The guts of Gunstock: how the uniquely organized ski area works

Gunstock Mountain Resort is unique among ski resorts when it comes to its organizational structure. It may not be privately owned, but it is run similarly to a business. And, though the resort and land it stands on is owned by Belknap County, it is overseen by a separate committee known as the Gunstock Area Committee, or GAC.

Over the last few years, and especially the last several months, the GAC has been the subject of controversy and political drama. In the midst of the conflict and accusations, it's easy to forget what Gunstock is, where it came from and how it is intended to operate. Think of this article as a quick historical review and basic primer for how the recreation area is managed.

The operation that became known as Gunstock traces its roots back to the Great Depression. New Hampshire, and the Lakes Region, was not spared from the economic fallout of the 1927 stock market crash. Gilford, at the time, was covered in farms that had cleared nearly all of the land, including the slopes of the Belknap Mountain Range.

As the Depression worsened and farms became abandoned, some locals took to skiing on the cleared slopes, followed by vacationers looking to expand their winter activities. Interest in skiing increased, pulling enthusiasts in via train from Boston and Cape Cod. As the popularity of the area grew, various ski groups spent years developing the area, creating routes and ski jumps.

In 1935, president Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Works Progress Administration approved of further funding the ski area, bolstering the fledgling Belknap Mountains Recreation Area with lots of expansion – giving idle workers in the Lakes Region a needed paycheck.

In its earlier years, the mountain was owned and operated by Belknap County. However, the county soon learned that managing the ski area didn't exactly align with their bureaucratic processes. For example, if a piece of equipment on the mountain broke, it needed to be repaired immediately in order to keep the ski hill running. Funds to make that repair, though, would have to wait for the next meeting of the delegation, with the ski operation hamstrung in the meantime.

In 1959, the Gunstock Enabling Statute was passed, creating the Gunstock Area Commission, a sort of board of directors meant to oversee the workings of the ski resort. The commission is made up of five individuals appointed by the County Delegation.

Each of the five members of the commission must be resident property owners, and no more than two members can be from the same municipality. Two of the five members must either have significant experience as a skier, and another must be experienced in finance, banking or accounting. There are no additional special requirements for the other three members to be on the GAC.

Each member's term lasts five years, and each member can be removed from office by the county delegation after a public hearing.

The GAC is required to have ten meetings each year, and all members “shall make every effort to attend each scheduled meeting,” according to the enabling statute.

The members only have authority when the commission is legally in session, and no member can speak on behalf of the commission unless they are specifically authorized to do so.

There are three officers within the GAC; they are the Chair, Vice-chair and Secretary. Officers are elected by the five members of the commission. The Chair has the ability to appoint members to serve on internal committees for specific purposes. However, these committees have no authority of their own. Instead they collect information on specific issues and make recommendations to the GAC.

Although the County Delegation appoints GAC members, the organization essentially operates separately from the delegation with one exception: Gunstock cannot borrow money. Instead, the county can borrow money on Gunstock's behalf, similar to a parent cosigning a loan for a child.

In addition to income from lift tickets and other recreational activities the mountain offers, the GAC is allowed to apply for grants, acquire property, receive donations and gifts, and forge various partnerships with private companies as needed.

Taxpayer dollars do not directly fund Gunstock's operations or payroll – with limited, notable exceptions. Gunstock has utilized taxpayer dollars in a few instances when it needed to borrow money from the county, usually following an abnormally warm winter when ski revenue fell well short of projections.

If the mountain needs county money, the GAC must have four out of the five members voting in favor to borrow money. That request then goes to the County Delegation, which, so far, has always seen fit to do what is requested to keep Gunstock open.

As for the day-to-day, on-the-ground operations, Gunstock essentially functions as a business, with expenditures covered with revenue gathered through skier visits and other income. The resort's manager is appointed or removed via vote by the GAC. The  manager reports to the GAC regarding matters such as budget and revenue.

This article is a highly abridged version of the inner workings of Gunstock. For those interested in greater detail, the GAC bylaws document and the original statute that created the GAC are available to the public via the "community" page of Gunstock.com.