Committee approves Cannon Mountain repairs; officials say tram replacement costs rose to $33 million

The Capital Budget and Capital Project Overview Committee on Monday approved item 24010 from the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources funding a set of Cannon Mountain capital projects, while officials reported a substantial increase in the projected cost to replace the Cannon tram.

Sarah Stewart, commissioner of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, and Jace Worth of Franconia Notch State Park presented three tranches of work the committee approved: approximately $190,000 for asphalt shingle roof repairs to primary skier services lodges; a set of lift maintenance items including bullwheel bearing work, a communications-line upgrade and a gearbox rebuild for the EagleCliff fixed-grip triple; and a mainline snowmaking-pump-house replacement covering a few hundred meters near the base area to address corrosion and pinhole leaks. The full mainline project was described in the packet as roughly $456,000; the Cannon Mountain Advisory Commission previously approved $226,500 in June and the department said a Land and Water Conservation Fund grant was just approved to cover roughly half of that approved amount.

“The project that was approved by the Cannon Mountain Advisory Commission in June was the amount of $226,500,” Stewart said. “We just recently received approval through the Land and Water Conservation Fund grant program, so federal monies cover half of that cost.”

Committee members asked for questions; the motion to approve item 24010 was moved, seconded and carried.

Stewart also updated members on the status of the Cannon tram. She said the department had previously secured $18 million and earlier estimates placed the full replacement at about $25 million, but a recent contractor bid returned at $33 million. Stewart said staff are coordinating with the Department of Administrative Services and Department of Public Works to consider breaking the work into separate packages and to validate in-place concrete poles so that future bids could come back at a lower price.

“We worked closely with legislators, and we gleaned information from vendors to come up with an estimation of what the price would be,” Stewart said. “When we went out to bid, the bid came back at $33,000,000. We’re working with our colleagues at DAS and DPW. Right now what we’re doing is stepping back and trying to create opportunity to break up the bid.”

Jace Worth, who described his prior work managing capital improvements at Granby Ranch in Colorado, told the committee capital improvements have been central to his work. Stewart said the tram remains a priority for the department’s next capital request but noted that the final decision and larger funding path will proceed through the legislative process.

The committee did not take further action on the tram at the meeting; staff said the department will pursue procurement strategies and include the tram in its next capital submittal to the legislature.

Next steps: the department will continue planning and engage with DAS/DPW and legislators on funding and procurement options for the tram and will return to the committee as warranted.