4th Annual Community Pot Luck Dinner
Everyone is invited! Please come down to the Town Hall on Sunday, April 2nd between 5:00 pm and 7:00 pm, and bring your favourite dish to share. Beer and Wine will be available to purchase. A big thanks to Mark Lehmann with SSMR who has generously donated the venue, as well as the plates and cutlery.
The Task Force (proposed Silver Star Resort Association)
The Task Force will be holding an Information Meeting, Open House at the NATC on Saturday April 8th from 3:30 to 5:00. This is meeting will not be held in the same “town hall” format, but will be an opportunity to discuss the latest proposal with the Task Force members.
With Ross Foden stepping aside, Gordon Baughen will be the interim head of the Task Force. Three new members have joined, and they are Floyd Gradley, a full-time homeowner in Alpine Meadows, Julie Sherborne, a homeowner in The Ridge, and Tim Dekker, a homeowner in the Snowbird.
Learn More and Stay Connected
A number of documents are available online that provide information about the Silver Star Resort Association model, the changes made to it based on input received so far, and the process the Silver Star Marketing Task Force has undertaken this past year and a half. The material from both open houses and the survey results is also available. Go to goo.gl/8QyZZE . The Task Force welcomes your questions and comments - email: silverstarmarketingtaskforce@gmail.com .
Member Engagement Committee
The Committee has been actively engaged in encouraging all the strata corporations on the mountain to participate in membership to the SSPOA on behalf of their owners. We are thrilled to say that with the exception of Creekside, all the stratas (and their owners) now enjoy the benefits of membership! For those owners at Creekside that are unable to take advantage of the reduced strata rate, we do encourage you to go to the website and register as an individual homeowner so that you will continue to receive our newsletters and be included as our community moves forward.
For all the homeowners who live in the following stratas:
- The Grandview
- The Mews
- The Silver Views
- The Snowbird
- The Firelight
- The Pinnacles
- The Alpine Meadows
- The Silver Creek
- KAS 1703
Please go to www.sspoa.ca and register on our new website. You will not be required to pay, but we do need your full contact information.
For individual homeowners who have already paid your 2017 dues – you will have received a separate e-mail with specific instructions.
For homeowners who have not yet paid your 2017 dues – please go to www.sspoa.ca AS OF March 31st, and register. You will be asked for your full contact information, and be given an option to pay via PayPal or with a credit card.
Be advised, that after March 31st, ONLY paid up members will have access to our full newsletters, announcements, updates, etc.
The Utilities Services Committee
StarGas Utilities enclosed a letter in your recent monthly invoice outlining that they filed a Commodity Rate application to the BC Utilities Commission (BCUC). Their application seeks to lock in prices on portions of its winter deliveries for the following two fiscal years. This application was filed on February 17th 2017 the very same day that StarGas filed their Reply Argument regarding the SSPOA’s intervention on the Delivery Rate. The SSPOA has filed our concerns and are still awaiting a response from the BC Utilities Commission. To read our response please see http://www.bcuc.com/Documents/Proceedings/2017/DOC_48799_C1-12-SSPOA-Further-Reply.pdf .
The present commodity charge for natural gas charged by StarGas is $5.28 per GJ; as comparison the FortisBC commodity charge for residents 10 KM down the road is $2.86 per GJ.
The Commodity Rate application is a different process than the Delivery Rate process that we participated in. The result of that process should be released in the middle of May. If you are interested in the proceedings you can go to http://www.bcuc.com/ApplicationView.aspx?ApplicationId=561
Silver Star Stakeholders Liaison Group
As reported in the last newsletter, The Silver Star Stakeholders Liaison Group met on February 27th to discuss mutual concerns. Follow up from that meeting is the great news regarding the matter of a $10,000 fee that was being expensed by the RDNO for their attendance at meetings and other resort matters. Mike McNabb has since agreed that this fee will be repealed in their 2018 budget. (Your SSPOA really IS working for you!)
The SSPOA Board of Directors reviews their role with respect to the Silver Star Resort Association Proposal
The Silver Star Property Owners Association (SSPOA) has held the position of remaining neutral on the creation of a Silver Star Resort Association (SSRA). Our stated policy has been:
“While the SSPOA has adopted a neutral position on the subject of a Resort Association at Silver Star, it remains committed to facilitating community discussion on the proposal.”
The SSPOA has reconsidered its role. The discussion and debate to date has seen some clear differences of opinion, mainly on the subject of the RAM versus non-RAM properties at Silver Star. The SSPOA represents both RAM and non-RAM members. A discussion that pits one against the other is not in the association’s interests or in the long term interests of the Silver Star community. Therefore, the SSPOA will engage in questioning and assessing the proposal with the view of what is best for all the owners of property at Silver Star. To that end, the SSPOA will aim to insure that:
- The information being presented is complete and addresses the issue at hand
- The proposed financial assessments are equitable
- The proposed operating budget is value for money
- The proposed Board governance structure is reflective of the communities marketing needs
The SSPOA must make sure the answers to these issues are presented in an impartial yet critically reviewed manner; that is what the new role of the SSPOA will be. It is not to advocate but to ensure the information presented is complete and has received a critical peer review to give confidence to the members in making their decision. We can remain neutral but ensure that the information presented is complete and provides for an informed decision.
The SSRA proposal has the potential to divide this community. If not handled properly, a failed petition process could alienate the lift operator and RAM members. A successful petition could leave the non-RAM residents resenting the new association. It is clear that these divisions are already becoming reality, often based on lack of or on incorrect information or misunderstanding of the facts.
Silver Star Ski Resort Central Reservations is the primary vehicle for the booking of the majority of village hotel properties which have RAM covenants on title. The first undertaking by the SSPOA under the new policy was to complete an inventory of the properties not obligated under RAM that are engaged in short term rentals. In addition, the SSPOA has been in discussion with Central Reservations to determine the number of RAM properties that are renting nightly through them.
Up to this point, this question has been addressed in generalities, either by using an estimate or modeling. Some argue that it is not the responsibility of the non-RAM properties to participate in the marketing of the resort. Without firm numbers, the debate will be founded on assumptions. In order to provide an accurate understanding of our accommodation demographics a data mining exercise was undertaken by volunteers of the SSPOA.
The data was acquired by accessing the following websites:
Vacation Rental By Owner (VRBO) also known as “Home Away”
Owner Direct
Silver Star Stays
Airbnb
Silver Star Mountain Central Reservations
OK Chalets
The Bulldog (Silverstarmountain.com)
In total, these websites have over 560 listings; many of the listings were duplicated from one website to another and even multiple listings within one website. The goal was to have a single listing which is accurate, verified and therefore reliable.
The Results (to date): (Number of suites / houses
Creekside 53
Cabin Colony 28
Grandview 6
Knoll 120
TOTAL 207 Rental Units
Many of the listings were multiple units, (house offered separately from the suite or house and suite offered together), so the total above reflects the separate units and not the combined property.
There are 18 properties offering more than one suite resulting in 188 titled parcels engaged in short term rentals.
Within these 207 rental units, the total number of bedrooms was 468 and the total number of guests that can be accommodated (also known as pillows) is 1468
The numbers of RAM properties renting nightly through the Silver Star Mountain Resort Central Reservations is 211 Rental Units representing 188 titled parcels. To say the results are surprising to all involved in this project is an understatement.
The Board of the SSPOA hopes this information assists our members in their discussions and helps the Task Force in its presentation of the Resort Association proposal.
Check the SSPOA website for future information updates. The association will be looking at how other Resort Associations are organized and function and as well as other issues of interest.