Good morning, forum. I’m Denise Davis, your moderator. Ronda Tycer is our forum recap editor, and Amanda McPhaill is our tech guru.
As a reminder, this meeting is being recorded. Before you begin speaking, please state your name. While speaking, please be respectful—personal attacks will not be tolerated. For those online, if you’d like to share URLs, post them in the Chat Box and they’ll be included in the meeting recap. We partner with IVCB Community 1st.org and IVCBA.org to get information out. So, be sure to visit their websites and sign up for their newsletters. To sign up for our forum meeting notices and recaps, send an email to us at ivcbcommunityforum@gmail.com.
So, Kari. What is happening at IVGID?
Kari Ferguson – Incline Village General Improvement District Communication Coordinator
Good morning, everybody, and happy Friday on this beautiful fall day with gorgeous weather. I have a few updates I’ll list. If you have questions, raise your hand or wave.
• The IVGID Audit Committee met yesterday. That was livestreamed and is already on the website. To watch the meeting, click on the livestream. I’ll put all the links in the Chat for you for all events and information points.
• Burnt Cedar Beach is without water today. They are replacing a backflow device on the piping. If you’re planning to go to the beach today, and it is a beautiful fall day, maybe choose Incline or Ski Beach where the restrooms are available.
• The Burnt Cedar pool is closed for the season. We really appreciate everyone’s help while running the pool with the new equipment. It’s exciting everyone is getting to enjoy this beautiful asset we now have in Incline Village.
• We have a Board of Trustees meeting on Wednesday October 11 at the Chateau at 6pm. Note the location change there. It’s going to be a town-hall format. I’ll link the agenda in the Chat, which will have a little bit more information. I want to let everyone know it’s not a typical board meeting. So, make sure everyone has that on their radar for next Wednesday.
• The Diamond Peak Winter Job Fair will be held on Thursday October 12 at Diamond Peak from 10-12. So, if you’re interested in becoming part of the team at Diamond Peak, we’d love to have you. We’ll have snacks and food, so bring a friend. You’ll get to meet the hiring managers right there. It’s a great opportunity if you’re looking for winter employment.
• Tentatively, the Mountain Golf Course will be open until October 15, weather permitting. Today it’s a gorgeous day out. I was out on the Mountain Course this week, and I can’t believe how gorgeous it is out there. It was pretty warm which is unusual for this time of year. So try to get out there for 9 holes or 18 if you can.
• The Championship Golf Course will tentatively close October 17. A few days after, there’s some maintenance and fall protocol to get courses ready for winter. We want to be ready in case we have a big winter again.
• The Grill at the Chateau will close October 20. They aren’t doing inside dining on Mondays and Tuesdays, just grab-and-go style. You can still go to the bar.
• The effluent-pipeline project is still going strong, however, there is light at the end of the tunnel and it will be winding down. There’s a week-and-a-half or so left of the project. All end pieces, and everything is going really well with the good weather in which to work. I’ll put the links for this project as well in the Chat.
•Parks and Recreation’s Trail of Treats is set for Thursday October 26from 3:30-5:30. Registration is open for the event. I’ll put the link in the Chat. You can go to the web page “events” for more information. It is free for IVCB residents. It’s free because of our amazing partners in our village. All the partners contribute to make this a fun family event for the whole community. So, thank you.
That’s all of my updates I think. Denise did I forget anything? You usually have a list.
Denise Davis
With the trail of treats, they need to register because they sign up for certain time slots.
Kari Ferguson
That’s correct. We have two time slots. During COVID there were multiple slots. Now we have just two. We’re trying to get an idea of how much candy to have, and for our partners to know how many people will be funneling through. So, sign up ahead of time. And we can also contact you in case of weather or something like that happens.
Denise Davis
Just to reiterate so everyone knows, the October 11 Board of Trustees meeting is a town-hall format at the Chateau from 6-8:30 pm. There will be opportunities for initial and ending public comments, but they may be limited due to the number of people. Mostly, it will be a moderated Q&A session discussing topics of shared community interest. Members of the public may submit their questions in writing before, at, and during the meeting.
And speaking of the effluent pipeline, the Environment Assessment Document for Phase 2 is on line at the IVGID website. If you’re not familiar with where the project area is, I printed out a couple of maps to show you where the project area is. There’s an environmental impact document that describes the change of plans after the project was permitted, and the lack of significant impacts because of those changes. All documents are online at IVGID website. Are there any other questions for IVGID?
Kari Ferguson
I’ll link those in the Chat as well.
Denise Davis
The IVGID Magazine is out so be sure to check that out. There’s lots of good information. Chief Sommers, how are you today?
Ryan Sommers – North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District Chief
I’m feeling good. I believe Tia is online and she has an update for us.
Tia Rancourt – North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District Information Officer
Good morning everyone. I have a few things to go over.
• First and foremost, we’re lifting fire restrictions effective Monday October 9. We’ll be opening up for outdoor burning which will be permissible with a permit. The permits are available Monday through Friday. I’ll put a link to the website in the Chat.
• Just a reminder that the Emergency Preparedness and Evacuation Forum will be October 18 at the Chateau from 5:30-7:00 pm. In an effort to capture and streamline public input and questions, we are asking folks to please email input to: emergencymanagement@washoecounty.gov by Friday the 13th.
