Battle Over Ski Resort Heating Up Mount Spokane Operator Asks State To Reject Rival Bid

Mount Spokane Skiing Corp. has asked the state to reject rival Mount Spokane 2000 Study Group’s bid to run the skiing concession on state land northeast of Spokane.

Gregg Sowder, president of Mount Spokane Skiing, sent a letter Wednesday to the Washington State Parks & Recreation Commission asking that it throw out the study group’s proposal on technical grounds.

Sowder wouldn’t reveal the exact reasons he feels the study group’s bid is invalid. If the state were to agree, only Sowder’s company’s would be considered for the 20-year concession.

Wayne McLaughlin, state contracts manager, said that he’d received the letter from Sowder but had not yet responded to it.

The study group, made up of Spokane civic and business leaders, wants to replace Sowder’s company with a non-profit authority to reinvest profits back into the popular Mount Spokane ski hill.

From the state’s perspective, the study group bid comes much closer to providing what the parks commission originally requested than Sowder’s bid does.

The major differences between what the study group offered and Sowder’s bid include:

Concession fee: Sowder’s company offered $20,000 cash and 1 percent of receipts. The study group offers a sliding fee of no less than 3 percent of the gross receipts from running the mountain, rising to 4 percent if receipts are over $2 million.

Facility improvements: Sowder offered up to $1 million in improvements over the first 10 years of the concession. Sowder also offered to build a sixth lift on the back side of the mountain for about $700,000.

The commission would not consider Sowder’s plan to add a sixth lift until after the concession process was finished, McLaughlin said.

The study group offers to plow all proceeds beyond the concession fee back into improvements at the ski area. Renovating the aging two lodges and all facilities are at the top of the study group’s priority list.

Snow plowing. Sowder’s company will not pay for snow plowing during the season, since the roads are on state land. The study group offers $75,000 each year to help the state keep the often-slippery access roads to the ski area clear.

The study group also offers to maintain several parking areas around the ski area. Sowder’s proposal does not.

Sowder has until March 10 to review the study group’s proposal. If Sowder decides to match the group’s terms, he could keep the concession and run Mount Spokane for the next 20 years.

If the terms are too onerous, negotiations will begin with the study group to buy out Sowder’s interest on the mountain. An appraisal pegged the value of Sowder’s equipment and investments at the ski area at $3.5 million.

Ted Stiles of the study group disagrees on that amount. The two parties could go to binding arbitration to decide an amount.

If the study group wins the concession, they will likely take over operations for the 1996-1997 ski season. The group has created a Mount Spokane Public Development Authority as the nonprofit board to run the area, but Sowder challenged the group’s legality in court. The case is pending.

, DataTimes