The link to the recording of the meeting is at:
Good morning, Forum. I’m Denise Davis, your moderator. Ronda Tycer is our Forum recap editor, and John Crockett is our tech guru.
Denise Davis – IVCB Community Forum Moderator
As a reminder, our meeting is being recorded. Before you begin speaking, please state your name. While speaking, 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. If you did not get a notice for this meeting, send us an email and get on our list.
It is candidate and election season, so if any candidates have joined us, we’ll have time for a 3-minute statement from each candidate before we end at 10:00. We’ll have a short time for Q&A following everyone’s statements. Please remember we need to end by 10:15.
Also, our Forum Admin team is requesting everyone to refrain from posting candidate commentary or platforms in the Chat. Candidate URLs can be shared, but candidates should attend our meeting to discuss their campaigns. We also remind everyone we’re not here to argue. We’re here to meet with and learn about candidates. You might have questions and comments that would be better suited to a personal conversation with a candidate. Please respect everyone’s time and contact candidates outside of our meeting time for these more specific discussions. Finally, our Forum Admin team has tried to limit our emails to meeting reminders and recaps. We don’t forward press releases, announcements, or other news we receive between meetings. We want our Forum emails to be welcome in your inbox. So with all of that being said, Kari, what is happening at IVGID?
Kari Ferguson – Incline Village General Improvement District Communication Coordinator
Good morning, everyone in Incline Village and Crystal Bay. Our local kids are still on spring break and go back to school on Monday. I want to let everyone know why the town looks a little different right now. Still, obey those school zones just to be safe.
Some of the things that are happening—I’ll have to leave this meeting at 9:45 to attend the Golf Advisory Committee meeting at 10:00 am via Zoom. I help with the back end of that, so I need to hop off here about 9:45. That information is on our website under the Meeting and Agendas page. We have a regular Board of Trustees meeting on Wednesday April 10 at 6 pm.
Some of the things happening at Diamond Peak… the Dummy Downhill will be held April 13. If you have a group of people—any type of group—neighbors, friends, whatever—we’d love to have you build a dummy and come on out. If you’re not into the engineering aspect of the event, it’s still fun to watch everything crash and burn. Hopefully, everyone will come out for that.
We also have the Rental Shop demo sale that is ending on April 14. If you’re looking to upgrade your equipment with something gently used, this is a great option, and the prices are amazing. That will be until April 14.
Our Ski Clinics are still happening next week. We are extending the season at Diamond Peak until April 21 as far as I know. And on April 20 we have the Diamond Cup community fundraiser. This is for anyone that wants to do the gate. So come on out and join us on that day Saturday April 20.
We have Patrol tryouts on April 14. If you’re interested in becoming a ski-patroller at Diamond Peak, we have tryouts April 14.
A press release was announced on Wednesday about IVGID financials. I will put the link to that in the Chat so it has all the information that you need. Everything was submitted by the NV Department of Taxation deadlines. They are awaiting our due diligence audit which the Board will view at their next meeting in August. I’m unsure of that date, but it’s early August I believe. Denise, did I catch it all?
Denise Davis
Pretty much. Do you want to remind everyone about the Water Service Line survey?
Kari Ferguson
Yes. I’m trying to get as much online response for the Water Service Line inventory so we don’t have to mail all this information to everybody. It will save us all some money. We’re trying to get people to respond online. If you have questions, there is an email link. I’ll put the link in the Chat. We have this awesome video made by staff that really breaks the process down and makes it so simple. I’ll put all that in the Chat for you.
Denise Davis
Does anyone have any questions for Kari?
John Crockett – Washoe County Incline Library Branch Head Librarian
Kari, you may have mentioned it, but do you know when the household hazardous e-waste (HHW) drop-off service will open again?
Kari Ferguson
That is a good question. I do have that information, so let me search it out and I’ll put it in the Chat. I know I received the information from Madonna, but I don’t think it’s on our website yet.
Denise Davis
April 3rd the State accepted IVGID’s audited financial statements. It’s a brief announcement, so I’ll just read it. “At its regularly scheduled meeting today, the NV Department of Taxation Committee on Local Government Finance accepted the IVGID Annual Comprehensive Financial Report. The Local Government Committee acknowledged IVGID submitted the required audited financial statements to the Department of Taxation on March 29 and is in full compliance with the extension granted by the Department of Taxation establishing the State filing deadline. At the meeting, the Local Government Finance Committee further requested that the IVGID General Manager provide a report to the committee at its next regularly scheduled meeting currently expected to be held in August with an update on the results of the forensic due diligence audit.” That’s the announcement from IVGID regarding our financial statements.
Kari Ferguson
We had a meeting yesterday that was the Capital Investment Committee meeting. I was on vacation yesterday and missed it, so I have to catch up. But all of our meetings are available on Livestream. Just a friendly reminder about that. If you’re interested in any of our meetings, I’ll put the link in the Chat for our IVGID Livestream home page. You can view any meetings at any time.
