CARRABASSETT VALLEY -- During a recent meeting, the selectmen held a question and answer period when they were joined by Eastern Operations Director Steve Kircher of Boyne, Sugarloaf's parent company, John Diller, president and CEO of Sugarloaf and other Sugarloaf management.

Additional snowmaking continues to be a top priority for the mountain in terms of significant improvements. "We're trying to solve what we think are the most critical issues," Kircher said.

Diller said that additional water needed for the snowmaking might come from the dam located up in Caribou Valley nearly seven miles away. This would be served by a new pump house. He explained that ini- tially they thought the creation of a pond somewhere in the area midway up the Access Road was the way to go.

After consultation with the "Army Corp. of Engineers, LURC, DEP and fish and wildlife," Diller explained, they all thought raising the level of the dam and pond as high as five feet was the best solution as opposed to creating and disturbing a new site. This is where the level once was during the turn-of-the-century, Diller explained.

Based on an inquiry from Selectman John Beaupre, Kircher went on to discuss lift future consideration. He started by saying that purchasing a brand new high speed lift for well over $5 million was not a consideration at this time. However if an opportunity presented itself with used equipment or if a lift was not needed at one of their other resorts, they'd give the concept some consideration. But for now they are focused on their priority and that's enhanced and efficient snowmaking, he explained.

Kircher said that down the road several scenarios might make sense. One would be to replace the Spillway Chair, expand or modify the chair on West Mountain or replace Timberline with a high speed lift.

Another possibility was some kind of low capacity lift that will take skiers and riders up to the top of Burnt Mountain. This may include new terrain or a glade only type experience.

When the question of a new $5 to $7 million dollar new lift was pursued, Kircher asked the audience, do Sugarloafers want to be burdened with some of that expense?

Diller said that there are 5,500 season pass holders and Kircher explained that this could mean $100 or $200 more per pass holder if a lift was desired. "Is that what Sugarloafers want?"

Chairlifts that are put on wind-hold and mountain shutdowns continued the discussion. Currently, depending on the wind direction, the Spillway Chair is shut down when wind speeds reach between 40 and 50 miles per hour, but the Superquad keeps running in wind speeds of 60 plus mph. Diller asked, do you really want to be up there when the wind is blowing 50 or 60 mph?

Other then a small magic carpet lift installed recently, the last lift installed was Wiffletree in 1998 and before that the Superquad in 1994.

The Magic Carpet type lift technology was also discussed and it was mentioned that this might be a consideration to get to high terrain down the road.

Members went on to discuss the need for better communication between the mountain and the Sugarloaf business community.

The next Sugarloaf business meeting is scheduled for Sept. 30 and is open to the public.

Just as the meeting was about to adjourn, Diller made an announcement that they were going to enter into a new lease agreement with Keenan where they currently have a Sugarloaf Sports Outlet in Kingfield. Although it's not official yet, Diller said that this location might be the future home of the Maine Ski Museum, currently in Farmington.

Editor's note: This story was generated from a WSKI Featured Video Clip from the broadcaster's Web site. The clip does not feature the entire Aug. 29 meeting.