On a clear day in the winter, it seems you can almost see the snowshoers and cross-country skiers on Dakota Ridge from sea level.
The future of the Sunshine Coast Regional District's (SCRD) "fifth recreation facility" is far less clear, though.
Directors on the SCRD board have become frustrated with what they see as a recreation facility that costs more and more to operate with each passing year and revenues that are consistently disappointing. There is an appetite to find something - anything -to change from the status quo.
The history
Traditionally used for berry picking and gathering by the Sechelt Nation, Dakota Ridge became an informal place for winter rec types in the '70s and '80s when logging roads were put in.
Flash forward to 1999, and a group of citizens calling themselves the Dakota Ridge Winter Recreation Society banded together to formalize the little mountain as a recreation site and make it more accessible. With about $20,000 in donations and a $40,000 grant from the federal government, the group made road and trail improvements. But by 2005, the group found the upkeep was too much and approached the SCRD for help.
Following a referendum, the SCRD took over Dakota Ridge, pulled in some grants for road and parking lot improvements and the purchase of a trail grooming machine, Quonset huts and a fare collection box, and taxed Coast residents $46,000 in 2006.
Most of the work including collecting fees, grooming the trails and assisting visitors is done by volunteers, but the most expensivecosts -ploughing and maintaining the road and parking lot -are still carried by the SCRD and its taxpayers.
The numbers
Since 2006, the cost of running Dakota Ridge has climbed at a pretty steady pace, what SCRD directors have come to call the "taxation creep."
In 2007, the cost went up to $83,000. By 2008 it was $137,000. Taxation for Dakota Ridge hit $164,000 in 2009 and seemed to level off at $167,000 in 2010.
Recreation manager Carleen McDowell said she expects to have around that same number in the 2011 budget. She added that it's common for operational costs at recreation facilities to rise as a facility is developed and improved and then level off. But Dakota Ridge still has its critics within the board.
"As the costs go up, there's a feeling of 'when will it stop?' I know that's the feeling coming out of Sechelt," said SCRD board chair Garry Nohr.
In the fall of 2009, the board put out a request for expressions of interest for private sector firms to take over Dakota Ridge and did not receive a single response.
At the last board meeting of 2010, directors debated for over 40 minutes on whether to allow the taxation limit for Dakota Ridge to be increased from $.02 per thousand dollars of assessed value on a home to $.025.
In a split vote, the board begrudgingly passed the motion and the creep continued into this year's budget discussions.
As for revenues, the SCRD sells day-and season-passes to the recreation area and runs a Jackrabbit cross-country ski program, but there are still those who visit Dakota Ridge without paying a dime.
When asked if there are any numbers on how many people use the trails without paying, SCRD parks planner Sam Adams sounds disenchanted.
"It's anecdotal," Adams said in a deflated voice "but it's a lot. We're trying to encourage people to pay, but because there's such a long history of people going up there and using it with no infrastructure, they feel they have a right to continue doing that."
But how much of what appears on a Coast resident's tax bill goes to Dakota Ridge? For every $100 in taxpayer dollars contributed to run the Gibsons and Area Community Centre, Sechelt Aquatic Facility, Gibsons Pool and Sunshine Coast Arena in Sechelt, less than $7 goes to Dakota Ridge.
Adams said $7 is exceptionally small given the health benefits and economic spinoff of Dakota Ridge. There's no solid data, but Sunshine Coast Tourism and the Sunshine Coast Bed and Breakfast and Cottage Owners' Association have become strong advocates for Dakota Ridge, claiming the facility helps draw in off-season tourism, which injects a lot of money into the Coast's economy.
The future
When attempts to contract out the operation of Dakota Ridge failed and staff determined that finding a volunteer group willing to take it over on a full-time basis seemed impossible, the board voted to continue operating status quo, but with a major caveat. The board asked the Dakota Ridge winter recreation area advisory committee, the community group that helps provide the board with direction on Dakota Ridge, to report back at the end of the 2010/11 season with some ideas and a revised vision and business plan.
Committee chair Peg Neilon is one of Dakota Ridge's strongest advocates, but she says things need to change: "As a group we agree that the status quo isn't good because we need to generate more revenue," she said.
The committee has started work on developing a vision for the hill. In the meantime, Neilon said she wants people on the Coast to look at Dakota Ridge the same way they look at the Coast's other rec facilities.
"We all firmly believe that it is a fifth recreational facility. We don't believe that it should be held to a different standard than any of the other recreation facilities in terms of profitability," she said.
While the board and community wait to see what the rest of the 2010/11 season brings, Nohr encourages everyone to see what Dakota Ridge is about before making a judgment.
"I think the people, especially the naysayers who don't think it's worth the tax money, should have a trip up there and see what the potential is - maybe they'll change their minds," he said.
.png;w=120;h=80;mode=crop)
