedule. At each meeting, a date for the next meeting is chosen. Meeting location rotates between the four member agencies.

Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO)
LAFCO is a State mandated Commission put in place to help coordinate public services provided by special districts where there are overlapping, local governmental jurisdictions, such as the Mammoth Community Water District and Mammoth Lakes Fire Protection District. The Commission is responsible for municipal service reviews, setting “spheres of influence” and

4 boundary changes, among other things. Mono County staff administer these meetings. This Commission is subject to the requirements of the Brown Act.

Board composition consists of:
 2 – Town Council members
 2 – Mono County Board of Supervisors
 2 – Representatives from special districts
 1 – member of the public
Current Council Appointments
Sarah Rea, Councilmember
Amanda Rice, Councilmember
Chris Bubser, Councilmember (alternate)
Meeting schedule
1 st Wednesday of May and June at 3:00 p.m.; may meet during other times of the year, as needed. Meetings usually last around an hour.

League of CA Cities Voting Delegate
The League of CA Cities Voting Delegate is the elected official appointed by the Town Council to represent the Town and vote on any resolutions being considered in the General Assembly at the Annual Business Meeting of the League Annual Conference (always held as the last event on Friday). Since the Town is a member of the League, a Voting Delegate needs to be appointed. This appointment should take place each year prior to the League Annual Conference.

Current Council Appointment
Bill Sause, Councilmember
Town Manager (alternate)
*Staff recommends that the Desert/Mountain Division Representative also act as the Voting Delegate, since this person will be the most up to date on matters affecting the Town and the League that require a vote. However, it may also depend on who is able to attend the meeting (the appointee could also be a staff member).

Meeting schedule
One meeting per year – at the League of CA Cities annual conference.

Local Transportation Commission (LTC)
This Commission is mandated by the State Streets and Highway Code. The LTC is responsible for the allocation of County STIP and many other funds. They provide regional transportation planning and coordination recommendations as well as recommend funding to the CA

5 Transportation Commission for local projects. This Commission is administered by County staff.

This Commission is subject to the requirements of the Brown Act.

The LTC consists of:
 3 representatives from the Town of Mammoth Lakes
 3 representatives from Mono County
 Other agencies also attend, but do not have voting authority:
o ESTA
o Caltrans
o Staff from both the Town and Mono County
Current Council Appointments
John Wentworth, Mayor
Bill Sauser, Mayor Pro Tem
Paul Chang (appointed by the Town Council)
Town Manager (alternate)
Meeting schedule
2 nd Monday of each month at 9:00 a.m. in Suite Z.

Eastern Sierra Community Housing Board
Subject to the provisions and limitations of the California Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law and any other applicable laws, the Corporation's activities and affairs are managed by, and all corporate powers are exercised under the direction of, the Board. The purpose of the Eastern Sierra Community Housing is to provide decent housing that is affordable to low-income and moderate-income persons. A Town Council appointment on this Board helps to provide oversight since Eastern Sierra Community Housing receives Town funds. This Board is subject to the requirements of the Brown Act.

Current Council Appointments
Amanda Rice, Councilmember
Meeting schedule
The first Monday of each month at 6:00 p.m. in Suite Z.

Mammoth Lakes Recreation (MLR) Board
Subject to the provisions and limitations of the California Nonprofit Mutual Benefit Corporation Law and any other applicable laws, the Corporation's (MLR’s) activities and affairs are managed by, and all corporate powers are exercised under the direction of, the Board. MLR’s purpose is to enhance and create premier recreational and cultural opportunities, facilities, and

6 programming for Mammoth Lakes. A Town Council appointment on this Board is required by the MLR bylaws and helps to provide oversight since MLR receives Town funds. This Board is subject to the requirements of the Brown Act.

Current Council Appointments
Sarah Rea, Councilmember
Meeting schedule
The Board meets the first Tuesday of every other month at 5:00 p.m. in Suite Z.

Mammoth Lakes Tourism (MLT) Board
Subject to the provisions and limitations of the California Nonprofit Mutual Benefit Corporation Law and any other applicable laws, the Corporation's (MLT’s) activities and affairs are managed by, and all corporate powers are exercised under the direction of, the Board. MLT’s purpose is to engage in such activities as are meant to improve the tourism industry in the Town. A Town Council appointment on this Board is required by the MLT bylaws and helps to provide oversight since MLT receives Town funds. This Board is subject to the requirements of the Brown Act.

Current Council Appointments
Bill Sauser, Mayor Pro Tem
Meeting schedule
The Board meets the first Wednesday of each month at 1:00 p.m. in Suite Z.

Mono County Collaborative Planning Team (CPT)
The Collaborative Planning Team includes all of the Federal, State, and local agencies that operate in Mono County. These include Benton Paiute Reservation, Bridgeport Indian Colony, CA Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, Caltrans, Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board, LADWP, Town of Mammoth Lakes, Mono County, National Park Service (Devil’s Postpile and Yosemite National Park), USDA/USFS (Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest and Inyo National Forest), BLM, US and Nevada Fish and Wildlife, and US Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center. The CPT is an advisory board that allows the agencies to communicate with each other and coordinate on items of interest. The CPT may make endorsements, and meetings allow for an agency “roundtable” discussion. Mono County is responsible for administration of this meeting.

Current Council Appointments
Kim Cooke, Senior Planner
Amanda Rice, Councilmember (alternate)
Meeting schedule
Quarterly meetings, the last Thursday of January, April, July, and October in Suite Z.

7 Meetings usually last for half a day.

Town and County Liaison Committee
The Town and County Liaison Committee includes two Town Council members and two Mono County Board of Supervisors members, along with staff from both the Town of Mammoth Lakes and Mono County. The purpose of the Committee is to have an open meeting process to discuss items of mutual interest and to have a process in place to give updates on projects and work programs of mutual interest and benefit. Town staff administers and schedules these meetings. This committee was established by policy and is not legally required.

Councilmembers assigned to the Committee are selected by the Council, and the number of members may be modified and/or may include staff as a member and/or alternate. The Committee is subject to the requirements of the Brown Act.

Current Council Appointments
Bill Sauser, Mayor Pro Tem
Chris Bubser, Councilmember
Daniel C. Holler, Town Manager
Sarah Rea, Councilmember (alternate)
Meeting schedule
The Committee meets quarterly. Meetings may be adjusted and/or cancelled based on members’ availability, agenda items, or other conflicts.

Treasury Oversight Committee
The Treasury Oversight Committee includes members from the Town, Mono County, Mono County Office of Education, Eastern Sierra Unified School District, and the Mammoth Unified School District. The purpose of the Committee is to ensure the Treasury operates in compliance with the Treasury’s Investment Policy. At quarterly meetings of the Committee, the Treasury’s investment reports are reviewed, as well as any current topics that concern investments or investment policy. Mono County staff administers and schedules these meetings. The Committee is subject to the requirements of the Brown Act.

Current Council Appointments
Rob Patterson, Finance Director
Daniel C. Holler, Town Manager (alternate)
Meeting schedule
Quarterly meetings held virtually.

Town Council of Mammoth Lakes
Minutes of Regular Meeting
November 15, 2023, 3:15 p.m.
437 Old Mammoth Road, Suite Z, Mammoth Lakes
Members Present: Mayor John Wentworth, Mayor Pro Tem Bill Sauser, Councilmember Chris Bubser, Councilmember Sarah Rea,
Councilmember Amanda Rice
_____________________________________________________________________

1. RIBBON CUTTING CEREMONY

1.1 At 3:15 p.m. the Town Council will conduct a ribbon cutting ceremony and tour of the Mammoth Disposal transfer station and buyback center located at 59 Commerce Drive.

Members of the Town Council participated in the ribbon cutting ceremony.

2. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL
The Mayor called the meeting to order at 4:02 p.m. in the Council Chamber, 437 Old Mammoth Road, Suite Z, Mammoth Lakes.

3. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Dr. Tom Boo led the flag salute.

4. PUBLIC COMMENTS
Michael spoke about a proposal for a safe parking place.

Dr. Tom Boo said that he was reappointed as the Mono County Health Officer.

Town Council Minutes
November 15, 2023

CJ Sterling sent an email regarding the behavior of a Councilmember at a previous meeting.

Councilmember Rea apologized for her comments at the October 18th meeting.

5. ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA
There were no additions to the agenda.

6. REPORTS FROM COMMISSIONS AND/OR DEPARTMENTS (AS NEEDED) Town Manager Daniel C. Holler announced that the Lakes Basin would be closed at 5:00 p.m. today.

Town Attorney Andy Morris announced that both cases have been dismissed regarding the Main Street Taxpayers Association. There was discussion among members of Council and staff.

Engineering Manager Amy Callan gave a construction update regarding the Parcel Project. There was discussion among members of Council and staff.

Parks and Recreation Director Stuart Brown gave a presentation regarding the 2023 Annual Program and Facility Review and an update regarding the Community Recreation Center (CRC). There was discussion among members of Council and staff.

6.1 Mammoth Main Base Redevelopment Project Update (Mammoth Mountain Main Lodge Area).

Jen Murillo, Lisa Wise Consulting, gave an update regarding the Mammoth Main Base Redevelopment Project. There was discussion among members of Council and Ms. Murillo.

Mr. Holler announced that the Inyo National Forest had put out the notice regarding the Eastern Sierra Climate and Communities Resilience Project.

There was discussion among members of Council and staff.

7. INTRODUCTIONS

7.1 Introduce new Code Compliance Officer Sandra Grimaldo.

Interim Police Chief Dan Casabian introduced Ms. Grimaldo to the Council and the community.

Town Council Minutes
November 15, 2023

8. CONSENT AGENDA
Moved by Councilmember Amanda Rice
Seconded by Councilmember Sarah Rea
Approve the Consent Agenda.

For (5): Mayor John Wentworth, Mayor Pro Tem Bill Sauser, Councilmember Chris Bubser, Councilmember Sarah Rea, and Councilmember Amanda Rice Carried (5 to 0)

8.1 Approve the minutes of the regular meeting of November 1, 2023.

8.2 Accept Check Register 11/1/23 in the amount of $882,508.79.

9. POLICY MATTERS

9.1 Short Term Rental Study Report regarding temporary moratorium on the issuance of new short-term rental certificates.

Town Manager Daniel C. Holler outlined the information in the staff report.

