Saturday, February 28, 2015
Thursday, February 26, 2015
KPAA supports proposed Killington budget
Mountain Times
Dear Editor,
As the organization that represents the businesses in the
Killington Region, the Killington Pico Area Association (KPAA), supports the
Select Board’s 2015/2016 budget proposal, including Article 3, which will be
voted on Tuesday, March 3 on Town Meeting Day.
We believe the budget, with its investments in public
safety, road construction/maintenance, and economic development/tourism
programs, will lead to continued progress in our resort community. The budget
proposal is consistent with the mission and objectives of our organization.
To further educate our members, we are holding a candidate
forum later this week to learn more about the Select Board candidates’ specific
positions related to the KPAA, its membership, and our objectives to work with
the town and the Resort to grow the regional economy.
Sincerely,
Howard Smith, KPAA President
If you read the previous post, it seems the KPAA is in favor of the budget because they expect to get funded out of the Marketing and Events budget. An endorsement by the KPAA makes me dubious about the budget in general as there are some serious questions regarding the town deficit, never mind the Marketing and Events Coordinator's salary.
Vito
If you read the previous post, it seems the KPAA is in favor of the budget because they expect to get funded out of the Marketing and Events budget. An endorsement by the KPAA makes me dubious about the budget in general as there are some serious questions regarding the town deficit, never mind the Marketing and Events Coordinator's salary.
Vito
KPAA supports proposed Killington budget
Dear Editor,
As
the organization that represents the businesses in the Killington
Region, the Killington Pico Area Association (KPAA), supports the Select
Board’s 2015/2016 budget proposal, including Article 3, which will be
voted on Tuesday, March 3 on Town Meeting Day.
We
believe the budget, with its investments in public safety, road
construction/maintenance, and economic development/tourism programs,
will lead to continued progress in our resort community. The budget
proposal is consistent with the mission and objectives of our
organization.
To further
educate our members, we are holding a candidate forum later this week to
learn more about the Select Board candidates’ specific positions
related to the KPAA, its membership, and our objectives to work with the
town and the Resort to grow the regional economy.
Sincerely,
Howard Smith, KPAA President
KPAA Questions to Selectman candidates (WOW!)
Below are draft questions the newly formed KPAA prepared for today's candidate forum at the KPAA headquarters (formerly Bill's Country Store) at 10:00 am.
Some interesting agendas and situations can be extrapolated from these questions, which I am addressing below after the questions.
Some interesting agendas and situations can be extrapolated from these questions, which I am addressing below after the questions.
Question 1
How will you work with the business community, the Town employees
and the residents to build consensus on a variety of issues and ensure we grow
the regional four season economy? Why
are you will suited and qualified for the aspects of the job as Selectmen?
There will never be a "four season" economy in this town unless you get rid of black fly/mud season. So stop it already.
There will never be a "four season" economy in this town unless you get rid of black fly/mud season. So stop it already.
Question 2
The KPAA would like to work with the Town and the Resort to grow
the regional economy. To accomplish
that, we are interested in pursuing the plan the Town Economic Development and
Tourism Commission voted unanimously to support this summer (see memo on Town
website on the EDTC page titled “EDTC Memo on Tax Reform Proposal 7-14-15
final”).
This plan would repeal the Sales and Use portion of the options
tax, and transfer the Marketing and Events responsibility and expense to the
KPAA. The KPAA, with the support of the
Resort and our growing membership, would manage the Marketing and Special
Events.
While the vote to repeal the Sales and Use portion of the Options
Tax has not been established, the KPAA would like to continue pursuing this plan
in 2015, and will propose that the Town sub-contract all the Marketing and
Events activities to the KPAA.
Do you support the KPAA and its interest in managing the marketing
and special events for the Town in 2015-2016 and modifying the Options Tax at a
future date?
I'm all for transferring the marketing and events responsibility to the KPAA where the people who benefit from these programs actually financially support them, instead of the taxpayers!
This is a thinly veiled proposal to either do away with 1% sales and use or transfer those funds to the KPAA via the "subcontracting" route. My understanding is that the Chamber was in pretty dire straits financially before it became the KPAA. It owed significant amounts to the Mountain Times and was being sued by the web designer they hired to do their website for lack of payment and reneging on their contract.
I don't see giving taxpayer funds to this organization as beneficial to the town. It's just an attempt to fund the organization (and most likely pay off their debts) at taxpayer expense.
There is not going to be any modification of the 1% options tax. If anything the town should eliminate all so called "EDT" spending and refocus the 1% revenues to address the approximately one million dollar deficit the town is currently operating under.
I'm all for transferring the marketing and events responsibility to the KPAA where the people who benefit from these programs actually financially support them, instead of the taxpayers!
This is a thinly veiled proposal to either do away with 1% sales and use or transfer those funds to the KPAA via the "subcontracting" route. My understanding is that the Chamber was in pretty dire straits financially before it became the KPAA. It owed significant amounts to the Mountain Times and was being sued by the web designer they hired to do their website for lack of payment and reneging on their contract.
I don't see giving taxpayer funds to this organization as beneficial to the town. It's just an attempt to fund the organization (and most likely pay off their debts) at taxpayer expense.
There is not going to be any modification of the 1% options tax. If anything the town should eliminate all so called "EDT" spending and refocus the 1% revenues to address the approximately one million dollar deficit the town is currently operating under.
Question 3
The KPAA supports the Selectboard budget proposal for
2015-16. Do you support their budget
proposal? Why?
