Planning Commission Reporting Form for Municipal Bylaw Amendments
PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO KILLINGTON ZONING BYLAWS
This report is in accordance with 24 V.S.A. §4441 (c) which states:When considering an amendment to a bylaw, the planning commission shall prepare and approve a written report on the proposal. A single report may be prepared so as to satisfy the requirements of this subsection concerning bylaw amendments and subsection 4384(c) of this title concerning plan amendments..... The report shall provide:(A) brief explanation of the proposed bylaw, amendment, or repeal and ...include a statement of purpose as required for notice under section §4444 of this title:The principal purpose of the proposed zoning bylaw amendments is to require a permit for short-term rental of a dwelling unit, to allow accessory dwelling units within accessory buildings, and to require a driveway access permit before a certificate of occupancy is granted.And shall include findings regarding how the proposal:1.Conforms with or furthers the goals and policies contained in the municipal plan, including the effect of the proposal on the availability of safe and affordable housing:The proposed zoning bylaw amendmentsimplement the objectives of the town plan by maintaining a safe, healthy and beneficial environment for human habitation, accommodating growth in a rational and efficient manner, and avoiding incompatible and uncoordinated development and use. Allowing accessory dwelling units within accessory buildings will increase the availability of safe and affordable housing.2.Is compatible with the proposed future land uses and densities of the municipal plan:The proposed zoning bylaw amendments are compatible with the objective of the town plan to reinforce the existing pattern of residential concentrations.3.Carries out, as applicable, any specific proposals for any planned community facilities.There are no specific proposals for such facilities.Draft for Planning Commission Hearing on November 20, 2019.
Thursday, October 31, 2019
PLANNING COMMISSION PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO KILLINGTON ZONING BYLAWS
The Killington Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on the proposed Town of Killington Zoning Bylaw Amendments on Wednesday, November 20, 2019 at 7:30 p.m.at the Town Offices at 2706 River Road in Killington. This public notice is given pursuant to 24 V.S.A. Section 4444.The principal purpose of the proposed zoning bylaw amendments is to require a permit for short-term rental of a dwelling unit, to allow accessory dwelling units within accessory buildings, and to require a driveway access permit before a certificate of occupancy is granted. These amendments will affect every geographical area of Killington. The section headings affected by the proposed zoning bylaw amendments are: DEFINITIONS,SECTION 407–SHORT-TERM RENTAL OF DWELLING UNIT,SECTION 417–ACCESSORY DWELLING UNIT,and SECTION 640–CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY OR USE.The full text of the proposed Town of Killington Zoning Bylaw Amendments may be found at the Town Clerk’s office and on the Planning Commission page of the Town’s website at https://KillingtonTown.com.Dated at Killington, Vermont this 24th day of October 2019.Preston Bristow,Town Planner,Town of Killington, Vermont
Thursday, October 17, 2019
Town gets preliminary numbers on short-term rental registration costs
Rutland Herald
Thursday, October 17, 2019
KILLINGTON — The town now has some idea of what a short-term rental registration program might cost should it implement one.
Town Manager Chet Hagenbarth told the Select Board on Oct. 1 that he’s been speaking with a company called Host Compliance, based in Seattle, that helps municipalities track short-term rental listings made through services like Airbnb and Vacation Rentals By Owner.
“The whole purpose of the registration program, and we’re getting ahead of ourselves, is to basically create an information centralization so that people understand the rules that already exist,” Hagenbarth said. “There’s no new rules being written.”
He
said short-term rentals, which the town considers to be rental units
let out for less than 30 days at a time, need to meet town and state
safety regulations. The town has been having issues with some of these
rental properties advertising they can sleep scores of people when their
permits don’t allow for that many.
Host Compliance monitors 36 short-term rental websites on behalf of 300 towns, according to Hagenbarth. “They’ve already found there’s 931 short-term rentals in Killington that are operating on these internet rental sites,” he said. “There’s over 1,000 listings because a lot of them have listings on more than one site, but it’s 931 actual properties.”