There was discussion among members of Council and staff.

PUBLIC COMMENT:

John Morris, Chair of the Short Term Rental (STR) Advisory Committee, asked the Council for clarity regarding the direction of the Committee with regards to short term rentals and housing.

Chris Tramonte spoke about the connection between the moratorium and long term housing.

There was discussion among members of Council.

Sandy Hogan said that the Town needed to make the enforcement program better.

Teri Stehlik said that all of the things the Council said they wanted to accomplish could be done without a moratorium.

Moved by Councilmember Chris Bubser
Seconded by Councilmember Amanda Rice
Approve the draft Short-Term Rental Study Report and direct staff to issue the report on behalf of the Town.

Town Council Minutes
November 15, 2023

For (5): Mayor John Wentworth, Mayor Pro Tem Bill Sauser, Councilmember Chris Bubser, Councilmember Sarah Rea, and Councilmember Amanda Rice
Carried (5 to 0)

9.2 Receive an update on the FY23/24 Eastern Sierra Community Housing (ESCH) Work Program.

Acting Community and Economic development Director Nolan Bobroff outlined the information in the staff report. Eastern Sierra Community Housing (ESCH) Executive Director Patricia Robertson and Housing Navigator Olya Egorov gave a presentation regarding the ESCH work program. There was discussion among members of Council and Ms.

Robertson.

PUBLIC COMMENT:

Kirk Stapp said getting hourly employees for services was getting difficult due to housing issues.

Tom Hodges, Vice President of ESCH, said that the Board provided project management support along with consultant help. There was discussion between Mayor Wentworth and Mr. Hodges.

Michael talked about the support he received from ESCH.

Jennifer Kreitz, Mono County Board of Supervisors and Board Member of ESCH, thanked the Town and ESCH for working together to make the HomeKey Project happen.

9.3 Consider a request for additional funding for the Eastern Sierra Community Housing (formerly Mammoth Lakes Housing) Access Apartments project.

Acting Community and Economic Development Director Nolan Bobroff outlined the information in the staff report. Patricia Robertson, Eastern Sierra Community Housing (ESCH) Executive Director, and Erik GuzmanRangel, ESCH Program and Project Associate, gave a presentation regarding the Access Apartments Project. There was discussion among members of Council, staff, and ESCH staff.

Town Council Minutes
November 15, 2023

CONSENSUS:

The Town Council continued this item to the December 6th meeting.

PUBLIC COMMENT:

Jennifer Kreitz, Mono County Board of Supervisors and Member of the ESCH Board, spoke in support of funding the project.

Tom Hodges, Vice Chair of the ESCH Board, spoke in support of funding the project.

Sandy Hogan spoke in support of funding the project.

10. COUNCILMEMBER REPORTS
Mayor Wentworth attended the Rural Voices for Conservation Conference in Tahoe and the STR Advisory Committee meeting.

Mayor Pro Tem Sauser attended the League of California Cities Desert Mountain Division meeting in Victorville and the Local Transportation Committee meeting.

Councilmember Bubser attended the STR Advisory Committee meeting.

Councilmember Rice attended the STR Advisory Committee meeting and the Eastern Sierra Community Housing Board meeting.

Councilmember Rea attended the Mammoth Lakes Recreation Board meeting.

11. ADJOURNMENT
The Council adjourned the meeting at 7:38 p.m.

Jamie Gray, Town Clerk

Mammoth Lakes Town Council
Agenda Action Sheet
1 Title: Consider approval of a request for an additional $700,000 in funding for the Eastern Sierra Community Housing Access Apartments project Council Meeting Date: 12/6/2023
Prepared by: Nolan Bobroff, Acting Community and Economic Development Director Recommended Motion: Approve the allocation of an additional $700,000 in funding to be committed to the Access Apartments project.

Summary: The Town has received a funding request from Eastern Sierra Community Housing (ESCH) (formerly Mammoth Lakes Housing) for additional funding to be committed to the Access Apartments affordable housing project located at 238 Sierra Manor Road. This project was originally envisioned as an 11-unit project (1-br units) with the units being affordable to households earning between 30% - 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI).

The project is now a 13-unit project ([11] 1-br and [2] studio units) with the units being affordable to households earning between 30% - 120% of the Area Median Income (AMI). The change to provide 120% AMI units (3 units) is beneficial for the Town with regards to satisfying our State RHNA goals.

The current estimated cost of the project is $10.7M, which includes acquisition, soft costs, construction, contingency, project operating/replacement reserves, and the developer fee. To date, $9.9M has been committed to the project from a variety of sources including the Town, Mono County, Federal grants (CDBG and HOME), and private donations. A detailed breakdown of the construction costs and funding commitments is below. This leaves a gap of approximately $820,000 to fully fund the project; however, it is important to point out that ESCH has largely paid off the land loan (remaining loan balance of ~$393,000) and the design soft costs have been previously paid for by ESCH.

Staff’s recommendation is to provide an additional $700,000 to the project, with the expectation that the remaining gap (~$120,000) be filled by ESCH from the existing equity in the project (land value or other soft cost expenses previously paid for). If the additional funding request is approved, the funds will come from the Housing Now! program and the unallocated fund balance from FY 22/23. To assist the project’s cash flow the Town is proposing to provide our funding up front and Mono County may also be asked to do so. Providing cash flow eliminates the need for ESCH to take out a construction loan, eliminating associated costs. The project is currently fully funded, including the reimbursement to ESCH of a majority of previously expended funds.

2 Construction Costs Funding Sources
Land 1 $1,255,374 HOME $3,400,000
Rehab Costs $6,990,871 Home (Additional award for 2 new units)
$800,000
A&E + Other Soft Costs $801,441 CDBG $2,790,698
Loan Costs $0 CDBG – Admin fees reallocated to
the project
$210,000
Insurance & Taxes $187,500 Land Donation $50,000
Permit & DIFs (Nov-2023) $175,063 Town of Mammoth Lakes $1,500,000 Reserves $60,000 Mono County $600,000
Contingency $740,432 CESH $60,000
Developer Fee $351,000 Continuum of Care $15,000
TOTAL $10,725,064 Private Donations $185,000
1 MLH has a remaining loan balance due of $392,643 and
the seller provided a $50K land donation credit; MLH has ~$812,000 in equity.
2 The Town is proposing to provide sufficient funds up-front to cash-flow the project during construction, and avoid the need for a construction loan.

Fee Waiver (Library) $20,000
Deferred Developer Fee $80,000
Enterprise – Section 4 $45,000
Whole Person Care – MC $149,545
TOTAL $9,905,243
Gap $819,821
Additional Town Contribution $700,000
Remaining Gap $119,821 To be funded by ESCH

1 Jamie Gray
From: Melissa Swan <[email protected]>
Sent: Saturday, December 2, 2023 12:13 PM
To: Jamie Gray
Subject: Please forward to all town council members
[EXTERNAL EMAIL]
Dear town council members,
I am writing you to request that you completely fund the remaining amount needed to get the access apartments completely funded and the pre construction contract signed and the ball rolling on this extremely important project.

As a local business owner (White Swan Handyman and Remodeling, Inc), I know first hand how difficult it is for employees in my company to find housing. If a worker doesn't get along with his or her roommate the usual result is that one has to leave town because there's no other housing available. Mammoth desperately needs housing for workers, NOT MORE TOURISTS! One of my employees is trying to survive the winter living in his car, which affects his mental and physical health. This is a huge problem for our town.

As a landlord, one of my tenants had to leave town suddenly and unexpectedly, and I had over 50 people vying to apply to rent my vacant condo. At showings, I had several interested parties try to hand me cash to secure a lease. Many applicants said they were camping out and would leave town if they had to spend winter lodged in their cars or a tent. The need for housing and shelter for the local workers is DIRE and (IMHO) should be the council's top priority. I believe all available funds should be diverted from attracting more tourists (they will continue to visit even if all marketing were discontinued) and should be spent where the need is greatest: housing for our local work force.

Furthermore, I don't know a single local who disagrees with me. I have lived here long enough to remember the General Plan, and (if I remember correctly) over 70% of locals agreed that Mammoth should make sure that the local workers stay part of our community instead of being bussed in from, say, Bishop or even further away. There is a broad local consensus that this is the direction we believe Mammoth should go, and I encourage every town council member to do their very best to make this happen.

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Mammoth Lakes Town Council
Agenda Action Sheet
Title: Request to Caltrans to complete a Relinquishment Assessment Report for State Route 203.

Council Meeting Date: 12/6/2023
Prepared by: Daniel C. Holler, Town Manager
Amy Callanan, Engineering Manager
Recommended Motion: Review and approve letter to Caltrans requesting a Relinquishment Assessment Report be completed for all or a portion of State Route 203 in the Town of Mammoth Lakes.

Summary:

Governor Newsom signed SB 606 which is scheduled to become law on January 1, 2024. SB 606 amends Section 503 of the Streets and Highways Code, granting the California Transportation Commission (CTC) the authority to relinquish all or a portion of Caltrans State Route (SR) 203 to the Town of Mammoth Lakes. The process for consideration by Town to consider accepting all, a portion, or none of SR 203 in Mammoth Lakes is to request a Relinquishment Assessment Report (RAR) be completed by Caltrans. A draft letter to Caltrans making this request is attached for Council review, modification, and approval.

______________________________________________________________________________ December 7, 2023
Ryan Dermody
California Department of Transportation (Caltrans)
District 9 Director
500 South Main Street
Bishop, CA 93514
[email protected]
RE: request for preparation of SR 203 Relinquishment Assessment Report Dear Mr. Dermody,
As you know, SB 606 was signed by Governor Newsom and is scheduled to become law on January 1, 2024. SB 606 amends Section 503 of the Streets and Highways Code, granting the California Transportation Commission (CTC) the authority to relinquish all or a portion of Caltrans State Route (SR) 203 to the Town of Mammoth Lakes. The Town Council of the Town of Mammoth Lakes submitted a letter of general support for the bill to Senator Alvarado-Gil this past June, with the understanding that the letter and the bill did not require any action by the Town and did not specifically commit the Town to any future action.

