The link to the meeting video may be found at the end of the below meeting summary.
The February 6, 2023 Incline Village/Crystal Bay Citizen Advisory Board featured presentations by Jamie Rodriguez, Washoe County Registrar of Voters, and Andy Chapman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Travel North Nevada, formerly known as Incline Village Crystal Bay Visitors Bureau.
Ms. Rodriguez reported on the 2022 election, our second election with mail-in ballots. She stated the issues to be addressed going forward include:
- Increasing the number of voting centers for some areas,
- Better tracking of mailed ballots,
- Making sure people get their ballots. This involves voter education on how to change their mailing addresses when they’re traveling, etc.
Ms. Rodriguez also explained that individual counties are responsible for voter registration and voter information. A number of areas of community concerns were discussed with her during public comment, including: (i) The Registrar was asked to address a number of problems at our local post office, including the fact that a large percentage of mail to Incline Village Crystal Bay is delivered to post office boxes and not to home addresses, but the DMV does not allow a driver’s license to have a post office box address, which left mail undeliverable. (ii) People who received mailed ballots at the Post Office tossed the ballots into the recycle bin that is left in the unlocked public area of the post office. With large number of ballots left out in the open, voter fraud was possible. (iii) The Registrar was to work with DMV to assure that DMV is only registering U.S. citizens as voters.
Ms. Rodriquez said that there will be three voting cycles instead of two in the upcoming presidential election. There will be a Nevada presidential preference primary the first week of February, the primary election in June, and the general election in November.
Mr. Chapman gave a presentation on the new branding and mission of Travel North Tahoe Nevada (TNTN). The new direction of TNTN is “Responsible Travel Messaging” and “Stewardship Tahoe”. He showed several videos aimed at travelers that stressed the beauty of Tahoe and the request of those who visit to act as stewards of this majestic area. He reviewed a number of programs sponsored in part by TNTN, including TART Connect bus service, the July 4 Sky show, and the four musical programs in February and March called the “Road to Wondergrass Tahoe”, which promote the weekend long festival. “Winter Wondergrass” will be held at the Palisades Tahoe Ski Resort. The TNTN’s rebranding has refocused TNTN and its new direction will hopefully be successful in educating visitors to responsibly enjoy Lake Tahoe.
The third agenda item was an action item proposed by IV/CB CAB Chair, Diane Becker, for CAB members to consider an action item to invite each of the Washoe County Commissioners to the IV/CB CAB meeting for a presentation of information on Incline Village/Crystal Bay and some of our special conditions and needs. The CAB will consider and get public input on how to best make a presentation of the many issues which face Incline Village/Crystal Bay community and Lake Tahoe.
Commissioner Hill gave an update on the recent strategic planning meeting of the Washoe County Board of County Commissioners. The Commissioners have set priorities for the upcoming year which will include a focus on: equity and accessibility; infrastructure improvements, election system and technology improvements, environmental sustainability, budgeting to correct employee retainment and staff classifications, and affordable housing strategies including streamlining planning and permitting, softening some fees for development and ADUs, among others.
The next meeting will be held on March 6, 2023.
Link to the video of the meeting: