Denise Davis – IVCB Forum Moderator
Good morning, forum. I’m Denise Davis, your moderator. Ronda Tycer is our forum recap editor, and John Crockett 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.
All right, Kari. What is happening at IVGID?
Kari Ferguson – Incline Village General Improvement District Communication Coordinator
• I’m wearing my Diamond Peak beanie. It’s getting chilly. We have some weather coming in next week and another job fair on the horizon. We had some good folks come out to the job fair a few weeks ago and we have another one scheduled for November 1st. I’ll put all links in the Chat for everything I announce today. I just wanted to plug Diamond Peak. I’ve got my shirt on too. I’m ready for ski season.
• The Grill at the Chateau has sadly closed—no more delicious sunset salads. The Championship Golf Course is closed. And the Mountain Course is closed. It’s that time of the year. The Pro Shop is open for shopping opportunities. So I’ll put the link to that for the time and hours at the Pro Shop at the Champ course.
• I want to let everyone know about the Ski Beach boat ramp. That is by reservation only on our website. It’s a little link and it’s super easy to do. It’s just a calendar, and if you have any problems there’s a phone number to call.
• We have a full week for IVGID. The Golf Advisory Committee meets on October 24.
• We have an IVGID Board of Trustees meeting on October 25.
• And we have the Trail of Treats on October 26, which is a free Halloween community event. We have 25 community partners helping to make that event a great one for families. We have about 600 registered groups coming through with 800 kids listed so far. That will be a busy evening in Incline. The Incline High School has a football game and Incline Middle School has a school dance. Because there are a lot of families with young children, we made the start time a bit earlier this year so they can come before they go to the game.
• I want to remind people of the closures due to the Trail of Treats. The parking lots for the fitness trail, the Village Green, and Aspen grove, will all be closed that morning at 10 am. We’ll leave the front part of the lot open for Conversation Café. As soon as folks leave the Conversation Café, we’ll close that parking lot as well. That is where boat trailers typically park. So, if you want to launch your boat that day and the weather allows, you’ll probably need to find a different spot for your trailer because there will be no trailer parking in that whole zone, and it might be a bit congested as well. You won’t be able to make boat launch appointments online for the 26th. You’ll need to call the Rec Center for that and I’ll put the number in the Chat.
• We’ll be launching our Lead and Copper Pipe Survey, which is almost finished. That’s an EPA pipe survey going to every single parcel in Incline. We’re trying to launch it electronically first. Hopefully we’ll get many people responding electronically so we can save money on paper and stamps. We’re asking for folks’ help on that. The paper version will go out at the first of the year. We’ll try to get it out electronically before then so we can save some dough.
• The Town Hall questions from the prior board meeting—all the questions that were asked and all the questions that were answered—are now on our website. I will post the link to that page for everyone. And that is it for IVGID unless, Denise, I forgot something.
Denise Davis
• The Golf Advisory Committee meeting on the 24th is online only. It’s their introductory meeting.
• On October 25, the Board of Trustees will meet. On the agenda are some reports to the board regarding point-of-sales request, and a report on the Fiscal Year 2022-23 Quarter 4, the treasurer’s report. They will review, discuss, and potentially answer any remaining community questions received at the Town Hall; discuss and possibly authorize a purchase order for mowers; and discuss the total project cost for completion of Phase 2 of the effluent export pipeline project. If you’re interested in any of those items, attend in person or online the Board of Trustees meeting on October 25th.
Kristina Hill – Incline Village Resident
I have a question for Kari about this survey —a Lead and Copper Survey. What’s that about?
Kari Ferguson
It’s about plumbing pipes. And we’re calling it the Lead and Copper Survey. It’s about the pipes that are coming from the waterline to the houses. We’re trying to gather information from every resident about what type of pipes they have. I’ve learned a lot about this in the last couple of weeks. There are only 3 types: copper, galvanized, and lead. We’re trying to make sure if you have lead pipes, they are being resurfaced. And we have further questions for copper pipes too. Does that make sense?
Kristina Hill
How do you know what kind of pipe you have?
Kari Ferguson
You can tell by looking at it. In the survey it explains how to identify the type. It’s a survey you can’t really do on the fly. You’ll need to be at your house, look at the pipes coming from the main line, and check it out. That’s a good question. So I’m going to put additional info in there to help people do that. That was good feedback, Kristina. Thank you.
Kristina Hill
I don’t know where my water line is.
Kari Ferguson
That’s the first order of business we have to mention.
Helen Neff – Incline Village Resident
I live in an HOA, so does the survey go to the property manager, so the people living in an HOA don’t need to be concerned with this?
Kari Ferguson
That’s a good question. I’ll double-check with people in the Public Works Department and get back to you.
Denise Davis
All right. Thanks Kari. Chief Sommers and Tia are both here in person today. What do you want to tell us?
Tia Rancourt – North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District Public Information Officer
• I want to say thank you to everyone who attended the forum Wednesday evening. We really appreciate your time and support while continuing the process as we move forward with everybody and all the agencies. So thank you. We’ll be posting the link to the meeting on our website and to our social media sites this afternoon.
• We have a new Emergency Preparedness “trifold.” This is replacing our booklet that we’ve had since 2006. So we’re really excited about it. It’s in English and Spanish. It’s available in the Administration Office of our district on Oriole Way, and I’ll be posting some around town, at our station, and online on our website.
• Then a quick reminder that the last day to request chipping and Defensible Space inspections will be October 29th.
Denise Davis
As a follow-up from the Evacuation and Preparedness Planning meeting, be sure you’re signed up for Code Red. If you don’t know how to do that, go to Washoe County’s Emergency Management site. I also have some flyers here. That is one of the main ways you’ll be notified that “we have a situation and here’s what you need to do.”
Tia Rancourt
Thank you, Denise. Also, all the documents we had at the forum will be on our website as well, so you can get them electronically on our Emergency Preparedness Page.
Denise Davis
Another thing we handed out at the meeting was the Family Emergency Preparedness Plan. So, on paper write down the important phone numbers. This is so you have them if you don’t have your cell phones. None of us dial anyone’s numbers anymore. So, who can remember what anyone’s phone number is? So, write those numbers down and also share them with all the people in the plan. You’ll have everybody’s contact information and everybody knows where your 1st option to meet up is, where your 2nd option is, or if you have to get out of the basin. It’s always good to have a contact outside the basin. If phone service is limited, sometimes you can reach people outside the basin when you can’t reach them inside the basin. So, be thinking about—what is your plan – who knows about the plan– and how can we get in contact with each other?
John Crockett – Washoe County Library Head Librarian
When the cell goes out—like it did last week on Thursday when it went totally dead in town – does 911 still work?
Ryan Sommers – North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District Chief
Yes. We were actively trying to get Spectrum on the outage and Verizon. We did test more than one Verizon phone to see if the Verizon cell coverage is down, dialing 911 still goes through. Even if you can’t make any other 10-digit phone calls, you can dial 911 and it will work.
John Crockett
Thank you.
Denise Davis
I’ve also been told that even if sometimes you can’t do voice calls, texts may go through when the network is super busy. I’m not saying it’s for sure. I’m just saying that if you can’t call, you might want to try to text.
Don’t forget that Halloween is coming up. Our Fire Department has some Halloween safety tips. They say that two of every five Halloween fires are started by a candle. So, if you’re using candles, please be careful.
Okay, Captain Beard, come on up. This will be our last meeting with Captain Beard.
Blaine Beard – Washoe County Sheriff Office Captain
How’s everyone this morning? I have a couple of quick things. Yesterday – and this has happened on other occasions as well—I had a meeting with Washoe County Manager Eric Brown, Assistant County Manager Dave Solaro, and Commissioner Alexis Hill specifically about our community’s concerns about e-bikes on trails. Chair Hill is excited about going forward because this is an issue she wanted to address for a while. In the last few months we’ve had Washoe County Code 95.365 put on the books. This ordinance gives us enforceability for such violations [14:43 inaudible]. And it states [inaudible] no motorized apparatus or e-bicycles on the trails. That’s something that the county will be enforcing coming into the next spring and summer seasons. We will be getting e-bikes for Washoe County Sheriff Office personnel. We have 6 coming in: 2 will be assigned to our school resource officers at the Incline High School; 4 will be at the sheriff substation. Our guys and gals are getting fully trained on them. We’re planning, even after my retirement and departure, I’ll be part of the group that I mentioned, and that I’ll help out in making sure that this happens. Early next spring, we want to get everyone in the community together who needs education on e-bikes. We’ll get the individuals who are running the rental shops, and have our guys from the WCSO present a tutorial or seminar, or an education piece for a couple of hours sometime before the busy season kicks off.
I’ve been working with our neighboring jurisdictions, mainly Placer County, making sure the signage that is installed is consistent for people coming from Placer on bikes or walking. So the signs are going to bear a resemblance, and we’ll be getting some lines on the paths, and we’ll have something enforceable on the paths. We thought about maybe having an ordinance amendment where maybe you could walk your e-bikes on the paths. It was brought up that we can put e-bikes on the actual street because they go 25mph. I expressed my concern because you’re going to have e-bikes in the street everywhere cutting in and out of cars, and those kinds of things. And that was more of a concern than the nuisance they cause on the path. So the goal right now is to find a way to let them know they cannot have those motorized vehicles operating on the paths. We will be enforcing that. As I stated, it’s kind of an evolving idea to see how this works best. I’m going to instruct my team to inform individuals—put an educational piece out there— so you aren’t just stopping people on e-bikes and giving them citations. We’ll give a little bit of a leeway, a little bit of a grace period, to make sure everyone’s aware that (a) the ordinance exists, and (b) that we will enforce it. It’s just a matter of time to allow it. We’ll have some patience there. Those of you that this affects have brought it up to me in the past, so, just know it’s something we’re working on. I will continue to be part of it after I’m gone.
Secondly I’ve been going over the IVCB crime statistics. Next month I’ll make sure Sergeant Tone who’s present today has the stats for the vehicle citations and things of that nature. Those come every couple of months, so they weren’t available for this month. For last month, we had five identifiable crime patterns we watch as an agency, one of which is commercial burglaries.
• Last month we had no Commercial Burglaries. At the same time last year we had 3. So we’re down from last year, which is great.
• We had 1 Grand Theft Auto. At the same time last year we had none.
• We had 1 Residential Burglary, and none at this time last year. Last year, we had 0 robberies and 0 vehicle burglaries. But over this time frame, generally, for the last month on average we would have had 3.
Sometimes you’ll have crime go up and sometimes crime will go down You’re talking about identifiable crimes. We had a total of identifiable crimes of 3 last month. That number is not bad for a little village of our size. Again, zero is the perfect number but we have to be realistic. Our job is to be as proactive as possible to keep those numbers down as much as possible.
So the real reason I’m here is 2 weeks ago I presented to you guys that I was retiring and I was going to come up here and apologize for leaving during my announcement, but I won’t apologize for getting upset and tearing up because that’s how I feel so I can’t apologize for that. I will apologize if it happens today. So, I wanted to say the following to you. I’ll keep it short. I have to speak at an event at 10:45 in Reno, so I’ll make this as short as I can.
I’ve been with the Sheriff’s Office 26.2 years, which is the length of a marathon. My run is over. Long story short, I ‘ve done a little bit of everything at the Washoe Sheriff’s Office in my career. I’ve been a sergeant, lieutenant, and captain in pretty much every one of our three bureaus in different assignments. Years ago I was assigned to the DEA for 4 years, and did undercover drug buys. I grew a beard out. I had done all those things. When I left that assignment, I said, “You know that is the best assignment I ever had.” I made an impact. I took pounds of methamphetamines, pounds of heroin off the streets, put people in Federal prisons for years and years and years to keep the streets safe. That was my favorite assignment. I got done with that and got promoted into a couple of different assignments, and was in charge of the academy for 2 ½ years. I took people who had never been in police work before and had 22 weeks to turn them into law enforcement officers and release them to their respective agencies to begin their careers. That was then my most favorite assignment because I got to mold those young minds into police officers with my team. And that was something I felt truly…
Oh, my time is up, so thank you. That was my favorite assignment then. At that point I thought, you know, you can’t get any better, because I need to do something that has an impact. Then I got promoted to captain with the Special Operations Division. It was quite stressful dealing with SWAT and RAVEN and Search and Rescue, and all those things. It was an element that took adjustment.
Then I came up here January 16th as a captain, and all those other assignments paled in comparison to this one—not even close. This is by far my favorite assignment for a multitude of reasons. I pulled deputy up here for a year and a half back in 2010-2011. I loved being a full deputy up here. It was quite different at that time. There were just two of us. We rotated shifts, and there wasn’t the law-enforcement presence you see in town. I loved the assignment and wanted to come back up here one day. I never had the opportunity until this January. The funny story is that my wife and I moved here from California 28 years ago after we got married. We used to come up from the Bay Area, drive up 80, and we didn’t have a pot to piss in (sorry for the expression). We had $400 in our account. We had no money, but I just had aspirations and dreams of coming up here and living.
I worked at Safeway. We’d drive through Truckee and to Yerington, and I’d say, “You know what Angela, I want to be a sheriff in one of these small mountain towns up here.” That was my goal. I didn’t realize that being the sheriff [20:48 inaudible]. I didn’t realize that to be a sheriff you have to have people elect you for that or promote you, or whatever. But my point is that I wanted to be in law enforcement in a town with trees and a small community.
Well, I started at the Sheriff’s Office August 18, 1997 and I got to finish my career in the very place I dreamed of spending it when I used to come up from California 28 years ago before I even knew what the Washoe County Sheriff Office was. I got to finish my career where I always wanted to be.
Some of you may ask, well he’s not even 50 yet—and I’m not. My hairline suggests otherwise, but I’m not quite 50 yet. I’m a goal-oriented person. My goals with the Sheriff’s Office were to be Captain and ultimately to be up here—and that’s where I’m at. I have to have a goal in front of me. I’m retiring and taking a few months off to unwind and see my aging father who lives in Gardnerville. He’s 82. I want to see him more often. And I want to ride our three horses with my wife. Retirement gives me the freedom to do those things for a few months and recharge.
But then I’m going to start another endeavor. I have to have a goal in front of me. I don’t know what that goal is, yet I love working up here. So if you guys know anybody, I’d love to do something up here that is not related to law enforcement. I want to have a new career. I need to have goals. And I do not ever fall short of my goals. I ensure that I get there. I think there’s an internal mechanism inside of me that’s either fixed or maybe broken, but that’s how I operate. I’ve got to have that next step. I have to have that next thing. So, just know, I told everyone in the village that I spoke to—and I’m telling you today—I’ve met numerous people. I will be volunteering and will be coming up, I guess, with Coco, with a retired captain for a Christmas event. I’ll be doing these things, so for those of you that don’t like me or my hairline, you’re stuck with me because I’ll still be coming around. But for those of you who would like me around, I will be here. I love this community. I want to be a part it once my wife’s real-estate career is done. We have the means to move up here now. So, that’s my goal in the coming years. I want to make sure everyone is aware of why I am leaving. I love this place. You are all welcoming. And that’s why I broke down 2 weeks ago because you guys took me in. Very few of you knew me, if any. I was an outsider coming in. And from day 1, this entire community embraced me and gave me a chance to be successful up here. And that’s all I asked for was that chance to come up here and show you that I care about this community. And that’s why it’s difficult leaving.
The Sheriff office I love, and they’re my 2nd family. That’s hard to leave. But it’s easier to leave than leaving this community because that’s the part I’ll truly miss. I’ll miss every aspect of it. I’ll miss each and every one of you—those of you who I’ve met, and those of you I’ve either seen on these screens every couple of weeks, or those whose names I see. I love you all for different reasons, but first and foremost is for allowing me the chance to come up here and try my best to make an impact. I just want to say thank you all very much and I love you all and this is my last one of these meetings. I retire next Thursday at 3:00pm. So you’ve got another week of seeing me driving around. Thanks much for your time.
Helen Neff
So e-bikes are not allowed on the trails or on the bike pathways. They need to be on the roads, until further notice.
Blaine Beard
Until further notice. Yes. It’s odd because I wasn’t aware of this ordinance, and I was reminded by the county that this was a relatively new thing that Alexis has wanted to make sure she got through. Now we know we at least have that, which gives us time to get that out to the community. And we’ll start enforcing that.
Helen Neff
[inaudible 26:14]
It’s a little bit confusing now where the 947 condos are going in and down towards the college, because their signs say “no bikes on the pathway”—no bikes at all. I mean it’s just a regular no-bike sign, with a bike and a line through it. I don’t know who’s responsible for this, but I’m requesting more communication, and maybe a map saying this is what is allowed on each trail. Just something like that so we know.
Blaine Beard
We know in speaking with Eric Brown and Dave Solaro that there will be something coming out in the next few weeks that will be an education piece and explaining to people what their mission is. We’re actually working on getting some signs so we can make sure that all comes in at the same time. Then we can put that out.
Helen Neff
Right, so I can’t ride my bike on the pathway to the college. I don’t have an e-bike. I have a regular bike. But I can ride it on the pathway to the post office. So I need to know that…
Blaine Beard
Yes, and again we will definitely make sure there’s no confusion. I don’t believe our guys will be out stopping anyone right now, or bugging them about that. But if it becomes an issue, we’ll definitely intervene and make sure. We don’t expect the public… I’ve been a captain for 16 months and for the past 26 years, and I’m just learning this thing. So, I wouldn’t expect the public to know. We’ll enforce it, but we’re not going to actually cite anyone anytime soon.
Helen Neff
But you might have a public person try to [inaudible 27:53] so we’re all on the same page.
Blaine Beard
We’ll try to get some signage up as fast as we can.
Denise Davis
There’s an official retirement ceremony on November 2 at 3pm in case anyone wants to go down and participate in the official ceremony. The information about that will be in the recap—what to do, where to go.
Blaine Beard
As Denise said, it will be at the WCSO Office November 2, which is a Thursday, at 3pm. And next week I’ll call my “final sign off” on the radio, which is 1042, so you say “10:42.” And you can know it’s a special moment for law enforcement. I’ll be doing that probably, I don’t know—maybe in Incline with the backdrop of Tahoe behind me on Incline Beach—maybe 3pm next Thursday. They’ll come up and I’ll do that with the backdrop. I don’t want to call in on my last shift down there, so it’s got to be called up here for the last time. So, if you’re here next week and you’re bored and you want to come down to the beach, I’ll be calling in about 3 pm and signing off for the last time. And if anybody has any questions or comments, fantastic. If you don’t, I know that Sergeant.… Sergeant Tone did you have anything you want to bring up? Okay we have one more thing we want to address. So thank you all very much. I’ll be looking for you. Have a great day. Thank you all.
Nick Tone – Washoe County Sheriff Office Sergeant
I have one order of business today. Starting November 1st, we’re going back to our red-day/green-day parking program. For those of you who are unfamiliar with it, I’ll get a phone number out. You guys know there’s a 24-hour hotline: 775-833-5555 or log onto www.inclineadvisory.com. That will advise you if the following day is going to be a red- day or a green-day. If a green-day, business is as usual, and you can park on the side of the road and no big deal. If it’s a red-day, you are prohibited from parking in snow-removal zones. It is a citable offense and more than likely your vehicle will be towed.
What we’ll do, much like with e-bikes when it first starts, we’ll put up notices and try to educate the community. But if we have a winter like last year with lots of snow, if vehicles park in snow-removal areas, they will be cited and towed away. Again, that’s between November 1 and May 1. We’ll put the phone number up and also do social media posts. Our Facebook page is a place you can get that. That’s the Washoe County Sheriff Facebook page, or you can go to the Washoe Incline substation Facebook page as well. We’ll be pushing that out to the community. Again that’s 775-833-5555 or www.inclineadvisory.com. If you have any questions, you can always call the number on the side of our cars and ask any deputy. Any other questions? Thank you.
Denise Davis
Sam, I see your comment about it being difficult to hear. So, be sure you’re signed up to receive our recap. Send us an email at ivcbcommunityforum@gmail.com. I believe it’s a process in the works. So I don’t know if we have all the answers about where e-bikes are allowed. John, is there anything you want to say about the library?
John Crockett
Yes, two quick things. We have a pumpkin-decorating contest. It’s very competitive.
In early November there’s a showing of the Lion King at the Reno Pioneer Center, and the library is raffling off a family-of-4 pack of tickets. So enter your name in the raffle for that.
Denise Davis
And you have Franken toys on Saturday.
John Crockett
Yes, our Saturday hours are 10-4. We also have some programs a couple times a month.
This Saturday, we have [inaudible 32:42] where kids can make Franken toys from different action figures and dolls. It’s always kind of fun.
Denise Davis
All right, be sure to vote for your favorite decorated pumpkin. Jenn, I hope you’re here to tell us that road construction may be at an end.
Jenn Boyd Lemming – Nevada Department of Transportation Community Outreach Spokesperson for the SR 28 and SR 431 Tahoe Multi-year Project
I want to start off by saying thanks to everyone for your patience over the last 3 years, and specifically this year, because—as we all know—there were many challenges. But we are coming to a close. We just sent out an update this morning. There are a couple of minor things that will be worked on this Saturday during the daytime only from 7 am -5 pm. The delays will be really minor. The work we’re doing from now until early November is just all the wrap-up work—more scrapping, barrier rails, hydro-sealing, raising manholes—across all our different work zones. It will be moving and flowing for the next couple of weeks. A lot of it will be shoulder work, so we don’t anticipate much traffic delay. Delays will be minor. They’re getting everything ready for winter.
We’ll send out one more update at the end of the month when the project is nearly complete. Major operations are complete. Paving is all done. The crews will be back next year to do a few minor things. We are still trying to figure out what those are exactly. It depends on what we get done. So, we’ll have that in our final recap. But come November, we’re done. Our outreach team will shut down the website and phone number. If there’s any information needed, we’ll keep the email active for a little while. Any questions after that point should go directly to NDOT. For next year, they really don’t anticipate any major traffic delays like what we’ve seen the last couple of years. You might see some Q&D crews finishing up final touches of the project, but there should not be any lane closures or major impacts. So I’m happy to take any questions. But I really just wanted to pop in and thank you for everyone’s involvement, patience, and effort this year. The roads are so nice with the new pavement.
