Industry News
Andy Wirth has come out strongly against the incorporation of Olympic (Squaw) Valley in an NPR interview saying that:
“there are so many mistruths and mischaracterizations being made that we had to step up.”
“They are suggesting that they can improve services. They have yet to even prove that they can sustain existing services. In fact, we feel, and many others think, that they have a very substantial gap.”
Andy went as far as to falsely claim that taxes will be raised if Olympic Valley incorporates and he called the very respectable Dr. Fred Ilfeld “disingenuous.”
In response to these statements, Dr. Fred informed NPR listeners:
“That is fiction. That is simply a scare tactic to make people frightened and vote against incorporation. There is no proof whatsoever of that.”
“To raise taxes in California, the people that are going to be taxed have to vote in favor of that tax. And already we are revenue rich, a golden goose for Placer County, a cash cow. We don’t need those extra revenues.”
These statements of Andy Wirth’s were enough to instigate Dr. Robb Gaffney to write this statement today:
How am I assessing leadership in the valley?
April 15, 2014 at 8:26am
Who do I trust?
Meet Dr. Fred Ilfeld, the chairman of Incorporate Olympic Valley. Fred graduated from Yale University and went on to Harvard Medical School. He completed his psychiatric residency at Stanford and worked as a researcher for the National Institute of Mental Health before moving back out west to work in private practice and as faculty for UC Davis. He then moved to Tahoe and opened a private practice in Squaw Valley, where he retired in 1999. He is currently a member of the volunteer clinical faculty at UNR. Fred is a philanthropist at heart. He has done so much for the community and I will reserve that information for a future post because I don’t want to make this one too long. For 11 years I have worked closely with Fred and I respect him as one of the most genuine and caring individuals I know.
For these reasons, I had a hard time listening to this interview when Andy Wirth called Fred’s statement “disingenuous”. Is this “psychological projection”? You decide.
“Psychological projection is the act or technique of defending yourself against unpleasant impulses by denying their existence in yourself, while attributing them to others. For example, a person who is rude may accuse other people of being rude.”
The Full NPR Story:
Tensions mount over possible new town at Squaw
by WILL STONE – April 9, 2014
Squaw Valley Ski Resort is opposing local efforts to create a new town there, known as Olympic Valley.
Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows ski resorts CEO Andy Wirth says they’ve watched and waited as a group of residents banned together and sought to create their own town. Squaw Resort would own almost half of the proposed area (40 percent), and Wirth says his company didn’t want to appear as the 800 pound gorilla and override local sentiment.
“But now there are so many mistruths and mischaracterizations being made that we had to step up.”
Wirth says much of the community is on their side and a town wouldn’t be financially viable.
“They are suggesting that they can improve services. They have yet to even prove that they can sustain existing services. In fact, we feel, and many others think, that they have a very substantial gap.”
Wirth has submitted a letter to the California agency in charge of incorporation (LAFCO). In order for the town to split from Placer, the County would need to be made whole. Wirth says the town will probably end up raising taxes on Squaw and residents to cover those costs.
“That is fiction. That is simply a scare tactic to make people frightened and vote against incorporation. There is no proof whatsoever of that.”
Fred Ilfeld is with the coalition pushing for incorporation, Incorporate Olympic Valley (IOV). He says the California regulatory agency will do a financial analysis in the coming months and incorporation won’t go forward if it’s not revenue neutral. Half of the taxes from Squaw currently go to Placer County’s general fund, he says, so why not concentrate that money locally, instead.
“To raise taxes in California, the people that are going to be taxed have to vote in favor of that tax. And already we are revenue rich, a golden goose for Placer County, a cash cow. We don’t need those extra revenues.”
Underlying these financial disputes, though, is the question of motivation. Ilfeld says the movement is entirely about local control and independence. It would give the more freedom to determine services. He rejects that it’s a way to limit Squaw’s current plans to develop its village.
“We are very well-aware that the current village is not adequate. We want to have some local say in what get’s built.”
