Steven Hepburn: Gunstock does not need a radical transformation

To The Daily Sun,

The history of Gunstock Mountain Resort is rich and fascinating. Initially conceived as a public investment project during the Great Depression, it transformed the economy of New Hampshire’s Lakes Region, and continues to be a huge economic driver today. In 1959, Gunstock was entrusted to a five-member Board of Commissioners, who must all be residents of Belknap County, ensuring that the control, management, and development of the mountain be carried out with the best interests of the area community as a driving force

Rep. Norm Silber (R-Gilford) has said repeatedly, over many years that he does not believe that the government should be involved in operating a ski mountain. In fact, his past writings have questioned the value of a county government at all. If he had any say in the matter back in 1929 we most likely would not have had a ski mountain to be discussing. Now that we do, he wants to privatize the operations. Instead of reinvesting the profits directly back into our local economy, he would rather see them be wired off to Colorado or someplace else instead, just as happens now with Mount Sunapee under the control of Vail Resorts.

In recent years, the Belknap County Delegation has been involved with the review and planning of the Gunstock Operating Model. In 2019 representatives from the delegation Reps. Mike Sylvia (R-Belmont) and Ray Howard (R-Alton), along with Gunstock Area Commissioners Steve Nix and Gary Kiedaisch, formed the Gunstock Business Model Study Committee to “study several alternates, including privatization, leasing the facility, or maintaining the current GAC management.” The committee recommended keeping Gunstock under public ownership and to enter “into a new MOA with the county with a new formula that is fair for Gunstock and provides some income for the county.” This new MOA was formalized in HB1442 in 2020, sponsored by Belknap Reps. Howard, Glen Aldrich, Harry Bean, Barbara Comtois, Deanna Jurius, John R. Plumer, Charlie St. Clair, Sylvia, and James P. Gray, and provides for 1.75 percent of Gunstock’s yearly gross operating income to be sent back to the county.

Moving from the Study Committee to the follow-on Master Plan Committee, the consensus was that “the future business model for the resort must be profitable and self-sustaining.” This approach, along with the new MOA, was acceptable then, and the financial situation of Gunstock has only improved since. Add in the new Master Plan that is due to be released soon, and the future for Gunstock under public ownership looks better than ever.

Leaders of the current Belknap delegation appear set on a radical transformation of Gunstock, forcing out the majority of the Gunstock Commissioners in what amounts to a coup, torpedoing the upcoming Master Plan, and forcing Gunstock towards privatization. This political power play shows how little they value their constituents, who treasure Gunstock as a treasure of the Lakes Region.

Steven Hepburn

Gilford