We understand that the next step in the potential relinquishment process is for Caltrans to develop a Relinquishment Assessment Report (RAR). The RAR would evaluate whether relinquishment is in the best long term interest of the State, and more specifically provides a focused look at the route’s existing conditions, future transportation needs and demands, and its importance to the movement of people and goods and information from a statewide, interregional, and regional perspective. Caltrans will use the RAR to determine the appropriateness of relinquishment, and if determined appropriate, to then initiate the full relinquishment process. Analysis of SR 203 by logical segments through the Town will be beneficial to our considerations.

Any relinquishment to the Town would only occur upon execution of a resolution containing terms and conditions mutually agreed upon between the Town and Caltrans and in compliance with applicable requirements of the Federal Highway Administration and the United States Forest Service. And while the Town maintains no commitment currently to accept all or any portion of SR 203, since the majority of the existing highway sits within the Town limits, we understand the value of engaging in a dialogue with Caltrans regarding the future status of the highway.

As such, we respectfully request that Caltrans prepare a Relinquishment Assessment Report covering the entirety of State Route 203. We would recommend that the RAR evaluate the highway in logical segments, to better facilitate conversations between the Town and Caltrans regarding which portion of the road, if any, may be deemed appropriate for relinquishment. We look forward to working with you on this process.

Sincerely,
Mayor
Town of Mammoth Lakes
Mammoth Lakes Town Council
P.O. Box 1609, Mammoth Lakes, CA, 93546
(760) 965-3600
www.townofmammothlakes.ca.gov

1 TOWN COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
Title: E-Bike Ordinance and Municipal Code Update
Meeting Date: December 6, 2023
Prepared by: Lawson Reif, Outdoor Recreation Manager
RECOMMENDATION:

Provide feedback and approval of proposed e-Bike ordinance/municipal code.

BACKGROUND:

The proliferation of e-Bikes and other modes of transportation have resulted in congestion and dangerous conditions on Town Multi-Use Pathways (MUPs), Sidewalks, and Trails. Currently, the Town of Mammoth Lakes (TOML) has no ordinance or Municipal Code to govern MUPs, Sidewalks, and Trails which prevents the Mammoth Lakes Police Department from both issuing citations and effectively educating the public.

ANALYSIS:

This ordinance/municipal code serves to address safety issues on TOML MUPs, Sidewalks, and Trails by creating a mechanism to allow for MLPD to ticket violators, while also providing MLPD with more teeth to educate users. Having an ordinance such as this creates consequences to inappropriate use, which allows for more effective educational opportunities.

This ordinance/municipal code seeks to address the following conditions TOML is facing on Town Multi-Use Pathways (MUPs), Sidewalks, and Trails:
 Establishes formal definitions for various alternative transportation devices.
 Establishes an enforceable 15 mph speed limit.
 Addresses the use of & defines e-Dirt Bikes on Town Multi-Use Pathways (MUPs), Sidewalks, and Trails.
 Addresses reckless driving or hazardous driving.
 Addresses operation while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

This ordinance/municipal code will help to ensure a safer environment on TOML MUPs, Sidewalks, and Trails along with providing better opportunities to educate our locals and visitors.

ORDINANCE NO. 23-

AN ORDINANCE OF THE TOWN COUNCIL

OF THE TOWN OF MAMMOTH LAKES
ADOPTING MUNICIPAL CODE CHAPTER 10.24 REGARDING
VEHICLES ON TRAILS, MULTI-USE PATHWAYS (MUPs), AND SIDEWALKS WHEREAS, the multi-use trail system in Mammoth Lakes is popular with both residents and visitors; and
WHEREAS, a variety of alternative transportation devices have become available, many of them powered by electric motors, which make trails accessible to more people and allow trail users to experience trails in different ways; and WHEREAS, the growing popularity of alternative transportation devices has in some cases created conflicts between trail users and has resulted in a need to adopt an ordinance regulating how such devices may be used on Town trails;

THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF MAMMOTH LAKES, STATE OF CALIFORNIA, DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:

Section 1: The Town Council hereby amends the Mammoth Lakes Municipal Code by adopting a new Chapter 10.24 – Vehicles on Trails, Multi-Use Pathways (MUPs), and Sidewalks, as set forth in Exhibit “A” attached hereto and incorporated herein.

Section 2: EFFECTIVE DATE OF ORDINANCE
This Ordinance shall become effective and enforceable thirty (30) days from and after the date of its adoption.

Section 3: POSTING
The Town Clerk shall, within fifteen (15) days after the passage of this ordinance, cause it to be posted at the duly designated posting places established by resolution of the Town Council, published once in a newspaper of general circulation, and entered in the Book of Ordinances of the Town.

Section 4: SEVERABILITY
If any provision of this ordinance of the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications, and to this end the provisions of this ordinance are declared to be severable.

The foregoing Ordinance was introduced on the 6th day of December, 2023, and PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED on the 20th day of December, 2023.

Ordinance No. 23-

_________________________________
NAME OF MAYOR, Mayor
ATTEST:
__________________________
Jamie Gray, Town Clerk

Ordinance No. 23-

EXHIBIT “A"
CHAPTER 10.24 VEHICLES ON TRAILS, MULTI-USE PATHWAYS (MUPs) AND

SIDEWALKS

10.24.010 Purpose
The purpose of this chapter is to establish regulations and guidelines for the use of alternative transportation devices on trails within the Town of Mammoth Lakes. This chapter aims to promote safe and responsible usage of such devices while ensuring the well-being and enjoyment of all trail users and continuing the promotion of alternative transportation devices as a viable option to the private automobile.

10.24.020 Definitions
A. Motorized vehicle: A vehicle that is self-propelled, provided that this term shall have the same meaning as set forth in California Vehicle Code Section 415, regarding “motor vehicles”, as it may be amended from time to time.

B. Alternative transportation device: A human-powered and/or electric-powered device used for personal transportation on paved trails, sidewalks, or designated areas, as an alternative to conventional modes of transportation such as automobiles. These devices are typically smaller, more lightweight, and environmentally friendly compared to traditional vehicles. Alternative transportation devices shall consist of:
i. Bicycles: Human-powered devices with one or more wheels propelled solely by pedaling.
ii. Electric Bicycles (e-bikes): Bicycles equipped with “fully operable” pedals and an electric motor that assists the rider's pedaling effort with a power output of not more than 750 watts, or 1 horsepower, and which are unmodified. Any electric bicycle not meeting this definition is not an “alternative transportation device” for purpose of this chapter.
iii. Electric Scooters: Electric motorized devices with two or three wheels, typically standing or seated, powered by an electric motor with a power output of not more than 750 watts and which are unmodified. Any electric scooter not meeting this definition is not an “alternative transportation device” for purpose of this chapter. iv. Electrically Motorized Boards: Any wheeled devices that have a floorboard designed to be stood upon when riding that is not greater than 60 inches deep and 18 inches wide, are designed to transport only one person, and have a power output of not more than 750 watts and which are unmodified. Any electrically motorized board not meeting this definition is not an “alternative transportation device” for purpose of this chapter.

Ordinance No. 23-

v. Other Emerging Devices: Any new or innovative personal transportation devices that become available and fall within the scope of alternative transportation with a power output of not more than 750 watts and which are unmodified. Any personal transportation device not meeting this definition or at least one other definition in this subsection B is not an “alternative transportation device” for purpose of this chapter.
vi. Rollerblades/Roller Skates: Boots or shoes fitted with small wheels, enabling users to glide over paved surfaces by propelling themselves with leg movements. vii. Scooters: Self-propelled two-wheeled devices that have handlebars, and a floorboard that is designed to be stood upon when riding. viii. Segways: Self-balancing, non-tandem, two wheeled devices that are not greater than 20 inches deep, 25 inches wide, and 60 inches high; can turn in place; designed to transport only one person; have a power output of not more than 750 watts; and are unmodified, whether sold under the Segway brand name or another name. Any personal transportation device not meeting this definition or at least one other definition in this subsection B is not an “alternative transportation device” for purpose of this chapter.
ix. Skateboards: Narrow boards with wheels, typically used by riders for propulsion by foot pushing or electric-powered motors.
x. Wheelchairs and Mobility Scooters: Electric or manually propelled devices used by individuals with mobility challenges for transportation purposes.

10.24.030 Prohibitions
It is unlawful for any person or persons to operate: (a) any device with an internal combustion engine; (b) an electric bicycle not meeting the definition in Section 10.24.020; (c) any device not meeting at least one of the “alternative transportation device” definitions in Section

10.24.020; and/or (d) a motorized vehicle, including without limitation motorcycles, cars, trucks, or motorbikes, on a Town owned or operated/maintained: (i) multi-use path, sidewalk, or trail; (ii) equestrian trail; or (iii) hiking or recreational trail, unless such operation is within a roadway, parking area or other specifically designated area for motorized vehicle use.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, personnel, vehicles, equipment, and materials may be brought onto a trail by any of the following: (i) owners of the property over which the trail is maintained pursuant to an easement granted to the Town; or (ii) holders of easements for access or other purposes over the land occupied by the trail. Any such use of a trail shall be made in such a way as to minimize disruption to the use of the trail by others. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the prohibitions in this section 10.24.030 are not intended to apply to or otherwise restrict any “motorized quadricycle,” “motorized tricycle” or “electric wheelchair,” as defined in California Vehicle Code Section 407 and/or the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), utilized by persons who by reason of physical disability are otherwise unable to move about as a pedestrian.

Ordinance No. 23-

10.24.040 Allowed Uses
Notwithstanding Section 10.24.030 of this code, or any other provision of law, motorized vehicles may be operated by the Town of Mammoth Lakes, or its employees, contractors, and designees, upon the trails for the purpose of maintenance/snow removal or other public safety purposes at the sole discretion of the Town. First responders, including but not limited to law enforcement, fire, emergency medical personnel and other authorized individuals responsible for maintaining public safety and enforcing the law may patrol paved trails within the Town of Mammoth Lakes using motorized vehicles as necessary for their official duties. All alternative transportation devices, as defined in Section 10.24.020, are allowed on multi-use trails.