Related, over the last year, the Town Events and Marketing
Coordinator has worked 30 hours a week for the Town and then served as the KPAA
Director for 20 hours a week. Sharing an
employee has been critical to us. Do you
support the continuation of this position at the funding level as outlined in
the Town’s budget proposal?
I am amazed that this question is being asked. My understanding of the situation with the Town Events and Marketing Coordinator is as follows: While the position was cut back to 30 hours working for the town the salary remained the same at the same time as the person became KPAA director for 20 hours, then it was given a raise this year. Essentially the town is paying the salary for both positions. I would like to see the canceled payroll checks for these positions from the town and KPAA.
I am amazed that this question is being asked. My understanding of the situation with the Town Events and Marketing Coordinator is as follows: While the position was cut back to 30 hours working for the town the salary remained the same at the same time as the person became KPAA director for 20 hours, then it was given a raise this year. Essentially the town is paying the salary for both positions. I would like to see the canceled payroll checks for these positions from the town and KPAA.
Question 4
Over the last three years the Town and Golf Committee have worked
to put the Golf Course on a path to be self-sustaining. During that period, the Golf Course has paid
for its annual operational expenses, capital expenses, and provided $50,000 a
year to the general fund to offset debt payments.
Now that the golf expense seems to be under control, what is your
position on supporting new investments like mountain biking and trails to
ensure we remain competitive in the summer and fall tourism market?
You've got to be kidding! We still owe millions of dollars on the golf course. Just because we account for the debt in the general fund does not mean the golf course is sustaining itself. It has serious expenses it needs to cover in the near future, i.e. the aging irrigation system as well as the clubhouse.
To be planning EDT type capital projects while we still have outstanding golf course debt as well as the Killington/West Hill Roads bond outstanding is ludicrous
I think the candidate who agrees whole heartedly with these proposals should not be voted for as it would drive the town further in the hole and increase the taxpayers burden.
Italics are my opinion.
Vito
You've got to be kidding! We still owe millions of dollars on the golf course. Just because we account for the debt in the general fund does not mean the golf course is sustaining itself. It has serious expenses it needs to cover in the near future, i.e. the aging irrigation system as well as the clubhouse.
To be planning EDT type capital projects while we still have outstanding golf course debt as well as the Killington/West Hill Roads bond outstanding is ludicrous
I think the candidate who agrees whole heartedly with these proposals should not be voted for as it would drive the town further in the hole and increase the taxpayers burden.
Italics are my opinion.
Vito
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Killington race pits incumbent against former selectman
Rutland Herald
Chris Bianchi declined the chance for an interview, but instead emailed a statement.
Bianchi, 47, has been on the Killington Select Board for six years, and said he is once again asking for the voters’ support as he seeks re-election March 3.
As a Killington resident for more than 40 years and once a student of what is now Killington Elementary School, Bianchi has deep roots and connections to the town and community.
“It’s been an honor to serve our town,” Bianchi wrote in the email. “I want to continue to work with our board and town employees to continue the progress we’ve made and ensure the town is taking care of its responsibilities, is conservative with its spending and thoughtfully planning for the future.”
Before serving on the Killington Select Board, Bianchi served on the Woodstock Union Middle/High School Board, staying involved where his two sons attended school.
Bianchi sits on the Killington Mountain School board of trustees and has been since 2001.
Bianchi wrote he understands being part of a board means no one individual can affect change or claim accomplishment without first building consensus with other board members.
“To build consensus, you must start by listening and understanding the concerns and ideas of the key stakeholders,” he wrote. “You must be able to define the key issues and goals and, most importantly, you must be willing to compromise.”
Part of the responsibilities of the board, Bianchi wrote, is to set the direction for the town, and foster a work environment where the town manager and town employees can effectively carry out the plan that has been established by the voters in the town budget.
Bianchi said he wanted to thank Killington voters for supporting and passing the budgets.
“Working together we’ve made significant progress. The town has created the first-ever comprehensive long-term capital plans for the town and golf course, ensuring that we properly maintain our equipment and infrastructure, all while continuing to plan for the future while tremendously improving transparency.”
Bianchi wrote the town has worked together to successfully complete all repairs caused during Tropical Storm Irene, while simultaneously managing the $3 million expense to the town without significantly increasing taxes, which eases the burden on taxpayers.
Killington established the first-ever police department in the town, and has increasing patrols and better equipped the officers to handle threats that face the community, Bianchi wrote.
With the town always working with the resort, Bianchi noted town officials and resort officials have fostered a great relationship between the town, residents, the business community and the resort.
“This relationship allows for private and public partnerships that benefit all.”
Another big accomplishment that Bianchi highlighted is the switch of the town budget from a fiscal year to align with the school and state year.
“This allows us to avoid unnecessary borrowing,” he wrote.
It also allows for the town to vote on the budget before the fiscal year starts, to spread the tax payments out over a longer period of time, as well as allowing the taxpayer to keep money longer.
“We have continued to lobby Montpelier for education property tax reform and we’re finally seeing some action from our lawmakers,” he wrote. “And for the past three years, we’ve established a strategic plan for the Select Board, mapping out the year, which allows us to be more proactive instead of reactive.”
The proposed budget, Bianchi wrote, is another example of how the town can manage thoughtful and planned spending.
