The link to the recording of the meeting https://youtu.be/R-igc9Ibp2g
Denise Davis – 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, our 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 at the end of the meeting recap. We partner with IVCB Community 1s.t.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 Forum meeting notices and recaps, send an email to us at ivcbcommunityforum@gmail.com.
Kari Ferguson – Incline Village General Improvement District Communication Coordinator
Good morning Incline Village and Crystal Bay. Happy Friday! I’ll give you a few updates. Last weekend was our last weekend of golf—very sad—and the Chateau. We have the Puppy plunge at Ski Beach, which is kind of our kickoff to dogs being allowed at Ski Beach. Make sure it’s only Ski Beach. Not Incline Beach and not Burnt Cedar Beach. Dogs are allowed at Ski Beach until mid-spring next year, usually around April 15th or so.
We also have the Trail of Treats coming up next week. On Monday we have a Board Meeting at 5:30pm at the Chateau. I will put the link in the Chat for the agenda, and the link to the livestream so people can watch. The Trail of Treats and Terror is set for Thursday at the fitness trail in Aspen Grove and Village Green. That parking lot will be closed Thursday morning after Conversation Café because we’re loading supplies there. We have about 20 community partners helping us including North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District (NLTFPD) and Washoe County Sheriff Office (WCSO). Thank you to both. We have over 1000 local kids registered for the event. So it’s pretty exciting. Be sure to “like” us on Facebook and Instagram so you can get the latest information.
Denise Davis
I just want to remind everyone that IVGID is putting out recaps of their meetings. If you’d like more information about that, email communications@ivgid.org to get signed up to receive the recaps.
Kari Ferguson
Thank you, Denise. Have a good day everyone.
Jack Dalton – Incline Village Resident
I got an email letting me know that IVGID – I thought it said that the Golf Course is closed on the 18th, not this weekend. I thought. It said the 18th I’m pretty sure.
Kari Ferguson
Monday is the first day we weren’t open. That is what they were trying to get to there. That is a bit confusing, I agree.
Jack Dalton
So is the golf course open?
Kari Ferguson
No, it’s closed. Today is the 21st. So the 18th is also past. It was open through Sunday. The 17th was the last day of operation, and it is now closed.
Joseph Colacurcio – Washoe County Sheriff Department Sergeant
Hi everybody. Recently you guys probably noticed some new stop signs on Lakeshore. Those were installed in the last few days. We’ll give people a few weeks to let them realize that there are new stop signs, but then enforcement will be happening.
Currently right now we’re in a campaign called “2nd Chance.” We work with a donors’ network of the Western States. If you get pulled over and your violation is not egregious, we hand you a little ticket. On the little ticket there is an option if you’re an organ donor—they thank you. But if you’re not, they’ll say, hey, would you be interested in signing up. So it’s an organ donor network thing.
The WCSO Incline Substation recently purchased two data-collection boxes. With them, you guys will probably not see them. You won’t know where they are. They are used to collect speed data and do a traffic count. We also purchased a radar trailer—a feedback trailer where you drive by and see your speed. With that we usually get speed numbers. That does a couple of scores of data for traffic enforcement. But with the traffic data-collection boxes, it allows us to put them up and they are stealthy so we get more realistic data so we can do more realistic enforcement. The data will be available. I’ll be able to provide you guys with information further on when we have these. But we just got the purchase order approved, and hope to have the data collector boxes by Christmas time and the trailer January 5th.
Jack Dalton
I have several questions. Why can’t we have cameras that capture license plates? At 6am I was driving past the school. People were walking, I was driving at the speed limit—because I’ve been stopped and they were nice enough not to give me a ticket for going 30mph. There was a guy going 60. He passed 3 cars. It was a California license plate and a nice car. And it would have been nice to capture the vehicle license plate to potentially catch the driver. This was flat out. The guy had to be going 60.
Joseph Colacurcio
We don’t have the ability to install cameras to do enforcement which leads to a violation by photographing license plates. That is because of the Nevada Revised Statutes that do not allow us to use cameras in [9:35 inaudible ]violations.
Jack Dalton
Well, maybe that would be something you could propose because in New York City—granted it is a different environment—they have cameras everywhere.
[inaudible 9:56]
Joseph Colacurcio
We are working—not for traffic enforcement, speeding enforcement, or traffic violations—we are working in the community with the North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District and some of the local [inaudible 10:11] to try to get license plate information [inaudible 10:17]. We use them for bigger investigations—for things like if you get your wallet stolen out of the Water Treatment plant. Then we get a license plate. Then we start tracking. We use all the license plate readers throughout Northern Nevada. We start tracking that vehicle and figure out where that vehicle is located. Then enforcement on the vehicle leads to an arrest. This also led to him being identified and arrested. He’s also been identified in three other states.
Jack Dalton
My other question is that I heard several weeks ago there were 4 break-ins in local restaurants. And then I heard at a meeting yesterday there was a break-in at the golf course. What’s the status of those investigations?
Joseph Colacurcio
All of those investigations are ongoing. I can tell you that we are working on them. The benefit of having the same deputies that work up here every day allows those deputies to further investigate leads. For a normal deputy in the valley working out of Reno or Sparks, they are overtasked with calls for service. So they’ll finish one call, there’s another one waiting. The radio doesn’t stop all day. Incline is a bit different. It allows that initial deputy to continue that investigation until they either end up with an arrest or they run out of any investigative leads. So they are working on them. They are working with the detectives in Reno with the WCSO to continue any leads we get to continue to investigate. But it’s an ongoing investigation.
