Saturday, October 29, 2016

Local (Rutland) man faces new burglary charges

Rutland Herald
By Gordon Dritschilo

STAFF WRITER | October 29,2016

    Charges are piling up against a Mendon man who allegedly sped off when he was stopped after breaking into residences on a back road in Killington.


Coy A. Hill, 34, pleaded not guilty Friday in Rutland criminal court to two burglary charges and one charge of burglary of an occupied dwelling, all felonies. The charges carry a combined maximum of 55 years in prison. He was held for lack of $100,000 bail.

It was the second time this week Hill had been in court for the same incident. Monday, he pleaded not guilty to three charges of violating his conditions of release on previous charges, and one of driving without a license, all misdemeanors. Those charges carry a maximum of 3½ years in prison.

Hill had been freed on $1,000 bail on the first batch of charges Thursday, and police took him back into custody on the burglary charges later that day.

Vermont State Police said Hill broke into three residences on Alpine Drive in Killington, making off with a haul that included three televisions, a purse, three bottles of liquor, a Mac computer and monitor, an amplifier and a FedEx package containing two ski pole baskets.

Police said they got a 911 call a little before 1 a.m. Sunday from the resident of one of the homes, who was hiding in a closet with her cellphone after hearing a loud banging followed by breaking glass.

Killington police arrived to find the rear door kicked in, according to affidavits, and State Police arrived to help search the area.

Later that night, police said, an alarm went off at another Alpine Drive residence. Police said as they approached the road, they made contact with a red SUV leaving the area. The driver, later identified as Hill, told a trooper he was visiting a friend.

Police said that since the vehicle was leaving a secluded area where an alarm had been activated, they instructed Hill not to leave. He disregarded those instructions, according to police, driving toward Rutland at high speed. Police said they were unable to catch him. Police said they found an open door and broken glass at the site of the alarm.

When the investigation identified Hill as the driver, police said they found him at home, where they wound up in a standoff at Hill spoke to officers out a second-floor window, holding a large hunting knife to his own throat.

“After a lengthy negotiation, Coy Hill agreed to drop the knife,” police wrote.

Hill was taken to Rutland Regional Medical Center for a mental health crisis evaluation, according to affidavits, and a number of stolen items were found in his bedroom.

Police said a break-in at a third Alpine Drive residence was discovered Monday morning.

When police took Hill back into custody Thursday, according to affidavits, he told them he was stealing to support his crack habit and that he had traded televisions to his dealer for drugs.

In court Friday, Deputy State’s Attorney Ian Sullivan noted that Hill had previous convictions for five felonies and 15 misdemeanors, including two escapes, and was already facing an outstanding DUI-4 and related charges.

His defense attorney argued against bail, saying that Hill had extensive ties to the area and noting that he had posted bail the previous day and police found him at home that night.

“It’s not like they had to go searching for him,” he said. “People know where Mr. Hill is.”

Judge William Cohen was not persuaded.

“Based on the accumulation of charges ... and his previous record regarding compliance with court orders ... he is clearly a risk of flight,” Cohen said.

gordon.dritschilo @rutlandherald.com

Friday, October 28, 2016

Killington Burglar arrested

October 28, 2016

State Police/Press Release/Case # 16C105931/Burglary 2 counts/Burglary of Occupied Dwelling 1 Count/Killington

VSP Press Release-Incident

STATE OF VERMONT
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY
VERMONT STATE POLICE

PRESS RELEASE
        
CASE#: 16C105931
TROOPER: Robert Rider                                 
STATION: Rutland                                  
CONTACT#: 802-773-9101

DATE/TIME: 10-23-16 0102 hours 
LOCATION: Killington
VIOLATION: Burglary of an Occupied Residence

ACCUSED: Coy A. Hill                                                
AGE: 34
CITY, STATE OF RESIDENCE: Rutland City VT

SUMMARY OF INCIDENT: 

On 10-23-16 at 0045 hours Troopers based out of the Rutland Barracks along with
Killington Police Department responded to a burglary that had occurred in the
Town of Killington.  Upon arrival it was determined that the home had been
broken into while the home owner was inside the residence.  The following
evening a second burglary had occurred in the same area as the first.  Upon
arrival to the second burglary, Troopers were able to stop a vehicle seen
leaving the area, and obtain a registration number.  The vehicle in question
then fled the scene.  Investigation led to a residence in Rutland City.  Located
at the residence was a Coy Hill.  Hill was arrested for violation of his
conditions of release.  A search warrant was subsequently obtained for the
residence.  The warrant was executed on 10-26-16 and the items that had been
stolen from the burglaries were located.  Hill was charged with two counts of
burglary, and one count of burglary to an occupied dwelling. Hill was lodged at
Marble Valley correctional center for lack of $25,000.00 bail.       


