Snowhaven Project Committee Minutes
April 13, 2023 – 7:00 P.M.
Council Chambers
Members Present: Wes Lester, Tonya Kennedy, Gabe Forsmann, Scott Wasem and Tara Connolley
Gabe Forsman presented the idea of putting in a chair lift instead of lodge expansion. He looked at prices to a similar size hill on the east coast, Sugar Bush in Vermont. A quad chair was installed in 2018, which was about 400’ longer than our hill and it was $1.3 million. If Snowhaven gets a chair lift, the hill has potential to make money. With the chair lift, he felt more people will come which would generate additional funds which could then pay to expand the lodge.
Scott Wasem stated on the T-bar, they are running out of parts and they have to be manufactured as the parts aren’t being made any longer. The lodge doesn’t generate money, the chair lift does. How long do we have to use the funds?
Tonya Kennedy stated funds have to be obligated by 2024 and spent by 2026. Kennedy didn’t feel that the chair lift would bring in so many people that it would generate enough revenue for a new lodge in the future. She did however agree that the aging T-bar is a maintenance issue that needs to be addressed. Is a new T-bar an option?
Gabe and Scott stated Little ski hill in McCall recently put in a new T-bar. Some people can’t master the T-bar so they have to leave. A chair lift would add more maintenance but it would be easier for employees to operate. It is hard to get quotes for T-bar or chair lift as there are a lot of new lifts going in, so they are looking at trying to acquire a used left.
Scott stated he’s like to see the city or Snowhaven acquire more land at base of the tubing hill. There is currently property for sale. Other ideas are a new location for the shop so the groomer could be stored inside the building. A new groomer is also needed. The hour meter currently says 13,000 hours, however it’s broke because that’s the same hours as when it was purchased.
Gabe stated credit card sales show Lewiston and Moscow as the primary zip code with Grangeville zip last. Wes stated he understands people who use the ski hill aren’t from around here, so a chair lift may make a difference for those from Lewiston/Moscow area.
Tonya questioned how old would we consider for a used chair lift? She was concerned about getting one too old or one that has maintenance issues. Scott stated there are pros and cons to a chair lift. The cable has to be x-rayed each year and they don’t have a price on that right now. Ski patrol has to be educated on aerial rescues and it may require a full-time employee to do maintenance as a chair lift would be more critical than T-bar for annual maintenance. Tara Connolley felt better numbers were needed for a chair or T-bar and we could possibly look at a double vs triple seat? Tonya would also like better annual maintenance numbers that are required.
Tara stated once we know maintenance numbers, we could determine how many more tickets would need to be sold to cover a full-time position if it’s necessary. She felt a chair lift could make a difference for the people that utilize the hill. Another option is to get rid of the kitchen and have a coffee shop as the margins are higher.
Gabe suggested possible having a public meeting to get input from the public on a chair lift. It was suggested to look at the POS and see who uses the hill and the number of tickets purchased. There are surveys that could be done. There was discussion on receiving donations to help fund the project; however Wes felt there wouldn’t be a lot of large donations from Grangeville.
The committee will meet again on April 27th after Gabe gets additional numbers.