Andrew Whyman – Incline Village Resident
The issue of drugs and alcohol in our community is certainly of relevance, particularly given the predominance of drinking establishments. Is there any reason why you folks can’t notify and alert us on a regular basis about the number of drug and alcohol stops and arrests? I’ve brought this issue up on several occasions over the years and it doesn’t ever go anywhere just in terms of letting us know.
Joseph Colacurcio
All that information is put out when we make an arrest to the WCSO. And anything pertinent is pushed out by our Public Information Officer (PIO). So if you follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram any of the social-media platforms, all of the arrests in Incline Village at the completion of our investigation or the arrest, they are placed on social media and put out to the general public.
We are not going to compile a report every week to say we did this or we did that. We may have no incidents one week, and next week 5. It’s not a continuous report we’re going to publish to the newspaper. All our information on arrests is pushed out by the PIO.
Andrew Whyman
Is there any distinction between stops and arrests? For instance, if an officer decides I’m not going to take that person in.
Joseph Colacurcio
There is discretion on misdemeanors, and anything that is a felony or a gross misdemeanor would be an arrest case. Misdemeanors can be issued a citation. Your normal traffic stop has a civic procedure we’ll talk about another day. But any of your basic violations and misdemeanors, you’ll be issued a citation. Gross misdemeanors and felonies are arrested and taken in.
Andrew Whyman
So that wouldn’t be in the database, would it?
Joseph Colacurcio
No. The traffic stops data is there. But if we do a traffic stop and nothing comes of it, it isn’t.
John Eppolito
I had a question. Actually what Mr. Dalton said, I take it easy around school zones. However, there is a 35 mph speed limit on Mt Rose Highway where that brand new road is. Many times there is no one on that road, there’s no construction. Is that really a 35 mph speed limit? I’ve followed cars up there going 65mph.
Joseph Colacurcio
I will defer to NDOT. Yes, it is posted to be 35mph. But all that question should be pushed to the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT). [inaudible 15:49]. We do work it and respond to calls for service in that area, but it is not our primary responsibility. Mt Rose, Tahoe Boulevard, State Rt 28, are all NDOT.
John Eppolito
It is posted 35mph up there isn’t it?
Joseph Colacurcio
So contact the Traffic Engineer at the Department of Transportation.
John Eppolito
Will they be taking that down soon?
Joseph Colacurcio
You’re free to ask them.
Kathie Julian – Incline Village Resident, Washoe County Board of Adjustment Member
On this Facebook page where we follow the WCSO to get information, is it specific to Incline Village?
Joseph Colacurcio
We have an Incline Village Facebook page. But we also have the WCSO Facebook page. You can follow both pages. The Public Information Officer will post to both. So the WCSO Incline Substation has a Facebook page. I don’t believe we have an Instagram or Twitter account for Incline alone.
Kathie Julian
Okay, I’m looking at the Incline Village Facebook page. I don’t think it would be relevant for our residents to be clicking onto the Washoe County Facebook page, because there’s too much non-Incline-related information for it to be useful for us.
So it would be good to make sure that the Incline Village substation Facebook page is updated frequently, as well as the County one. I’m on it right now, and I’m actually not seeing much in the way of updates. Maybe things haven’t happened. So thanks.
John Crockett
You mentioned an annual report that has a lot of statistics.
Joseph Colacurcio
Yes, that’s on the washoesheriff.com website. You have the ability to go there and look at the annual report.
Denise Davis
I believe the report comes out in the spring.
Sara Schmitz – Incline Village Board of Trustees, IVCB Community 1st Director
Thank you, Sergeant. I appreciate your being here. What can we do as citizens? Because I too do my best to drive the speed limit, and have had people pass me on double yellows, which is really dangerous if there are pedestrians or what have you. What can we do to try to help this? Would you like us to take pictures of license plates as they go by us? Is there anything we can do to try to help discourage this because it’s very dangerous.
Joseph Colacurcio
That is a misdemeanor that doesn’t occur in our presence, so you have to be willing to sign the citation. You have to be the one to go to court and say in front of the judge, “I observed said person driving said vehicle doing this.” You have to be willing to sign the citation on that end. In order to facilitate that you can call our nonemergency number (775 885-9276), or if it’s an emergency, you can dial 911. I’m not going to recommend that you use your cell phone while you are driving, as that is a violation of the NRS. If you have a passenger or a dash-mounted camera, Garmin etc., make sure it records it. Then we can come out and identify the vehicle, get a good license plate, and talk to them. And if you’re willing to sign that citation, we’ll issue that citation. That’s a good way. It’s more of a Neighborhood Watch as much as a traffic watch.
Sara Schmitz
I appreciate that. I just have one follow up to that. In reality, we don’t know who’s driving the vehicle. Even if I took a photo of the license plate, would it hold any water? Because it’s a car, a vehicle, and I don’t know who’s driving.
Joseph Colacurcio
Well, the same thing happens to me. When I write a citation and I’m taken to court on that, I have to say “So and so was driving that vehicle that day—his marked vehicle, with this license plate, this day and time in this location. This is what I observed.” So you could simply say, “I observed Big Bird driving a Subaru in Incline Village and he passed me on a double yellow line in the area of Lakeshore and Shoreline Circle. And then I observed him not coming to a complete stop at the stop sign. We’d fill out your citation for you. You’d go to court and explain that to the judge. Then Big Bird would defend himself in court. And it would be up to the judge at that time to make that determination. .
Andrew Whyman
I recommend you deputize all citizens of Incline Village immediately.
