Chairman of Gunstock Area Commission resigns

GILFORD — Stephan Nix has resigned as chairman of the Gunstock Area Commission, citing the time demands of the position.

The resignation comes at a busy time for the commission that manages Gunstock Mountain Resort, including legislative efforts, the hiring of Tom Day as the new general manager, the earlier-than-anticipated retirement of longtime GM Greg Goddard and the firing of marketing director Mike Roth.

Nix did not return a call for comment, but on Tuesday, fellow commissioner Brian Gallagher read from Nix’s resignation letter. Nix has a law practice.

“The time commitment necessary to effectively carry out this position is beyond my private practice and family support,” the letter said.

“Gunstock is in good shape at this time with the new leadership in place. The proposed amendments to the enabling statute are moving positively through the legislature. This winter is shaping up to be successful, the commission is now shifting its focus to long-term planning to ensure continued success for Gunstock.”

Gallagher praised Nix’s performance on the five-person commission.

He said a new chairman will be selected at its next meeting, which is on Feb. 24.

On Jan. 28, a bill to have the state pay to pave the main parking lot at Gunstock Mountain Resort received a negative recommendation from a legislative panel.

Another bill pending in the legislature would amend Gunstock’s enabling statute, broadening the panel’s residency requirements for commissioners, imposing commissioner term limits and providing 1.75 percent of the resort's yearly gross income to Belknap County, which owns the resort.

After the commission fired Roth, his then-attorney Jennifer J. Brook said the dismissal was unexpected and a shock. She sent a letter to the commission and the Belknap County Legislative Delegation demanding correspondence, documents and commission minutes regarding his dismissal.

His present attorney, Heather Burns, said Tuesday there has been no settlement involving Roth and no litigation has been filed.

Gallagher said he could not discuss personnel issues.

He also said he couldn’t discuss the early departure of Goddard, who had served as general manager for 21 years. Goddard had planned to retire in August. Instead, he left on Jan. 21 and declined to say why his plans changed.

State Rep. Mike Sylvia, chairman of the delegation, said a selection process for a replacement for Nix will be discussed when the local legislators meet in May.

The Gunstock Area Commission last met in public on Jan. 29. Before that, it’s last public session was in November, but it held subsequent non-public sessions to discuss personnel matters.

The commission’s bylaws, revised as of June 27, 2018, call for minutes of commission meetings to be posted on the Gunstock Commissioners website, but there’s no evidence that has ever been done.

After an emailed request, Nix provided a year’s worth of minutes as well as some unsealed minutes from non-public sessions. He said he was unable to find minutes from the Nov. 20, 2019, non-public session.

In a Jan. 21 email, he said it was his understanding that commission meeting minutes would soon be posted online.