By Kathryn Reed

While a contract has not been signed, most of the particulars have been worked out to ensure SnowGlobe, the three-day music festival, returns to South Lake Tahoe in December.

Lake Tahoe Community College is having a different role this year compared to the past. No longer will buildings on campus be used by the festival organizers. Instead, a tent will be set up at Bijou Community Park for the concert to run its administrative components from there.

The college parking lot will continue to be the drop off location for patrons coming via bus.

With the college and city being partners in the community ball fields consortium, the two entities together regulate what happens with the two new fields. Sod was put in this fall, so this will be the first time the three-day concert will be on the new fields. Last year it was just on the dirt. Prior to 2016 the concert was on the soccer field.

The college board at its meeting on Oct. 10 gave direction to staff to essentially finalize the contract. It should be before the board in November for a vote.

“As related to the field, we are making sure they are protected,” LTCC President Jeff DeFranco told Lake Tahoe News.

There are three tiers to renting the ball fields. The least expensive level is for local nonprofits, then for nonprofits using it as a fund raiser, and the highest fee reserved for for-profit organizations like the Colorado-based SnowGlobe. DeFranco said the rental rate for SnowGlobe will be $50,000. This is about double the price of the least expensive rate.

This will be year-seven for SnowGlobe in South Lake Tahoe. Photo/Lesia Witkowsky

The city at a meeting earlier this year had wanted to implement an assessment per ticket that would be used for field maintenance. If a long-term contract were ever entered into, like promoter Chad Donnelly wants, this component could be part of that deal. Donnelly would like a 10-year commitment from the city.

The electeds have agreed SnowGlobe can come back in 2018, but beyond that they want to see how the field holds up. That assessment will come in the spring after the snow melts.

The college agreement, though, would be for just 2017.

The rental fee is strictly to be used for long-term maintenance, not any damage associated with the festival. Another part of the contract will deal with promoters being responsible for repairs.

“The other discussion was to ensure concrete requirements about demobilization,” DeFranco said. The board wants to put some “teeth” into the contract.

The college, city and residents were frustrated last spring as the site started to look dilapidated because remnants from the concert littered the area long after the promoters left town.