Tuesday’s $2.2 million lease/sale of the Tawatinaw Valley Ski Hill by Westlock County to DK Consulting has sparked an ongoing debate in our newsroom, which we’re sure is playing out in coffee shops around Westlock today.
Debate … hell, the sale was the final straw for Coun. Jim Wiese who tendered his resignation following the Dec. 8 4-2 vote that includes the hill and the yet-to-be opened $1.8 million (or is it $3.2 million?) chalet. Oh, and then there is Coun. Don Savage who’s abstained from the last two lease/sale ski hill votes citing a conflict of interest.
And then there’s the $18,000 yearly rent that’ll be paid by DK to the county until 2018. For that price local realtors tell us we could get a decent three-bedroom house, not to mention a ski hill. And let’s not forget the fact the that over the next 36 months the county will be liable for 100 per cent of the costs at the new chalet and 50 per cent of any major works required at Tawatinaw. But we digress.
So dear county taxpayer, are you for, or against? Are you happy the reported money-losing millstone is off the books … well, at least not during the initial three-year lease portion of the deal.
And then of course there’s the question of how much the hill actually lost. Is it $1.6M over nine years, as is being quoted by the reeve and administration, or is it $360,000 as reported by Wiese?
Did the county get fleeced in the deal? Administration and the reeve say ratepayers got fair market value at $2.2M, while Wiese says the site, which includes the chalet, t-bar and the hill itself, is worth closer to $4.8 million.
There’s enough grist in the above paragraphs for an editorial twice as long, so let’s get back to the question at hand.
Is the sale good for not only the ratepapers of Westlock County, but for the long-term viability of the Tawatinaw Valley Ski Hill? Yes and no.
DK owner Dom Kriangkum has already invested heavily in the community of Tawatinaw via his gymnastics centre and we have no doubt he’ll improve what’s currently being offered at the hill. So, if you’re a skier or snowboarder, the news is good.
But we just can’t get over the fact that a public-owned recreation asset has been basically given away. Municipalities are custodians of public assets and regardless of what Westlock County councillors think, Tawatinaw is an asset.
We don’t sell hospitals, schools, arenas or seniors’ lodges for pennies on the dollar because they don’t make money. Why is a ski hill any different?
