State senator looks to host Gunstock forum

LACONIA — Concerned that the views of many Belknap County residents about how Gunstock's operation are being given little or no consideration by the County Delegation, a state senator says he is planning to host an open forum to give members of the public as well as officials a chance to express their views.

State Sen. Bob Guida said Friday he is hoping to have the open meeting soon, possibly on Feb. 6, but that he was still working on the details.

Guida said he is concerned by the increasing confrontation between some members of the delegation and the Gunstock Area Commission which oversees the operation of the ski area.

Concern over Gunstock’s future has been heightened over consideration — since dropped — of the possible removal of three Gunstock commissioners, the resignation of one of the commissioners who cited the increasing controversy in his decision, and a bill to wrest control of Gunstock’s budget from the commission and give to the delegation.

Guida whose district includes five communities in Belknap County — Meredith, Tilton, Sanbornton, New Hampton, and Center Harbor — said he has received several hundred emails and phone calls from constituents as well as residents not in his district, and that all of them have been critical of the increasingly contentious relationship between the two bodies.

“Ofttimes how you do something can be as important as what you do,” Guida said of the public’s frustration that the delegation is seen as not taking the public’s views into account as it deals with Gunstock issues.

State Rep. Mike Sylvia, who heads the county delegation, has said allegations that delegation members are inattentive to concerns from the public are unfounded.

In an open letter to the delegation and Gunstock commissioners, Guida urged “a venue allowing our citizens to express their thoughts in a public forum dedicated expressly to the future of Gunstock.”

In an interview on Friday, Guida said he hoped the forum would include participation by members of the delegation, the Gunstock Commission, as well as the public.

In the open letter Guida says he is concerned in particular about the way that members of the Gunstock Commission are being selected and “based on the number and nature of the emails I’m receiving, there is clearly a serious question as to whether the public supports the delegation’s current course of action.”

Guida said he has received more emails and phone calls about Gunstock than about any other single issue in his three terms in the state Senate.

He said he hopes that members appreciate how the people of Belknap County look at Gunstock.

“It’s more than a hill,” he said. “It’s a culture.”