“That’s a disingenuous statement.”
Again, that’s Andy Wirth of Squaw Valley.
“Their cause and effort, it started with their interest to stop us. Recently, they have been trying to disguise that intent, but the whole cause and efforts starts with a very negative intent. It is that.”
Wirth says a much more thorough financial analysis needs to be done. He believes a new town could make stop them from proceeding with their development, which he notes has been scaled back recently because of community input.
IOV still needs to raise enough money to bankroll the process, and it’s using an online crowdfunding tool to do so.
Omg, Squaw Valley will remove AM’s logos from jackets, terrain parks, and buildings and maps. The sky is falling!!! Head for the hills!!!.
Disingenuous
Projecting
Truth
Mr. Wirth has previously been on public record stating he is an environmentalist. How does being the leader of a 20-25 year heavy commercial construction project have anything to do with environmental conservation??
IOV=Due process=Democracy
Decide
He’s just making sure he can tell a planning judge about green things. I’m more surprised at the local glowing endorsement of a bike path that’ll replace 47000 trees and hide a mega power line and 8 miles of sewer and water and tv cable. the bike path is camoflague to help a great big building project so the escalade drivers can park at the big heated condo and sit in the water-filled jaccuzzi as they sip champagn and laugh.
Quoting Terry and Heidi Devau of San Francisco in the Save Olympic Valley ad in today’s (4-16) Sierra Sun…
“We’re concerned that Squaw does not have enough qualified people to run a town…”
So the official stance of this group is that the locals are not smart/sophisticated enough to govern themselves?
Isn’t local governance really one of the key principals that this nation was founded on?
Local government isn’t rocket science…Hell Josh Susman was mayor of Truckee and it managed to survive.
I don’t find this statement in the least bit shocking but to chose it amongst any possible quotes is perplexing to me. They really see this as a winning strategy? Save Olympic Valley winning hearts and changing minds….
All those people on the water boards at least have local experience and might work for peanuts. but please don’t have a repeat of the pickleball v museum debarcles.
“Local government isn’t rocket science…Hell Josh Susman was mayor of Truckee and it managed to survive. ” bwahahahaha
And he’s doing what now??, smokin’ cigys on his break at his new position of Sno-Ventures. still laughing at that one Andy H.
You should look at sec.gov and see what Kara Brockmeyer said about Hewlett’s books of account. The naes of federal agencies are scary ones – Someone should stress test SOV’s PR poster boy before he spouted off against IOV.
So no one sees the authors and grantors of Squaw Valley’s original state historical designation having the vision to prevent wanton condo development and depletion of scarce resouces?
Hmmmm,,, piss on.
Squaw Valley was designated a California Historical Landmark back in 1960- 54 years ago. I would imagine the “authors and grantors” of Squaw’s historical designation are either dead or pretty old. In either case, they certainly won’t be in a position to protect Squaw from “wanton condo development and depletion of scarce resources”.
Nice try.
threats/suggestions to heritage chammy and locker room saved it i heard.
hey ksl had a sewret meeting, iov had one on monday. when’s the next one? maybe they all come to the same place at the same time and talk.
Yo, Get Real, you need to read the California Code of Regulations pertaining to building and development in State Historical Designated sites,
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), California Code of Regulations (CCR), Title 14, Chapter 3, Sections 15000 et seq., requires state and local public agencies to identify the environmental impacts of proposed discretionary activities or projects, determine if the impacts will be significant, and identify alternatives and mitigation measures that will substantially reduce or eliminate significant impacts to the environment.
Historical resources are considered part of the environment and a project that may cause a substantial adverse effect on the significance of a historical resource is a project that may have a significant effecton the environment. The definition of “historical resources” is contained in Section 15064.5 of the CEQA Guidelines.
Also see Appendix F of CCR, Title 14, section 3 before you spout off next time.
….nice try,, back at you.
sorry- my bad.
Obviously you do not understand California Civil Code, CCR, nor have read it pertaining to State Historical Designated sites. Nice try,,,,back.