Denise Davis
Yes, that is a great service. I for one appreciate that a lot. I re-watch and catch up with meetings on Livestream a lot.
Kari Ferguson
Me too. Sometimes I have to re-hear things a couple of times.
Denise Davis
Me too. So thanks Kari for being with us. We appreciate it.
Kari Ferguson
Thank you, guys.
Ryan Sommers – North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District Chief
Good morning. Hopefully you guys can hear me. I’m out of town but I’m going to do my best here. We issued a press release on our $1.7 million SCBA grant received from FEMA that outfitted 5 fire departments with all the same self-contained breathing apparatuses (SCBAs). That’s really an awesome thing. Now when we help each other out on fires we have the inter-operability among all our different equipment. That brings us up to the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) very latest standards.
April is national Organ Donor month. You can check our website to figure out how to sign up to be a donor.
We’re going to be working with local leaders and Homeowner Associations (HOAs) in putting on a summer informational forum covering a lot of topics. The agenda is still to be determined. We’ll start doing our outreach to HOAs on defensible space and I know insurance will be a big topic. We’re still trying to get more answers on that front. And the Lake Tahoe Wildfire Awareness campaign runs from May through October. It’s a revised campaign, but it’s Get Defensive. We’re revisiting getting defensive, which will be the theme of that.
Denise, you picked up some flyers that will go along with that. [Yes, I did.] The HOA contacts… The flyers are going to be on summer and spring safety. And what we’re doing is working with local realtors to start putting informational packets into escrow documentation about different services the Fire Department offers—if you’re buying a house with a sprinkler system, or an alarm system, a Knox box, etc. Denise has a couple of hard copies of those as examples. And we can email them out as well. I believe that’s all I’ve got for this morning.
Denise Davis
I don’t have that handout. I have a card Tia put together with helpful phone numbers and websites.
Ryan Sommers
Oh, yes. I’m sorry. Yes.
Denise Davis
If you want to pick those up, I’ll leave some here at the library desk. I’m sure you can pick some up at the Fire Station. It has a lot of great information. Does anyone have any questions for the chief? Continuing on the theme of safety. Tia Rancourt who works for the Chief put together an excellent announcement titled “Spring Forward Safely in 2024.” She went through the list of things we all need to do to make sure we are prepared— as best we can be—for emergencies of fire, earthquake, or personal disaster. Remember, it’s our responsibility to be prepared. It’s not just the Fire Department and the Sheriff Office. We all need to do our part. I’ll put the URL in the Chat, which will be in the recap. She reminds us to make sure you have a “to-go” kit or bag ready. If you’re a Washoe County resident, be signed up for Code Red emergency alert notifications. Get your free defensible space inspection done. In the event of an evacuation, Washoe County Emergency Management has prepared an evacuation video. Please review that. Make sure you have a Family Emergency Preparedness plan. Have a plan for when everybody’s at home, and a plan for when they are not. If somebody is outside the basin, or if somebody is inside the basin, or you’re all outside the basin, where will you meet up? Have plans that don’t rely on cell phones. Don’t rely on being able to call each other because all our phones may be jammed. The system may be busy.
Also, we remind you that bears are awake. Keep your trash away from the bears. If you need, look into installing a bear shed. There’s information available on that. Follow up on the Family Emergency Preparedness plan. Have all your phone numbers written down. You might lose your phone. You might drop your phone. We’re all very dependent on our phones now. If our phones aren’t available, you have to have a Plan B.
I also want to make everyone aware that the next Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) academy will be in April. CERT is sponsored through the Sheriff Office. Our goal is to train everyone in basic emergency response: some basic first aid, some basic communication skills, just basic things so that until first responders can arrive, you can handle some very basic tasks. Again, our April academy is April 11-13, and 18-20. We understand that for those of us in the basin, sometimes weather is a problem. If you can’t make all six of those in a row, that’s fine, and you can make up the dates that you miss at future academies. Be aware there is free training to help you learn safety skills. If you want to branch out and help your community… you see us at community events helping with pedestrians and traffic.
Linda Offerdahl – Incline Village Crystal Bay Business and Community Association Executive Director
Following up the fire safety information that Tia put together, we are stuffing Welcome Bags for new residents, which will have information from other agencies and some of the businesses, some schotkis and handouts. If anyone has an organization that would like to hand out some of those to new residents, or new people, let me know. We have a virtual Welcome Bag as well. That card that Tia has will be on our website along with other information.
The other thing is that Restaurant Week is starting April 15. At any time, please support our restaurants, but especially in the shoulder season when they need locals to keep open. Thank you.
Denise Davis
Thanks, Linda. I saw an announcement on your website that Mike La Francois is hosting a free “chat with an engineer” at Happy Tears Bakery and Café on April 11 from 8 am to 10 am. If anyone has engineering questions, he’s willing to talk to you for free.
