Correction: City, Steamboat Resort sill working on deal to avoid lift tax vote

While the city of Steamboat Springs has agreed to certain terms of a deal, Steamboat Resort has not.

Steamboat Resort and the city of Steamboat Springs are still working on a deal that would avoid a lift tax vote. (Dylan Anderson/The Yampa Valley Bugle)

Correction: On Wednesday morning, The Yampa Valley Bugle incorrectly reported a lift tax deal between the city of Steamboat Springs and Steamboat Ski & Resort Corp based on comments made Tuesday night by City Council President Gail Garey. Following the initial publication of this story, Garey clarified that her comments meant the city had agreed to certain terms, not that there was an agreement between the two parties. This story was corrected and updated at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, July 16.

Steamboat Ski & Resort Corp. is still mulling a potential lift tax deal with the city of Steamboat Springs on Wednesday, after City Council President Gail Garey said Tuesday that the city had agreed to certain terms in a contribution agreement.  

On Wednesday morning, The Yampa Valley Bugle incorrectly reported Garey’s comments as meaning the two sides had agreed to a deal. Garey clarified Wednesday that her statement meant the city had agreed to certain terms, not that the two sides were in agreement.

“That is really in Ski Corps’ court to also agree to those terms,” Garey said Wednesday afternoon. “We feel like we negotiated in good faith, there has been months of negotiation, and that is our position at this point.”

As stated, a lift tax deal would see Steamboat Resort pay $2.25 million in new monies ($2.75 million total) each year to the city, funding that would be earmarked for Steamboat Springs Transit. Notably, the deal as it stands doesn’t include any service guarantees.

Loryn Duke, Director of Communications for Steamboat Resort, said Wednesday that there are still some terms that need to be worked out before there is an agreement.

“There is a lot on the line for our community and with the no guarantee of maintaining service with the $2.75 million from the resort, we are still looking for the city to collaborate on a few last terms, including the reduction of the escalator,” Duke said. “But, as [Garey] referenced, we are nearing the finish line and the Resort is also looking forward to getting this dialed without having to go to ballot.”

The escalator refers to how the Resort’s contribution would increase over the term of the deal. A key difference is how the escalator is capped, said Council member Joella West on Wednesday, one of the city’s two Council negotiators. The city would like it to adjust at a rate of inflation with a cap of 5% while the resort is looking for a cap of 3%, West said.

According to notes about the July 2 negotiation meeting, the total deal is for $2.75 million, though roughly $500,000 of that is already coming to the city via a voluntary contribution from Steamboat Resort. This money would be earmarked to support Steamboat Springs Transit.

“We believe that after months of agreement among the partners and negotiations that we have a fair agreement and look forward to working with our partners to deliver the best service we can, given the contribution amount,” Garey said Tuesday night, with the phrase “we have a fair agreement” referring to the terms Council agreed to, not an agreement between the two sides.

Funding in the deal would be earmarked for the city’s transit system, though it would not be enough to increase bus service in town. One of Steamboat Resort’s non-negotiables at the onset of talks was that a deal would include an increase in bus service. The deal as laid out doesn’t even guarantee the current level of service, notes from the July 2 negotiation meeting show.

In an email to Council before Tuesday’s meeting, Tim Wohlgenant, president and CEO of the Yampa Valley Community Foundation, pushed Council to support reach a deal with Ski Corp., saying that not doing so could lead the resort to pull back some of the roughly $2 million it contributes locally.

“Not only would a ballot measure create an ‘us’ versus ‘them’ dynamic, but it could result in SSRC pulling back its philanthropic support for nonprofits or rethink its commitment to other community-benefit programs, like the [Regional Transportation Authority],” Wohlgenant wrote. “Far better is to work in collaboration.”

While a deal would avoid a lift tax vote now, notes from negotiations indicate that it wouldn’t necessarily prevent a future city council from pursuing a lift tax. If that were to happen, terms of the deal would trigger a review, as resort officials said they would essentially be paying twice.

Council discussed terms in executive session on Tuesday, before emerging to announce that they instructed council negotiators to support the terms in the initial draft. Prior to entering the closed-door meeting, Council member Amy Dickson questioned why the discussion needed to be in secret.

“Minutes are public, their terms are public, and I just would like to put that out there to Council if we are ready to have this conversation in public,” Dickson said, a comment that initially received silence from the rest of Council.

Council member Michael Buccino then said he wanted to learn more in private before discussing the deal in public, a point that others agreed to. The negotiation notes indicate that Council hopes to have an executed agreement by Aug. 5.