Jack Dalton
Regarding the issue about the camera in a car, I was in a cab from Reno to Incline and the driver had observed on Mt Rose Hwy and recorded a guy who got in an accident. NDOT picked up his recording of it. He didn’t have to testify. But apparently the guy got into a nonfatal accident and NDOT did come pick up the tape. So are you still saying that the issues with the camera about putting the person making the complaint at risk, potentially to the…
Joseph Colacurcio
Every person has civil rights and the right to face their accuser based on the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights. I can’t accuse you without you having the right to face me for those accusations. So unless there are some minor stipulations with State law, which are related to a whole different set of violent crimes, when it comes to traffic, you have the right to face your accuser. So if you call to make a complaint, and I don’t physically observe him and write my own citation based on what I observed, you have to be the person to write that citation.
Jack Dalton
I appreciate that, but if you have the camera in the car…
Joseph Colacurcio
If you were driving said vehicle and you had a camera in your vehicle, and recorded it on that camera it wouldn’t be enough. You’d probably have to go to court. They will be able to petition to see whose camera it was. They have the right to face the. person. To know all that information. It’s all through discovery.
Jack Dalton
Well the driver did not have to go to court.
Joseph Colacurcio
He may not have, but they will find him.
Jack Dalton
I’m talking about the cab driver.
Joseph Colacurcio
Yes, the cab driver. He probably won’t have to go to court. But he is still the one who has that [ ] “I obtained it from said person,” and be able to bring that into court. Everyone has the right to know who’s providing evidence.
Denise Davis
Thank you, Sergeant Cola. It’s always good to have you with us to answer these kinds of questions. Tia and Ryan, what’s happening with the Fire District?
Ryan Sommers – North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District Chief
The last day for signing up for chipping will be October 23rd. I need to clarify one thing that came out through the news media and Senator Cortez Masto’s office. We did receive a FEMA grant of $1.7 million, which is awesome. It’s a consortium grant—our department plus four others. We went in with four others to purchase self-contained breathing apparatuses (SCBAs). With that, we’re able to completely outfit all the departments at the end of life of their current breathing systems. So that was fantastic. However, Cortez Masto’s office said we received $1.7 million for wildfire mitigation. And I heard some ideas from the community about how that should be spent. But it’s not for wildfire mitigation. It’s not a “free-spending” thing. It’s earmarked for a specific purchase for these fire departments. So I just wanted to clarify that. Tia may have a few announcements. Our seasonals will be laid off mid-November. We’re gearing up for this weekend’s weather and mostly the wind event.
Denise Davis
Chief, would you like to mention the names of folks who got pinned on Wednesday?
Ryan Sommers
So last Wednesday we pinned a brand new Fire Marshall, John James. He took the place of the retired Fire Marshall Jennifer Donahue. We promoted Dale Speaker to Fire Captain, and Dillon Angus came to us as a brand new firefighter paramedic from the Reno Airport.
Kathie Julian
I’m following up on that Washoe County Evacuation Plan that was approved by the Board of Commissioners a couple of months ago. It did not factor into its analysis the tourist traffic in Incline Village. Thus, it was saying we could possibly evacuate the area in as little as 6 hours on a summer day. I would like to know how your department is interfacing with Washoe County in preparing this multiphase evacuation plan, which I understand from our Commissioner is just in its first phase. But it seemed to lay down some assumptions that I would question. I think we need to have more community involvement and certainly more input from your department into those assumptions, so we end up after this 5 day period with a robust evacuation plan that is realistic.
Ryan Sommers
There’s a lot of information just mentioned. I’ll try to address what I can remember. Yes, that plan did not address tourists. I’ve asked them to include that in the upcoming phases. The good news is that… Please remember that evacuations are the sole responsibility of the Washoe County Emergency Management (WCEM). We are going to be busy If this event happens, which I hope it never does.
We’re working with them on a robust plan. The vendor they said they had at the beginning of this calendar year obviously isn’t working out. Washoe County realizes that. I have sought out a new vendor. We’re looking for finance to secure the app Perimeter. It’s a whole different class and a whole different thing to talk about at a future meeting. So hopefully that will help with evacuations with our 3 ways out—2 more than other lake communities.
Washoe County Emergency Management has secured funding for us to have an evacuation drill. I’m hoping to put it on in the spring. It’s only within the last 96 hours that we were made aware of this. There will be a lot of planning to do come spring. We’re going to do our best to do that. I’ll talk to WCEM to see if we can get a couple—and by that I mean 2, not a whole group—of citizens to give input on that as well. And maybe we can pull off a really good evacuation drill and get the information out there. So it’s all a work In progress. I know this answer will not suffice. But we are working on it and it’s just a lengthy, lengthy process that requires funding.
Kathie Julian
Thank you. And I think changing the vendor is probably the best idea. Having read the report, I was not impressed.
Ryan Sommers
This vendor is not going to be helping them build that plan. That’s not the vendor I’m talking about. I’m talking specifically about the new app, specifically to IVCB. And hopefully we get it launched for the rest of Washoe County. And that is a vendor we will be relying on in the event of an evacuation. The planning process… I can’t even keep up with the plans for the Fire District let alone the county. That definitely will be on the county level.
Kathie Julian
Right. But you will have input into that county plan.
Ryan Sommers
Oh, absolutely! Maria Echeveria and I have a very good working relationship. And yes we will.
Kathie Julian
Okay. Because we need good assumptions and need the tourism traffic in those assumptions.
Ryan Sommers
Be careful when you say “assume.” We all know what that means. But yes, you’re right.
Judy Miller – Incline Village Resident
If you need a citizen to volunteer to be on that committee to help with the evacuation planning, I’ve been very involved with the County in trying to secure data on short-term rental occupancy. They have occasionally published data. But it needs to be updated frequently as more and more STRs come on line. Hopefully you’ll be able to get that data more frequently than I’ve been able to. But I’m happy to volunteer if you would like to have someone who has actually had hands-on experience with the data.
