Town of Webb Councilwoman Kate Russell and Councilman Richard Risley have formed a committee whose purpose is to explore possible changes to the McCauley Mountain chalet in hopes of improving the McCauley experience, Russell said.
To that end, the committee will be hosting a public meeting on Thursday, March 24 at 6 p.m. to hear comments and suggestions from the community.
The informal, information-gathering meeting will be held at McCauley Mountain.
Other than the two councilpersons, the committee consists of McCauley Manager Steve Uzdavinis and community members Loretta Gaffney and Dave Kleps.
The plan is to gather suggestions for creating a chalet renovation plan that would improve the building’s convenience and functionality.
“It’s a meeting to generate ideas,” Russell said.
The Town Board has already anticipated a need for improvements and has included funding in the current budget for design and rendering services by Brian Morgan, according to Russell.
“The chalet renovation would be phase one of what Rich and I hope will become a long-term plan for McCauley—possibly over five years,” Russell said.
One suggestion that has already been offered involves a need for more storage or locker space where skiers could put their gear, Russell said.
“That would help keep those items from piling up on tables and under benches,” she said.
“Basically we want to hear from the public about what the chalet needs, what it’s lacking—maybe ideas about what might improve the layout,” she said.
And Russell said she suspects there are some small changes that could amount to big improvements for chalet users.
And by “users” she doesn’t mean just skiers, she said.
“McCauley is a huge asset to our community and serves a number of recreational uses year-round,” she said.
Along those lines, Russell said she would like to improve the facility to make it more desirable as a venue for special events, such as family reunions, weddings and birthday parties.
“There are people that come from great distances who love McCauley,” she said.
That’s in addition the mountain’s undeniable benefit to the children of the community, according to Russell.
In essence, the committee wants ideas that will improve any aspect of the McCauley experience as it involves the chalet.
Because McCauley isn’t just “winter,” Russell said.
“It’s winter, spring, summer, fall. You can hike up McCauley or ride the chairlift in summer and fall. You can snowshoe and cross-country ski. It’s a four-season, multi-use place for great family adventure.”
So Russell said she is asking everyone to consider all of what McCauley means to them and the community, and to attend the meeting on March 24, to take part in guiding the mountain’s future.
