Misty Ridge Ski Hill will be operational next winter.
The question is what scale, and the answer, in large part, will depend on if, and how much funding they receive from the County of Barrhead, says Misty Ridge Society board chair Kerry McElroy.
The future of the non-profit society has been called into doubt after hill representatives asked County of Barrhead councillors, April 18, to cover the expenses for unpaid wages of $10,000 for the previous season. This is in addition to the close to $7,000 the society owes the county for insurance.
“We definitely will be operational this coming ski season,” he said, adding the society has asked the county to consider providing, what the society terms, “stability funding” on an ongoing basis.
This funding, along with monies it receives from casino funding and season passes, will be used to prepare the hill for operation. McElroy said at this point they are not able to make public how much the society is asking for.
“They [county] are giving it a look and I’m not sure where it will go, but we are very hopeful they will consider it after agreeing to support covering the outstanding wages of the workers,” he said.
However, before councillors consider the request, the county needs a better picture of the society’s finances and have asked for more information.
In past seasons, the society uses the funds from season pass sales to prepare for the upcoming season, but in recent years the number of passes sold has declined.
“I partly blame the weather,” McElroy said, adding for the last three years the area has received abnormally warm winters, resulting in what are often poor snow conditions.
For example, he said, a warm spell in early February, forced the hill to reschedule a number of school visits.
“We had to make snow and although I think they [school children] were quite pleased, it did come at an expense not only in terms of money, but of our volunteers’ time,” he said.
In addition, the society was forced to deal with an unexpected expense at the start of the season when the generator, which powers not only the chalet, but the lifts failed. Because the society couldn’t afford to replace the $9,000 generator, they had to rent one for the season.
McElroy noted Misty Ridge isn’t the only ski hill that has run into financial difficulty. Last fall, the Edmonton Ski Club asked city councillors for a $1.3 million infusion of funds to be paid over five years.
He added one of their closest competitors, the Tawatinaw Valley Ski Hill, owned by Westlock County, has also faced financial difficulties over the last number of years.
If the society is successful in receiving its stability funding, McElroy said a large portion would go into snowmaking.
Currently, when the hill needs to make snow it is done by volunteers.
“To continue to do that isn’t really feasible as they have to work at their day jobs and then go make snow all night. When you look at other ski hills in the area, such as Whitecourt, they have paid employees doing that,” McElroy said.
The other top priority for Misty Ridge is to replace its aging bunny hill tow-rope that is about 40 years old. The society hopes to raise the majority of the estimated $20,000 costs through fundraisers that will begin in the fall.
“Our hill caters to beginners and families and if that crashes we really do have a problem,” he said.
When asked if the county has asked the society to increase rates to decrease the deficit, McElroy said, yes, but so far the board has been reluctant, adding there is a chance it would impact attendance further.
“It is never an easy decision,” he said. “Unlike other ski hills, which have paved roads leading to them, we have typical country roads, and many parents don’t want to have their teenager drive home on them when they are tired after a day of skiing … if we decided to raise our rates we might lose these users.”
McElroy noted that they are still looking for volunteers to help them with its charity casino May 20 in St. Albert. Interested volunteers are asked to contact Jeannie Bozak at 780-674-4459 or Tracey Mueller at 780-674-5580.
