Ski club plan about more than accommodation

Editor:
Mansfield Ski Club is a special place for our 450 member families, is a large winter employer in Mulmur (250+ people in the season) and an important contributor to Mulmur through our own taxes and those of our members who own around 50 per cent of the houses in the immediate area. The Master Plan is about so much more than just new residential units, it is about strengthening the sustainability of the club and the experience we can provide our current and future members. In the near future, we want to make significant upgrades to our snowmaking system to allow us to respond more efficiently and faster in increasingly variable (climate-change-driven?) weather windows.
Residential units, unlocking some value in our land, serve two key purposes: to allow more members to enjoy the club experience without having to commute both ways from the city both days each weekend and as a source of funds for investment in capital projects. Right now that is building just 12 units but only after they have been pre-sold to eliminate any financial risk to the club. The units will only be available to members and the land will continue to be an asset of the club.
Over the past five years the club has, under the guidance of several government authorities including Mulmur and the Ministry of the Environment been preparing for this including environmental studies of the Pine River, water run-off, storm water management, waste-water management, well tests (and their impact on nearby well-water flow) – all of which are available on Mulmur Township’s website. It is planned to reduce our impact on the environment by reducing the number of trips people make to the club, about lighting designed to be both safe and have limited impact on the night sky, about replacing our current septic system with a new high quality waste-water system. It is about ensuring a strong vital club for decades to come supporting Mulmur through an increased tax base and an increase in people accessing local businesses on a 12-month a year basis.
The board has endeavoured to communicate regularly to members along the journey including presentations at the last six AGMs, periodically in our club newsletter, every member received access to an electronic brochure through the newsletter in 2018 and again in 2020 and have had opportunities to come and ask questions at member gatherings specific to the Master Plan. Communication outside of club members has been through Mulmur’s website and required notices to local property owners and I personally met with the members of Pine River Chalet Owners Association, at their request, back in 2016.
The board believes that this is about making sure that the club not only remains strong but gets stronger for both its members and the local Mulmur area, that it can invest in constantly needed infrastructure improvements and generate funds by using current assets with no further financial risk to the club.
Gary Walters,
Creemore.
Former president, treasurer, 11-year member of Mansfield Ski Club.