^right?!?! It’s not the town that needs to deal with squaws problems… It’s the worthless douche at the top of this article. He doesn’t care one bit about squaw, alpine, the employees, skiing and riding, or the community… These money grubbers just want to squeeze the life out of squaw and bounce. Any entity fighting KSL has my vote!!
I’d want to see IOV review the business model because there’s nothing worse than a failed development taking the resort down with it. At least KSL owns the building site and the lifts are siphoned off into a separate entity to isolate the lifts from building-related debt. I hope: I sure hope thee’s no cross collareralised securities.
Although your little “I drank the Kool-Aid” antics of “K$L” and “Keep Standing in Line” are super cool and original, lets remember one thing. How exactly can they “change” the mountain? How can they change the skiing experience? Don’t say it’s their management of the mtn and etc. It hasn’t snowed since they have taken over! Shitty decisions have been made, but difficult none the less. Besides, they put in Big Blue and re aligned the beginner area. Both of which should be great for your development as a skier…
NEWS FLASH: The experience HAS ALREADY been ruined. As long as KSL continues to pursue the Vail strategy of promoting nothing but selling season passes, the place will continue to be over crowded. But…KT will always be KT, Palisades the Palisades, etc. So “F” it.
Build out the Village and finish what the Alex couldn’t 10+ years ago…
Hmm… let’s see….maybe opening the upper mountain would help, instead of closing down the entire upper mountain and putting it on “wind hold” (while Sugar Bowl, Alpine, and every other resort in the area has their entire mountain open). Maybe when it snows more than 6″, they actually open the lifts at 9 am – especially on the upper mountain- like every other resort in the country manages to do. But KSL already took all my pass $ and spent it on glossy brochures, and now they choose not to open the upper lifts to save a little money. KSL still had plenty of decent snow days since they took over Squaw, and I can’t think of a single day, ever, when the entire mountain was open at 9 am on a good snow day. That’s how they could improve the skiing experience. I do agree with you, that shitty decisions have been made, on a regular basis. If they’re going to sell an excessive amount of passes, then do whatever it takes to get all the lifts running on time, and we’ll all have a much better experience. I just don’t see it happening.
KSL’s mtn ops are far from world class and they’re competing against Kwood’s development, squamish, UT’s interconnect and the Canyons/PCMR pass (if PCMR are evicted). Their 25% international visitors will drop away imo. I can’t see the new airline deal working: Squaw’s poor seasons and pricing are crap. But what can IOV do? At least permits for staged modular construction – backed up a performance bond – might be a good start + conditions to make sure the condo mgmt contracts aren;t the type that fail.
Agreed – KSL are golfers and they need in-tune execs
On April 1st 2014, which was in my opinion not only the ONLY POWDER day of the season, and the BEST day of the season.. KT, Headwall and Funi all opened at 9 am…
That may be the ONLY time in KSL’s history that they EVER got all those lifts running at 9am on a powder day. There were a couple of other “powder days” this year- I have to use the term loosely, since it was more like sierra cement- and that was certainly not the case. So, I stand corrected, and managed to miss the one day when they got it right.. Once, on a Tuesday powder day, they actually managed to open KT and some upper mountain lifts. You can’t argue with the facts- that is the very rare exception when they actually get upper mountain and lower mountain lifts all open at 9 am on a powder day.
KSL has nothing to do with the Mountain Operations in respect to getting this mountain open. The same Mountain Manager and Patrol Director were both in place long before the current ownership of Squaw. They’re approach to opening the mountain in the Cushing Days vs. KSL days is the same. You’re perspective of what it is like now is skewed from reality. Nothing has changed in the last 10 years…
If you are saying that Squaw DOES NOT EVER get the mountain open by 9am on a powder day (Since KSL purchased) I can say with 100% certainty that you are incorrect.
Can IOV buld employee housing and, if so, where’s the land and the $?
Can IOV affect lift ops?
Will it cure long lines?
