The town of Mountain Village, near Telluride, has decided to investigate the circumstances under which its former mayor made an offer to purchase Telluride Ski Resort in December, as the ski patrol there was on strike.
The decision, made Sunday at a special meeting of the Mountain Village Town Council, is an about-face by local leaders, who previously said they wouldn’t launch an investigation into the incident. Mayor Pro Tem Scott Pearson said in a statement Monday that “we have learned new information” that warrants an investigation.
“We need to understand what happened so that we can determine an appropriate response. And we believe the people of Mountain Village deserve transparency,” the statement said.
The events in question relate to a trip in late December, during which Mountain Village’s former mayor Marti Prohaska and Telluride Town Councilmember Meehan Fee traveled to California to meet Chuck Horning, owner of Telluride Ski Resort. Prohaska previously told JS that the women wanted to talk to Horning about the ongoing patroller strike as well as “the underlying challenges of the current leadership structure” in hopes of finding a resolution not just immediately, but also long-term. Prohaska has worked as a ski patroller for 25 years.
The strike started on Dec. 27 and lasted 13 days. On Dec. 29, Prohaska and Fee made a purchase offer for $127.5 million, intended to transfer 51% of the resort’s ownership to an entity called the Telluride Ski Resort Fund, according to documents obtained by JS.
Prohaska resigned on Jan. 14 as word about the trip spread. In an interview prior to her resignation, Prohaska said she and Fee went to California as private citizens – not elected officials – and used their own personal funds to do so.
However, the offer suggests that if a sale were finalized, the buyer would direct both towns “to take commercially reasonable efforts to broker a cessation to the ski patrol strike,” in addition to addressing municipal projects such as workforce housing, future water needs, infrastructure upgrades and generating more tourism to the area, according to the documents.
Mountain Village originally declined to pursue an investigation into the events that led to the purchase offer; however, the Telluride Town Council decided last week to investigate Fee’s involvement.
Mountain Village’s spokesperson didn’t respond immediately to JS’s inquiry about what new information influenced the town council to walk back on its previous decision.
However, a recording of the town council’s executive session on Jan. 15 was recently posted online, causing a stir among residents. In that session, Mountain Village town manager Paul Wisor said he knew that Prohaska and Fee were going to meet with Horning and that Wisor had connected them with potential investors who have expressed interest in buying in on the resort over the years.
Reached by phone, Wisor confirmed that the recording was real, but declined to elaborate further on his comments. The recording became public after the council neglected to shut off the YouTube streaming feed during its executive session, he said. Municipalities often use executive sessions to discuss matters that they believe require confidentiality, including legal matters and employment issues.
In this particular session, the town council received legal advice about whether to launch an investigation into the California trip. In the recording, the council debates whether there would be any benefits since Prohaska had already resigned.
“In my mind, the fact that Marti resigned kind of makes it moot because the remedies are gone now. We can’t censure her or kick her out of office because she left,” David McConaughy, the town attorney, said at one point. “So what’s the point? Other than maybe providing some transparency to the citizens. You know, I think there’s certainly value in that.”
Transparency seems to be the driving force behind the investigation now. In Monday’s statement, Pearson promised to “make the (investigation’s) results public to the maximum extent possible” and said town staff are “focused on running an effective and transparent government for the benefit of our residents, workforce and visitors.”
“There is so much we are working on to improve our town. But all that work depends on the public’s trust. We are committed to continually earn that trust and hope this investigation is a step in that direction,” Pearson said.
