To the Massanutten Community:
Some thoughts on things going on in and around the Resort and the community: our Visioning Sessions, and (of course) a bit about the weather. But first, something very important.
On the County’s proposed buyout of MPSC: As you’ve probably heard, Rockingham County’s Board of Supervisors has received the appraisal it commissioned to value the MPSC utility, and at its meeting tomorrow will determine whether to make a formal offer to purchase the facility and to authorize eminent domain proceedings if negotiations fail. MPSC will have its attorney present and is likely to oppose the County’s actions.
Your public comments could be very important: local voices that describe the recent past, what ratepayers have experienced, and the need for change. The County needs to establish public need to support any taking by eminent domain. While this process has taken far longer than any of us would have wished, we are glad the County is looking to make a decision tomorrow.
We believe it’s in the interests of both area residents served by MPSC and Massanutten Resort that the Supervisors hears from you. The public hearing will be held this Wednesday, December 14, 2022, at 6:00 p.m., in the Board of Supervisors Meeting Room at 20 East Gay Street in Harrisonburg. We plan to have representatives there and encourage you to attend as well. The County’s Public Notice and proposed Resolution are available at this link. It will take you to a PDF download of the Public Packet for this meeting (we suggest you “open in a new tab”). The relevant section starts at page 248.
If you’re unable to attend, we recommend sending an email to County Administrator Stephen King and to the Members of the Board of Supervisors at their individual email addresses. Those links will take you to “mail-tos” on the Rockingham County Website. Again, we suggest you open those links in new tabs.
Visioning Sessions: We held four productive Visioning Sessions last week – two for residents and businesses in the McGaheysville area, and two for MPOA residents.
It has been a long time since we’ve done something like this. In the past, Massanutten would study and plan our new timeshare projects – and though we always looped the MPOA board in, we usually didn’t do so until we were nearly ready to apply for permits. In retrospect, that approach didn’t help improve the relationship between the Resort and homeowners, who are justifiably proud of their community and have a very real interest in what we do.
Since this project is focused on inter-connectivity and residential development, we all felt that community members could add enormous insight and input as we envision possible developments going forward.
The sessions went very well, and I think it’s safe to say that attendees were largely pleased by our ideas – including our intent to focus on active-adult, full-time residents, the things that attract them to Massanutten, and our planned restriction on vacation rentals on those units. And in return, we heard some great ideas that may well be incorporated into the next planning steps.
For example: Mike Kish, who owns property in The Glen, suggested the creation of an outdoor amphitheater/arts space in the Woodstone area. No promises, but we loved that idea and are looking into adding that – and other features – suggested by community members. So: thanks to all who attended – and if you have thoughts and ideas, please send them to community@massresort.com. We’ll keep you updated as visioning and planning move forward.
Should we talk about the weather? We had a nice start to the ski season, but it’s no secret that the weather of late hasn’t been conducive to either building or keeping snowpack. That’s the bad news. The good news: it looks like cold weather returns this Saturday, and this time it looks like it’ll stick around for a while. We’ll crank up our new energy-efficient snow guns just as soon as temperatures allow, so we can create a wonderful holiday season of skiing, riding, and snow tubing.
Wishing you all a wonderful holiday season!
Matthias Smith, VP and General Manager, Massanutten Resort
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