GMNGC readies to open

Mountain Times

April 25, 2018

By Polly Lynn Mikula
Despite new management, Green Mountain National Golf Course is preparing to open nine holes for residents and season pass holders as early as April 27 (if the weather cooperates). Opening for the general public is slated for mid-May.
GMNGC, the town-owned course in Killington, will be managed by an outside company for the first time this season. An agreement was reached and a contract signed with Brown Golf Management on April 17 with it officially starting on May 1. All employees will be hired as BGM employees after that point, except for Peter Bissell, golf course superintendent, and John MacAulay, mechanic, who will remain town employees, according to the contract. Other employees have been sent a letter outlining the hiring process, according to a BGM proposed schedule sent to the Select Board.
The town will remain the owner of the course with major decisions such as rates and fees requiring town approval. The contract duration is three years with automatic extensions for successive one-year periods if not terminated in accordance with set terms.
The contract can be read in full at mountaintimes.info.

Killington appoints Chet Hagenbarth as interim town manager

Mountain Times
April 18, 2018

Town also signs contract with golf course management company, lends $250,000 to golf pro shop

By Julia Purdy

On Tuesday, April 17, the Killington Select Board and 18 members of the public in addition to town employees, gathered for the regularly scheduled meeting.

After adjourning for a brief executive session at the beginning of the meeting, the board returned and McGrath moved to appoint Chet Hagenbarth as interim town manager for a maximum term of six months. The motion was approved unanimously and Hagenbarth took his seat at the table with the Select Board members.

Hagenbarth was immediately given two contracts to sign: permission to use town roads for the Killington Stage Race and the contract with Brown Golf to manage Green Mountain National Golf Course. Both motions, made by Jim Haff and were unanimously accepted.

With regards to finding a permanent town manager, Select Board Chair Steve Finneron said the Board has received “six or eight” letters of intent from those wishing to join the town manager search committee. He said the Select Board needs to discuss how the committee will be formed and so will not act on the letters immediately. The topic will be addressed at the May Select Board meeting.

GMNGC new management, loan

Select Board member Jim Haff, the lead person in negotiations with Brown Golf Management (BGM) company, said the town’s legal counsel has already looked over the contract for BGM to take over the management of Green Mountain National Golf Course (GMNGC).

Haff said that BGM will honor any bookings made now. The consultant side of the contract starts as soon as possible, and the management side will begin as of May 1.

Town Clerk-Treasurer Lucrecia Wonsor presented her end of March to present report on the golf course. The pro shop shows an April 17 balance of $4,098 but is unable to refund $40,315 to the town for insurances. The restaurant shows a balance of $11,263, with all liquor licenses paid out.

Wonsor recommends putting $250,000 into the pro shop to open the season, which opens in three weeks.

Haff moved to lend the pro shop in the amount of $250,000 immediately. The motion was approved unanimously.

McGrath suggested setting an interest rate, and Haff said the $250,000 will increase the town’s indebtedness and whatever the interest rate is on the extra $250,000 is what the town should charge the golf course.

Stage race to return

In an update on the Killington Stage Race, organizer Gary Kessler reported that this is the ninth year the race has returned, and people from all around are registering, making it the second best it’s ever been for early registration, he said. The race brings 500-600 racers to the area for a few days, he said, and he hoped that the season of summer activities can start earlier to give racers and families more to do.

McGrath assured him the town wants to continue its collaboration with the resort and the KPAA.

Townspeople spoke, Killington Select Board listened

Mountain Times
April 18, 2018

By Julia Purdy
KILLINGTON— On Thursday, April 12, the Killington Select Board held a special meeting for the specific purpose of receiving public input and discussion on two urgent topics, which emerged from Town Meeting this year: future management of the Green Mountain National Golf Course and the search for a replacement for the town manager, whose contract was terminated on March 28.
Thirty-two observers were present at the special meeting Thursday, in addition to six Killington department heads and employees.
Finneron prefaced the meeting by saying no decisions would be made that night and clarifying that the meeting was to listen to public input only. He said the board would go into executive session at the end to address topics discussed.