All input and questions received will be addressed. Remote attendance will be offered and the meeting will be recorded. I’ll put that info into the Chat as well.
• Free chipping and defensible space services are still available. That will probably be winding down in the next couple of weeks. We’ll get that information out as soon as we pin that down.
• Also I have a reminder for the NV Energy helicopter fuels mitigation project that’s still taking place in our area through the end of the month. It’s going really well. If anyone has questions on that, the chief can answer those questions. We’re happy to be partnering with them and doing that good work.
• And last, just a reminder to think about winter preparations and buttoning up your house to get it ready for winter. That’s all I have. Thank you.
Denise Davis
There are a lot of photos and some good videos on the NLTFPD website of the clearing that’s going on. Tia, I know you said the Emergency Preparedness and Evacuation Forum is being recorded. Does that mean it will be available later for people who aren’t able to make it that night.
Tia Rancourt
Yes.
Denise Davis
Are there any other questions for the chief or Tia?
Jim Novak – Incline Village Resident
My question pertains to fire protection and the insurance industry. You know that in California, State Farm is pulling out. One of the reasons is the reinsurers are nervous about risk. I’m wondering what are the NLTFPD and perhaps TRPA doing to help make sure we have carriers to insure the homes here. The carriers want 100 feet of clearance around homes. Are the Fire Department and TRPA supportive of that?
Jeff Cowen – Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Public Information Officer
All the fire agencies and TRPA have agreed on the defensible space zones and the way they’re managed. But they’re not clear. They are thin and managed up to 100 feet from the house if you have that much space. I don’t know if that meets their requirements or not. But that’s where we are right now.
Jim Novak
Well insurance companies are really good at collecting premiums. And they don’t like to pay claims. They like 100 feet to even the trees because the crown fires get up in there and start building. And once something starts to get going it’s hard to stop. It’s something that is recommended by the Fire Department and TRPA. I can hook you up with some of the people in the industry. What we don’t want happening up here, is that we are right now at the cusp of not being renewed by most carriers. And if the people here can’t get insurance, it will be a very difficult situation.
Jeff Cowen
Absolutely. It is a big issue. We will definitely like to work with those folks through the Tahoe Fire and Fuels team. It wouldn’t be TRPA on our own. But there is a big basin-wide coordinated group. And I want to mention quickly, the other thing helping some folks with insurance is that the Tahoe Resource Conservation District is helping people organize and become fire-adapted communities. There’s now a big network including 24 communities in the basin that are fire-adapted communities. Some go one step further and become “fire-wise” communities. When you become fire-wise community, you get a national certification and often the insurance companies will look at rates for that neighborhood. I don’t know if that also means they’re not going to lose coverage in that neighborhood. But there are companies listening at least to things that are improvements being made.
Jim Novak
Yea, they make up over 40%…
Ryan Sommers
I want everyone to know we’re very well aware of the situation. Scott Lindgren, the Chief of Tahoe Douglas, and I actually got a 1-on-1 meeting with the State Insurance Commissioner and educated him about a lot of the work that’s been taking place in the basin, which included the defensible space zones. He admitted, “I had no idea there’s this much work going on.” And we were able to support that with documentation and data. Again, that’s why we brought the Defensible Space Program online so we can begin collecting better data to give to the insurance companies. It’s a work in progress. We’re very well aware of it.
I believe we got some favorable consideration from TRPA, as Jeff mentioned. What we got is a bit clearer than Jeff recollects. But it is district-by-district and not necessarily basin-wide.
The one thing I know NLTFPD will do is—if you’re up against a nonrenewal—please contact us, and we’ll come out and supply our forms, and take pictures that you can submit to your carrier. I can say some will work with you after getting the most up-to-date information about your property instead of the Google Earth or Earthlink shot that was taken –how many X-years ago—which isn’t really representative of the current work that’s going on in the basin.
Jim Novak
Thank you.
Denise Davis
And we’re not just “on the cusp” of it. Some of us have already got our nonrenewal notices. Thank you, chief. Is there anything else for Tia or Chief Sommers? Just don’t forget the meeting on October 18th, and to submit your comments by next Friday October 13th.
Blaine Beard – Washoe County Sheriff Office Captain
Good morning, everybody. Once again, thank you everyone in the community for making the Incline Community Picnic a huge hit. It was a great turnout. We had a great time. So thank you all for making that possible. I have a couple of updates in the village here. In case you haven’t noticed, there are four more solar-powered speed-monitoring digital signs that have been installed in town. We now have a total of eight. Those were put in a week-and-a-half ago by Washoe County Roads. I’d like to thank them for that and for Commissioner Hill for making that possible. There are four more locations in town we’re now monitoring in order to get four additional signs put in before the end of the year. Mitch Fink and his team at the Roads Department have been phenomenal in working with our team to get some of these things accomplished. We’re very proud of that. Again a lot of additional signage is showing up around town and being constructed. It’s good to know that we’re still trying to make headway even though we’re pretty much done with the summer months and it will slow down. The work’s not done yet and we’ll keep seeing it through.