Linda Offerdahl
Thanks for the reminder, Denise.
Kathie Julian – Incline Village Resident
Linda, is that housing survey still asking for responses and do you want to advertise that here?
Linda Offerdahl
Yes. I mentioned it 2 weeks ago. We’ve extended the housing survey. I’ll put how to find it in the Chat. Our Housing Committee that sort of morphed out of the Washoe Tahoe Housing Partnership would like to have some information sessions. We’ve asked the community which topics they ‘re more interested in regarding housing. Then we’ll circle back. Hopefully we’ll come up with some meetings. I think the survey deadline is next Monday.
Kathie Julian
I would encourage everyone to fill out that survey. It has a number of interest areas. We’d like to get an idea of what’s of most interest to the people here. So pass it on and share it. Thanks.
John Crockett – Washoe Incline Village Library Head Librarian
Good morning everybody. April is a fantastic month here at the library. We have excellent programs but we also have blood pressure kits to check out. This is a grant from the American Heart Association. We’re the first library in Nevada to have these. Folks can check out the blood pressure kits to take home. You get a more accurate reading in the comfort and relaxation of your home. You can take it multiple times. And then there are resources for improving nutrition, what to do if you do have elevated blood pressure, and things like that. So check out a blood-pressure kit.
On the program front we have two great ones coming up. Tuesday is our next Tahoe Talks. Civic engagement is the topic throughout the year. Tuesday we will discuss campaign finance regulation and transparency, as well as clean election rolls. We’re using as our framework Our Common Purpose, which makes recommendations on how to improve our democracy and how to engage with our elected officials in our government. And one of the recommendations we will discuss on Tuesday is a constitutional amendment for the regulation of election contributions and spending to eliminate undue influence of money in our political system. So these are recommendations that, no matter what side of the aisle you’re on, we may be able to agree upon. If you’re for or against, please join us on Tuesday for the discussion. We’ll have Dr. Fred Lockken, who is the chairperson of the UNR Political Science department at Truckee Meadows Community College (TMCC) helping us with the discussion.
The following Tuesday April 16th—both of these programs are at 6:30 pm—is our next Tech Talk. That will be on Artificial Intelligence (AI) —the absolute buzz in the news today. It’s going to affect many different sectors in our daily lives as well. We have a great panel. We have Dr. Emily Hand, professor of AI at University of Nevada, Reno. She’s the director of the Machine Perception Laboratory. This research lab at UNR studies how computers see your face and facial expressions. Also, we’ll have here Behzad Zamanian, the Washoe County Chief Information Officer. He’ll talk about AI in government and public policy. We’ll also have Quinn Korbulic from Washoe County and Dr. Zee Hamzad who is an AI machine-learning engineer at Blockchains, which is a tech company up near Tesla on USA Parkway. So it’s a great panel with decades of expertise to talk about the innovation that’s happening here in Reno and Tahoe.
Then, at the end of the month on Tuesday April 30, don’t forget our Tahoe Poetry Night. So if you have some poetry, Denise, that you’d like to share, you can sign up to speak to share your poetry or to listen. That’s in partnership with the Prim Library at UNR Lake Tahoe, so we’ll be over on campus at Prim for that. Please check out our website for all the great events happening.
[speaker – inaudible]
John Crockett
Yes, absolutely. We have an Encore Quad that happens on the first Thursday and Saturday. This is actually the second Saturday of the month. We’re making vinyl stickers. So if you want to design a campaign sticker for this fall, or print out a sticker for your band, you can come in and design and print out a sticker.
I also want to mention our Community Center next door has restarted programs over there. We had our first Time Out Tuesday this past week. The next one is coming up the Tuesday after next. We do them 1st and 3rd Tuesdays. That will be creating a take-home hydroponic garden. Coming up in May every week on Fridays is watercolor painting with Jackie who is an amazing artist. So, lots of good stuff is going on at the Community Center.
Denise Davis
Is there any update on our audio improvements to our AV system?
John Crockett
Yes, absolutely. We’re still seeking funding to get a wireless microphone and speaker system that we would use for public comment here at the Community Forum and during our CAB meetings so we can better hear our speakers and when audience members have questions. We would use that at our Tech Talks and some other hybrid programs that we offer. The cost is about $2800. We have about $1000 so far. So we’re still looking for generous donors. If you’re interested, please let me know.
Denise Davis
Are there any other questions for John? I don’t see any. Jeff Church, I will come back to you for your campaign statement. Do you have any school updates?
