Who is running for IVGID Trustees? (2022)
Six candidates are running for two positions on the Board of Trustees of the Incline Village General Improvement District. IVGID has revenues of about $39 million and over 900 full-time and seasonal employees. IVGID is the largest general improvement district in Northern Nevada.
To describe special districts, the State Auditor for Kentucky coined the term “Ghost Government”: “one that despite its omnipresence, too little is known in the way of its operations when compared to traditional local government.” IVGID is only one of the “special districts” residents have to worry about; others are the TTD (transportation), TRPA, NLTFPD (fire), Nevada Tahoe Conservation District, Reno Sparks Convention Authority and the WCSD (schools) [May 10, 2022].
Being an IVGID Trustee with pay of only $9,000 per year [limited by statute], is a big responsibility. IVGID has no internal auditor. The external auditor relies on management. For years, residents including several CPAs have questioned its “audited” financial statements. Over $4.5 million in expenses were found to be capitalized that should have been expensed, but no restatements have been made.
Your elected Trustees are the ONLY hope you have for IVGID having any oversight.
Who has thrown their hat into the ring? In alpha order:
Albert Buckner operates a boat rental company. Boats are launched using Incline’s private beaches. Mr. Buckner is not a property owner. Mr. Buckner likely benefited from IVGID’s policies regarding punch cards. You can read on Yelp about one customer who complained about the $85 fees charged for launching from Incline Ski Beach. Mr. Buckner may also be renting kayaks and paddleboards, using Incline beaches for access.
Yolanda Knaak is a member of the Republican women’s club. She has made public comments at several meetings of the IVGID Board of Trustees and the Audit Committee. Her web site
Gail Krolick is a real estate agent and licensed property manager for rentals. Ms Krolick maintains the rentals in whch she is involved are all long-term, not short-term. [Updated May 6, 2022. In the Dec 12, 2021 minutes of of the IVCB Advisory Board, Ms. Krolick stated “all her properties are up to code.” We apologize for misunderstanding this statement, as the discussion was about short-term rentals rather than long-term.]
She is in favor of unlimited punch card purchasing. She wrote a letter (she was 2017 President of the Incline Village Realtors) dated June 23, 2020 which stated, ”Realtors believe that limiting a property owners use of their property in any way is taking away of private property rights. Resolution 1881 limits access to owners by limiting the number of punch card passes available to 5 (five).” [updated May 6, 2022]
Krolick served on the IVGID Board 1999-2002. She and fellow Trustee Joe Marson signed a lease with the Parasol Foundation for $1 per year for the property at 948 Incline Way. Residents raised questions about legality because the land was sold to IVGID with the restriction that it only be used for recreation. The lease was not fair-market-value but $1 per year for 35 years meaning that IVGID was making a very large donation to the Parasol Foundation. There is no statutory authority for GIDs to make donations, as they are “local government” and not a county, city or town. In fact, the Nevada Attorney General opinion 2005-01 found that a “local government” (Truckee Meadows Water Authority) is not vested with the power to make charitable donations. Nonetheless, Parasol, a 501c(3), then built on the property.
In the Board Meeting of June 10, 2020, Krolick made a public comment that the current Board was doing a great job.
Bradley Mindlin is the newcomer in the group. He and his wife purchased a house on Tyner Way, where they now live full-time. Mindlin founded his company, Oro Capital Advisors, which focuses on the repositioning of distressed real estate assets. He has donated to ActBlue, a Democratic PAC, and Democrat candidates. He is a lawyer (California Bar) and served on the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board. [updated May 13, 2022.] His platform is Transparency and Fiscal Responsibility and Smart Development. An example of a “smart development” project for which he voted while on the water board was Playa Vista, “dense housing along transportation corridors, with commercial development on site reducing the need for cars.” His web site
David Noble is former Nevada Public Utilities Commissioner. A lawyer, he has held numerous state government positions. While PUC Commissioner, he voted for increased rates and charges for solar customers. Known as the “Christmas bait and switch”, over 17,000 customers who had invested in solar panels, relying on that rates would not change were shocked and angry. Mr. Noble also denied access to his meeting calendar, stating it was for his convenience and not a public record. The Las Vegas Voice’s article of the PUC. The Review Journal ran an opinion piece about Mr. Noble, calling him “thin-skinned and heavy handed”.
Ray Tulloch is current Chair of the Audit Committee for the IVGID Board. For almost two years, he has worked to improve IVGID. Substantial work remains, in part due to Board of Trustees pushback. You can watch him chair past Audit Committee meetings on livestream His platform is Transparency – Accountability – Value. His web site
Four candidates have Board experience, which is important. One can see past performance, and whether the individual demonstrates the traits one expects in a Board member. Do they demonstrate a commitment to transparency – or refuse to provide public records? Are they committed to providing oversight – or do they just see the trustee’s role as policy maker? Are they in favor of short-term rentals and/or working in the industry? What potential conflicts of interest do they have? Residents concerned about beach crowds, commercial use of the beaches and monetization of beach rights should ask the candidate’s values align with their own.
The primary election is June 14th. Elections are important; make sure you vote.
[Update Oct 24, 2022. Four candidates remain after the primary: Ray Tulloch, David Noble, Gail Krolick and Yolanda Knaak. See our latest articles]
IVGID Trustee Candidate Noble refuses to say if voters should approve bonds
IVGID Trustee Candidate Krolick says no free speech
[Update Friday, June 10, 2022 A Candidate Forum vido has been posted on Youtube at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mF8n0V-KWjQ ]
The author, J. Gumz, is a long-time resident and property owner of Incline Village and a registered voter.