COURT ACTION: Yes
COURT DATE: 10-28-16            
COURT: Rutland 
LODGED-Yes LOCATION: Marble Valley Correctional Center     
BAIL: 25,000.00
MUG SHOT: Yes

Thursday, October 27, 2016

SU Plan: Reading, Barnard to Be Pre-K-2 Only

Vermont Standard
By Katy Savage
Standard Staff
After considering several options, including closing schools, the Windsor Central Supervisory Union is putting forward a restructuring plan to comply with Act 46.
Under the new plan: Reading and Barnard would be pre-K-2 schools, Woodstock would absorb Reading’s 3-6 grade students and Prosper Valley would take Barnard’s 3-6 grade students. Killington would be a pre-K-6 school and Prosper Valley a K-6 school. Woodstock Union High School-Middle School would remain as is.
The change would cost an estimated $75,000 for new staff.
The study committee deemed this the most cost-effective way to provide an equitable education to all. There will be a full-time principal in each building “wherever educationally practicable and sustainable,” according to an Aug. 1 draft of the “Guiding Principals of Unification.”
Act 46 is the state law incentivizing small schools to merge by 2018. Windsor Central’s proposal could impact Reading and Barnard students in particular.
In June, Reading had 54 students according to an enrollment report that month — 36 were pre-K-2 students while Barnard had 71 students — 42 of which were pre-K-2.
Attempts to reach Barnard and Reading Act 46 study committee members weren’t successful.
Act 46 study committee chair Justin Shipman suggested adult continuing education classes, civic meeting rooms and creative spaces could take up the extra space in the Barnard and Reading buildings.
The board is “hoping some really creative ideas are put forth,” Shipman said in an email.
Peter Clarke, who was hired as an Act 46 study consultant, said closing a school “should really be a last resort.”
But that’s been discussed as well.
The study committee laid out how Woodstock would absorb Reading's 3-6 grade students and Prosper Valley would take Barnard's 3-6 grade students. a school would close in an Oct. 13 draft of its Articles of Agreement.
After four years of operating as a unified district, the draft document said the school board could vote to close a school. The board would hold at least three public hearings before voting to do so. The board would then seek approval by residents in every town. If approved, the unified school district would transfer ownership of the building to the town it resides in.
The draft articles of agreement also allows the school to determine a more appropriate configuration.
There would be intra-district school choice, to make this “a very attractive place to live and raise your children,” Clarke said.
The current study committee has high academic hopes for the district. By 2021, the school wants to become one of the best — competitive with the top 5 percent of schools in the state on test scores.
“I think that’s the most exciting thing about their proposal,” said Clarke.
Also by 2021, the committee wants a 12-student minimum in each class and a maximum of 20 students for grades K-3, 25 for grades 4-6, according to an August draft of its “Guiding Principals of Unification.”
The study committee is gathering feedback from residents in each town now and will seek voter approval of the proposal in March, around town meeting time. If voters reject the proposal, the study committee will be required to evaluate how to proceed by November 2017.
Comment: ????????? "The change would cost an estimated $75,000 for new staff." I thought Act 46 was supposed to money.
Vito

Thursday, October 20, 2016

Green Mountain National Golf Course Pays Back $200K to Town

Vermont Standard
By Curt Peterson
Standard Correspondent
Killington — Green Mountain National Golf Course professional and General Manager David Soucy attended the Oct. 18 select board meeting when Town Manager Debbie Schwartz announced the club was paying the town $200,000 of the $360,000 the town had advanced as startup money when the club’s finances were separated into their own accounts.
“We had a pretty good year,” Soucy said.
Prior to January 2015 golf club expenses were paid directly from the general fund. When the town changed from a calendar year to a fiscal year spanning July 1 to June 30, the golf course, given its seasonal operations, did not adopt the fiscal system. So separate accounts were set up for GMNGC within the town’s books, and its finances remain on a calendar year basis.
The town owns the golf course, so, as select board chair Patty McGrath said, “It’s the town’s money, and the town always has possession of it. The club is just transferring funds from its account into the town’s general fund account.”
Each spring the club has to buy supplies for grounds keeping, its restaurant, the pro shop and maintenance department, in preparation for their upcoming season. These expenses had traditionally been paid directly from the general fund, but would now be funded from the club’s new account. The town had left $360,000 in the account for that purpose, and the payment transfer arrangement announced on Tuesday evening, according to Soucy, will leave enough for startup expenses next spring.
Selectman Chris Bianchi said, “Keeping the club’s books separate is a much cleaner way to handle it than the old system where the town paid the expenses.”
There are just 38 days until the Audi FIS World Cup skiing competition comes to Killington and Schwartz said a second “table top exercise” to discuss coordinating security and services is scheduled for Nov. 1, and that notes from the first session have been distributed. She and police chief Whit Montgomery plan to review them over the next few days.
Montgomery said he thinks at least 7,000 visitors will be involved in the event, which makes it an unusually large occasion for the town. And that would be in addition to the normal skiing and other winter sports participants who can swell the population from around 900 to well over 15,000 on a good weekend.
The chief reported on a three-day seminar he attended in Fort Lauderdale, Florida the first weekend in October. Sixty students from law enforcement and security organizations learned about event crowd management and liability issues,taught by experienced law enforcement people, judges and security experts and produced by Special Events Seminars, a San Diego firm with vast experience. The town sponsored Montgomery’s attendance with the World Cup event in mind.
“The course was very comprehensive and valuable,” Montgomery said. “The group has provided security and training for the National Football League, national elections and the Olympics.”
He said he learned a lot about making sure visitors feel Killington is a friendly place while still providing security.
“They taught us how to analyze a crowd — not only the number of people, but the type of people in the crowd, and how to recognize behavior that might indicate a potential suicide bomber, active shooter or sex offender,” he said.
The course also focused on avoiding liability or legal issues when restricting, searching or interacting with individuals and crowds.
Schwartz had been asked by the board to find out how other towns handled “grace periods” for almost-on-time tax payments. She said the Vermont League of Cities and Towns had done a survey including the topic, which was very handy.
“Of the 153 towns that responded to the survey,” she said, “only 7 allow any grace period at all, 134 reported they allow for no grace period, and 12 failed to answer the question either way.”
Killington currently allows a 10-day grace period during which tax payments may be made without incurring any interest charges. Schwartz made no recommendation regarding the grace period policy, saying she was just delivering the information she was asked to provide.
“Since we just shortened the time before a property is eligible for tax sale, I think we can live with the grace period a little bit longer,” McGrath said.
Comment: Where did the balance of $160,000 go? What I get from this is that the $360k was an operating loan which should have been paid back in full in the current year. It's not like GMNGC just opened. 
I have always stated that the money borrowed from the general fund needs to have a cost associated to it even if its just imputed. If it is not recognized then we are not presented with the true operating results from GMNGC. Any other business would have that expense if it had to borrow money!
Vito