Jeff Church – Washoe County School District Board Member District A
Basically, not a lot. April 26 there will be a special meeting for our new superintendent selection. I have not yet seen the agenda if that will be the decision then or just a preliminary “get-to-meet.” I think everybody knows the last superintendent resigned last year. We’re searching for a new one. The only other thing that’s really big, and I have not had much time to research this. I’m going to try to move my screen, but I’m not real tech savvy. There might have been a meeting yesterday with Tahoe Transportation District (TTD) on the former Old Incline Elementary School. I’m highly upset from what I’m hearing. I’m now looking at my screen. September 22, 2020 we approved a resolution to sell that school for $2.3 million. I voted no. I was totally opposed to that. I would love that we had used that land for staff housing or some other such purpose, but not just to “give it away” when the community was overwhelmingly opposed.
By the way, the $2.2 million was an old estimate. And you can’t buy an outhouse in Incline Village for $2.2 million. So, it was ridiculous that we did that. But as I was told, under State Law 277053, the property was to be used for a “public purpose” under state statute. That’s exactly what I’m reading. I don’t see that in the contract, but I see it in everything that was put out to the public and in that law. If they are going to sell it—so people let me know if I’m way off track here—but if they’re going to sell that to make condos or something—I want the school district to get it back at the price we sold it for, and we’ll use it for a public purpose. So I’d love feedback on that. I am not a happy camper from what I’m hearing. But I don’t know all the details, I’ll confess to that right away. If anybody knows, reach out to me. So, that’s it unless anyone has questions.
Denise Davis
The information I know is yes, the Tahoe Transportation District (TTD) did have their meeting on Wednesday April 3. I tuned in during their “closed session.” Judi was having difficulty getting everything to work together. So there was not a sign up or notice up that said they were in closed session. So, I listened to silence for about 20 minutes and thought I was connected to the wrong meeting. I contacted her later. So, I didn’t listen to the meeting while it was live. But I will follow up on it.
What the community has asked for at the Old Incline Elementary School Site, is they would prefer that it is not used as a mobility hub. And they have asked that workforce housing development be investigated. So, that might be where you’re hearing “condos.” I have not heard condos. Every comment I’ve heard is can’t we investigate building some workforce housing there instead of the mobility hub. So, that’s the latest information I have. People in the room are shaking their heads yes. I believe that’s where we are at, but I will watch the meeting from April 3 and get more information.
Jeff Church
I guess the bottom line is, if they didn’t do it for the stated public purpose, I think the school district might have a right to take that back and use it for staff housing, which is a public purpose that I think the community would support. I don’t know for sure, but I think we would support having housing for teachers and staff as well as maybe other government workers. I’m not happy with the way this has turned out. Thank you.
Yolanda Knaak – incline Village Resident
I just want to mention that the parcel is on an earthquake fault. There was an earthquake behind the building which is why they moved from the Old Elementary School. So, I don’t know if it had an earthquake there if it’s actually going to be worth as much as other Incline properties.
Denise Davis
Thanks, Yolanda. Are there any other school-related comments or questions? Then moving on. I’ll present a quick follow-up from our Washoe County sponsored Citizen Advisory Board (CAB) meeting. We had an update on the broadband project from Behzad Zamanian. If you’re having connection issues, he showed us some sites to report to about our Internet or broadband connection issues. So if you’re interested in getting that information, send an email to me at ivcbcommunityforum@gmail.com. I’ll forward you information about those websites he provided us.
The Board of Washoe County Commissioners (WCC) met March 26, and made an appointment to the TRPA Advisory Planning Commission (APC). They appointed James McNamara. Judy Simon who lives in Crystal Bay has been our representative on the APC for about 3 or 4 years. We appreciate her efforts on that board.
The April 9 Board of County Commissioner (BCC) meeting was cancelled. And the April 16 meeting does not have an agenda posted as yet.
We have a WCC tax refund update through the end of February. I believe that the tax refund period ends this year in May or June. So, if you know any old neighbors who may not have got their refund yet, tell them time is running out. Totals through the end of February are:
Total tax refunded = $22,623,522
Interest refunded = $21,624,575
Total refunded = $44,248,127
And just a reminder that the refunded money came from all the entities that received our property taxes. So, our Fire District paid not only the tax refund dollars but the interest as well. All of the entities that received our property tax dollars… their budgets funded that $44 million refund.
The Planning Commission meeting on April 2 was cancelled. Yesterday there was a Board of Adjustment meeting. Kathie Julian sits on that board. The topics on their agenda were Sky Tavern and a project called Summertide. Kathie, do you want to say anything about the meeting yesterday?
Kathie Julian
Yes, I was at the meeting. Two items were removed from the agenda because—as it was explained to me—that due to an updated county code those items would no longer need to go to the Board of Adjustment (BoA) for any assessment or recommendation. Those items involved building a 6000 ft garage alongside a much smaller house. It does raise the question of how much development can be done in neighborhoods on an internal basis without the Board of Adjustment weighing in on anything in terms of review. My only concern there would be to make sure the neighbors are aware of what’s going on and that they have a voice.
