City rejects ski area request for permit

The Ashland City Council refused to budge Tuesday night from its position on the operation of the Mount Ashland ski area, emerging from a closed session stressing the need for ironclad agreements on erosion and water quality, a business plan and money for restoration should the enterprise go belly-up.

At the same time, the council did not outright reject the request of the Mt. Ashland Association to take over the city's permit for the ski area. City officials said the association appeared on the verge of suing the city, a charge that was denied by Mt. Ashland board president Bill Little.

"There's no truth in that." Little said. "We want to work with the city so that Mt. Ashland can provide winter recreation to the full extent and at the same time remove the city's concern for financial liability."

Mt. Ashland's proposal, inviting the city to hand over its special-use permit, stressed that the city would walk free from any liability for restoration in the event the ski area closed, said Little. A proposed quality control team would make sure erosion didn't foul the city's watershed, immediately below the ski area, he added.

Council members expressed apprehension before and after the executive session, along with wishes for cooperation with Mt. Ashland.

City Administrator Martha Bennett said Mt. Ashland's proposal to take over the permit posed the issue as, "If we don't agree to stop interfering with them, they will sue us. They tended this offer and if we don't take it, they will sue."

Council member Kate Jackson said, "I don't feel comfortable with (handing over the permit), because the ski area remains in our watershed. We're trying to build a new relationship with Mt. Ashland. I have to be hopeful. I'm an optimist."

Council member David Chapman was more blunt, faulting Mt. Ashland for not submitting a business plan, one of several points requested in a city resolution of Sept. 2005.

"I'm sure they would like the permit," he said. "It would be favorable to them and they wouldn't have to mess with the city anymore."

Chapman charged that Mt. Ashland proposed it take over the permit at this time because newly elected council member Eric Navickas will be sworn in next month "and he's perceived as a vote against them. That (a council decision) would be unfair to the people who elected him and nothing is going to happen till after the new year."

Little, in an interview, denied the charge about the timing of the Mt. Ashland Association's request for the permit, saying it had been discussed for months — and was the solution for the city's repeated concerns about its liability.

Little said the Mt. Ashland Association wants to deal directly with the U.S. Forest Service, "making the process as streamlined as possible." The USFS, he added, requires adequate assets on hand for restoration if the business fails.

The association has a $500,000 reserve, said Little, more than enough to cover the Forest Service's estimate of $200,000 for restoration. However, Bennett said estimates from the private sector range from $300,000 to $1.5 million.

The association has been in a long court battle with environmental groups over its proposed expansion. The city earlier this year asked the U.S. Forest Service, administrator of the land, to block any logging by Mt. Ashland in its expansion zone, prompting the associaion to charge the city with overstepping its authority as permit holder.

The city took over the permit in 1991 and has leased the ski area to the Mt. Ashland Association since 1992. Its resolution of Sept. last year said it wanted:

Reserves, bonds or other security for restoration if the Mt. Ashland Association fails.

A business plan detailing monthly spending and money sources for the expansion.

An independent quality control team to monitor and repair any erosion from expansion.

Agreement with the association on all points before construction begins.

Little progress has been made on any of the points, said Bennett, but the city will stick to its requirements "because we've got to assure quality drinking water and that's what the council is after."

The city will invite the Mt. Ashland Association to continue with talks, she said.

John Darling is a freelance writer living in Ashland. E-mail him at jdarling@jeffnet.org.