Effective immediately, short-term rentals and vacation based accommodations are being significantly limited in the Town of Truckee, Nevada County, and Placer County.  It was recognized early on that the best approach to this decision was from a regional perspective. Nevada County’s release is here.

With this decision, it is also a good time to address our community’s growing concern around crowds. We implore all of those in and around Truckee who do not either reside here or provide essential services, to recognize the impact that population increase due to visitation has on our community and health care system. Now is not the time to come to our community. If you are visiting for the day or short term, please respect our request to return to your primary place of residence. If we all do not practice STRICT social distancing and self-quarantine, we will suffer grave consequences. We cannot support recreation, visitation, close proximity, or non-essential public interaction right now. There is no other alternative and this has to be accomplished now. If you want Truckee to remain the mountain getaway it has been in the past, we all must act to ensure a speedy recovery.

We also feel that this is the perfect opportunity to enforce the basic concepts of community. The personal responsibility we all need to have at this time has nothing to do with your residential status or property title. Regardless if you are a second home owner, a local, a renter, a J1 or someone who just moved here…personal responsibility is key and our community is very diverse in how we all choose to live here. The title of our local status is not what we should be focused on.

What we should be focused on is our actions:

• Don’t come from elsewhere to recreate, visit, or vacation as a break from a more urban environment. We should be following the stay-at-home order and philosophical goal. This goes for any location, and this issue is not something that is only happening in Truckee.
• Going outside is important to stay mentally, emotionally, and physically healthy, but this is NOT a vacation for anyone in our community. Don’t participate in high-risk activities. Getting injured during activities is as equally concerning as not following social distancing standards.
• Don’t hoard supplies or food. We are working to keep our supply chains re-supplying our area, but use common sense with what you need and don’t “fear purchase.”

Stay the course!

• We are just starting this. Don’t get complacent and let your social distancing and stay-at-home practices slip.
• Stop any emotional reactions or tendencies to create an “us vs. them” mindset. Our risk factors and exposure come from a variety of sources and locations. No one group is increasing our vulnerability to COVID-19. 

If we all work together to do the right thing during this public health crisis, we will all be able to enjoy the Truckee-Tahoe mountain area responsibly and respectfully sooner rather than later.

Stay Safe & Stay Healthy Truckee.

Letter to Lodging Purveyors

In response to COVID-19, the Town has opened its emergency operations center. The Town is maintaining essential services including snow removal and public safety. Town hall is implementing social distancing practices and may conduct business by telephone or virtual meetings. We strongly encourage all Town business and citizens to do the same. The Planning Commission and Regular Town Council meetings have been cancelled through the end of March. The Town is actively working with the other local agencies to respond to the Coronavirus situation.

One of the major functions of the Town of Truckee Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is to act as a clearing house for public agency resource requests from other public agencies that are unmet in the Town of Truckee area. The EOC then forwards these requests to the Nevada County EOC, and ultimately on to the State Operations Center if those requests cannot be filled locally or regionally. In the case of Covid-19, the Town EOC is also assisting Nevada County Public Health with supply requests for Tahoe Forest Hospital and other supply chain issues locally. As a part of this process there is a Planning Section in the EOC whose job is to look towards the future for expected issues and unexpected issues. This group plans for short, mid, and long term events and needs. The Finance Section tracks costs and attempts to get reimbursement for resources used, and damages incurred by the Town during EOC activations.

One of the most important parts of the EOC is the Public Information Officers (PIO’s) group. This group is made of a variety of people from across Town staff with experience in social media, web hosting, and marketing. These people work with other agencies, which in the case of Covid-19, is primarily Nevada County Public Health and Tahoe Forest Hospital, to provide accurate public messaging as information comes in. It is important to recognize there has to one lead agency for messaging, and in this case the agency for Covid-19 is Nevada County Public Health.

In the video, you probably noticed the room was fairly empty of people. That is primarily an infection control measure just like all of us should be practicing. Like everyone else, we are trying to practice good social distancing by teleworking where possible. We use cell-phones and e-mail to stay in contact with our partners. We also hold virtual meetings when needed, but we can stand-up a fully functional EOC live operation if needed.

