Author: Kristie Wells
The September 23rd IVGID Board of Trustees meeting drew a large crowd and a lengthy public comment period, much of it focused on the proposed Snowflake Lodge replacement at Diamond Peak.
Trustees ultimately approved an $811,332 professional services agreement with CCY Architects to advance Snowflake Lodge through 30% design. That decision moves the project into a more detailed planning phase, but does not authorize construction, establish a final project cost or determine how a replacement lodge would be financed.
The board also heard a presentation from local housing expert Rick Burkett, who offered a different approach to determining eligibility for potential workforce housing at 771 Southwood Boulevard, one designed to better reflect the incomes and housing needs of people who work in Incline Village and Crystal Bay.
For those who don’t want to wade through the entire meeting, here’s the short version.
What Happened at the September 23rd IVGID Meeting
- Snowflake Lodge: Trustees approved an $811,332 contract with CCY Architects to advance the project through 30% design. The board did not approve construction, a final project cost, a financing plan or a per-parcel charge.
- Snowflake Survey: Trustee Michelle Jezycki questioned the framing and financial assumptions in a survey independently distributed by Trustee Ray Tulloch, including its characterization of a preliminary project estimate as approximately “$4,600 cost per parcel owner.”
- Workforce Housing: Local housing expert Rick Burkett presented an alternative approach for potential housing at 771 Southwood Boulevard, suggesting eligibility criteria that could extend to households earning up to 150% of Area Median Income and better reflect the local workforce.
- Financial Reporting: IVGID is correcting how some food-and-beverage inventory costs and general liability insurance expenses were recorded and will adjust its monthly reporting processes going forward.
For those who want the details, here’s a closer look at what trustees discussed, what was decided and what remains unresolved.
Snowflake Lodge Moves Forward to 30% Design
After considerable discussion, the board approved an $811,332 professional services agreement with CCY Architects to advance the Snowflake Lodge Replacement Project through 30% design, with change orders authorized up to approximately 10%, or $81,000.
The distinction between approving design work and approving construction is important.
The board did not approve construction of a new Snowflake Lodge, a final construction budget or a financing plan.
Instead, the agreement moves the project through a more detailed design process intended to give trustees and the community better information about what could ultimately be built, what permitting requirements must be addressed and what the project is likely to cost.
The CCY agreement includes architectural design development, coordination with permitting agencies, board and community engagement, and development of an opinion of probable construction cost.
IVGID’s current concept contemplates an approximately 11,600-square-foot lodge with 3,500 square feet of outdoor deck area, 160 indoor seats, 175 outdoor seats and space for an event of approximately 120 people.
Why Is IVGID Considering Replacing Snowflake? The idea of replacing or improving Snowflake Lodge is not new.
The existing mid-mountain lodge was constructed in 1966 and, according to IVGID, has not been substantially upgraded since then other than the addition of outdoor seating on the deck.
IVGID says the need for improvements was identified in the TRPA-approved 1987 Ski Incline Master Plan and revisited in a 2015 Diamond Peak planning document. The District has cited both the condition of the existing building and inadequate food-and-beverage and seating capacity as reasons for considering replacement. [LINK]
The 1987 plan addressed broader improvements to the ski area, including lifts, trails, snowmaking, parking, utilities and facilities such as Snowflake Lodge. For purposes of the current project, however, the important point is that the 1987 plan identified Snowflake improvements as part of Diamond Peak’s long-range capital planning. The project now being considered remains subject to Board direction, public engagement, further design work and applicable agency review and permitting.
More recently, IVGID began a new Snowflake needs assessment in 2025. Working with SE Group, staff evaluated four potential project scopes, including preliminary construction costs and projected revenues and expenses. Those options were presented to trustees in March and April 2026, after which the board directed staff to develop a preliminary program from the preferred options and move toward the next stage of design.
That process ultimately led to the CCY Architects agreement approved September 23rd.
What Does the $811,332 Approval Get IVGID? The 30% design phase is intended to turn the current concept into something detailed enough for trustees to make more informed decisions.
The work will further evaluate the building’s proposed footprint and capacity, access, utilities, operating assumptions, permitting requirements and preliminary project cost. It will also include additional board and community checkpoints. IVGID has emphasized that these elements can continue to change through the design process.
Community engagement is expected to include an event in early February and a professionally conducted live survey.
There will also be costs associated with this phase beyond the CCY Architects contract. Trustees asked staff to return with an estimate of IVGID staff costs associated with getting the project through 30% design. A separate pre-construction services consultant and proposed contract are also expected to come before the board in October.
That means the $811,332 architectural agreement should not be interpreted as the total cost of getting the project to the next decision point.
Once the 30% design is complete, trustees should have a much clearer picture of the proposed building, permitting requirements, community feedback and probable construction cost.
That information will also allow the board to begin evaluating one of the biggest questions that remains unanswered: how a new Snowflake Lodge would be financed if trustees ultimately decide to build it.
No financing plan has been approved, and the board has not approved a specific per-parcel charge for the project.
That distinction is particularly relevant given some of the numbers circulating in the community. A preliminary project estimate can be divided by the number of parcels to produce a mathematical amount per parcel, but that does not establish what an individual parcel owner would actually pay. The board has not yet determined how the project would be financed or what funding sources might be used.
IVGID itself describes the current Snowflake work as a planning and design effort and states that no final building design, construction contract or construction authorization has been approved.