Town manager search discussion

Deborah Schwartz was the Killington town manager until her contract was terminated “without cause” March 28. She had held the position since April, 2016.
Finneron said that a search committee is being formed and asked for input about what residents would like to see for qualities in a future town manager. Input will be passed on to the search committee to include in its criteria, he said.
David Rosenblum asked who is acting in the interim: whom should citizens talk to, who is hiring, firing and supervising employees, who is responsible for seeing that the bills get paid?
Finneron said all inquiries should be directed to the Select Board, who will relay the concerns to the appropriate staff.
Questions and comments were thoughtful, civil and probing, focusing mostly on two topics: salary and qualifications.
Ed Fowler summed up the thoughts of many when he said, “I really feel the [town manager’s] salary has got out of control.” While the town manager seemed pleasant and courteous when he met her, he said, she was “exceptionally well paid for the skills she had.”
David Rosenblum suggested that Killington should look at salaries in other towns.
George Brant implored the board to seek out a candidate with appropriate qualifications for the job. “We’re hiring people as town manager who have never done this in their life. … I’d like to see you do something inhouse with the staff you have,” he said.
This remark led to several people supporting Chet Hagenbarth as interim town manager, with many hoping he’d be selected for the permanent position, too.
Pat Linnemayr commented that Hagenbarth works well with others, which had been an issue with the previous town manager. Finneron agreed that’s “critical” to a number of different parties.
Pete DeMaio commented that Hagenbarth already does “half our work as town manager.”
Vito Rasenas echoed Brant’s and DeMaio’s sentiments and filled in a little history. He said Hagenbarth’s position was created during former Town Manager Seth Webb’s tenure. A large part of the town manager responsibilities in Vermont is as a de facto road commissioner, Rasenas said. Rasenas spoke in favor of Hagenbarth based on Hagenbarth’s experience and familiarity with the town, “absolutely” as interim and preferably as permanent town manager.
Both Rasenas and Pete DeMaio questioned if time would be wasted going through the search process.
Gerrie Russell said she wanted someone “who thinks out of the box” and has a vision for Killington, not depending on the Resort but moving forward on its own. “Make sure we ask those questions: what have you done in the past that proves you can address the present here and move us forward?” Russell said.
Jay Hickory said competency should include familiarity with Vermont statutes, taxes, and the New England Municipal Resource Center (NEMRC).
Green Mountain National Golf Course (GMNGC) discussion
The conundrum the town faces with the golf course is its recent history of operating in the red, a fact that became unavoidable during budget discussions for the town report, and how to turn that trend around. The topic has urgency because the golf course is due to open for the season in three weeks. As with the town manager selection, the Select Board brought the problem to the residents.
Updated golf course stats reveal that in the last five years, only 2014 showed positive revenue of $1,100 over expenses, and $23,000 below operating costs.
The board members agreed that there has been no wrongdoing, but the way the books were kept led to confusion. Originally the golf course was combined with town expenses, said McGrath.
“When the golf course was on a calendar year there were a lot of things you did not see, there was no separate audit, it did not have its own bank account,” she explained. “At the end of the year the financials look different than six or seven months before, because things aren’t being put in the right place, commingled or misattributed. … You’re not seeing the actual numbers so you’re not seeing the actual depth of the problem.”
Haff said, “I don’t think there’s any hidden agenda here, not everybody knows how to read those types of financials. It cannot cover its capital expenses and truly move forward … This golf course is about $500,000-$600,000 behind in needed capital improvements,” he added. “The goal is to get the golf course off the voters and get it so it is making an operating profit and reinvest those funds to take care of the capital needs of the golf course.”
Other facets of discussion involved day-to-day operations, the overall direction of the golf course into the future, marketing to bring more people to it, and how those things would be accomplished – in-house, with a consultant, or through a management company?
Jim Haff has been acting as liaison with Brown Golf Management of Bluffton, S.C., and he offered a review of past negotiations with Brown Golf.
Haff said that when he was on the Select Board in 2011-2012 GMNGC management brought Brown Golf to the Select Board, and the board hired Brown Golf under contract to conduct an analysis of the course.
Haff said Brown Golf made several proposals, including continuing on the present path, either hiring a consultant or as management, and he endorsed continuing to work with Brown. He said that significant time was spent with Brown Golf then, “so they have a head start on what other companies would do.”
Patty McGrath expressed doubt that another company would be able to step in quickly enough, given the time constraint.
Select Board members and members of the public expressed their desire to retain control over the quality of operations.
Haff said that any contract with BGM would include monthly meetings between the management company and the Select Board. “This contract has so many safety nets in it,” he said. “There is nothing that says these people are going to come in and do what they want, it’s what we want them to do.”
The proposed contract is that Brown would get a management fee but no percentage of revenues.
In response to Ed Fowler’s concern about the town’s expense in keeping the golf course afloat with infusions of cash, Haff said the golf course was voted as an enterprise fund and should pay for itself based on fees and income revenue. The town is responsible for bond payments.
“This town needs to realize we are still liable and responsible for maintaining this golf course to a certain degree to keep people coming here to golf,” Haff said.
“We’re trying to turn around this $20,000-$30,000 loss every year,” Finneron emphasized.
At 9:40 p.m. the board went into back-to-back executive sessions to discuss options for interim town manager and the golf course. While officially no action was taken, the board did authorize Haff to move forward with completing a contract with Brown Golf.
The board expects to have final information regarding an interim town manager at its regular meeting April 17.

