Wescott unveils foundation for Gondi’s return

Carrabassett Valley resident Seth Wescott asks his town to think outside of the box and become the owners of a very large and significant asset on Sugarloaf Mountain. (David Hart photo) CARRABASSETT VALLEY – After a couple weeks of lingering rumors surrounding significant mountain enhancements, excitement is now brewing following a selectmen’s meeting last Monday.

With an impact similar to that generated when he earned his Olympic Gold medal, Carrabassett Valley resident Seth Wescott delivered an unforgettable speech.

Wescott asked the town to think outside of the box and consider purchasing a top-to-bottom signature gondola lift. A $10 million signature lift would be a draw for New England skiers and would return Sugarloaf’s reputation as a world class resort as it was when the very first gondola was installed in the 1960s, Wescott said.

“I come before you today to propose forming a further partnership between Boyne, Sugarloaf and the Town of Carrabassett Valley,” Wescott said.

Sugarloaf, whose assets are owned by CNL investment group, is operated by parent company Boyne Resorts/USA.

Wescott, having traveled the globe reaching snowy summits in over 500 resorts on five continents, said he’s learned that there are many ways to run ski resorts.

After the meeting, he described resorts he’s visited in Japan at which eight or 10 lifts might have eight or 10 different owners.

The Town of Carrabassett could be the owners of Sugarloaf’s newest base-to-summit signature lift and lease it back to Sugarloaf. It is anticipated that revenue generated would be paid back to the town to offset costs of a municipal bond.

“My model for the proposal which I’m making is not a new one, and one that is practiced throughout the world as well as right here in our own community,” Wescott explained.

His proposal is to have the Town of Carrabassett Valley purchase a lift through low interest municipal bonding and form a partner- ship with the resort owners and operators.

This concept with its hefty price tag is something that is not new to this town.

Wescott said that partnerships were formed in the past such as the creation of the golf course, but that financial burden, at that time, he explained, was on the taxpayers.

Wescott’s proposal includes a formula based on a percentage of season pass holders paying a small charge. He also proposed a nominal increase in day passes for those who wanted access the base-to-summit lift service.

The formula and general talking points were passed around a room of about 40 residents at the Outdoor Center. It described that the bond could be repaid by those who want to use the lift and not be a burden on the taxpayer. Many different financial scenarios could repay the bond using the technology of scanning tickets and having specific price tiers.

Resident Bruce Miles told the crowd that evening his remembrance of a time when a $70 pass would give you access to only t-bars and $100 would give you rights to the latest lift technology.

Like the golf course, the Outdoor Center was another example provided that evening as a partnership where town financing came into play and became a success for the town.

“We are known as possessing some of the east coast’s most challenging terrain and the longest sustained vertical drop in New England,” Wescott said, “but since the slow disintegration of the original gondola in the 90s, we have lost an ability to capitalize on the natural treasure that is Sugarloaf Mountain.”

“Signature lifts are a mainstay of the ski industry world wide,” Wescott said.

With a high speed, base to summit, Wescott said Sugarloaf’s topography and uniqueness in the New England Ski area can once again be realized fully.

Prior to the meeting, Wescott said he shared this concept with Steve Kircher, Boyne’s eastern operations manager, Sugarloaf president and general manager John Diller, and several members of the municipal board. Everyone is excited and very much behind such a concept, Wescott reported.

Diller said that recent discussion with representatives from CNL was also favorable. He also spoke in excitement of the concept and said that after some research, an eightpassenger, single cable, high-speed gondola would be a best fit for mountain operations.

Traveling at speeds of over 1,200 feet a minute, over 2,000 riders could reach the summit an hour compared to 400 which was the capacity of the old gondola.

Wescott cited a conversation he recently had with Chip Carey in Jackson Hole who said, “Returning the gondola to Sugarloaf will be the single most significant step that can ever be made to recapture the New England skier and restore Sugarloaf to the greatness in the New England Ski Industry.”

With the potential of a signature lift going to Maine’s second highest summit, discussions that evening led to peak improvements such as a new or revamped summit building, the offering of concessions at the top, and bathrooms.

Wescott told the crowd that the lift could allow access to the summit for those who could not or typically do not have the ability to ski down from the summit. It could run in summer months for downhill mountain biking, fall foliage and other activities.

Popular summertime “zip line” attractions could be added like at other Boyne resorts, Wescott explained. “One ride down 2,400 vertical feet of Gondi Line would be a world class amusement style ride,” Wescott chuckled. “It would attract people.”

“I think from an emotional standpoint, I think we all agree,” selectman Lloyd Cuttler said. “It’s hard not to remember what happened in 1965 and how that (gondola) catapulted the mountain. It’s really easy to see how we don’t separate ourselves anymore.”

Cuttler said they need so many answers in the process and that they’re still in a very early part of the process. “I think it’s a great idea… I think we have to do something, we have to do something. As they say, the devil is in the details and I’m not sure where that’s going to go yet.”

Members discussed specific issues such as the securities needed from CNL should this concept proceed. It was mentioned by several that evening that the concept could come to fruition, but at the same time it could be derailed or deeply delayed by attorneys, or look very different to what was discussed that evening.

Diller explained that a large reason why this project was more appealing in the municipal sector verses the private sector was the rate of interest on $10 million.

It really has to do with the cost of money, Diller said. A private loan in the private sector might add seven to nine percent in interest and a municipal bond may only demand three to five percent. It was explained that interest rates for a $10 million lift may make or break the project’s viability.

“Where we go from here at this point,” Cuttler explained, “is to have a discussion of what we’re really going to need and where are we really going to go with this and does the town want to do it.” He mentioned a lot of answers will be required before they go to any kind of public hearings.

“If the community is interested in this we’ll get to work,” said town manager Dave Cota. “Things over the next two months could look very different,” he said. “This is just in its infancy and we have a lot of work to do. I know the board is very interested in pursuing this. We’ll get to work and look at all the options and if anybody has any ideas, please send them our way.”

Selectman Steve Pierce said after the meeting that the new lift proposal parallels what the town and the mountain did regarding refinancing in 1992/93. A committee of 12 was formed, legal counsel, financial and bond specialists were engaged and a proposal was brought to the taxpayers. “I foresee a similar process with this current proposal.”

“I think this is another great opportunity for this town and for Sugarloaf, Boyne and CNL to make something happen for the best interests of Sugarloaf and the entire community,” Pierce added after the meeting.

Resident Richard Rose said after the meeting that he thinks the question is not will Sugarloaf get a gondola, but rather when and what the financial structure will be.

“This is a town that had reputably over built, and built the best to serve the best,” Rose said. “To ignore signature trends in the ski industry, like gondola service would be tantamount to business suicide. I think Seth clearly and eloquently sent the flairs up.”

“The question really remains,” Wescott summarized in his read statement, “to what extent are we willing to take our own shared destiny into our own hands and act to make the bold steps forward to realize our potential future.”

Board members who are interested in pursuing ongoing dialog wondered if the citizens and stakeholders in the room were supportive of continued discussion. Chairman Bob Luce asked for a show of hands for those who support the concept of pursuing the issue. Seconds after the question was asked, a sea of hands reached for the ceiling of the Outdoor Center.

Cota said he anticipates that discussion on this topic might occur at most all future board meetings, updates and information could be posted on the town’s Web site and a special committee may soon be named.