; By JEFF NAGEL
SHAMES MOUNTAIN Ski Corp. officials are
taking another run at settling their debt to the
region's taxpayers.

They tabled a new offer at the Kitimat-Stikine
regional district's weekend board meeting that
would sce the company pay back $85,000 over
five years,

The regional district’s last. demand -was for a
$140,000 one-time payment.

Shames owes the regional district more than

$300,000 for the old Kitsumkalum ski hill.

equipment it bought in 1986.
Shames has renegotiated the payment sched-

ule four times and has only made one interest:

payment since: then.
Company. president Gerry, Martin says much

of. the: old: Kitsumkalum equipment was in-:

‘adequate and was condemned by lift i inspectors.

But the bottom line, says Martin, is the com-
pany can’t afford to make a big payment.

Despite ‘a: spectacular season for, snow last
year, Shames continues to hemorrhage money.

The ski bill has lost $1.4 million over the last
five years, Martin said.

- Those losses have been paid out of the pock-.
ets of the company directors — who consist of
several prominent local businessmen.

_- “The $1.4 million loss is over and above our
$4.3 million original investment and the $4.5
million spent to build the road,” Martin said.

“There are substantial doltass sitting on that
hill,”’ he added. “‘It generates a million plus
dollars into the community every year and a siz-
able amount of tax dollars into the regional dis-
trict and city. And it provides a dimension to
winter recreation that is a strong attraction to
people sealing in this area,”

AN IRATE CABLE TV
viewer’. says. she’s had
enough,

Laura Hanson. wants to
form a group of cable sub-
scribers to pressure Skeena
Cablevision for lower prices
and better quality.

The last straw was when
her last bill arrived notifying
her of a 2.7 per cent rate in-
crease effective Jan.1, 0 |

Hanson was already angry
about the cable service
switching ABC and CBS

‘feeds from Detroit to
Seattle,

Cable officials | ‘said that
change was. made in

response to parents who
didn’t -want their children to
have access to late night
programming from Detroit
in early prime time hours
here,

But Hanson says the result
is several channels with the
same programs on them.

“I’m really sick and tired
of this crap,’? she said, “It’s
really, really annoying. We
had good TV and now
we've got ciap.”?

Hanson says a ratepayers
association will protest rate
increases, monitor channel
changes and signal quality.

Anyone interested in get-
ting involved can call her at
638-8535.

“That's why we think it makes good business
sense for the regional district to support us on
this. FE]

The company’s revenue picture has been in-
proving, Martin says.

Last winter the operation ran ‘marginally in
the black”? although once summer operations

_and office expenses were factored in the red ink
returned.

Martin says he doesn’t see an imminent
closure of Shames — as happened this year

With Powder King ski resort north of Prince
, George.

- "We have a strong board that has been sup-
portive of the operation but at some point in
time that’s going to come to and end because
people aren’t going to be willing to do that
forever,”

Martin predicted the company still has ‘‘the
next few years” to get closer to break-even or

~ else either a sale or closure of the hill would be

likely,

Eliminating the regional district debt now

would give Shames ‘a chance to restructure its
bank loan and improve its financial outlook, _
They’re also in the early stages of trying to

develop lots in the base area that could generate

more business.

Forgiving the Shames debt would be a “‘rela-
tively painless’’ way to help ensure the com-
munity keeps its ski hill, Martin added,

Regional district directors don't want to do-

anything that would likely force Shames into
bankruptcy. But at the same time they have a re-
sponsibility to safeguard the taxpayers’ money.
Regional district board chair
Monaghan says the municipal affairs ministry

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Joanne

Gerry Martin

likely won’t approve a deal that docsn’t meet
that test.

“The people we represent have something to
do with it,’’ she said. “We can’t say ‘Okay,
we're throwing their money away.’”

This was the first year that taxpayers didn’t
have to pay money for the $400,000 in losses
rung up when the regional district operated the
money-losing Kitsumkalum ski hill,

it took nearly a decade to pay off, and was a
constant reminder to politicians that they don’t
ever want to be in the ski hill business again.

For that reason, the regional district has been
reluctant to get ‘involved in a debt-for-shares
swap with Shames,

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