10.24.050 Reckless Operation of Alternative Transportation Devices on Trails No person shall operate any alternative transportation device on Town-owned or operated trails in a reckless manner. For purposes of this section, “reckless” shall mean operation of a device in willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property, the natural environment, and specifically includes, but is not limited to, the following specific conduct:

A. The speed limit for any device shall not exceed 15 miles per hour, but in no instance shall the speed allowed be greater than is reasonable and prudent under the existing conditions having due regard for terrain, weather, visibility, including time of day, pedestrian, and vehicular traffic on or crossing the trail, and condition of the device.

B. Operation on the trail in such a reckless manner as to result in loss of control of the device.

C. Operation in such a manner as to result in a collision or accident involving any vehicle, property or pedestrian.

D. Operation when the operator is under the influence of any alcoholic beverage or drug as those terms are defined in CA Vehicle Code Section 23152.

E. Operation in such a manner as to endanger wildlife, domestic animals, life, limb, or property of any person.

F. Carrying passengers on any alternative transportation device not designed or equipped for such transport is prohibited, except in cases where the device is specifically designed and/or modified and labeled for passenger use.

G. A person operating an alternative transportation device may not wear a headset covering, earplugs in, or earphones covering, resting on, or inserted in, both ears.

H. A person shall not drive an alternative transportation device on any trail while using a wireless telephone unless that telephone is specifically designed and configured to allow hands-free listening and talking and is used in that manner while driving or riding.

10.24.060 Violation
A violation of this chapter shall constitute an infraction and shall be punishable by a fine as provided in Section 1.12.020 of this code.

1 TOWN COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
Title: ESCCRP (Wildfire Fuels Reduction Project) Engagement & Public Comment
Meeting Date: December 6, 2023
Prepared by: Lawson Reif, Outdoor Recreation Manager
RECOMMENDATION:

Approve submission of public comment, with additions or subtractions as suggested, regarding the Eastern Sierra Climate & Communities Resilience Project (ESCCRP).

BACKGROUND:

A draft environmental analysis (EA) for the ESCCRP was released by the Inyo National Forest on November 15, 2023, and contains a 30 day public comment period. This draft EA outlines the project’s scope & scale, techniques to achieve project goals, and considerations related to archeological & biological resources.

ANALYSIS:

Upon further review of the draft EA, the document outlines the purpose and need for the project and accurately tells the story of the potential impacts of catastrophic wildfire on the landscape, which could have particularly devastating impacts to the Town of Mammoth Lakes (TOML) and Mono County. The document outlines the need to improve community resilience, ecosystem health, and prepare the landscape for the reintroduction of beneficial fire.

In total, staff recommends supporting the document as a whole with particular emphasis on two items:

1. Ensuring (to the extent possible) limited impacts to recreational resources as possible.

2. Further support treating the entire project area, including Inventoried Roadless Areas (IRA’s).

Being that recreation is the lifeblood of our community, we included comments limiting the impact on recreational amenities with project implementation. Similarly, due to the importance of wholistic treatment of the areas immediately adjacent to TOML, supporting the full-scale treatment of the entire project area contained in the draft EA, including IRA’s.

December 6, 2023
Re: Town of Mammoth Lakes Town Council Eastern Sierra Climate and Communities Resilience Project (ESCCRP) Public Comment
Dear Inyo National Forest Supervisor Yen,
For your consideration, please find the public comments of the Mammoth Lakes Town Council regarding the ESCCRP draft Environmental Assessment (EA). Town Council unequivocally supports the ESCCRP project in its entirety, and unless otherwise stated, is supportive of the current EA. The Council discussed its recommendations provided herein at a public meeting on December 6th, 2023.

This project is not only vital from a forest health perspective but is also essential for long term resilience and community protection. The EA adequately addresses these issues along with preparing the landscape for the reintroduction of beneficial fire which will serve as an invaluable management tool into the future. We encourage that the implementation of this work be managed to limit impacts on recreational amenities, and to the extent possible enhance these existing amenities.

The Town of Mammoth Lakes (TOML) would also recommend following the latest science on recommended tree densities and apply that logic to the entire program area, including the Inventoried Roadless Areas (IRA’s). Due to their proximity to the Town, elevated tree densities, and high mortality these areas are essential for treatment.

The importance of this project cannot be underestimated, and one may look no further than the recent Caldor Fire near Lake Tahoe. A similar project in that region helped to protect South Lake Tahoe from a potentially catastrophic result. Like Lake Tahoe, wildfire here would not only endanger residents, but the thousands of visitors that visit our mountain community.

Lastly, the Town’s 2019 Community Wildlife Protection Plan identifies an increasing potential for wildfires to affect the area and fuels treatments were identified as a critical measure to mitigate that risk. As such, the Eastern Sierra Climate & Communities Resilience Project (ESCCRP) continues to have our full support.

Sincerely,
Daniel C. Holler
Town Manager
CC: Town Council
Lawson Reif, Outdoor Recreation Manager
Town of Mammoth Lakes
Town Manager’s Office
437 Old Mammoth RD, Suite 230
P.O. Box 1609 Mammoth Lakes, CA 93546
Phone (760) 965-3601, Fax 934-7493
[email protected]
www.townofmammothlakes.ca.gov

1 TOWN COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
Title: Council Strategic Priorities and Key Objectives Update for 2024.

Meeting Date: December 6, 2023
Prepared by: Daniel C. Holler, Town Manager
RECOMMENDATION:

Provide Direction for completing Council Strategic Priorities and Key Objectives for 2024.

OVERVIEW
The Council has defined a set of strategic priorities and key objectives to guide staff work programs and investment of available resources. The current set of priorities was adopted July 20, 2022 (See Attached). The following update is presented for consideration to narrow the Council’s focus for consensus direction to guide Council and Town leadership through 2024. This direction will be used to develop a final draft recommendation to be finalized by the Council at your December 20, 2023, meeting. The goal is to craft a onepage Strategic Priority and Key Objective Statement. This statement will assist the Town through the transition in key staff leadership positions. Clarity on priorities also informs the allocation of resources through regular budget updates and in the preparation of the fiscal year budget.

The primary purpose in defining a limited set of Strategic Priorities and Key Objectives is to set realistic work program and core expectations for the staff, Council and public. If there are too many ‘priorities’ or they are overly broad, measuring success becomes difficult and the lack of direction makes implementation difficult. The current process has served the Town well and throughout the process actions taken to achieve objectives driven by priorities are measurable. Setting a limited number of near term (12 months) strategic priorities is difficult. The tendency is to broaden the statements to incorporate a larger scope of work, capture similar words or ideas, rather than working to build a consensus on narrower and more achievable priorities. The setting of clear key objectives allows the staff and the Council to allocate resources and implement specific tactics and actions that can be measured, driven by the stated priority. The process does not need to go to the task level or specific action as that is the work of staff in setting the work program to achieve the objectives and move the Town forward in achieving priorities and the near term vision for the community. The proposed statement for discussion does include some higher level statements linked to current activities and concepts expressed by Council over the past several months. Over the past few years, the 2007 General Plan Vision Statement has served as the large vision statement. This has generally worked due to the broad nature of the statement.

2 Setting Strategic Priorities
This narrow set of priorities and objectives represents a small part of the Town’s overall work program and allocation of resources. The day-to-day core operations of the Town consume 85% to 90% of staff time and financial resources. This work does overlap with Council priorities, which often emphasize or build off of core services. For example, the completion of the new Community Recreation Center is a priority reflective of the Town’s commitment to providing quality recreational programming and services as a core function of the Town. It also reflects stated values of enhanced amenities, integration of service, i.e., parking with EV charging, transit, and mobility connectivity. As seen over the past several years, this process allows for strategic investments in projects, services and programs based on Council and community expressed needs and priorities.

As noted, most of the Town’s work efforts focus on cores services such as meeting statutory requirements, processing development applications/permits/licenses/, accounting and financial management, police services, snow removal, road maintenance, vehicle maintenance, parks and facilities maintenance and programs, personnel, meeting management, risk management, capital improvements, and several other ongoing services and programs. The Town has also taken on additional long-term operations and programs as part of the core functions of the Town, this includes the Office of Outdoor Recreation, Arts and Culture facilities and programs, expanded recreational facilities, the Housing Now! Initiative, expanded capital programs, enhanced amenities on the National Forest, engagement on regional projects such as fuels reduction economic development, air service, and emergency management.

STRATEGIC PRIORITIES AND KEY OBJECTIVES DISCUSSION
The following proposed set of priorities and objectives is based on current work programs, Council comments over the past several months, and actions taken. The Strategic Priorities reflect four areas including:

1. The quality of life of our residents linked to community focused investment.

2. The health and vibrancy of the local economy.

3. The resiliency and sustainability of our natural environment.

4. The ongoing need for solid financial management and delivery of Town services.

The following Strategic Priority statements were made to reflect these four areas which have dominated much of the Council and community conversation. The set of Key Objectives also reflect current work programs and areas of investment that have been discussed. Several projects and programs are in place and the focus provided in the proposed statements gives staff direction for implementation of specific tasks and actions.

A. Strategic Priority: Investment in Community Focused Projects

1. Continue implementation of the Town’s Housing Now! Initiative suite of programs to deliver a mix of community housing opportunities.

2. Complete community facilities to enhance programs and services including, community recreation center, performing arts venues, childcare, and parks.

3 3. Implement connections and development of “mobility hubs” - walking, biking, and transit, with added amenities (e.g., EV stations, Rest Rooms, and MUPs).

4. Finalize design for new broadband infrastructure deployment.

B. Strategic Priority: Enhance the sustainability and diversity of the local business and tourism economy

1. Work with partners on amenity enhancements on federal lands to enhance experiences and year round Town visitation with improved multi-use recreational access points with trails, parking, signage, transit, and rest rooms.

2. Invest in beautification of primary business frontages and business supporting services (i.e., signage, rest rooms, animation, parking, snow management).

3. Engage in the Mammoth Main Base Redevelopment Project to ensure community benefits and long-term added economic value to the Town and region.

4. Leverage state and other resources to support regional arts & culture, events, and sports related facilities to host regional events.