Have they done anything apart from throwing a party and running a facebook page?
are they a real viable alternative to Placer?
Can they survive if occupany rates fall due to successive poor winters? And what apart from snowclearing will the do? Oh yeah, they’ll contract services out to Placer and water boards and caltrans.
Can they afford to run court cases with Ksl?
What’s IOV done that’s so inspiring?
They might have the sweetest nicest board in the world but can they run a town as a town and not a boys club for friends?
Eg The Stables. Heneveld wants to block the very eople who provided the Stables for the Squallywod party. Gee that’s lost them votes.
Eg FoSV people wanted a multimillion dollar museum. Where’s the $$$?
IOV needs to win over people. Just because they’re ‘KSL’s enemy’ doesn’t mean they’re a real alternatives to Placer.
So let’s keep this short and sweet: IOV must demonstrate it’s a alternative. If it does, maybe it up. If it doesn’t it’s doomed.
Employee housing would be and is KSL’s responsibility, and they obviously have the land, so it’s a matter of priorities. I’m pretty sure that employee housing is at the top of KSL’s list of concerns (yeah, right). Long lift lines are completely KSL’s fault- selling far too many cheap passes, then only opening portions of the mountain- on a regular basis. Lift ops are obviously KSL’s responsibility and they’ve done an absolutely abysmal job of it! If KSL can’t survive because occupancy rates fall due to successive poor winters, that’s their problem. They can’t even come close to filling the existing village- where do they think all these people will come from??. Squaw will never, ever be a world destination ski resort given all the management problems that KSL has demonstrated. They’d go out of business and some other corporation that can properly manage a ski resort would snap up Squaw. I say good riddance! If the past few years is an indication of Squaw’s future, we’re all in big trouble. Any other option is better. I think you’re over estimating the responsibilities of IOV- their job would be to manage the city, not run ops at Squaw Valley, though I wish they could.
“Obviously they have the land” you say. How poorly informed are these ‘locals’.
Did you help them look at sites for employee housing? Did you propose room designs for employees or propose the lot 4 wrap around parking? Did you ever have a retired county planner tell KSL they should do this or that, and did you notice how FoSv’s Chair stated in the media he was surprised by the reduced plan.
Guess what – IOV and the DRC and who knows who didn’t get a single brick moved as far as I know, and that’s sad.
Yet they want ‘a voice’. Well Alexander Graham Bell invented this telephone thing and it works pretty good.
So let me get this straight, you are projecting all of KSL’s shortcomings onto the IOV? I think you have acronym confusion. IOV wants to incorporate a town, it is KSL’s job to run a ski resort. Perhaps you should sit the next few plays out until you actually grasp what is going on here.
Mr. Magoo never could see what was right in front of him.
show me one brick you’ve moved in the plans.
I await your response. Show me just one change you made to turn the wrong plan into a less wronger plan. show me any of the volumes of reports you’ve assessed in trying to find a compromise. Or show me your contributions to meetings. Or did you go skiing and drink beer?
employee housing:
no ksl didn’t have sites at first. it was invited to consider sites or build employee housing with a wraparound carpark in another spot on its land where i park. they decided to go shopping. i hope the design is nice well designed 1 person bedrooms for 264 souls. i hope there are deed restrictions rent control. i hope they are close to events for a few hours work here and thete. i hope its not just a j1 josh house. there were many other changes while gabfesting groups decried the sky was falling. Then heneveld was shocked at the reduced size. So if you smart people should see beyond their pathetic self interest and devise planning conditions and design changes that make sense. of course that’s asking too much so here’s an alternative. $500/season open air parking or you can go ski the sugarbowl.
I see no one on this board more concerned with “pathetic self interest ” than you, Mr Magoo. You picked a perfect name for yourself.
please elaborate, and show me one brick you moved from the ‘wrong plans’ to the ‘right plan’? Show me where ksl will build you undercoverparking in perpetuity and shave floors off their building?
open your eyes and ears. IOV can’t fix lift lines can it. Or can it: what resort land mgmt boards have you been on that do indeed have some influence on mtn ops. We await your brilliant suggestions. While you’re at it, come up with some winwin design changes for KSL to evaluate. Gosh, if the ideas are brilliant they might use them.