Kristina Hill
Hi. Thank you very much for the new paving. It’s like being in a limo. What’s going on with that Crystal Bay residence on the cliff that has started construction and is stopping traffic for their project? They have an NDOT permit to do what they’re doing.
Jenn Boyd Lemming
I can’t really speak to that. It doesn’t pertain to our projects, so, unfortunately, I don’t really know. You can ask NDOT and hopefully they can answer that. I wonder how long it will be going on. It was such an issue earlier this summer.
Kristina Hill
Somebody would know, perhaps Washoe County, because they always defer to NDOT. So I don’t know how we can find that out.
Jenn Boyd Lemming
I see in the Chat that the website is Inclinehighways,com. It’s only going to be up a couple more weeks. The e-blast went out this morning. If you throw your email in the chat, I’ll forward it to you. But basically it was all the stuff I just announced about Saturday work and then all the wrap-up for minor closures. I’ll send you a quick email and then be happy to answer any of your other questions.
Denise Davis
Jeff, do you have any information about that construction in Crystal Bay?
Jeff Cowen – Tahoe Regional Planning Agency
No I don’t, but I can email NDOT or Washoe County, one or both of those.
Denise Davis
Okay. The inclineadvisory.com is for red day/green day and it isn’t up yet.
Jenn Boyd Lemming
Thanks everyone. I really appreciate it. Have a great fall.
Denise Davis
Thanks, Jenn. Jeff Church is our representative on the Washoe County School District (WCSD) board. What’s up?
Jeff Church – Washoe County School District Board Trustee
Good morning. My allergies are acting up and my nose is running. You may think it’s funny but it’s not—that’s a joke. Please bear with me on this.
• There was a meeting October 12, which some people attended over at the Incline Village Middle School. It was poorly noticed. I was not noticed or invited even though I am your district trustee. There are a number of issues we need to resolve before we move forward on that.
1 – There are legal issues with the Middle School.
2 – I’m very disappointed that the meeting wasn’t noticed properly. They claim it was. It was not.
3 – There’s a lot of misinformation put out by the School District saying that there was “general opposition.” Also they mentioned written attendee comments. I pressed the District on that. They haven’t been able to show me any. Matter of fact, I think I can say that there were no written attendee comments. Nobody submitted a comment card suggesting the closure of that school. I think WCSD has engaged in ongoing misrepresentation or misstatements or “word-smithing” at best.
4 – The biggest thing out of the meeting is that they have proposed to form a 25-member working group to study the issue. My first comment is that the community is not “generally opposed” [to the closure] it is 100% opposed. There is nothing to study.
The community is opposed to closing Incline Middle School. Done. No need to study anything. If the Board were to make a decision to close the school, then we might have a working group to determine what happens. And a 25-member working group is unmanageably large. It’s too big. We tried it before at the District. By the end I think we had 6 members who voted to give a lukewarm recommendation.
5 – I’m 100% opposed to this. It’s a waste of taxpayer dollars. It’s also top-heavy with school district employees. We shouldn’t have any district employees on this working group, because they will feel pressure from the superintendent and the administration to do whatever they’re told. By the way, the working group would be set up by the administration who would hand select who they want and who they don’t want. It would be exempt from Open Meeting Laws. All that being said, I would urge people to not participate in any shenanigans with this working group. Just don’t do it. Boycott it. Whatever word you want to use, don’t be part of it. I suggest you might request that the School Board hold that as an agenda item to discuss a working group before we go forward. We need to know who, what, when, why, and how. We have to answer those questions. I would suggest that maybe IVGID or some other local group form your own “working group” with a manageable 6 or 7 people. Maybe appoint each member to study it if you have 5 members in a group. But a group of 25 is not manageable and it will be biased.
• I heard the speech by former Governor Sandoval at the University of Nevada Reno, Tahoe Campus. I was very excited to hear about the Prim campus at Incline Village. That’s wonderful. If you don’t know about it, I’m sure you’ll find out. That presents another reason to keep Incline Middle School open, and to maybe remodel it with some housing and maybe some dorms, because all those students may need a place to stay. Maybe we could partner with some dorms for that as well as housing for school staff.
• And one other final reminder unrelated to any of the previous, the State of Nevada and Washoe County and dozens of committees and boards and groups need volunteers. So anything from A to Z—from Art to whatever–there’s a committee out there you can join. There’s no one-stop shop to find out about them. But they are out there if you feel like giving back to the community and have the time. That’s my report on Incline. I’m happy to answer any questions.
I again apologize for the nasal issue, but allergies are getting the better of me.
Ann Nichols – North Lake Tahoe Preservation Alliance Director
We call it “death by a thousand subcommittees.” That’s what’s been happening at the County and TRPA. I’m wondering if TRPA’s John Hester was at the local meeting on Monday to approve changes to height, density and coverage. What he uses as a justification is that we have less people living here and we have fewer children in our schools. It seems to me that people are choosing private schools like the Lake Tahoe School, which I understand has a waiting list. People are choosing the private schools. Jeff, I wonder if you can help me with any of those figures. This is TRPA’s justification. They want to increase—by the end of the year—they want unlimited density for multi-family developments, no minimum required parking spaces, and allowance of 65 feet in height. So I need your help to determine actual school enrollment numbers.
Jeff Church
I only heard part of that question. So I’ll guess at my answer. Our enrollment in terms of our student population has fluctuated. It’s down. But what if those private schools were to go out of business and the kids were coming back into the school district? How are we going to accommodate them if we close Incline Middle School? Nobody can predict the future. When they wanted more money for WC 1, they predicted the district would have 71,000 students today. We’re down to 59,000. So, the demographic “experts” have no idea… You might as well use a crystal ball.
Ann Nichols
Is there anyone who knows how many students are in the charter and private schools?