C. Strategic Priority: Environmental resiliency through proactive planning and project implementation

1. Support marketing and on-the ground engagement to develop a culture of stewardship, responsible recreation, and preparedness for natural disasters.

2. Provide support for long-term forest recreational, and health and safety projects such as ESCCRP, USFS planning processes, and amenity investment, working with local and regional partners.

3. Engage with recreational planning and new development projects with a focus on adaptation/resiliency/mitigation strategies to preserve long-term vitality and diversity of uses of the natural environment.

4. Pursue funding sources to support forest wildfire mitigation projects such as federal and State grants, EIFD/Climate Resiliency Districts and Town resources.

D. Strategic Priority: Implementation of enhanced and required municipal services

1. Maintain long-term financial stability to support strategic community investments and resiliency and long-term maintenance and sustainability of capital investments.

2. Enhance Town’s public outreach/engagement/information strategies, tools, social media, surveys, customer facing technology services and direct public engagement.

3. Completion of “Civic Center” vision with construction of new Town Offices.

4. Implementation of programs to meet State mandates in the areas of solid waste management, electrification, housing development and climate change.

Short-Term Vision
The process includes the development of a guiding short-term vision statement. This statement builds off the larger vision statement contained in the 2007 General Plan, as provided on the final Statement document. This short term vision statement is used to define the overall focus of the Strategic Priorities and Key Objectives for the coming year.

The following statement is presented for consideration:

4 SHORT TERM VISION: “Investing in Our Community Quality of Life through Economic, Environmental, and Financial Sustainability and Community Vibrancy” This vision statement is tailored to reflect the proposed updated priorities and the objectives. It is intended to reflect the near-term efforts of the Town Council. Incremental success with the near-term priorities ultimately moves the Town closer to fulfilling the broader vision as stated in the General Plan.

This vision captures current and future efforts being made to improve the overall quality of life for residents in terms of housing, economy, amenities, and preservation of our natural landscape. The sustainability and resiliency of our economy as measured by the prosperity of the community is tied directly to the ability of our workforce to live and work in the community. The idea of vibrancy is reflected in the activities, programs, services, livability, and engagement of the community. This is reflected in well planned and thoughtful capital investment designed to meet expressed needs of families/individuals and enhanced services. The statement recognizes the threat of catastrophic wildfire, the need for a healthy forest ecosystem, reliance on federal agencies, the ongoing need to cultivate a culture of respect and value for our “place” and to engage in sustainable practices in our homes and businesses. We need to be mindful of imposed State mandates, the ability to respond to the ongoing challenges created by regional and national economic trends, climate change related future uncertainties, and natural disasters. The draft Strategic Priories and Key Objectives remind us that ultimately, we rely largely on our own resources – financial and people – to deliver the services, programs, projects and implement actions that make the Town of Mammoth Lakes a desirable place to live, visit and enjoy.

A DRAFT updated version is provided to assist in the discussion. A final version will be brought back to the Council for review and adoption. The previous Strategic Priories and Key Objectives Statement “Updated July 20, 2022” is attached for Council reference.

5 SHORT TERM VISION: “INVESTING IN OUR COMMUNITY QUALITY OF LIFE THROUGH ECONOMIC, ENVIRONMENTAL, AND FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY” General Plan Vision Statement – 2007
COMMUNITY VISION Surrounded by uniquely
spectacular scenery and diverse four-season
recreational opportunities, the community of
Mammoth Lakes is committed to providing the very
highest quality of life for our residents and the highest quality of experience for our visitors.

To achieve this vision, Mammoth Lakes places a high
value on:

1. Sustainability and continuity of our unique
relationship with the natural environment. As
stewards, we support visitation and tourism as
appropriate means to educate and share our abundant
resources. We are committed to the efficient use of
energy and continuing development of renewable
resources.

2. Being a great place to live and work. Our strong,
diverse yet cohesive, small-town community supports
families and individuals by providing a stable
economy, high quality educational facilities and
programs, a broad range of community services and a
participatory Town government.

3. Adequate and appropriate housing that residents
and workers can afford.

4. Being a premier, year-round resort community
based on diverse outdoor recreation, multiday events
and an ambiance that attracts visitors.

5. Protecting the surrounding natural environment
and supporting our small-town atmosphere by limiting
the urbanized area.

6. Exceptional standards for design and development
that complement and are appropriate to the Eastern
Sierra Nevada Mountain setting and our sense of a
“village in the trees” with small town charm.

7. Offering a variety of transportation options that
emphasize connectivity, convenience, and
alternatives to use of personal vehicles with a
strong pedestrian emphasis.

Town Council Strategic Priorities and Key Objectives Statement (December 2023)
Strategic Priority: Investment in Community Focused Projects  Complete construction on Phase 1 (81 units), complete core infrastructure and approve development plans for Phase 2 and funding participation (148 Units) of The Parcel  Implement Housing Now! Initiatives to deliver diverse housing solutions working with private sector and other agencies locally and regionally.
 Pursue implementation of sustainable funding source(s) for community housing including EIFD.  Collect and analyze data on short-term rental for compliance with Town codes and impact on local housing market and review Town code for updates.

Strategic Priority: Enhance sustainability and diversity of local business and tourism economy.  Continue implementation of the Town’s Housing Now! Initiative suite of programs to deliver a mix of community housing opportunities.
 Complete community facilities to enhance programs and services including, community recreation center, performing arts venues, childcare, and parks.
 Implement connections and development of “mobility hubs” - walking, biking, and transit, with added amenities (e.g., EV stations, Rest Rooms, and MUPs).
 Finalize design for new broadband infrastructure deployment.

Strategic Priority: Environmental resiliency by proactive planning and project implementation  Support marketing and on-the ground engagement to develop a culture of stewardship, responsible recreation, and preparedness for natural disasters.
 Provide support for long-term forest recreational, and health and safety projects such as ESCCRP, USFS planning processes, and amenity investment, working with local and regional partners.  Engage with recreational planning and development projects with a focus on adaptation, resiliency, & mitigation strategies to preserve long-term vitality and diversity of uses in the natural environment.  Pursue funding sources to support forest wildfire mitigation projects such as federal and state grants, EIFD/Climate Resiliency Districts and Town resources.

Strategic Priority: Implementation of enhanced and required municipal services.  Maintain long-term financial stability to support strategic community investments and resiliency and long-term maintenance and sustainability of capital investments.  Enhance Town’s public outreach/engagement/information strategies, tools, social media, surveys, customer facing technology services and direct public engagement.  Completion of “Civic Center” vision with construction of new Town Offices.  Implementation of programs to meet state mandates in the areas of solid waste management, electrification, housing development and climate change.

6 SHO RT TE RM VISI ON: INVESTING IN THE SUSTAINABILITY AND RESILIENCY OF THE GREATER MAMMOTH LAKES COMMUNITY General Plan Vision Statement – 2007
COMMUNITY VISION Surrounded by uniquely
spectacular scenery and diverse four-season
recreational opportunities, the community of
Mammoth Lakes is committed to providing the very
highest quality of life for our residents and the highest quality of experience for our visitors.

To achieve this vision, Mammoth Lakes places a high
value on:

1. Sustainability and continuity of our unique
relationship with the natural environment. As
stewards, we support visitation and tourism as
appropriate means to educate and share our abundant
resources. We are committed to the efficient use of
energy and continuing development of renewable
resources.

2. Being a great place to live and work. Our strong,
diverse yet cohesive, small-town community supports
families and individuals by providing a stable
economy, high quality educational facilities and
programs, a broad range of community services and a
participatory Town government.

3. Adequate and appropriate housing that residents
and workers can afford.

4. Being a premier, year-round resort community
based on diverse outdoor recreation, multiday events
and an ambiance that attracts visitors.

5. Protecting the surrounding natural environment
and supporting our small-town atmosphere by limiting
the urbanized area.

6. Exceptional standards for design and development
that complement and are appropriate to the Eastern
Sierra Nevada Mountain setting and our sense of a
“village in the trees” with small town charm.

7. Offering a variety of transportation options that
emphasize connectivity, convenience, and
alternatives to use of personal vehicles with a
strong pedestrian emphasis.

Town Council Strategic Priorities and Key Objectives Statement (Updated July 20, 2022)
Strategic Priority: Expand availability and affordability of Community Housing  Complete construction on Phase 1 (81 units), complete core infrastructure and approve development plans for Phase 2 and funding participation (148 Units) of The Parcel  Implement Housing Now! Initiatives to deliver diverse housing solutions working with private sector and other agencies locally and regionally.
 Pursue implementation of sustainable funding source(s) for community housing including EIFD.  Collect and analyze data on short-term rental for compliance with Town codes and impact on local housing market and review Town code for updates.

Strategic Priority: Enhance a sustainable recreation economy with partnerships & investment.  Office of Outdoor Recreation to coordinate with federal land managers on recreational investments, experiences, and planning related to federal lands.
 Enhance public recreational and community experience through focused destination management strategies for parking/transit, trailheads, and user services.  Implement land use planning agreement with MLF; complete Community Recreation Center (CRS) project; and define preferred options for permanent outdoor event venues.  Engage with partners on amenity improvements on federal lands and implementation of actions to reduce fire risk and improve forest health.

Strategic Priority: Investment in infrastructure improvements, and maintenance  Invest in community infrastructure planning, maintenance, and improvements (Roads, MUPs, Parks, Town Office, and Equipment).).
 Participate in regional Airport plan with partners and set strategic vision for Mammoth Yosemite Airport.  Ongoing update of prioritized 5-year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) and defined funding for annual implementation, including DIF update.
 Define and initiate mobility program including micro-mobility solutions, enhanced EV capacity, and transit improvements.

Strategic Priority: Implementation of enhanced and required municipal services.  Implement plans for Childcare facilities, purse funding for community fiber network planning, and implement operating lease with MLF for Edison Theatre.
 Finalize plans and agreements to implement CRIS based radio communications system.  Enhance Town’s public outreach/engagement/information strategies, tools, and tactics and enhance customer facing technology services.
 Maintain long-term financial stability to support strategic investment in infrastructure and services creating flexibility to respond to opportunities.

