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Posted by: thepinetree on 07/16/2014 10:24 AM Updated by: thepinetree on 07/16/2014 10:34 AM
Expires: 01/01/2019 12:00 AM
:



Bear Valley Co-op Reaches 103% Of Membership Goal!!

Bear Valley, CA....Membership Sales - 103% as of 7:00pm on 7/15! July 15th, 2014. We have been busily processing applications for memberships and as of 7:00pm today (July 15th) we have processed enough membership registrations to pass the 100% mark....and more are still coming in! That is a REALLY good thing because we are not done at 100%...we still need to sell memberships to build up enough capital to make improvements on the mountain in time for the winter season! Great work and thanks to all that helped make this all possible!



Bear Valley Mountain Co-op Plan and Progress
We are getting ready to purchase the mountain and village!

We have completed the due diligence efforts on the mountain so that we can proceed forward as quickly as possible in order to perform much needed summer maintenance. We have been assembling this information into a consolidated business plan with overview on the mountain, market review, key findings, financials, and future planning. There has been a great deal of help provided by your co-op board as well as extended members of the co-op community to make this happen. We will present an overview of this plan to the community and then have it ready for members to review in detail and later vote to ratify to plan and purchase of the mountian.



Key Deadline Dates:

JULY 15th DEADLINE TO JOIN! If you intend to vote to ratify the purchase AND have your membership count toward the purchase, this is the last date you need to join.

JULY 25th DEADLINE TO PAY! In order to make this happen we need all memberships paid so that we have the actual funds in the secure account. If you have not paid up yet, please do so and if you will join soon, be sure to pay the email invoice promptly.

AUGUST 1st DEADLINE TO PURCHASE! This is the date that we have committed to take over operations of the mountain and start summer maintenance. If there are any delays beyond this date, we will loose opportunities to make an impact in time for the coming Winter season.



After we have finalized the purchase of the mountain, we will move foward with completing the village portion of our agreement with the owners and go through a similar porcess of due diligence, financial review, and business plan that will be presented to the community. We have divided this effort in order to speed up the process for the mountain and to give our volunteer "army" time to regroup before tackling the next objective.



To help in our due diligence efforts the Co-op is working with an experienced team that operates both Mountain High Resort near L.A. and Stevens Pass Resort east of Seattle. They have decades of experience in mountain resorts and are familiar with what Bear Valley has to offer. This group is excited to continue their work with the BMVC for ongoing mountain management and the BVMC is in the process of finalizing an agreement to place an experience GM and user their extensive resources to manage and oversee operations on the mountain.



Click here to check our progress on membership sales compared to our goals


Management Partnership - Mountain High / Stevens Pass Resort Team

Mountain High and Stevens Pass resorts are managed by an experienced group of professionals lead by Karl Kapuscinski, Paul Bauer, Michele Roy, and John McCally. Their focus is to review Bear Valley Mountains’ equipment, maintenance needs, and improvements as they work with the Co-op team to develop an actionable plan for Bear Valley Mountain as a year round destination. Some examples of their work include Stevens Pass’ addition of a very successful Mountain Bike program started by Twain Harte native Joel Martinez that was written up in this months Bike magazine. Mountain High and their VP of Marketing, John McCally were also the originators of the Powder Alliance program which shares pass privileges at 12 other resorts across the West.



Both of these resorts get over 3 times the skier visits that we do here at Bear Valley (yes, even with good snow). Steven’s Pass has had back-to-back record years at just over 400k visits and Mountain High has a 10 year average of 445k visits. Of special note, Mountain High is one of the most innovative resorts for terrain parks, youth, and diverse ethnic skier base with Stevens Pass recently winning the NSAA Golden Eagle award for sustainability efforts for resorts with fewer than 500k visits.



Check it out if you are interested to learn more at:









Steps To Ownership

The administrative details of the cooperative organization have been finalized and have been selling memberships. We are pushing the message about the co-op to local, regional, and national media to grow interest in addition to meeting and presenting the concept to the people and businesses that benefit from a thriving Bear Valley Resort. Once we have enough funds we will be able to close the purchase and all required permits. The SOONER the better because Summer work needs to start on the Mountain resort!



Timeline

May to June, 2014: The critical first step is planning and permitting for the mountain resort

End of June, 2014: We will complete a multi year mountain and resort area business plan and financials for all members to review, ask questions, and ratify by vote of the membership before we release the funds. We have access to the current and historical finacials, inspections, and necessary maintenance/improvements.

July to August, 2014: The second step in the prucase is review and planning for the village and village properties.