“If we try to cut the budget too much, expenses, such as road maintenance, will become deferred, unpredictable and even more expensive in the future and we will see larger fluctuations in our tax rate,” he wrote. “I believe the board has already trimmed the budget this year and we voted unanimously to propose this plan to the voters.”
While Bianchi is supportive of the accomplishments made by the town over the past several years, he says he is also aware of what else needs to be done in the years to come.
“While we’ve made progress, there is more to do. With your support, I will continue to work hard for you, and am committed to serving the town as I have done for the past six years.”
Jim Haff, a former selectman, is once again running for the board against Bianchi.
Haff, 54, is originally from Long Island, N.Y., but has made Killington home by owning and operating the Butternut Inn and Pancake House with his wife and three daughters.
Haff said one of his biggest concerns for the town is that the focus seems to be on investing in the future when they should be investing in current projects, such as the Green Mountain Golf Course and the town swimming pool.
“We’re not taking care of our current stuff,” he said. “The golf course is our main tourism attraction, we should be putting more money aside to take care of it.”
Haff pointed out that in the next decade or so, the entire swimming pool will need to be replaced, along with the irrigation system for the golf course.
“We should be putting more money aside for those projects, not investing money into new projects right now,” he said.
Haff said he is in complete support of developing essentials in town, such as a new fire station for the Killington Volunteer Fire Department and maintaining the highways. He also is very much in favor of developing the economic attractions of the town, he said.
But if elected, he would turn to the residents of the town and present them with these options.
“If people want to focus on new developments and attractions in town, then we can,” he said. “But if they don’t want to work on these projects right now, then we shouldn’t.”
Haff said that while investments such as a mountain bike course will be beneficial for the town in the long run by drawing more tourism, he does not feel as though they are a priority at this current time.
“The town administrators only want to invest money on new stuff when we really need to be investing money on the old stuff,” he said.
Haff said one of his biggest accomplishments of his previous term on the board was when he helped local property owners object to their grand list or assessed home values, creating a drop in the property taxes.
“The listers did an appraisal that showed that properties in town were overvalued in the market,” Haff said.
About the proposed town budget — that will make the transition from a 12-month to an 18-month budget — Haff said he believes the numbers are wrong.
“The budget numbers just don’t add up,” he said. “Our current town administration simply doesn’t understand math. None of them know how to run a business of a town or run the numbers of a town. I know how to do that.”
Haff said he is not trying to pick on anyone or single anyone out in the town administration, but that the numbers simply cannot be ignored, and that math and numbers come easily to him as one of his strengths he can bring to the board.
Haff said once the numbers in the budget are properly represented and the budget is rebuilt to accurately reflect the town’s finances, then he will begin to look at where adjustments can be made.
But the adjustments, he said, are based entirely around what the people of the town want.
“I’m not going to be making choices based on what I want for the town,” he said, “but based on what the people want. I will listen and represent. I don’t believe people of the town have been given truthful options about the direction the town can go in.”
While Haff acknowledged that there has been tension on the Select Board in the past, he said the past several years off of the board have given him time to regroup, and that he is now ready to be back on the board and making unified choices with the rest of the board and residents.
Killington town meeting
Rutland Herald
February 24,2015
Killington
Town budget
The town budget is transitioning from a 12-month calendar year to an 18-month fiscal year budget. This budget also includes the highway budget for the year.
Proposed $6,282,554, an increase of $2,230,981 from this year’s budget of $4,051,573.
School budget
Proposed $1,625,108; $45,154 or a 2.9 percent increase of this year’s budget of $1,579,954.
Special articles
Shall the voters authorize the Town to incur interest-free debt through the Green Mountain Power Evergreen Fund in an amount not to exceed $42,000, to be financed over a period not to exceed five years, which would be offset by a $12,000 incentive grant by Efficiency Vermont, for the purpose of financing the electrical efficiency upgrade of the 60 lights on the Killington Road walkway.
Contested races
Jim Haff is running against incumbent Chris Bianchi for a three-year term on the Select Board.
Meeting location
Killington residents will gather at the Killington Elementary School on Monday ,March 2, at 7 p.m. for an informational hearing.
Voting will take place Tuesday, March 3, at the Town Offices from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. by Australian ballot.
Town budget
The town budget is transitioning from a 12-month calendar year to an 18-month fiscal year budget. This budget also includes the highway budget for the year.
Proposed $6,282,554, an increase of $2,230,981 from this year’s budget of $4,051,573.
School budget
Proposed $1,625,108; $45,154 or a 2.9 percent increase of this year’s budget of $1,579,954.
Special articles
Shall the voters authorize the Town to incur interest-free debt through the Green Mountain Power Evergreen Fund in an amount not to exceed $42,000, to be financed over a period not to exceed five years, which would be offset by a $12,000 incentive grant by Efficiency Vermont, for the purpose of financing the electrical efficiency upgrade of the 60 lights on the Killington Road walkway.
Contested races
Jim Haff is running against incumbent Chris Bianchi for a three-year term on the Select Board.
Meeting location
Killington residents will gather at the Killington Elementary School on Monday ,March 2, at 7 p.m. for an informational hearing.
Voting will take place Tuesday, March 3, at the Town Offices from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. by Australian ballot.
Killington fire rekindles; barn destroyed
Rutland Herald
Provided Photo
A family escaped unharmed and their house was
saved when a fire destroyed this barn Monday night at 275 Coffee House
Road in Killington.