TOWN COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
Title: Presentation of Pre-Audit Financial Results for Fiscal Year 22-23, Fund Balance, Projects and Continuing Commitments
Meeting Date: December 6, 2023
Prepared by: Rob Patterson, Administrative Services / Finance Director RECOMMENDATION:

Staff recommends the Town Council receive the pre-audit actual financial presentation for Fiscal Year 22-23 and adopt the resolution amending the FY23-24 budget as recommended on Attachment A.

BACKGROUND:

Fund balance is the variance between revenue generated and expenses incurred in a particular fund.

These balances can grow if generated revenue exceeds expenses or decline in a planned use of fund balance or an unexpected economic downturn. Any available fund balance is retained in the fund where it was generated, if restricted, or can be allocated to other funds if unrestricted. Most of the discussion around staff recommendations is for General Fund, unrestricted, fund balance and used to support strategic Town Council initiatives.

An audit of the Town’s financial transactions is completed by an independent auditor each fiscal year.

In preparation for the audit, staff works to finalize all financial transactions and in doing so prepares a pre-audit actual for Town Council to consider. This provides the Council with an opportunity to review the prior year-end balances, to ratify adjustments to fund balances, to carry over funds for encumbrances, and review staff recommendations on remaining balances. The pre-audit financials are included in this report. The report provides an overview of all the Town’s funds with information provided as appropriate and staff recommendation for allocation of existing fund balances. The overview will provide the Council with a “snapshot” of the Town’s financial position by fund as of June 30, 2023.

ANALYSIS:

The review of our financial performance always begins with General Fund. Most of the activity is captured in this fund as it provides financial support for Town operations and can provide funding for the shortfall of other restricted funds throughout the year. Transient Occupancy Tax, the main driver of General Fund revenue, had a record setting year in FY22-23 with $29.48M received against a budget of $16.0M. This unallocated revenue is available for allocation by Town Council to fund projects with one-time funding to further strategic priorities and our Capital Improvement Program (CIP). Funds are allocated throughout the year as part of regular budget updates. These one-time contributions are a way to fund projects without incurring ongoing annual expenditures within the operating budget.

As stated above, review of fund balances involves a review of both revenue and expenditures to determine how all financial transactions impacted fund balance for the year. While the revenue was very strong for FY22-23 and expenses were kept within or close to budget the fund balance for General Fund increased by $6,183,863. While the Town Council did allocate realized revenues during the year, there was a more conservative allocation of funds. This was in part due to the unknown costs of the emergency response and potential damage the Town would need to address. While these impacts were significant

and the Town still has some work to complete, we believe we are in a good position to address other needs within the community. In total, through these quarterly budget reviews, the Town Council allocated a total of $12,559,550 in General Fund balance with another $3,644,433 recommended in this Fund Balance review. This amount is slightly more than the available fund balance and will be addressed in future budget updates, or a requested allocation may be reduced.

As stated above, Staff was conservative in recommendations for funding through the year to determine storm damage and other related expenses from FY22-23. The result is unallocated revenue over expenditures of $3,805,073.

This fund balance of $3,805,073 does not include items listed above as Un-spendable, Committed, or Assigned as they are not available for use of fund balance. However, the balance does include items committed in the prior year, by contract, project, or other allocation, to be expended in FY23-24. These items are identified below and will require the fund balance necessary to cover those expenditures to be reserved for such purposes. The carryover commitments are listed below and the total of $175,633 will reduce available fund balance to $3,629,440.

The carryover for Parks and Recreation equipment is a part of purchase made earlier in FY22-23 that was not invoiced until the new year. Since these funds were allocated for this purchase, staff is carrying over the budget, and funds to cover the cost. The disaster response amount is based on amounts allocated to cover the disaster compared to expenses received. This variance indicates either work that was not completed or invoiced during the fiscal year.

The winter storm disaster of FY22-23 was accounted for differently from COVID-19 where all the emergency expenditures and revenue were tracked in their own separate fund. That method was used because of the duration of the emergency and time it would take to resolve. Since the winter emergency encountered this year would be for a narrow period of time, accounting was retained in the General Fund.

Staff will make recommendations to utilize the separate fund balance approach going forward as it better accounts for both revenue and expenditures, retaining them in their own fund balance and not requiring this carryover method. To accomplish this, staff will rename Fund 105 from COVID-19 Response to Diaster Response and use this fund for the remainder of this emergency and any we enounter in the future.

Staff Recommendations
There are a few one-time funding needs that staff are recommending for Council consideration. They include General Fund support for Housing NOW! programs, Future Capital, Wildfire fuels reduction project, Equipment purchases and other expenses. Projects are listed below in order of priority.

Town Hall Financing Bond Reserve
Town staff are working on the financing plan for new Town Offices. The use of bond financing will require a bond reserve in the amount of the highest payment. The bond reserve will be held by the bond trustee (i.e., the bank used to make payments to bond holders). The Town has the option to borrow additional funds for the reserve or to provide cash for the reserve. Due to the cost of additional borrowing, staff are recommending that the reserve fund be provided in cash. The bond structure is still under review with an estimated reserve requirement of $1.8 million to $2 million. It is anticipated that bonds will need to be issued in April/May 2024. The recommended $1 million allocation will provide the initial 50% or more of the bond reserve. The remaining funds will need to be allocated in a subsequent budget adjustment or added to the amount to be borrowed.

Housing Now! Program Funding
Staff is recommending funding three programs within the Town’s Housing NOW! Initiative. The first is additional support for Easter Sierra Community Housing’s (ESCH) Access Apartments project. Staff are recommending an additional $700,000 be allocated to the project. This is currently less than the requested funding of $1.4 million. However subsequent review of funding needs identified that the project would be fully funded, and a significant portion of the request would provide a reimbursement to ESCH for funds they invested in the project.

Secondly, staff are recommending $950,000 be allocated to the Bridge Program. This program is used to purchase housing in the marketplace and then work to sell the housing units at a subsidized rate to qualified households. The program deed restricts the housing units at a defined income level for future sale to similarly qualified households. The Town is actively working on the purchase of three units under this program. The funding allocation, along with existing funds will allow for the potential purchase of these units without waiting for a unit to be sold.

Third, the Town is working on an option to purchase a small development site. If purchased, the site would be incorporated into the Town’s small site development program. Actual development will depend on future funding allocations to support the construction of housing units.

ESCCRP – Mono County Wildfire Fuels Reduction Project
The Eastern Sierra Climate & Communities Resiliency Project (ESCCRP) is focused on conducting fuels reduction work within the Inyo National Forest to reduce the threat of catastrophic wildfires. This Mono County Fuels Reduction project is currently undergoing environmental analysis. The project is being managed by the Whitebark Institute (Whitebark). The project has identified 58,000 acres for fuels treatments and restoration. The full cost of the fuel reduction work is not fully known but will be in the millions of dollars. To effectively manage and apply for grants, donations, creative financing alternatives, bonding, and other funding sources, a dedicated resource with financial expertise is required. This may be a person hired or a contracted position to provide financial expertise to Whitebark and partners in developing the funding sources required for this project. The recommendation is to front load a three-year commitment to assist Whitebark in developing the financial acumen needed to make this project viable over the long-term, as this will be a multi-year work program. Staff are recommending $150,000 be allocated for this purpose. Whitebark will be able to use the Town’s allocation to jump-start the financial work program and use it as leverage for additional funding.

Eastern Sierra Green Business Program
The Eastern Sierra Green Business Program is managed by the High Sierra Energy Foundation. The goal of the program is to certify local “green” businesses based on a set of defined metrics that reduces energy consumption, eliminates waste, enhances recycling, reduces water usage, implements use of non-toxic cleaners, hires local works, and other pollution prevention efforts to note the primary metrics. The program works with local businesses and other agencies in the process. The program’s State funding was reduced in the latest State budget. Staff are recommending $15,000 be provided for this current effort. It is anticipated that an ongoing request for funding will be asked to be part of the annual budget.

The request for funding has been shared with the Manager and Administrators of Bishop, Mono County and Inyo County who will also consider funding options.

Vehicle Replacement Loan
The Town has been paying the internal loan taken against the vehicle replacement fund for several years and accelerating payments over the last few years. The outstanding balance, prior to FY23-24 planned payments, is $851,207. Staff budgeted for a payment of $689,230 during the budget process which

leaves a remining balance of $161,977. Staff is recommending this final amount be paid as part of the available fund balance to remove the loan components from the vehicle replacement program.

Parks Equipment Replacement
Staff also conducted a review of equipment replacement needs, identifying several components that are either in need of replacement due to age and cost of repair or would be beneficial to staff efficiency and overall cost of operations. The Parks department has a number of off-highway vehicles that are beyond their life expectancy and has available vehicle replacement funds to cover new acquisitions. In the list of recommendations, there are two additions to the fleet, vehicles that are requested but not a part of the current vehicle replacement program, to augment services. The first is a new blower head that will attach to a trackless blower for our town MUPs and sidewalks. The original trackless was purchased with a large blower head. This smaller head will be more useful in sidewalk clearing. The Parks and Recreation department is in need of a trailer to haul bikes for the summer bike program. The trailer specified below will fulfill this need. Below is a list of parks vehicles recommended for replacement with expected cost, net of available funds.

Fund 220 – Airport Operations & Equipment
The FAA CARES Act funds were used to support the majority of Airport operations in FY22-23. This was a planned use of grant funds that relieved some of the pressure on the General Fund to cover Airport expenses in normal years but also supported some operational revenues reduced due to lack of commercial flights. Those funds did have some restrictions on what they would cover and therefore a

shortfall of operational revenue was incurred for FY22-23. There is available fund balance within the Airport, Fund 220 that could be used to fund this shortfall, but staff recommends those funds remain intact for future capital projects at the Airport. The shortfall is $67,456 and the staff is recommending an allocation of the available General Fund – fund balance to address this need.

