Ski hill to remain open

Al McDonald, at a news conference today, announces the Laurentian Ski Hill will remain open next season.

The Laurentian Ski Hill will remain open next season says Save the Ski Hill Committee chairman Al McDonald.

“Ninety to 95 percent of our customers are kids, so I can’t think of a better reason to stay open next year,” McDonald said at the hill.

McDonald didn’t have the all the figures on hand for this ski season but he did say that sales were down during the months of January and February.

“It was rainy during most of the January and there was no snow in February,” said McDonald.

Laurentian Ski Hill received donations from several different sources. The city of North Bay committed $150 000.

Corporations jumped in too including Ontera, and the Kiwanis Club was a major contributor as well.

One city councilor who wished to remain anonymous donated $1,000.

Local media including BayToday.ca has also provided Laurentian Ski Hill with $100,000 of free advertising.

“Without community support this wouldn’t have been a success story,” McDonald said.

McDonald said that the biggest challenge was the lift.

“The lift always gave us concerns,” said McDonald.

The cost of running and maintaining the lift is $70,000 annually. The cost of running the entire ski hill works out to $500 dollars an hour, with between $30,000 and $35 000 a year spent on water.

“There will be challenges to overcome in the future, but we can do it,” said general manager Doug Newell.

“It’s not just the big companies, it’s the whole community that makes the difference. I can’t even think where to begin to thank everyone.”