Letter sent to Lifetime Pass Holders of Killington

Letter sent to Lifetime Pass Holders of Killington

Several days ago, Tuesday to be exact, I made a small reference to a letter sent by Allen Wilson, the president of Killington when the resort was owned by the American Skiing Company, to people who were entitled, because of past investments in the ski resort, to lifetime seasons passes to Killington. I have been very hesitant to comment on this issue, as I have been waiting to see what statements would be forthcoming from the new owners of the resort. I also do not have a personal stake in the details of the story, as neither Mary or I held any of the investment instruments which came with a Lifetime Pass to Killington. If you parse my comments, however, while I do not have a stake in claiming a lifetime pass, I do have a stake in the future of Killington, as an investor in the community through our business, as a citizen of Killington with responsibility to vote on Zoning and Town Plan issues presented at Town Meeting, and as a property owner with Act 250 status as an abutter of property owned by the resort.

I have a number of serious concerns about what has transpired in the last several days. If public statements are to be taken at face value, it will be up to the lawyers to sort out the sordid details...one of the unfortunate hallmarks of living in the United States of America in the early 21st century...so it goes. For my friends with lifetime passes, who have been very loyal to Killington.... they will be fine. All I can really hope for is that they don't get screwed by the process.

That being said, my concerns are much broader based.

For the last 10 years, Killington has been a wonderful town to live in, but it has been a difficult town to do business in. I will not rant, as I choose to live and invest in the community, but suffice to say with the changing tax climate in the state of Vermont, and the poor financial health of the the Killington Resort's prior owner, the American Skiing Company, that life has thrown small businesses in the Killington region a number of challenges. Because of, or perhaps in spite of, these challenges, when it was announced earlier this year that the American Skiing Company was going to sell the Killington Resort the sense of relief boarding on jubilation was palpable in the community.

And here we are, less than 1 week after the sale of the Killington Resort transpired, and instead of the new owners of the resort getting kudos with a flood of well wishes from the public, we see the resort mired in controversy. One of the tragedies of the American Ski Company was that they were horribly ineffective in communicating the great things about Killington. I am left with this horrible "oops they did it again" feeling...so it goes.

In less than 1 week, what I am sure looked like a legally proper letter to very loyal Killington supporters, has turned into a flame war on the internet, headline news in local news papers, feature stories on Vermont television stations, comments by state legislators and local politicians, and what looks like a referral to the Vermont Attorney General's office. This noon time, WBZ TV in Boston, 200 miles away from Killington, had picked up the story via the AP Newswire with newscasters joking about it. Is any publicity really good publicity??? Ugh..

Sometimes you can be right... but be very wrong at the same time.

A couple of days ago, I had the opportunity to spend a couple of hours with Steve Selbo, president of SP Land, who will be responsible for the real estate development at the Killington Resort. I have known Steve for 3 years. This was our first chance to speak since the sale of the resort. Steve was really excited about the future prospects for the Killington Resort. I have not yet had the opportunity to meet Chris Nyberg, the new President of the Killington Resort appointed by Powdr Corporation. But I am also very sure that Chris is equally excited about the work ahead to reposition Killington to it's rightful place of prominence in the world of destination resorts.

Knowing that top flight people are now in charge of the resort, knowing that the skiing community in the Northeast is excited about the demise of ASC and the sale of Killington, knowing that residents and business owners in Killington are excited about contemplated changes to the resort...knowing all this and the first major news story from Killington since the sale is a negative one hitting some of the most loyal of Killington's supporters. You have got to be kidding!

Sometimes you can be right... but be very wrong at the same time.

I hated writing this blog entry today. I love being upbeat and positive about Killington. But sometimes you have to talk about the bad before it can turn to good....so it goes.

Background information on this blog posting can be found by clicking on the following links:
1. Letter from Allen Wilson
2. ASC/SP Land Purchase and Sale Agreement on SEC website (note the relevant sections appears to be 8.23 on page 54
3. Ongoing chat room discussion on Killingtonzone.com
4. Rutland Herald story on the issue
5. WCAX TV story on the issue
6. WBZ TV Boston story on the issue.