What if a private owner then decided to close Gunstock?

To The Daily Sun,

On August 25, residents of Gilford celebrated Old Home Day with the theme “It Takes a Village.” And truly, from the floats in the parade, the crowds lining the street, the volunteers directing traffic and helping with activities at the library, the community center and the field, a village was indeed involved and engaged to ensure that the day was a success.

Likewise, a village, made up of Belknap County concerned citizens, showed up at the meeting last Wednesday to ensure success of a different kind — the continued support for one of the jewels of our community, Gunstock Recreation Area. Thanks to a standing-room-only crowd, the RAN loan was approved and now Gunstock can prepare for the winter season. The number of people in attendance was so impressive and effective that all but two (well, actually three) members of the delegation reversed their previous “no” vote.

To be clear, the loan is NOT from the county. Nor does it affect our taxes. It is more like a home equity line of credit. But because the county owns Gunstock, the delegation needs to, in effect, be a co-signer for the loan. The original rejection of the request meant that Gunstock had to put off doing over $300,000 in repairs and maintenance.

Three of the original six members of the delegation who had previously denied the note, reversed their vote. Norn Silber of Gilford voted “no.” He is not running for re-election, is selling his house and moving to Florida. Raymond Howard from Alton voted "no" as well. Glen Aldrich of Gilford didn't show up for the meeting. The final vote was 14-2.

The goal of some members of the current delegation is to lease Gunstock to a private company because they believe the county can collect more in property tax than we make by owning the area. Although the possibility of greater revenue is tempting, it is essential to measure this against the risk of losing Gunstock altogether and to consider what leasing Gunstock might do to an already challenging area economy. Imagine if Gunstock were leased to an out-of-state company that decided after a year or two that it wasn’t profiting enough to stay open? Every service-based business in this area depends in part on the success of Gunstock and would be negatively affected.

As state reps, members are a small minority. In the county, they are the Belknap County Delegation and oversee the budget of all county agencies. Although they may tout that they are “protecting taxpayers” or that they are “frugal,” this false frugality has in fact done much damage. Now our county has no surplus, our credit rating has been lowered, and our nursing home and jail are not adequately staffed and funded. The credit rating report is available online at belknapcounty.org under “Financial Reports.”

I urge everyone to make it a priority to vote this November. But do your research before you do. Take a look at our representatives’ voting records at both the state and county level. Pay attention to the candidates who are running for office and find out what they stand for. Do they stand for the whole county? Or just the small group who agrees with a narrow ideology. Let’s work together for the benefit of our village.

I am  running for state rep to be a voice who will listen to all constituents.

Dorothy Piquado

Gilford