The September 23rd vote moves the project further into that planning process. It does not commit the District to building it.
Once the 30% design and opinion of probable cost are complete, trustees will have considerably more information to address the larger questions: What should be built? What will it cost? How would it be paid for? And should IVGID proceed with construction?
Read more about the Snowflake Lodge Replacement Project. [LINK]
Questions About Trustee Tulloch’s Snowflake Survey
Trustee Michelle Jezycki raised concerns about a survey Trustee Ray Tulloch independently distributed regarding Snowflake Lodge, questioning how some of the questions were framed and the financial assumptions presented with them. [LINK]
One question asked respondents to choose among several approaches to Snowflake, including making only necessary repairs at essentially no project cost, spending up to $2 million to slightly expand and renovate the existing building, or spending approximately $5 million to $6 million to construct a new lodge up to twice its current size. The final option described a $38 million replacement as approximately a “$4,600 cost per parcel owner.”
Those figures are important because they can shape how residents view the choices in front of the District. IVGID’s formal needs assessment did not identify a $2 million renovation or $5 million to $6 million replacement as project alternatives. Instead, the four scenarios evaluated by IVGID and SE Group carried preliminary capital-cost estimates ranging from approximately $28.4 million for the minimum replacement option to $49.6 million for the largest option.
The existing lodge also has documented deficiencies that go beyond cosmetic renovation. IVGID says the 60-year-old building has inadequate bathrooms that do not meet current code requirements, no fire-suppression system, an outdated electrical system, deck support columns needing replacement, recurring roof leaks and no actual kitchen, among other issues.
That does not mean the District has determined that it must spend $38 million. It has not. But neither has IVGID established through its planning work that the needs identified at Snowflake can be addressed through the $0, $2 million or $5 million to $6 million alternatives presented in the survey.
The survey’s approximately $4,600 “cost per parcel owner” also requires context. While the figure represents a mathematical division of a preliminary project estimate by the number of parcels, the board has not approved a $4,600 assessment or determined how a Snowflake Lodge replacement would be financed.
The board has instead authorized the project to advance through 30% design. That process will further develop the proposed scope, incorporate community input and produce a more informed opinion of probable construction cost before trustees are asked to make future decisions about the project.
Community input will be part of that formal process, including a planned engagement event and professionally conducted survey.
A Different Approach to Workforce Housing
The board also heard a presentation from local housing expert Rick Burkett offering another way to think about who potential workforce housing at 771 Southwood Boulevard could serve.
At an earlier meeting, the Regional Housing Authority presented its approach to affordable housing [LINK]. Burkett’s presentation looked at the issue through a different lens, focusing more specifically on the income levels and housing needs of people who work in Incline Village and Crystal Bay. [LINK]
One of the key distinctions involved Area Median Income, or AMI. Traditional affordable-housing programs generally focus on households earning up to 80% of AMI. Burkett discussed newer Nevada provisions that allow workforce housing to extend as high as 150% of AMI.
His argument was that the broader range could be particularly relevant in Incline Village and Crystal Bay, where some workers may earn too much to qualify for traditional affordable housing while still being unable to afford housing near their jobs.
For the property at 771 Southwood Boulevard, Burkett suggested considering a workforce-housing model targeting households between 80% and 150% AMI while still allowing qualified households below that range to participate.
He also discussed structuring eligibility so residents would have more flexibility as their incomes change, rather than potentially qualifying for housing and later becoming ineligible simply because their earnings increased.
The presentation also touched on commuting patterns, staffing shortages, transportation and the importance of gathering updated information about the people who work in Incline Village and Crystal Bay.
No housing program or eligibility structure was approved as part of the presentation. Burkett was presenting an alternative for trustees to consider as decisions about the future of 771 Southwood continue.
July Financial Reports Get Some Cleanup
Trustees also reviewed revised July financial statements.
Staff identified food and beverage expenses that had been recorded as inventory rather than cost of goods sold. IVGID will implement a more consistent month-end inventory process so those costs appear properly in future monthly financial reports.
The District is also correcting how its general liability insurance expense was reported. Rather than recording the entire payment in July, it will be treated as a prepaid expense and allocated monthly across the period the insurance covers.
These are accounting adjustments rather than new expenses, but they should make future monthly reports more accurately reflect the District’s financial performance.
What to Watch Next
There are several important pieces still to come from this meeting.
Snowflake Lodge now enters a much more detailed design process. Watch for the pre-construction services proposal in October, community engagement early next year, staff-cost estimates and ultimately the 30% design and probable construction-cost estimate.
Only then will trustees have considerably more information to address the biggest Snowflake questions still unanswered: What should be built, what will it actually cost, how would it be financed, and should IVGID proceed with construction?
The workforce-housing discussion will continue as the District gathers better information about who works in Incline Village and Crystal Bay, what they earn, where they currently live and what type of housing could realistically serve that workforce.
If you want to hear these discussions firsthand, watch the September 23rd Board of Trustees meeting video. [LINK] IVGID makes recordings of its Board meetings available online, and there is considerably more discussion and context than can fit into any meeting summary.
And if you would rather not spend several hours watching every meeting, subscribe to Incline Together. We’ll continue following the decisions, projects and financial discussions affecting Incline Village and Crystal Bay and share the information residents need to stay informed.
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Editor’s Note: This article has been updated since publication. A section regarding the Recreation Facility Fee was removed and additional context was added regarding Trustee Ray Tulloch’s Snowflake Lodge survey.