Denise Davis
Does someone keep track of private school and home school numbers?
Jeff Church
That’s a great question. I don’t know. I know there are hundreds. But I don’t know. I’d like to see that number.
Denise Davis
Okay, any other questions for Jeff? If not, thanks for being with us.
Jeff Cowen
Good morning. It’s good to see you guys. I have an update on the New Zealand mudsnail infestation. And then I remind everybody of the upcoming hearings on the housing code amendments.
• The lake-wide transect surveys for locating additional New Zealand mudsnail populations are complete. There have been no new detections in any other part of the lake other than a 3-mile section of south shore. We’ve begun to gather more information and work with the Tahoe Science Advisory Council to see what we need to know next, what we need to study and find out about. We have posted new recommendations and guidelines for boaters, paddlers, anglers, beach goers on our website. So I’m going to put the link in the Chat. We’re mostly trying to contain the New Zealand mudsnails where they are. We have a map on the website to tell boaters, paddlers, and everyone, that when they’re there to be extra cautious. We don’t want any anglers to catch fish there, and then take any bait or take fresh water with them, or to take their fish guts any further than that area. They can get spread that way. We’re asking boaters not to stir up substrate in that area if they’re coming in close to the beach. So we’re just thinking outside the box to try to stop the spread to other parts of the lake.
And we are now a source for New Zealand mudsnails, so we’re taking some of the watercraft inspection and decontamination requirements, and looking at how we can prevent the spread to other lakes with boats coming out of those areas, especially Echo and Fallen Leaf lakes, which are in our watershed. The Tahoe Science Advisory Council had a conference on October 11-13 covering a lot of topics. They switched over at the last minute to speak specifically about what their next steps will be on research for the mudsnail infestation. Are there any questions?
• On the housing code amendments, we had a Regional Plan Implementation Committee (RPIC) hearing last month. There are no additional hearings until November. It will be going to the Advisory Planning Commission, and the original RPID again. It could be headed to the Governing Board for final consideration in December. The website in the Chat has links to the webinar recording we did a couple of weeks ago, as well as the written responses to about 100 questions we received during the webinar. There’s also general information and the meeting schedule.
Judy Simon – Incline Village Resident, TRPA Advisory Planning Commission Member
Thank you, Jeff. I think this is going to the APC at its next meeting, which is the second week in November. But can you just describe the process. Because it just seems to be going round and round and round, without answers to some of the serious questions about density, height, and parking that have been raised in the various forums.
Jeff Cowen
The main body of the amendments came out in April. The process through the summer has been to get as much review and presentation and feedback as possible. And then to see what changes need to be made, what developments need to be made to the amendments as they continue to move forward. We’re also still leaning into the recommendations of the Tahoe Living Working Group that largely developed these recommendations, and other committees. The process has changed. The amendments have been adjusted and amended a little bit based on feedback. But in general, what we’re relying on next is the Environmental Review (ER). And then the next steps for the final few committees and commissions to really dig in to see what the recommendations are going to be for the full Governing Board. I think we’re really close to the point where the Environmental Review will dig into some of those questions about density and height.
Judy Simon
Who does the Environmental Review?
Jeff Cowen
I think at this point it is TRPA staff. I don’t think we’re contracting it out (to consultants).
Ann Nichols
You’re only doing an Environmental Checklist according to Karen Fink, which is totally insufficient for these major changes. You are talking about approval before the end of the year by the Governing Board, but you’re pretending that “it’s not really anything,” and “we’re looking at it,” and “maybe it’ll change.” And these public opportunities—we haven’t even been able to speak. The only place was the webinar, which was tightly controlled. We couldn’t even see everyone’s questions. Really shameful, Jeff.
Jeff Cowen
The Initial Environmental Checklist (IEC) is the right move at this point. An Environmental Analysis asks a list of questions:
Does this action have significant environmental impacts?
If so, what are mitigation strategies or are they un-mitigate-able?
Or what has to be changed?
If you go up to an Environmental Analysis, it’s the same thing: question – answer.
If you go up to an Environmental Impact Statement, it’s the same thing: question – answer.
The IEC will do exactly what it’s supposed to do. It will identify potential impacts to the thresholds, and then identify mitigation measures if needed. And then all that goes through public, committee, and Governing Board review. There’s been a lot of opportunity for public input. I think your voice and many other voices have been heard pretty well throughout this process.
There was one webinar we conducted. We had a limited amount of time. We really wanted to get our information out clearly to the public and then to allow the Q&A follow-up and feedback to happen. There was no intention to close off any voices. I do feel like the process to this point has been very open and included a lot of input.
Denise Davis
And the Governing Board meeting is scheduled for October 25?
Jeff Cowen
It is December 13th. We like around the holidays to schedule a week early. So next week tune in to a presentation of US Census demographics next Wednesday
Denise Davis
The next Governing Board meeting is Wednesday October 25.
Jeff Cowen
Yes, this week. I thought you said December. The meeting materials page has the agenda for next week. And I’m putting the TRPA meeting news out today to recap some of those interesting items that are coming to the governing board next week. It’s largely information only. Next week, I encourage everyone who’s interested in the demographic changes in the basin and transportation to tune into the presentation from our research and analysis team on the US Census data demographics, and also some transportation analyses. Those would be good presentations to listen into next Wednesday.
Denise Davis
All right. Thank you, Jeff. The Tahoe Prosperity Center is having a meeting right now about the 2023 Envision Tahoe Venture Summit. Hopefully we’ll be able to get details about what happened at that meeting later.
On Monday October 16, the TTD Board met and dissolved the Incline Village Mobility Hub Committee. One of their arguments for that was that they are coming up on some deadlines. If decisions aren’t made by the deadlines, they will lose out on funding. So that was a big justification for their move. Two board members—Cody Bass and the El Dorado County Supervisor—were the two “no” votes. A comment was: “We did this at Southlake on the loop road project and it didn’t go well. Did we not learn from that experience? I’m just passing that along.