Ryan Sommers
Thank you.
Denise Davis
Before I forget, John Crockett, what’s happening at the library?
John Crockett – Washoe County Incline Library Head Librarian
Early voting! We have early voting beginning on Saturday from 10am to 6pm. It extends from this Saturday through November 4th. The last two days will be 10am – 7pm. Then we’re off a few days and open for Election Day voting on Tuesday November 8.
The Mobility Hub Committee meets Monday the 24th at 5:30pm at the Parasol building because early voting is going on here at the library. The agenda is available on their website.
John Eppolito
Is early voting 7 days a week?
John Crockett
Yes it is. It begins tomorrow and goes through the weekends, every day.
Barbara Whyman – Incline Village Resident
We have mail-in ballots, and do we take them to the early voting and deliver them there?
John Crockett
Yes, there will be a secure ballot drop-off on location. There are couriers taking them down to the Registrar’s Office twice a day.
Denise Davis
I believe I heard at a prior County Commissioner meeting that the ballot drop-off boxes would be monitored. So I don’t believe they are available outside voting hours.
Steve Dolan – Incline Village Resident, Friends of 3rd Creek Director
This is an announcement on behalf of Friends of 3rd Creek, but mostly the Forest Service, which is the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU). Recently I became aware of a rumor that there was a new release for LTBMU’s Over-snow Winter Management Machine proposal. So I called the supervisor for the Over Snow Winter Machine proposal, which has been around for 3 years now. They’ve been working on it because there has been a lot of interest.
According to the supervisor, the interest is 50-50 Nordic ski people and snowmobile people. Anyway I had a nice long conversation thanks to the library providing the computer that could do it and the space to do it in. The supervisor Ms. Seiber explained that between the Nordic ski group and the Forest Service, there was a misunderstanding. So the information the Nordic group has put out was inaccurate in that there have been zero new releases. The new release for this proposal is scheduled for the fall of 2023.
So everybody can relax on that. Apparently the Forest Service got a lot of phone calls when they saw the map that included areas in the original proposal. And their original proposal map is still the map. However it doesn’t really represent what the new proposal will be in fall. So once again, there is no new map. The assumptions of where the snowmobiles will be allowed and where skiers will be isolated is old news. Ms. Seiber said that the 50-50 interest is being weighed between their staff. She’s now the new supervisor. She was the landscape architect for the project. So there have been a lot of changes going on. But she wanted everyone to know that nothing has been put out and nothing will be put out until the fall of 2023.
The other thing I was able to point out to her—I was given the privy of looking at several proposals. And there are proposals by everyone from Snowlands—which is asking for an extreme in one direction—and snowmobilers asking for an extreme in the other direction. Jack and I actually participated in a collaborative effort a couple of years ago. And their information I got to review and it was very encouraging. But none of these collaborative proposals are actually going to be put into action until after the fall submission to the public, and then a secondary comment period. The last comment period was 3 years ago and Ms. Seiber dealt with 1000 comments. They have to legally review each one and find whatever they find from those proposals, comments, and objections. So it’s a big process, but I wanted to let everybody know, because it was getting a little emotional in terms of what was happening, and what was rumored to happen. So we can just sit back until late summer and fall next year.
I was able to give the Forest Service a map that includes our buddy Beaver Bob and Bob’s marsh. I’m calling it his now, because he’s really created an incredible environment down there. John Eppolito and I were down there and we saw 8 or 9 dams that Bob’s family had created. They’ve created quite a beautiful marsh. So I was able to give the Forest Service that map and let her know the beaver exists there. The new managers didn’t know about it until we showed them. So they’re a little bit more up to date and we can just rest til fall.
Denise Davis
Just a reminder, we do have people who need to use our room at 10:15. So we’re going to have to move along. We have a speaker with us today. It’s Heather Segale, and she is the Education and Outreach Director for the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center (TERC) over at the previous Sierra Nevada College campus, now part of the University of Nevada at Lake Tahoe.
Heather Segale – TERC Education and Outreach Director
I have too many slides because I wasn’t sure exactly what you would be interested in. And I wasn’t sure how many people knew about UC Davis being in Incline. We have a Science Center where we provide education for kids and adults. It’s on the campus of the former Sierra Nevada College, now the University of Nevada Lake Tahoe Campus. The University of California at Davis owns this Science Building. It is bizarre that we are the University of California in Nevada. We were unable to secure a location on the California side so we helped Sierra Nevada College to purchase a science building. We raised $13 million toward that building and were able to make that happen.
We started research through Dr. Charles Golden—our founding director—in 1958 (before I was born). We have more than 60 years of science at Lake Tahoe. This long-term data record is really important to us to understand the changes we see at Lake Tahoe.
We are on the lake. We have several research vessels. Our most famous is the one you see in this picture. We are also in Tahoe City with a field station at the old Fish Hatchery building. And then we’re in Incline Village on the former SNC campus in the Science Building.
Our research at Lake Tahoe covers a broad range:
Air quality
Aquatic ecology
Aquatic invasive spec
Climate charge
Computer modeling
Forest ecology –and soils
Lake clarity and limnology
Meteorology
Monitoring (lake and streams)
Nutrient/sediment transport and treatment
Remote sensing
Connecting Tahoe to lakes globally
I’m going to note that Aaron Vanderpool is on the call, and he represents our Forest Ecology lab. And Steven Sesma is a chemist who represents our Nutrient/Sediment monitoring and Algae monitoring. We are a group of about 15 people located in Tahoe and then some in Davis.
