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Hey Bartender! Alex mixes a drink for a patron at Burnt Cedar Beach in Incline Village. |
CommentsIVGID Gets into the Beach Bartending Business
By Melissa SiigPublished: July 19, 2010
Want to sip on a cold one while soaking up rays at Incline or Burnt Cedar beaches, but forgot your cooler of Bud at home? No problem. Just be sure you have your wallet. For the first time in its 50-year history, the Incline Village General Improvement District is selling alcohol at two of its beaches. There seems to be some discrepancy, however, as to the reason for the decision.
IVGID, which runs the beaches, made the decision in April. The board of trustees voted unanimously to sell beer, wine, and frozen drinks for a trial run this summer. The board will evaluate the program and its sales in November during its annual retreat to determine whether to make it a permanent service.
IVGID General Manager Bill Horn said the district decided to take up the issue due to community demand.
“The community had approached us, asked the trustees why we didn’t do it,” Horn said. “And an advisory group that works with the Parks and Recreation Department asked us about it.”
According to board Chair Gene Brockman, the board based its decision on staff recommendation and the desire to control the sale of alcohol.
“We felt people coming to the beaches were bringing their own alcohol. A better way to control it (the amount and usage) was to serve it ourselves,” he said.
However, IVGID’s entry into the bartending business at the two beaches does not preclude individuals from bringing their own alcohol, as long as they are not in glass containers.
Brockman and Horn insist that making money was not at the root of the decision. But in an April memorandum to the board, Horn wrote: there would have been “a significant impact on the beverage revenues if the Board of Trustees had approved the sale of alcohol at the beaches back in 2002.” That year, the board rejected a similar motion to sell alcohol at district beaches.
As reported in the April board meeting minutes, Trustee Bea Epstein said: “…the issue was raised as a purely economic issue as one way to enhance revenues.”
Regardless as to the reasons for the decision, there was little public opposition to the sale of alcohol on IVGID beaches. According to Horn, some members of the public expressed concern about selling alcohol near water and criticized the district for getting into the alcohol business. But IVGID has already been selling alcohol at its other facilities — Diamond Peak Ski Resort, the Château, and its two golf courses — for years.
One resident who has voiced concerns about the decision is Frank Wright, who ran a failed bid for state senate this year and is currently suing IVGID to open its beaches to the general public other than just Incline residents.
“They’re turning it into a for-profit business thing on the beaches,” he said. “I think it’s wrong. Public agencies shouldn’t be in the business of selling alcohol.”
Wright is also worried about providing alcohol near water, even though residents still have the right to bring in their own booze.
“The kids are swimming while their parents are getting drunk on the beaches,” he said.
Due to the late warm weather start, Horn said that it is too early to tell how the alcohol service is faring at the two beaches.
“Our goal is always not to lose money,” he said. “Breaking even is more important. Any profits would be invested in capital items.”
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