He said if the town opts to purchase every one of Host Compliance’s services, it would cost about $151,000 in the first year. The company would first identify all of the town’s short-term rentals, verify their addresses and match them with photos, allowing the town to send each property owner a letter stating what existing rules they need to keep in mind. This would cost about $30,000. Ongoing monitoring would carry an annual fee, as would some other compliance monitoring services the company offers. Some of those services included a 24-hour hotline that citizens, law enforcement or whoever could contact to get in touch with an owner should there be an issue at a property.
Selectman Jim Haff said he has several questions about the nature of some of Host Compliance’s services.
“We would have them do a presentation if we chose to move forward,” said Hagenbarth. “This is if we were to buy all of their services.”
He said the current figures will give the town something to work with when it drafts its proposed budget in December. The board can decide which services it wants from Host Compliance.
Hagenbarth said in an interview Wednesday that the registration program would become part of the town’s zoning bylaws. Proposed language for that has been submitted to an attorney for review, but he hasn’t heard back yet.
Board
Chairman Steve Finneron said public comment will be sought before the
town implements this. He said the issue was big enough for the board to
want feedback from the public. Haff suggested that some of the towns
Host Compliance serves be contacted for references.
Haff said he feels most short-term rental owners in town will welcome this, as it will make clear the rules they need to follow, which most are already in compliance with.
“This will actually help them and prove they’re in compliance,” he said, adding that it will also improve the overall quality and reliability of short-term rental listings in town.
According to the 2010 Census, Killington has a population of 811 people and holds 2,762 housing units. Killington Ski Resort and its sister resort, Pico Mountain Ski Resort, draw thousands of visitors to the town.
keith.whitcomb
@rutlandherald.com
Town Manager Chet Hagenbarth told the Select Board on Oct. 1 that he’s been speaking with a company called Host Compliance, based in Seattle, that helps municipalities track short-term rental listings made through services like Airbnb and Vacation Rentals By Owner.
“The whole purpose of the registration program, and we’re getting ahead of ourselves, is to basically create an information centralization so that people understand the rules that already exist,” Hagenbarth said. “There’s no new rules being written.”
Host Compliance monitors 36 short-term rental websites on behalf of 300 towns, according to Hagenbarth. “They’ve already found there’s 931 short-term rentals in Killington that are operating on these internet rental sites,” he said. “There’s over 1,000 listings because a lot of them have listings on more than one site, but it’s 931 actual properties.”
He said if the town opts to purchase every one of Host Compliance’s services, it would cost about $151,000 in the first year. The company would first identify all of the town’s short-term rentals, verify their addresses and match them with photos, allowing the town to send each property owner a letter stating what existing rules they need to keep in mind. This would cost about $30,000. Ongoing monitoring would carry an annual fee, as would some other compliance monitoring services the company offers. Some of those services included a 24-hour hotline that citizens, law enforcement or whoever could contact to get in touch with an owner should there be an issue at a property.
Selectman Jim Haff said he has several questions about the nature of some of Host Compliance’s services.
“We would have them do a presentation if we chose to move forward,” said Hagenbarth. “This is if we were to buy all of their services.”
He said the current figures will give the town something to work with when it drafts its proposed budget in December. The board can decide which services it wants from Host Compliance.
Hagenbarth said in an interview Wednesday that the registration program would become part of the town’s zoning bylaws. Proposed language for that has been submitted to an attorney for review, but he hasn’t heard back yet.
Haff said he feels most short-term rental owners in town will welcome this, as it will make clear the rules they need to follow, which most are already in compliance with.
“This will actually help them and prove they’re in compliance,” he said, adding that it will also improve the overall quality and reliability of short-term rental listings in town.
According to the 2010 Census, Killington has a population of 811 people and holds 2,762 housing units. Killington Ski Resort and its sister resort, Pico Mountain Ski Resort, draw thousands of visitors to the town.
keith.whitcomb
@rutlandherald.com
Monday, October 14, 2019
The Outside Story: Firewood physiology
The Outside Story
The Outside Story: Firewood physiology
This
week feels like fall proper. It’s gray, drizzly, 50s; the kind of
weather that makes you realize you’d better batten down the house for
winter.