The Washoe County Board of Commissioners meeting on Tuesday will be a workshop instead of their normal meeting format. It will start at 9 am at the Sparks Library, not in the Reno chambers. Their items of discussion will be the senior population, mental health, and facilities.
John Crockett
The Board of County Commissioners is going to allow virtual public comment here in the library each meeting, not just for Incline-specific agenda items. And they have moved the public comment back to the beginning of the meeting. They do have an online site where you can register to comment. I highly encourage you to use that. You can do that up until the meeting begins until 10 am on those Tuesdays. We’ll be hosting public comment here, and whenever there’s a Tuesday Board of Commissioners throughout 2023.
Denise Davis
Thanks, John. Typically the Citizen Advisory Board (CAB) that’s through the county is held on the first Monday of the month. But in November our meeting will be on Thursday November 2 at 5:30 pm here at the library and online. Please make a note on your calendars
If you’re looking for additional Halloween activities aside from the Trail of Treats, on October 30th there will be a Halloween dog parade at the Hyatt at 4:30. And on Halloween Day October 31st there will be a Treat Street at the Country Club Center from 4-6 pm.
Heather Segal – Tahoe Environmental Research Center
I have three events I want to talk about for the quarter. Next Thursday we have a presentation—“Wildfire Impacts on Lakes” – with Dr. Steve Cedro, which will be held at Sunnyside. We have been unable to reserve the room in Incline, so we are having our events over on the west shore. I know it’s not ideal for the Incline community. It is a really interesting topic. “Winter predictions from the National Weather Service” is scheduled for Thursday, November 9. And then “Washoe Storytelling and Watching Science Catch Up” is on December 7th. That one may be able to be held in Incline. We’re still trying to get approval to use the room. I put those all in the Chat. Thank you for this opportunity. I appreciate you noticing me of the meeting.
Helen Neff
I want to thank John and the library for that public comment here at the library. I came last Tuesday and I left my password at home for the SpeakUp so it was a bit hard to register. So register at home or bring your password so you can SpeakUp and be recognized.
What I talked about was the stateline-to-stateline bikeway. For the segment from Crystal Bay to Incline Village, there’s over $1 million in grant money to analyze it. TTD and TRPA were handing that money over to Washoe County to do the analysis. The project is in the Washoe County Transportation plan for the next 10 years or longer. But I understand that the analysis has to be done earlier. So I was just telling the commissioners it’s important to have public comment be part of that, and also not to forget the other points in the Transportation Plan that have more immediate deadlines such as our incomplete bikeways within the village and other projects that definitely benefit residents over visitors.
Jeff Cowen
Thanks for the reminder, Helen. That item is also on the TRPA Governing Board Operations and Governance meeting next Wednesday, which begins no earlier than 8:30am. That item is asking for approval to add the funding for the initial planning and design of that project you just mentioned to be added to the Federal Transportation Improvement Program (FTIP). Projects in the basin have to be added to the FTIP in order to receive federal funding. That will free up another $1.1 million for the initial planning phase.
Denise Davis
Thanks, Jeff. We’ve reached our time limit. So I want to remind everyone to please be especially safe on Thursday the 26th, Friday the 27th—which is Nevada Day, and on Halloween Day, which is Tuesday the 31st. Please keep an eye out if you’re walking or driving. Lots of extra people will be out. So, as always, stay safe. Know your plan for emergencies. Our next meeting is on Friday November 3. Thanks.
PARTICIPANTS
Ann Nichols
Beth and John Davidson
Blaine Beard
Chris King
David Simon
Debbie Nicholas
Denise Davis
Heather Segale
Helen Neff
Jeff Church
Jeff Cowen
Jenn Boyd Lemming
John Crockett
John James
Judy Simon
Kari Ferguson
Kristina Hill
Michaela Tonking
Miranda Jacobson
Nick Tone
Pam Straley
Ronda Tycer
Ryan Sommers
Sam Levine
Steve Dolan
Tia Rancourt
Tiffany Clements
Chat Log
09:22:51 From Kari from IVGID : Venue Update: •The Grille at The Chateau is closed for the season. •The Championship Golf Course is closed for the season.•The Mountain Golf Course is closed for the season.
09:23:08 From Kari from IVGID : •Ski Beach Boat Ramp is available by reservation only https://calendly.com/boatlaunch
09:23:29 From Kari from IVGID : •Golf advisory committee meeting 10/24 Agenda https://www.yourtahoeplace.com/uploads/pdf-ivgid/Golf_Advisory_Committee_10-24-2023_(Final).pdf
09:23:51 From Kari from IVGID : IVGID BOT meeting 10/25 link to agenda:https://www.yourtahoeplace.com/uploads/pdf-ivgid/Agenda_10-25-2023_(Final).pdf
09:24:10 From Kari from IVGID : •Town hall Questions posted on the website: https://www.yourtahoeplace.com/ivgid/board-of-trustees/meetings-and-agendas https://www.yourtahoeplace.com/uploads/pdf-ivgid/IVGID_Townhall_-_All_Questions_Submitted.pdfhttps://www.yourtahoeplace.com/uploads/pdf-ivgid/IVGID_Townhall_-_Meeting_Questions_Selected-_10-11-2023.pdf
09:24:32 From Kari from IVGID : •Trail of Treats & Terror Multiple Venue Closures, October 26: The Fitness Trail, Overflow Parking Lot, Village Green, and Aspen Grove Parking Lots are closed from 10:00am – 7:00pm. Boat ramp reservations for this day must be scheduled by calling the Recreation Center at (775) 832 – 1310.
