SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — Mayor Jason Collin and Mayor Pro Tem Tamara Wallace were reelected to those positions Tuesday during a city council meeting.

The council voted last December to change to a nine month term, however, with the upcoming election in November the council decided to keep the positions as is until then.

The meeting began with employee recognition, which included Christopher Wildman who has been with the fire department for 15 years.

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Council then held two appeals hearings for VHR permits.

The first hearing was for the property located on Ala Wai Blvd. The planning commission granted the appeal but the Tahoe Neighborhoods Group appealed that decision.

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The council granted a continuance until September which was requested by the property manager.

The second hearing for a property on Ski Run Blvd., was denied their appeal by the planning commission. A representative for the property owner said the permit renewal reminder had gone to the owner’s junk folder, along with difficulties getting to the office to pay the fee due to COVID-19.

Collin said that he felt the city is taking too much of an active role in VHRs, especially since the permit renewal is the same time every year.

The council voted 4-1 to deny the appeal, with Wallace being the only no vote.

The council also discussed recognizing a free speech zone at Lakeview Commons. The recognition would have been a symbolic way to recognize the peaceful protests that occur there, not just with Black Lives Matter but other groups as well.

Councilmember Brooke Laine raised concerns about mentioning one specific area as a free speech zone. Even though it would change people’s rights, it would set a bad precedent.

The council decided to push the decision until the next meeting when a proclamation stating support for free speech in the whole city could be presented.

The council denied a bid protest by Motorola for a safety communications contract with the city. The city had granted the contract to Walker Telecom and Motorola was protesting that decision.

Laine was concerned that Walker’s references weren’t strong enough and didn’t show examples of the specific type of work they’d be doing with the city.

The board voted 3-2 to deny the bid protest, with Wallace and Laine being the dissenting votes.

Also during the meeting, the Tahoe Coalition for the Homeless asked the city to cosign a grant proposal that would allow the coalition to purchase a motel and convert it to housing for the homeless.

The grant guidelines said that the property must be purchased by the end of the year. With such a quick turn around, the city didn’t feel they had enough information and time to find and purchase a property so they voted no.

However, the council did direct staff to write a memorandum of understanding for the city, the coalition and El Dorado County to work together on solutions for the homeless problem in the city.