JACKSON HOLE, WYO – What began as an innocent-looking enough item on a town council agenda has turned into another ‘snitstorm’ at town hall. And “Portrait Gate” ain’t got nothin’ on “Nomobile Race.”
If town leaders thought they had their foot in it after their decision to remove the President’s picture from the halls of their meeting place, they are finding even more tough sledding after a 3-2 vote on September 5 denied Snow King the opportunity to host an ISOC snowcross race at the base of the King. Hell, apparently, hath also no fury like sledheads scorned.
Tonight’s special town meeting in consideration of a proposed snowmobile race at Snow King will be a winner take all affair that has come to symbolize a few deeper issues. Are we a tourist town first and foremost that has no business turning away business? Or is there a tipping point where enough is enough, already?
The backlash after September 5 was significant and came from dual points: rhyme and reason.
First, the snowmachining community felt disenfranchised, or worse, discriminated against. Part of that is thanks to councilman Don Frank who suggested as much in his minority opinion diatribe where he outright warned his peers not to treat an ISOC race lineup like the police blotter.
That opened the discrimination door, and while Frank was referring to police chief Todd Smith’s portrayal of the average Hill Climb rap sheet, the snowmobile community took it to mean: the town okays everything else in the name of tourist entertainment (rodeo, concerts, and theatre players shooting at each other on downtown streets), why were they being singled out as the event that broke the council’s back?
Secondly, the business community rallied to the cause as well. Early December is a slow time in Jackson. A weekend event that could draw some 5,000-10,000 visitors at that time of year would be money in the bank, they argue. If that is exactly what the Travel and Tourism Board is supposed to be doing, why give them hard time when they do it?
Councilman Bob Lenz joined Frank in wanting to see the event take place. He had some reservations about the late-night hours (the applicant, Ryan Stanley of Snow King, originally said the event would last until 10:30pm and that model could not be changed. The race promoter has since agreed to end Friday at 6pm and Saturday by 8:30pm) but in the end Lenz has made his position clear when it comes to Snow King. He’s been around long enough to see the hill in its early glory days before competition from the Village stole its thunder. Since then, it’s been all downhill for the King, literally and fiscally. Lenz and his peers have watched the town hill fade into financial ruin in recent years.
The majority ruling held by Mayor Pete Muldoon, and councilmembers Jim Stanford and Hailey Morton Levinson included three basic premises.
For Muldoon, there was too much on the trouble side of the ledger (60 conditions attached by town staff in the event of approval included concern over beer sales and late night hours, noise, and turf damage to Phil Baux Park due to inadequate snow coverage) to balance the benefit it would bring to the community.
Stanford is perceived to have it out for Snow King. He’s scrutinized every aspect of the owner’s plan to expand the ski hill, and while that process continues to play out, here they were asking for even more. It was the perfect chance to deny Snow King something. What Stanford actually stated was the neighborhood, and perhaps the entire community, needed a break from the incessant tourism push to pack Jackson every weekend with sales tax-bearing revelers.
With the mayor and vice mayor seemingly unswayable, that leaves Morton Levinson as the flank to attack. Indeed, the fate of the race lies solely with her and the possibility she flips her vote tonight. It was Morton Levinson who brought the reconsideration at the council’s last meeting, opening the door for a revote.
Her original no vote was based, in part, on the type of event (fossil fuel burning) and how that would look to the outside world when the town is trying to portray a sustainable, environmentally-friendly image.
Neither Muldoon or Stanford wanted to be in the chambers tonight to hear any more from the race promoters. They both hemmed and hawed during last Monday’s meeting about their schedules and finally voted against a revisit to the item. Morton Levinson, acknowledging the outpouring in support of the race was significant, wanted to at least weigh that against who might show up tonight in the name of peace and quiet.
It’ll be interesting tonight. More interesting, at least, than the usual mind-numbing business of ordinance readings, floor-area ratios, and setback variances. Around here, it may even upstage a great sports debate over whether two opposing football teams will stand or kneel during the national anthem on MNF. One thing is for sure—to paraphrase Roy Scheider in Jaws—“We’re gonna need a bigger council chambers.”