Note: We are not able to divulge details quite yet as the information is still considered confidential by the current owners. As we progress, we will be able to discuss with more transparancy.


Donations

We desperately need seed money to perform our planning, marketing efforts, and financial review. All funds will be deposited in an operating account to fund the initial costs of forming the coop and securing the acquisition of the mountain. These costs include legal fees, document filing fees, contracts for inspection of assets and expenses for marketing the coop. Because the BVMCOOP is not a charitable organization, please note that donations are not tax deductable. We appreciate the generosity! Go here to find out more: Donate Today

Funds generated from the sale of shares

All funds received will be deposited in a secure bank account. Funds will not be spent until a contract to purchase the mountain and village has been approved by a membership vote and agreed to by the sellers. If the sale of the mountain and village does not succeed, all shares will be refunded in full to the original purchasers.


Bear Valley Mountain Cooperative Plan

Principles Of Success

The Village and Mountain must be connected seamlessly via a strong partnership utilizing people, systems, and eventually an effective and efficient chairlift system that links the two.

The Village development must happen in a way that brings new visitors with benefits to Bear Valley homeowners, locals, and highway 4 businesses. It is not how many new buildings we build, but what buildings are built and how they are utilized.

The experience of a sustainable Bear Valley includes entertainment, dining, services and affordable access to diverse year round recreational activities.

Employee housing is essential. Bringing year round residents BACK to Bear Valley is a must through comprehensive housing and staffing practices.

Snow sports deserve to remain affordable and approachable to a broad population by keeping Bear Valley reasonably priced to attract entry level users and young families while enabling access to amazing terrain for all levels of enthusiasts.

A professional and experienced major resort operator or General Manager will be hired to manage the mountain operations, with employees who are proud to deliver a culture and product experience that end users will embrace and appreciate.

Our infrastructure needs to be improved and upgraded to improve the resort’s competitive position, while maintaining affordable access.

An experienced hospitality professional, with a proven track record, will be hired to manage the Village Lodge and commercial center to create an enjoyable experience for guests and visitors.

The Village Lodge and commercial center are NOT up to par and will need to be improved or replaced.

A cooperative IS strongest and most rewarding when its members contribute collectively to the process through comment periods, voting and participation in determining the future of Bear Valley.


The Plan Overview

The Co-op was formed by members of the Bear Valley community for the purpose of concluding a potential purchase of certain assets of the Bear Valley Mountain Resort including the ski area assets and approximately 14 acres of real estate in Bear Valley Village with co-op membership approval. We cannot yet disclose the actual purchase terms or details of our discovery until we put the business plan to a vote of the membership due to confidentiality agreements with the current owners.



The Co-op intends to acquire and operate the Bear Valley Mountain Resort and to promote the development of the Village real estate via a strategic partnership. The Co-op plans to purchase, with coop membership approval, the listed assets as an ongoing business concern with two goals in mind:

(i) to operate profitably, so that money will be available for reinvestment in the ski area and other outdoor recreational facilities

(ii) to promote the development of Bear Valley Village as an attractive destination for members of the community seeking to engage in outdoor recreation activities available in the area.



The long-term objective of the Co-op is to promote the community’s access to winter and summer outdoor recreational activities in and surrounding Bear Valley. The Bear Valley Mountain Cooperative is developing a business and financial plan that includes the following:

Purchase terms of mountain and village assets.

Hire an experienced Mountain Resort management group and/or qualified General Manager that will report to the cooperative board.

Adequately detail and fund deferred maintenance to improve the operations of the resort.

Adequate cash reserves to overcome bad or low profit seasons (appx 3 years).

Capital improvements to facilities, lifts, and skiable terrain according to already entitled and approved plans that meet the desired results and collective interests of the cooperative.

Partner with an experienced development group that can bring the Village Vision to life.

Borrow any necessary funds to meet the purchase obligations at a term and rate that meet our fiscal budget.

These improvements and planned expenses will be part of future cooperative operating budgets which will be developed by the cooperative Board Of Directors and will be subject to approval of the membership.



Profits and Losses

Bear Valley Mountain Cooperative will be operated as a for profit business. If the operation of the mountain has a net profit in a fiscal year, the membership and board can allocate the profits to capital improvements, retained savings, or to pay any long term debt. There cannot be any dividend payments as the state of California cooperative laws to not allow dividends to be paid.



If the operation of the mountain has a net loss in a fiscal year, the board will first charge the loss against retained savings. Net losses that are not offset by these assets may be charged against the carrying value of shares only upon termination of ownership. Net losses shall not be assessed to or collected from members.


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