As far as crime stats go, as of September 23, in Incline there was:
• 1 aggravated assault, which could be something as simple as a domestic battery, or a battery in town, or something of that nature. It’s not necessarily a higher felony-class crime. There was 1 assault in town.
• 1 residential burglary
• 0 vehicle burglaries, which is great, especially with September being the last month of summer and kids out of school, and things of that nature. I’d love to say it’s because of Sergeant Tone and our phenomenal team being out there and being proactive, but I think we got kind of lucky, too. But, there were no vehicle burglaries, so we’re really proud of that.
• 5 destructions of property (DOPs). That’s something we’re going to have to take a look at. Part of that is with the kids being out of school prior or maybe it was the break. I don’t know, but we have to figure that out. That number’s too high. Zero is an appropriate number. We get one or two, but five in one month is a bit high. Everything else has remained pretty much fluid throughout the summer months. There were no real upticks.
Lastly, before I conclude, I’m going to be retiring on October 26th. It’s coming up quickly. It just kind of hit me one day. This is hard, so bear with me. I’ve been 26.2 years in law- enforcement. It’s kind of all I know. And I need to know something else. This community has been amazing. I’ll be back. Thank you.
Nick Tone – Washoe County Sheriff Office Sergeant
I was going to talk about the addition of the street signs. I’m going to be coming to these forums for the foreseeable future, as I have been the past couple of months. If any of you guys need to contact me, I’ll have my email added and I have a little pile of my cards. This side of the week I’m on day shift, so if you guys have any questions or concerns you can always reach me by email. It’s probably the easiest way to get me because I’m out and about and I may not be able to answer my phone. But you can send me a text message on my work phone or send an email. I’ll be more than happy to get back to you guys and answer any questions. For those who don’t know me—there are a couple of faces here that I haven’t seen before—I’ve been in Incline Village since 2017 as a deputy, and I was promoted to sergeant about a year ago. It’s just a couple of days shy of a year now. I’m up here, confirmed as sergeant, and I’ll be here for the foreseeable future. I’ve been in this community for a while and I’m happy to be here and happy I was able to come back as supervisor. Do you have any questions for us right now?
Denise Davis
Just to clarify, I know that statistics are important. If we see something happening, I assume you would like us to report it to Dispatch.
Nick Tone
Absolutely. If it’s an emergency, use 911. If it’s something that isn’t an emergency but that requires immediate attention—someone’s being assaulted, or there’s a crime in progress, those kinds of things—please use our nonemergency line. It will still get you to a dispatcher. The dispatcher will take your name and put in a call for service to a deputy, even if it’s a phone call. If you need to speak to somebody about something that’s on your mind that doesn’t seem right or doesn’t look right, that’s a totally valid reason to call us and we can answer your question. Call that nonemergency line and one of our deputies will give you a call back and be able to help you out.
Helen Neff – Incline Village Resident
I’d like to thank Captain Beard for all his work. I’m very, very sad he’ll be leaving but respect his decision. I have a question, but I’m not sure if this is for the Sheriff Department or for TRPA or a combination, and it really has to do with Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT).
They repaved State Route 28, but they have not painted the bike lanes along 28. I don’t know if there’s room headed westbound for the bike lane the way they painted the center stripe. The 947 Tahoe Boulevard traffic study really stressed how great it is that there are bike lanes, and bikes are not prohibited on the path anymore. So, I’m wondering if someone can address that, or get an answer on what’s going to happen there. Thank you.
Nick Tone
That is NDOT because it’s on State Route 28. I’ll see if I can find an answer for you. If I see Sergeant John Dodge with NV State Police today, I’ll see if maybe he has some insight on it. I’ll be happy to get back to everybody if I hear anything. But that is an NDOT question.
Helen Neff
Yes, the problem is that it’s really difficult to get answers from NDOT. I know TRPA’s transportation department has a great relationship with NDOT and so does Washoe County, so if someone can get an answer, that would be great. And if you need a picture of how it looked before, just let me know, because I have a photo.
Jeff Cowen
Thanks, Helen. I will do that as well.
Helen Neff
Okay. Thanks, guys. I appreciate it.
Denise Davis
Sergeant Tone, do you know who will be moving up here at the substation?
Nick Tone
We do not know yet. As far as I’m aware, for the interim, Captain Zerkel is in charge of all of the patrol. And he’ll be taking over those responsibilities until we hear what is going to happen with Captain Beard’s replacement. But for now, in between Captain Beard and me we also have Lieutenant Anthony Miceli who has a lot of experience up here in Incline. He’s been up here for quite some time as well. He just doesn’t work Fridays. But he’s always at the Citizen Advisory Board (CAB).
Denise Davis
Yes, he’s at the CAB. All right. Are there any other questions for the Sheriff Office? How about a round of appreciation for Captain Beard? [applause] Maybe we’ll see him one more time before he rolls off into retirement.
I want to announce that we have an upcoming Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Academy coming up in October. It includes six different training sessions. You don’t have to do all six in a row. We know people have other things going on. Unfortunately, you do need to be in person because you participate in exercises and practice things. I just want to let you know what we cover in the academy. The sessions include:
1 – disaster prep
2 – incident command system – How to maintain control over a disaster.
