Ward 4 Coun. Neil DelBianco pledged on the weekend that the Sault Ste. Marie Conservation Authority would not allow the upcoming cross-country ski season to be jeopardized, or the trail system to be fragmented at Hiawatha Highlands.
Speaking as one of three members from City Council on the CA Board, DelBianco said, "All I can tell you is that I won't allow that to happen."
The other two members from Council on the board are Mayor John Rowswell and Ward 6 Coun. Frank Manzo.
DelBianco said there will be a public forum to discuss the growing controversy about who should be entitled to operate the trail system at the popular skiing venue after the break-up of Sault Trails and Recreation (STAR) last May. The meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 11, at 10 a.m. at the Civic Centre.
Before STAR folded this spring after about 15 years as the umbrella organization responsible for the skiing, its executive passed unanimously a resolution on May 17 turning over the assets and sole management of the 36 km trail system to the Sault Finnish Nordic Ski Club.
That resolution read: "Be It Resolved that members of STAR support the application of the Sault Finnish Nordic Ski Club to be the community organization that will assume the responsibility for cross-country skiing and the assets of STAR Inc. effective immediately."
The principal member groups in STAR included the Soo Finnish Club, the Kinsmen Club and the Conservation Authority. Ernie Gulyas, the chair of the CA and the Authority's sole representative on the STAR executive, voted in favour of the May 17 resolution. An earlier proposal from the CA to run the cross-country trail system was defeated.
On June 13, the CA issued a public Request for Proposal (RFP) to seek an operator for the cross-country trail portions through their land.
Kevin Hogan, president of the Soo Finnish Club, said his organization was aware of the CA's intent to start an RPF process, but that the ski club had begun to make plans for the upcoming season based on the May 17 resolution. Those plans included the purchase of a used groomer for the trails and improvements to the trail system that had deteriorated during the last few years.
Both the Soo Finnish Club, which has been involved with the trails system since its beginnings, and Heyden Adventure Base Camp, a private business based at the Heyden Ski Hill since 2003, submitted proposals to the CA. The Heyden proposal accepted all of the terms requested by the CA except for a one-year agreement. Instead, the business asked for a five-year agreement with annual reviews.
The Soo Finnish Club's 12-page submission, however, rejected several aspects of the RFP. Chief among these was the CA's request for an annual payment of $10,500 for use of their property. The Ski Club argued that the "long-term financial viability" of the trail system could not be met if it were "required to pay substantial land use fees on an annual basis". In return, the Soo Finnish Club promised to restore the international reputation the trail system once enjoyed by using its resources to make improvements.
A second point of contention was the request for a one-year agreement that the Soo Finnish Club rejected also. Instead they requested a 20-year agreement subject to review at five-year intervals. They argued that the longer term would contribute to a stable and successful future by allowing the club to make long-term investments and plans.
On July 11, the CA postponed a decision on either proposal, and instead requested clarifications from both applicants. Brian Anstess, president of Heyden Adventure Base Camp, said that he had accepted all the conditions in the CA's RFP in his first media statement on Saturday. But the Soo Finnish Club has refused to bend on its main objections to the CA document. The Soo Finnish Club still insists that a lengthy agreement is essential for the "operating stability and long-term security" of the trail system.
And on the subject of the annual $10,500 fee demanded by the CA, the ski club argued, "Imposing a large new financial burden on ski operations would impair the ability of the operation to be sustainable in the long term, and as such would not benefit the community." The ski club proposed that the two organizations share financial details related to both the operation of the ski trails and land tax assessments to reach a "reasonable arrangement".
Hogan said the CA has not disclosed what their expenses are for their property where the trail system exists. He said, however, that their own investigation through the city's tax department revealed that the property taxes that would be paid to the CA for the land in question amounted to $950 annually.
Hogan did acknowledge that the CA had received funds from STAR on an annual basis, but said that money was for a variety of services the CA had provided then, that are absent in the new proposal.
The Kinsmen Club issued a media release July 24 supporting the Soo Finnish Club's bid, and predicting that the integrity of the trail system was threatened by the CA's.
Outside the community, the ski club has also received written endorsements from Al Maddox, the executive director of Cross Country Canada based in Canmore, B.C.; Greg Deyne, chair of Northern Ontario Division of Cross Country Ontario; and Jim McCarthy, chair of Cross Country Ontario.
But DelBianco maintains that the CA's decision to issue an RFP was necessitated by policy guidelines governing the use of its property. In hindsight, he was prepared to admit that failing to spell out the necessity of keeping the 36 km trail system intact flawed the original RFP.
"But it is a misconception that if the Sault Finnish Nordic Ski Club is not given the contract, the trail system would be broken up," he added. Anyone with the task of maintaining the entire system would have to negotiate agreements with the property owners through which the trails run, he said.
In a July 28 media release, the CA denied that they had any prior knowledge of an arrangement or agreement between the Kinsmen Club and the Soo Finnish Ski Club. The release did not mention, however, that Gulyas was present and supported the May 17 resolution giving the responsibility of operating the trails system to the Finnish Ski Club. The release goes on to say, "In an effort to ensure a community cross country skiing program would continue" at Hiawatha, the CA Board had "unanimously approved and advertised a request for proposal".
Trailblazer President Darrell Maahs, confirmed that his group has had a "memorandum of agreement" with the local CA to use less than 20 km of CA property for its trails for the past two decades. He said their responsibility, apart from looking after the trails, required guarantees of third party liability insurance. No formal RFP process was ever entertained as part of the arrangement. Neither is there a substantial fee to cover CA costs for land ownership.