The Town of Truckee held its first virtual Council meeting on March 25th to discuss information regarding Covid-19 response.   You can view the meeting recording via TTCTV online at http://ttctv.org/live-meeting/town-of-truckee/.

Information on COVID-19 (Coronavirus) changes rapidly.  Check with Nevada County Public Health for the most up to date COVID-19 information and resources.

March 20, 2020:

To Our Community :

At the end of business yesterday, March 19, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed an Executive Order that is being commonly referred to as the STAY AT HOME ORDER. The order was effective immediately, which means Truckee is currently under the listed restrictions. At this time, there is no expiration date and the order is valid UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE from the Governor.

 
HERE IS WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

Do not be overly alarmed. This order formalizes what most of us are already doing. The order is not completely clear on what services can remain open. Those essential services that you need to live will not be closed. Non-essential businesses will need to comply with the order more than they currently are.
We will work together to understand and adapt to this new order. You will not be arrested for accidentally violating the order. The Truckee Police Department is here to help you and keep you healthy and safe.

The Town of Truckee’s essential services will continue as always. This includes but is not limited to:

• Full police services from Truckee Police Department
• Snow plow and road maintenance from Truckee Public Works
• Essential administrative functions will continue
• Your Town leaders and Town Council continue to strategize and lead government services
• Animal services in limited function and by appointment

Please call (530)582-7700 if you have any questions about a specific Town service.
We are highly confident that Fire/Ambulance services, Power/Water, Sewer, Cable/Internet and Hospital services will continue as they have been. We encourage you to contact those special districts and service providers directly with any specific questions or concerns

Please see the link for the full Executive Order from the Governor at https://covid19.ca.gov/stay-home-except-for-essential-needs/

For additional guidance on what are “essential functions,” see the information at https://www.cisa.gov/government-facilities-sector

The Town of Truckee will continue to provide information on a consistent basis and update our community of any significant changes. Additional information on the progress of COVID-19 and current best practices for personal protections against the virus can be found at https://www.mynevadacounty.com/2924/Coronavirus.

We are and always will be the vibrant, united community that so many have come to appreciate.  We can have a huge impact by acting together.

Sincerely,

Town of Truckee

March 18, 2020:

While COVID-19 is new, and medical professionals are still trying to learn about what it does and how it does it, Emergency Operations and its response is not new. We have prepared for, and handled, similar incidents in the past. Granted, the world-wide scale of COVID-19 is different, but your local and County Emergency Management staff is well trained and experienced to work through the issues that COVID-19 presents. One of the things that makes Emergency Management so resilient is that we are able to scale up and down as needed. In this case, while there are many aspects involved in the response, at the local level, our processes work for any event we face. Though the uncertainty of exactly what COVID-19 does and what the impacts are is challenging; this doesn't affect the Emergency Management side. We still put together plans and respond to the needs of the community the same as for any other large-scale event.

COVID-19 Fact Sheet

Covid-19 Message from Mayor David Polivy

We want to provide our community with the most up to date information surrounding Truckee community resources. We want to emphasize that things are changing rapidly and we will do our best to keep this information current and relevant.

COVID-19 Hotline (530) 582-3450 - Tahoe Forest Hospital System:  
Call if you are experiencing fever, cough, or shortness of breath – for more information or when to seek care. This special hotline is staffed 8:00 am – 5:00 pm.

Free Meals for Kids! - Tahoe Truckee Unified School District:
Meal pickups from 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., Monday – Friday, unless a snow day is called.  Lunch and breakfast for the next day will be provided to each child.

Hunger Relief, Crisis Intervention, Family Support - Sierra Community House – Serving the community on hunger prevention and crisis management.
All offices will remain open until further notice.  Normal on-site food distributions are canceled. Sierra Community House will now deliver pre-packaged, nonperishable (canned and dried boxed) food to all who sign up.

Since the COVID-19 situation developed, Sierra Community House has seen a 50% increase in requests for food delivery services.  This equates to serving 250 homes per week, and the number continues to grow daily. The Town’s grant of $75,000, which was approved by Council on March 25, 2020,  will be used to support the infrastructure ramp-up as well as a new delivery program. There are increases in costs due to new warehouse locations, packaging, boxing, fuel, and staffing to accommodate food delivery. 

