Big Burke announcement

[the original trailboss]

I am under the impression that the pond can only be dredged to the level of the center "outlet". To dredge deeper would require removing and lowering that first.

 

[zeke]

I am under the impression that the pond can only be dredged to the level of the center "outlet". To dredge deeper would require removing and lowering that first.

So next summer hen nothing has changed it will be the pond's fault for not having a low enough outlet? Or maybe gravity's fault for not being flexible enough to work with them?

 

[VTKilarney]

New article:
http://vtdigger.org/2015/12/21/173190/

If I am reading it correctly it appears that a January 15th hotel opening isn't possible. Bye, bye MLK weekend.

 

[oldtimer]

It would appear that Q&compnay do not have the the resources or are not willing to spend the money out of assets rather than the EB-5 funds. We have all suspected that for quite a while but it seems to be true. There is NO WAY the current EB-5 oversight crew will let them spend EB-5 money for operating expenses etc. Is there a chance of surviving a poor season with a late hotel opening and then mud season? Those are all huge cash drains. If they are posers it will all come clear in 60 days.

 

[VTKilarney]

The big question is whether or not they will open for Presidents Day vacation. The contractor indicated that he will need a month once the final funds are released, so the clock is ticking quickly on that one. If they don't get open in time for President's Day, the entire winter season is pretty much a disaster.

Does it make PR sense to take all of these reservations knowing that they are going to have to be cancelled?

 

[oldtimer]

I think the term is oxymoran::: putting QBurke and "does it make PR sense" into the same sentence.

The big question is whether or not they will open for Presidents Day vacation. The contractor indicated that he will need a month once the final funds are released, so the clock is ticking quickly on that one. If they don't get open in time for President's Day, the entire winter season is pretty much a disaster.

Does it make PR sense to take all of these reservations knowing that they are going to have to be cancelled?

 

[River19]

If I read that correctly, the Contractor is owed $3M and once that is paid in full it will be a minimum 4 weeks before the built out is complete. Right?

So we are banging up against 2 weeks of holidays, and we know Government isn't exactly fond of working around holidays, especially small State gov't so my guess is the earliest they get paid is first week of January, which means they would be into February for a hotel opening.....

And they all thought we were crazy back in post # 3000ish for saying the hotel won't open on December 11th.....

Speaking of that.....I wonder how the Q Burke Mountain Real Estate Marketing Team is doing........(all joking aside, I hope he is doing OK)

 

[VTKilarney]

Ary was lucky that the people interviewed in the article were condo owners. One thing I have noticed is that the condo owners are all putting on a very brave face in public, despite being REALLY concerned in private.

 

[VTKilarney]

Projected opening date is now January 8th - upper mountain only.

 

[yeggous]

Projected opening date is now January 8th - upper mountain only.

Ouch. I feel your pain.


Sent from my iPhone using AlpineZone mobile app

 

[thetrailboss]

This is telling:

Bill Stenger, CEO of Jay Peak Resort and developer of Q Burke, and his partner Ariel Quiros, could not be reached for comment.

Bill not having any comment?!

And this is spot on and has been said by a lot of us here:

She said the new management didn’t totally understand the Burke culture, or the surrounding community, citing a clash when Quiros cut off mountain bike access to Kingdom Trail members.

 

[River19]

Projected opening date is now January 8th - upper mountain only.

The way I look at it, the start date delay is damn near 80% due to Mother Nature, once they get temps, how quickly they get terrain open will be 100% on Q. If they get lapped by the field in the snow making/open terrain department then that is a reflection on their Mountain Ops and Qmanagement.

Time will tell.....

Jan 8th.....you excited?

 

[VTKilarney]

Good point about Stenger not commenting. That is a complete reversal from what he normally does. According to the article it appears that the partners are not willing to put up the $3 million that the hotel contractor says he is owed. In the grand scheme of things, that's not a whole lot of money to get the hotel open for its most profitable season.

So this is my wild, tin-foil hat wearing speculation... The SEC is paying LOTS of attention to the goings on in the Northeast Kingdom.

At a minimum it appears that the wagons are beginning to be circled.

 

[VTKilarney]

Jan 8th.....you excited?

If there is no meaningful natural snow, we are looking at the end of January before they get a second run open from the top. Their plan is for the Dippers, which take a LOT of snow. Given that they want two runs open from Sherburne, it will be a week or two before they even think about getting guns going on the main mountain.

Bottom line... unless there is natural snow, January is pretty much lost.

I've said it before... weather will only be an excuse for so long. Once the cold weather lingers in January other ski areas will be opening trails at a rapid pace. But Q Burke will be blown out of the water.

 

[oldtimer]

January 8th--- we are being nice to call that 80% on weather. They should be totally ashamed. Training hill should have been done in that cold snap in Late November. Had that happened, they would have at least one route off the top for New Years weekend.

THIS SUCKS.

 

[River19]

Good point about Stenger not commenting. That is a complete reversal from what he normally does. According to the article it appears that the partners are not willing to put up the $3 million that the hotel contractor says he is owed. In the grand scheme of things, that's not a whole lot of money to get the hotel open for its most profitable season.

So this is my wild, tin-foil hat wearing speculation... The SEC is paying LOTS of attention to the goings on in the Northeast Kingdom.

At a minimum it appears that the wagons are beginning to be circled.

This is why I really do wonder about the motivations. If the whole play for them is the inside real estate deals, then the mgt fees from the EB5 investors and flip the whole thing, then why would they be overly concerned about the 2015/2016 profitability of the mountain?

Listen, if I coordinated a $55M hotel build (regardless of funding) and was hit with revenue cancellations due to whatever reason but now had an option to put up $3M of my own funding for maybe 30-60days until the state "OK's" payment in order to lock in a new open date where revenue can begin flowing........I am thinking that is a no brainer as it would be in the best interest of the overall long term product and current P&L to get some cash flowing in.

A true steward of the mountain that cares about the economy of the surrounding community would not deep six the P&L of the business on principal alone when a 60day float of $3M would get things open within the next 4-5 weeks guaranteed. So a few things could be going on here:

- It's $3M+ and they don't have the cash and given their issues no one will provide a short term loan
- They don't care about the P&L as they aren't in this to manage an ongoing concern
- There is truly fire where the SEC saw smoke and they are closing in on killing the whole she-bang and Q & Co know they are screwed
- Q & Company have a plan to get things open quicker than the Peak 4 week min estimate (once paid) and Peak is just posturing (I find this unlikely)
- Some other angle........

 

[VTKilarney]

Q Burke has been really good about posting snowmaking updates to their Facebook page. Until today. Apparently they don't want their customers to know of the revised opening date. Great PR, guys.


.

 

[the original trailboss]

And don't forget the mattresses......

 

[doublediamond]

I am under the impression that the pond can only be dredged to the level of the center "outlet". To dredge deeper would require removing and lowering that first.

The pond has to be deeper than the outlet. I can't remember off the top of my head, there needs to be at least a few feet of water to support aquatic life.

 

[mbedle]

Little confused here, why are you saying that Stenger didn't comment? He did comment in the article, it was Ariel that could not be reached for comment. As far as the 3 million payment, I would venture to guess that some type of contract is in place that specifically states that payment to Peak CM has to come from the state controlled fund. I also highly doubt that Stenger or Ariel have 3 million sitting around in a checking account that is not already allotted for other payees (insurance, employees, F&B, operating costs, etc.). And finally, as far as the hotel opening, its actually a pretty good thing it is delayed. Operating a hotel for minimal to no guess is expensive and a waste of money.