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ENLARGE
Sean Rogers, 18, of Frisco rides an indoor bowl Saturday inside the Woodward at Copper store.
SUMMIT COUNTY — The county commissioners and Copper Mountain are getting closer to defining the public benefits of Woodward at Copper, the new action-sport training facility scheduled to open this winter.
As part of their approval for a base-area development plan at the resort, the commissioners asked Copper to spell out some ground rules for local access before issuing a final permit.
At this week’s commissioner work session, Copper officials outlined some of the programs envisioned for the facility and described how local residents will be able to access Woodward.
Copper president and chief operating officer Gary Rodgers said the resort and Woodward want to ensure they will deliver the right product for the marketplace. Rodgers said that there will be opportunities for discounted local access during non-peak times.
“The support of Summit County is a key component of the whole Woodward model,” Rodgers said.
So far, the resort has said there will be a 10 percent locals’ discount for some of the programs and sessions, described at the baseline for a local advantage, similar to discounts offered by local recreation centers, according to Rodgers.
Also in the works are punch passes, with discounts up to 50 percent during slow times, Rodger said.
Additionally, Copper and Woodward have been working with the local Mountain Mentors program and with the Snowsport Outreach Society on collaborative programming, targeting disadvantaged youth, according to Ben Brown, heading of the Woodward at Copper programs.
Scholarships and donations of free admissions to some of the programs is part of the local access plan, Brown said.
“A 10 percent discount is helpful, doesn’t rise to a level of a public benefit. The programs for at-risk youth strike me more as a public benefit,” said Commissioner Bob French.
Talks with Team Summit and other local entities about local programming is ongoing, and Woodward is also discussing a partnership with the Frisco day camp program, Brown said.
“We need to get all that down in writing, all the programs that we’re describing. It’s imperative we get this in writing, so in the future people can answer the question: Is this still functioning as a public benefit,” said Commissioner Thomas Davidson.
He said the two sides are moving closer to defining and locking in the public benefits and he didn’t want to delay the resort’s certificate of occupancy.
But Davidson also said he wants to review the benefits after a period of time, including checking with local organizations who are given access to Woodward programs.
“I’d like to see ... comments from some of these different groups, like: ‘Yeah, this is what we’ve been talking about these last nine months. Copper is coming through with what they’ve been talking about, and we still feel good about going to the PUD hearings and supporting approval,’” he said.
County Commisioner-elect Karn Stiegelmeier suggested that Copper and Woodward work with the local schools to incorporate Woodward into the district’s winter recreation program as a way of ensuring that the facility is available to every local student.
Rodgers said the resort fully expects to work with the schools’s winter rec programs, but that it won’t happen this winter.
“We will put in writing a synopsis of each one of these programs targeted at local groups and get feedback from those groups,” Rodgers said, hoping to meet the commissioners’s request for a document that will establish a level of accountability.
Commissioner Tom Long said he was concerned about language in the operating plan mentioning blackout dates and closed periods.
“That’s an out you can drive a tank through ... The rules need to be described before we play the game,” Long said.
Rodgers promised to provide details.
“We will address that. There will be times the facility will be closed,” Rodgers said, adding that Copper and Woodward will compile the information and present it to the county within the next week, targeting an early December date for getting the final permit.
Bob Berwyn can be reached
at (970) 331-5996, or
at bberwyn@summitdaily.com.
As part of their approval for a base-area development plan at the resort, the commissioners asked Copper to spell out some ground rules for local access before issuing a final permit.
At this week’s commissioner work session, Copper officials outlined some of the programs envisioned for the facility and described how local residents will be able to access Woodward.
Copper president and chief operating officer Gary Rodgers said the resort and Woodward want to ensure they will deliver the right product for the marketplace. Rodgers said that there will be opportunities for discounted local access during non-peak times.
“The support of Summit County is a key component of the whole Woodward model,” Rodgers said.
So far, the resort has said there will be a 10 percent locals’ discount for some of the programs and sessions, described at the baseline for a local advantage, similar to discounts offered by local recreation centers, according to Rodgers.
Also in the works are punch passes, with discounts up to 50 percent during slow times, Rodger said.
Additionally, Copper and Woodward have been working with the local Mountain Mentors program and with the Snowsport Outreach Society on collaborative programming, targeting disadvantaged youth, according to Ben Brown, heading of the Woodward at Copper programs.
Scholarships and donations of free admissions to some of the programs is part of the local access plan, Brown said.
“A 10 percent discount is helpful, doesn’t rise to a level of a public benefit. The programs for at-risk youth strike me more as a public benefit,” said Commissioner Bob French.
Talks with Team Summit and other local entities about local programming is ongoing, and Woodward is also discussing a partnership with the Frisco day camp program, Brown said.
“We need to get all that down in writing, all the programs that we’re describing. It’s imperative we get this in writing, so in the future people can answer the question: Is this still functioning as a public benefit,” said Commissioner Thomas Davidson.
He said the two sides are moving closer to defining and locking in the public benefits and he didn’t want to delay the resort’s certificate of occupancy.
But Davidson also said he wants to review the benefits after a period of time, including checking with local organizations who are given access to Woodward programs.
“I’d like to see ... comments from some of these different groups, like: ‘Yeah, this is what we’ve been talking about these last nine months. Copper is coming through with what they’ve been talking about, and we still feel good about going to the PUD hearings and supporting approval,’” he said.
County Commisioner-elect Karn Stiegelmeier suggested that Copper and Woodward work with the local schools to incorporate Woodward into the district’s winter recreation program as a way of ensuring that the facility is available to every local student.
Rodgers said the resort fully expects to work with the schools’s winter rec programs, but that it won’t happen this winter.
“We will put in writing a synopsis of each one of these programs targeted at local groups and get feedback from those groups,” Rodgers said, hoping to meet the commissioners’s request for a document that will establish a level of accountability.
Commissioner Tom Long said he was concerned about language in the operating plan mentioning blackout dates and closed periods.
“That’s an out you can drive a tank through ... The rules need to be described before we play the game,” Long said.
Rodgers promised to provide details.
“We will address that. There will be times the facility will be closed,” Rodgers said, adding that Copper and Woodward will compile the information and present it to the county within the next week, targeting an early December date for getting the final permit.
Bob Berwyn can be reached
at (970) 331-5996, or
at bberwyn@summitdaily.com.
