Meeting Recap For January 7, 2013
What do a 1,200-acre ski resort on the west shore of Lake Tahoe and the Downtown Plaza shopping mall have in common? Ownership.
And Rotary Club of Sacramento had the “head guy” from JMA Ventures, Art Chapman, for its first guest speaker of 2013 Monday at the Red Lion Hotel-Woodlake.
“The question I get asked most frequently these days is ‘are you out of your mind?’” quipped Chapman, a long-time Rotarian in the Tahoe area, about people’s reaction to JMA’s mall acquisition.
Chapman, whose son Wesley was inducted into RCS membership Monday, spent most of his time talking about JMA’s other huge makeover project: venerable Homewood Mountain Resort. But he did take time to shed light on why JMA wanted Downtown Plaza. “I’m interested in rejuvenating downtowns,” he said. “I’ve seen it done before.” “We want to open the mall up to embrace the lifestyle and culture of downtown Sacramento,” he continued. “It will be a comfortable, family-friendly place that emphasizes security and cleanliness.”
Introduced by Chair of the Day Paul Kucharski, Chapman was complimentary of the assistance JMA has received on the mall acquisition and rejuvenation. “The mayor, the city staff, city manager John Shirey—they’ve all been excellent,” he said. “I’ve known John since we worked together years ago in Long Beach.”
With regard to the $300 million Homewood project, Chapman touted it as an environmentally friendly way to help the Tahoe area change from a “drive-to” market to a “destination market.” “We’re well on the way to a LEED Gold Award,” Chapman said. “This project will be good for the people, the environment and the economy.”
Extensive plans include replacing the current outdated base-level hotel with a new 75-room facility, building a mid-mountain day lodge and creating public walking and bike trails. At the same time, hard, compacted surfaces that induce lake-polluting runoff will be replaced by penetrable concrete and parking will be taken underground to eliminate seven acres of blacktop. “We will create 500 construction jobs and 180 full-time, year-round jobs,” said Chapman. “We will generate $16-20 million a year in consumer spending.”
NOTE: Not mentioned during the presentation was the fact that on the prior Friday U.S. District Judge William Shubb (also an RCS member) issued a lengthy ruling blocking the planned Homewood development as described by Chapman. The aspects of the ruling and the legal actions which led up to it are too complex to explore here. A lengthy story is available on Page B1 of Tuesday’s Sacramento Bee for those who want more particulars.
Along with Wes Chapman, two other new members were inducted into the club by President Peter Dannenfelser II on Monday: Kerry Wood and John O’Donnell. Wes Chapman was sponsored by Paul Kucharski and Bruce Hester, Kerry Wood by Jan Stohr and Beverly Brautigam and John O’Donnell by Steve Horton and Dick Osen.
---
Past President Frank Poelman provided a tribute to Jack Stockman, who passed away in November. President Peter noted the passing of Brian Kidney due to injuries from a traffic collision. Brian passed away on December 22, 2012. His funeral will be at St. Ignatius Church, 3235 Arden Way at 12:30PM on Thursday, January 10, 2013.
Norm Marshall provided the thought for the day, Dick Osen led the singing of “God Bless America,” Jack Cornelius sponsored the pre-meeting wine reception and Dick Wertz played the piano.
Our generous members contributed almost three thousand dollars, much of it in warm membranes of Jack Stockman. Still others were happy to recognize their beloved Stanford for their first Rose Bowl victory in 41 attempts.
---
Next week’s featured speaker will be Ben Carter, president of the Central Valley Flood Protection Board, who will speak about the region’s levee system.