09:25:15 From Kari from IVGID : https://www.yourtahoeplace.com/events/trail-of-treats-and-terror-2
09:25:53 From Kari from IVGID : Public Work Newsletter Link: https://www.yourtahoeplace.com/uploads/pdf-public-works/Fall_2023_IVGID_PW_News.pdf
09:26:08 From Kari from IVGID : Job Fair Nov 1st at Diamond Peak Link: https://www.diamondpeak.com/employment/
09:26:30 From Kari from IVGID : Thank you for your Service! IVGID is hiring:-)
09:29:39 From Kari from IVGID : Golf Info- off season:https://www.yourtahoeplace.com/golf-incline/championship-course
09:29:44 From sam levine : It’s difficult to hear with the echo in the room – where can we find details about where e-bikes are not allowed?
09:31:20 From LtCol Jeff Church to Washoe County Libraries(Direct Message) : I’ll speak on the Incline Middle School update when you are ready. I sent a Powerpoint JEFF
09:32:02 From Washoe County Libraries : 775-833-5555 red/green days
09:32:08 From Washoe County Libraries : inclineadvisory.com
09:32:45 From sam levine : Thank you,I do receive the recaps
09:37:34 From sam levine : inclineadvisory.com is just a blank page – is the site not active yet?
09:38:10 From sam levine : samlevinesl@gmail.com
09:38:18 From sam levine : Thank you!
09:47:56 From Jeff Cowen-Tahoe Regional Planning Agency : New Zealand mudsnail response:https://www.trpa.gov/new-zealand-mudsnail/Update is no detections in other areas of the lake. New guidelines for boaters, paddlers, and anglers/beachgoers, and a map of the 3-mile infestation area are on the webpage.Housing code amendments. https://www.trpa.gov/housingTune in or attend to scheduled hearings and provide your input:• Wednesday, November 8 – Advisory Planning Commission• Wednesday, November 15 – Regional Plan Implementation Committee• Wednesday, December 13 – Governing Board
09:48:33 From Kari from IVGID : The latest IVGID Magazine- the Annual report is online and arriving in your mailbox later this month Here is the link: https://www.yourtahoeplace.com/news/ivgid-magazine-2022-23-annual-report
09:57:13 From Jeff Cowen-Tahoe Regional Planning Agency : El Dorado County Commissioner Brooke Laine, fyi.
09:58:39 From Heather Segale : Upcoming UC Davis TERC Event: Wildfire Impacts on LakesThursday, October 265-6 happy hour / 6-7 presentationSunnyside Restaurant and Lodge (south of Tahoe City)Featuring UC Davis TERC Associate Professor Steve Sadro, much of his research is conducted in the Sierra Nevada mountains, where steep landscape gradients provide a natural laboratory to test ecological questions. He seeks solutions to environmental problems and contributes to the conservation of aquatic ecosystems.https://tahoe.ucdavis.edu/events/wildfire-impacts-lakes-dr-steve-sadro-uc-davis
09:58:49 From Heather Segale : Winter PredictionsThursday, November 95-6 happy hour / 6-7 presentationSunnyside Restaurant and Lodge (south of Tahoe City)Join Chris Smallcomb from the Reno office of the NOAA National Weather Service for a look into the latest projections for this coming winter. He will also look back at the wild year that was 2023 and dive into what we witnessed both weather- and climate-wise.https://tahoe.ucdavis.edu/events/winter-predictions-national-weather-service-chris-smallcomb
09:59:02 From Heather Segale : Washoe Storytelling and Watching Science Catch UpThursday, December 76-7 presentationJoin siblings—Herman and Helen Fillmore, members of the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California—as they tell the legend of how Washoe trickster brothers, Puwecili and Damalali, shaped the Tahoe Basin. Herman is the director of the Cultural and Language Resources Department for the Washoe Tribe. Helen has her master’s degree in hydrology and is one of the chemists at TERC. Together they will discuss how this story aligns with the geomorphological history of the Tahoe Basin (spoiler: it involves a tsunami), and its implications on Washoe resilience, current day land management perspectives, and the underrated role of human experiences in scientific endeavors.https://tahoe.ucdavis.edu/events/washoe-tribe-california-and-nevada
10:01:11 From Heather Segale : Sorry, I have to hop off for another meeting. Thank you!
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
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
road construction updates
https://www.inclinehighways.com/
IVGID effluent pipeline update
https://www.yourtahoeplace.com/ivgid/resources/construction-updates/effluent-pipeline-project
Oct 24 – Washoe County BCC (Board of County Commissioners) workshop
https://washoe-nv.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx
Oct 24 – IVGID Golf Advisory Committee
https://www.yourtahoeplace.com/uploads/pdf-ivgid/Golf_Advisory_Committee_10-24-2023_(Final).pdf
Oct 25 – TRPA Governing Board meeting
https://www.trpa.gov/event/governing-board-meeting-5-2023-10-25/
Oct 25 – IVGID BOT meeting
https://www.yourtahoeplace.com/uploads/pdf-ivgid/Agenda_10-25-2023_(Final).pdf
Oct 26 – IVGID Trail of Treats and Terror
https://www.yourtahoeplace.com/events/trail-of-treats-and-terror-2
Nov 2 – Washoe County Board of Adjustment
Nov 2 – WCSO Captain Beard retirement ceremony
911 Parr Blvd, Staff Dining (enter thru main doors, staff will escort you back)
3:00 pm
THURSDAY Nov 2 – IVCB CAB meeting
https://www.washoecounty.gov/CABS/IVCB_CAB/index.php
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
IV/CB Community 1st meetings and community info
IVCBA (Incline Village Crystal Bay Community and Business Association)
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