Veterans service officer Howie Howe, Patriot Guard Riders of NH RC Coordinator, NH Help On The Homefront Veterans Advocate and Wounded Warrior Project, has sent an email indicating his opposition to the Cannon lease bill. It appears below.
Last year we fought off attempts to lease Cannon Mountain Ski area, which is
part of the Franconia Notch State Park, because the Ski area Base Lodge
contains a Veterans Memorial room. Reportedly Franconia Notch State Park
(FNSP) is the only profitable State Park in the State, and happened to turn
in a $1.24M surplus last year to the state to help the other parks. People
will remember that a few years back a deal was made to lease Sunapee
Mountain to a private company, and take that money to improve Cannon
Mountain. That was done and the end result is that combined Franconia Notch
State Park and Cannon Mountain, under new joint management, is profitable,
but the proponents of leasing or privatizing everything that belongs to the
people continues without reason.
Now, if you remember, Franconia Notch State Park was dedicated as a Veterans
Memorial back in the 1920's, and the lodge at the base of the mountain
contains a memorial room full of memorabilia about the History of NH, which
of course is based on the efforts of our Veterans. We shared pictures of
those items last year, and I still have them if anybody needs them, or wants
to see them again.
For some reason, Jeb Bradley, the Senate President, is hellbound on leasing
the Ski area to a private company, which would remove the current capable
management that runs both sides of the operation. That would just be wrong.
In his efforts to try and buy our votes, he keeps trying to tie Veterans to
his proposal by such gimmicks as renaming the park "Franconia Notch Veterans
Memorial State Park" and erecting a Veterans memorial in the State Park,
ignoring the Ski Lodge connection, in the hopes we will look the other way
when they do this. We can not let this happen.
Now, remember I am claiming he is doing this, and I am sure some will say
that is not what I heard, but here is the smoking gun on this.
Realizing that the park turned a profit last year, knowing they turned in
that surplus to help other State Parks with improvements, I confronted Jeb
via email as to why he would separate Cannon Mountain from Franconia Notch
State Park, and this is his actual reply:
Hi Howie
If they were actually making a profit......there would be no lease
discussion. Cannon does not account for debt obligations when they calculate
their "profit". The picture becomes quite different.
Jeb
Now, you and I know that they turned a $1.24M surplus into the state last
year, but this is being ignored by Jeb as an accounting trick - in
2008 proposals were made on what improvements should be made to make it
profitable, which was before the Sunapee lease money, and before new
management was put in place. Now, though many of those proposed improvements
have not been made, and felt no longer necessary as the park is profitable
under current management with the improvements already done, Jeb is claiming
that they are still open unfunded budget items. Veterans and the Friends of
FNSP are outraged, and I have promised to help them fight this lease. IMO
this needs to be investigated, the real figures produced, before this lease
is railroaded through Concord. Members of the House I have talked to
strongly oppose this lease because it would destroy a Veterans Memorial, but
we need to rally support for this.
I need you to do two things, first is to contact all our State legislators
involved with Veterans issues and let them know you oppose this effort to
separate Cannon Mountain from Franconia Notch State Park because of its
Veteran significance.
You can send your emails to:
Senator Jack Barnes: jack.barnes@leg.state.nh.us
Senator Jeb Bradley: jebebrad@metrocast.net
House Veterans Committee: HouseState-FederalRelationsandVeteransAffairs@leg.state.nh.us
And then second I need you to help bring this issue to the public in the
Union Leader. Today the UL published a story about the improvements made at
Hampton Beach by the state to attract more visitors - I remind you that
those improvements were at taxpayer expense, and included the $1.24M surplus
from FNSP, and that while services at FNSP involve fees, no charge will be
made the majority of those facilities in Hampton Beach, so the potential
profit line is nil. You will find that I posted comments on line in that
on-line news story that mirrors what I have said here - by joining in and
posting your outrage there that Concord would spend money on Hampton, which
will never turn a profit to the taxpayers, it will destroy our Veterans
Memorial in FNSP and that can not be tolerated.
Her is the link to that story, and I surely hope you will help me over the
next day or two make ti clear that the double standard of funding Southern
Tier Projects on the backs of Northern Tier Veterans Memorials will not be
tolerated.
http://www.unionleader.com/article/20120318/NEWS02/703189969
Efforts to try and get this turned into a major news story that allows our
input have failed, but with your help in posting on this thread we can drive
the media to report on it, and possibly expose whatever back room deal seems
to be driving this lease option.
I remind you that the Old Man of the Mountain, NH's oldest Veteran, stood
guard over this park and the mountain for many years. He may have finally
fallen, but we are still here to carry on his legacy - that is what we were
taught to do.
--
Howie Howe
Veterans Service Officer, Patriot Guard Riders of NH RC Coordinator, NH Help
On The Homefront Veterans Advocate, Wounded Warrior Project
(603) 641-5884
To join NH HOTH: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhhoth/join
