BY HEIDI ULRICHSEN
The $3 million city-commissioned draft plan
put out last week for Adanac ski hill is drawing mixed
reactions.
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ADANAC SKI HILL could once again be
in operation if the master plan is implemented. |
The $400,000 first phase of the plan by
consultants from D.R. Matthews and Monteith Brown includes the
installation of a tube lift, further development of
snowboarding terrain and the continuation of the annual winter
carnival at the New Sudbury area ski hill.
The $1.8 million second phase of the Adanac
plan would see the installation of better runs and a new $1
million quad-chair ski lift.
Gus Cacciotti, who heads up the Adanac winter
carnival committee, says he supports many of the initiatives in
the first phase of the plan, but bringing skiing back to Adanac
would just be too expensive for taxpayers.
"I have nothing against skiers, but the thing
is, it's going to cost a huge amount of money. I just don't
think the community is prepared to spend their tax dollars
solely for that purpose. It's a big decision to make, and I
don't think the people who sit on council are going to 100
percent endorse that," he says.
Developing the ski hill would result in tax
increases, says Cacciotti, something he can't support. The plan
does not even include the cost of fill to improve ski trails,
he adds.
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REYNOLDS |
But Cacciotti does think the consultants, who
worked in conjunction with city committees, came up with some
valid ideas.
Besides snowboarding, tubing and continuing
the winter carnival, the plan says Adanac could play host to an
outdoor skating rink, skateboard and BMX facilities, and
outdoor education activities and camps.
Other less-concrete plans include extending
nature trails in the area and installing soccer fields and
playground equipment.
"What I support is the park itself, and the
general approach they're using to get the park reinstated as a
recreational area," says Cacciotti.
Cacciotti says initiatives like the ski
hill's second annual February winter carnival are a good
example of what Adanac can be used for. He encourages the
community to show up at the park each weekend this February for
some old-fashioned family fun.
Ward 6 Councillor Lynne Reynolds, who was on
the task force behind the Adanac plan, has a somewhat differing
view.
She agrees bringing skiing back to Adanac
would be expensive, but says it could eventually become
economically viable if initiatives like tubing and snowboarding
started making money.
"To put in a proper ski hill that would be
sustainable would require...a lot of free fill. That would be
really expensive if the city had to pay for it. So, what I'm
saying is let's proceed with phase one, which is just a
continuation of what we've been doing but on a larger scale.
Let's put in the tubing hill and start making a little bit of
money for awhile...then maybe we can start putting some money
away for the ski hill," she says.
Reynolds is concerned people are just going
to look at the money involved in the project, and reject it
right away.
"I want them to know that phase one is...
$400,000," she says. "I think that eventually, if we could have
everything happening there, it could be the most fabulous
destination park in the north," she says.
A meeting was held last night to determine
community priorities for the site in order to recommend an
implementation and operating strategy.
Reynolds says various city committees will be
reviewing the plan, which will be presented to council in
February. She hopes the city will release
reserve fund money earmarked for Adanac to
push forward the first phase of the plan.