3 – med ops – first aid and training in how to handle emergencies, and disaster psychology
4 – fire safety and learning how to use fire extinguishers
5 – life search and rescue
6 – terrorism, rail safety, and some training exercises.
All of the training is free. And our sponsor is the Washoe County Sheriff Office, although our Fire Department lets us use their building and we store things at the Fire Department. We use all of our emergency people for Washoe County CERT. We also recently merged with the Tahoe City CERT, so we can handle things on both sides of the state line. Washoe County CERT is registered in Placer County and Placer registered in Washoe. The state line is not the boundary that it used to be.
If you are interested in any of that, I highly urge you to go. If you don’t want to help with community events, at least be prepared for yourself and your family because it’s important. We don’t have a 1:1 ratio of emergency responders to residents. It’s everyone’s personal responsibility to have a plan and be prepared.
Kari Ferguson
I just want to say thanks to all the CERT people. And if anyone is interested, I’d also give them feedback that without CERT help, none of our events or programs, and all the things we do for Parks and Recreation would be possible without CERT. They are so helpful. Thank you. If anyone has questions about it, Denise is awesome or Howard at the Rec Center who works with seniors. We’re huge fans at the Rec Center. So thank you, thank you!
Denise Davis
Thanks, Kari. So yes, be prepared for yourself, and if you want to help your community, we expand out and help with community events as well.
Steve Dolan – Incline Village Resident, Friends of 3rd Creek Director
I just have a quick announcement. If you want to look at the US Forest Service project leveling the meadow where Incline Lake used to be, I have brought the LIDAR map here and I can explain it after the meeting.
Secondly, and possibly more important, is that the US Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) has a new survey out called the Basin Wide Trails Analysis Project. It is proposing that somewhere around a third of the basin’s trails become e-bike friendly. I don’t know how you feel about that, one way or the other. I do know that Pam Straley has a strong opinion. I thought I’d let you guys know that the comment period for that proposal is from now until October 28th at midnight. You can go online and make comment at LTBMU Basin Wide Trails Analysis Project and find the comment section to comment about how you feel about e-bikes on forest trails. [https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=54566]
Amanda McPhaill – Washoe Incline Library Librarian
This Tuesday October 10 we have our Tahoe Talks about mining in Nevada. We have two professors from UNR coming—a professor from the Mining School and one from the Department of Geology. We’ve also invited someone from our Reno-Sparks Indian colony to come to discuss lithium mining at Winnemucca Thacker Pass. Topics they’ll cover including mining in Nevada, the economics of it for our state, the resources we have, environmental impacts, and impacts from the Native American perspective.
On Tuesday October 17, we’ll have a Tech Talk about Artificial Intelligence, which is an up-and-coming new technology, and the ethics around that as well. Those two programs are the highlights for October.
Denise Davis
And there is a repeat of the Maker Space.
Amanda McPhaill
Yes. Our IV Quad Encore program is on Saturday from 10:30 to noon. They are creating trick-or-treat bags for free.
We’re also celebrating “banned book week.” It ends today, but we’re keeping our display out probably until the end of the month. It is at the front of the library. We have a “banned book peep show” appropriate for the State of Nevada. You peep into a little carton and get a view of the book and the reason why it was banned or challenged.
Denise Davis
I’ll see if I can make the mine talk. I worked in a mine. Has anybody else worked in a mine in Nevada? That’s why I know about FONSIs and environmental assessments and all that good stuff.
Linda Offerdahl – Incline Village Community and Business Association Executive Director
I know Captain Beard has left but I really want to express the community’s gratitude to him and his commitment to our community. I’ve spoken with him. It’s his intention to stay as involved as he can through the fall to follow through on things that he’s initiated.
• Tuesday IVCBA has a “Welcome to IVCBA” mixer at the Mountain Workspace. If you are a member or you want more information, please come and talk to us.
• We’re gearing up for Northern Lights. That’s the celebration—it used to be 1 month and now I think it’s 2 months long—of all things in the holiday. We’ll have our usual [32:23 inaudible] shops at the shopping center, a community event at UNR called Candy Cane Village, and the lighting thing, which will again include a lighting contest. There will be more to come on that later.
• And we have an update on the Grocery Outlet. Their grand opening date is now November 16th at 10am. And they would love to have a big turnout for that event. And I met with Natural Grocer. They gave a really optimistic opening date of sometime in January. I smiled at them and said, “You really have until the 4th of July.” You can see the building that has gone up. I’ve seen the plans. I think the community will be happy with the aesthetics of that building when they’re finished.
Yolanda Knaak – Incline Village Resident
I have a question for Linda. You got the grant for beautifying our downtown. And how is that going?
Linda Offerdahl
The grant was a reimbursement grant. It was given by the county through the Federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). That was money that came to Washoe County for their community reinvestment program. Yes, we were awarded $75,000 for what we call the Main Street Initiative. I, in turn, talked about redevelopment and revitalization. However, in order to get those funds there are a whole host of things that have to happen. We have our set of objectives, all related. But there are still some hoops that we are jumping through in order to actually be accepted into that program. So, we have not made much progress on that I’m sorry to say.