To recuse or not to recuse

April 12, 2018

Mountain Times

Dear Editor,
It has come to my attention that a certain self proclaimed “political junkie” is castigating our newly elected Selectman Jim Haff for involvement in reorganizing the operational management of the Green Mountain National Golf Course (GMNGC). He states that Mr. Haff has an agenda regarding GMNGC and thus should recuse himself from any Selectboard decisions regarding same. I agree that Mr. Haff has an agenda; it is to straighten out the management of GMNGC so that the Killington taxpayers’ burden in subsidizing its operations doesn’t continue to grow. In addition to the outstanding $2.5 million or so debt from its construction which the taxpayers are still on the hook for, there is also almost $400,000 in operating subsidies still owed to the town from GMNGC’s operations. Haff’s agenda, whatever the “political junkie’s” mistaken notion of it is, is to make GMNGC as self sustaining as possible.
Aside from the debt, GMNGC is faced with rather large upcoming capital expenses. Their golf carts need replacing, the irrigation system is coming due for maintenance if not replacement, the clubhouse needs a new roof, and so on. These are expenses which at the moment GMNGC cannot meet given its currently projected cash flow.
I don’t know why anyone would want Haff to recuse himself. After all he is the person who called attention to the debt crisis with GMNGC back when the town was paying off the GMNGC construction bond with short term borrowing which ended up costing the town almost a million dollars in additional debt costs. He was instrumental in getting the 1% options tax receipts to be used to address the debt as well as getting the short term debt refinanced. This critic also points out that Haff published cartoons criticizing GMNGC. Well, ironically that cartoon is the same editorially as the critic’s letter in advocating a certain point of view. He is criticizing Haff for the same thing he is doing. Given this critic apparently doesn’t pay taxes in Killington, maybe he should recuse himself from commenting on our town’s issues.
Frankly, given Haff’s “agenda” as described above he should be the last person to recuse himself from the process of getting GMNGC under financial control. How did it become this “out of town” critic’s business to meddle in our town’s interests? Maybe he should answer that.
It seems to me some serious problems addressed by “kicking the can down the road”, are finally being tackled under this current Selectboard of which Haff is an integral part. To suggest he recuse himself is to ask all taxpayers in Killington to recuse themselves as they all have an agenda regarding GMNGC.
Vito Rasenas
Killington Taxpayer

