Another offer made...

[Ski]

From today's online Scranton Times-Tribune:

 

 

Two weeks ago, Lackawanna County commissioners had no bids for Montage Ski Resort.

 

Three days ago, they held a public hearing on a lone, $4.1 million offer.

 

By Thursday afternoon, they had two bids, both in the $5 million range.

 

 

[Sno Mountain Skier]

Hey , id be happy with Snow time. As long as our park is like Libertys.

[Papasteeze]

Snow time might be a better idea since they have other hills under their belt.

 

I bid 4 million with 8 in improvements - with ski in charge to run the place

[Ski]

We were rooting for Snow Time to be able to simply take it over last time. I never seem to make it down to Roundtop for the ASRA races, but I can sure vouch for what they did at Windham.

 

Sno Mountain, though, has the guaranteed capitol lined up. And their plan to invest in the water park is what's key to Montage making it.

 

What's needed on the skiing end is no secret: snowmaking, a new lift, a few more trails, terrain park features, and a halfpipe. They spent a year interviewing emloyees and know what to do.

 

Snow Time would be good, but Sno Mountain will be great. Their idea isn't to just turn a profit, but to push the envelope. Who the hell would have ever thought to connect the parking lot and the lodge with a tram? And I'm all for having them turn the upper mountain into a McDonald's Playland sort of place; we'll never see it other than when we pick up our season passes.

 

I've spent the last two summers wondering if I was going to have to pick a new home hill. I've been through the shutting down of three ski areas and find it funny how people are always surprised when it happens. Montage was one vote away from death. The million dollars they lost last year was going to be 2 million this year, as snow guns, lifts, and plumbing continue to fall apart.

[Papasteeze]

Damn dude, I can feel your pain....

 

The one comment from Snow time that stuck with me was

 

At the same time, Mr. Romberger is confident not just in his team

[Sno Mountain Skier]

I thought about, and The county should sell to Sno Mountain. Think about it, they spent 1 mil on something they didnt own. They drew up what needed to be done, and they are looking to make it in the long run with a water park. Then they moved there offer up even more money when Snow time came in. That shows really how much they want it. I say they have the heart and drive, and they should buy it.

[Papasteeze]

I feel for them and the money spent but business is business.. I would go with a proven company. but hey that is me and I am not the seller. Like I was saying, they are both good deals.

[Ski]

I agree, MS...they went out on a limb because they believe Montage is a hidden gem. I think it sucks that commissioner Washo doesn't get it. A company comes along and makes a fair offer for something that's losing $1 million a year and they get treated like they are trying to rip them off.

 

Sno Mountain guaranteed they'd use local construction workers.

 

They'll begin paying taxes on Day 1, when many companies try to work out a deal that defers taxes.

 

and, maybe best of all, SMI will be installing the 180 guns for Sno Mountain...

[Papasteeze]

A company comes along and makes a fair offer for something that's losing $1 million a year and they get treated like they are trying to rip them off.

 

If we could only use that reasoning during our subdivision approvals and have it work.

 

We buy raw ground and go through the subdivision process to get approval to build homes from the various governing local agencies. The benefits to the local governments and the economy are over whelming. We spend millions upon millions with engineers, attorneys and enviromental people. We put in parks and improve roads not related to the project just to get approval. It sometimes feels like legal extortion. We have over 20 projects in various stages of the approval process. We have staff dedicated to just this endeavor. Just because we have gambled that money doesn't mean that we get approval. The stories are endless about unreasonable authorities who delay decisions. It's just the way it is.

 

Given what I know in comparison with costs associated in far more complicated projects, I now question how the hell they spent a million already. I think that number is grossly inflated which might or could be hint. We would never complain about the money invested to buy something why are they? They must already be hurting, probably extremely frustrated.

[Ski]

I believe money was first raised for Montage plans in 1976, and it opened in 1984. Lackawanna County bought it out---or it was headed for NELSAP---in 1991.

 

A million dollars? IDK, it may be inflated, but when you consider the amount of time and people involved in the presentation, I could see it being pretty close. The architect hired for our library, with just a single, 7000 sq/ft building cost us $30,000. And he was by far the cheapest bid. Sno Mountain's drawings were for multiple buildings that are more complicated and larger, by far. I bet t would be close to $100,000 to get a good Philly architect involved.

 

My guess as to what Sno Mountain had to pay for includes a retainer for a law firm, architect, SMI to do an estimate, Drexel University for a survey of hotels, salaries for the entire team of people (they spent months interviewing employees), and insurance related estimates and cost analysist.

 

Consider having 10 "experts" in any given field work for one year, with a salary of $80,000 each, and you eat up most of the million just with compensation. So I really don't see a million as all that surprising.

[Papasteeze]

I didn't realize the drawings were that extensive.

[Ski]

I didn't realize the drawings were that extensive.

Yeah, the commissioner chairing the meeting had to keep reminding the lead architect to "move it along" as he did his power point presentation. There were dozens of drawings. He even had a 3-D presentation that looked like a video game, where the 'camera' walked you in and around the interior of the new lodge.

[Papasteeze]

Yeah, the commissioner chairing the meeting had to keep reminding the lead architect to "move it along" as he did his power point presentation. There were dozens of drawings. He even had a 3-D presentation that looked like a video game, where the 'camera' walked you in and around the interior of the new lodge.

 

Wow... yeah, in order to do 3d walkthroughs you have to have CAD drawings. The floor plans then have to be digitized with the corresponding wall heights and then rendered with color. Not cheap to do. for sure.