I just got off of the phone with Tyson Cook from Somerset Trust. He has given me permission to post this information. Somerset Trust is in very serious negotiations with a group (which he could not name due to confidentiality) that is more than just a "tire-kicker". And no, they are not from Montana. They do have experience with ski operations. He is very optimistic that a deal can happen very soon. Everybody who wants to see Laurel Mountain re-open again, keep your fingers crossed.

Sounds good to me.

I just received this email from Tyson Cook of Somerset Trust and he has given me permission to post this info:

"Our potential buyer has just recently decided to withdraw. Unfortunately I can’t give you his name (confidentiality) but I can tell you that this project was truly not big enough for his group to do. His company has done over $2B in development over the past 15 years and Laurel Mountain would barely even show up on their radar. The guy was somewhat interested in doing it personally but ultimately decided that it would be too time consuming.

Unfortunately, this now takes us going back to the drawing board and starting all over again. Jerry Jones (our broker in Colorado) is still working on selling the resort however we’ve decided to put a new twist on to things that we hadn’t considered earlier. The Bank is now willing to look at anyone interested in just the slopes….or just the village land. Before, we packaged them together in the deal but that hasn’t worked and we now need to be more flexible with our prospective buyers.

We still have a few interested parties that have been lingering out there for a while and we’ll see what this does to the overall equation."

hockeydave this news isn't the news we all were hoping to hear but maybe there's good news in the disappointing:

Quote:

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The Bank is now willing to look at anyone interested in just the slopes….or just the village land. Before, we packaged them together in the deal but that hasn’t worked and we now need to be more flexible with our prospective buyers.

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Sounds like they're done trying to hit a home run and ready to get this (their involvement) over with??

I take it this would potentially make things easier for a Co-Op to run just the slopes while say another business ran the business side of things at the lodge and housing??

Sad news indeed, it looked like this group had the resources to develop Laurel's full potential. Three has been real interest in forming a co-op to run Laurel. I have a list of contacts from a previous meeting. I'm just not convinced that there is enough interest to raise the capital to reopen Laurel in its current state. Perhaps the DCNR will now seriously consider operating Laurel. Doug Finger has always been ready to assume the responsibilities if given the green light from his superiors. The petition campaign we did here was noticed but in the end the response was limited and the timing wrong.

I've been convinced that Laurel will only open if those of us interested take the time and recruit the talent and make it happen. So I ask all of you interested Laurel enthusiast, where do we go from here?

While I love Laurel, I really think that until land is released and the infrastructure (lifts and snow making) is upgraded that the place has little chance of being successful.

I wonder if these folks were also interested in Hidden Valley and perhaps are close to closing a deal to buy the place. Have the Somerset Bank folks mentioned anything about that.

Maybe as a small group, we don't have the resources to turn Laurel around. However, would we have the resources to just buy the land? That is the first step. Do we know the price to buy the slopes and village (together and separate)?

The land for sale is the lots at Laurel Mountain Village, a private home development right outside the access road of the ski area but not slope side. The land that is the ski area is state park land that comes with a restriction that doesn’t allow overnight lodging. In fact the only allowable use of the land is for daily winter sports. The asking price for the Village land and the physical facility at the ski area (lodge, outbuildings, and aboveground components of the snowmaking system) is said to be 7 million.

It will cost roughly $400,000 to operate the ski area for a single season. That includes salaries, supplies and utilities. We must have this in hand before the season to begin preparation such as lift inspection and basic maintenance.

Are there 400 'investors' willing to put in $1000 for the privilege of owning a lease, lifts, lodge and related equipment to operate 1 season with the hope that enough income will be generated to sustain future operations? Both the DCNR and Somerset Trust have said they are willing to consider such a plan.