We’re going to get
to the first fire of the year in a moment, that pathetic, smoldering
pile of hissing wood in your woodstove that you made such a big deal
about. “Come here kids!” for the ceremonial lighting of the hearth,
which turned into the ceremonial opening of the doors and windows to let
the smoke out of the living room. (Write what you know, the English
professors advise.)
But first, let’s talk about the physiology of a tree.
Trees,
like most living things, are full of water. You can imagine a piece of
firewood as a mixed bundle of hollow and solid cardboard tubes. The
hollow tubes are vessel cells that move water. The solid tubes are
fibers that help make wood strong. When a tree is felled, water is
trapped in the hollow cell cavities (called lumens), as well as in the
cell walls. The amount of water per cell is minuscule, but multiply it
by trillions and it really adds up. According to an Extension Service
bulletin, one cord of red oak weighs 4,888 pounds when it’s green and
3,528 pounds when it’s dry. Divide the difference by 8.3 pounds — the
weight of a gallon of water — and we learn that 164 gallons disappears,
per cord, in the evaporation process.
So,
all this water has to migrate out of the wood before it will burn well.
Water moves more easily with the wood’s grain than across the grain, so
the path of least resistance is out the ends of the wood. In other
words, the shorter your pieces, the shorter the trip. Some will
evaporate through the sides, so you can also speed up the process by
splitting each chunk. Bark essentially exists to keep moisture in, so a
piece with four cut faces will dry more quickly than a piece with the
bark still on. And the smaller you split each piece, the easier it will
be for the water to get out.
Now,
you split your wood in the spring, just like you were supposed to, and
the water’s still hissing out the ends of it in your stove in October.
So why didn’t it dry right? Well, the drying process depends on three
things: temperature, turbidity and time. (I’m hearing the “Three T’s” in
the voice of Peter Lammert, a forest-service icon from Maine, from whom
I learned the phrase.)
Obviously,
heat aids drying. The best place to put a wood pile is in the same
full-sun location you’d put a vegetable garden. Stack the wood, don’t
leave it in a volcanic-looking heap, so the sun can touch each piece.
The
importance of turbidity — i.e., air flow — is often overlooked. Best
practice is to stack your firewood so the prevailing wind is
perpendicular and can blast the face of the entire row. A single long
row is going to have better airflow than a block of stacked wood or a
volcano. A tarp or some plastic on the top of a pile to keep rain off is
alright, but do not wrap the pile; you want the wind to blow through
and you want the moisture to be able to get out. If you build a
woodshed, make the walls like a pallet so air can get through.
Unfortunately,
as with all facets of life, the time part is the most difficult to
reckon with. The reality is most people rush their wood. Buying wood in
the fall with the idea you’ll burn it that winter is a rookie move that
won’t end well — anyone with at least one year of wood-burning
experience knows this. But cutting, splitting, stacking in spring, the
way so many of us do it (including me), is still not optimal. In my
experience, green hardwood that’s been split and stacked for six months
will still give you only mediocre fires. By about month nine, the wood
will be decent. By month 12, it’ll finally be where you want it. All of
which is to say we should really be getting a full year ahead. The old
timers with the neatly stacked piles that you never see go down because
they sit the first winter, are the ones who are doing it right.
“The
old-timers with time,” you’re thinking, late for this or that. I hear
you. And so, we do the best we can. If you can fit a few days’ worth of
mediocre fall wood into the living room next to the woodstove, the heat
from the fire will be an effective cheat. If you get lemony looks, point
out to your partner that the drying wood will moisturize the room and
expose the kids to dust and microbes so they won’t grow up soft and
asthmatic like the poor buggers in neat-freak urban homes.
Dave
Mance III is the editor of Northern Woodlands. The Outside Story is
assigned and edited by Northern Woodlands magazine
(www.northernwoodlands.org) and sponsored by the Wellborn Ecology Fund
of New Hampshire Charitable Foundation (wellborn@nhcf.org). Illustration
drawn by Adelaide Tyrol.
