The IVGID Board of Trustees discussed options and ideas for the potential restriction of the beaches during the winter months. The options discussed were how to provide access to passholders, while limiting access by non-residents. During the meeting, the Director of Parks and Recreation stated Incline Beach is the beach with the largest number of issues in the off-season. Non-resident beach access in the off-season is concentrated at Ski Beach, for dog owners, and Incline Beach, on weekends and holidays.
To align with the recommendations of legal counsel, the board considered various options for each of the beaches. The board approved moving forward with the implementation of a pedestrian RFID card reader ‘swing gate’ that connects the Lakeshore Blvd. pathway into the Burnt Cedar Beach. For summer use, having pedestrian access to Burnt Cedar Beach from the pathway is believed to be safer than having pedestrians approach the booth. This proposed new gate, with RFID access, is being implemented is part of a larger test of the technology and for beach access. The concept is to have one card that would allow access to the beaches and use at Diamond Peak, along with other future venue implementations.
The board did not make any decisions regarding closing or restricting access to the beaches, but discussed various options presented by the Director of Parks and Recreation. While one option was to have the Ski Beach gate closed and provide access to Ski Beach through the Incline Beach gate, Trustee Schmitz brought up safety concerns with the steep arched bridge that can become very slippery. If the Ski Beach gate were closed, this would require people to walk the bridge to take their dogs to Ski Beach.
The board decided they needed more information from legal counsel and more detailed recommendations as to how staff would manage potentially staffing the gate(s).
Based on conversations with the Director of Parks and Recreation, the recommendations for access range from being free to passholders to a very nominal fee. This wasn’t discussed by the board, but is expected to be as part of the final recommendations for the board’s consideration.
More details regarding the various options will be presented at a future board meeting.