Firefighters, their faces covered with scarves against the brutal cold, poured water onto a barn at 275 Coffee House Road that Killington Fire Chief Gary Roth said had been converted into an auto garage filled with welding equipment and antique British Spitfires.
“A couple of (welding) tanks exploded when we first got here, and there is a power line that is next to the barn,” Roth said a little after 9 p.m. Monday. “We’re focusing our efforts on saving the house.”
The fire chief said Tuesday afternoon that the house was saved — and all the occupants and their pets escaped unhurt.
One man at the scene was evaluated by Regional Ambulance Service personnel for minor burns to his wrist but declined treatment, Roth said.
Despite the efforts of firefighters who trucked water 4 miles to the remote scene off Route 100 throughout the night, the barn, which was reported ablaze at 8:30 p.m., was a total loss by 8 a.m. the next day.
“The fire was through the roof by the time we got there,” the chief said Tuesday. “We couldn’t attack it from inside.”
Fire crews from Killington, Rutland City, Rutland Town, Bridgewater, Pittsfield and Plymouth responded to the fire.
By 2:30 a.m., the fire was out and crews left the scene, but they were called back two hours later when winds blew the embers to life.
The fire wasn’t completely doused until 8 a.m.
With temperatures so cold that runoff from the hoses froze almost instantly, Roth said it was a long night for crews who had to take turns warming themselves in trucks.
“We were very careful. My guys come first,” the chief said. “We kept Regional Ambulance there all night and the Trailside Lodge gave us warm drinks and food.”
The cause of the fire remains unclear but isn’t considered suspicious, Roth said, adding that the blaze started at the back of the building.
Walkway Grant Moves Killington Gateway Project Forward
Vermont Standard
KILLINGTON — The town will soon be closer to realizing a 20-year-old dream as another stage of the town’s “Gateway Project” has received state financing.
The second phase of a public walkway was awarded a state grant earlier this month. According to Seth Webb, town manager, the planning commission hatched a plan to enhance Killington’s community in the early ’90s. In 2012, the project was presented to the town, including a welcome center, and a pedestrian and bicycle-friendly walkway to enhance and facilitate foot and bike travel around the village.
“That’s when the first walkway phase was built between Route 4 and Schoolhouse Road,” Webb said.
On Feb. 5, Governor Peter Shumlin and Transportation Secretary Sue Minter announced $2.1 million funding for current transportation alternative program grants, from which Killington’s walkway was awarded $227,174 — 80 percent of the Phase II project’s cost. The town will contribute the other $56,794. To be eligible for a TAP grant, projects have to include pedestrian and bicycle facilities.
Webb said construction will begin in June or July and they hope the project will be completed in time for fall foliage visitors. The next part of the Gateway Project will include Phase III of the walkway – an extension from West Hill Road south to the Killington Resort. Webb said the Town hopes to get a grant for that phase as well.
Phase II of the walkway will stretch 1,700 feet from Schoolhouse Road to West Hill Road, will be six feet wide and paved, have streetlights and benches, and it will be landscaped. It will access many of the businesses in the village. And there will be additional stops for the Marble Valley Regional Transit buses as well. The project has a price tag of $283,968 — discussed at a 2013 public information meeting.
“The project will also provide safe road crossing and pedestrian access to the elementary school,” Seth Webb said.
In 2012, residents voted down a new welcome center, in 2013, the old Bill’s Country Store, was renovated, using state grants, as a new chamber and welcome center.
And the handsome welcome center gets a lot of use, said Abby Roebuck, who welcomes visitors at the building.
“Presidents Day weekend also marks a week off for many schools. This is our biggest week of the year.”
She added that people come from as far away as Rutland every day to enjoy the resort because there aren’t enough local accommodations for the crowds.
“The first phase of the proposed walkway has already been a boon to town residents and visitors,” said Kyle Kerchner, principal of Killington-Pico Real Estate. “It’s safer, too. Before the walkway was built traveling was hazardous, to say the least.”
This Presidents Day, there was a steady stream of vehicles in both directions on Killington Road, traveling at highway speeds.
“The umbrella Gateway Project,” according to Kerchner, “is meant to change Killington’s image from a pass-through town except when Killington Ski Resort is open, to an all-year-round destination village.”
The three-phase walkway is part of that plan.
Kerchner cited Glens Falls, New York and Woodstock as examples of towns that have taken advantage of their locations and natural assets to benefit entire communities.
“We built the welcome center, and our hope is to slow people down to 25 mph as they get to Killington, like they do in Glens Falls and Woodstock. People will see the shops and the village, and, we hope, decide to park and stay a while.”
If one is curious how popular bicycling is in very hilly Killington, one can visit the Killington-Pico Cycling Club website. The club, founded in 1989, hosts cycling events at least once a week from April through October, and more often during the summer months.
Neither Webb nor Kerchner are aware of any opposition to the walkway or to any other parts of the Gateway Project.
“It hasn’t been controversial at all. Everybody has been on board from the start, once funding was secured,” Kerchner said. “It will be good for the entire community. Instead of passing through at 50 mph we hope people will stop here, shop here, and, maybe decide to live here. I think it’s going to be awesome!”
Saturday, February 7, 2015
Killington municipal tax rate could increase 1.28 cents
Mountain Times February 6, 2015
February 6, 2015
By Cristina Kumka
The town Select Board voted last week to put an 18-month budget up to voters this coming March that will increase the town’s tax rate by about 1.28 cents per year. The rate will go from 44 cents for every $100 of property value that paid for the town’s last calendar year budget for 12 months to 46 cents, to pay for the new fiscal year budget that will cover 18 months.