Friday, October 14, 2016

Killington’s first village plans: progress and challenges

Mountain Times
OCTOBER 12, 2016

By Karen D. Lorentz
Editor’s Note: This is Part Two of a series addressing the long road to a village at Killington Resort.
Aware of trends elsewhere in the ski world and impressed with the concept of cluster development as exemplified by condominiums in Europe, Killington founder Pres Smith hired professional planners Dan Kiley and Robert Burley to create a master plan incorporating several ski villages.
He announced the plan for a 44-acre Killington Center (with hotels, lodges, restaurants and shops) and three new residential areas located on the mountain—at Falls Brook, at the soon-to-be-built gondola base on U.S. Route 4, and one at Hadley Hill—at a November 1967 press conference.
No sooner had he announced those plans than a strategic land exchange was arranged between the Sherburne Corporation and the state of Vermont. Killington purchased 1,480 acres on Camel’s Hump in February 1968 and transferred them to the state in exchange for the 400-acre tract adjacent to Snowshed. The swap cost Killington over $200,000, a considerable sum for a small company with net earnings of $91,188 in 1968!
New plans called for: a 30-acre high-density village core with commercial and residential construction; a 100-acre golf course (completed by independent contractor in 1984); and 270 acres of low-density residential development with open spaces. In all, it was projected the village center would have about one-third of the living units and the rest of the village two-thirds, for a total of up to 2,600 units.
With the new plan, Killington embarked upon building the Edgemont condominiums in 1968. At the time, the concept of condominiums was “relatively new to Vermont and there were no other developers who really wanted to experiment with it. Since we wanted to commence development in the 400 acres, our only choice was to do it ourselves,” explained former Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer Martel Wilson, who had been put in charge of the real estate department.
Built at the periphery of the new 400-acre village—to avoid making any mistakes with the village center—Edgemont represented a first step and saw good sales with 40 units sold. The Killington Village Inn (a.k.a. The Villager) followed in 1972-73. The company retained ownership of the hotel units, which later provided summer lodging facilities for the school for tennis (both now gone). The Whiffletree condominium project—48 units built from 1973 to 1975, with 24 units added in 1978—was to be Killington’s last venture into the direct development of condominiums.
Recession and weather impact projects
In 1973 there was a national economic downturn, with interest rates rising as fuel prices escalated. Simultaneously, the East experienced disastrous weather and snow conditions. With the accompanying economic and energy uncertainty, there was less interest in condos, and Killington experienced a decline in sales revenues while increased interest rates and escalating utilities and taxes added to the cost of operations.
In 1974, the combined impacts of fuel shortage, lean snow year, and increased costs were exacerbated by a substantial lack of skier days. Killington found itself with unsold condo units and with approximately $200,000 of interest charges on that inventory. Rentals of the condos helped to offset the carrying charges.
Commenting at the 1974 annual meeting on what he saw as an undesirable problem with real estate development as a source of ski company revenues, Smith indicated that Killington would now look to the recurring revenue sources—rentals and management services—but not to sales and construction of their own projects. After these three projects, Killington left real estate development to others.
Village expands
The Killington Village center, which was in a different location from the current SP Land plan, got its start with the 1978 opening of the Mountain Inn, a 50-room hotel. The Cascades Lodge (1980) and Pinnacle and Mountain Green Condominiums (1981-1986) followed. The Trail Creek, Fall Line, and High Ridge condominiums were built at the periphery of the village center from 1984 to 1988. By 1988, the 400-acre Killington Village Planned Unit Development (PUD) totaled about 900 units—700 condo units and 200 hotel rooms—and the Killington Golf Course.
The commercial core began in 1985 with Mountain Green Three, a large, multi-level complex incorporating condominiums and an indoor sports/health center, restaurant, underground parking, and small shops. Public restaurants were also in operation at the Mountain Inn and Cascades Lodge in the Village Center.
1980s opposition stalls growth
From 1985 to 1991, environmental groups had a very strong ally in Vermont’s Governor Madeleine Kunin. Her administration was not afraid to do battle with the state’s largest ski area, and she categorized outdoor and business interests as being irreconcilable. This allowed her to frame the “competing” interests as a type of “David-and-Goliath” battle and further encouraged a “no-growth” element to pursue their agenda at the expense of Killington. Together, they made Killington the ideal “enemy” with which to do battle.
In her book, “Living a Political Life” (Knopf, 1994), Kunin had noted that “the feminine traits of mediation and consensus building were not always appropriate to the political task at hand.” She accused Killington of not playing by the rules, of being “whiners and complainers,” and in essence of being enemies of the environment. She wrote, “By getting angry I had become a heroine.”
She took that battle to the media and, at Killington’s expense, made them out to be “bad guys.” Whatever the merits—or lack thereof—of her perception, what many found repugnant was that a governor would choose to do public battle to embarrass a major employer and driver of the economy in an area of the state that was in need of jobs. By choosing a political approach, she was fostering the battle and that ultimately had consequences for the region as well as for Killington Ski Resort.
Village expansion became the object of environmental challenges, stalling its further progress. Due to the larger size and scope of Killington Village, cries of “rapid development” were raised and some groups decided the ski area was “big enough and should not grow anymore.”
The ramifications of “environmental challenges” would change Killington’s history as the permit process began to be used to stop and/or delay progress.
Karen Lorentz is the author of “Killington, A Story of Mountains and Men: A 50-year History of the Ski Resort.”
Photo courtesy of Karen D. Lorentz
Shown is a model of the 1968 proposed Killington Village Center. Upper Snowshed parking lot is to the right and Snowshed Pond is on the upper left. A proposed ski lift in the center would provide transportation to Snowshed area.