I think that KSL’s poor mountain management is at the core of their problem. As I’ve already said, no one is flying out here for a destination ski resort vacation, or if they do, and experience the abysmal lift lines due to KSL’s greedy overselling of ski passes and lack of running lifts, they will never return. KSL is trying to compete with Vail, Deer Valley, Whistler and other world class resorts, which Squaw will never be- as long as KSL is running the show. So the question is, how on earth do they think they’ll fill all the condos and apartments that they plan on building? There’s currently not enough demand to begin to fill the existing village, so where will all these destination skiers come from? People return to Deer Valley year after year because they have a great experience- these are the people that KSL is trying to attract and it’ll never happen. The win win design is right in front of their face, but they’re incapable of implementing- get all the lifts on the mountain open at 9am. Every other resort in the country manages to open at 9am, and KSL gives the avalanche control excuse, or the wind hold excuse. Get your avalanche control up earlier and get the job done! They’re too friggin cheap to hire enough people to solve the problems, that’s all, and that’s just poor management.
KSL= Keep Standing in Line. KSL must be mighty afraid of this possible incorporation to get all you KSL employees to post positive KSL sentiments the day this article comes out! KSL has no regard whatsoever for the mountain or for the ski experience of their “guests”. I’ve been a very long time pass holder at Squaw Valley, and I have never experienced a ski resort so poorly run and mismanaged as Squaw in these past few years that KSL has been “managing” (and I have skied throughout the US and Europe). I don’t know a single person who has anything positive to say about KSL, so these positive posts absolutely baffle me. I’m certain that KSL will completely destroy the Squaw Valley skiing experience, and I’m more certain that they have no regard for the Squaw Valley residents. It’s all about numbers and money, period. I would love to see the locals have some say in the fate of Squaw and I’m hoping that their efforts can thwart KSL’s machiavellian efforts. I don’t live in Squaw Valley, but I’ll be donating to the IOV efforts, and I hope that everyone who feels the way that I do about KSL does the same.
Robb’s problem is facts. We want facts, not blabber.
Blow Wirth’s claims out of the water if you can.
Show that IOV really is town-material.
What has the town actually done for the community. Was there a food bank for employees? Did they put up staff in ther bedrooms – free – who were forced to camp? Did IOV even notice!!! NOPE.
I recommend they cure their Myopia.
KSL is doing no different than Mr.Cushing did all along. Ego driven expansion to be the best, and make some money. Only difference, KSL is doing it better…making a profit that is. They are the same. A Wolf is a wolf, no matter what the clothing.
My problem with Dr.Rob in this argument is that (to my knowledge) he does NOT live in the Valley. Can he even VOTE on Incorporation? He has a business her win the Valley, has made a bit of money from writing a little book about this mountain, and for the most part has benefited greatly from this Mountain. Dare I say it has given him more than he has it?
THAT ALONE SEEMS LIKE HIS OWN CASE of Psychological Projection.
Just a reminder, Mr. Wirth does not live in the valley either, he merely helps run a business there, so really what’s the point, they are both highly interested stakeholders.
The comments here are allowing KSL to cloud the point. The IOV committee is seeking to gain a voice for the residents of the Valley, it is not about blocking the Village proposal, it is about achieving a local voice.
At present almost all decisions are made by a council in Auburn. That is 70 miles away and a world apart. The realities and concerns of Auburnites are distinctly different than those of us who live here in Olympic Valley. I think that most citizens would like some representation that reflects their own lifestyles and basic realities. How would those who live in San Francisco feel if their local decisions, were made in Sacramento? I think they too would be organizing for a more local system of governance.
This is basically all that IOV is attempting to achieve, the fact that locally the development project as proposed by KSL is extremely unpopular is a separate issue altogether. KSL is only attempting to quash this movement because it fears the local population gaining any sort of traction.