All of our research gets reported in the Tahoe State of the Lake Report 2022 which you can find online. I’ll enter that in the Chat Box for you. A couple of things that came out of that report are as follows. It’s organized as Current Research, Meteorology, Physical properties, Nutrients and particles, Biology, Clarity, Education and Outreach. This last year represents the full year prior (this is for a separate presentation):
We had the highest surface water temperature ever recorded.
We had the most alarming near-shore algae ever found.
We had massive changes in algal composition in the lake.
We had major changes in the food web as well from the zooplankton changes and what that will mean for the lake.
There is a great recorded presentation which our director, Geoff Schladow, gave, which is on our website. I want to mention a great resource we have which is Tahoe Lake Conditions where you can find existing current lake temperature from our four research buoys and our near-shore sensor stations. These research buoys are a collaboration with NASA, which is an interesting presentation I could also tell you about. We’re going to have a NASA presentation in 2023 by the director, Simon Hook.
So the lake temperature is both current lake temperature at those points as well as modeled lake temperature for the week. Water currents are really interesting. Lake temperatures also change because upwelling events can occur following wind events. You can get all the warm water pushed across to one side of the lake and then cold water upwelling. So the temperature can change as much as 15 degrees Fahrenheit, which is a pretty massive change. So for any of you swimmers training for TRAC 1, you want to know that, and check the lake temperature. There are also water currents. You can get 100-feet-per-minute water currents in these massive gyres that get set up. And then wave height is also available. That is important.
I also want to tell you about our Science Education Centers. Because we are part of the North Lake Tahoe Chamber of Commerce and the North Lake Tahoe Resort Association, but that transient occupancy tax only pays for things in Placer County, we are really in a difficult place for funding for getting the word out about our Science Center. So word of mouth is the Number One way. So I’m going to ask all of you to help us by letting people know we have this amazing Science Center. It’s a great resource. If you have a visitor, please come in and visit the Science Center. It’s about a 1-hour tour. Everything is done by reservation now following COVID. We do school groups but it’s really oriented for ages 8 and up and is an adult-centric tour. Understanding the science is really important for kids but it’s also good for all of us and for our well-being, our economic growth, and our environment. So understanding what’s happening and the environmental issues we face and how we may be loving lake Tahoe to death.
We have a really exciting new exhibit which is the “Under Lake Tahoe” exhibit. It’s in the lounge in the back left corner as you walk into the front door. I have done a “Lidar” scan (Light Detection and Ranging: scan and map environment using laser beams) of the room and we will be adding these augmented reality components where you use your phone or a tablet that would be provided to see models of all the species. And you would actually be taken underwater to learn more about what’s happening under Lake Tahoe. There’s a scavenger hunt to find different species either through the augmented reality, or just through the paper. The mural was done by Susie Alexander. It’s gorgeous and worth a stop. It’s a combination of art and science illustrating what’s happening under water.
We have about 14-15,000 people annually come into the Science Center, including about 5000 students. We could do quadruple that number if people knew about us—not students, but drop in visitation. It’s just very difficult for us to get the word out because of the lack of funding. University of California Davis pays my salary. They pay half of another staff member, Allison’s, salary. Then the rest, paying for Americorps members, paying for marketing, paying for exhibits, all other expenses is through grant fund-raising and private donations. It’s not like we have a massive amount of funds available. Again, student education comprises a big portion, community presentations, workshops, and research vessels… That’s a quick overview.
In our Educational programs we have:
Walk-in visitors
Student field trips
Monthly lectures
Workshops and Conferences
Teacher workshops
Special events.
And we have a lot of new virtual programs:
Virtual tour, field trips, lectures
Partnership with Raleys to reduce plastic
Micro-plastic education
Social media campaign
Augmented Realty (AR) climate change exhibits (Save our Snow, and Find Tahoe Tessie)
We have a great new Youtube channel. All of our social media is UCDavisTahoe, so you can follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Youtube. We had a partnership with the Tahoe Water Suppliers Association and Raleys for the Drink Tahoe Tap campaign. We have an exhibit that was funded by the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection for micro-plastic education. And we’re working on these new augmented reality climate-change exhibits: Save our Snow, and Find Tahoe Tessie. Those are coming soon.
Help Protect Lake Tahoe: Become a citizen scientist. Download Citizen Science Tahoe, and just go to the beach. [citizensciencetahoe.org].
I want to thank Steve Dolan for his help recording algae. But anyone can report algae for us, as well as water quality, litter hotspots, and ash fall (hopefully we don’t have to deal with that). But you can download the citizensciencetahoe app at the website. It’s what’s called a progressive web app. It’s a website to which you are adding your photos and you can log in. When you sign up for the first time, the responder email goes into spam because it comes from Google firebase so the email address is like a bunch of letters long. So look for your log-in confirmation in your spam or junk folder.
For upcoming events, we have:
October 27 – Zebra mussel control
Nov 20 – Plant ecology and global change
Dec 1-4 – Tahoe Film Fest
Dec 15 – Tree mortality.
Visit: https://tahoe.ucdavis.edu/events
Oct 27 there is a lecture about other aquatic invasive species (AIS). We have a guest lecturer from Quebec to talk about the zebra mussel, an AIS of concern. We have an excellent presentation that was just at the California Native Plant Society, Dr. David Acrilee is the Dean from UC Berkeley who will talk about succession in the forest and plant ecology and global change. It was the most highly regarded presentation at the CA Native Plant Society. He’s willing to come and present it to us. And that is November 10. Tia if you want to help me get that out to the fire group, I think that would be a really good event for that group as well as the one on December 15 which is with Beverly Gulan from the USFS talking about fir tree mortality. Those firs are the “canaries in the coal mine” of the forest. Incline does not look bad. But have you noticed all the dead trees on the West Shore? The West Shore is terrifying with 30% dead. You can find these events on our website to sign up.