Friday, October 7, 2016

Village update appeal filed to Killington Village permit

Mountain TimesOctober 5, 2016

by Karen D. Lorentz

KILLINGTON—The saga of the Killington Village Master Plan permit continues with a recent notice of appeal made to the Vermont Supreme Court.
It was filed by attorney Peter H. Banse, of Banse and Banse, PC, in Americus, GA., and does not state reasons for the appeal. Banse is representing Stephen Durkee and his various enterprises in the town of Killington: Mountainside Properties, Inc.; Fireside Properties, LLC; Mountainside Development, Inc; and Killington Village Properties, Inc., which includes Killington Market and the Back Country Café.
The filing includes a nine page “certified docket” listing for the case, essentially a history of all the participants, disputes, conferences, motions, petitions, merits hearings, permit orders, exhibits, etc. from the time of the application filing by SP Land Company in 2012 to the  amended permit issued in August 2016 and ends with the Sept. 27 notice of appeal filed for Durkee.
The filing of reasons for the appeal is required within 10 business days, and a transcript order of the Environmental Court hearings may or may not be requested by Durkee (it takes 30 days). Once the record is complete, the appellee SP Land has a chance to reply within 21 days; i.e., file a legal brief addressing the issues raised with the Court.
Supreme Court Clerk Gerrie Denison explained that the justices then review the briefs and a calendar is created offering a three- or five-justice panel (full court). More considerations include any changes to that decision by the parties and letting the court know if a party wants oral arguments. If one party wants the case heard, then a date is set. However, the court is available only once a month for those hearings so all attorneys need to be available on that date or it goes to first date all are available.
Sources note that the entire process could be delayed due to the fact that Justice Dooley is retiring, and the Court would need to go through the nomination and legislative appointment process, thus possibly delaying a hearing to spring.
If a hearing is desired and set, the parties generally have five minutes each if heard by a three-justice panel and 15 minutes each if before a full panel to make their statements. The justices can also ask questions. It is not known how long it might take to render a decision, but it could be fall before the results are known.
The Court’s decision is final but a motion could be filed for re-argument (rare) or the case appealed to federal courts.
Judge Thomas S. Durkin, the Environmental Court judge who heard the Killington Village Act 250 permit appeals and rendered a June 21 Merits Decision and Judgment Order affirming the District #1 Environmental Commission’s permit subject to conditions he imposed, ruled on a Motion to Alter that decision in an Aug. 29 Amended Judgment Order.
Banse’s notice mentions appeals to both decisions.
SP Land had been able to live with the June 21 decision, but Selbo was not entirely surprised by the appeal notice but said he is disappointed.
The District #1 Environmental Commission has not issued a permit incorporating the provisions of the Amended Judgment Order along with the conditions that were not appealed in the original Oct. 7, 2013 permit. That is not expected until the appeal is heard.
Comment: This is what our town government should be concerned with not some friggin' cartoons and screwing the local paper.