In terms of the two matters that came up yesterday, Summertide was a bit problematic. It was a house in Crystal Bay on Calaneva Drive asking to build an 8 ft fence set back from the road rather than, evidently, they could have built a 6 ft fence right alongside the road. The pros and cons of this were discussed extensively. Essentially, the applicant wants to build a transparent nicely prepared wire fence that would be 90% see- through and with landscaping set back from the road. So the board voted in support of a variance to allow for that. There was concern raised by community members about a tunnel-like effect on the road, which is used for walking. But because it would be removing a 6’ solid fence right next to the road, and replacing it with an 8’ 90% transparent fence, and that 90% transparency was written into the conditions of the approval, it seemed like that would not create a tunnel-like effect. This is right across from the street from the casino parking-garage. So, that was approved.
Then the Sky Tavern was approved. I was the lone dissenting voting member on that one. Sky Tavern is installing snow equipment and new parking, and improvements like that. But they also wanted night skiing and to install 77 lights running up and down the mountain. And that’s a Scenic Byway in Mt. Rose Highway, and has an adverse effect on “dark skies.” I voted against approving that with the ski slope lighting in the mix. The staff actually recommended denying the ski-slope lighting because it adversely impacted the “dark sky” and the Scenic Byway plan for Mt. Rose Highway. But four of the board members supported the night skiing. So that was the meeting.
Helen Neff – Incline Village Resident
I want to add my appreciation to Denise’s comment on the work that Judy Simon has done on the TRPA’s APC committee. I was a bit surprised about the appointment of James McNamara. He lives in District 2, which is not Lake Tahoe but in Washoe Valley. His application says he does have a vacation home in Incline Village, so that’s a plus. But I’m just wondering if it would be appropriate for this Forum to invite him to come and speak so we could kind of get to know him, or maybe the CAB. I just want to throw that out there.
Denise Davis
Thanks, Helen. I will see if I can reach him. They generally redact contact information from their applications and resumes.
Helen Neff
Yes, according to the agenda, it is redacted from the application but not the resume. So, I believe his email address is on there. I think eventually they put them on the TRPA website. I haven’t looked to see if it’s on there yet.
Denise Davis
Yes, I believe they do. I will check again, and I’ll keep an eye on that.
Helen Neff
I appreciate that because you know we have two representatives. Eric Young you know lives in Washoe down in Reno and now our second one lives down in Reno. That’s a little bit frustrating unless they know IVCB very well. That would be a plus. Thank you.
Denise Davis
I’ll just recap for those who might have missed the meeting. The Washoe County Board of Commissioners appoints the lay-person on the TRPA’s APC committee. Judy Simon had served a term, and it was time to either reappoint her or appoint someone else. Judy Simon and Jim McNamara both spoke to the commissioners. There was a third person who had applied who wasn’t present. The interesting thing was that after the two candidates spoke, Commissioner Hill made a motion to reappoint Judy Simon. Her comment was, “As we all know it takes a while to figure out the TRPA” and her opinion was “It would be helpful to have someone who is now familiar with the process continue.” Commissioner Garcia seconded the motion. But before it was voted on, Commissioner Andriola asked if there wasn’t going to be time for discussion about the candidates. So, Commissioner Hill withdrew her motion. There was no discussion. They asked for the paper ballots to vote. And the vote was Commissioners Hill and Garcia voted for Judy Simon; and the other three commissioners voted for Jim McNamara. I found that all very interesting. If you’d like to watch that meeting yourself, the URL for the video and the time stamp for when all that happened will be in the recap Forum URLs.
Kathie Julian
I also think it is a tragedy that Judy wasn’t reappointed. It would be a good idea to ask Mr. McNamara to come to the CAB and introduce himself and so forth. In my view, one of the roles of that person on the APC committee is to connect with the community and provide feedback on that planning commission. And this may not happen in this case. And it’s sad. It appears to be a further example—it broke down on party lines. So that’s unfortunate because TRPA is not political. Thank you.
Denise Davis
Does anyone else want to make a comment about the appointment or the county commissioners? The TRPA will be having an APC meeting Wednesday April 10 at 9:30 am. One of the items on the agenda is the discussion and possible recommendation on the proposed amendment to the Washoe County Tahoe Area Plan (TAP) to add schools (K-Secondary) as a Special Use in the Woodcreek Regulatory Zone for those parcels equal to or greater than 3 acres in size. The Board of County Commissioners recently approved amending the TAP to add schools (K-Secondary) as a Special Use within the Wood Creek Regulatory Zone. So now it needs to go to the TRPA. The APC will discuss it first, and then it will go to the TRPA Governing Board. If you’re interested in that topic,again the meeting is Wednesday April 10 beginning at 9:30 am in person or online. Are there any comments or questions?
Kristina Hill – Incline Village Resident
I’m on the Sierra Club Board of the Tahoe Area Group. We are having a presence on Earth Day April 20 at Palisades. Our message is going to mainly focus on plastics and plastic pollution, and what we can do to stop single-use plastics. And what other communities are doing, and that kind of thing. I heard from Yolanda Knaak or somebody that IVGID has come out and said there are microplastics in our drinking water in Incline. I wonder if anybody… Is Kari still available? Does she know about that? I need more information on that, because I haven’t been able to find anything on the IVGID website.