To sign up for food delivery please leave a message at: 775-545-4083 or send an email to food@sierracommunityhouse.org

Crisis Line: 1-800-736 -1060-  For Suicide Prevention and Support, please call our Crisis Line at 1-800-736-1060 or the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-8255. Please visit the Tahoe Truckee Suicide Prevention Coalition at www.tahoelifeline.org for more resources.

Emergency Shelter - EMERGENCY WARMING CENTER:
Call 530-386-7954 for a recorded message each day to check if the shelter is open.

Sierra Senior Services – Distributing hot, sealed, take-home meals at the Truckee Donner Senior Apartments (10040 Estates Drive, Truckee), weekdays between 12-12:45 pm to seniors 60 years of age and older. There are no facilities at the location to eat the meal, so plan to take the meal with you. Suggested $5 donation per meal, but no one will be turned away.

 The Town is also providing $10,000 in funding to the Sierra Senior Services to support the distribution of meals to Truckee seniors who are house-bound due to the Governor’s order.  Volunteer drivers distribute hot, ready-to-eat meals mid-day Monday through Friday.  They currently serve 35 Truckee residents, however; numbers have been growing at a rate of 14% per week since the beginning of March.  Based on that, they anticipate serving an additional 30 Truckee seniors over the next 6 weeks. That’s a total of 65 seniors over the next 6 weeks that this Town funding will support.  All seniors over 60 years of age are eligible, and more information can be found at Sierra Seniors.

Small Businesses and Nonprofit Leaders - A Small Business and Nonprofit Webinar Series amidst COVID-19:
Join the Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation and the Sierra Business Council’s Sierra Small Business Development Center for this four-part series. We will share resources, best practices, and available assistance for small business owners and nonprofit leaders.

Town of Truckee Animal Services

Town of Truckee Animal Services will be reducing in person contact by requiring appointments for animal surrenders and redemptions. You can reach Animal Services at 530-582-7830. The Town of Truckee also asks that the public renew pet licenses online by going to their website, or you may mail it in.

 The Humane Society of Truckee Tahoe Pet Pantry

The Humane Society of Truckee Tahoe (HSTT) will continue to operate their Pet Pantry program providing pet food and supplies to our community members. On March 25, 2020 Truckee Town Council voted in favor of assisting the Humane Society of Truckee-Tahoe Pet Pantry Program with $5000. HSTTs pet food donation program is for families facing financial hardship. This program provides financial support to residents by offsetting the cost of pet ownership, and also reduces the number of pets given up because the guardian is experiencing financial hardship. $5,000 Town funding would feed approximately 55 dogs or 150 cats for one month.

If you would like to contribute to the Pet Pantry program, items can be dropped off in the designated bin in front of the shelter seven days per week between the hours of 8:00 am and 5:00 pm (please do not bring in donations outside of those hours, due to surrounding wildlife). We are only able to accept donations of unopened and unexpired pet food and cat litter. Hours for Pet Pantry food pick up or scheduled adoption appointments will be Tuesday through Saturday, from 10:00 am until 3:00 pm.

Additionally,  HSTT is closed for adoptions. Your can reach HSTT at 530-587-5948 or email adoptions@hstt.org.

Suddenlink Student Support - As part of the nationwide effort to keep students and families connected during the COVID-19/Coronavirus, Suddenlink will be extending free Altice Advantage Internet offering to any student in our service area who do not currently have internet connectivity. For more information go to https://www.alticeadvantageinternet.com/

Census 2020: 

A complete Census 2020 count is critical to drive California’s federal funding for services that help support our families and a fair share of representation in California and Washington D.C. It is now more critical than ever to encourage community members to complete the Census online or via phone. Found out more from Nevada County.

Business Resources - COVID-19:

On March 17, 2020 Nevada County was approved for participation in the Small Business Administration (SBA) Economic Injury Disaster Loan program for small businesses. Loans are to help mitigate the financial impact of COVID-19 on small businesses.  Visit the Sierra Small Business Development Center online to learn about resources available to support local businesses, including SBA Disaster and Economic Injury Loans.

Southwest Gas has postponed any disconnection of natural gas service for nonpayment of gas bills indefinitely.  For more info go to:  https://www.swgas.com/en/covid19.