Why a village is “necessary” at Killington

MountainTimes
Mountain Times
October 15, 2016
By Karen D. Lorentz

Editor’s note: This is Part 1 of a four-part series addressing the slow progress of village plans at Killington Resort. Part 2 will describe the progress made by Killington Ltd. as well as the obstacles that prevented completion of its plans.
It was 49 years ago this November that a beaming Preston Leete Smith announced at a press conference that Killington had completed its first real estate master plan with a goal of building a true, four-season destination resort. The area’s founder proudly shared plans for a 44-acre Killington Center, complete with hotels, lodges, restaurants and shops, plus three new residential areas located on the mountain.
Regardless of the time, effort, and millions of dollars expended, Killington still does not have a village with ample slopeside housing and a village center, which would impart a “sense of place.” It is a conundrum that defies logic and the “experts” as well as many local and regional residents.
Despite being the most popular destination resort in the East (based on annual skier visits) and the resort having been awarded the designation of a “growth center”—as well as various owners having “village plans” since 1967—Killington still lacks the base area village and slopeside housing that would allow it to compete with the West and become a true world-class destination resort.
Although there is currently an amended Act 250 land use permit that would allow Phase I of the SP Land Village Master Plan to proceed, the 12-year process that got to this point is itself indicative of the many problems encountered in the past that slowed village progress. And in a most perverse manner, that process also illustrates why a permit doesn’t mean development actually can proceed.
The tremendous irony is that the Act 250 permit process, which was adopted by the state in 1970 to promote environmentally sound growth, was utilized to prevent and stall the first village master plan at Killington, and even after the environmental community came to agreement with Killington’s next owner with the “growth center” compromise, the Act 250 process continued to be used to stall the next master plan.
Meanwhile, despite the progress that has been made—base area Grand Hotel, nearby condominiums, townhouses, inns, lodges, and homes—the resort is still years from fulfilling its destiny, and many say it is at a competitive disadvantage.
To understand why the latter is true requires some understanding of trends and why a village center and slopeside residences (especially affording a walk to slopes as well as ski on/off) are deemed necessary.
Ski village trend
The Mountain Times asked Parker Riehle, president of the Vermont Ski Areas Association, and James Chung, president of Reach Advisors, a New York-based strategy and research firm with clients nationwide, to offer their insights on the role of villages.
“Research shows that the critical mass created by villages with higher density commercial areas and residential development helps to expand the market. By offering more things for families and groups to do, resort villages engender a heightened sense of community and commitment to an area, whether the purchasers of condo units or homes are skiers or not,” noted Riehle.
“It’s a case of a rising tide floats all boats. People don’t just stay in a village, they go out and explore the local art galleries, shops, and boutiques. Mont Tremblant in Canada is an example where a major village has increased winter and summer visits and benefited area businesses as well. The worry for existing businesses that they will lose business to the new shops within a village is not borne out. Mont Tremblant has shown no deleterious effect—they all prospered,” Riehle stated.
“The construction of a village with restaurants at Stratton has not appeared to adversely affect restaurant business in Manchester or the surrounding area,” he continued. “In addition, the extensive development of Stowe Mountain Resort’s Spruce Peak base area has provided a critical bed base along with numerous amenities to attract new and older skiers, which brings plenty of traffic to the village of Stowe where the shops, restaurants and lodging establishments benefit greatly.”
Citing a multiplier effect, Riehle pointed to Colorado skier visits as moving ahead of Vermont in the 1970s due to their destination-resort villages. “Skiers found the convenience and luxury offered by resort villages to their liking, and Colorado doubled Vermont’s skier visits by 1980. The destination-resort village trend followed in Vermont with the result being a number of villages of varying sizes and ages with the largest and most defined being at Stratton, which has an extensive commercial core in its Village Square and many surrounding residential communities as well as a sports and tennis complex and 27-hole golf course.
“But even that village is more like a mini Vail,” Riehle pointed out. “Vermont villages tend to be smaller than western counterparts. Smugglers’ Notch Resort is as an example of a village having a smaller retail/commercial center, with residences clustered around the mountain and village core but offering many amenities and programs. The benefit of having so much offered is hot pillows [better occupancy rates].”
“The expanded developments at places like Killington, Smugglers’ Notch, Stowe, Okemo, Stratton, Jay Peak, and Mount Snow also provide a real draw for summer activities and events, with the much needed bed base to support the traffic that is so important to the overall tourism revenues for Vermont,” he added.
James Chung, whose clients include ski resorts, observed that many skiers “judge much of their experience on the village, which you see at places like Mont Tremblant. Ski resorts that have villages have an advantage of providing a deeper experience beyond the time on the slopes, and for certain segments of skiers, that’s rather important.
“But that’s not everyone, and some ski resorts aren’t necessarily at a disadvantage, depending on their audience, if they don’t have a base village,” Chung continued. “Some places are all about the skiing, and other places are all about the total vacation experience. Fortunately, there’s not one single formula for the industry… A village isn’t necessarily a prerequisite to be truly competitive today, as there are various ski resorts that succeed without a real village. But for a major destination, it’s increasingly difficult to succeed without a village and the bed base that comes with it. The reason is simple: The number of skiers is declining, so what keeps the industry humming are the committed skiers that are increasing their skier days. And given the economic structure of America, the committed skiers are increasingly a high-income audience, and many of them simply expect the kind of amenities available in a resort village,” Chung said.
“So what ends up happening is that the sophisticated resort developers are taking market share from the less-competitive players. In the end, the bottom line is that Killington doesn’t really need a village if it can succeed as a day-trip mountain, but it’s more challenging over time to compete as a resort,” Chung concluded.
Riehle noted, “For Killington, the need for a base-area village development is just as compelling now as it was when first proposed, given the evolving market demand for the ski-in/ski-out slopeside amenities that have proven to be very successful at other resorts throughout the world.”
Asked if Killington is at a competitive disadvantage without a village, Smith stated, “To compete with the West and be a world- class destination resort, Killington absolutely must have a village.”
Smith foresaw that need in 1967 well before the destination resort trend hit Vermont.