We are also the recipient of the Tahoe Film Fest ticket sales Dec 1-4. Those will be films shown at the Incline Theater, North Shore Theater, and Crystal Bay Club. In the past many of the films that have been chosen have been award winners. Robert Rousel who organized the films and is very connected with folks down in Southern California, Hollywood, and such, gets us these great films that we get to see before they are released to the public. I recommend joining. That’s it. I hope I didn’t go too much over time, but I also have a whole bunch of pictures and things about the science if there’s time or interest. [https://tahoe.ucdavis.edu]
Judy Simon – Incline Resident, TRPA Advisory Planning Commission Member
I just wanted to ask… With the Tahoe Film Fest, the college library often acquires some of those. And I’ve been trying to find the status—now that UNR has taken over. But that was quite a nice collection of all sorts of ecological films over there. And I don’t even know who can use that library. But I’m just putting that into the mix.
Heather Segale
So these films I’m talking about are not just environmental films. They are top movies from the various film houses. One of them is a Steve Spielberg movie. I don’t really know the answer to the question about the UNR film library.
Andrew Whyman
Thanks for that wonderful presentation on the excellent work you folks do. I heard a rumor that after the yearly report is provided to the states about the dire circumstances of the lake, that the two states are required to immediately intervene and do something about the problems in the lake. Is that true?
Heather Segale
I don’t’ think so, unfortunately.
Denise Davis
Heather, thank you for your presentation. Please volunteer to come back and talk to us again. We’ll have more time to talk.
Aaron Vanderpool
I just want to thank Heather. That was a lot of information to cover in a short time, and you did a good job. I am of course biased. But I’m a huge fan of the Science Center and wish we could funnel more tourists and even residents through there to appreciate the challenges we face and what makes this place so special and why everybody comes here.
Lisa Cano Burkhead – Candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Nevada
Hi everyone. Good morning. It’s lovely to see you all at least virtually. I’m the proud 36th Lieutenant Governor of my home state and our great State of Nevada. I am a mother. I’m an educator. My parents moved in 1965 to Las Vegas from Paraguay. My mom was from Paraguay, my father was from Argentina. Las Vegas was a really small desert town. They had an elementary education and more dreams than money. They came here in search of the American dream. My father worked in the casino industry as a porter, and worked his way up to be a blackjack dealer. My mom was a seamstress by trade. She worked on shows with Elvis Presley and Gladys Knight. Now one generation later I have the honor of speaking to all of you as the 36th Lieutenant Governor.
I actually did not come from the world of politics. I came from the world of education spending 25 years in the Clark County School District in a variety of different roles including as an English and Spanish teacher, a dean of students, and assistant principal. I had the honor toward the end of my career, to lead both middle school and a high school prior to my retirement about a year ago. I was appointed 10 months ago to be Lieutenant Governor by Governor Sisolak. After leading in schools, for me to have this incredible platform, my focus is to continue to uplift educators and students and education because we are really at a critical point here. I’ve always said that education is economic development – education is the workforce – so who better than an educator to sit at the table to be part of those crucial conversations we need to have around education, and what we’re going to do to help our state as we move forward. I truly believe education is the great equalizer as it was for me. As your Lieutenant Governor, for the past 10 months I have continued to do advocacy around education. I approach education round tables not just to create these channels between educators and policymakers, but also to ensure accessibility to leaning in, listening, and learning, so that when we make decisions in Carson City, that we are really listening to all of the voices of our stakeholders. I’ve done that not only around educators and education, but also the mental health we’ve been contending with as we’re coming out of the pandemic. I’m focused on how we can target our approach – and make strategic decisions.
And for those of you who don’t know what the Lieutenant Governor does, I chair the Commission on Tourism. I also chair the Outdoor Recreation Advisory committee. In that work we’ve had a lot of conversations about promoting tourism in our state. I know earlier in the week here there were a lot of concerns around tourism and the impacts it has. So I’m also making sure we’re listening to the voices of all of you who are living here. We are taking that approach, really making sure those voices are heard and that feedback goes back.
I believe it is important to have elected leaders who are accessible, people at the table who are really thoughtful in their decision making, and I think it’s important moving forward in our state coming out of the pandemic, with all the different levels of crisis, if you will, that we are really taking a look and making sure we are electing the right people.
Lake Tahoe is one of my favorite childhood places growing up in Nevada and having the opportunity to spend a lot of time. I want to make sure we’re having conversations. And I’m glad I was able to see the presentation about the Tahoe Environmental Research Center. I look forward to your support in November. Thank you.
Denise Davis
Do you want to post your contact information in the Chat Box? [Will do.] Thanks for joining us.
Yolanda Knaak – Candidate for the IVGID Board of Trustees
I’m Yolanda Knaak running for IVGID Trustee. Voting starts tomorrow so think of me. I have a Masters Degree from UCLA. I have business and management experience. I plan to bring people together through positive and respectful communication. I want to make sure we solve the long term problems that affect our environment. The first few on the list are our effluent pipeline that has leaked near the lake four times. But we need to get on it so that it doesn’t leak into the lake. The good news is it looks like we can get a 2.17% loan. But we need to get moving on it. I also want to say that we need to keep our other local venues updated and upgraded, especially the Snowflake Lodge and Incline Beach house. Lastly we need to make sure we have continued transparent and consistent financial reporting. Vote for me, Yolanda Knaak, and I will be a transparent, reliable, effective, and ethical representative on the IVGID Board of Trustees.
