The board approved a construction contract with Tahoe Workz Inc. for exterior painting services at Diamond Peak Ski Resort for a total amount of $64,708.00, which was a budgeted expense.
The board received a verbal report from District Legal Counsel, Ms. Anne Branham, regarding non-public District documents being published on social media and provided to members of the public by the former IVGID Director of Human Resources. She reported that notice was given to the former Director of HR, Ms. Dee Carey, via a letter on September 20th with a demand to return all documents removed from District property. Ms. Carey was given one month to respond. Legal Counsel clarified the District reserves all rights to pursue further legal action. Ms. Branham also clarified that the District doesn’t know how many or what types of documents Ms. Carey removed from District property. She continued by stating she had never experienced this before and that this is an unfortunate situation and unusual behavior by a former Director of HR. Upon separation, it is against District policy to retain District property, including documents. The Board of Trustees will be receiving an update from Legal Counsel at an upcoming meeting.
Interim Finance Director Bobby McGee presented his Request for Proposal (RFP) to conduct a Forensic Due Diligence Audit. He again stated there has been no indication of fraud or suspected fraud, but he wants the forensic audit to determine if the elements of the ‘fraud triangle‘ are present. The audit is to bring forward all information that may indicate incidences of suspected fraud along with a risk assessment for any future potential fraudulent activities. The board requested the RFP include pricing for one-year, three-year and 5-year terms to allow for cost alternative discussions. The board unanimously approved the RFP.
The board discussed the implementation proposal provided by Moss Adams. The board requested a community survey, the first step in the creation of a new strategic plan, be conducted prior to the on-boarding of a new General Manager. Additionally, the board gave approval to the Interim General Manager to begin the implementation of the Moss Adams recommendations which included addressing the high risk gaps in the areas of financial internal controls.
The board discussed the upcoming October 11th meeting. The agenda items originally identified for this meeting were requested by staff to be delayed. It was recommended to move forward with a town hall meeting on this date instead of cancelling a meeting that had been on the board’s calendar. Chair Dent was instructed to determine the date and time of the proposed town hall and to work with legal counsel to ensure the format of the meeting complies with OML.
There was much discussion regarding the IVGID magazine. The board expressed an interest in the community survey results to better inform the board as to the importance of the magazine to community members. The magazine is an operating expense for the District and receives no revenue from the sale of advertising. The board recommended modification to the proposed policy and passed the policy in a 4-1 vote (Tulloch opposed).
Trustee Schmitz had requested the pricing policy be brought before the board for discussion. She spoke about the amount of board discussion related to golf and ski pricing and the pricing policy during the budgeting process, however there wasn’t consistency across the other venues and programs. The board discussed and directed the General Manager to make updates to the policy and to identify what levels of the pricing pyramid are intended for the venues and programs. This was requested in an effort to have better and more consistent guidelines for pricing and the budgeting process. The General Manager will be making modifications and gathering staff input as to how venues and programs are to be tied to the pricing policy and if applicable, the pricing pyramid.
Trustee Tulloch provided a verbal update on the recent Capital Investment Committee meeting.
Trustee Schmitz spoke to clarify comments made during public comments. She explained the board has no ability or authority to “micromanage” members of staff. The only employee of the board is the General Manager. She also clarified there are no plans being discussed that include building walls around the beaches.
Trustee Tulloch clarified another public comment. He clarified that the board approved the Moss Adams contract. He went on to clarify that the board is receiving emails regarding recommendations for the promotion of an individual at golf. He clarified the board has no authority for hiring or promoting of staff members. This falls to the authority of the General Manager.