Our Mission
Representing the people of the historic Donner Summit community for the preservation of the area’s rugged mountain character and natural resources by providing active coordination for community development issues.
Read more about the DSAA's Vision and past projects
A Zumbathon® is a Zumba® party that raises funds for a charity or cause. Thanks to Sugar Bowl and Zumba® instructor, Greta Dahmer, DSAA and Project MANA will benefit from an upcoming evening of fun and dancing. Ticket cost for this event is $10 plus a non-perishable food donation. Additional donations will be accepted and receipts provided. Buy your ticket in advance, available soon around town.
Zumba® is a Latin-inspired cardio workout that fuses hypnotic Latin and International rhythms and easy to follow moves to create a dynamic fitness program that will blow you away. It is all about having fun and no experience is necessary! Latin rhythms include merengue, salsa, cumbia, reggaeton, belly dancing, samba, hip hop, and many more.
No experience necessary. This event is open to the public ages 13 and over and welcomes all members of the community.
Saturday, January 28
6:00 p.m.
Coldstream Room, Judah Lodge, Sugar Bowl
Donner Summit Area Association (DSAA) invites you to a meeting to discuss the various options for a zoning change for the properties along Old Highway 40 between the I-80 Interchange and the “Blinking Light” in Soda Springs.
The current zoning for that stretch of road is “Commercial Highway” (CH), a vestige of the time when Highway 40 was the main east-west access road over Donner Summit. A couple of projects have been proposed for the area but had to be scrapped because the CH zoning does not permit many uses, such as office space or community meeting facilities. Some of the businesses currently in operation are not really permitted under this zoning, as the County Planning Department could not issue a use permit for them.
To resolve these concerns, DSAA proposes to apply to Nevada County (with the strong support of 5th District Supervisor, Ted Owens) for a rezoning of the corridor, based on the willingness and preference of the individual property owners. The first opportunity for you to discuss the various zoning designations and the pros and cons of each, will be at the meeting on January 19.
Re-zoning Soda Springs
Thursday, January 19th
6:00 p.m.
Coldstream Room, Judah Lodge, Sugar Bowl
The Truckee North Tahoe Transportation Management Association Board of Directors is accepting letters of interest to fill a vacancy to represent the Donner Summit on our Board. Applicants must be residents of the Donner Summit area or represent a business located on the Summit.
Preferred Qualifications include current employment or involvement in the transportation field, knowledge of regional and local transportation issues and commitment to the TNT/TMA’s goal of improving air and water quality and economic stability through development of transportation resources and increased mobility by all modes of transportation.
Board Members are required to attend monthly Board of Directors meetings, held the first Thursday of each month, typically at Granlibakken Resort andConferenceCenterinTahoeCity, 8:00 a.m., and they are encouraged to become involved in transportation-related issues and solutions; working with the TMA Staff. Help us make things happen!
Founded in 1990, the TNT-TMA is a public-private non-profit organization dedicated to developing innovative transportation and air quality solutions in the North Lake Tahoe-Truckee Resort Triangle. Its Board of Directors consists of business and citizen representatives from North Lake Tahoe, Truckee and Incline Village and government representatives from counties and regional transportation planning agencies with responsibilities in the North Lake Tahoe Truckee “Resort Triangle.”
Letters of interest should be mailed to TNT/TMA Board, Attention: Jan Colyer, Executive Director, P.O. Box 2566 Kings Beach, CA. 96145 or faxed to 530-546-3531, or mailed to tnttma@sbcglobal.net later than Feburay 23, 2012 for consideration at the March 1st Board of Directors meeting. For more information contact Jan Colyer at 530-546-2912 or tnttma@sbcglobal.net.
SLCWD has applied for funding for its portion of the sewer expansion project from the US Department of Agriculture. Ballots for the formation of an assessment district have been counted, with 85% voting to pass the assessment district.
The DSPUD held a Prop 218 hearing on December 6 to consider an increase in the District’s sewer rates for rate payers outside of the recently formed community Facilities District (CFD). A CFD is a financing mechanism which allows project costs to be collected through property taxes instead of rates. The Prop 218 vote passed with two rate payers opposed; rate increases will begin January 2012. DSPUD is working to secure financing through the State Revolving Fund while rates are low.
The Reason for the DSPUD Rate Increase:
In 2009, the State of California issued a new waste discharge permit to the District with more stringent requirements which required significant plant upgrades. The State mandated that the District come into compliance by April, 2014.
For the past two and a half years, the District has worked with engineers on a wastewater upgrade and expansion project that will assure that the wastewater treatment plant meets the 2014 compliance deadline.
