|
These are copies of two letters I faxed to the IDA and the Cortland Standard. I sent one Feb 17th and the other Feb 18th, 1999. |
|
Frank
Hogg Song Mountain Ski resort is located on the far north border of Cortland
County. Most of their clients come from the north and only pass into
Cortland county a few hundred feet from the entrance to Song mountain.
They spend their money at the resort and upon leaving immediately go
into Onondaga county. No Cortland county business benefits from Songs
clients. Song Mountain has no peripheral business. This means that no
other Cortland business (jobs) are affected by Songs presence. No job
gains if they stay, no job loss if they leave.There are no other business
or jobs affected by their existence. They buy their supplies from non-Cortland
county businesses.
Last summer they held a job fair in Drumlins and as a result of that
and other matters they have few employees from Cortland county. Most
of the employees are part timers or barter employees. Barter employees
are those that trade a ski pass for some service to the resort (ski
patrol, ski lessons etc) Loss of barter jobs would have no affect on
the economy of Cortland county. Loss of sessional jobs would have little
effect on the Cortland economy.
The actual number of paid employees, full time and part time that
live in Cortland county appear to be two. There may be a few more but
I've only been able to confirm two. The number of employees is not the
real issue. The total payroll for Cortland county employees is more
important and directly relates to the tax break.
Last month Song Mountain, through their lawyer Scott Chatfield promised
or threatened to sue the town of Preble if the town tried to enforce
its zoning laws. Lawsuits are expensive to bring on. It appears that
Song has the resources to sue so the question is... If they can afford
to sue us why do they need us to pay their taxes? If the IDA does decide to give them this tax money then guarantees
should be given by Song Mountain that they would not sue the town of
Preble. Song Mountain should also be required to obey the zoning laws
of Preble without suing us in the future.
If this tax break were given Song Mountain should buy supplies and
services from Cortland county companies. Currently they buy most of
their supplies from non Cortland county companies. The same appears
to be true for services provided to Song.
In any business partnership or when a business wants a loan from a
bank, certain items are required. With that in mind... Has Song submitted
a business plan to the IDA? If so, I would hope that the IDA would look
it over very closely.
Has Song submitted a financial statement? If so, does it reflect the
financial background of the owners? From what I've learned they are
a very rich group from Rochester, flying around in private jets, etc.
It appears unseemly to have the hard working people of Cortland pay
the taxes for these Rochester millionaires.
Why are you considering this tax break to a company that committed
two felonies against the IDA? If a company did this to me and then had
the hutspa to ask me for a loan I would throw them out the door. This
sure looks upside down and sends a very strange message to other companies.
Commit a crime... the IDA pays your taxes. This certainly seems premature. The new owners have only been in place
3 or 4 months and they have gone through three general managers, several
mountain managers and nobody knows how many other employees have been
replaced. They seem to have no plan or direction or any sense of how
to run the place. The current general manager seems like a nice guy
but he admits to having absolutely no experience running a ski resort.
While I wish them the best of luck, I would not invest any of my money
in this operation. Therefore, I do not think it a very wise investment
for the IDA or the taxpayers of Cortland county.
Frank Hogg
|
|
Frank Hogg Re: Song Mountain request for tax assistance from the IDA Note: This is an addition to the fax I sent yesterday. Dear Mr. Eads, I read your comment in the Cortland Standard of 2/17/99 with interest. "I think what effects the regional economy effects all of us." I agree completely, however it is inappropriate and grossly unfair to ask the residents of Preble and Cortland county to pay for an admitted regional issue. I think that this should be dealt with on the state level. After the meeting on the 16th in Preble you mentioned a concern that if Song failed then the other resorts in the area might buy it and close it down to remove competition. If that happened we could still tax it at full value and refuse to reduce taxes. If they failed to pay then the county would take it over and either sell it or turn it into a resort again. Thus removing the incentive for the other resorts to do it. The other resorts, knowing this would happen is our guarantee that they would not do it in the first place. Frank Hogg |