The GAC oversees the Gunstock Mountain Resort and Ski area (owned in total by Belknap County, making it a government agency that makes snow), and this was the first meeting after the appointment of new Commissioner David Strang.
Earlier in the meeting, Rusty McLear was removed from office, and new officers were elected; it didn’t go too well for “good ole boy” folks. While there were a few political activists on the Right present, most of the folks seemed to either work for GMR or were folks on the Left that were incensed that those of us on the Right are asking penetrating types of questions that haven’t been asked in a long time. Especially by me with NH RSA 91-A demands (Right To Knows) concerning the budget.
Like I said earlier, the entire meeting was almost four hours long, so while I did post the entire video, I’m snipping out stuff I think speaks to various purposes and topics/issues. I edited out just the entire Public Comment session here.
It was clear that the employees were not happy at all as to how the meeting went and that others were starting to enter into the picture; I’m quite sure that they saw this as an “intrusion” into their space. I can understand why – in reaching for better ROI and profitability, all the talk from Senior Management is “about the business.” It is clear that’s how they understand it to be – and not as part of Government. This is the fault of both the Management AND the general makeup of the Gunstock Area Commission for quite some time. It is clear that it isn’t going to stop happening for a while.
Notice that Ruth Larson (speaking, who is a very Left-leaning Progressive from Alton (a fairly new transplant in Alton from “not here”), got political right off the bat during her first speech and how she bitterly spoke to the Commission that GraniteGrok is given such “great deference” on my RTK, and then got it wrong a second time.
She should know better as I’ve been told she’s a lawyer – just not “from here.”
And two ladies, the first speaker and later on, one in the very back row, decided to take on new Commissioner David Strang over his speaking about the Stockade Lodge. Now, I couldn’t pick out the building if a gun was put to my head but it is clear that there’s a lot of controversy over how it should be used. Is it a changing area/storage area for skiers or should it become a sit-down restaurant (as Management now wants to do and has already purchased the food handling equipment for it)?
First, Lois Kessin:
Ann Parkhurst (who seemed to be a GMR employee):
All Strang had done was to have made the simple observation that people wanted the Stockade to remain the place that it is right now instead of being transformed into something that the main lodge isn’t – a sit-down full-service restaurant.
Look, I can be politically cynical at times – I’ve watched how the stagecraft is planned and implemented. It is not unknown that folks that might suggest they won’t go to an event. Further, they are sometimes asked, “will you ask this question?”. Sure, the vast majority of these Public Sessions are unscripted and totally ad hoc. I note, however, that given that only around 50 people were in “the gallery” and that only David Strang and Peter Ness were targeted for questioning gives me rise to think this.
This proves one thing – if there is politics afoot, then GMR is a political animal. A Government agency.