Saturday, October 5, 2019
Ski area investments to expand mountain market
Rutland Herald
Saturday, October 5, 2019
Adam White,
director of communications at Vermont Ski Areas Association (VSAA), a
nonprofit trade association representing 20 Alpine areas, noted that the
snowmaking improvements trend continues as the “most consistent
improvement across all different sizes of ski areas.”
While efficiency is important, there is an additional focus on environmental sustainability. By aiming to be more environmentally responsible, systems now provide more coverage faster, using fewer resources at less cost. Additionally, automation is being added to more systems, and more control by computers contributes to efficiency and sustainability, White added.
Another
hot trend continues with more on-snow and off-hill amenities to appeal
to action sports-oriented young people and those young at heart.
Examples include Woodward progression features added at Killington, the
new Riglet Park at Stratton, and the indoor skate and bike park
additions at Bolton Valley.
The cyclical consolidation trend continues with Vail Resorts having purchased Mount Snow, and the trend of expanding season passes heats up with new offerings at Bolton, Magic, Mount Snow, Okemo, Pico, Snow Bowl, Stowe and Suicide Six. Cochran’s lowered its lift ticket prices thanks to its financial flexibility of being a nonprofit.
At Killington a forth tunnel, new quad lift, and two new bubble surface lifts continue the transition to a more beginner/intermediate-oriented and family-friendly area. The addition of Woodward progression elements at Ramshead change the game for youth learning to ski or snowboard, noted President and GM Mike Solimano.
The replacement of the North Ridge Triple with a Leitner-Poma fixed-grip quad with 2,400 rides per hour capacity affirms Killington’s commitment to the longest season in the East by facilitating fall and spring skiing at this high-elevation area on Killington’s northern flank, Solimano noted.
Two new covered SunKid conveyor lifts at Ramshead combined with the extension and reconstruction of its learning slope and addition of Woodward snow features will facilitate learning by incorporating a progression that will do away with the need to bus kids to Snowshed to progress to the next level.
Killington’s snowmaking upgrades include the replacement of 12,000 feet of snowmaking air/water pipeline, 120 low-energy tower snowguns, 400 low-e snowguns, and 60 semi-automatic water-and-air hydrants.
Phase one of the K-1 Base Lodge replacement is underway, with completion scheduled for the 2020-21.
The game changers at Pico include a $2.1 million snowmaking overhaul and expansion thanks to a new water source and debut of a free season pass for kids 12 and under with an adult pass purchase.
Okemo Mountain Resort snowmaking upgrades include 5,000 feet of new pipe, completing a five-year project to replace main feeds to Okemo’s snowmaking system across the entire mountain. “This project enhances our water-pumping capacity due to the increased size of the pipe, and it ensures that we can get water to the places where we want it when we want it,” noted Communications Manager Bonnie MacPherson.
Okemo’s Summit Lodge was renovated to feature a more open floor plan, with detailing that pays homage to the iconic Vermont barn with wooden beams, exposed stone and sliding barn doors. The lower level features a new bar area with fireside sofas and high-top tables and chairs.
The mid-mountain Sugar House Lodge was also updated, and its lower level features a kid-friendly focus and menu plus walk-up counter service.
A building renovation has created a new Employee Center with gathering space for employees, meeting rooms and relocation of the human resources and uniform departments.
Okemo, a Vail Resorts-owned area, also introduces EpicMix, a free app that allows guests to check snow conditions and lift-wait times, view web cams and trail maps, track their verticals, and earn digital pins, MacPherson said.
New passes include the Northeast College Pass (unrestricted access to Okemo and Mount Sunapee, plus unlimited access with holiday restrictions to Stowe) and Epic Day Pass (one-to-seven-day discounted ticket purchase valid all winter).
Magic Mountain has $2 million in lift and snowmaking upgrades. Magic President Geoff Hatheway said the installation of a fixed-grip quad chair to the summit is should be completed by Christmas. Magic also made snowmaking upgrades to expand snowmaking to over 50% of its trails on both sides of the mountain. Pitch Black, a new double-diamond trail and a new East Side Glade were added. Magic also joined the new Indy Pass, which gives two days at each of 44 resorts for $199.
