‘Amazing views!’ CapRadio’s Tahoe timeshare details revealed — but did anyone stay there?

When Capital Public Radio’s severe financial troubles spilled into public view in October, one of the oddest disclosures was the fact that the operation’s endowment fund included a Lake Tahoe-area timeshare property.

Now, newly released documents shed new light on that property, a one-bedroom condo at the Olympic Village Inn that CapRadio obtained as a gift in 2016.

Records released to The Sacramento Bee under the California Public Records Act show the property was given to the Capital Public Radio Endowment on Dec. 8, 2016. The donor’s name was redacted in documents provided to The Bee, but Placer County property records show the gift came from a donor named William C. Race.

Race could not be located for comment. Several phones listed under his name were disconnected, and online records show a man by that name died last year.

The documents released by CapRadio show officials at the Sacramento State operation had trouble from the start deciding how to use the timeshare, which offered a week annually at the resort. The documents also show CapRadio has had trouble paying the timeshare’s annual maintenance fees.

“We get one week a year during the summer season — early June through week of Sept 9th — and it is a one-bedroom with a mini-kitchen at the Olympic Village Inn,” Shirlee Tully, who was CapRadio’s chief development and brand officer until last month, wrote in a July 24, 2018, email. “I just got a notice from the Placer County assessor that the taxable market value is $425 and we pay about $1k annually in fees.

“Time shares are not typically good gifts! At any rate, we have it, so we may as well make use of it — or sell it. Have either of you seen it?”

The property had not been used up to that point because the company that manages the resort was never informed of the quitclaim deed that gifted the property to the endowment, Tully wrote.

“I am trying to get all the information squared away so we can book our week and check it out,” she wrote in the email, which was addressed to Rick Eytcheson and Jun Reina, who at the time were CapRadio’s top two officials, and copied to three other staffers. “Based on what I have learned so far, I don’t think it’s it (sic) will be the kind of experience we can use as a fund drive raffle promo, but we shall see.

“Perhaps we could use it as a base of operation for developing major donors in Tahoe, with all the contacts Rick is making. Joseph — how many cap campaign prospects do we have in Tahoe? It could also be an employee benefit, but the time we have it is so limited that I’m not sure how that would be done fairly.”

Two days later, Tully wrote another email to Eytcheson, Reina and Director of Membership Jennifer Halm, informing them that their names had been submitted as “authorized users” for the timeshare.

“We can still make it available to others, as we deem appropriate for donor engagement, employee rewards, etc. (I am hoping the place is not a hole in the wall after all this!),” she wrote.

Nearly a year passed before CapRadio reserved time to spend at the property, according to records released to The Bee.

“For the Tahoe condo, you would not believe how much time I have spent just to make sure CapRadio can use this perq in future years,” Tully wrote in a June 10, 2019, email to Halm. “Below is the reservation, so you and I can do our due diligence to see if we want to offer it as a donor or staff benefit. ... I just wanted to send the info now that I FINALLY have it.

“BTW – it’s a one bedroom with a Queen bed and a Queen pullout in the family room. There is a mini kitchen.”

CapRadio did not release records The Bee requested in October on whether any CapRadio officials, board members or students used the property, but two former CapRadio officials say it was visited only once before officials decided its “deferred maintenance” made it unusable.

In a phone interview, Tully said she was directed by Reina to visit the timeshare and determine what, if any, value it had. No one at CapRadio had seen it since it landed with the endowment, Tully said.

Tully and Halm had split one week to visit the timeshare before the COVID-19 pandemic, she said.

But the timeshare proved substandard, Tully said, and she didn’t stay there for the scheduled time and booked a hotel. Both she and Halm decided that it wasn’t of value to CapRadio, she added.

“It was very subpar,” Tully said. “It was a very neglected property. And so I decided on the spot that it was of no value to CapRadio.”

Eytcheson said that was the only time a CapRadio employee used the property.

“To my knowledge, that’s the only person who’s ever even tried to stay there,” said Eytcheson, the president and general manager until his retirement in 2020. “We would not send a donor there, let me put it that way.”

Tully said she recommended the property be sold, but wasn’t aware of the steps taken to sell it.