Thursday, October 6, 2016

My three R's, Riposte to a Ridiculous Response

Some of this is a repeat of prior postings,but it is a letter to the editor in response to the three R's letter in this week's MT.

The other day I googled “Killington cartoons" and an interesting link came up. It was about the cartoonist Tim Newcombe who drew a cartoon  in the 80’s lampooning Killington Resort’s quest to alter Vermont laws to allow it to use recycled sewage to make snow. Killington sued him and the papers that printed the cartoon. That action by the resort resulted in so much attention that even the Wall Street Journal had a story about it and printed the cartoon. It was a historical moment, as according to Newcombe it was the first cartoon ever printed in the Journal. A local gallery in Rutland then asked Newcombe if he would display the original cartoon artwork in a showcase with other cartoonists. Killington then sued him personally and got the ACLU involved. The suit was dropped and Killington lost in the Vermont Supreme court in the original suit. In the aftermath Newcombe stated “I had no idea what a bunch of nuts they were. I can’t believe they made such a fuss over it.”

Well frankly I believe history is repeating itself with the current controversy over banishment of cartoons in the Mountain Times.
So within this context, is my response to Patty McGrath’s “Calling for a return to the “Three Rs””.  My three R's - Riposte to a Ridiculous Response.
Stop with this male bovine excrement that anyone is hiding who is responsible for the cartoons - it's Jim Haff period! No one is hiding behind him. As for the "Justice League" first of all it's the "Killington Justice League" and all it is, is a fictitious moniker in the cartoon purely in Haff's imagination. I'm sure "Killington's beloved "K-Man" is one of its members. The Killington Justice League members cannot reveal their identities because as superheroes they need to hide their true identities because villains can only hurt them by going after their family, friends and associates, sort of what certain parties in town are trying to do by insisting on getting the artist's identities.
It screams of borderline obsessive psychosis that one would insist on finding out who the "Justice League" is.
I guess we won't find out now that the cartoons are banished and the universe that K-Man and his minions at the Killington Justice League inhabit is forever exiled into literary oblivion.
I wondered whether the story of Tim Newcombe's cartoon was relevant to this current controversy. I can now truly state that the more things change the more they stay the same. I can't believe "what a bunch of nuts" the reactionaries to these cartoons are. By extorting the Mountain Times into not carrying the cartoons they called more attention to them and fed the beast. Instead of letting the cartoons be (and I'll tell you there are plenty of people who get a kick out of them) they caused them to be disseminated more widely and the questions they raised reached a much greater audience.
Vito Rasenas

Calling for a return to the “Three Rs”

Calling for a return to the “Three Rs”

Dear Editor,
Yes, I was a teacher in a former life, but no, I am not talking “Reading, ‘Riting and ‘Rithmatic.” I speak for Rights, Responsibility and Respect.
Jim Haff and his (so called) Justice League have been paying for spots in the Mountain Times to put in their “political commentary” cartoons for the last five weeks. To say that these cartoons are not only wildly inaccurate but a slap in the face to the town, local businesses and the Resort would be an understatement. Please don’t say “this is only humor.” That would be like poking someone in the eye and laughing. Only the bully who poked might find it funny, the pokee, not so much.
People have a right to voice their opinions and disagreements about what happens in their town, and to have a format in which to do so. With that right, come the responsibilities: that information is at least somewhat accurate, and ownership of one’s message is taken (not hidden behind a front-man).
I am glad to see that The Mountain Times has stepped up and instituted a policy regarding this. No doubt, as a local newspaper, they strive to make their paper a format that people feel comfortable in expressing themselves and balance that with responsibility of being fair and unbiased. In doing so they stepped in a pile of, well, you know what, created by an “advertiser.”
I have no doubt there will be several letters to The Mountain Times screaming “freedom of expression!” because of the new policy. And they will complain about advertisers who may have pulled their ads in protest of these cartoons (or draw more cartoons in other venues). But, pulling ads as protest is also a right. And The Mountain Times policy going forward, to keep the format of these ideas as written so that actual facts (not innuendo) can be debated, is a move I applaud.
The collateral damage these cartoons have, and continue to cause in town, though, is real. They have insulted and perpetuated lies about the town, its policies, the golf course and a lot of businesses (including the Resort). It has fractured business relationships and caused distrust.
I for one think the responsibility for this travesty should lie squarely on the shoulder(s) of the person(s) who gleefully started it all: Jim Haff and the “Justice League.” Now that would be TRUE justice.
And let’s find the answers to some important questions. Who is the Justice League who creates and pays for these cartoons? Who exactly benefits from creating this chaos, breaking down respect for people, businesses and organizations, rather than building it up?
Let the rest of us get back to rebuilding the respect for each other that we once had, and should have. KPAA/Resort have a sound philosophy (which contributed to the Resort hosting the World Cup): the Town + the Businesses + the Resort = One Killington.
We are all stakeholders in this town and we can do so much more together than we can divided.
This letter is based on my impressions of the matters before the town and are not approved, nor have they been reviewed by, the full board. As always, you can reach me by email at pjm22@icloud.com
Thank you for your time and consideration,
Patty McGrath, Killington Select Board chair