Denise Davis
Thanks, Linda. Since we’ve been discussing roads I’ll give you the report that was posted on the NDOT website. NDOT typically posts their plans for the week-ahead on Friday late morning or early afternoon as they’re finishing up their work for the week. So this is not what might be next week’s schedule, but this is the current information on their site.
• Daytime work near Thunderbird Lodge will be continuing. Curbs and gutter improvements will be continuing.
• And “paving in Incline Village is done.” That’s what they said.
• They said that in mid-October, there will be milling and paving from the Crystal Bay post office to the state line. That will be 24 hours a day. I can attest to that. They did that behind my house.
• Striping will begin next week on October 9 weather permitting. I assume it has to be a certain temperature to do that. That is the information as of now, but it will probably be updated by the time we get out of this meeting, so check the NDOT website if you’re trying to get somewhere.
At the Citizen Advisory Board (CAB) meeting on Monday evening we discussed the Tahoe Transportation District (TTD) agenda item about the dissolution of the Incline Mobility Hub committee. We also discussed the planned presentation by the CAB for all the county commissioners. Members of our community have felt that maybe some of our commissioners aren’t aware of all the additional issues we face because of all our additional agencies we deal with. Or sometimes they just don’t understand the logistics of how things work in our village, especially in winter. And so we are working on a presentation. Diane Becker Heirshberg has talked with the commissioners, and they have each agreed to a half hour one-on-one meeting, and a 10-minute board presentation just to talk about Incline to make them aware of some things. CAB member Roxanna Dunn is working on compiling community feedback from different surveys and discussions to narrow down what we can talk about. Because 30 minutes isn’t long when you have a long list of issues. She’s working on that, so I urge you to come to our next CAB meeting, which is the first Monday of the month. The first Monday in November is the 6th. They are held here in the library from 5:30-7:00 or you can join online.
Shirley Appel – Incline Village Resident, HOA President
Just as an announcement, Alexis Hill will join Conversation Café next Thursday morning from 10-11:30 a.m. If you have questions for her, this might be a good time to come and make them known.
Steve Dolan
I have a comment regarding the dissolution of the Incline Mobility Hub group. One of the things I read said that it was “nonrepresentational,” and not enough people attending. And the small group was mostly antagonistic. I would say that a group of 30 people isn’t that small. I know that the representation at the meetings I attended included young professionals, retired people, and members of the Hispanic community here in Incline—which is quite large—who made comments, and seniors. So I feel like that’s really not a fair argument to dissolve the Incline Mobility Hub committee.
Yolanda Knaak
I just want to mention something. In the very beginning when the IVGID recall was discussed, I spoke out against the recall. One of the reasons why—the main reason I should say—is because IVGID has to pay for the recall election. People aren’t taking that into consideration. If they do get enough signatures approved – they have enough signatures but need to make sure they are qualified signatures—they will hire staff to write the ballot and print sample ballots and then print the ballots. I don’t know if we’re going to be able to use the state’s computer system for voting because they are making changes to it for next year’s election. So, it’s going to be quite expensive. Some people are throwing out numbers like $150,000. That’s something we’re going to have to pay as residents paying fees to IVGID. So I just want to let everyone know that… make sure everyone understands that… it’s the taxpayers who own properties that are going to be paying for this election.
Denise Davis
All right. Moving on. The Board of County Commissioners will be meeting Tuesday October 10. I noticed when looking at the agenda that public comment has returned to being heard at the beginning of the meeting. I don’t know if that’s a permanent return or temporary.
• I also want to make people aware that once a month they are doing an invocation at the Board of County Commissioners meeting. They indicate which meeting that is on their list of meetings.
• On the agenda for October 10, Incline related items include a retroactive agreement for storm-water BMPs for the Upper 3rd Creek and Rosewood Creek project;
• Item 8 is a “Recommendation to approve the third addendum to the State Route 28 Corridor Operations and interlocal Agreement between [WC, TTD, NDOT, NV Division of State Parks, NV Division of State Lands, NV Department of Public Safety and Highway Patrol, IVGID, Carson City Parks & Rec, Douglas County Parks & Rec] and the TRPA.
• “The 3rd addendum to the interlocal agreement identifies responsibilities of agency partners Washoe County, TTD, and the NV Division of State Parks regarding the management, maintenance, and operations of parking and the trail along State Route 28, and the collection of parking revenues. The fees are collected by TTD and used to reimburse Washoe County, and the NV Division of State Parks, for any operational or maintenance costs associated with parking and the trail along State Route 28. The reimbursement amount is not expected to exceed $300,000 for fiscal year for 23-24.”
That was the lone agenda Item #8 in regards to Incline.
• They also reported the updated property tax refund report. The bottom line is:
$22,530,192 in tax refunds + $21,523,263 in interest for a grand total through the end of September of $44, 053, 456, repaid to Incline Village residents.
• Moving on… The TRPA Advisory Planning Commission (APC) that typically takes place on the first Tuesday of the month has been rescheduled to October 16th. The agenda is not posted, so I don’t know what’s on it.
• The Washoe County Board of Adjustment, which takes place on the first Thursday of the month, was cancelled due to a lack of a quorum. We seem to be having quorum issues this week.
