Vermont Standard
10/16/2016
By Katy Savage
Standard Staff
A recent ad, published in the Mountain Times’ Sept. 21 edition, depicted the Killington Pico Area Association as a pig that demands money from the select board. It suggests the KPAA only benefits some businesses — the businesses are piglets in the cartoon that feed off the pig. The select board members are puppets being controlled by the pig (the KPAA).
“The last (ad) tipped the community over the edge,” said Mountain Times editor and co-publisher Polly Lynn Mikula. She said she heard complaints from church groups, advertisers and people who “just want to see progress,” she said. “The nature of them was more destructive than enlightening.”
The ad was one in a series taken out by resident and former select board member Jim Haff, before the Mountain Times said it wasn’t publishing political cartoons anymore.
The cartoons (whose illustrator is unknown) have caused uproar in Killington and have brought into question ethics of the KPAA, a private nonprofit that supports the resort and other businesses and relies in part, on taxpayers to be sustainable.
Mikula’s husband, co-publisher Jason Mikula, serves on the board of directors of the KPAA. (The Vermont Standard also pays membership dues to the KPAA).
“I have a basic belief that if businesses want businesses to succeed then businesses should invest in themselves,” said Haff, who formerly served on the select board.
Haff owns the Butternut Inn and Pancake House in Killington. He spends $1,000 to $1,500 in advertising costs each year, he said. He’s advertised against the KPAA and other town issues, he said.
“The philosophy of the KPAA to use the town as a tax vehicle to fund their operations, I don’t believe in it,” Haff said. “I guess the American way is dead.”
The KPAA formed in January 2015.
It took over the former Killington chamber of commerce, which had a reported $173,000 in revenue in 2014. Six months after the KPAA formed, KPAA members presented a contract to the town, in which the KPAA said it would manage all the town’s marketing and events, taking over the town-funded Economic Development and Tourism Department and also employing the town’s marketing coordinator Amy Morrison part-time.
The goal was to create “one Killington,” uniting the town, businesses and KPAA, making Killington a four-season town at a time when ski season sales were down in the Northeast.
The town has budgeted about $162,000 to sponsor about 15 events, according to the most recent town report. It budgeted another $66,000 or so in marketing.
Morrison was caught in the middle of controversy about how she worked for both the town and the nonprofit KPAA.
Morrison resigned Sept. 30, saying her last day is Oct. 14.
Morrison said in an email that she’s accepted a position leading the Stowe Area Association and the controversy didn’t impact her position.
“I have enjoyed my time at the KPAA, and feel that we accomplished a lot as an organization and a community,” she said.
Morrison received about $31,000 in town money, according to the town report.
“It’s taxpayer money when (businesses) should be supporting themselves,” said resident Vito Rasenas who maintains a blog that refers to this issue continually.
Despite being critical about how Morrison’s work and the KPAA is funded, Rasenas praised what Morrison did for the town.
“She ran things pretty well and obviously somebody noticed,” Rasenas said.
The KPAA had an annual meeting the night Haff’s ad published. The executive board highlighted the organization’s success, saying KPAA’s revenues are up 60 percent since it formed and there are 33 new members. The KPAA has about 200 members in total.
“I think we’ve done a very good job moving the town in the right direction. I think that summer business is growing and that’s really our focus to become a four-season resort,” said Vince Chiarella, who owns Box Office Works. He’s on the KPAA board.
“I think it’s been a great thing and I think the town has seen a lot of improvements,” he said.
Chiarella has been in business for 4 1/2 years.
“If the businesses are successful... it keeps property taxes down,” he said.
The KPAA is closely tied to the resort. Killingon Pico Businesses Development Manager Tracy Taylor and President Mike Solimano are both KPAA executive board members. Town Manager Deb Schwartz is also on the executive board.
The resort has invested $5 million in summer activities over the past two years, especially investing in mountain biking.
Taylor said the partnership between the businesses, KPAA and town has been successful.
“It’s sure easier when we’re all pulling in the same direction...not everybody agrees with that,” Taylor said in a phone interview. “I think the proof at the end of the day is trying to reach those objectives,” He said the resort is “way, way better off than we were three years ago.”
Other chambers are struggling with current funding models.
The Manchester chamber of commerce shut down inApril. Membership dropped off by half over the past two years due to changes in health insurance.
The Manchester chamber lost its $70,000 in revenue from members as a result and sought appropriations from 18 towns last Town Meeting but failed to get voter support.
“Technology is changing and relevancy is changing,” said Okemo Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce Director Marji Graf.
The Okemo Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce supports nine towns. Members pay dues, which start at $250 a year depending on the number of employees Graf said an option tax has been talked about.
“None of my towns will go for it,” Graf said.
It’s not unusual for a resort and towns to be close with the chamber.
Woodstock Inn and Resort General Manager Gary Thulander is president of the Woodstock Area Chamber of Commerce.
Woodstock taxpayers contribute to maintenance and custodial costs of the town building, which the chamber pays rent for.
But other chamber directors agreed the Killington’s model of funding the KPAA is unique.
“The Woodstock Inn is a huge economic driver in the community but they aren’t looking to brand everything as the Woodstock Inn. Killington does that,” said Woodstock Chamber Director Beth Finlayson.
Killington select board chair Patty McGrath called the KPAA a “vehicle” for collaboration. She admitted the funding of it might not be perfect.
“I find Jim Haff’s cartoons really, really unfortunate because they really don’t tell the story of what’s truly happening,” said McGrath, who owns the Inn at Long Trail and McGrath’s Irish Pub.
“Anytime you make our town more popular to tourists everybody wins,” she said. “The KPAA has never asked us for more money,” she said. “(Haff suggests) some business get special status but he doesn’t offer any proof or any backing.”
Haff ran for McGrath’s select board seat in March, but lost by about 60 votes.
McGrath said the town’s sponsorship of events have helped her business.
“When you do things like that it helps the resort and it helps all the businesses because all those businesses all get business.’ When those businesses get business they are collecting option tax.”
The revenue from option tax money (more than $800,000) goes to support the town’s economic development and infrastructure, including beautification efforts.
KPAA executive board members weren’t sure if Morrison’s replacement would work for both the town and KPAA as before. But McGrath saw it as an opportunity for the KPAA’s executive committee to make a change.
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