Stratton Mountain Resort added 12,500 feet of new snowmaking pipe featuring the latest hydrant technology for its learning zone. A one-acre parallel teaching area was crafted to eliminate the fear factor as beginners learn basic skills before heading up the 550-foot covered carpet. Stratton also added a Burton Riglet Park for kids learning to snowboard.
Vail Resorts purchased Mount Snow as part of its acquisition of Peak Resorts’ 17 areas. That means the area is now Epic with various pass options, including the new Epic Day Pass.
Snowmaking
improvements bring the area to 83% snowmaking coverage with 7.2 acres
of snowmaking added to the Sunbrook side and an additional 9.8 acres
added to Fool’s Gold at Carinthia. Fools Gold becomes a park with small
features this year.
Bromley Mountain continued trail widenings so as to regain original trail widths, invested in more park features for a variety of rider abilities, and updated its rental fleet.
Suicide Six invested $250,000 in snowmaking pumps, automation and instrumentation that provide faster responses to changes in weather and conditions. Six also joined the new Indy Pass.
At Sugarbush Resort the Lincoln Peak Courtyard has been rebuilt with cobblestones, new fire pits, gardens and bar tops; and Mt. Ellen has two new EV charging stations. Additionally, snowmaking was added to Sleeper Road, and there are an assortment of infrastructure upgrades around lodges and lifts.
Bolton Valley replaced its night-skiing lights with 150 high-efficiency LED lights and repositioned and added lights to locations that needed better lighting, including the slalom racecourse. Bolton also made base lodge renovations, re-surfaced and added new features to its indoor skate and bike park, and joined the Indy Pass.
Mad River Glen replaced nearly all of its snowmaking pipe and electrical systems and completed drainage and culvert work.
Smugglers’ Notch has a new lesson option that focuses on imparting knowledge of equipment, reading terrain, and seeking the best conditions along with ski/snowboard skills. Stowe Mountain added a Maple Waffle CafĂ© inside the Gondola summit shelter and has a new Whistle Pig Pavilion adjacent to the outdoor skating rink at Spruce Peak.
Jay Peak with its multiple hotels, 5,000 acres of ski-and-ride terrain, and amenities of movie theater, indoor water park, ice arena, climbing center and synthetic-turf athletic fields is for sale.
While efficiency is important, there is an additional focus on environmental sustainability. By aiming to be more environmentally responsible, systems now provide more coverage faster, using fewer resources at less cost. Additionally, automation is being added to more systems, and more control by computers contributes to efficiency and sustainability, White added.
The cyclical consolidation trend continues with Vail Resorts having purchased Mount Snow, and the trend of expanding season passes heats up with new offerings at Bolton, Magic, Mount Snow, Okemo, Pico, Snow Bowl, Stowe and Suicide Six. Cochran’s lowered its lift ticket prices thanks to its financial flexibility of being a nonprofit.
Southern Vermont
Killington Mountain Resort and sister area Pico Mountain lead the pack with major lift, snowmaking and Ramshead changes.At Killington a forth tunnel, new quad lift, and two new bubble surface lifts continue the transition to a more beginner/intermediate-oriented and family-friendly area. The addition of Woodward progression elements at Ramshead change the game for youth learning to ski or snowboard, noted President and GM Mike Solimano.
The replacement of the North Ridge Triple with a Leitner-Poma fixed-grip quad with 2,400 rides per hour capacity affirms Killington’s commitment to the longest season in the East by facilitating fall and spring skiing at this high-elevation area on Killington’s northern flank, Solimano noted.
Two new covered SunKid conveyor lifts at Ramshead combined with the extension and reconstruction of its learning slope and addition of Woodward snow features will facilitate learning by incorporating a progression that will do away with the need to bus kids to Snowshed to progress to the next level.
Killington’s snowmaking upgrades include the replacement of 12,000 feet of snowmaking air/water pipeline, 120 low-energy tower snowguns, 400 low-e snowguns, and 60 semi-automatic water-and-air hydrants.
