WINDHAM - The clock is ticking on a 62-day deadline for approval of a new hotel at the Windham Mountain Club even as a powerful voice has weighed-in on the controversial project.
Windham planning board members, at an October 15 meeting, closed the public comment period on an amendment to the ski slope’s original development Master Plan, setting the timetable in motion.
Planners now must make a decision on whether to allow the project to move forward after reviewing potential environmental impacts on the community along with site plan and subdivision necessities.
The deadline could be extended, based upon various factors, but it would need to be mutually agreed upon by the town and the applicant.
Meanwhile, a group of existing hoteliers have risen up to oppose the hotel, calling for a “pause” on the approval process centered around the recusal of three planning board members with ties to the ski center.
Their withdrawal from voting on the WMC amendment leaves the planning board with only three members, including one alternate, which is still enough for a quorum and a binding vote.
However, there have been calls for the additional recusal of planning board chairwoman Lisa Jaeger who also serves on the Windham Chamber of Commerce board of directors as does WMC president Kristen Leach.
If Jaeger stepped aside, it would leave two voting members, potentially halting the process and nullifying all that has thus far transpired.
Jaeger, at the October 15 planning board session, read a lengthy statement explaining why her recusal was not required.
It was the same day NY State Senator Michelle Hinchey sent a letter to the planning board and the town board, commenting on the process.
Hinchey, in her missive expressed, “strong concerns about the proposed change to the Windham Mountain Club’s redevelopment plan and the process surrounding its consideration.
“The purchase of Windham Mountain by Windham Mountain Club is the largest and most impactful economic change to happen in this town
in a generation, and it may still be the most impactful event a generation from now.,” Hinchey wrote.
“The fact that only two members of the five-member Planning Board, along with an alternate, are making such a consequential decision about the town’s future is deeply concerning and raises serious questions
about the legitimacy of the process and fair consideration,” she wrote.
“These concerns are further heightened by the fact that one of the participating members also chairs the Chamber of Commerce, whose
organization is financially tied to the applicant,” the Senator wrote.
For many years, the ski center has partnered with the Chamber on the annual Autumn Affair, a street fair drawing thousands of visitors.
Hinchey, in her letter stated, “with the 2023 rebrand of Windham Mountain to the Windham Mountain Club and shifting the mountain to a semi-private, membership driven model, Windham’s economy is now linked to the fortunes of a single large investor with no ties to the community.
“If that investor sees the challenges of a shrinking ski season and oversupplied luxury accommodations as too risky and decides to divest from the mountain, the town and its residents will be left to pick up the pieces,” the Senator wrote.
“Or worse, if this consolidation continues, the town could cease to exist outside of the Windham Mountain Club’s membership, a goal the proprietor has previously alluded to,” Hinchey continued.
“On top of the economic concerns of adding luxury development to the town is the seeming lack of due process for residents and existing local businesses that stand to be hurt by this proposal,” she wrote.
“As this process has played out in Town Hall and in the press, it has become clear to me that the planning board would simply acquiesce to the requests of Windham Mountain Club,” Hinchey wrote.
“Responsible economic development requires local government and elected officials to balance the wishes of incoming businesses with the needs and future economic resilience of the current community,” the Senator wrote.
“Two voting members of the board are quoted in a local news publication wherein they effectively signaled their support for the proposed change despite the fact that public comment remained open for at least two more weeks,” Hinchey stated.
“The public must have confidence that their elected officials and town leaders are listening to them and have their best interests in mind when making decisions on their behalf, not just those of wealthy financiers,” Hinchey wrote.
“Even if no explicit conflicts of interest exist on the planning board, the mere appearance of such conflicts erodes public trust and that alone is cause for pause,” the Senator wrote.
Hinchey, on October 16, reportedly had a telephone conference call with Windham town supervisor Thomas Hoyt, Windham town attorney Tal Rappleyea and Allyson Phillips, a legal consultant on the project.
Hoyt, in a subsequent phone interview said, “the Senator wrote a letter with her deep concerns. Any elected official works for the people.
“In that respect, the Senator and I share the same concerns. The planning board will look at [Hinchey’s comments] as they do with any other comments,” Hoyt said.
The Senator also referred to a “feasibility study,” writing, “I join the calls of local businesses and residents asking to see the feasibility study for this project. The public has a right to see this document, and the longer it is shrouded in secrecy, the larger the appearance of impropriety.
“If the Town Board and Planning Board care for the future of Windham - local businesses and residents alike, I would urge both entities to step in now, stop this proposal from moving forward, and provide residents with the transparency they deserve,” Hinchey wrote.
“That should start with sharing the feasibility study. Anything short of that sacrifices the town’s well-being and long-term success,” Hinchey wrote.
Questions to multiple officials with close knowledge of the project produced confusion about what Senator Hinchey was referring to regarding the “feasibility study,” all saying they know of no such study.
