Vail Mayor Barry Davis on Wednesday said the town at the base of one of the nation’s most popular ski areas will be “ferociously protective” of its residents as a proxy fight amongst shareholders plays out for control of Vail Resorts.

“We’re so interconnected with Vail Resorts on so many levels, whether that’s the parent company, whether that’s our locals, the people that we see in City Market and the people that run our local mountain. That’s our livelihood, right?” Davis said in a phone interview.

Davis was responding to a column in the Vail Daily on Wednesday by former Vail Town Council member, Wall Street investor and 60-year Vail resident Merv Lapin urging an aggressive stance by the town as competing Vail Resorts’ shareholders battle for control of the board of directors.

“Parts of that relationship are harder than others,” Davis said of working with the Broomfield, Colorado-based ski company. “But the town and the local mountain are symbiotic, and there’s no relationship that we are going to monitor more closely. And when I say monitor, I’m the mayor of the town of Vail, and I’m going to look out for the town of Vail’s best interest first.”

Lapin recommended forming a committee of bankers and other financially savvy individuals in town to advocate for more parking, employee housing, transportation contributions, water rights and property as competing investors seek support in their efforts to take over Vail Resorts. He would also push for lowering the limit for the number of snow riders at Vail to improve safety.

“The most apparent areas where Vail Resorts has been deficient: Parking for customers and VR employees, housing for Vail Resorts’ employees, deeding to the town the land under the parking facilities, deeding to the town land under Vail Health, deeding to the Eagle Valley Land Trust streamside land for conservation protection, deeding to the water district water rights that affect the quality and quantity of our water supply,” Lapin wrote.

Davis said the town and its advisors will be closely watching the proxy fight sparked by 6.2% shareholder Oasis Management, which filed to land four people on the Vail Resorts’ board, including Olympic gold medalist ski racer Picabo Street and former Disney CEO Bob Chapek.

“Please trust me that, as a person, I’m ferociously protective of the town of Vail. There is nothing we’re going to pay more attention to,” Davis said, adding his phone has been ringing off the hook with calls from numerous financial experts and that the town would consider forming a committee on the issue.

“It’s in play; it’s something that’s been discussed,” Davis said. “It’s a plan that if we think that it’s the right time, we’ll do. It’s not just me that’s paying attention to this. (Town Manager) Russ (Forrest), legal, we’re really fortunate that we have locals like Merv with a historical perspective. My phone’s been ringing, and we have a high caliber of people that live in this town.”

Lapin, in his column, pointed to the 1992 bankruptcy of former Vail owner George Gillett — a time when the town weighed condemning the U.S. Forest Service lease for the ski area and taking control. Ultimately, Leon Black and Apollo Partners acquired Vail.

Asked if the town should be as aggressive as Lapin suggests, former Vail Mayor Rob Ford wrote in a text message: “I have grave doubts the present council has the mental bandwidth to deal with such a complicated issue. My suggestion would be to encourage the council to appoint Merv to deal with it.”

Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince, a Park City, Utah, native who has been aggressively pushing Vail Resorts to shed some of its 42 resorts, in particular Park City Mountain Resort to him for $500 million, wrote in an email responding to Lapin’s column: “Hiring bankers as a town seems like an odd and expensive suggestion.”

Prince, who said he owns no Vail Resorts stock and is not part of the Oasis proxy fight, feels the ski company is cutting corners on maintenance and snowmaking. He’s advocated for close cooperation with town officials in Park City if he is able to buy that resort.

A deeply sourced expert on proxy fights and other financial matters who requested anonymity said of the Vail Daily’s initial reporting on the takeover bid: “I think you missed the real story on Vail Resorts. The ‘Robert Chapek of Florida’ that you alluded to is Bob Chapek, the former CEO of Disney. He is a heavy-duty player. Picabo Street is not; she’s window-dressing.”

The source went on to describe how the proxy fight might play out leading up to Vail Resorts’ upcoming annual shareholder meeting.

“Proxy fights are very hard to win, and someone like Chapek probably doesn’t have to do much prior to the vote — maybe an interview or two with the WSJ and/or NYT,” the source said. “The sponsor, Oasis, and the proxy solicitation firm will do all the heavy lifting. But it’s curious why he lent his name to this thing. It will be an uphill climb to win those four seats because I assume Baron, which owns 18% of the stock, will vote with management.”

Some clues as to how Oasis will proceed can be found in the company’s Schedule 13D filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission, a report required of entities acquiring more than 5% of the stock of a public company, which can signal an imminent corporate takeover bid:

“The Reporting Persons believe the Issuer controls an irreplaceable portfolio of 42 world-class mountain resorts — a collection of scarce, high-quality assets that, in the Reporting Persons’ view, is not fully reflected in the Issuer’s current valuation relative to its peers. The Reporting Persons believe that a reconstituted Board, bringing fresh perspective and relevant operating experience, would be well positioned to work with management to sharpen the Issuer’s focus on guest experience, pricing strategy, marketing effectiveness, and the fuller utilization of its hospitality assets, and that doing so presents a meaningful opportunity to enhance long-term value for all shareholders.

“The Reporting Persons further believe there is an opportunity to deepen the Issuer’s connection to the guests and communities it serves, including through more accessible entry points to the sport, improved operational efficiency, enhanced food and beverage offerings, stronger partnerships with host mountain communities, and expanded year-round programming.

“The Reporting Persons believe that a more engaged and accountable Board will help ensure that the Issuer’s strategic and operating decisions appropriately reflect the interests of its guests, employees, local communities, and shareholders.”

Oasis Management and Vail Resorts officials did not respond to requests for comments.

This story is from VailDaily.com.