Sault's EDC, CDC join forces to keep ski resort afloat.

A not-for-profit corporation is being considered to keep the financially troubled Searchmont ski resort afloat for this winter.

The community development corp. (CDC) of Sault Ste. Marie and area and the city's economic development corp. (EDC) are partnering up to negotiate a one-year lease with BDO Dunwoody, the court-appointed receiver, to run the resort.

The ski and snowboarding hill, located 40 kilometres north of the Sault, operated last winter under receivership while the search for a new owner continued.

However, BDO Dunwoody announced it has no intentions of operating the resort for another year.

Duane Buchanan, a membero of the EDC, says while discussions are ongoing, their proposal has generally been well received.

"We haven't made a deal, but they (BDO Dunwoody) appear to be receptive. Their letters to us suggest they are receptive to our leasing it under certain conditions."

The non-profit group would operate with volunteer board of directors; consisting of prominent local business people, that would oversee operations for the coming ski season, or until a new buyer comes along.

It is one of a number of restructuring options under consideration by the CDC/EDC, including securing some financial commitments from community stakeholders and government funding agencies.

"We're only in this for fear that nobody comes along and buys or leases it," says. Buchanan, who hopes to have the group in place by early August to begin ordering supplies for the winter.

The ski hill remains a vital winter tourism catalyst for area hotel and restaurant owners, generating between $7 million to $8 million in direct spinoffs through the thousands of overnight hotel stays by American skiers each winter.

Although there has been a steady stream of prospective buyers touring the resort in the last year, the receiver intends to nationally advertise a request for offers in July.

Brian Irwin, the CDC's executive director, says the non-profit corporation is only an interim solution.

Their long-term vision is to see Searchmont transformed into a viable four-season destination. In a consultant's study commissioned last year by the CDC, it was suggested a golf course, condominium development, hotel and estate lots be added.

Irwin says despite operating under receivership in 2000-01, good skiing conditions boosted the number of Searchmont visitors "dramatically" and revenues were up "significantly."

A membership drive was held at the end of the ski season and another is expected before the snow flies. That money, along with revenue from chalet bookings, will be held in trust by the receiver until the resort opens.