INCLINE VILLAGE, NV – Facing mounting trash removal costs, the Incline Pines HOA Board of Directors on Saturday announced several steps it is taking to try to control costs.
“Our waste removal bill is 50 percent higher than last year,” said an exasperated Board treasurer Renee Meldrum, appearing at the annual homeowners’ meeting via Zoom from Las Vegas.
Incline Pines, a community of 40 freestanding homes on the northeast shore of Lake Tahoe, is struggling with spiraling expenses ranging from a sharp spike in snow removal costs to a doubling of its hazard insurance premium.
Board president Heidi Burton explained to the group of homeowners attending the meeting in person at the Centerpoint office complex and online how the HOA is specifically tackling the trash costs.
Burton said the two four-cubic-yard dumpsters have been replaced by two six-cubic-yard dumpsters, which will allow crews from Incline Property Management to dump the contents of the individual bear boxes into an on-site dumpster instead of driving it to the Waste Management transfer station.
Burton thanked Board secretary Doug Filipponi for working directly with Waste Management to move the dumpsters to a slightly different position which allows full-sized garbage trucks to empty the contents into their hoppers rather than smaller trucks carrying each dumpster to the Waste Management transfer station, which will result in additional savings.
“That, alone, will save us hundreds of dollars each month,” Burton said.
In an effort to curb unauthorized dumping, the Board has placed new warning signs and a solar-powered surveillance camera at the dumpster site.
“We think a lot of the extra waste we’ve been dealing with comes from people outside the community and contractors working here and elsewhere,” said Board vice president George Warren, who installed the camera.
In other news from the meeting:
- The Board accepted an $1,800 bid from Blacktop Sealing & Striping to repair the sinkhole near the dumpsters
- The Board accepted a bid from ABC Roofing to replace five roofs in the community at a cost of $12,800 for the smaller units and $18,200 for the larger units.
- The HOA has spent roughly $5,000 in the past week to remove at least a half dozen dead trees, an expense that was unanticipated. Trees in the Tahoe basin have been dying at an alarming rate.
Editor’s note: In the news business we call this “hyper-local news.” It means absolutely nothing to most readers– but the fact that you got this far shows it means something to you!
Special thanks to Mark Burton (Unit 17) for brightening up our fire hydrants.