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Mayor adds his name to membership list for mountain

Polly Rudderham of My Mountain Co-op accepted a cheque for an individual membership from Mayor Jack Mussallem at City Hall on Tuesday evening.
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Polly Rudderham of My Mountain Co-op accepts a cheque from Mayor Jack Mussallem.

Polly Rudderham of My Mountain Co-op accepted a cheque for an individual membership from Mayor Jack Mussallem at City Hall on Tuesday evening.

When he presented the cheque to her, he said Councillor Gina Garon had purchased one as well.

“You being here tonight will serve as a reminder that it’s a very worthwhile initiative,” the mayor told Rudderham.

My Mountain Co-op is trying to raise $2 million by April 30 to purchase Shames Ski Hill.

In addition to the purchase price for the hill, which is 1.25 million, additional money would be expended to repair the chairlift ($75,000) and the existing groomer ($25,000), eventually replace the groomer with a used one($150,000), upgrade the T-Bar ($37,000), make some lodge repairs ($185,000), for environmental and legal fees ($100,000)  and a working capital ($133,000) for the unexpected.

Over to the last two and a half months, the co-op has raised $250,000 through individual and corporate memberships.

“We’ve just launched a corporate drive with the understanding that we will have an extension. We will continue to work towards the April 30th deadline, and then expect there to be announcements about the progress we have made and what to expect in the near future,” Rudderham told council.

According to Rudderham, Prince Rupert has shown a very positive response to the membership drive, particularly with individual memberships.

“We want to remind the communities and the regions that this is not just to benefit the skiers, but to benefit cross regional winter outdoor activities so we’re asking people to recognize this initiative in a broader sense,” she added.

Mayor Jack Mussallem agreed and said as the region and its communities grow, having a ski hill will be one more reason that people will relocate and stay because there are benefits to be enjoyed.

People wanting to purchase a membership can access a paypal account on the My Mountain Co-op website or obtain forms at Northern Savings Credit Union and Cowpuccino’s in Prince Rupert.

Councillor Sheila Gordon-Payne asked Chief Financial Officer Dan Rodin if the City can provide tax receipts for donations, and heard it can, but not for individual and corporate membership

purchases.

“If an individual or corporation wants to give an outright gift of money to the mountain, then under our flow through policy, because I guess the community at large feels this is a regional destination thing that we are trying to build here, it would be appropriate to be used for that,” explained Rodin.