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City hearing highlights Hogadon lift plan, explores snow‑farming and volunteer patrol insurance
Summary
City Parks staff outlined a five‑year business plan for Hogadon ski area that prioritizes replacing the chairlift to improve safety and capacity, expanding night skiing and summer uses, pursuing grants and partnerships, and seeking a statutory change so volunteer patrols can gain workers'‑comp coverage (saving about $9,000/year).
Zulima, the city Parks and Recreation presenter, told the council the Hogadon business plan prioritizes a chairlift replacement to improve safety, accessibility and capacity and enable tower‑mounted lighting for expanded night skiing.
The plan aims to modestly increase revenue through expanded summer operations, targeted marketing, sponsorships and partnerships with Visit Casper and local hospitality providers. "We need the new lift to expand summer operations and improve safety," Zulima said. Staff also noted Friends of Hogadon provides branded merchandise and capital support, and reported a $20,000 contribution from Jonah Bank toward the lift project.
Why it matters: staff said a new lift could reduce closures and attract more families, increase night‑skiing opportunities for race training and recreational use, and enable modest summer lift fees to fund staffing. At the same time, staff cautioned that financial projections depend on average snow years and a successful capital campaign.
Councilors pressed staff on the enterprise's cost‑recovery target (60%), the timeline for ordinance and property work, and whether short‑term funding or donations were sufficient to start purchase or construction. Zulima said the donation signaled local business support that could accelerate property purchase discussions.
Snow strategies and insurance: the council debated snowmaking versus newer European‑style snow‑farming techniques that preserve base snow under insulating blankets. Councilor Gamarra summarized conference findings: "In pilot studies, 70–80% of covered snow can remain through warm months," a preservation rate that could reduce reliance on energy‑intensive snowmaking. Ryan Butler, identified in the transcript as the Ski Area Superintendent, said snowmaking likely remains a core tool because artificial snow is more durable for grooming, but he and staff are exploring snow‑farming technology and harvesting snow off buckrail fences.
On personnel coverage, staff said Casper Mountain Ski Patrol is largely volunteer and currently not covered by workers'‑comp. The city pays about $9,000 per year for a separate accident policy; staff recommended pursuing a statute change to allow workers'‑comp coverage for volunteer patrollers, which would eliminate that premium if the legislative change is approved.
Next steps: staff will continue grant seeking, pursue partnerships with Visit Casper and local clubs, advance lift fundraising, and return with updates on design and property acquisition timelines. The council did not take a formal vote but asked staff to keep the project on the near‑term work plan.