One of the annual work programs at the Airport is extensive mowing of the facilities. Airport staff are required to keep the areas around all taxiways and runways free of obstruction, including excessive vegetation. This annual work program takes several weeks to accomplish and the level of work possible with the small utility vehicle with a tow mower is not efficient. Staff toured other airports to determine a more effective way of addressing these needs. Most airports utilize larger agriculture tractors with 15’ tow behind mowers. Staff are recommending the allocation of $140,000 to acquire a tractor and mow deck suitable for the job. Staff does believe there will be other uses for the tractor at the Airport facility.

Town Manager Recruitment
The recruitment of a new Town Manager is underway, and the search firm has been selected and contracts completed. Due to the volume of large recruitments encountered this fiscal year, Town Manager, Community and Economic Development Director, Police Chief, Police Sergeants, the set aside funding for this purpose is not adequate. The staff is recommending an allocation of $30,000 of current available funds for this purpose.

Staff recommendations described above total $3,644,433 and would fully allocate available fund balance available at the close of FY22-23. The small fund balance deficit of $14,993 will be addressed in subsequent quarterly budget reviews, or the Council may reduce the allocation to the housing program and use existing housing funds to offset the reduction as needed.

Other Reserve funds held in General Fund
Town Council has also comitted some of the reserve accounts (Housing, Transit, and Tourism) that are listed below and will be discussed in the reserve account discussion below. These items only effect the available reserve account balance and have no impact on the available fund balance listed above.

Housing Reserve
This reserve account is considered “Assigned Fund Balance” within the General Fund and is included in the overall fund balance of $14,964,513 listed above. The housing reserve was established to provide funding for housing projects and is based on the normal allocation of TOT for housing which is .85 points or 6.54% of TOT collected. The housing reserve receives this same rate of allocation on TOT received above the adopted budget for the fiscal year. Below is a reconciliation of the housing reserve for FY22-23. This reconciliation includes a carryover or allocation of $10,000 from the prior year. The $10,000 deed monitoring program invoice is still outstanding at the time of this report. The unallocated reserve balance of $912,528 remains available for Town Council allocation to Housing programs.

Transit Reserve
This reserve account is considered “Assigned Fund Balance” within the General Fund and is included in the overall fund balance of $14,964,513 listed above. The transit reserve was established to provide funding for transit projects and is based on the normal allocation of TOT for transit which is .85 points or 6.54% of TOT collected. The transit reserve receives this same rate of allocation on TOT received above the adopted budget for the fiscal year. Below is a reconciliation of the transit reserve for FY22-

23. This reconciliation has no carryover of anticipated items to include. The reserve balance of $1,865,307 remains available for Town Council allocation to transit related items.

Tourism Reserve
This reserve account is considered “Assigned Fund Balance” within the General Fund and is included in the overall fund balance of $8,780,650 listed above. The tourism reserve was established to provide funding for tourism expenditures and is based on the normal allocation of TOT for tourism which is 2.35 points or 18.08% of TOT collected. The tourism reserve receives this same rate of allocation on TOT received above the adopted budget for the fiscal year. Below is a reconciliation of the tourism reserve for FY21-22. This reconciliation includes a carryover of $250,000 from the prior year and previous Town Council action in FY22-23. On October 5, 2022, Town Council authorized $300,000 from this reserve be allocated to a three-year sponsorship agreement with the LA Kings. The details of this agreement and the benefit to the facility and community were outlined in the staff report provided on October 5th agenda item #12.2. The reserve balance of $887,147 remains available for Town Council allocation.

Other Key Funds
Fund 105 – Emergency Response
In the fourth quarter of FY2019-20 the Town established a new fund, 105 – COVID-19 Response, to track the funding used to fight this health emergency. There were a number of revenue sources used to start the fund and staff have tracked the expenses and reimbursement through this fund. As stated earlier,

staff has a desire to rename this fund for use on all future emergency response accounting. The current balance of $54,345 is a general fund transfer and staff are requesting this remain in the fund for use in Winter Storms 2023 response. During this budget review, staff will make appropriate adjustments to move carryover funds, identified earlier into this fund as well as any future expenses.

Fund 205 – Solid Waste
The Solid Waste Fund accounts for restricted revenues related to providing solid waste related services and programs and was established in FY18-19. The majority of the solid waste programs and services are provided by Mammoth Disposal under a Solid Waste Franchise Agreement. Solid Waste Parcel fees levied in Mono County were previously shared with the Town to assist in post closure costs of the facility. However, in FY21-22 the agreement expired and no funds from this parcel tax were shared with the Town in FY22-23. Staff has negotiated a new agreement that will return a portion of the revenue to the Town in FY23-24. This fund has an available balance of $807,848 with no carryover commitments.

These funds are restricted in use to support recycling efforts and solid waste related services.

Fund 210 – Gas Tax
Gas Tax fund is designed to capture the cost of road maintenance and snow removal. As the name implies, the major source of funding is California State Gas Tax. The tax revenue covers approximately 50% of snow removal cost for the Town. In addition, some portion of tax revenue funds road projects and updates. While we had significant snow removal expenses as a result of the large winter, the revenue for this will not be paid to the Town until the following year. The Town will likely budget a normal year for snow and a normal year for snow removal gas tax as to avoid a whipsaw effect of this variable revenue stream. In addition to the snow removal support, the engineering team has been busy this last year with significant road projects, some of which were funded from Gas Tax. The reconciliation below shows, in summary, the revenue and expenditures of this fund and any funds allocated by previous Town Council action have been moved to capital projects, meaning no carryover is identified. The current balance of $2,425,011 is available for future road projects or up-front funding of a heavy snow year.

There are no carryover items or staff recommendations for this fund.

Fund 215 – Measure R Trails
This fund is one of two that account for our Measure R restricted funds. The revenue from this fund comes from an annual allocation from Measure R – Sales Tax, Measure U – Utility Tax, and a General Fund contribution. In addition to these annual commitments, an additional $500,000 in one-time funds for capital projects was committed at Council direction at the close of FY2016-17. There is a planned use of fund balance with ongoing trails construction as outlined in the Trails System Master Plan. The plan includes concepts the team develops into prioritized projects. The available fund balance at the close of FY22-23 was $526,758 with no identified carryover commitments.

Fund 216 – Measure R
This fund is one of two that account for our Measure R restricted funds. This fund provides debt service payment for the Community Recreation Center (CRC), support for the Town’s Office of Outdoor Recreation and other recreation related projects. In FY22-23, the Town requested funds that would normally support Whitmore and Trails End Park be transferred to Fund 858 in support of the CRC operations. This transfer of $112,000 contributes to the operational expenses. The Town absorbed the expense previously committed from Measure R for the maintenance of those parks in the General Fund.

The projected balance in this fund is $2,369,378 with one carryover item of $350,000 committed to interior improvements to the CRC. This is the second allocation of $350,000 by Measure R, one previously completed in FY22-23. The carryover amount was transferred to the project in FY23-24,

combined with $350,000 previously allocated from General Fund, providing $1,050,000 for this interior project. The remaining available fund balance of $2,019,378 remains open to MLR recommendation and Town Council action to commit to recreation-based projects.

Fund 217 – Measure U
This fund finished the year with a restricted fund balance of $3,019,684 with some carryover commitments from prior Town Council action. The Town Council had previously committed $2.5M to MACC construction, this original commitment was increased by $300,000 as part of the FY22-23 budget review and again by $300,000 for the FY23-24 budget allocation. As this fund balance review only covers activity in FY22-23 and beyond, the commitment referenced below is $2,800,000. In FY22-23 as part of the CIP funding, staff moved $1,000,000 to capital project funding for the MACC, now called,

Performing Arts Auditorium, to illustrate intended construction elements being funded when a project has multiple components. This step approach is common in funds when committed amounts are transferred without depleting the fund balance all at once. The outstanding commitment remains at $1,800,000 and that is indicated on the reconciliation as a carryover item. With the carryover considered, the remaining unallocated balance is $1,219,684. The staff is recommending an additional $1,000,000 to be considered by Mammoth Lakes Recreation (MLR) recommending body for both Measure R and U allocations for the Auditorium project. The contribution of an additional $1,000,000 would bring total project contribution to $4,100,000 and the available fund balance in Measure R to $219,684 for FY22- 23 fund balance.

Fund 220 – Airport Restricted Revenue Fund
This Restricted Revenue fund means that part of the funding revenue comes from charges to external users for goods and services. This fund receives support and ongoing commitment from the General Fund and FAA grant revenues. This fund consists of activity from Airport Operations, Air Subsidy commitments, as well as Airport Capital Projects. All funds transferred to the Airport remain in this fund, designated for future capital projects. In FY22-23, the operational support normally provided by General Fund was covered, in part, by the FAA grant funding. During the pandemic, the FAA generously provided over $3.2M in operational funding for MMH. During FY22-23 and continuing into future

budgets, the Town is slowly increasing the dependence on General Fund, extending the grant fund availability and reducing the impact on General Fund when these grant funds are exhausted. To balance operating expenses to revenues required an additional contribution from General Fund, $67,456 included in the staff recommendations under the General Fund review above. This contribution will balance the operation budget for FY22-23.

The Town Council has contributed Tourism Reserve support for Air Subsidy to Mammoth Yosemite Airport. Staff have transferred these commitments to Fund 220 to contain all airport-related expenses in the same fund. The balance contributed is $500,000 and remains the available balance for winter & summer 23/24 air service.

The Airport performed extensive work on capital projects for FY22-23, working on seven projects resulting in capital project expenditure of $565,801. These projects are funded using AIP Grant Revenue, Restricted Passenger Facility Charge (PFC), and use of fund balance. The cumulative effect of this project work and grant revenue brings the capital reserve to $1,273,340.

Fund 245 – Housing Programs
The Housing Program fund has been used for several years to track grant funding for first time buyers and the Mammoth Lakes Housing buyback program for deed restricted properties. In FY20-21, staff adjusted the fund to include other housing programs and has recommended that all housing related allocations be transferred to this fund for better tracking. With this change, along with a strong commitment to Town Council priorities to address community housing needs, Town Council has allocated unprecedented funding for this purpose. Staff has developed the Housing Now! Initiative which is a multi-program approach to meet local housing needs. This includes subsidized sales of deed restricted property, as well as acquisition of land for development, housing development and funding of partnership projects. The reconciliation below shows some traditional elements of the fund and additional General Fund contributions and their designated projects.