The budget Article 3 states: “Shall the voters approve total general fund expenditures for the 18-month budget beginning January 1, 2015 through June 30, 2016 of $6,282,554 of which $243,550 shall be applied from the 2014 general fund balance, $3,732,950 shall be raised by property taxes, $2,082,277 in estimated non-property tax revenues, and $223,778 in estimated FEMA / Flood reimbursement?”
According to Town Manager Seth Webb, “This 18-month budget would result in an estimated tax increase of 1.28 cents a year.”
“The difference between the 18 month General Fund expense budget and the 2014 budget x 1.5 is $127,195 or a 2 percent increase,” Webb wrote in a recent email. He added “It’s important to note, that the proposed payment schedule (Article 2 on the Town Warning) would divide tax payments into four installments (instead of two), allowing taxpayers more time to pay their bill.”
The expense increases in the 18 month budget are capital costs for the Town Offices, Fire and Police equipment/ facilities, the library, and Rec. facilities, and operating cost including the following: After a two year experiment with a part time Rec. Director, the Rec. Commission and Selectboard recommended restoring the position to full time.
Similarly, after lots of public input and looking at best practices from other Resort Towns, the Board decided to increase one of our part time Police officers to full time. Other operating increases are: Board of Health expense, liability insurance, solid waste disposal, Teen Center demolition, winter road maintenance (Salt alone is a $20,000 more), Line Stripping, Emergency Generator and Fire Truck Maintenance, increased Fire Rescue Services, Resort Walkway extension planning, general operating and cost of living increases.
Friday, February 6, 2015
Town Of Killington Reviews West Hill Road’s Dangers
Vermont Standard 2/5/15
By Curt Peterson
Standard Correspondent
KILLINGTON — When the subject of West Hill Road came up at the Feb. 3 select board meeting, everyone present seemed to have an opinion. The planning commission requested the board review the width of the road and its shoulders, and they got what they asked for.
West Hill Road travels generally southwest from Route 4 up a steep incline and meets Killington Road near the top of West Hill. Historically, the road has been used as a cut-through by drivers who seem oblivious to speed limits when the road is clear, and to winter’s dangers when the road is covered with snow and ice.
“We used to entertain ourselves watching cars slide off the road and into the ditch!” said Vito Rasenas, laughing. Rasenas lives on West Hill Road.
According to the director of highways and facilities, Chet Hagenbarth, the surface had become so bad that the town plows couldn’t clean the road properly.
“The crown was so high and the ruts so deep we had to try to use salt to melt the snow and ice. When it was three inches thick that just didn’t work.”
So last summer, when the road was resurfaced, the town decided to slow people down.
“The paved surface is 24 feet wide,” Hagenbarth said. “We reduced the lane width from 13 feet to 11 feet, with a one-foot shoulder on each side. The idea is that when drivers realize they are on a narrow road, they tend to reduce their speed.”
That’s apparently when the letters started arriving at town hall complaining that West Hill Road was unsafe because it was too narrow.
Town Manager Seth Webb explained that the new configuration complies with the Agency of Transportation requirements that a 25 mph road has to have lanes at least 10 feet wide.
“The only reason we didn’t make the lanes 10 feet wide,” Hagenbarth said, “was because I am a coward. I knew there would be complaints if we went from 13-foot lanes to 10-foot lanes, so I striped the road at 11 feet! If a driver is going 25, a 10-foot lane is perfectly safe. That is, if he’s going 25 mph!”
Resident Charlie Holland spoke up.
“I’d like to point out that West Hill Road is a main thoroughfare. That’s the reality,” he said. “Every winter we’ve had drivers going too fast lose control and come sliding down the hill sideways. When the road was 26 feet wide, there was room to get out of their way. Now you can’t.”
Hagenbarth assured Holland that there has been a reduction in the number of cars being stuck since the road was resurfaced and its lanes narrowed.
“It seems to be working. People are being more careful.”
Selectman Chris Bianchi, who is a trustee at the athletics-emphasizing Killington Mountain School, pointed out the town is home to a sizeable population of high-speed racing cyclists, many of whom use West Hill Road for conditioning and practice.
“I know,” he said. “I’m one of them.”
Bianchi pitched for two-foot wide shoulders to allow room for cyclists to pull to the side when approached by cars on the road.
“One foot just isn’t enough space,” he said. “One slip and you go down in the ditch.”
Hagenbarth said narrowing the lanes to the minimum 10 feet without changing the road at all could provide wider shoulders. He also suggested adding millings to the sides of the road, a material made up of recycled asphalt that isn’t hard enough for general vehicle travel, but is often used to pave berms for bicyclists and pedestrians.
The board decided to respond to the planning commission by passing along its suggestions.
Standard Correspondent
KILLINGTON — When the subject of West Hill Road came up at the Feb. 3 select board meeting, everyone present seemed to have an opinion. The planning commission requested the board review the width of the road and its shoulders, and they got what they asked for.
West Hill Road travels generally southwest from Route 4 up a steep incline and meets Killington Road near the top of West Hill. Historically, the road has been used as a cut-through by drivers who seem oblivious to speed limits when the road is clear, and to winter’s dangers when the road is covered with snow and ice.
“We used to entertain ourselves watching cars slide off the road and into the ditch!” said Vito Rasenas, laughing. Rasenas lives on West Hill Road.
