Killington cutbacks irk condo owners
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By Bruce Edwards Herald Staff - Published: October 17, 2007
KILLINGTON — The new owners of the Killington and Pico resorts are in hot water again — this time angering slope-side condominium owners over plans to cut back operation of the lower Skyeship gondola and its base lodge operations during the upcoming ski season.
Killington residents and condo owners expressed those concerns to the Select Board on Monday night, questioning a decision by Powdr Corp. and SP Land Co. to operate the lower Skyeship gondola (Stage 1) five days a week, Thursday through Monday. Skyeship base lodge operations will be cut back as well. The base lodge will be fully staffed Friday through Sunday with limited services available other days of the week. The exception is during holiday periods when the lower Skyeship and base lodge will operate daily.
The five-day-a-week schedule is an improvement over Killington's original plan to cut back service of the lower Skyeship gondola to three days a week — Friday, Saturday and Sunday — with the exception again being holidays.
Upper Skyeship will continue to operate seven days a week.
Although Killington's owners backed off on their initial plan to operate the lower Skyeship gondola three days a week, residents and condo owners remain unhappy and questioned the direction the new owners were taking Killington.
Those who purchased ski-on/ski-off condos adjacent to the trail serviced by lower Skyeship have the advantage of walking out their front door and onto the nearby lift. That ski-on/ski-off amenity adds value to a condo owner's property, a value that will be diminished with the cutback in service, said condo owner and Killington resident Kevin O'Neill.
"If the will of the resort is to make changes like that and affect our property values, we feel it's pretty bold because they're essentially coming after some of the most expensive properties in the entire town first," O'Neill told the Select Board. "If you do the trickle down from that, we feel it has townwide consequences not just for those properties sitting on the trail."
Cathy Robley said rumors last month of a change in the operation of the Skyeship gondola killed a potential sale of her property.
"The person had heard the rumors … and completely backed away from it," said Robley, a Long Island resident, who has skied Killington for 25 years.
Still another resident questioned Killington's claim on its Web site that skiers should experience "the best of Killington" when the resort is curtailing top-to-bottom skiing by closing the lower Skyeship two days a week.
The three-person Select Board expressed concerns about the direction the resort was taking as well. But Selectman Norman Holcomb said while the town can try to influence what the resort does, the reality is the town has no authority to dictate how Killington should run its business.
Holcomb added that the latest move by Killington curtailing the Skyeship operation is troubling.
"I'm very disturbed by the fact that they've chosen to take action that could have a direct impact on people that have invested heavily in the community and whose investments are not movable very quickly," he said.
Select Board members said the one area where the town has significant leverage is in the planning process. That process will come into play when Killington submits its long-awaited multiyear ski village development plan to the Planning Commission and later when the resort applies for an Act 250 permit.
Select Board Chairman Michael Miller told the two dozen people who attended the meeting that residents and property owners are often the first to know what's going on at the resort.
"The mountain isn't always telling us much at all," Miller said, referring to the owners. He said there was a wealth of information about the resort posted at www.killingtonzone.com.
Selectman Jim Blackman suggested that residents and property owners upset at what's happening should make their feelings known. He said a recent e-mail campaign quickly forced Killington to reconsider and close lower Skyeship two days a week instead of four. "They heard you loud and clear," Blackman said.
Neither Killington/Pico Resort Partners President Chris Nyberg or SP Land Co. President Steve Selbo attended Monday night's meeting.
Killington marketing director Dave Rathbun said Tuesday the decision regarding Skyeship is part of an overall strategy "to make the place more successful and more sustainable long term."
Rathbun said affected property owners were notified of the change in operation. He also said the Skyeship gondola is the resort's most expensive lift to operate and the numbers don't warrant running it seven days a week.
Asked about condo owners' concerns that the value of their properties will decline, Rathbun indicated they need to take a long view of the situation.
"A more successful Killington will have a much bigger impact on their property values than anything in our opinion," he said.
Rathbun declined to discuss how much money the company would save shutting down Skyeship two days a week. He also declined to discuss whether Killington/Pico turned a profit under former owner American Skiing Co.
Killington has also announced scaled-back service at the K1 and Bear Mountain base lodges. The two lodges will be open daily but with limited service Monday through Thursday.
In a recent e-mail to Dave Lewis, Killington Town Manager, and other interested parties, Nyberg said he wanted to put to rest rumors that midweek lift operations would be scaled back. Nyberg said that with the exception of lower Skyeship and Pico, the number of lifts operating during midweek would remain the same.
Nyberg previously announced cutbacks at adjacent Pico Mountain Resort. With the exception of holidays, Pico will operate five days a week, Thursday through Monday.
Nyberg continued in his e-mail that Killington's Snowshed lodge will become the main nonholiday base lodge Monday through Thursday. He said the intent is to have Snowshed "generating energy and a critical mass of activity on less-busy midweek days."
Since Powdr Resorts and SP Land Co. purchased Killington and Pico from American Skiing Co. for $85.2 million this spring, the new owners have upset and angered some residents and longtime skiers.
In addition to scaling back operations for the upcoming season, the new owners announced layoffs, terminated what many pass holders regarded as lifetime season passes, raised season ticket prices and tentatively moved up the closing date to April 13.
In his e-mail, Nyberg warned that more changes are likely in the offing.
"As you know, Skyeship Stage 1 is not the only change that we have made. Frankly, there may be more changes in the way we will operate Killington and Pico in the future. We understand the issues and concerns that arise from change; however, it is important to keep in context, the changes we are making are intended to bring Killington and Pico back from the decline in business and profitability that it has been on. Our decisions soundly align with our business plan and the plan is to make Killington and Pico more successful in the future."
Privately held Powdr Corp. owns several resorts in the west including Park City in Utah. SP Land Co. is a real-estate holding company affiliated with E2M Partners, a Dallas-based private equity real estate firm.
Contact Bruce Edwards at bruce.edwards@rutlandherald.com.
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