OPINION: Effluent Projects Costs Balloon to $78 Million

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The day after the election, the IVGID Board of Trustees will be presented with a staggering increase in estimated costs for the Effluent Pipeline and three related projects.   The new estimate is $78,700,000. Originally, the estimate was $23,000,000. The Pipeline Project alone has increased $21,700,000 over the estimate provided in March, a mere 8 months ago.  How will this be financed?  Who knows. Sewer rates to customers will have to increase dramatically. Besides the cost increase, interest rates have shot up. In 2013, rates were raised with the promise that $2 million a year would be reserved for the pipeline. … Continue reading →

Nevada Globe reports on IVGID public records concealment allegations

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The Nevada Globe has reported on the Mark Smith v. IVGID case. In 2018, Smith obtained a judgment at the beginning of the lawsuit and asked the public records to be turned over.  Rather than complying, IVGID dragged its feet  and would not make a fair attempt to turn over records. Instead,  a special master was engaged at more costs to decide what records were public based on a small sample. As expected most were public.  Would IVGID step up and release the balance of records?  No, another special master had to be engaged.  Motions dragged on, attorneys  got paid and  … Continue reading →

Does a City of Incline Village make sense?

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UPDATE Sept 4, 2023: Local control of short-term rentals (STR)  has  been cited as one of the reasons for a city. But residents might have the power to take control – through the North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District. The Hawaii Lahaina fire on Maui demonstrates the devastation of fire. The NLTFPD has the ability to set separate ordinances for its boundaries. Pursuant to Article 19, Section 2(3) of the Nevada Constitution, statutory initiative petitions to appear before the 2023 Legislature may be filed on or after January 1, 2022. To qualify for the ballot, petitioners must obtain the signatures … Continue reading →

REDACTED: Two emails – a must read

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Why are emails often requested by reporters? Because they reveal so much. About the authors. About relationships. About the organization(s) involved. And emails are available.  As the Nevada Independent reported in 2018, government employees’ emails  are public record – EVEN IF THEIR OWN DEVICES ARE USED. “The Nevada Supreme Court has ruled that personal devices, such as cell phones or data stored on a server, used by public officials are subject to disclosure rules under the state’s public records law.” “In a unanimous decision published Thursday, the state’s highest court reversed a decision by Washoe County District Court Judge Steven … Continue reading →

Facts on TWO Gymnasium Projects: IVGID’s and Ponderosa Athletics’ (Cheryl & Dave Duffield)

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[Update Oct 20, 2022 INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. — The special meeting for the general improvement district in regards to the Recreation Center Expansion Project has been moved to 5:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 24, at the Chateau in Incline Village…. https://www.tahoedailytribune.com/news/ivgid-meeting-moved-to-monday-duffield-foundation-discusses-grant-termination/ ] Facts can get in the way of people who want to blame someone for a failure.  So here are the actual facts on the Recreation Center Expansion Project. There was never a $25 million commitment from Cheryl & David Duffield. Duffield already had a gymnasium project planned for 1100 Tahoe Blvd; the timeline with TRPA approval occured August 24, … Continue reading →

Why does IVGID pay golf fees for some voters?

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While on a trip from the U.S. to Malaysia, I sat by a construction project manager. The flight is long, and we began chatting about work. When I could tell a rapport was developing, I asked one of my favorite questions: what is the worst project which you’ve been on – the project from hell?  He took a deep breath and said,” a hospital built in Taiwan.” It turned out that Taiwan has much more corruption than I knew. The project manager was told he  HAD to buy windows from a certain vendor – even if those windows did not … Continue reading →

Nevada Globe investigates IVGID

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The Nevada Globe is investigating IVGID. Numerous ethics complaints filed against General Manager allege misuse of $693,000 in public funds. Read the full story here. The Nevada Journal published an article – IVGID’s efforts to conceal public records gets bizarre: Staff blandly admits felony-level destruction of email records. It is republished here under the Creative Commons license.

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Why were emails in the Mark Smith lawsuit kept secret?

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Why did the Incline Village General Improvement District fight for years to keep its emails secret in the Mark Smith lawsuit? Some history: Longtime resident Mark Smith sued IVGID in 2018 because he was not getting straight answers to questions he had regarding IVGID’s contract with Reno Disposal DBA Incline Sanitation “Waste Management”. Some emails have been released. But others have not, under the guise of “attorney client privilege.” A recent lawsuit win for residents of Billings, Montana prompted us to examine what may be the real reason for not disclosing the emails: the franchise fees that IVGID receives from … Continue reading →

Trustee attacked | GM gets 12.5% raise

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The June 8, 2022 IVGID Board Meeting will go down in the annals of Incline Village history as a day of infamy. At the opening public comment, Incline Village General Improvement District (IVGID) Trustee Sara Schmitz was ridiculed by a former Trustee, Peter Morris, for lacking the mental capacity to be a Trustee and for being an “agitator”. Chair Callicrate made no objection to these comments even though he had told the public at the prior Board meeting that character assassination “would not be tolerated”. Instead, he chastised members of the public for audibly objecting to Morris’ personal attack. Not … Continue reading →