According to the director of highways and facilities, Chet Hagenbarth, the surface had become so bad that the town plows couldn’t clean the road properly.
“The crown was so high and the ruts so deep we had to try to use salt to melt the snow and ice. When it was three inches thick that just didn’t work.”
So last summer, when the road was resurfaced, the town decided to slow people down.
“The paved surface is 24 feet wide,” Hagenbarth said. “We reduced the lane width from 13 feet to 11 feet, with a one-foot shoulder on each side. The idea is that when drivers realize they are on a narrow road, they tend to reduce their speed.”
That’s apparently when the letters started arriving at town hall complaining that West Hill Road was unsafe because it was too narrow.
Town Manager Seth Webb explained that the new configuration complies with the Agency of Transportation requirements that a 25 mph road has to have lanes at least 10 feet wide.
“The only reason we didn’t make the lanes 10 feet wide,” Hagenbarth said, “was because I am a coward. I knew there would be complaints if we went from 13-foot lanes to 10-foot lanes, so I striped the road at 11 feet! If a driver is going 25, a 10-foot lane is perfectly safe. That is, if he’s going 25 mph!”
Resident Charlie Holland spoke up.
“I’d like to point out that West Hill Road is a main thoroughfare. That’s the reality,” he said. “Every winter we’ve had drivers going too fast lose control and come sliding down the hill sideways. When the road was 26 feet wide, there was room to get out of their way. Now you can’t.”
Hagenbarth assured Holland that there has been a reduction in the number of cars being stuck since the road was resurfaced and its lanes narrowed.
“It seems to be working. People are being more careful.”
Selectman Chris Bianchi, who is a trustee at the athletics-emphasizing Killington Mountain School, pointed out the town is home to a sizeable population of high-speed racing cyclists, many of whom use West Hill Road for conditioning and practice.
“I know,” he said. “I’m one of them.”
Bianchi pitched for two-foot wide shoulders to allow room for cyclists to pull to the side when approached by cars on the road.
“One foot just isn’t enough space,” he said. “One slip and you go down in the ditch.”
Hagenbarth said narrowing the lanes to the minimum 10 feet without changing the road at all could provide wider shoulders. He also suggested adding millings to the sides of the road, a material made up of recycled asphalt that isn’t hard enough for general vehicle travel, but is often used to pave berms for bicyclists and pedestrians.
The board decided to respond to the planning commission by passing along its suggestions.
Senator’s letter to ski resorts raises concerns
MONTPELIER — A state senator has sent a
letter to the seven ski resorts using state land asking them to
renegotiate leases, but the closing paragraph has some lawmakers
concerned he has issued a thinly veiled threat to raise their taxes if
they don’t comply.
Sen. Tim Ashe, D-Chittenden, chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, sent the letters on Senate letterhead last week to Bromley, Okemo, Killington, Stowe, Smugglers’ Notch, Burke and Jay Peak resorts. He signed each letter as chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.
Ashe’s letters follow the release of a report by State Auditor Doug Hoffer last month that found the resorts’ lease payments to the state have not kept pace with their economic growth.
The leases range from 50 to 100 years. Bromley was the first resort to strike a deal with the state in 1942.
Over the past 50 years, resorts that once had just a handful of lifts and few facilities have become year-round, multimillion-dollar enterprises.
Many are now owned by large out-of-state corporations, according to Hoffer’s report. The resorts feature new lodges, hotels, condominiums, retail stores, golf courses, water parks and other amenities that generate significantly more revenue than during the fledgling days of Vermont’s ski industry.
Between 2003 and 2013, development at the seven resorts led to increases in sales of goods and services, property values and revenues from excise taxes, all of which contributed to more state revenue.
But lease payments for the 8,500 acres of public land used by the ski areas have not kept the same pace of growth in that decade as other tax revenues generated by the resorts.
The leases were designed to capture a percentage of lift ticket sales, typically 5 percent. But lift ticket sales became a secondary source of revenue as the resorts evolved, according to the report, and the leases generate only about $3 million annually for the state.
Ashe’s letters ask the resorts to open negotiations, even though most leases do not expire for several more decades. Bromley’s lease, for example, is scheduled to end in 2032. Ashe said in his letter, as Hoffer’s report did, that renegotiating makes sense because the ski world of the leases’ origins “would be unrecognizable today.”
“It is for that reason I ask you to renegotiate voluntarily your lease terms or agree to amend your lease to have it expire on December 31, 2016. Either of these options would allow for thoughtful, unhurried negotiations between the State and you to arrive at modern lease terms reflecting the great changes in the ski industry and in the revenue streams it features,” Ashe wrote.
It is the closing paragraph that has drawn the ire of some fellow lawmakers, however.
“From time to time, the Legislature considers various proposals that would have an impact on various classes of taxpayers. In terms of the ski industry, I have heard Legislators propose eliminating the property tax exemption on snowmaking equipment and other assets, and suggest creating a special non-homestead tax rate for ski areas. It seems to me that voluntary renegotiation of your lease with the State is a far superior method of striking the right balance of proceeds for the right to use public land,” Ashe wrote.
Rep. Patti Komline, R-Dorset, whose district includes Bromley Mountain, said Ashe’s letter is a clear threat to try to eliminate tax exemptions currently enjoyed by ski resorts if they refuse to scrap their current leases.
“It is very concerning when those in power look to interfere in contractual agreements using overt threats. This is an overreach, and I hope it doesn’t create a precedent that will affect the credibility of our state’s reputation,” she said.
