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I only went there once but this sounds like they are getting the shaft. Too bad, it's really the only place like this around here.
The St. Louis region's only ski resort will close after this winter because of a dispute with the city of Wildwood, the resort's owner said today.
“I would basically characterize it as blackmail,” said Tim Boyd, president of Peak Resorts Inc., the company that owns the Hidden Valley golf and ski resort in Wildwood.
Hidden Valley applied for a permit to build a snow tubing area and parking lot to accommodate it. But the city's planning and zoning commission last week told the resort it would need to meet additional requirements before it could expand.
The resort needed to get its hours of operation approved by the city, and either pay a nearly $252,000 fee to the city for a new parking lot or dedicate some of its land as public space.
The resorts hours of operation are not currently restricted by the city because it was built 26 years ago, before the city was incorporated in 1995.
Boyd says Hidden Valley is the least profitable of Peak's 11 resorts and that he is in the process of trying to sell it to a real estate developer.
Wildwood Mayor Tim Woerther said Boyd has had a history of disputes with the city and in the past has made large-scale improvements before getting the city's permission. In the past, he said, Boyd has not worked well with the city.
“They believe simply that because they pre-existed Wildwood, they don't have to,” Woerther said.
But Woerther said he didn't want to see the resort close.
“Hidden Valley is a great asset not only to the city but to the region as a whole,” he said.
Boyd said his decision to close the resort is not a negotiating tactic and that he has in fact withdrawn his application for the snow tubing area.
“I would basically characterize it as blackmail,” said Tim Boyd, president of Peak Resorts Inc., the company that owns the Hidden Valley golf and ski resort in Wildwood.
Hidden Valley applied for a permit to build a snow tubing area and parking lot to accommodate it. But the city's planning and zoning commission last week told the resort it would need to meet additional requirements before it could expand.
The resort needed to get its hours of operation approved by the city, and either pay a nearly $252,000 fee to the city for a new parking lot or dedicate some of its land as public space.
The resorts hours of operation are not currently restricted by the city because it was built 26 years ago, before the city was incorporated in 1995.
Boyd says Hidden Valley is the least profitable of Peak's 11 resorts and that he is in the process of trying to sell it to a real estate developer.
Wildwood Mayor Tim Woerther said Boyd has had a history of disputes with the city and in the past has made large-scale improvements before getting the city's permission. In the past, he said, Boyd has not worked well with the city.
“They believe simply that because they pre-existed Wildwood, they don't have to,” Woerther said.
But Woerther said he didn't want to see the resort close.
“Hidden Valley is a great asset not only to the city but to the region as a whole,” he said.
Boyd said his decision to close the resort is not a negotiating tactic and that he has in fact withdrawn his application for the snow tubing area.
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