The situation with the Mount Baldy ski resort took a turn for the worse last week when the company that operated it last season announced that negotiations for this year are deadlocked.
When Baldy Capital Corporation, the would-be buyer, opened a sales office in Osoyoos last week, there remained the nagging issue that there still wasn’t an agreement for them to purchase the resort.
Fred Johnston, the president of Baldy Capital Corporation, insisted until recently that his company’s operation of the resort wasn’t dependent on completion of a purchase.
Last season his company had an operating agreement to run the resort, even though the receiver and secured creditor were still in control.
Last week, however, Johnston acknowledged that his company would not be able to obtain insurance as long as the receiver remained in control.
Furthermore, he was unwilling to operate the resort only to make it look good so the receiver could sell it to someone else.
Clearly there is mistrust that probably cuts both ways between Johnston and the receiver, Gary Powroznik of Vancouver-based G-Force Group.
Powroznik, for his part, insists Baldy Capital Corporation has not put forward an acceptable offer because it has not been able to show it has the financing to pay off the secured creditor and to pay the daily bills to run the resort.
As a result, he’s been trying to market it to other potential buyers, but none of them have met the financing requirement either.
There’s one thing Johnston and Powroznik agree on.
They agree that if there’s going to be a ski resort at Mount Baldy, the local community needs to speak out and show it supports one.
Mount Baldy may never compete with resorts like Whistler or Banff, but as a regional resort it holds enormous untapped potential.
At a time when Osoyoos and the rest of the valley is blanketed with clouds in the winter, the glistening ski slopes of Baldy are often bathed in clear sunlight.
In the summer, when the valley is roasting with temperatures edging towards 40 degrees, the cooler mountain air at Baldy brings relief.
Clearly much of the infrastructure at Mount Baldy needs upgrading and road access may need improvements, but with a bit of investment, it offers great potential as a four-season resort.
As Powroznik emphasizes, there is potential to raise the funds needed for infrastructure improvements through the sale of real estate, but without investment in amenities and the Mount Baldy experience itself, there will be no demand for the real estate.
Similarly, without certainty about the resort’s future, real estate will be a tough sell.
For Osoyoos, Mount Baldy could be a great opportunity to develop our tourism potential outside of the main summer season. We certainly have a stake in what happens to the resort.
Powroznik has suggested that some kind of community task force could be formed to reflect that community stake and to signal to a potential investor that the local area supports Mount Baldy. This is an idea that should be explored.
Johnston deserves credit for reopening the resort last season and for having the confidence to try to move forward this year with a bold marketing plan.
Unfortunately, the plans have been derailed by money and perhaps personalities.
We would not advocate pouring public funds into a private business venture, but short of that, there are many other ways that community leaders can show support for Mount Baldy’s future.
A solution needs to be found.
