I’ve been waiting to do this post for four years! In September, Ski Run Community Park officially opened. If you’ve been following me, you’ll know that this park marks the culmination of a huge community effort that just speaks to the essence of what makes South Lake Tahoe so great.
Four years ago, my wife, Marina, and I, along with three other families—Tor and Chris McNamara, Galena Seeger and Lincoln Else, and Lauren and Wynn Ruji—pooled some money together to purchase a .6-acre empty lot owned by Albertsons. (People had tried to get Albertsons to donate the lot for years to no avail. In fact, they put up a chain-link fence around the lot when they heard kids were playing on it. Getting this big corporation to sell us the lot was a huge pain!)
Our grassroots vision was to create a pocket park for the Ski Run Blvd area of South Lake Tahoe, which lacked nearby parks for families to enjoy, then donate it to the city once completed. It was a leap of faith, but we knew that with the help of our dedicated friends and community, we could make it happen.
What an adventure building this park became! It would not have been possible without the time, energy, and financial contributions of countless local residents and professionals. To name just a few people who worked either pro bono or at reduced rates to bring this project to life: real estate broker Rene Brejc; surveyor Chip Brejc; landscape architect Ben Fish; attorney Marissa Fox; CPA Michelle Larsen; project manager extraordinaire Sarah Steele; Cory Hannaford and his entire team at Sierra Sustainable Builders, and our former mayor and city councilman Devin Middlebrook. Raising the funds actually felt like the easiest part: over 250 individuals happily contributed, with donations ranging from $5 to $25,000!
The park’s design was also a grassroots effort, inspired by the imaginative drawings of over 35 kids from Bijou Elementary and the Boys and Girls Club. While not all of their more ambitious ideas could be incorporated (rollercoasters and a water park, etc.), many elements from their sketches were included in the final design. The park now features an iconic play structure, slide, community table, lawn, and a climbing boulder that will hone the next generation of climbers in Tahoe into future crushers!
The grand opening on September 6th was an incredible occasion, with over 150 donors and community members in attendance. As speeches were made and the ribbon was cut, the sounds of youth continued well into the night: peals of laughter, chattering in Spanish and English, the patter of little feet running, and the mountain wind blowing through the pine trees.
I’m so proud of the Tahoe community! Special shout out to Greg Ochoa and Mountain Lux, The Tahoe Fund, Lake Tahoe Community College, Jeff DeFranco, Blue Granite Climbing, Embarc Dispensary, and Ski Run Marina.
