Killington mulls feasibility of building center for arts
Toolbox
By Cristina Kumka Staff Writer - Published: October 21, 2009
KILLINGTON - Would a venue for arts and entertainment be a worthwhile undertaking for a ski resort town?
It's worth a temporary test run, according to Steven Wolff, a consultant for AMS Planning & Research, who is investigating the idea and conducted a feasibility study for Killington for $34,000, the cost offset by a state grant.
The town recently put $25,000 down to keep a 38-acre piece of land across the road from the Grist Mill Restaurant off the market and Wolff presented elected officials' idea for the land on Monday night.
It was the first public hearing on what could be the Killington Economic Development & Tourism department's next step: getting public support for a centrally located arts venue and then asking voters to approve a more than $1 million bond to make it a reality.
The goal, according to town officials, is to get more tourism dollars into town coffers.
According to Wolff, the next step is to determine what type of arts center might be developed in Killington, how it would operate and what the economic potential could be.
"The town is not ready for a permanent performance site," Wolff told a crowd of 30 full-time residents Monday night at the Killington Town Offices.
Among the crowd were local business owners, Selectman Mike Miller, Steve Selbo of ski village development company SP Land Co., and Chris Nyberg, president of Killington Resort.
"There is a huge opportunity to leverage this festival concept … consumers prefer to buy product rather than place," Wolff said.
Tourists could be drawn to town if it had a location to host music, a museum or a marathon — anything with a brand and a big name, but it's expensive and won't happen overnight, Wolff said, showing slides as he spoke.
"We have to acknowledge it takes time for these events to grow," he said.
But there are promoters ready and waiting to talk with the town about hosting a festival or festival series, to develop Killington's reputation as a cultural destination, allow the town to test the market and gain more private and public support and financial investment, according to Wolff's 36-slide presentation.
Interviews with a dozen entertainment producers and presenters revealed that half felt more details on the venue were needed and the recession had to bounce back before a discussion could be had.
The other half wanted to talk with the town about possible partnerships, according to the study.
Wolff said there are two major promoters who were ready to move quickly and start talking about events for next summer once the town's economic department and the Vermont Community Development Program decided to move forward with the second stage of Wolff's study: developing an operating plan for the festival model venue and measuring how much revenue would be made in a typical year.
Wolff said he was using "cautious optimism" in looking at the venue idea.
"We believe form follows function," Wolff said. "If we can drive activity, a more permanent solution will become more obvious."
To shed light on how the town can drive activity through a venue, Wolff showed slides of other ski resort towns that partnered with private ski resorts or nonprofit organizations such as Stowe Performing Arts or the Sun Valley Pavilion in Idaho.
Data from the Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing presented by Wolff depicted pros and cons for Killington's endeavor.
The town of Warren increased its meal and hotel revenue with the Vermont Festival of the Arts, while 25 other Vermont venues for entertainment could compete with Killington's, according to the study.
Although outdoor activities are the main reason why people visit Killington, there was interest in galleries, museums, historic sites and jazz and bluegrass festivals, according to a survey contained in the study.
"A third-party partner will be necessary to work with the town and share the risk," and ski resort activities are more likely to bring in tourists, according to the study.
To view the complete preliminary feasibility study of the entertainment and arts venue proposal, go to www.killingtontown.com.
cristina.kumka@rutlandherald.com
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