Despite passing a successful resolution to hit the brakes on capital projects at the city’s two municipal ski hills pending review, Ward 6 Coun. René Lapierre clarified they aren’t closing.
At least, not necessarily.
“This report doesn’t suggest to close anything, we’re just trying to access the user numbers, what capital assets are required at those sites for renewal, and projections of renewal for the next five to 10 years,” he told Sudbury.com after this week’s community and emergency services committee meeting, at which his motion passed unanimously.
“From there, maybe staff will have recommendations for alternate use. ... Maybe it’s a different type of lift we use in one place or another.”
During the meeting, Ward 9 Coun. Deb McIntosh also suggested the review determine whether user fees are adequately covering the ski hills’ expenses.
On a “sliding scale of community benefit and individual benefit,” she said the cost-recovery model should determine what percentage has a broader community benefit and is subsidized as such, whereas individual benefit should be covered by user fees.
Both during and after the meeting, Lapierre clarified that the city’s Core Services Review flagged the municipal ski hills as a discretionary service offered by the city.
“Not every municipality has this, so is this something we should be in?” Lapierre asked. “Should we keep it? Should we change it? This will be part of this assessment.”
The Core Services Review, commissioned by the city and completed by KPMG, recommends outsourcing ski hills to a private sector/third party.
“Operation of ski hills is not a service offered by local municipalities in Northeastern Ontario but rather operated by a private or not-for-profit third party,” according to the report. “If an appropriate provider can be sourced, the city can maintain ownership of the land, provision of the service to the community while making funds available for reallocation to other services.”
In the report released in 2020, the city’s two ski hills, including Adanac and Lively, ran at an annual cost of $671,000 to the city. Their revenue totalled $428,000, resulting in a net tax impact of $243,000.
The Core Services Review drew from 2018-19 season data to determine Adanac’s cost recovery of the day was 57.2 per cent and Lively’s cost recovery was 6.7 per cent, and the hills’ overall capacity exceeded demand by 4.6 times.
The city’s list of 2024-27 capital projects put on hold by Lapierre’s motion includes the proposed 2024 repurposing of old Capreol lift equipment for use in Lively at a cost of approximately $387,400. Various other refurbishments at Adanac and LIvely totalling $820,849 were also slated to take place this year.
In addition to putting these capital projects on pause, Lapierre’s motion requests a staff report by August 2024 which includes:
- Further details on the Lively Ski Hill capital projects, including updated project estimates
- Alternatives to continuing with the projects as originally contemplated
- Utilization and operating costs of City of Greater Sudbury-operated ski hills
- Recommended utilization targets for ski hills
The city’s service level expectations include 820 hours of ski hills operation and a capacity of 6,700 ski lessons.
Lapierre’s motion to pause capital projects at the city’s two municipal ski hills was originally tabled earlier this year, but put on pause in the wake of the death of Ward 2 Coun. Michael Vagnini, whose ward included the Lively area.
The area is now represented by Ward 2 Coun. Eric Benoit.
Lapierre’s motion still needs to be ratified by city council as a whole on April 30, but this week’s unanimous committee support points to a likelihood it will be approved.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