Green Mountain National deserves fair hearing

April 12, 2018

Mountain Times

Dear Editor,
As many have heard recently, the town of Killington via the Select Board is entertaining bringing in an out-of-state management company to take over operations at Green Mountain National Golf Club. It’s no secret the town owned golf course has had financial challenges due to long-standing debt arrangements and the short Vermont golf season often tested by our weather. As a long-time member at Green Mountain, our family enjoys this jewel of Killington and the work which goes into the amazing conditions and hospitality extended by the staff. The club attracts thousands of out-of staters annually who have come to enjoy playing golf in our pristine land while spending substantial vacation dollars locally.
Many Killington taxpayers and club stakeholders are gravely concerned about the newly elected Select Board member Jim Haff’s long history of publicly disparaging the golf course. Mr. Haff has gone to great lengths to harm the reputation of the club, even taking out a half-dozen advertisements with amateurish cartoons and commentary depicting the course employees and Killington in a negative light. With major management changes being proposed immediately preceding the start of this season, I call on Mr. Haff to recuse himself from the process as he brings an overtly negative bias to the proceedings. We all desire a path of stability and prosperity for the club and Killington taxpayers. The decisions going forward should be handled by those who don’t have a public axe to grind.
Bradford Broyles, Mendon

Killington starts search for new town manager

Rutland Herald

Katelyn Barcellos | April 10, 2018

By KATE BARCELLOS
STAFF WRITER
KILLINGTON — Residents are invited to give their input Thursday on replacing the town manager who was fired last month.
An open meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. at the Killington Town Hall to discuss an interim town manager and the formation of a search committee, according to Select Board Chairman Stephen Finneron.
The contract of the previous town manager, Deborah Schwartz, was terminated “without cause” late last month.
“We didn’t list a particular reason, because if the board gives a reason, that opens the issue to … challenge and litigation,” Finneron said.
He said the ideal candidate for the new town manager would have some accounting background and be familiar with coordinating budgets for voters.
A search committee comprising a Select Board member, a member of the Killington Pico Area Association, a town employee and two Killington residents will be formed to help select potential town manager candidates.
“We’re hoping members will act on behalf of their organization, as well as two at-large residents who live here who understand what’s going on,” Finneron said.
“The committee will do interviews, and eventually the Select Board will hire the person, but they won’t dominate the process,” he said. “We want a cross-section of people to decide.”
Finneron said he doesn’t know yet which member of the Select Board will serve on the search committee. That will be decided Thursday.
The board announced its decision to form a search committee a week ago. Anyone interested in serving has until Friday to submit a letter, according to the town website, and the search committee will be announced April 24.
Finneron said though the position is known to be open, it has not been advertised yet and no one has approached the Select Board.
He said he hopes to find a manager by July or August, ideally by the start of the next fiscal year, but a lot of factors are involved and the board intends to “take the time to do it right.”
“We’re looking for someone with the best interests in mind for the town,” Finneron said. “We want someone to take ownership of the job, someone who won’t wait for others to do the job for them.”
He said it also helps if the candidate is familiar with the New England climate and the small-town way of life.
Killington can be inundated with as many as 15,000 people on some weekends, and the town is in the process of developing a partnership with Killington Ski Resort. Finneron said the Select Board is looking for a way to bring more people who will come to the town and stay, and a town manager who will support that.
The town recently underwent a series of improvements to town buildings, including a new roof for the town library and maintenance on the town garage, and the town wants to consolidate and organize multiple payments.
Consolidating the budget is one of the bigger issues that the new manager will face, along with revitalizing the aging infrastructure of the resort town, Finneron said.
“If people know where their money is going, they’re more certain of it,” he said. “We want everything up front.”
Killington’s newest project would also be a priority for the new town manager. The town voted to build a new public safety building on Killington Road in the next few years to keep the fire department, police department, first responders and search-and-rescue in one space so they can better support each other and pool resources, Finneron said.
A committee has been put in place to interview architects and design managers for the building, and next week the town will put out a request for proposals to companies interested in being a part of the project, which won’t begin for more than a year, Finneron said.
“We want a proposal to go out at the meeting before Town Meeting Day to go on the March ballot,” he said.
katelyn.barcellos@rutlandherald.com

Windy Wednesday hits harder than expected

Rutland Herald

Katelyn Barcellos | April 05, 2018

By KATE BARCELLOS
STAFF WRITER

Jeb Wallace-Brodeur / Staff Photo
A crew from New England Tree Experts removes trees Thursday morning on Downs Road in Worcester after high winds overnight knocked out power to thousands of customers in central Vermont.

