22 March 2014, Vol.1, No.21 > PART I > WHAT’S
A ‘SNOWSHOE RESORT AREA DISTRICT’?
The POCAHONTAS CRIER
The Pocahontas Crier
is an independent Internet News Service
that has so far endorsed two
candidates for County
Commission
–
one a Republican & the other a Democrat –
in addition to providing in depth
news reporting on important
issues directly affecting the
Citizens of Pocahontas
County!
PART I >WHAT’S A…
‘SNOWSHOE
RESORT AREA DISTRICT’?
Where 48% approve; 2% oppose; & 50% are
undecided – of those who own property!
As many of you already know, the
Chief Operations Officer promoting the ‘Snowshoe
Resort Area District’ (SRAD) is Frank DeBerry who on 18 March 2014 gave a
presentation to the Pocahontas
County Commission for
them to ‘review for completeness’ on
or before 17 May 2014. In common
language that ‘review’ means that IF
two of the three county commissioners approve the creation of SRAD – then ‘it shall thereafter
be a public corporation, but without any power to levy or collect ad
valorem taxes’! SRAD will
become an entity unto itself where the actual ‘homeowners’ will be footing the bills & debts with the ‘equity’ in their property! Yet the alleged
purpose for creating SRAD is to absorb & supplement the duties of what is
currently called the ‘Mountain Top Assessment’
(MTA), for Public Safety, Fire Protection, Shuttle Transportation, and
Common/ Shared Roads and Grounds Maintenance. While the MTA is Snowshoe Mountain, Inc.
appointed persons, the SRAD will have seven (7) ‘elected’ persons representing: three (3) for Property Owners; two
(2) for ‘Resort Operator’ (Snowshoe);
0ne (1) for Owners of Undeveloped Parcels; & one (1) for Commercial
Property Owners. Setting rhetoric aside, that’s four (4) for Snowshoe & three (3) for
Property Owners…since Snowshoe owns the majority of undeveloped land & the commercial
property. Altogether, the budget
is estimated to be from $2.5 Million - $3.5 Million or thereabouts at this
time. But there currently are NO TERM LIMITS for
those once first elected who will then draft all the BY-LAWS for everyone else
to follow – including any future elections – and Snowshoe will hold 4 of the 7
seats! Welcome to ‘corporate-fascism’! Sounds similar, doesn’t it, to the proposed
park called the ‘Birthplace of Rivers National Monument’ where the DETAILS COME AFTER the ‘designation’!
Ordinarily the first thought that
comes to mind is, ‘So What?’ The majority of the
approximate 2200+ ‘Property Owners’
are businesses and investors who use their particular parcels to wine &
dine clients and provide ‘perks’
much like owning season tickets for sporting events and letting clients go to
games, etc. – and while not using their properties all the time for themselves,
they simply let Snowshoe rent them out to those that actually ski at
ski-resorts! In any case, for
tax-purposes, the properties of the commercial businesses are generally used as
advertising for a ‘business-expense’, ‘tax-deduction’,
and investment income, etc. Thus for commercial businesses that own property at Snowshoe
& Silver Creek, no matter what it will cost them by the proposed SRAD, all
expenses can become a ‘deduction’ in
most cases from their taxes – but those same ‘deductions’ for increased expenses may NOT
apply to individual, non-business, property owners!
And a sinister side of things is
that perhaps more than half of all current property owners only know
what Snowshoe is telling them, and not the actual legal facts that the proposed SRAD can
borrow upwards to $40 MILLION – 80% of which
will be secured by the residential improved real property – enforced
by government ‘liens’ – and only
needs a simple majority for approval, and
once done cannot be undone! Enforced ‘liens’ are eventually paid from
the property-equity – which for all practical purposes is the ‘homeowner’ – not the developer, resort
operator, or owner of forest land or farm land, etc.
A curious odyssey that comes to
mind is why have two groups, i.e., MTA & SRAD, essentially doing the same
thing while the MTA is corporate-appointed & the SRAD is elected? The answer being
given: the MTA conducts the public services
normally performed by a local government or a Resort Master Association (MRA)!
But while the MTA is limited in
its scope, the RAD will for all practical purposes will become a ‘corporate government’ with lien powers,
but not with levying power, to ensure enforcement, including its own law
enforcement! But whether SRAD completely
finances its own police force or is subsidized or paid in full by the county
commission or county sheriff – meaning county taxpayers – is not yet clarified
and depends on the ‘agreement’
reached with the county commission – after
its approval of course!