Ray Tulloch – Candidate for the IVGID Board of Trustees
Good morning. It’s 7 months as of yesterday since I filed to run for trustee. That seems to have gone very fast. I’m gratified with the support I’ve received across the community. What I want to talk about today is what my campaign has been based on since Day 1— transparency, accountability, and value. As we’ve seen in recent weeks, that’s even more important. I’m flattered that other candidates have jumped on the same bandwagon trying to use the same words, even if not displaying it in their actions.
What we’ve seen over the last few weeks is selective communication, miscommunication, certain information being given to favored parties, not all trustees getting the same information. I believe our community deserves better than that. I strongly believe that the public’s business should be done in public. Not in backroom deals. Not in off-the-record phone calls. Not in Friday night cocktail parties. It should be done in public. And the same information should be given to everyone. You have my commitment to do that.
I’m truly independent. I won’t be voting as part of a voting bloc. If you look over the last 8 years, you could tell before board meetings exactly what the 3-2 voting is going to be. I will look at every proposal independently. I’ll look at it rationally and logically—not just angry outbursts at people who disagree with me. We’ve seen that from other candidates. I don’t believe that’s what our village deserves. I’m not interested in political point scoring. I want to get things done. I have a very strong professional and business background actually delivering on time and on budget.
My commitments to you:
I will work with other trustees to accelerate agreed upon community plans. I’ll evaluate every investment proposal based on how it impacts the community, not how it supports special interest groups, to see that it properly reflects community needs. I’ll be accessible to, I’ll listen to, and I’ll represent all the community—not just my supporters, not just special interest groups.
I will be open, honest, and transparent in my actions. There are no hidden agendas. I think you all know by now I’m very honest and open—maybe too honest to be a politician. I believe in honesty and telling people the truth. There will be no backdoor deals, no private discussions. I will focus on the community first. Transparency, accountability, and value. It’s not just a slogan on my signs; it’s a value system and I’ll continue to represent you that way. Please consider voting for me, Ray Tulloch, your best choice for trustee.
Denise Davis
I have some quick announcements to remind everyone about.
• Road construction will be days only 7am-7pm Monday through Friday. They will be shutting Thursday for Nevada Day weekend.
• Our Board of County Commissioners will be meeting on Tuesday. The agenda shows a grant of $250K to IVGID from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds.
* There are a few important meetings next week:
• The TRPA Governing Board meeting will be October 26. There’s a lot of important stuff going on then. Also on the 26th is the TRPA Executive Director Finalist reception at the South Shore office, and on the 27th they’ll make a selection.
• Lake Tahoe Destination Stewardship Plan workshops happen on the 25th on the North Shore and 26th on the South Shore. You are expected to preregister for those.
• The Incline Village Mobility Committee will be meeting on Monday the 24th at 5:30pm at the Parasol building.
• Also on the 24th, the IVGID Special Meeting regarding the Recreation Center expansion will be at 6pm
I want to let everyone know our IVCB Community Candidate Forum video has been posted online, and already has had 200 views.
John Eppolito
I am a real estate broker in the area in both California and Nevada. And I just ran the statistics for the first 3 quarters. From 2018 – 2022—and I have handouts here for both states. If you want to view this, you can go to salesdatalaketahoe.com. Thank you very much. The prices in Incline are actually up for the 3rd quarter, an all-time high again. It’s not the same on the Nevada side, where the prices dropped a little. I only included homes in this calculation. So it was interesting. I think by the end of the year, that might not be the case, but we’ll see. Incline Village is still hanging in strong compared to California.
Denise Davis
Aaron, do you want to comment on your appeal with the TRPA?
Aaron Vanderpool
Are you asking me? I’m not sure what you’re referring to.
Ronda Tycer – Recap Editor
She’s referring to the TRPA hearing on Wednesday the 26th, which I will be doing with the Legal Committee as well as with the Governing Board. Your name appears as one of 25 appellants on the appeal. Your name appears as the identifying name but it’s not up to you to stand up and deliver it.
Aaron Vanderpool
Right. Now I understand why my name came up.
Ronda Tycer
Great. Thank you.
Aaron Vanderpool
I’ve been appealing it and I’m in full support of appealing it. As many people know I’ve been speaking out against it for a long time. I’m also in the process of filing a complaint against the use of the school by the Tahoe Transportation District, because it’s clearly not what they portrayed the use being.
Ronda Tycer
Great. We’ll be sending out an email in the next few hours to let everyone know what’s going on. Thanks again.
John Eppolito
I have something I can add to that. I was at the Washoe County School Board meeting when the District voted to sell the land to the TTD. One of the School Board members directly asked Carl Hasty what the community thought about the plan. He asked Carl this twice. And Carl totally did not say the overwhelming disapproval of that location for a bus terminal. So I think the way they got the land was questionable. And anybody could go back to the WCSD meeting and watch that.
Sara Schmitz
I just want to be quick. There was a publication that Pacaso cut back its workforce by one-third. Maybe the threat to our community from Pacaso will wane for a period of time. But I think our community still needs to remain vigilant on this issue.
Jack Dalton
Just as an add-on I’ve been doing a lot of door-hangers for various parties. At one of the largest condominiums I talked to one of the tenants who said their STRs this past summer were fewer. They didn’t know whether it was effects of Ordinance 7 or people are traveling further and Tahoe wasn’t a primary destination.
Sara Schmitz
I think a lot of people had vacations that were “back-logged” due to COVID. So that may have impacted travel here along with gas prices.
Denise Davis
Well we do have other people who are using our room today. So we need to wrap up our meeting. Thanks everyone for attending. And thanks Heather for your presentation.
Don’t forget our next meeting is online only because of early voting at the Library. Stay safe. Vote early. We’ll see you on line on November 4.
