Sunapee v. State of New Hampshire

[thetrailboss]

I think that the implication that Governor Lynch has some personal stake/interest in this issue is not appropriate IMHO.

 

[bobbutts]

I think that the implication that Governor Lynch has some personal stake/interest in this issue is not appropriate IMHO.

Do you have some evidence that it's untrue? I'm not saying either way since I don't know, but I don't see what's inappropriate about this.

 

[thetrailboss]

Do you have some evidence that it's untrue? I'm not saying either way since I don't know, but I don't see what's inappropriate about this.

Is there any evidence that the claim IS true? I think that the cynicism in the article was not appropriate...the inference that the state has a conflict of interest regarding competition with Cannon is another insinuation that I think is cynical. The author of that blog must have forgotten that NH gets a pretty hefty lease from Sunapee...which IIRC includes a share of the receipts. So to argue that NH wants Sunapee to fail is ludicrous.

 

[ski_resort_observer]

Even outside of the towns that I listed, ski area development has brought positive economic impact to the surrounding towns wherever it has occurred in New England. I can't think of one example where such development has been a negative. .

I agree that ski area developements has an overall positive economic impact but for some especially those who lived in those communities before the developement it can be very negetive. I'll give you a few examples but there are many.

Before the Mueller lease local mountain bikers used Mt Sunapee and just paid a small use fee since it is a NH state park. When the ski hill was leased they were not even allowed to bike up. Other local users of Sunapee State Park before the lease were also shut out.

A sous chef who works at the Bush was born and raised in Stowe and his family goes back many generations. Now with the price of real estate so high his generation as well as his kids cannot afford to live in Stowe. His parents could not afford the property taxes which have soared due to the increased vauluation and had to sell and move.

Many ski towns across the country had diversified economies before ski resort developements. In Jackson there were several companies involved with light manufacturing offering good jobs. My fav was Powderhorn which made awesome ski jackets. Real estate prices soared which begat very high property taxes. Powderhorn moved to Minn, jobs gone.

This scenerio has played in ski resort towns across the country. Tubbs Snowshoes is Stowe, Mad River Canoe here in the Mad River Valley, the list goes on and on. High housing costs mean no housing for all the resort service employees who cannot afford to rent. Many resort towns are now having a very hard time finding workers. Many locals in these towns have left years ago.

In Stowe before the Big Spruce development they made several attempts in the last fifteen years to try and get some sort of developemnt passed and to increase water capacity. At one point they even proposed a pipeline to Waterbury Resevoir. Every attempt was shot down by the community. That alone makes it pretty clear that the local community thought of it as a big negetive.

Again, overall I agree that it's a positive. If I didn't think that I would be a hypocrite being in the resort business for over 40 years but for some it was/is a negetive, a big negetive.

 

[deadheadskier]

I hear you about Real Estate values. Most of my old friends who still work in Stowe, no longer live in Stowe. They were transplants though attracted to the area for recreation and employment opportunities that the mountain and other mountain related businesses presented them.

 

[ski_resort_observer]

I hear you about Real Estate values. Most of my old friends who still work in Stowe, no longer live in Stowe. They were transplants though attracted to the area for recreation and employment opportunities that the mountain and other mountain related businesses presented them.

Yup, other negetive impacts are increased traffic, impact on water quality. In Jackson, me and some of my friends enjoyed gathering Morrells. Every year we would lose a spot due to a new mcmansion going up. One time when we went to one of our fav spots along the Snake River a mcmansion was under construction so we thought we could gather the shroons. Not so, the homeowner was there came running out and threatned to call the Sheriff and have us arrested for tresspassing.