Comment: Stop with this crap that anyone is hiding who is responsible for the cartoons - it's Jim Haff period! No one is hiding behind him. As far the "Justice League" first of all it's the "Killington Justice League" and all it is, is a fictitious moniker in the cartoon purely in Haff's imagination. I'm sure "Killington's beloved "K-Man" is one of its members. The Killington Justice League members cannot reveal their identities because as superheroes they need to hide their true identities because villains can only hurt them by going after their family, friends and associates, sort of what certain parties in town are trying to do by insisting on getting the artist's identities.
It screams of borderline obsessive psychosis that one would insist on finding out who the "Justice League" is.
I guess we won't find out now that the cartoons are banished and the universe that K-Man and his minions at the Killington Justice League are forever exiled into oblivion.
I wondered whether the story of Tim Newcombe's cartoon was relevant to this current controversy. I can now truly state that the more things change the more they stay the same. I can't believe "what a bunch of nuts" the reactionaries to these cartoons are. By extorting the Mountain Times into not carrying the cartoons they called more attention to them and fed the beast. Instead of letting the cartoons be (and I'll tell you there are plenty of people who get a kick out of them) they caused them to be disseminated farther and the questions they raised reaching a much greater audience. 
And Patty if you're going to accuse the "Justice League" of not putting facts into their commentary you might want to include some in yours.

Blogger Documents (and Comments on) Select Board, News

Vermont Standard
10/6/2016 
By Curt Peterson
Standard Correspondent
The complicated financial arrangement between the Town of Killington and municipally owned Green Mountain National Golf Club has long been a sore subject among some of the taxpayers in the ski resort town. In 2011 voters rejected a proposed town budget, but approved a refinancing scheme for the debt the town took on to purchase the course. About 200 votes were counted.
One of the residents who questioned the select board’s plans was Vito Rasenas, a self-employed property maintenance contractor in town, and a frequent attendee at board meetings. Rasenas complained that a very small number of voters knew what the board was proposing, and if more townspeople had been aware, the vote would have been different.
“I pointed out that only a couple of hundred people were involved in the decision,” Rasenas said. “Chris Bianchi (select board chair at the time) suggested I create my own blog to keep people informed. So I did.”
That was how the blog, “As The Ski Turns” (astheskiturns.blogspot. com), was born.
Since that time Rasenas, who grew up in Boston, has reposted area newspaper stories, which he said he always attributes to their sources, that apply to events in or around Killington, or that highlight the political goings-on in town. Of course, as a blogger, he also adds his own comments, usually about select board and other local organizations’ goings-on.
Most recently Rasenas called out the Killington Pico Area Association and certain un-named businesses for allegedly using their economic clout to stop the Mountain Times, a local weekly newspaper, from publishing political cartoons critical of the organization. According to Rasenas, the Mountain Times published four paid ads for Jim Haff, a Killington resident and one-time selectman, which contained hand-drawn cartoons poking fun at KPAA and other interests in town. And the subjects of Haff’s humor, according to Rasenas, put pressure on the Times to stop printing Haff’s ads.
In the current issue editor and co-publisher Polly Lynn Mikula explained the paper’s decision to exclude future ads containing satirical cartoons.
“… we will adopt (the) policy of not publishing local cartoons and instead encourage our readers to articulate their opposition or support for town policies, local issues and/or comments to the Mountain Times via letters to the editor and/or op-eds.”
Haff has used paid advertisements in the Mountain Times as a vehicle for his opinions for some time. Two years ago he took out a two-page centerfold ad accusing the select board of misrepresenting a large budget deficit as a surplus.
He said he hoped the cartoons would get attention and start a conversation among residents about what is going on in the town government and the KPAA. So far, he said, his strategy worked, he’s been asked by several people about the cartoons, giving him the opportunity to explain the highlighted problem as he sees it.
Mikula said the issues with the cartoons is they lack “authorship.” When someone writes a letter to the editor or creates an op-ed piece, she implied, the name of the author is required to qualify for publishing. She said the same requirement applies to political cartoons, and Haff’s cartoon submissions are unsigned.
The KPAA is the butt of Haff’s cartoon statements, and Rasenas has used his blog to ridicule the organization’s relationship with the town and alleged use of taxpayer dollars for KPAA members’ “private interests.” One might expect the animosity goes both ways.
In February 2016, when Haff was running against McGrath’s for select board Rasenas posted a copy of KPAA president Howard Smith’s email to members urging them to vote. “One Candidate clearly supports our objectives and the other?” he said.
On March 1 Smith reacted to Rasenas’s blog of his remarks in another email to KPAA members, which Rasenas also posted in As The Ski Turns: “After reading Vito’s Blog, It has come to my attention that my email to you was disseminated outside the organization, and while there is no expectation of privacy regarding emails, it was disheartening to realize that at least one member here has a position that is not supportive of the work that the KPAA does for the community … I would like the board member who decided to pass this email on to get in touch with me and I would gladly accept their resignation if they do not support our actions and accomplishments.”
Smith lists Sushi Yoshi restaurant, Snowmobile Vermont and Resort Spa Services as his enterprises on the KPAA website.
How popular is As The Ski Turns?
Selectman Ken Lee said he never reads it. Chris Bianchi said he seldom reads it. McGrath reads it “once in a while. Haff said, “I enjoy Vito’s blog and I wish we could get more people to read it so more would be informed.”
When he posts on his blog Rasenas sends an alert to about 30 people who have asked to be on the list. He said he has no way to verify how many people read his blog, but knows it gets an average of 30 “hits” for what he calls “mundane” entries, and 150 when he posts “more salacious or controversial issues.”
“I don’t get many comments on the blog itself as the process that Google puts you through to comment is unwieldy, you have to register and become a “follower,” and so on. But I certainly get feed back on the street.”