• The TTD Board was scheduled to meet on Wednesday. It was not held because they were one person short of the physical quorum required by the State of California. Yesterday, Andy Chapman announced he believes the TTD Board meeting has been rescheduled for October 16. There is nothing on the TTD website yet. I assume they will probably be using the same agenda. If that’s the case, then the dissolution of the Incline Mobility Hub Committee will be on the agenda. But it’s not on their website yet, so I’m just going with Andy’s statement that it’s been rescheduled for October 16th. If you’re interested in reading the agenda item about dissolving the Mobility Hub Committee, I printed it out. There are some interesting—what on the surface seems to be—contradictory statements. I’ll just leave it at that. Jeff, would you like to talk to us about the TRPA? Thanks for being with us today.
Jeff Cowen
You’re welcome. It’s my pleasure. Thank you for having me. Mostly, I just want to check in and say hi, but I want to update everybody on the New Zealand mudsnail invasion. I can’t believe it was only a week ago that the announcement came out. We’ve been incredibly busy with communications and trying to educate boaters. But we’ve also been reaching into the science community and our aquatic invasive species partners in the basin to determine next steps.
Preliminarily, we’ve been doing a lake-wide transect survey to find out what the extent of the New Zealand mudsnail infestation might be. The information hasn’t been made public yet, but so far it looks like it’s just one section along South Shore about 3 miles long. We have not found their physical presence in other portions of the lake. That doesn’t mean we’re out of the woods. There are DNA tests that need to be done. There were DNA tests in other parts of the lake showing the New Zealand mudsnail DNA. They are incredibly small and difficult to spot.
it doesn’t change a lot about what needs to happen for boaters and paddlers. We’ve uploaded instructions to the Tahoe Boat Inspection website for new protocols that are happening now that Lake Tahoe can become a source of the New Zealand mudsnails in other lakes. We are now requiring boats who have been in Tahoe to be decontaminated before they launch into other lakes, which was already the case with Echo and Fallen Leaf lakes, which are in our watershed; but now also boats that leave Lake Tahoe and come back without a seal. In other words, if they’ve actually been pulled off their trailer somewhere within 6 months of leaving Tahoe, they will automatically be decontaminated. It is something we’ve always done. If a boat comes from an at-risk area, they get automatically decontaminated regardless of inspection.
We’re just trying to ramp those things up and make sure folks don’t move the New Zealand mudsnails from one part of the lake to another. That’s one of our main concerns. If you pull out in south shore and launch in north shore, we want to make sure that boat’s completely decontaminated. We are recommending that boats that take on water in an area that has evidence of the New Zealand mudsnails, that they leave that water there and don’t spill that water anywhere else in the lake. And anybody who hauls out from shore is checking very closely for their vessel to be “clean-drained-and dry” and to dispose of any vegetation. We have other instructions I won’t go into about freezing fishing gear and things like that for 24 hours. They’re very resilient and not easy to kill in a lake or in a water system or when they’re out of that water system. So keep an eye out for that. I’ll take questions.
Denise Davis
Is there a natural predator for them?
Jeff Cowen
So, no. Most of the time invasive species are coming from other parts of the country or other countries where they have natural balances. But those balances don’t typically come with them. The deep-dive on that one is that for the New Zealand mudsnail… in New Zealand there are parasites that actually keep that species in check. And those parasites don’t exist here. So, they can proliferate incredibly well. There are areas in really suitable habitat where they can reach as much as 100,000 per square meter. So they can get really thick. The reason that we’re leaning into science and there is a science conference next weekend that we’re using to really talk more about the New Zealand mud snail is that there is very little research on the New Zealand mudsnail in freshwater lakes. Most of the time it’s in rivers and streams. That’s where all the research is. And then even more specific, Tahoe is such a high alpine cold, clear body of water, there’s even less research. So it may be a while before we can say, “Here’s what the impacts are, here’s what the concern is.”
Kari Ferguson
Thanks, Jeff for the info. I put two links in the Chat for Tahoe Boat Inspection websites – and also the Tahoe Keepers website. They both have awesome information for keeping your boat and all that goes along with boating and inflatable watercraft. It makes you really think. I’ve linked both of those in the Chat to help you out.
Jeff Cowen
Thanks for that. I don’t have my computer, so thank you.
Denise Davis
Is there any other TRPA news?
Jeff Cowen
We had a great, informative Regional Plan Implementation Committee (RPIC) meeting on the TRPA housing amendments that are coming forward at our Governing Board meeting last month. That proposal is now moving through additional review, public feedback, and environmental analysis for the next couple of months. You can find out more at TRPA/housing if you want to look into that. We had a great webinar a couple of weeks ago. We posted responses to about 100 questions that we received during the webinar. We’re just going to keep taking feedback and getting this through the Advisory Planning Commission, through RPIC, and then the Governing Board may consider this for adoption in December. That was the schedule we’ve been asked to keep.
Yolanda Knaak
Are you talking about housing in the sense of extending the height, increasing density, and allowing greater coverage? Can you give me some more information about that?
Jeff Cowen
Yes. The really good information is on the website. We’ve been requested by the Governing Board and by the Tahoe Living Working Group to come forward with policy amendments to our land-use policies that would make it more cost effective for private builders to build deed-restricted affordable housing without subsidies of public monies coming in to help it out. That’s not at all going to be the only solution that’s needed in the basin. This is 1 out of 3 phases that we’re bringing forward. Then we’ll continue to support other initiatives in the basin as well.