Yolanda Knaak
Last August the IVGID Water Department put out that we do have microplastics in our water, but it is not as much as you’d get from drinking a plastic bottle of water. So, it’s okay and it’s not going to hurt anybody according to them. I can probably find that blurb for you if you really need it. I think I took a photo of it. So, they’re saying there are microplastics in the water but they’re not that bad. There is less than in a plastic bottle of water. I personally went out and got a water filter that takes the microplastics out.
Kristina Hill
Yes. Thanks.
John Crockett
Kristina, I had a question and I asked Madonna about that. She said exactly what Yolanda said, and also that the water suppliers around the basin are doing a more in-depth study to monitor plastics in the water. They’re taking a closer look at it, but agree with what Yolanda said.
Kristina Hill
There’s also evidence that Lake Tahoe has a larger amount of microplastics in its water compared to other lakes like Almador or whatever. If anyone has any information on the microplastics in Lake Tahoe… But what concerns me is that they are making piers out of plastic. I think I told you that before. And buoys are made of plastic. And all the East Shore Trail is made of plastic. So, it is going to get worse I feel. This is just the beginning, and we need to practice not using plastic so much. There was an example in New Zealand where you are not given a bag for your groceries. You have to bring your own bag unless you can carry it out in your arms. Other countries are doing so much more about eliminating disposable plastics. For example, kitchen utensils—plastic forks and knives—can be made out of bamboo and other biodegradable materials. It’s kind of fun to learn about this stuff, and try to promote eliminating single-use plastics like they’re doing in South Lake Tahoe and Truckee.
Denise Davis
Speaking as someone who has been in Colorado quite a bit lately, they don’t allow single-use plastic bags. You can’t get them at the store.
Kristina Hill
Yes, I know. I hope we can do that too.
Aaron Vanderpool – Incline Village Resident
It’s great to see what they are doing in South Lake Tahoe. John’s right. It’s a big topic. So, they’re looking at more research about plastics in Lake Tahoe in the future. I just want to add that out of curiosity I looked into nanoplastics versus microplastics and was sad to see that a lot of water filters actually add nanoplastics. You’re removing the microplastics but you’re actually getting the nanoplastics from the filter itself. That was something to think about. You just can’t win.
Denise Davis
I want to remind everyone that today at 5 pm is the deadline for comments for the TRPA’s 2024 Public Participation Plan. The draft is online. If you’re interested, check the URL in the recap. I also want to remind everyone… It was mentioned at the IVGID town hall that a lot of people don’t know anything about Flashvote. We’re trying to get the word out about how to sign up for Flashvote surveys. Go to www.flashvote.com/users/sign_up. That will get you on the email list to be notified when there’s a survey to take.
Kari Ferguson
I put links in the Chat and also ways to receive more information—an email address and a phone number— about the microplastics. I’m sorry about the Flashvote. I’m still awaiting information from the Board to blast information out. So as soon as I get that information I’ll send it to you guys. I put a few more links in there and I feel like there was one more really good link that I just did a couple of days ago. It was on Facebook, so I’ll try to find that and put it in there too.
Denise Davis
Just a reminder, the East Shore Trail paid parking season has started. If you are going to park and walk on the trail, you will need to pay for your parking.
Ann Nichols
About this Flashvote… Truckee is doing a Flashvote for the community to decide what to do about over-tourism. It would be so lovely if TRPA and the counties would use Flashvote before they make unilateral decisions about our future like this new Destination Stewardship group whose fiscal agent is the Tahoe Fund. The TRPA is coordinating all of it. It’s comprised of 17 different groups. There’s no one who is running it. There’s no one to go to, no one in charge. It’s just this free-floating idea and they’re talking about taxing us. We all need to get involved in this. Thank you.
Denise Davis
Thanks, Ann. Other than Jeff Church and Christine Hull, do we have any other candidates who want to speak to us? I’ll give you a second to get your hand up if you do. One more reminder that we do have a local group that meets to play chess on Wednesdays at the Community Building. So if you or someone you know is interested in playing chess, that happens on Wednesdays. Okay, Jeff is indicating I should let Christine go first, so let me get my timer going. Go ahead Christine.
Christine Hull – Candidate for Washoe County School District Area A
Can you hear me okay? Sorry but I have a meeting in a bit for work so I’m having to use my ear buds. Good morning. Thank you everybody so much for coming and for letting me be here to share a bit but also to learn so much about what’s happening currently in Incline.
I actually grew up spending most of my weekends in Incline. My grandfather was the principal of Incline Village High School for most of his career. They lived in Incline so I got to spend a lot of time there as a kid. I’m very fond of Incline and the community. I’m so honored to have this opportunity to learn more about the community and to serve the community in any way possible.
