CLARK CO. STILL RUNNING BRUCE MOUND
Thursday, October 6th, 2011 -- 11:46 AM
For awhile, early this year, it looked as if Clark County was going to get out of the skiing and tubing business, but with the winter sports season just a couple months away, an official says the county will continue to operate Bruce Mound this year, and in the future.Citing the increasing cost of maintaining the skiing and tubing facility, the Forestry and Parks committee passed a motion in January to ?move in the direction of proposed department structure without Bruce Mound.?
That set off a firestorm of controversy.
The hill has been county-operated since 1960 and the county had accepted thousands of dollars in private donations for improvements, including the construction of a new chalet with the understanding that, if they stopped operating the hill before 2017, they?d have to pay back that money.
"We're getting everything ready," says Forestry and Parks Administrator Josh Pedersen, who took over in April, after much of the debate had concluded. "We're looking forward to running the ski hill county-owned and operated again this year.
Pedersen doesn?t anticipate any changes to the fee structure or the hill?s hours of operation.
The committee will discuss the possibility of having a third-party operate the concession stand in the chalet, but no other changes are expected.
Meanwhile, the Friends of Bruce Mound have been hard at work developing new runs, which will open in the winter of 2012-13.
"They took the initiative. They got approval from the committee back in May to go ahead and complete the clearing of all the brush and the seeding, and all the erosion control to put in these new ski runs. All that work is pretty much done," he states.
As far as the maintenance concerns, the department continues to explore ways to save money, Pedersen says.
Bruce Mound usually opens in mid-December.
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