Phase one of the K-1 Base Lodge replacement is underway, with completion scheduled for the 2020-21.
The game changers at Pico include a $2.1 million snowmaking overhaul and expansion thanks to a new water source and debut of a free season pass for kids 12 and under with an adult pass purchase.
Okemo Mountain Resort snowmaking upgrades include 5,000 feet of new pipe, completing a five-year project to replace main feeds to Okemo’s snowmaking system across the entire mountain. “This project enhances our water-pumping capacity due to the increased size of the pipe, and it ensures that we can get water to the places where we want it when we want it,” noted Communications Manager Bonnie MacPherson.
Okemo’s Summit Lodge was renovated to feature a more open floor plan, with detailing that pays homage to the iconic Vermont barn with wooden beams, exposed stone and sliding barn doors. The lower level features a new bar area with fireside sofas and high-top tables and chairs.
The mid-mountain Sugar House Lodge was also updated, and its lower level features a kid-friendly focus and menu plus walk-up counter service.
A building renovation has created a new Employee Center with gathering space for employees, meeting rooms and relocation of the human resources and uniform departments.
Okemo, a Vail Resorts-owned area, also introduces EpicMix, a free app that allows guests to check snow conditions and lift-wait times, view web cams and trail maps, track their verticals, and earn digital pins, MacPherson said.
New passes include the Northeast College Pass (unrestricted access to Okemo and Mount Sunapee, plus unlimited access with holiday restrictions to Stowe) and Epic Day Pass (one-to-seven-day discounted ticket purchase valid all winter).
Magic Mountain has $2 million in lift and snowmaking upgrades. Magic President Geoff Hatheway said the installation of a fixed-grip quad chair to the summit is should be completed by Christmas. Magic also made snowmaking upgrades to expand snowmaking to over 50% of its trails on both sides of the mountain. Pitch Black, a new double-diamond trail and a new East Side Glade were added. Magic also joined the new Indy Pass, which gives two days at each of 44 resorts for $199.
Stratton Mountain Resort added 12,500 feet of new snowmaking pipe featuring the latest hydrant technology for its learning zone. A one-acre parallel teaching area was crafted to eliminate the fear factor as beginners learn basic skills before heading up the 550-foot covered carpet. Stratton also added a Burton Riglet Park for kids learning to snowboard.
Vail Resorts purchased Mount Snow as part of its acquisition of Peak Resorts’ 17 areas. That means the area is now Epic with various pass options, including the new Epic Day Pass.
Bromley Mountain continued trail widenings so as to regain original trail widths, invested in more park features for a variety of rider abilities, and updated its rental fleet.
Suicide Six invested $250,000 in snowmaking pumps, automation and instrumentation that provide faster responses to changes in weather and conditions. Six also joined the new Indy Pass.
Northern Vermont
Middlebury Snow Bowl has a new Prinoth Groomer, snowmaking pipe upgrades, lift and trail upgrade, and new transaction windows and point-of-sale-system at the ticket counter. The new Shared Parent Pass — for families with kids who aren’t skiing yet — allows both parents to ski on the same pass.At Sugarbush Resort the Lincoln Peak Courtyard has been rebuilt with cobblestones, new fire pits, gardens and bar tops; and Mt. Ellen has two new EV charging stations. Additionally, snowmaking was added to Sleeper Road, and there are an assortment of infrastructure upgrades around lodges and lifts.
Bolton Valley replaced its night-skiing lights with 150 high-efficiency LED lights and repositioned and added lights to locations that needed better lighting, including the slalom racecourse. Bolton also made base lodge renovations, re-surfaced and added new features to its indoor skate and bike park, and joined the Indy Pass.
Mad River Glen replaced nearly all of its snowmaking pipe and electrical systems and completed drainage and culvert work.
Smugglers’ Notch has a new lesson option that focuses on imparting knowledge of equipment, reading terrain, and seeking the best conditions along with ski/snowboard skills. Stowe Mountain added a Maple Waffle CafĂ© inside the Gondola summit shelter and has a new Whistle Pig Pavilion adjacent to the outdoor skating rink at Spruce Peak.