KPAA, EDC Director Leaves for Job in Stowe

Vermont Standard
10/6/2016 
By Curt Peterson
Standard Correspondent
Killington — After fourand- a-half years, Amy Morrison’s last day working for both the town and the Killington Pico Area Association will be Friday, Oct. 14. Morrison handed in her resignation two days before the Oct. 4 select board meeting.
“I’d just like to say a public thanks to Amy,” select board chair Patty McGrath said at the meeting. “During her time here the town’s marketing has advanced, we’ve developed a great collaboration with the Killington Pico Area Association, and her time and effort in this endeavor have been very valuable. I hope she comes back and visits us a lot.”
Selectman Chris Bianchi added, “And I hope we can hire her back.”
Morrison is leaving Killington to become the executive director of the Stowe Area Association.
Her Killington years began at the town offices as director of the Economic Development Commission developing tourism and promoting businesses. The Killington options tax of 1 percent on meals and accommodations was intended to fund the EDC. Morrison came to feel the Killington Chamber of Commerce and the EDC were working at cross-purposes, duplicating efforts and missing opportunities to grow the town’s economy with parallel but slim resources.
A collaborative including the former chamber and the EDC was negotiated and became the KPAA. Morrison remained the director of the EDC and, for a while, worked at the town offices part-time, then drove to KPAA to do work for them. Former Town Manager Seth Webb, Morrison and KPAA officials amended the arrangement, moving the EDC director’s files and other office gear to the Welcome Center on Route 4 where KPAA is headquartered. Webb explained she would be doing the same work, with the same division of compensation, and was only eliminating the wasteful moving back and forth between offices.
After some controversy the arrangement was approved by the select board. There are some residents who believe Morrison was working full-time for KPAA and being paid by Killington’s taxpayers through the town.
The common goal of KPAA and the EDC is to promote year-round tourism in Killington, and Morrison spent much of her time soliciting, organizing, supporting and executing events for all seasons, according to officials.
In other news, Town Manager Deb Schwartz gave a report on the first World Cup Table Top Exercise, which was held at the Killington Resort Base Lodge two Fridays ago.
“There were 40 people there,” Schwartz said. “It was quite a turnout.”
Schwartz cited attendees from several groups, including the state Department for Emergency Management, Vermont State Police, Rutland Ambulance, Killington Fire and Rescue, Killington Police Department, and 20 people representing the resort, as well as others.
“We developed a list of preliminary questions regarding areas where it would be good to coordinate,” Schwartz said.
FIS Ski, or International Ski Federation, is holding the 2016 Audi World Cup alpine skiing competition Nov. 26 and 27 at Killington Resort, and the town will see an influx of thousands of spectators, skiers, support crews and officials in addition to its normal winter crowds, so the town wants to be prepared.
Schwartz said the exercise is a good way to be ready for any unusual event, including emergencies. The next Table Top session will be in October.
In other business, delinquent tax collections were a major topic again, as Schwartz reviewed the current status to the Board.
“When we started this effort,” she said, “there was a little more than $309,000 owed in overdue taxes. As of September 30 we are down to $248,200.”
Schwartz sent out 68 notices to delinquent taxpayers, and 23 have paid their overdue amounts in full. 11 have signed or are going to sign payment agreements. In addition, she said 95 percent of current taxes due on August 15 have been paid, and taxpayers have prepaid $1.6 million for which they have not yet been billed.
“It’s a good thing,” she said.
Resident Andy Salamon asked how the 95 percent figure compares with other towns. Schwartz said she has only anecdotal evidence as an answer. The town of Ludlow has a higher percentage of current tax collections than Killington.
“People complained about our accelerating the tax payment schedule,” she said, “but Ludlow has much more strict tax collection rules than we do, and their taxpayers are more current than ours.”
McGrath noted that if a taxpayer in a Vermont town owes $100,000 in current taxes, about $15,000 goes to the town, and the other $85,000 is paid to the state to fund education.
“If a taxpayer doesn’t pay the $100,000, the town is still on the hook for the $85,000 education portion,” she said. “We have to pay that money to the state even though we didn’t collect it.”