So a little bit more about me… I’m a mom of school age children. I have three kids: one in high school. We just did a bunch of college tours, which was eye-opening. I have a middle-schooler and an elementary-school student. I’m also an educator. I’ve been a teacher for over 20 years but I’m not currently in the classroom. I am the program director for the Nevada Center for Civic Engagement. I run the “We the People” program. For those of you familiar with the high school, you are probably very aware that we are heading to Washington, DC with Incline students for the National Finals competition. That’s very exciting.
A couple of really Important things… For me when it comes to our school board and our schools, I really believe in having an educator’s voice on the school board. It can give us an opportunity to learn from all teachers what the classroom experience and also building experience is like. And I know that will become really important in Incline Village and all our other facilities as we move forward with the WCSD Facility Modernization Plan. I know that’s been a really tough conversation in Incline. I actually sat on that committee and pushed for more community input, and to form a community—specifically an Incline community—a group to study the schools more. I know Jeff and I are in agreement on this. We need more conversation in Incline before any decisions are made about the schools. Hopefully that’s going to be happening soon. Based on everything I’ve heard this morning, I think you have a lot of community members who would be happy to participate in those conversations to make sure the right decisions are being made for the schools in Incline.
Just a couple of other areas of interest for me are not just our buildings but also our Special Education population. I have a son who is on the autism spectrum, and I’ve learned a lot about our Special Education system from both sides—being a teacher and knowing how to differentiate in the classroom, but also as a parent and being an advocate for your child. So those are just a couple of areas. Oh, is my time up?
Denise Davis
You’re fine. And again, you’re running for the School District?
Christine Hull
Yes, I should have said that at the beginning. I’m running for the WCSD District A seat.
Denise Davis
Thank you for being with us today, Christine.
Christine Hull
Absolutely, and thank you for giving me a few minutes. I’ll put my website in the Chat so anybody can reach out.
Jeff Church
Good morning. I am watchdog Jeff Church. That is my website: watchdogjeff.com. I’ve served with honor for the last 3+ years on the WCSD for District A. And by the way there is also District G that will be on your ballot. That’s a whole other story. But I’m honored to serve you. A little secret…. Don’t tell the others… but you’re my favorite. I mean that. Those of you who know me, know I’m very involved in Incline. I used to live in Incline years ago. I come up for events all the time. Number one, I am opposed to closing Incline Middle School absent a major change. I am 100% opposed to that. As a US Air Force officer our three core values are integrity, excellence in what we do, and service before self. And that is what I do. If you look at my website, it’s not about “vote for me.” It’s about community issues on education. I’ve been doing this for a long time before I was ever on the WCSD board. I also think it’s important to know that we have three candidates. I know this wasn’t put out in the Forum so I don’t know if Stephanie Flores was invited, but just to be fair, “VoteStephanieFlores.com is her website.
So you want to look at all three of us. think it’s pretty clear that I’m a conservative. I’m proud of that, not ashamed of that. It is a nonpartisan race. I think it’s pretty clear that Miss Hull is very well educated and is on the left or whatever we want to call it. She leans to the left. And then from what I know—I’ve only met her twice—Miss Flores is in the center. So those are your three choices: left, right, and center. I would love to have some debates. I would love a candidate forum. You invite me up and I’ll be there. So let’s get the three of us invited and we can do that. Number two, I’m totally in favor of school choice. I don’t know about the zoning but I’ve reached out to those churches that are looking to rezone to see about that. I haven’t really heard much back. But I’m totally in favor of school choice. One size doesn’t fit all.
That’s basically my resume and my background. You have three educated and qualified candidates. Invite everybody to hold a forum and make your best choice. I really look forward to having some kind of a debate forum, or Q&A, etc. And my website is also in the Chat—watchdogJeff.com. Thank you very much.
Denise Davis
Thank you, Jeff. Just so everyone knows our process, we typically do not go out and invite candidates to join us. But we do know that candidates find us. Through the years, we’ve learned we can set some guidelines and try to stay within those guidelines during campaign season. That’s where we came up with our 3-minute limit at the end of our meeting. We’re open to any candidates who want to join and speak to us. So, just for those who asked, we don’t actively court candidates or ask them to appear, but they do find us.
If anyone is interested in a Q&A time, I know that Christine has to go to a meeting now. I’m sure she will try to join us in the future and have some time available for that.
Christine Hull
Absolutely. Thank you all so much.
Denise Davis
But if anyone has any questions they want to ask really quickly, we have a few minutes. I don’t see any at the moment. It is 10:02. I want to remind everyone our next Forum will be in 2 weeks on April 19. We do still have more snow coming in, so please be safe if you’re on the roads or out of the house. Any final comments before we sign off?
