They're trying to. The land is up for auction. So far, the town of Middlefield is the high-bidder with the plan of having Sundown's owners manage it. IOW, town owns land, leases to Sundow's peeps. This is the arrangement Leavitt was seeking. He also is in the bidding, and could potentially outbid the town. Leavitt wants to expand the area to a 4 season resort with water-park etc... Yes, he is insane, or really stupid. The auction is in Feb.
Interesting read
It's been a while since I've read about it, and I'm too lazy to check, but I thought Bob Switzgable (owner of Sundown) was actually going to purchase the portion of land that the ski area is on, while the town bought the remainder of the parcel?? I could be wrong though...