A casino? Maybe, say politicians betting on ways to make Marble Mountain shine

The carved slopes in the lush mountain can be seen above the roof of the Steady Brook town hall.  

Across the street, Marble Mountain marks this town in many ways — and its mayor believes the ski resort has great potential, even with its aging infrastructure.

Bill Dawson says it's time to go big and build something that will bring in lots of money: a long-term, sustainable option for the rural west coast of Newfoundland.

"We would not object to seeing, like we see in other places in every other province, a casino at the bottom of that hill. Why would we not have a casino? I mean, we are talking about making money. Casinos are money-makers. Why would we not do that?" asked Dawson. 

"Not to say that is the only amenity. Skiing would be a part of that. You work with Mother Nature. Maybe if the snow is not here January or December, well, we work with that."

Seeking investors

Dawson says the Humber Valley region is a hot spot, with houses selling for more than $1 million. There are investors with deep pockets that government should be recruiting, he said.

The provincial government issued a request for expressions of interest for the purchase or long-term lease of Marble Mountain ski resort late last month.

The province first tried to sell the hill in 2018 but received only three submissions.

Tony Wakeham, PC Party leader, says there's no reason the resort would sell now, after the province spent years trying to offload it.

"For nine years, the Liberal government have failed in their attempts to get an investment for Marble Mountain to turn this into a yearlong resort," said Wakeham. 

"We have an asset on this west coast part of the province. It is an economic driver. It employs people. It can't be about a fireside sale. How do we get someone to invest in this vision of a year-round operation?"

No consultation

Wakeham's biggest concern lies with the lack of community consultation before the request for expressions of interest was even issued, with a deadline for submissions coming up on Friday.

"Somebody in St. John's sitting behind a desk cannot make a decision about the future of Marble Mountain," he said. 

"Let's get out here, talk to the people in the communities, talk to the stakeholders, talk to people who use the mountain and then talk about what future opportunities there are."

Dawson and other local governments were feeling left out of the process, so much so that he and the mayors of Pasadena and Corner Brook wrote a letter to the premier, days before the request for expressions of interest was issued, saying the government's short-term subsidies to keep the place running are not efficient solutions, and it is time they collaborate and sell it.

"The timing of it, we were thinking it might be a little later," said Dawson. "Anything that is coming out on a Friday afternoon, late in summer a week before a long weekend and then it has a expiration date that would challenge milk, that is a little concerning. But we are in the process so we have to make the best the of that process."

He says the Steady Brook representative on the Marble Mountain Development Corporation's board of directors was not made aware the request for expressions of interest was being issued, calling the lack of communication a misstep.

"This is another reason why government shouldn't be involved with these type of processes," said Dawson. 

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