Yolanda Knaak
It sounds like you’re going to be going up 5 stories on these buildings. Also, I have another question. Who is going to do the follow-up to ensure these properties go to low-income housing? I’ve heard concerns about everybody pointing to everybody else, and no one is really going to do that. So I have really big concerns about that.
Jeff Cowen
First about the height… In town centers only the proposal is to allow deed-restricted affordable housing projects to go up another 9 feet over what is already allowed. It would be one story in addition to what’s currently allowed in town centers. And then when you get slightly outside of town centers into areas that are zoned Multifamily, those are not allowed to go quite as high. I’m not sure what the number is, but those are basically going to be like duplexes, triplexes, and four-plexes at the most. That’s the height issue.
Then the coverage issue is allowing greater density and greater coverage, but the stormwater systems then need to be much more advanced and onsite. There are a number of issues. If after it is approved, if a builder comes forward, it could take a very long time to get a builder to come in and invest in these projects. But then they also may not be able to maximize the building according to those policies because of other issues like parking, stormwater, and things like that.
It’s just a matter of getting more options out there for deed-restricted housing. But yes, there’s a lot of information on our website as well about the enforcement. We’ve done a lot of backup enforcement of existing deed restrictions. We have a third-party contractor through request-for-proposals coming in to map out what our compliance program is going to be going forward. Currently, we require every deed-restricted housing unit in the basin to annually submit a report of the income and situation of the person. With that, there is no passing the buck. TRPA is taking responsibility for that.
Denise Davis
Let me just spark your memory. I have a couple of meetings written down for you.
• The TRPA Advisory Planning Commission (APC) has a meeting scheduled for October 11. It looks like on the agenda they are reviewing some of their thresholds.
• On October 18, the TRPA Tahoe Living-Working Group has a meeting scheduled.
• Recently there was a TRPA Flashvote regarding regional housing, and I put a link to results so if you were not part of the survey, you can see what others answered and sign up for future surveys. Flashvote surveys come from all different entities and groups, so check that out.
Are there any other questions for Jeff? Okay, thank you. We appreciate you being here.
I want to let everyone know I did get some information from the Tahoe Fund about the East Shore Trail expansion. The URL will be in the recap and in the Chat. I just want to give a quick reminder of the important meetings on October 11 with the IVGID Town Hall, and October 18 with the Washoe County Emergency Preparedness and Evacuation Forum. So please put those on your calendar.
Kristina Hill – Incline Village Resident
I want to say that on October 17 Placer County Supervisors will do a major amendment to their Basin Area Plan allowing for the new code amendments Jeff was discussing regarding height, density, and coverage. There are no parking requirements for multifamily housing.
They propose this under the guise of affordable housing. But with their definition of affordable housing, it can apply to someone who makes way more money than I do. That’s not saying much. But it just doesn’t seem like it’s going to solve our workforce’s affordable housing problems. It’s not going to be affordable to ski instructors or firemen or teachers and others who make normal amounts of money working jobs in Tahoe. It’s important to get involved in this situation, and maybe attend that meeting. I think this is a very important issue. It’s going to affect our whole Lake Tahoe community. And once it’s done, it’s going to be very hard to reverse. It will create a lot more urbanization with tall buildings, no parking, and an unlimited density. It warrants our attention and involvement.
I’ll say one more thing about affordable housing. I’ve been representing the Sierra Nevada College—now UNR—for 40-some years. They have affordable housing in their dorms. And all we had to do was to submit a report every year to TRPA like Jeff was saying other deed-restricted housing will be required to submit. And nobody read that report. Nobody reviewed it. Then we’d go 3, 5, 6 years without a report. And Jeff, when is the last time you got a report from the university about deed-restrictions of those dorms? It’s not enforced. It just allows for a lot of violation of that regulation. Thanks.
Denise Davis
Does anyone else have any questions, comments, or announcements? All right. We’re going to finish on time today. I remind you that next Friday is Friday the 13th. Stay safe, keep your eyes open, please be careful, and we will see you in 2 weeks. Bye.