Fund 858 – Fractional Mello Roos
This fund finished the year with a restricted fund balance of $42,626. No extraordinary allocations were made from this fund in FY22-23 with the exception of some additional expenses for activities that will be supported through the new CRC. These additional expenses resulted in a decline in fund balance for FY22-23 as revenue from the new facility had not yet come online. There is no carryover commitment or Council action on this balance leaving the full amount remaining and available.

Assessment Districts
These districts exist to provide a funding source for improvement projects and maintenance of the property within the special district. These districts are reviewed on an annual basis considering the total funds available and the anticipated projects or maintenance needs. NBS consulting group performs an annual review of each district in order to recommend district assessments based on projected needs for the coming year. Below is a chart of the current assessment district and their individual balances as of June 30, 2023.

Development Impact Fee Accounts
Development Impacts Fees continue to be recorded through the permit process within the Community Development Department. All funds collected are restricted for specific use intended under the Development Impact Fee schedule. Last fiscal year, the Town had a significant increase in construction resulting in significant permit revenue for the Town. Below is the balance of each account as of June 30, 2022.

Fund 910 – Garage Services
The Vehicle Service Fund, also referred to as the Garage, is used to track costs of maintenance for our vehicle fleet. The garage staff is comprised of four mechanics, two mechanic trainees, and one fleet superintendent. The staff maintains all vehicles in the Town’s fleet, including most repairs, fuel, and periodic maintenance. When work is performed on a vehicle, the department where that vehicle is assigned will be charged the cost of repair including staff time. This type of account is known as an internal service fund where expenses are covered by work performed for other departments. Typically, the cost charged for services covers the expense incurred in Fund 910. However, in FY22-23 much of the winter storm related expenses were accounted for in Winter Storm and Emergency response. These expenses were legitimate charges for the disaster response and the Town is seeking reimbursement for these activities. The deficit in this fund for FY22-23 will be addressed through the reimbursement process.

Fund 915 – Vehicle Replacement Fund
The vehicle replacement fund was new for FY21-22, separating vehicle replacement from garage services. This change was made to separate two diverse but equally important motor pool functions and provide clarity on the cost of operations for the unit. The vehicle replacement portion supports the purchase of a replacement vehicle once the existing piece of equipment is all used up. This is accomplished using a calculation to estimate required annual set aside to cover future replacement costs based on expected lifespan, original vehicle costs and annual CPI increases. The vehicle is assigned to a division which charges specific funds and departments who use the vehicle.

The vehicle replacement fund contains both cash and debt as it was used as part of the stabilization of the Town’s finances after the MLLA settlement agreement. The General Fund makes an annual payment to service this debt. As part of the General Fund review, staff have recommended the remaining balance of the loan be paid off as part of this budget review. The removal of the loan components will ensure cash is available, and match the set aside fund balance of each vehicle at the time of replacement.

Fund 990 – Debt Service / Capital Reserve
This fund is designated to pay our debt requirements and contains assigned balances for future capital needs. The balance at the close of FY22-23 is $5,579,504, with specific allocation noted below. The larger allocations to this fund are done so with specific projects or intended purposes. On occasion, projects will take several years to accumulate enough funds to move forward on construction or implementation of the program. Staff will track the intended purposes to account for this set aside. There are nine allocations being tracked in future capital, totaling $5,394,542 of the $5,579,504 leaving $184,961.85 unallocated and available for future use.

Conclusion
The Town of Mammoth Lakes remains in a strong financial position from the continued revenue growth provided by visitation, conservative budget practices and strategic funding for one-time projects, staff look to continue this working model. The start of FY23-24 has continued strong revenue results from previous years. As the year progresses, staff will bring forward recommendations to engage those unallocated funds based on Town Council priorities.

OPTIONS ANALYSIS
Option 1: Staff recommends the Town Council receive the pre-audit actual financial presentation for Fiscal Year 22-23 and adopt the resolution amending the FY23-24 budget as recommended on Attachment A.

Option 2: Council provide alternate direction on staff recommendations and direct staff to bring back appropriately amended budget adjustments for future Council adoption.

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:

The Town has adequate resources to meet unknown financial needs, including reserve funds that are committed to specific work program areas. All these actions are taken together to meet the needs of the Town in providing public services.

FY22-23 Financial Results
Fund Balances
Rob Patterson
Administrative Services / Finance Director
December 6, 2023

Fund 100 - General Fund

FY22-23 – Carry Over Commitments

Staff Recommendations

Staff Recommendations

Staff Recommendations

Staff Recommendations

RESOLUTION NO. 23-

RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN COUNCIL

OF THE TOWN OF MAMMOTH LAKES, STATE OF CALIFORNIA,

ACCEPTING THE MID-YEAR UPDATE AND AMENDING THE
FISCAL YEAR 2023-24 BUDGET
WHEREAS, the Town Council has adopted a Fiscal Year 2023-24 Budget; and WHEREAS, the Town Council wishes to make modifications to that Budget as necessary to the efficient administration of the Town; and WHEREAS, the Town Council received an update from the Administrative Services/Finance Director at the December 6th Town Council meeting regarding the preaudit fund balance for FY22-23 ending June 2023; and WHEREAS, the Town Council provided direction to modify revenues and expenses in various funds and departments.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Administrative Services/Finance Director is hereby directed to make the following modifications to the FY2023-24 budget, as provided for in Attachment A.

APPROVED AND ADOPTED THIS 6th day of December 2023

___________________________
JOHN WENTWORTH, Mayor
ATTEST:
________________________________
JAMIE GRAY, Town Clerk

Attachment A
Date of Request: 12/6/2023 Requested By: Rob Patterson
Department: Finance

CR DR DR CR
Revenue Revenue Expense Expense
Account Name Fund-Dept-Account Activity Increase Decrease Increase Decrease 1 Future Capital-Town Hall Bond Reserve 990-000-39999 1,000,000 2 Housing Now-Access Apt Contingency 245-000-39999 83176 700,000 3 Housing Now-Bridge Program 245-000-39999 83176 950,000 4 Housing Now-Small site development 245-000-39999 83176 350,000 5 Pay Off Vehicle Replacement Loan 915-000-39999 161,977 6 Disaster Response - Budget Allocated FY22-23 105-000-39999 136,000 7 Airport Equipment 220-000-39999 140,000
8 Fleet Replacement - Parks Equipment 915-000-39999 80,000 9 Airport Operations 220-000-39999 67,456
10 Parks & Rec-Commercial Rec Equip. 858-000-39999 39,633 11 General Fund - Fund Balance transfers 100-599-49999 3,625,066 12 Housing Reserve - Deed Monitoring 100-445-43031 10,000 13 Tourism Reserve-LA King's Sponsorship 100-480-43031 200,000 14 Tourism Reserve-Litigation 100-480-43031 50,000
15 Green Business Program 100-413-43031 15,000
16 Town Manager Recruitment 100-416-43031 30,000
17 Fleet Replacement - Parks Equipment 915-570-48300 80,000 18 Housing Now-Small site development 245-445-48300 350,000 19 Airport Equipment 220-471-48300 140,000
20 Parks & Rec-Commercial Rec Equip. 858-436-46200 39,633 21 Disaster Response - Budget Allocated FY22-23 105-405-43031 136,000 22 ESCCRP-Wildfire Fuels Reduction Project 100-413-43031 150,000 23 24
25 26
27 28
29 Political Commitments (Not Captured Above)
Reason for Transfer:

Fund Balance Adjustments
Reason Budget Available:

Carryover to new fiscal year
Funding Source
Prior year unexpended funds
Department Head Signature:

Town Manager or Administrative Services/Finance Director Signature:

Town Council Approval Date (if required) : Date, Item # -

BUDGET TRANSFER
FY23-24 - 1st Qtr Budget Amendment

Agenda Item ________
File No. ____________

AGENDA BILL
Subject: Councilmember Reports
Initiated by: Jamie Gray
______________________________________________________________________ BACKGROUND:

Each member of the Town Council is appointed to serve as a Town representative to a number of committees, commissions, and organizations.

These groups meet infrequently and from time to time the representatives will report to the rest of the Council at a regularly scheduled meeting.

In addition, Councilmembers on occasion participate in meetings, conferences and seminars, and their reports on these educational opportunities are of benefit to the rest of the Council.

ANALYSIS/DISCUSSION:

California Government Code requirements pertaining to the open meeting act stipulate that all items for discussion must be listed on the agenda before the matter can be discussed and/or acted upon. To meet this requirement, and the intent of the Brown Act, Councilmember Reports are listed on each agenda to allow representatives to report to the rest of the Council at these meetings.

The following is a list of the commission/committees on which members of the Council serve:

Land Use:

Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) – Rea, Rice, and Bubser as alternate
Airport Land Use Commission – Rea, Rice, and Bubser as the alternate Mono County Collaborative Planning Team (CPT) – Senior Planner Kim Cooke and Rice as alternate
Intergovernmental Relations:

Town and County Liaison Committee – Sauser, Bubser, and Town Manager and Rea as alternate
Desert Mountain Division of the League of California Cities – Sauser and Town Manager as alternate
Eastern Sierra Council of Governments (ESCOG) – Bubser, Wentworth, and Sauser as alternate
Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District – Wentworth and Bubser as alternate

League of California Cities City Voting Delegate – Sauser and the Town Manager as the alternate
California Joint Powers Insurance Authority Board – Rea and Assistant to the Town Manager as alternate
Transportation:

Local Transportation Commission (LTC) – Wentworth, Sauser, and Paul Chang; Town Manager as alternate
Eastern Sierra Transit Authority (ESTA) Board – Bubser and Sauser Local Issues:

Mammoth Lakes Tourism (MLT) Board – Sauser
Mammoth Lakes Recreation (MLR) Board – Rea
Eastern Sierra Community Housing Board – Rice
Treasury Oversight Committee – Finance Director; Town Manager as alternate STR (Short Term Rental Advisory Committee) – Rice and Bubser LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS:

According to the California Open Meeting Act, commonly referred to as the Brown Act, the agenda must reflect every matter to be discussed by a governing body.

RECOMMENDATION(S):

This agenda bill is submitted for information only.