July 14, 2015
Greek Peak gets second round of tax breaks
CORTLAND — The Cortland County Business Development Corp. approved nearly $80,000 in tax breaks Monday afternoon to help Greek Peak Mountain Resort offset continuing improvements at the ski resort and the indoor water park at Hope Lake Lodge.
Greek Peak co-owners John Meier and Marc Stemerman asked the board for about $78,800 in tax breaks as they plan a second round of upgrades totaling just over $985,000 worth of work over the next year.
The tax breaks are designed to exempt, the resort from paying sales taxes on items like supplies it purchases for upgrades.
BDC Chief Financial Officer Karen Niday said this morning that Meier and Stemerman plan to finish work by the start of this year’s ski season. Meier said after the meeting that work will include improving lighting and snowmaking capabilities at one of the resort’s most challenging trails, the Olympian, as well as improvements inside the Cascades Indoor Water Park, among other projects.
The BDC also granted Greek Peak a three-month extension on a tax abatement the resort was awarded in August 2013 that was set to expire this August. That abatement was for just over $292,400 in sales and mortgage tax breaks on $3.6 million worth of improvements to be completed in 2013 and 2014.
The board could have scheduled a public hearing on the tax break and charged a fee on the amendment to the previous agreement, but after conducting a State Environmental Quality Review on the second phase of the work, the board decided to pass both motions unanimously and waive the hearing and the fee.
Board members Johanna Ames and Steve Servies abstained from voting, citing business relationship with the resort as a possible conflict of interest.
Since the expiration date was coming up, Meier and Stemerman said Monday they needed a three-month extension to address problems that arose unexpectedly when repairing the resort.
Meier explained there were cost overages and minor setbacks such as a leak that was found in the roof of the resort’s new Trax Restaurant, whichrequire more time to address.
The tax abatement extension is now set to expire on Nov. 30 and will save Greek Peak $16,930 in sales taxes.
Meier said since he and Stemerman purchased Greek Peak at a bankruptcy auction in 2013, the resort has yielded increases in almost every aspect of the business. He said occupancy at Hope Lake Lodge is up 6.2 percent, yielding a revenue increase of around $403,000 for the 2014 ski season, or from June through December last year.
Meier also noted sales are up 20 percent at the water park while the number of people buying season ski passes is up 17 percent.
Regarding the tax exemption that has been extended, Meier said there has been an, “excellent return on investment,” as the resort generated an additional $118,000 in sales tax revenue for Cortland County, which means there was about a 38 percent increase in sales tax revenue during last ski season.
As part of the original arrangement for a tax abatement, Greek Peak was supposed to create 75 full-time jobs.
Niday said the resort currently boasts 93 full-time jobs and as part of the new agreement, the resort would have to retain at least 75 jobs over the next five years.
“They would report to us each year,” Niday said. “If they’re not within that range then they (Greek Peak) would have to pay back some of that sales tax.”
After the meeting, Meier said Greek Peak will continue improving the resort, adding that tax breaks would help Stemerman and himself better develop what they envision for Greek Peak in the future.
“We’re not a private equity firm that lives far away. We spend every one of our weekends here,” Meier said. “We love the place and we want to grow it and make it great.”
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