Participants
Aaron Vanderpool
Andrew Whyman
Barbara Perlman-Whyman
David Simon
Denise Davis
Heather Segale
Jack Dalton
Joe Farrell
John Crockett
John Eppolito
Joseph Colacurcio
Judy Miller
Judy Simon
Kari Ferguson
Kathie Julian
Kristina Hill
Lisa Cano Burkhead
Marco Rauda
Ray Tulloch
Ronda Tycer
Ryan Sommers
Sara Schmitz
Steve Dolan
Steven Sesma
Tia Rancourt
Yolanda Knaak
OUR URLS:
IVCB Community Forum
IVCB Community and Business Association (IVCBA)
IV/CB Community 1st
USEFUL URLS:
“City of Incline Village” website
https://www.cityofinclinevillage.com/
Community Emergency Response Team (CERT)
Academy begins Oct 13
https://www.washoecert.org/upcominginfo
IVGID Board of Trustees (BOT)
Next meeting – Oct 12
https://www.yourtahoeplace.com/uploads/pdf-ivgid/1012.pdf
Nevada Department of Roads
SR 431 and SR 28 road construction information
North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District website
Tahoe Fund
Lake Tahoe Resident Survey
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LakeTahoeResident
Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Advisory Planning Commission (APC)
Field trip – Oct 12
https://www.trpa.gov/advisory-planning-commission-field-trip-october-12-2022/
Tahoe Regional Planning Agency “Lake Tahoe Transportation Action Plan”
(Includes 7-7-7 Funding Plan)
https://www.trpa.gov/wp-content/uploads/documents/Transportation_ActionPlan_FINAL.pdf
Tahoe Regional Planning Agency ‘Tahoe In Brief’ report
(Includes upcoming meeting dates)
Tahoe Transportation District (TTD)
Tahoe Transportation District (TTD) Incline Village Mobility Hub Committee
https://www.inclinevillagemobilityhub.org/
Next meeting Sept 26
Travel North Tahoe Nevada (Previously IVCB Visitor Bureau)
Washoe County Lake Tahoe Destination Stewardship Plan
Incline workshop Oct 25
Washoe County Board of County Commissioners (BCC)
Oct 11 meeting agenda
Washoe County Board and Commission Job Openings
https://www.washoecounty.gov/citizens/board_opportunities.php
Washoe County Generator Flyer
https://www.washoecounty.gov/CABS/IVCB_CAB/2022/files/generator-handout1.pdf
Washoe County IV/CB Citizens Advisory Board (CAB)
Meeting – Nov 7
https://www.washoecounty.gov/CABS/IVCB_CAB/index.php
To apply for CAB Alternate position:
Washoe County Planning – Building and Development Applications in District 1
https://www.washoecounty.gov/csd/planning_and_development/applications/apps_commish_district_one.php
Washoe County Transportation Plan for Incline Village
Public meeting – Nov 16
https://tahoe-transportation-plan-washoe.hub.arcgis.com/
Washoe County Sheriff Office (WCSO)
Non-emergency Dispatch 775-785-9276
Washoe County Voting and Election Day Voting Locations
https://www.washoecounty.gov/voters/files/2022_General_Voter_Centers.pdf
CHAT LOG
09:01:28 From kathie julian to Washoe County Libraries(Direct Message) : HARD TO HEAR DENISE
09:04:34 From Beth & Jon Davidson : Good morning from Seattle
09:05:30 From kathie julian : Rotary Club – Tahoe Incline will be collecting jars of peanut butter for Pet Network at the Puppy Plunge event. Look for our table. No jelly, just plain peanut butter. It’s in high demand by the facility. Thanks
09:12:03 From Washoe County Libraries : send your Trustee Candidate Forum questions to ivcbcommunityforum@gmail.com by Oct 9
09:27:31 From kathie julian : Board of Adjustment matter, Variance Case #: WPVAR22-0004 (Rushing Variance) at 27 Somers Loop in Crystal Bay was postponed for discussion until next BoA Meeting on Thurs, 3 Nov. Go to https://www.washoecounty.gov/csd/planning_and_development/board_commission/board_of_adjustment/index.php for information.
09:31:19 From IVGID Communications : Puppy Plunge: https://www.yourtahoeplace.com/events/puppy-plunge
09:31:51 From IVGID Communications : Trail Of Treats: https://www.yourtahoeplace.com/events/trail-of-treats-and-terror-2
09:32:06 From Washoe County Libraries : Thank you Kari, looking forward to both!
09:32:40 From IVGID Communications : Golf course updates: https://www.yourtahoeplace.com/news/fall-course-maintenance-schedule
09:33:27 From IVGID Communications : IVGID BOT information located here: https://www.yourtahoeplace.com/ivgid/board-of-trustees/meetings-and-agendas
09:33:41 From IVGID Communications to Washoe County Libraries(Direct Message) : You are awesome John!!
09:34:46 From IVGID Communications : Fall IVGID Quarterly: https://www.yourtahoeplace.com/news/ivgid-quarterly-fall-2022
09:35:41 From IVGID Communications : Trash pick up supplies are available now at the Recreation Center!
09:39:12 From Doug Flaherty : Who can we contribute money to in order to assist with this great program?
09:43:09 From IVGID Communications : Thank you Carolyn and Ben! You two are amazing!
09:48:28 From Heather Segale : There are large gyres on Lake Tahoe that move floating litter and pushes it into various locations. Learn more at the UC Davis Tahoe Science Center or at https://tahoe.ucdavis.edu/microplastics
09:48:58 From Washoe County Libraries : Thanks Heather! We’ll repeat your announcement.
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