Komline said she learned about the letters Wednesday and planned to reach out to officials at Bromley and work with the Vermont Ski Areas Association to help ease any concerns the resorts have.
Rep. Heidi Scheuermann, R-Stowe, said she, too, found out about the letters Wednesday after officials at Stowe Mountain Resort sent her a copy. Stowe’s lease is good until 2057, she said.
“I think it’s inappropriate. That said, he can do it. I’m sure Stowe will have a response for him. They have a legal lease that is extremely beneficial to the state of Vermont, and I expect they are going to maintain that lease,” she said.
Ashe said Wednesday his letters are not a threat and should not be seen as one.
“It’s reading the auditor’s report and saying that even though they are under no obligation to open their leases … it seems to be maybe appropriate that they do so,” he said. “It’s not about a threat. It’s hoping they’ll just do it.”
Making a threat to strip away tax exemptions should the resorts decline to renegotiate leases would be bad policy, Ashe said.
“I would never threaten a taxpayer, because I don’t think that’s a very good tax policy,” he said. “But rather, saying, in thinking about the use of public lands, it’s better to voluntarily step up because the proposals that are from time to time directed at them or any other industry are usually sort of inartful.”
Still, lawmakers question the tax exemptions every year, and Ashe said he wanted to point out that some lawmakers could look to use them as leverage to ensure the leases are fair.
“People gravitate to that … and say, ‘Why do we do that?’ It raises this whole issue about why that equipment and stuff is exempt,” Ashe said. “And then, there’s always the discussion about, ‘Well, they do get a pretty sweet deal.’ People articulate it in different ways.”
Senate President Pro Tem John Campbell, D-Windsor, said he was not aware that Ashe was planning to send the letters.
“I have not had an opportunity to discuss this with Sen. Ashe, nor have I seen the letter,” he said Wednesday. “It’s certainly an issue that I will discuss with him.”
Sens. Richard Sears and Brian Campion of Bennington County, whose districts include Bromley, both said they had concerns with Ashe’s approach.
“There has to be a balance here,” Campion said. “I don’t want to do anything to jeopardize Bromley’s ability to attract people to Bennington County.”
Sears said, “Right now people are in a desperation mode. They’re looking (for revenue) in every corner. I don’t think I want to force ski areas. I don’t want to do anything that impacts the tremendous relationship with our ski areas.”
Parker Riehle, president of the Vermont Ski Areas Association, said Wednesday the ski resorts were still crafting a response to Ashe.
“We certainly still stand by the leases and their terms as still a very good deal for both parties and a very favorable deal for the state of Vermont,” he said. “Overall it’s a really strong partnership.”
The federal government gets only 2.5 percent of lift ticket sales, on average, Riehle said, and neighboring states get about 3 percent of lift ticket revenue on similar leases.
“Vermont’s actually way ahead of the game, and there’s been a couple of reports issued in that regard that back that up,” he said.
Additionally, the ski industry generates an estimated $100 million in various tax payments to the state and provides about 12,000 jobs during the winter when some other industries are typically laying workers off.
“You can’t just focus on the lease payments and think that they look too small,” he said.
Given what the ski industry provides to the state, Riehle said, the resorts should not be facing the threat of higher taxes.
“In light of the numerous revenue benefits to the state, we certainly don’t see a need to look for any additional tax burden on the ski areas. We certainly don’t want to see anything like that hanging over our heads,” he said.
neal.goswami @rutlandherald.com
Sen. Tim Ashe, D-Chittenden, chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, sent the letters on Senate letterhead last week to Bromley, Okemo, Killington, Stowe, Smugglers’ Notch, Burke and Jay Peak resorts. He signed each letter as chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.
Ashe’s letters follow the release of a report by State Auditor Doug Hoffer last month that found the resorts’ lease payments to the state have not kept pace with their economic growth.
The leases range from 50 to 100 years. Bromley was the first resort to strike a deal with the state in 1942.
Over the past 50 years, resorts that once had just a handful of lifts and few facilities have become year-round, multimillion-dollar enterprises.
Many are now owned by large out-of-state corporations, according to Hoffer’s report. The resorts feature new lodges, hotels, condominiums, retail stores, golf courses, water parks and other amenities that generate significantly more revenue than during the fledgling days of Vermont’s ski industry.
Between 2003 and 2013, development at the seven resorts led to increases in sales of goods and services, property values and revenues from excise taxes, all of which contributed to more state revenue.
But lease payments for the 8,500 acres of public land used by the ski areas have not kept the same pace of growth in that decade as other tax revenues generated by the resorts.
The leases were designed to capture a percentage of lift ticket sales, typically 5 percent. But lift ticket sales became a secondary source of revenue as the resorts evolved, according to the report, and the leases generate only about $3 million annually for the state.
Ashe’s letters ask the resorts to open negotiations, even though most leases do not expire for several more decades. Bromley’s lease, for example, is scheduled to end in 2032. Ashe said in his letter, as Hoffer’s report did, that renegotiating makes sense because the ski world of the leases’ origins “would be unrecognizable today.”
“It is for that reason I ask you to renegotiate voluntarily your lease terms or agree to amend your lease to have it expire on December 31, 2016. Either of these options would allow for thoughtful, unhurried negotiations between the State and you to arrive at modern lease terms reflecting the great changes in the ski industry and in the revenue streams it features,” Ashe wrote.