Jay Peak with its multiple hotels, 5,000 acres of ski-and-ride terrain, and amenities of movie theater, indoor water park, ice arena, climbing center and synthetic-turf athletic fields is for sale.
Local clubs receive World Cup grants
Rutland Herald
Saturday, October 5, 2019
KILLINGTON — Two local ski programs
have been chosen to receive funding from World Cup ticket sales
generated at last year’s event.
Killington Ski Club and the Pico Ski Education Foundation received grants from the Killington World Cup Foundation, a nonprofit formed when the women’s FIS Ski World Cup was first hosted at Killington Ski Resort in 2016. In 2018, sales of VIP and Premier Grandstand tickets went to the foundation, said Courtney Harkins, of Elevate Communications, a firm working for the Pico foundation.
The resort has announced that the World Cup will return to Killington this year at the end of November and has committed to coming back in 2020. There’s also an option for it to come back in 2021. In 2018, it drew nearly 40,000 people to the area.
Peggy
Shinn, a member of the Pico Ski Education Foundation board of
directors, said Thursday her organization, which benefits the Pico Ski
Club Alpine Racing Program, received $15,000 from the Killington World
Cup Foundation this year. It received $25,000 last year.
The ski resorts at Killington Mountain and Pico Mountain are both owned by POWDR.
Shinn said the grant funds will go toward trail improvements on “Little Pico,” mainly widening them so they can accommodate more skiers and hold snow better.
The Pico club, she said, works to teach young people how to ski, getting and keeping them interested in outdoor winter sports.
Mike Castellini, president of the Killington Ski Club, said all of the Killington World Cup Foundation grants are matching grants. His club was awarded $35,000 last year and $20,000 this year. It will use the money to improve timekeeping and build some kind of warming shelter. Castellini said the initial conception for the shelter was a yurt, but the resort wanted a more permanent structure.
Harkins
said this year the Killington World Cup Foundation awarded $252,000 in
grants to 22 groups similar to the Killington and Pico clubs all across
the Northeast.
“When making the decision to host the World Cup, one of the objectives was to give back to the athletic community in the area,” said Herwig Demshar, senior vice president of international business development at POWDR, in a printed statement. “This partnership has proven an effective way to give directly to supporting young, aspiring skiers and snowboarders who are the future competitors and supporters of the sport.”
keith.whitcomb @rutlandherald.com
Killington Ski Club and the Pico Ski Education Foundation received grants from the Killington World Cup Foundation, a nonprofit formed when the women’s FIS Ski World Cup was first hosted at Killington Ski Resort in 2016. In 2018, sales of VIP and Premier Grandstand tickets went to the foundation, said Courtney Harkins, of Elevate Communications, a firm working for the Pico foundation.
The resort has announced that the World Cup will return to Killington this year at the end of November and has committed to coming back in 2020. There’s also an option for it to come back in 2021. In 2018, it drew nearly 40,000 people to the area.
The ski resorts at Killington Mountain and Pico Mountain are both owned by POWDR.
Shinn said the grant funds will go toward trail improvements on “Little Pico,” mainly widening them so they can accommodate more skiers and hold snow better.
The Pico club, she said, works to teach young people how to ski, getting and keeping them interested in outdoor winter sports.
Mike Castellini, president of the Killington Ski Club, said all of the Killington World Cup Foundation grants are matching grants. His club was awarded $35,000 last year and $20,000 this year. It will use the money to improve timekeeping and build some kind of warming shelter. Castellini said the initial conception for the shelter was a yurt, but the resort wanted a more permanent structure.
“When making the decision to host the World Cup, one of the objectives was to give back to the athletic community in the area,” said Herwig Demshar, senior vice president of international business development at POWDR, in a printed statement. “This partnership has proven an effective way to give directly to supporting young, aspiring skiers and snowboarders who are the future competitors and supporters of the sport.”
keith.whitcomb @rutlandherald.com
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