KSL fears IOV, imo, because the Golana Case seems to say that KSL has to go back to the drawing board and live with zonings as at May 2013 whch include a 20% green area for active and passive rec. There’s a whole of other lurking issues as well that none of the IOV people I spoke to seem to comprehend as they (to all outward appearances) seemingly sat on their hands rather than even attempt to look relevant to ‘the community’. On the other hand, KSL listened to suggstions and found land like the site for 500 cars and employees before chosing Lot 4. KSL seeme favorably disposed to the 264 single bedrooms rather than crap dorms. KSL seemed favorably disposed to various smart business models to spread risk, and finanlly woke up to snowmake Shirleys. (Why the KSL lass didn’t know about gallons and other things was a mystery, but I don’t think these people need a kick in the pants).
They’re up against a AA+ rated County (Standards & Poors) wth audit committees, economic development committees and even a grand jury to investigate local gov decisons. Yet I don’t see their names at commttee meetings around the lake (except water board meetings held 5 minutes from their homes). None excpt the facebook director turned up to a meeting whilst attendances dropped from 70 to maybe 8 people. They urgently need to reinvigorate and make themselves seen to be sensible goverance types.
I haven’t seen them propose drawing or post up ocupancy rates. They haven’t counted cars in the V@SV’s carpark to see if there really is a 42% average midweek occ in this shitty season.
They’re pathetic. How they ever hope (assuming that;’s so) beat KSL in plannng court is a mystery to me. Not one on them sank a resort development (and they flipped off people who idid. IOV must know better coz ‘we’re long term skiers”. Sheese: just because you know where KT2 is nice but Judges want boring figures. IOV better get moving.
Who are IOV. One of them designed hotels, but he resigned. there are psychologists, school teachers, a facebook pr guy, and a engineer lady who once worked as a consultant mass transport in AK. What have they done in the last year apart from sign people to a petition and host a party, run a Forum (which died), run a facebook page and go skiing? Are they ready to hit the ground runing and do they know what is going on with pipes, water and regional matters. Are they on committees like Wirth is? Where’s their vision? Is their vision a lot of greefield acres full of rancing unicorns singing Kumbuya? Or are they hard headed business types, or NIMBYs. None of them responded to invites to meet while stakeholders spoke to KSL about road alignments and design changes. They didn’t, as far as I know, set up tourism-lodging deals on nth shore and in Reno, or work on bus and shuttles. Activist groups account for a large chunk of the sad level of donations. They haven’t released any ideas. What do they do at their meetings? Will Van Nort and Vito ‘save the day’ with Lafco and costings, and who will they hire to run the town planning dept and the other services? Where’d the town hall or will they run the town from a dining table by farming everything out? Regrettably – and I mean it – they lost the initiative and bleat. If they want half a chance, they need to reinvigorate and prove they are a real alternative.
Otherwise they’re tilting at windmills.
K$L = Greed: In or out? Very few will profit.
They may even let you think you will too.
Let the PR machine roll on till they win.
Andy’s vision is so wonderful and grand.
Suckers! Squawarado Meadows, CA Est: 2016
If we honestly look at the issue, the main reason people want the incorporation of Olympic Valley is to stop/ control the proposed expansion by Squaw Valley. It just another tactic in the long running NIMBY war. However these flatland interlopers who oppose the current expansion by KSL have historically oppose ANY development. As an Olympic Valley resident who has been for here for three decades I appreciate the economic benefit Squaw Valley has provided; in jobs, tourism, and ever increasing property values. I also like Doppelmayr lifts over what was and without growth Squaw Valley becomes Donner Ski Ranch. Squaw Valley finally has an owner that has a world class plan and wants to built a community. KSL has listen and adjusted their plans, but sooner or later the adults in the room have to move forward and realize that that wining sound of the NIMBY crowd in the valley will never stop. The heritage of Squaw demands a World Class Ski Area. That’s what true Olympic Valley residents deserve, not a city bureaucracy. Andy Wirth has a track record of successful management and investors that hold him accountable, you don’t make a billion dollar bet and mismanage it. I trust him more than a bunch of flatland elitists who have some “commune” inspired understanding of economics. If the development does not go through KSL will pull out of the valley, and we are back to the “robber baron owner days”, who could care less about community, the environment, homeowners, and employees. Residence of the valley do not own Squaw – they are customers of the resort. To think that they have a absolute say in its direction after economically benefiting from it with no personal risk is ludicrous and shows their true dishonesty-its not for the community’s benefit- it for their greedy benefit only- they got theirs to hell with the rest of us. As a person who relies on the Squaw for my livelihood I say build the project. Hell build it ten times over and while you’re at it have squaw take one of its D10 dozers and go all Marvin Heemeyer on the flatlanders houses who oppose the development.