Rates Inside and Outside of the CFD
Earlier this year the District established Community Facilities District (CFD) No. 1 in order to fund its State mandated Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrade and Espansion Project. Three Improvement Areas were created inside CFD No. 1. Property owners, rate payers and registered votes were asked to vote on the CFD. Areas #1 and #3 voted in favor of the CFD, (a 2/3 yes vote of ballots returned is necessary for approval) and will have their share of the Project collected through their property tax bill, making the special tax eligible for a tax write-off. These voters are considered inside CFD No. 1. However, voters inside Improvement Area #2 voted against the CFD and will have to pay for their share of the Project through sewer rates. They are considered outside CFD No. 1.
| CALCULATED DSPUD WASTEWATER RATES AND CONNECTION FEES THROUGH 2016 | ||||||
| Calculated Rates | ||||||
| Rates by Customer | Current | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 |
| Effective Date: | 1/1/2012 | 7/1/2012 | 7/1/2013 | 7/1/2014 | 7/1/2015 | |
| Existing Customers | Charge per EDU per Month | |||||
| Inside CFD No. 1 | $110.32 | $110.32 | $110.32 | $114.83 | $116.24 | $117.58 |
| Outside CFD No. 1 | $110.32 | $127.03 | $143.06 | $164.28 | $165.69 | $167.02 |
| Future Customers | ||||||
| Inside CFD No. 1 | $45.72 | $45.72 | $46.12 | $47.99 | $48.58 | $49.13 |
| Outside CFD No. 1 | $45.72 | $62.43 | $78.86 | $97.44 | $98.02 | $98.58 |
| Connection Fee: | $1,070 | prior to 4/1/2012 | ||||
| Outside CFD No. 1 Only | $1,772 | 4/2012 – 6/2012 | ||||
| $2,362 | 7/2012 – 6/2013 | |||||
| $3,542 | 7/2013 – 6/2014 | |||||
| $5,312 | 7/2014 – 6/2015 | |||||
| $7,672 | 7/2015 – 6/2016 | |||||
Click on the map below to find the current public bus schedule:
DSAA held a well-attended Public Meeting on Sunday, January 15, to discuss the project and collect public comments and questions. It was clear the people care about the community and want businesses to prosper in a way that enhances the community. Comments and issues raised at the meeting and elsewhere have been submitted to Nevada County for consideration. You can contact the propert owner directly, if you wish:
Ulrich Schmid-Maybach
Shatterhand Holdings
415-668-8685
usm@brightlineconsulting.com
The owner of the Soda Springs General Store building is proposing to re-establish the existing RV Park hookups located on the perimeter of the property. The county is asking for public comments in writing prior to January 19, 2012. The proposed project consists of removing the old utility pedestals and replacing them with 15 new pedestals. A new utility trench will be added, as will a new pavement apron for each RV site. The existing storage shed behind the building will be remodeled to house the electrical panel, laundry, and restroom facilities.
Feel free to make your comments here or on our Facebook page, and DSAA will forward them to the county.
PROJECT: Use Permit proposing to re-establish a 13-space RV Park at the Soda Springs General Store site. A Management Plan is proposed to address the potential impacts to the 100-ft riparian buffer zone from the Yuba River.
Project Planner: Tod Herman, Senior Planner (530-265-1257, tod.herman@co.nevada.ca.us)
Read the entire Project Description
Project MANA distributed 100 bags of food to Donner Summit families, residents, and seasonal employees on Friday, December 16th. Thank you to the generous DSAA members who made food and cash donations to Project MANA today. Thanks to Project MANA for returning for a pre-holiday distribution AND making Donner Summit a regular distribution site until further notice.
Food Distribution (NEW DAY)
Donner Summit Lodge parking lot
WEDNESDAYS 2-3 PM
If you can help Project MANA eliminate hunger in our region:
- Look for a food collection bin at the Soda Springs General Store/ Post Office building, coming soon.
- Stop by Donner Summit Lodge on Wednesdays between 2 & 3 pm to make a donation of food, funds, or time.
- Stop by Project MANA in Incline Village or Truckee to help sort food. Volunteers are invited to drop in anytime 9-4, M-F.
- Go to www.ProjectMana.org and make a donation through the website or send a donation to 948 Incline Way, Incline Village, NV 89451
- Contact DSAA at info@DonnerSummitAreaAssociation.org or post on our website or Facebook page and we will pass on your donation of money or food.
Our sincere thanks go out to those who have included Donner Summit Area Association in their end-of-year giving. We are very grateful for the support that will help us serve the people and the land of Donner Summit. However, we are still short of our year-end fundraising goal.
If you have not yet made a donation, we hope you will consider DSAA as we head into 2012. Donations are accepted by mail and through the Paypal link on our website.
2012 will be another busy year for Donner Summit. We can expect a lot of discussion about Donner Summit’s future with a potential sale of the Royal Gorge property and new developments proposed in Soda Springs. Households and businesses in Soda Springs, Norden, Sugar Bowl, Donner Ski Ranch, Boreal, Auburn Ski Club and Serene Lakes will begin paying for the wastewater expansion project, expected to break ground in 2012. Please help DSAA keep bringing information to the community by making a donation by mail (PO Box 674, Soda Springs 95728) or through the Donate button on our website. Please check in on our website at www.DonnerSummitAreaAssociation.org and our Facebook page for regular news and updates about the area.
Next month the Soda Springs Fire Station will be hosting an AHA Heartsaver CPR/AED class:
Thursday, January 12, 5:30 – 9:00 p.m.
Soda Springs Fire Station, Sherritt Lane
Register by contacting TFPD offices, station 91 @ 530 582-7850, M-F, 8am-5pm
- Providing both initial certification and renewal. (minimum age 16)
- Cost $30, includes card, textbook and “barrier’ device
