Gunstock decisions loom Monday

GILFORD — Monday’s Gunstock doubleheader will be shining the spotlight on widely differing views for the operation of the county-owned, four-season recreation area.

A hearing before a legislative committee in Concord, followed by another in Laconia before the Belknap County Delegation, will deal with different aspects of Gunstock Area Commission, which oversees the operation of the recreation facility.

The House Municipal and County Government Committee is due to take up a bill that would take control over Gunstock’s budget from the five-member commission and give that authority to the delegation which authorizes the budget for other county departments. That hearing is scheduled to get underway at 1 p.m. Monday in Rooms 301-303 in the Legislative Office Building.

Six hours later the delegation is due to convene for the purpose of selecting a replacement for Gunstock Commissioner Brian Gallagher who resigned earlier this month.

The Gunstock bill — House Bill 1078 — would repeal a critical element of a 1959 law which established Gunstock as a government-run enterprise with the five-member commission acting much like a board of directors. Under that legislation the commission sets and oversees Gunstock’s operating budget independent of any other government entity. However, if Gunstock wishes to borrow money it must obtain permission from the County Delegation.

State Rep. Norm Silber, the bill’s prime sponsor, believes Gunstock should be as accountable to the county’s taxpayers in the same way as are other county operations, such as the Nursing Home or Corrections Department.

Noting that although the delegation has no expertise in operating any county function, Silber stressed, “We are the elected watchdogs for the people and so we have an obligation to look after the people’s money. Why is it,” he continued, Gunstock “should be able, with public money, be able to completely avoid any budget process and budgeting oversight?”

Silber has also said the public would be better served if Gunstock were leased to a private party.

Opponents of the bill say the reason the Gunstock Commission was created more than 60 years ago was to remove the facility from political interference with the idea that it could then be run more like a business where the decisions are made by those directly involved in the operation.

In an open letter to the House committee, 16 former Gunstock commissioners urge the bill be rejected because wresting control of the area’s finances from the commission would jeopardize the “continued successful operation of the resort.”

The former commissioners say those charged with running Gunstock need to be able to deal with unexpected events such as equipment breakdowns or storm damage which, if not fixed as rapidly as possible, can result in loss of revenue that is critical to the area’s profitability.

“The municipal budget process simply does not fit an operation like Gunstock, and a business cannot be run at the whim of elected politicians,” they argued. “It will be nearly impossible for present and future commissioners to do their jobs without having control of Gunstock’s finances.”

Bob Arnold, a grandson of Fritzie Baer, who ran Gunstock during the 1950s, said his grandfather had to go “crawling to the delegation to get any money” to deal with unforeseen situations.

“I think we’re getting politics back into the operation of the resort. It’s like deja vu all over again,” he said, referring to the way Gunstock operated before the commission was created.

Gunstock Commission Chair Gary Kiedaisch said he and fellow Commissioner Rusty McLear, Gunstock President/CEO Tom Day, and CFO Cather White plan to be at Monday’s hearing to testify against the bill. County Commission Chair Peter Spanos also said he plans to testify against the bill, either personally or virtually.

The hearing will be live streamed at www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JwG_FSdtkI

Three people — Heidi Preuss, Doug Lambert, and Dr. David Strang — have applied for the opening on the Gunstock Commission.

The delegation will meet to act on the application Monday, starting at 7 p.m. at the County Complex.

Members of the public will have an opportunity to comment at the beginning of the meeting, County Delegation Chair Mike Syliva said in a letter emailed to The Daily Sun Friday.

Sylvia also indicated that the plan is, at that meeting, to name the new commissioner who will serve until November which is when the term of Brian Gallagher, who resigned earlier this month, is due to expire.

The advertisement seeking applications from those interested in serving on the commission incorrectly stated that the term would be for five years. Sylvia, in his letter, took responsibility for the error, but that the mistake was insignificant.

Sylvia rejected criticism that the process of naming Gallagher’s replacement is being rushed.

“The request for applicants has been advertised in the newspaper for a couple of weeks. At this point we have applications from three very well qualified candidates. All delegation members have received those applications and they will have four days to review them, and if they wish contact the candidates,” he said.

It is necessary to fill the vacancy as soon as possible, he added, because the current commission is deadlocked.

“Delaying to fill the void would be irresponsible,” Sylvia said.

State Sen. Bob Guida, whose district includes five Belknap County towns, and who is planning to attend Monday night’s meeting, said that since Gunstock is intended to be run as an enterprise fund, with the commission acting like a board of directors, the decision should be more deliberate.

“With 18 members of the delegation and three candidates to consider, I would ask what’s the rush,” he said.

"It would be negligent, if not in fact reckless, to appoint commissioners without a careful search process that seeks and selects the most qualified applicants based on the needs of the commission and the enterprise," Guida said.