No big changes at Ski Cooper
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- Created on Wednesday, 16 February 2011 16:12
- Written by R. Scott Rappold
By R. SCOTT RAPPOLD, THE GAZETTE
Lake County officials have issued a new lease to the operators of county-owned Ski Cooper, after months of debate over the future of the small ski area.
The ski hill north of Leadville is popular with families, for its small size, low difficulty and one of the cheapest lift-ticket prices in Colorado. But it also lacks challenging terrain, and some in Leadville claim that has kept skier numbers stagnant, to the detriment of the town’s winter economy.
With the lease on nonprofit Cooper Hill Ski Area Inc. up for renewal, some encouraged county commissioners to open bids for a new operator that would make changes, or require in a new lease that the area’s board of directors expand the area and be subject to more public scrutiny.
One popular idea was building a lift to Chicago Ridge, an above-treeline area currently accessed through $275-a-person snowcat tours from Ski Cooper.
This week, commissioners declined to open up the operation of the ski hill to bids, voting 2-1 to issue a 15-year lease to the nonprofit.
Commissioner Carl Schaefer called those urging major changes "a rather small section of the populace."
"The majority of the people that I spoke with all wanted it to remain basically the same as it has been," Schaefer said. "They felt there has been a very good job done by the current management and the current board and they didn’t see a need to go out and do things different."
Ski area manager Clint Yant said the decision is a vindication for Ski Cooper managers, and a sign people like the way it is run.
“We’ve had tons of support that way, to keep doing business pretty much as we have been,” Yant said.
The county made some concessions to the critics, narrowing the term of the lease from 20 years and requiring the board to meet twice a year in public and issue annual reports on the ski area’s finances. But for some critics, it is not enough.
“Having two open board meetings and presenting to the same cast of characters when they know they don’t have to see you again for another six months isn’t going to do much,” said Tim Hill, owner of Alpine Ski & Sport in Leadville. “No, I have to say all and all I was disappointed. Virtually no changes were made. Not anything that had any teeth.”
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