BARRHEAD - The Misty Ridge Ski Hill Society says it needs financial help from the County of Barrhead if the facility is going to open during the seasons when Mother Nature doesn't cooperate.
That is what society president Matthew Swan and vice-president Gary DeJong told councillors during their Feb. 20 council meeting.
Later in the meeting, councillors and administration suggested that the society draft a business plan with a specific monetary ask for the municipality that council could consider.
Over the last few seasons, the society has had to make the difficult decision to delay the ski hill's opening, cut the season short, or, in the case of this winter, not open at all due to the poor snow conditions and their inability to make enough snow.
The County of Barrhead purchased the original 10 acres from Walter and Helen Neuman and leased the slopes to Jack and Jeanne Bozak.
The Bozaks made an agreement with the county to take over the lease during the winter months, with it reverting to grazing lands in the summer. In 2022, the hill celebrated its 50th anniversary.
Swan noted as a board that they discussed possible options to keep Misty Ridge open when natural snow is less than needed and concluded that they required municipal help.
More specifically, municipal funding.
"[Tawatinaw Valley] and Whitecourt [Eastlink Park] are open, and the difference is their ability to make snow, and although we can make snow, we don't have the money to do it," he said.
Swan added that the reason those ski hills can make snow isn't because they are necessarily more efficient than Misty Ridge but because they receive municipal funding.
He added that Westlock County gives Tawatinaw Valley $175,000 annually for operations.
"[Money] not for capital equipment or repairs. This year, snowmaking cost them about $75,000 for labour and fuel," Swan said, adding that Tawatinaw Valley made a large stockpile of snow in November and December. "Snow, they can now move around to replenish the hill surfaces."
And although he did not have a breakdown of how much Eastlink Park spent on snowmaking, he said the Town of Whitecourt provides the hill with $85,000 annually.
Woodlands County also provides the ski hill $25,000 annually as part of a five-year sponsorship deal for naming the park's terrain feature.
Although the county has not given the ski hill annual operating funding, it is worth noting that in 2019, it approved a $50,000 contribution to go towards the purchase of a new ski lift for the bunny hill and in 2017, the municipality covered a shortfall of nearly $10,000 to pay the remaining wages of a ski hill employee as well as a portion of its insurance for the previous season.
Swan said in addition to the challenges of the weather, the society is facing two costly repairs, one to the T-bar lift, projected to cost upwards of $30,000, and the other is track replacement to the hills grooming machine at an estimated $40,000.
However, he said they are hopeful that they can offset a large portion of those costs through grants, but added some of the grants require them to contribute a significant amount towards a project.
Most notably, Swan said they have applied for a Community Facility Enhancement Program (CFEP) grant from the provincial government, which requires them to provide half of a project's funding.
He added that the society does its own fundraising but said this year, its efforts had taken a hit as it would not be able to hold its annual night skiing fundraiser.
Coun. Bill Lane, council's representative on the Misty Ridge board, stated later in the meeting that the society would also lose out on this season's sign advertising sign revenue, which Swan noted usually raises about $10,000 for the society sets aside for snowmaking, which is a large portion of their snowmaking budget.
Swan said they have budgeted about $12,000 for snowmaking in recent years.
"That, combined with natural snow, is usually just enough to get us going," Swan said.
However, this year, DeJong added they did not attempt to make snow, as they knew it would be a wasted effort, saying to get a proper base, they need about 12 inches of snow to pack down.
"If we are going to make snow, we want to make sure every snowflake counts," he said.
Coun. Walter Preugschas asked if the society had any attendance numbers for a typical and how many days the ski hill would be open for the season.
Swan did not have exact figures, saying that in a good year, the hill opens before Christmas, in conjunction with the school's holiday break, adding that is when the hill makes most of its revenue, closing shortly after spring break.
As for the number of skiers, he said the numbers can vary greatly depending on weather and snow conditions on a given day, but the range is from about 50 to 60 to upwards of 150.
"But that is just two days a week," Preugschas said.
Swan said that was true but said they also open during professional days and that this season, they also had six school tours booked during school days.
Lane noted that much of the work, up to 90 per cent, is done by volunteers.
De Jong and Swan agreed that much of the work is done by volunteers, especially in the off-season; a lot of the work is still done by paid staff, including ski and snowboard instructors.
The latter, they said, is getting more difficult to find as the multiple poor seasons have forced the instructors to find other employment.
Swan added to reverse that trend, the ski hill needs certainty that comes with stable, predictable funding.
"It is an unfortunate fact. Recreation costs money," he said. "We would love to be able to plan and be open every year instead of having to wait and see, but without stable funding, it is impossible to do that."
Reeve Doug Drozd asked "what stable funding would look like" for the hill.
Swan replied that $30,000, most of if not all, would go towards snowmaking, should be sufficient.
"Then, for all the other expenses, such as repairs, we could continue with our fundraising efforts and continue on with what we have been doing," he said.
Deputy reeve Marvin Schatz asked if the society received the amount Swan requested if the ski hill would have been able to open.
"If we knew we had that funding, we, for sure, could have [made enough snow] to at least open the main run and the bunny hill," Swan said.
Schatz then asked how much revenue the society expected to bring in this season had they been able to open in early December and remain open until the end of spring break.
Swan did not want to speculate.
Preugschas asked if the society thought about raising their prices to increase revenue, noting last season, a ski pass and equipment rental cost him $40 for the full day, which is less than Tawatinaw Valley.
Based on the previous season, a full-day ski pass and equipment rental at Misty Ridge cost $49.50 compared to $64 at Tawatinaw Valley and $39 at Whitecourt's Eastlink Park.
Swan said had the hill been opened, the rates would have likely been increased.