PARTICIPANTS
Amanda McPhaill
Blaine Beard
Chris Wood
Christine Popp
Denise Davis
Helen Neff
Jacquie Chandler
Jeff Cowan
Jennifer Greenough
Jim Novack
Jon Davidson
Kari Wingate
Kristina Hill
Linda Offerdahl
Miranda Jacobson
Nick Tone
Pam Straley
Rob Watson
Ronda Tycer
Ryan Sommers
Shelia Leijion
Shirley Appel
Steve Dolan
Steve Price
Tia Rancourt
Yolanda Knaak
Chat Log
09:13:44 From Kari Wingate – Ferguson : Audit committee meeting video: https://livestream.com/ivgid/events/10982989
09:15:15 From Kari Wingate – Ferguson : IVGID Board of trustees meeting/ town hall agenda: https://www.yourtahoeplace.com/uploads/pdf-ivgid/Agenda_Town_Hall_-_R1_-_10.11.23.pdf
09:15:50 From Tia Rancourt Iphone 13 Pro!! : https://www.nltfpd.org/news
09:16:35 From Kari Wingate – Ferguson : Diamond Peak Job Fair:
09:16:39 From Tia Rancourt Iphone 13 Pro!! : For open burn permit visit https://www.nltfpd.org/plan-review-permitting
09:17:25 From Kari Wingate – Ferguson : Championship Golf Course info: https://www.yourtahoeplace.com/golf-incline/championship-course
09:17:57 From Kari Wingate – Ferguson : Mountain Course info:
https://www.yourtahoeplace.com/golf-incline/mountain-course
09:18:39 From Kari Wingate – Ferguson : The Grille at the Chateau info: https://www.yourtahoeplace.com/golf-incline/the-grille-at-the-chateau
09:19:15 From Kari Wingate – Ferguson : The Effluent Pipeline Project: https://www.yourtahoeplace.com/ivgid/resources/construction-updates/effluent-pipeline-project
09:30:24 From Kari Wingate – Ferguson : Trail of Treats event info: https://www.yourtahoeplace.com/events/trail-of-treats-and-terror-2
09:30:59 From Kari Wingate – Ferguson : Yard debris program info: https://www.yourtahoeplace.com/events/yard-waste-collection
09:42:40 From Chris Wood : Per Steve’s notice about the proposal for e-bike use on basin wide trails (LTMU – Basin Wide Trails Analysis Project) – documents regarding it can be found here: https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=54566
09:50:22 From Kari Wingate – Ferguson : Tahoe keepers website: https://tahoeboatinspections.com/tahoe-keepers/about-tahoe-keepers/
09:50:40 From Kari Wingate – Ferguson : https://tahoeboatinspections.com/
09:53:50 From Kari Wingate – Ferguson : I forgot to announce the Puppy Plunge event. Sorry! Here is the link: https://www.yourtahoeplace.com/events/puppy-plunge
09:58:37 From Kari Wingate – Ferguson : Link to east shore path expansion:
FORUM URLs
Our email is:
Washoe County Sheriff Office (WCSO)
non-emergency dispatch 775-785-9276
Incline substation Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/Washoe-County-Sheriffs-Office-Incline-Village-Substation-143827955640457/
North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District website
non-emergency fire dispatch (Grass Valley) 530-477-0641, then pick 7
Defensible space info
https://nltfpd.org/defensible-space
Helping Tahoe residents and visitors prepare for wildfire
https://www.tahoelivingwithfire.com/
Washoe County emergency alert sign-up
https://www.washoecounty.gov/em/RegionalAlerts.php
Washoe Regional Emergency Information Center
https://www.EmergencyWashoe.com/
Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team (TFFT) prescribed burn info
NV Energy Natural Disaster Protection Plan
https://www.nvenergy.com/safety/ndpp
Road construction updates
https://www.inclinehighways.com/
IVGID effluent pipeline update
https://www.yourtahoeplace.com/ivgid/resources/construction-updates/effluent-pipeline-project
Environmental Assessment
IVGID Effluent Pipeline Phase 2 Replacement Project September 2023
Effluent Pipeline Project FONZI- Finding of No Significant Impact
https://www.yourtahoeplace.com/uploads/pdf-public-works/IVGID_Pipeline_FONSI_Final_Signature.pdf
Oct 10 – Washoe County BCC (Board of County Commissioners) meeting
https://washoe-nv.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx
Washoe County Speak Up and e-Comment instructions
https://washoe-nv.granicusideas.com/
Oct 11 – TRPA Advisory Planning Commission
https://www.trpa.gov/wp-content/uploads/October-11-2023-APC-Agenda-V.1.pdf
Oct 11 – IVGID Town Hall
https://www.yourtahoeplace.com/uploads/pdf-ivgid/Agenda_Town_Hall_-_R1_-_10.11.23.pdf
Oct 18 – TRPA Tahoe Living Working Group
https://www.trpa.gov/event/tahoe-living-working-group-2/
Oct 18 – Emergency Preparedness and Evacuation Forum
5:30 pm to 7:00 pm at the Chateau
to attend remotely: https://meet.goto.com/2035788397
via phone: (US) 872-240-3212 access code 203-578-397
submit questions by Oct 13 to emergencymanagement@washoecounty.gov
Oct 16? – TTD (Tahoe Transportation District) board meeting (lack of quorum on Oct 4)
Not yet posted—assume it will be the same agenda as Oct 4
IV mobility hub public information open house – CANCELLED
TRPA Flashvote results regarding regional housing
https://www.flashvote.com/lake-tahoe-basin-nv-ca/surveys/regional-housing-09-23?via=email&vote=true
East Shore Trail Expansion
All applications for Washoe County Commission District 1
https://www.washoecounty.gov/csd/planning_and_development/applications/apps_commish_district_one.php
Neighborhood Meetings for upcoming projects
https://neighborhood-washoe.hub.arcgis.com/
Washoe311 – request for service
call 311 or 775-328-2003
https://washoecountynv.qscend.com/311/request/add
Washoe County board and commission openings
https://www.washoecounty.gov/bcc/board_opportunities.php
IV/CB Community 1st meetings and community info
IVCBA (Incline Village Crystal Bay Community and Business Association)