Regardless, in that respect, a RAD would fall under the
historic definition of ‘corporate-fascism’
whereby corporations take on the powers of government! And in this case, the boundaries would take in
all of Snowshoe & Silver Creek – approximately 12,000+ acres – and nothing at
this time south of Rt. 66, thus those properties being developed at the base of
the mountain outside the SRAD boundaries would not be part of the proposed ‘mountain-government’ – or in the words
of Snowshoe, ‘a
quasi-municipality’! If this be the
case, then why not simply form a ‘municipal
corporation’ as in Durbin, Marlinton, and Hillsboro, etc.? Or isn’t it because Intrawest &
Fortress are ‘developers’ and not ‘managers’ of resorts? And isn’t it also due to the fact that as a
RAD, both Intrawest & Fortress can HAVE AS MUCH
DEBT AS THEY WISH in order to cover their existing in excess of $1.5
BILLION? You see, if Snowshoe & Silver Creek were to become a ‘municipal corporation’, they would be
LIMITED BY LAW as to how much DEBT they could have upon themselves – but
as SRAD – there’s no limits – after all
the new seven-person board of SRAD makes all the rules! Can you smell the roses & flowers yet ‘homeowners’?
Essentially a new ‘resort tax’,
called a ‘resort
service fee’, will be implemented, in addition to the MTA assessments, on all retail sales &
services for everything within the SRAD boundaries. The proposal calls
for an immediate 2% ‘assessment’,
normally called an ‘impost’, ‘excise’,
or ‘sales’ tax, but it can also go as
high as 5%, but no increase is promised for at least three (3) years – but
the exact ‘resort service fee’ rate
has yet to be finalized! Yet
it’s proposed to take effect on 01 December 2014! Meanwhile, all property owners will continue
paying their MTA assessments relative to their property value – but whenever
they eat out, drink out, rent skis or participate in any retail sales or services
on the mountain – then they too will pay the proposed RAD ‘sales tax’, aka, ‘resort service fee’!
While Snowshoe is alleging that
all MTA assessments AND
‘resort
service fees’ will go towards ‘Public Safety, Fire Protection, Shuttle Transportation, and
Common/Shared Roads and Grounds Maintenance’,
etc., it has also told property owners that without approval, ‘roads will simply fall into disrepair’! While they recognize that the county cannot
support THEIR ROADS on the mountain – they also recognize that IF they became a ‘local
municipality’ that they would have expanded options – including the power to levy or collect ad valorem taxes’! But as a ‘local
municipality’, THAT would require open elections, term limits, limited
debt, and a democratic process – while as a RAD – Snowshoe has total corporate control! And that
includes all its roads when otherwise those roads would be maintained by the
WV-DOH!
Ironically two items of interest
find themselves in a dilemma. One, once
SRAD is a created reality, it will be zoned so that NO LIQUOR STORE(s) can be
operated on the mountain, all alcoholic beverages will either have to be
brought to the resorts, or purchased in the various restaurants that have an
ABC license. And second, when it comes
to a ‘capital improvement’, there is
no mention of the resorts needing a new sewage-waste-treatment facility, what
is mentioned is that all ‘wasterwater will continue to be run by the Pocahontas County
Public Service Commission’ [sic]. And according to the Public Service
District (PDS) the ‘fee’ for those
services will have to be raised no less than about $71.00 per/month
per/household for all within the Snowshoe/Durbin PDS…and some charged even higher
costs per/month! Why so high? Because the cost to build a new
sewage-treatment plant will most likely exceed $20+ Million & then
some! And according to the new RAD law,
that cost may not be payable via the ‘resort service fee’! In short, it’s an uncertain future for
sure! Ask someone on the board of the
PDS!
Now while Intrawest claims it’s
associated with eleven (11) resorts at the present time, persons in the State
Legislature swear that its really only five (5) pursuant to the disastrous 2010
Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada, the HQ for Intrawest. And little to no mention of the $1.5 Billion
Debt as per the 2010 Winter Olympics has been referenced outside of the WV
State Legislature when it considered the Resort Area District legislation. So whether this
concept of SRAD is simply a method to keep Intrawest (a foreign corporation)
& Donald Trump’s Fortress Hedge-Fund on ‘life
support’ until such time as they are forced to file bankruptcy remains to be seen, but one thing is for certain,
creating a method to raise about $3 Million with a ‘resort service fee’ will take a
very long time to pay off such a massive corporate debt when those funds are to
be designated for local resort purposes only!