Wednesday’s windstorm came with a vengeance, with many municipalities and electrical agencies reporting power outages, fallen trees, downed power lines and closed-off roadways in disarray on Thursday afternoon once the winds had died down.
“We prepared for this,” said Green Mountain Power spokesperson Dorothy Schnure. “We tracked several different forecasters, and this was worse than the worst forecast.”

The regions hardest hit throughout the state were the communities of Royalton, Springfield, Montpelier and Brattleboro, Schnure said.

Schnure said Killington suffered the most outages in the Rutland County area, reaching 3,500 customer outages since Wednesday afternoon. All but two of the outages have been restored, Schnure said.

“We’ve had a lot of trees down, broken poles and downed power lines,” Schnure said. “We’ve had to restring a lot of lines and remove a lot of lines from the roads.”

Schnure said trees fell far more easily because the ground is still soft and wet from all the rain, which loosened the roots and resulted in huge trees falling across roadways.

Schnure said Green Mountain Power was overwhelmed with the amount of damage left in the windstorm’s wake.

“We have had more than 50,000 (customers) affected, and have just shy of 11,000 to go. This will take us until the end of the weekend before everyone is restored. We will work 24-7 until everyone is restored,” she said.

GMP does an assessment of the total damage and where the most customers have been affected, so they can better concentrate efforts to bring more people back online quickly, Schnure said.

Schnure also reported a safety concern for any customers experiencing downed lines, as they can still carry enough voltage to injure or even kill unsuspecting residents.

“Power lines that are down and tangled in trees can be dangerous,” she said. “Electricity can travel through the ground when it’s wet, so it’s very important to stay away from downed lines. You cannot know if the line is live or not, so don’t take any chances.”

Brattleboro suffered some of the worst of the damage, with 600 customers still reporting outages at 3 p.m. on Thursday, according to Brattleboro Department of Public Works Director Steve Barrett.

“Our water treatment plant has been operating on backup power since 11 p.m. last night,” said Barrett.

Barrett also reported several downed trees in parks and cemetery areas, as well as one house in town that sustained significant damage from a fallen tree.

Washington Electric Co-op General Manager Patty Richards said customers throughout the central Vermont region suffered outages, beginning at about 9 p.m. Wednesday. 

“We started out with just over 2,000 people without power due to the wind storm last night, and the whole state is being impacted,” Richards said. “So, we’ve restored a little over 1,300 people so far,” as of 2 p.m. Wednesday.  

Richards warned it might be a while before service was restored to all customers. 

“It’s just that there may be some stragglers that go into the night, overnight, that we’re not able to get back on. There are just so many different breaks in the line,” Richards said. “The wind picked up all over through the tree branches, and basically, every break in the line we have to go and fix. It’s likely we’ll have everybody back on by the end of the day tomorrow or it could be a day or two.” 

Vermont Emergency Management tweeted a report from MesoWest, a cooperative weather sharing project, that reported winds at 96 miles per hour on Mt. Mansfield, 77 miles per hour on I-89 in Waterbury, and 63 miles per hour on Burton Island on Wednesday evening.
The National Weather Service in Burlington reported 63 mile-per-hour winds at both Gifford Woods in Rutland and Jay Peak just before 1 a.m. on Thursday, while portions of Route 12 in Worcester and Route 100 in Wardsboro remained closed later that morning due to downed power lines and trees, according to Vermont 511.
By 4 p.m. on Thursday, a total of 11,149 outages were reported throughout the state according to VToutages.com, most of which were reported in the central and southern portion of the state. At approximately 3 p.m., Windham County reported still having 4,970 outages, more than any other county. Washington County was second at 2,870 and Windsor County third with 2,190.

Vermont Department of Public Safety Spokesperson Mark Bosma said the Vermont State Police hasn’t received any calls from towns for assistance yet.

katelyn.barcellos@rutlandherald.com