In response to a story about appraisals being sought for Stone Ridge Golf Course and the Mount Dufour Ski Hill, David Brunet, managing director of the ski hill wants to make one thing perfectly clear – Mount Dufour is not for sale.
The following is his full submission to ElliotLakeToday:
I just wanted to reach out to you to set the record straight about Mt. Dufour Ski Area.
The City of Elliot Lake does not own the ski hill. The city owns the land only.
Mt. Dufour Ski Area owns all the buildings, chairlift, snow-making equipment, all the infrastructure on this site.
Mt. Dufour is a non-profit corporation registered with the Province of Ontario since 1978.
The ski hill has been in existence since approximately 1962. We have been run by a volunteer board for over 60 years and I (Dave Brunet) have been a part of this board for over 40 years as a volunteer.
The main reason for an appraisal of the ski hill is for insurance purposes. The ski hill is not for sale as some people have posted on different social media.
Mt. Dufour Ski Area does pay land taxes to the City of Elliot Lake for the land that it owns. There is another parcel of land at the ski hill that is owned by BHP (former Rio Algom).
The ski hill runs on a budget of approximately $250,000 per year, in that we hire between 12 to 15 seasonal employees at a cost of approximately $120,000.
This $250,000 is raised on our own through lift ticket income, memberships, donations and fundraising efforts.
The ski hill operates on its own except for the following contributions from the City of Elliot Lake.
These contributions are Insurance, Chairlift Audit every five years, larger capital improvements that are above our means.
The City recently bought a New Groomer (2019) for the ski hill as well, They also buy new groomers for the Snowmobile Club.
These contributions to the ski hill are no different than all the subsidies and costs that the City of Elliot Lake spends on numerous facilities in town.
The Arena and Pool alone are subsidized by approximately $300,000 each.
Other buildings or groups that are subsidized include Snowmobile Club, Collins Hall, Airport, Mississaugi Park, Library, Civic Centre (now gone), transit system, Renaissance Centre, outdoor parks/playgrounds, beaches/lifeguards, junior hockey teams, golf course, skateboard park, dog park.
The list is probably much longer than this, but my point is, hardly any of these facilities or groups generate enough money to fully sustain themselves on their own.
They are all subsidized in one way or the other by the taxpayers of Elliot Lake.
This is not unique to Elliot Lake. All towns and cities are run this way. It is part of the infrastructure and make up of a town.
We all need these things to operate and all of us do pay for it whether we like it or not.
Personally, I’m fine with this, I do not use some of these facilities but all of our taxpayers are treated equally and pay their share.
I do not understand why the Golf Course and Ski hill are being targeted for possible sale when all these other facilities and groups are in the same situation.
I do hope you publish this story as written.
Thank you for your time.
Dave Brunet
Mt. Dufour Ski Area
Elliot Lake, Ontario
Canada