Ah, but getting as high as $40 Million using the ‘equity’ of the improved properties of the ‘homeowners’ should keep the ‘life-support’ going a little longer – before the inevitable! And let’s not forget what a New York Hedge Fund under the control of
Donald Trump can do via the ‘health &
welfare’ clauses for the managers of those funds!
That’s why Intrawest is in the
proverbial ‘rock
& hard place’ since as a RAD they can control everything &
HOPE TO SURVIVE; while as a ‘municipal corporation’ they have to endure a
democratic process via public elections, debt limitations & such; and IF
forced into bankruptcy – the massive Debt will be gone & the resort silent
unless a good resort management company takes over – OR – if the State of West Virginia took it
over, as it does state parks, and relegates the day to day operations to
Pocahontas County since its the folks in this county who already keep the mountain
resorts open day to day! The big
difference would be that all the employees at Snowshoe & Silver Creek
united in a ‘Workers
CO-OP’ would SHARE THE WEALTH with 60% to the State, and 40% to
the Workers & this county! That’s a ‘LIVING WAGE’
compared to a ‘Minimum
Wage’! Geewiz, what do most folks do when they have more money to
spend? And isn’t that what a prosperous
economy is all about?
In the meantime, here is what some
famous folks have said about the MERGER of Corporations & Government:
"Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism
because it is a merger of State and corporate power." – Benito
Mussolini, Fascist Leader of Italy
"Fascism will come to America in the name of
anti-fascism'.
I'm afraid, based on my own long experience that fascism will come
to America
in the name of national security." – Sen. Huey Long, Louisiana
"Fascism is capitalism in decay." – Vladimir Ilyich Lenin
"Friendly Fascism portrays two conflicting trends in the United States
and other countries of the so-called ‘free world’. The first is a slow and
powerful drift toward greater concentration of power and wealth in a repressive
Big Business-Big Government partnership. This drift leads down the road toward
a new and subtly manipulative form of corporatist serfdom." –
Bertram Gross, Author, ‘Friendly Fascism’
Ask any employee working ‘on the mountain’ if they feel their
wages are equal to the demands of their employment – or – if they would be
better off Sharing
the Wealth with the corporate-owners? Come to think of it, all the employees would
be far better off Sharing the Wealth within a ‘Workers CO-OP’…since there would be no
corporate-owners or any ‘masser/slave’
serfdom!
THIS TIME…there’s no excuse…
IT’S YOUR
CHOICE…
TO CHANGE FOR THE BETTER!
Just say ‘NO’ to
those who want to keep this county in Poverty &
Pauperism
– and –
Just SAY ‘YES’ to
real Progress
& Prosperity for the future!
On Primary Day – YOU have a chance to elect two persons
that will always put YOU first! They know that:
THE
GREATER COMMON GOOD ALWAYS COMES BEFORE SELF OR ANY SELF-SERVING SPECIAL
INTEREST!
Keep up to Date – Stay tuned to these Websites:
► IF YOU are registered to vote as a Republican,
you can
Vote for Norman
Lee Alderman in the Primary Election
on 13 May 2014;
► IF YOU are registered to vote as a Democrat,
you can
Vote for Patti Heinemann in the primary election on
13 May 2014;
► If you are not registered to vote, then you must
register
to vote on or before 22 April 2014;
► If you are registered to vote, but with no party
affiliation, then you must request
Loud & Clear either
a Republican or Democrat ballot
on Primary Day when
you go to the polls; &
► Since Norman
is unopposed, he recommends that you
request a Democrat ballot to vote for Patti so that
this
county can again have an Honest & Just county
commission!
► Early Voting is from 30
April 2014 to 10 May 2014 – so
Vote Early & avoid
the rush!
If you
wish to financially assist, kindly send all campaign contributions to: The United Campaign for County Commission (UCCC), c/o
Citizens for Common Sense Alternatives (CCSA), a registered Political Action
Committee, 7837 Wesley Chapel Road, Green Bank, West Virginia 24944-9063
Phone:
1.304.456.4565 or 3282 (also fax)
[The Pocahontas Crier is part
of The Crier Coalition of Internet News Services comprised of The Pocahontas Commentator,
The
Pocahontas Crier, Signal
Fires of WV & Echoes from the Holl’r.]