On a side note: come on Snowbrains another one sided article on IOV? Clearly you do not represent the interest to true die hard Squaw Valley skiers.
It looks like you, “Truth”, are one of the few people who might economically benefit from KSL’s wanton and careless expansion- you described yourself as a “person who relies on the Squaw for my livelihood”. I would imagine that most of the rest of us are NOT financially tied to Squaw’s expansion, so we can be more objective about the long run ramifications of KSL overbuilding and over expanding a unique and beautiful area- possibly destroying it forever. I care far more about being very careful with the jewel that is Squaw Valley. Once they proceed with their expansion, there’s no going back. I believe that KSL will ultimately loose their shirts on this whole expansion project. They’d have to do a complete overhaul of how they manage the mountain to ever attract repeat customers who don’t live in or near the area. I seriously doubt that a family who flies out to a “destination resort” that closes it’s upper lifts when it’s raining at the bottom, allows the lift line at KT to build into a 40-50 minute line while they haven’t managed to open the upper mountain in the morning, or lists the upper mountain as scheduled on their website in the early morning, only to have it closed at 9am will keep any “destination skiers” from ever returning. The rest of us have gotten used to the lying and mismanagement, but there are far better choices for anyone traveling to ski. I really don’t see how anyone who is pro IOV could possibly benefit economically – it’s about trying to keep the 5 ton gorilla in check.
Claiming to be an “adult” in the room and calling the opposing viewpoint names typically doesn’t go hand and hand.
Dear Dr Robb
Why not respond to Save Olympic Valley’s actual concerns?
IOV budgets on a $400,000 surplus which doesn’t cover much legals for town planning court or other unforseen consequences. Give us costed promises.
IOV didn’t say boo about an 8 mile pipe. did they know it was even coming? Are there other things they’re unaware of?
Squaw needs an asylum too.
Andy is nice and trustworthy says Jules.
‘My guy’s nicer and trusyworthier’, says Robb.
Come on! pi55ing contests are for kindergardens. Show us true vision, a costed clever plan, and real leadership.
IOV accuse KSL of no detail. Yet IOV haven’t drawn up a rough sketch of something they’d think would work. Please give these guys some colored chalk to draw pictures with.
As far as I know, IOV did nothing – except organise a party for a wild stormy day in a stable – while others sat down and worked through comprises. Yes, that looks like all they’ve achieved in a full year.
Lok at the iov financials “based on telephone call to the county”. God Lord, that’s scientific. Did they talk to the Janitor or the Treasurer?
$200,000 for rent, they budget on. Where? Who gets that? What’s wrong with the $15,000 place, or their kitchen table.
Are these IOV people capable of doing anything to build the community up, or are they bleaters with no solutions, no ideas, and no get up and go.
When asked what services they’ll provide, it’s snow clearing. Woot! What other new and exciting services do they have in store? Well they trotted a guy from a town that never ran, and he said a dog walking park could be nice. Helloooo: we have a kerzillion acre dog walking park already. Lift your game IOV!
So please tell Robb to prescribe common sense.. Nice guys they may all be, but that’s not enough to get voters voting.
Give us solutions, not psycho babble.