OCR Text |
Show Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues, November 27-30,2010 The Park Record A-12 M OUNTAIN TOWN NEWS A Roundup of News from Other Western Ski Resort Communities By Allen Best Record contributing writer Vail debates value of sculpture by Moroles PARK VAIL, Colo. - What is art worth? The Vail Town Council has revisited that famous question in deciding the fate of an outdoor sculpture that has been in storage for the last five years. The art was originally commissioned in 1999 to be placed in Seibert Circle, at Vail's oldest and still most prominent ski portal. It was created by a Texas artist, Jesus Moroles. But people just didn't hang out at the art, a series of stones, meant to represent Vail and the Gore Valley in which it is located. At length, the town put the art into storage and replaced it with something that worked out better. Moroles's star has been rising, however, and some local art dealers in Vail think that the piece might now be worth $2 million. That led to a proposal to get the art out of the municipal closet and into more prominent display in a park. The cost of additional placement was estimated at $260,000. Some critics say the town could use the money to better advantage. But Margaret Rogers, a city council member, sees the Moroles's art as a draw, especially among Texans. "Art lovers - that's a niche in the travel industry we'd like to get a bigger piece of," she told the Vail Daily. A prominent local activist, Jim Lamont, who directs the Vail Homeowners Association, has been skeptical. "What down the road, do we need to do to keep the economy afloat?" he asks. "I'm of the mind that art installations don't do it." C Ca// noiv to reserve your space/ (435) 645-7900 $65 Great location! Right off the highway near The Home Depot • Brand new facility • 24 hour security monitoring • Climate Controlled units • Moving supplies available * Enclosed Auto & Boat Storage • Electronic gate access •All weather access NEW CUSTOMER COUPON 50% OFF OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK the first 3 months! Includes free use of truck with move in! WWW.PARKCrTYSTORAGE.COM VtSA I ,,,„,„ c - ^ p.irt.Gty.ins«r8 Vail hoping to steal resort market share Naturalists scoff at Banff 'via ferrata' VAIL, Colo. - Vail Resorts Inc. continues to calculate how it can steal market share from other resorts while building real estate at the base of Vail Mountain. This gleam in the company's eye, has already been in the planning for a decade. It would cover 12 acres, connect to the ski mountain via a new gondola, and has a price tag of $1 billion. There would be 428 housing units, and in announcing revised plans, company officials emphasized that 60 percent of buyers would likely be new to Vail. The company identifies the price range as $350,000 to $450,000, at the low end for slope-side housing units of 1,500 square feet in Vail. "We're opening up the capacity for new people to come here," said Tom Miller, project manager for Ever Vail. From the outset, Vail Resorts had described the project as one designed for new generations of buyers, Gen X and Gen Y. "We believe we'll be one of, if not the only, resort community that's going to be able to market new product that's going to pull people away from these other resort communities," said Kristin Kenney Williams, speaking at a recent meeting covered by the Vail Daily. Plans also call for a 102room hotel plus 15,564 square feet of retail, which is 30 percent less than what was previously announced. Now, the company says it doesn't want to compete with existing business. It does, however, plan a 13,000 square-foot specialty grocery store plus 1,400 parking spaces. Also in the works: an 80foot indoor climbing wall. BANFF, Alberta - Earlier this year officials from Parks Canada announced they'd review a proposal to install a thrill ride called a via ferrata. The via ferrata would not be directly related to the natural landscape of Banff, but would draw additional visitors, supporters say. A group called the Bow Valley Naturalists disagrees, insisting that Canadians want national parks as places "where the natural world may be experienced on its own terms: no gimmicks, no bells and whistles," in the words of Mike Mclvor, in a letter excerpted in the Rocky Mountain Outlook. Writing in the same publication, Jeff Gailus insists that "this push for more, more, more is being driven largely by the apparently shameless business lobby in Banff National Park, especially ski hills looking to enhance the summer use of facilities that Parks Canada policy already recognizes as less than appropriate ..." "Reading between the lines, we can all see that the real impetus for via ferrata and other titillations is to make commercial operators in our national parks 'competitive' (and more profitable) with their counterparts outside the parks," he continues. "If Whistler gets a bigger amusement park than Banff does, well, then Banff should get to expand its amusement facilities too. Unless this is exposed for what it is, we can expect to see, over time, the need for a never-ending list of titillations and amusements that will be necessary to keep pace with so-called progress." The argument in Canada Please see Mountain, A-13 Give your Medicare plan its annual checkup! Compare your current plan with HumanaChoice \ Your Plan (PPO) Humana's Plan • Affordable S3 Affordable monthly plan premiums • Doctor's vis 0 Doctor's visits and hospital coverage < « ;. • Prescription 53 Prescription drug coverage ,;. • Convenient El Convenient mail-order prescription delivery :•*. • Fitness proc i f Fitness program .,;' • Preventive <: El Preventive coverage ';- • 24-hour nu Si 24-hour nurse hotline .=,. • Emergency 0 Emergency coverage at home and when you travel ' • Plus so mu< lusso much more * ^ ^ : > ' .*. •\ ; ,-... * .-;•• . / # . £ » : ' ' " : • • .•••••"•;!; For coverage beginning January 1, 2011, you need to enroll by December 31.' Don't miss out! Call today: 1-877-713-6176 (TTY: 711) 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week A health plan with a Medicare contract. The benefit information provided herein is a brief summary, but not a comprehensive description of available benefits. For more information contact the plan. For accommodation of persons with special needs at sales meetings, call 1-877-713-6176 (TTY: 711), 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week. *Some exceptions may apply. • Y0040 GHA08TOES PA File & Use 10012010 |