No one else made reservations to stay in the property, which had to be made one year in advance, Tully said.

“I wouldn’t wish it on anyone,” she said.

In an email to Sac State officials after questions were raised about the timeshare, Tully wrote that the operation had been trying to sell the unit.

“The CapRadio Endowment was gifted a timeshare in 2016 by a donor,” Tully wrote in October. “After determining that it was not of any real benefit to CapRadio, we have been in the process of trying to sell it in a difficult market.

The timeshare is at a resort originally built for athletes participating in the 1960 Winter Olympics.

“Our facilities are up to date while retaining the old world charm of yesterday,” the resort website boasts. “From the moment you arrive, you’ll feel the stress of daily life melt away as it’s replaced by the warm glow of familiar faces and places.

“Our amazing location offers food and fun just steps away.”

The Olympic Village Inn website shows accommodations at the resort can run more than $500 a night, and property records show the donated timeshare is a “Kitzbuhel” unit. The resort describes that as a “charming 375 sq. ft. Kitzbuhel suite ... designed with a separate bedroom, a full bathroom, and an open living room with a kitchenette.”

“It is cozy perfection and comes with patio access or a private balcony. Amazing views included!”

It is unclear whether anyone from CapRadio could enjoy those views if they desired to, as the resort sent a letter to the CapRadio endowment Aug. 10 informing officials that no reservations could be made for the unit because of unpaid bills.

“We are writing to you to follow-up on our attempts to contact you in regards to your ownership account at Olympic Village Inn,” the letter states. “Your Olympic Village Inn annual owner maintenance assessment have an outstanding balance of $1,243.35. Our association budget is dependent upon our member payments.

“We are contacting you to assist you with your owner usage rights. Until your balance is cleared, your owner usage rights have been suspended and your account balance must be paid to resume an active status and full usage rights at Olympic Village Inn.

“Your account may be transferred to a third party collection agency unless you contact us within 30 days,” inn officials added in bold-face type.

A second letter dated Sept. 11 said the maintenance fee still had not been paid and that the balance had increased to $1,255.78.

A Sac State spokesman had no information Monday on whether the balance has since been paid.

Despite the difficulty the timeshare donation apparently caused, CapRadio maintains a real estate donation program as part of its fundraising efforts.

“Our program takes any property type (land, homes, commercial) in any location so long as there is equity,” CapRadio’s website says. “Even if you owe back taxes, have a mortgage balance or deferred maintenance, it’s not a problem.

“We will pay off all loans, liens and commissions owed and pay all closing costs. If you have a real estate asset that is costing you money or not being utilized, donating it is a great way to give back — and you may even claim a significant tax deduction!”

CapRadio has been in financial turmoil since late August, when it laid off 12% of its staff and canceled most of its music programming.

An audit released in October found severe financial problems, stemming in large part from an aggressive campaign by officials to expand CapRadio’s operations from the Sac State campus to two buildings in downtown Sacramento. One of the leases officials signed runs through 2037, with monthly rent payments beginning at $68,976 after the first year of occupancy and increasing to $97,439 at the end of the contract.

Sac State has not said whether CapRadio will go through with the move.

Sac State President Luke Wood, who took over at Sac State over the summer, has called the operation’s future “unclear,” and the university has said CapRadio could be insolvent by January.

But in a statement issued by CapRadio late Monday, the operation said it “is making notable progress” and that 1,200 new members have joined to support the radio operation in recent months.

“CapRadio is taking swift and decisive action to get our house in order and focus on our mission — serving our community as a trusted and reliable resource that informs and educates,” Interim President and General Manager Tom Karlo said. “As we work closely with Sacramento State to address our financial situation, I want to reassure our listeners and members that they can expect high-quality local services and programming from NPR and other partners.

“We still have a long way to go, but we’re making progress, and I want to thank everyone who has continued to support us during this challenging time.”

The statement also quoted Wood as saying he was “encouraged and pleased” by CapRadio’s progress.

“It’s evident in the growing listenership and membership base that CapRadio and the community are moving ahead and not dwelling on past problems,” Wood said.