Ronda Tycer – Incline Village Resident
I want to let people know that I think we are going to be holding some candidate forums over a period of about 4 months. We will be asking candidates who are relevant to Incline Village if they want to participate in these different forums. Each forum will be specific to a particular position. I just want to mention that.
Denise Davis
Yes, thanks for reminding me. We are likely going to be partnering with IVCBA to host several candidate forums, each one dedicated to a specific office that’s up for election. With that being said, please be safe, and we’ll see you in 2 weeks.
John Crockett
Thank you Denise. Thank you Ronda.
Participants
Aaron Vanderpool
Ann Nichols
Beth and John Davidson
Bill Horn
Christine Hull
Doug Flaherty
Helen Neff
Jeff Church
Jeffrey Lauer
John Crockett
Kari Ferguson
Kristina Hill
Linda Offerdahl
Pam Straley
Ronda Tycer
Ryan Sommers
Sam Levine
Shirley Appel
Yolanda Knaak
CHAT LOG
09:09:09 From John Crockett/Incline Village: our email is: ivcbcommunityforum@gmail.com
09:09:55 From John Crockett/Incline Village :
09:26:04 From John Crockett/Incline Village : IVCBA Workforce housing survey: https://ivcba.org/community-news/iv-cb-workforce-housing-series-survey/
09:29:25 From Kari Wingate – Ferguson : Hazardous Waste dropoff (HHW) information:
Opening day will be Tuesday, May 28, 2024, with appointments opening two weeks in advance on Tuesday, May 14, 2024, on IVGID HHW.com or by calling waste not at 775-832-1284.
Proof of residency is required, by a valid IVGID card or driver’s license with Incline Village or Crystal Bay listed. There is no fee for this service, and non-residents will be turned away.
Drop offs are limited to 50 lbs per appointment.
Televisions, vacuum/carpet cleaners, countertop appliances, and beauty tools are not accepted
09:49:44 From Kari Wingate – Ferguson : https://www.yourtahoeplace.com/public-works/water/water-quality
09:50:12 From Kari Wingate – Ferguson : To learn more about how you can protect the source of your drinking water, visit the TWSA website: www.TahoeH2O.org or call (775) 832-1284.
09:51:07 From Kari Wingate – Ferguson : https://www.yourtahoeplace.com/public-works/water/source-water-protection/documents-links
09:52:13 From LtCol Jeff Church : My political/ informational website is WatchDogJeff.com and I run RenoTaxRevolt.com on area tax issues, both as my long standing service to the community.
09:52:14 From sam levine : Another large source of microplastics is car tire wear debris (28%). Given the volume of tourists, this will be an ongoing and growing problem.
09:59:01 From Christine Hull : website: votechristinehull.com & email christine@votechristinehull.com
10:00:08 From Christine Hull : Here is Stephanie’s website: https://www.votestephanieflores.com/
10:02:45 From Jeffrey Lauer : Reacted to “Another large source…” with 👍
10:03:53 From LtCol Jeff Church : Early primary voting mid- May (mail in ballots), so time is short
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
Washoe County emergency alert sign-up
https://www.washoecounty.gov/em/RegionalAlerts.php
Washoe Regional Emergency Information Center
https://www.EmergencyWashoe.com
IVGID water service line survey
https://bit.ly/IVGIDPWLeadandCopperSurvey
(URL is case-sensitive)
April 5 – IVGID Golf Advisory Committee – 10:00 am
April 10 – IVGID BOT
April 11 – IVGID Golf Advisory Committee
look for agendas at https://www.yourtahoeplace.com/ivgid/board-of-trustees/meetings-and-agendas
Sign up to receive FlashVote survey invites
https://www.flashvote.com/users/sign_up
NLTFPD “Spring Forward Safely in 2024”
https://nltfpd.org/news/spring-forward-safely-in-2024
Washoe County CERT (Community Emergency Response Team)
FREE training at the April Academy
https://www.washoecert.org/sowhatwillyoulearn
April 5 – deadline for comments – TRPA 2024 Public Participation Plan
https://www.trpa.gov/2024-public-participation-plan-draft
April 10 – TRPA APC meeting – 9:30 am
https://www.trpa.gov/event/advisory-planning-commission-meeting-10
Washoe311 – request for service
call 311 or 775-328-2003
https://washoecountynv.qscend.com/311/request/add
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
IV/CB Community 1st meetings and community info
IVCBA (Incline Village Crystal Bay Community and Business Association)
Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival June 28 thru Aug 26
2024 plays are The Merry Wives of Windsor and Always…Patsy Cline
Monday Night Showcase Series lineup at
NEW sign language performances
Patsy Cline – July 16
Merry Wives – Aug 6
contact Box Office Manager Lee Ann Allison at 775-298-0163 or lee@tahoebard.com for accessibility tix
FREE Young Shakespeare programs
Washoe Board of County Commissioners meeting March 26 – TRPA APC appointment – time stamp 2:28:50
0 Comments