As part of a very complex political deal struck in Albany in the 2012 state budget, management of the floundering ski slope at Belleayre run by the DEC was transferred to the Olympic Regional Development Authority. ORDA’s stated mission at that time was to maximize the economic impact to ‘the upstate region.’
“We do this by increasing visitation to the Adirondack region by operating our venues in a fiscally responsible manner while at the same time promoting environmental awareness, safety, fun and the Olympic Spirit,” ORDA explained.
That mission statement, enacted before ORDA assumed management of Belleayre Mountain, was “in the process of being updated.”
Then-state senators John Bonacic and Betty Little and assemblymember Kevin Cahill had been heavily involved in the negotiations. Cahill said on Monday afternoon that he would have preferred management by the Palisades Interstate Parks Commission (PIPC), but after assurances were given went along with ORDA.
Cahill has kept a watchful eye on what’s been spent by the state on Belleayre ever since. “My advocacy never ends,” said the retiring Ulster assemblymember. “Vigilance is always required.”
ORDA’s legislative mandate is quite a mouthful: “To institute a comprehensive, coordinated program of activities utilizing the Olympic facilities, Gore Mountain, and Belleayre Mountain, in and around Lake Placid, North Creek, and Highmount, New York, in order to ensure optimum year-round use and enjoyment of these facilities to the economic and social benefit of the regions and to minimize the financial burden on state and local government by maximizing revenue opportunities.”
Public authorities, which Cahill calls the fourth branch of New York State government, serve wildly different mandates, having in common only the ability to raise money by floating bonds. ORDA provides the example of a public authority beloved in the regions it has facilities but running a substantial deficit year after year with no redeeming cash flow.
Boiceville bar owner and former county legislator John Parete is happy with that arrangement. “ORDA’s great,” Parete has said. “They put their money where their mouth is. Belleayre has enough work for 80 full-time year-round employees, 120 full-time seasonal, 200 part-time seasonal. And that’s fantastic. Only don’t forget, you don’t make money at the top of the mountain. You make money at the bottom.”
The state kicks in about $15 million a year to cover ORDA’s operational deficit and has been spending an additional $105 million annually for capital improvements, about nine million dollars a year of which has gone to Belleayre.
Down the rabbit hole
State authorities deal with private interests in the public name
In terms of revenues, Belleayre began its ORDA career as the weak sister to the two major Adirondacks facilities, Whiteface and Gore. There was talk of shutting the facility down or transferring it to private ownership.
Recent facility improvements (the gondola, additional snowmaking capacity, lodge upgrades and the like) have elevated Belleayre’s status within the ORDA universe. A financial audit of the 2021-22 year shows a dramatic increase in Belleayre revenues in the past three years, in percentage terms much greater than the increase at the other two major ORDA facilities. The audit showed total revenues of $16 million at Whiteface, $14 million at Gore, and $11 million at Belleayre.
ORDA has been offering varied programming at its facilities. Last Sunday, for instance, the Belleayre base lodge celebrated Football Weekend. Skiers and non-skiers alike had the opportunity to watch both the New York Giants and the New York Jets lose their one o’clock games on television. There was a third game, too.
Belleayre’s vastly improved financial picture has come at a cost. Many within the region have found themselves unable to pay what skiing at Belleayre now charges. As the facility’s marketing strategy makes clear, people in the metropolitan New York City market who can easily afford the steeper prices are the main target of the new Belleayre. It is argued that their spending power fills not only the Airbnbs, the restaurants, the motels and the ski-rental shops but also the tourist venues. And the real-estate offices as well.
Is it all worth it?
“The worst thing that can happen to a region is poverty,” Cahill told reporter Rokosz Most back in March. “When people have no economic alternatives, they often start undertaking questionable environmental practices because they can’t afford to do the right thing. Real-property taxes paid by homes, lodging and businesses supported by skiers and others who visit Belleayre are likely a significant part of the local revenue that the surrounding towns receive.”
Who will now take the job of shepherding Belleayre’s place within the annual ORDA budget in Albany? Under the 2022 redistricting. Democrat Michelle Hinchey will be Shandaken’s state senator and Republican Chris Tague will be the asemblymember for both Shandaken and Middletown in Delaware County.
They will probably both be strong supporters of Belleayre – though for different reasons. Tague knows the economic benefits to the region that the ORDA facility brings. Hinchey, daughter of the late congressman Maurice Hinchey, is the heir of a man who not only valued the Catskills as a priceless environmental asset but also struggled tirelessly to help its people make a living here
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