It is the closing paragraph that has drawn the ire of some fellow lawmakers, however.
“From time to time, the Legislature considers various proposals that would have an impact on various classes of taxpayers. In terms of the ski industry, I have heard Legislators propose eliminating the property tax exemption on snowmaking equipment and other assets, and suggest creating a special non-homestead tax rate for ski areas. It seems to me that voluntary renegotiation of your lease with the State is a far superior method of striking the right balance of proceeds for the right to use public land,” Ashe wrote.
Rep. Patti Komline, R-Dorset, whose district includes Bromley Mountain, said Ashe’s letter is a clear threat to try to eliminate tax exemptions currently enjoyed by ski resorts if they refuse to scrap their current leases.
“It is very concerning when those in power look to interfere in contractual agreements using overt threats. This is an overreach, and I hope it doesn’t create a precedent that will affect the credibility of our state’s reputation,” she said.
Komline said she learned about the letters Wednesday and planned to reach out to officials at Bromley and work with the Vermont Ski Areas Association to help ease any concerns the resorts have.
Rep. Heidi Scheuermann, R-Stowe, said she, too, found out about the letters Wednesday after officials at Stowe Mountain Resort sent her a copy. Stowe’s lease is good until 2057, she said.
“I think it’s inappropriate. That said, he can do it. I’m sure Stowe will have a response for him. They have a legal lease that is extremely beneficial to the state of Vermont, and I expect they are going to maintain that lease,” she said.
Ashe said Wednesday his letters are not a threat and should not be seen as one.
“It’s reading the auditor’s report and saying that even though they are under no obligation to open their leases … it seems to be maybe appropriate that they do so,” he said. “It’s not about a threat. It’s hoping they’ll just do it.”
Making a threat to strip away tax exemptions should the resorts decline to renegotiate leases would be bad policy, Ashe said.
“I would never threaten a taxpayer, because I don’t think that’s a very good tax policy,” he said. “But rather, saying, in thinking about the use of public lands, it’s better to voluntarily step up because the proposals that are from time to time directed at them or any other industry are usually sort of inartful.”
Still, lawmakers question the tax exemptions every year, and Ashe said he wanted to point out that some lawmakers could look to use them as leverage to ensure the leases are fair.
“People gravitate to that … and say, ‘Why do we do that?’ It raises this whole issue about why that equipment and stuff is exempt,” Ashe said. “And then, there’s always the discussion about, ‘Well, they do get a pretty sweet deal.’ People articulate it in different ways.”
Senate President Pro Tem John Campbell, D-Windsor, said he was not aware that Ashe was planning to send the letters.
“I have not had an opportunity to discuss this with Sen. Ashe, nor have I seen the letter,” he said Wednesday. “It’s certainly an issue that I will discuss with him.”
Sens. Richard Sears and Brian Campion of Bennington County, whose districts include Bromley, both said they had concerns with Ashe’s approach.
“There has to be a balance here,” Campion said. “I don’t want to do anything to jeopardize Bromley’s ability to attract people to Bennington County.”
Sears said, “Right now people are in a desperation mode. They’re looking (for revenue) in every corner. I don’t think I want to force ski areas. I don’t want to do anything that impacts the tremendous relationship with our ski areas.”
Parker Riehle, president of the Vermont Ski Areas Association, said Wednesday the ski resorts were still crafting a response to Ashe.
“We certainly still stand by the leases and their terms as still a very good deal for both parties and a very favorable deal for the state of Vermont,” he said. “Overall it’s a really strong partnership.”
The federal government gets only 2.5 percent of lift ticket sales, on average, Riehle said, and neighboring states get about 3 percent of lift ticket revenue on similar leases.
“Vermont’s actually way ahead of the game, and there’s been a couple of reports issued in that regard that back that up,” he said.
Additionally, the ski industry generates an estimated $100 million in various tax payments to the state and provides about 12,000 jobs during the winter when some other industries are typically laying workers off.
“You can’t just focus on the lease payments and think that they look too small,” he said.
Given what the ski industry provides to the state, Riehle said, the resorts should not be facing the threat of higher taxes.
“In light of the numerous revenue benefits to the state, we certainly don’t see a need to look for any additional tax burden on the ski areas. We certainly don’t want to see anything like that hanging over our heads,” he said.
neal.goswami @rutlandherald.com
Comment: How do these people get elected?How can Tim Ashe say the ski resorts don't provide enough revenue to the state. For him to say that the resorts need to renegotiate because they have revenue streams other than lift ticket sales which pay for the leases boggles the mind. How can the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee not be conscious of the amount of sales tax revenue the state garners from these other revenue streams. Killington resort pays a premium sales tax above and beyond what everyone else pays. Killington town's 1% options tax generates around a half million from the resort alone. If you consider that the resort pays anywhere from 6 - 10% plus in various sales taxes that's 3 to 5 million dollars just on that category of taxes alone, never mind property, income, and god knows what other taxes the state squeezes out. And of course since the resorts are what make gold towns gold, the resorts and the towns they're in pay a disproportionate share of the education tax.
Maybe the senate should forgo buying themselves pricey laptops with taxpayer money and buy the computers out their salary like everyone else does. And maybe Mr. Ashe should start using his.
And further more, does Mr. Ashe think we're all morons? Trying to backpedal on his veiled threats to revise other tax policies if the resorts don't "voluntarily" renegotiate does not refute his threat. It's there in black and white.
Vito
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