It may come as no surprise that the biggest growing demographic of Incline Village is its senior population. Reflecting the national trend as 2006 marks the year Baby Boomers turn 60, Incline— a community originally envisioned as a “Pebble Beach by the lake” and enjoyed by a generation of retirees — is now in a position where it must “step up” its senior services and programs, Incline Village General Improvement District general manager Bill Horn said.

“In order to accommodate these growing numbers we are implementing new programs,” Horn said. “A senior services (director) and more senior activities will be the start, and we’ll go from there.”

Horn explained the definition of a senior in the community may be different than people think. Both Horn and Marietta Bobba, Washoe County’s director of senior services, said that the new age to start thinking along the lines of being a senior starts at 45. And providing for seniors isn’t just conversation cafes, aquacise and shuffleboard. Many Boomers are facing financial concerns that their activist generation never thought of.

“There was an Incline man who said: ‘No matter how good I am at financial planning, if I don't have adequate health care, it does not matter,’” Bobba said. “It was such a dramatic statement because he was so right.” “My constituency recognizes that financial planning is only as good as the health care system available to them.”

While the IVGID cannot fix major financial or health services issues, Horn said the district has increased senior programs by about 70 percent over the last two years. “We are going to be a resource (for seniors),” Horn said. “We are trying to utilize the programs already going to make the IVGID program stronger.”

As part of that effort IVGID is creating a senior e-mail list to circulate information as well work with senior groups already active in the area such as the Incliners, Crystal Bay Yacht Club and the Tahoe Trampers.” Washoe County, in particular, is one area of the country where the senior population is expected to row especially quickly.

Those who are looking to spend their golden years in Incline can rest assured they’ll not be alone in Nevada. The 65-plus population of the state is projected to grow six times faster than the same group nationwide according to a 2005 Washoe County Senior Service Report. In 2000, the Nevada State Demographic Office projected the 50-plus population in Washoe County to increase by 50 percent by the year 2020. “All this means we’ll be working harder to provide the services and access people need,” Horn said.