A long awaited local referendum is being pursued. Snowtime's been buttering up the local voters with tubing parties and other events. Would be nice to see.


Whitetail brings liquor referendum to Montgomery Township
By ROXANN MILLERroxann.miller@herald-mail.comHM Media

10:24 p.m. EST, February 21, 2013
MERCERSBURG, Pa. -

Whitetail Resort wants to get a referendum question on the May 21 Pennsylvania primary to change Montgomery Township from a "dry" township to a "wet" township.

Don MacAskill, president and general manager of Whitetail, said resort officials concluded after a great deal of thought and consideration to try to move the township from dry status to wet. In other words, the resort currently can't sell alcohol.

"We would like to grow and improve Whitetail Resort. We would like to be able to open a restaurant that is open year-round and have the ability to serve alcoholic beverages," he said.

In order to get a referendum before the voters in the primary, a petition question must be circulated to residents, said Jean Byers, deputy chief clerk of Franklin County Board of Elections.

Byers said the petition question being circulated to township residents is: Do you favor the granting of liquor licenses for the sale of liquor in the Township of Montgomery? Yes or No

In order to appear on the primary ballot, a minimum of 612 signatures from registered voters in Montgomery Township must be collected on the petition between Feb. 19 and March 12.

"Going from the dry status to the wet status would allow us to secure a liquor license for our golf resort as well as the ski resort," MacAskill said. "That would enable us to expand our banqueting program and offer more of a fine dining experience."

If the referendum appears on the ballot and wins, MacAskill said the resort will automatically be granted a liquor license.

"We do not take this campaign lightly. It's our mission as we go through this campaign to make sure we have an open dialogue with township residents to make it as clear as possible why we support this referendum, and why we are going to be looking for their support as well," MacAskill said.

He said Whitetail is the only one of 30 resorts in Pennsylvania that does not have a liquor license.

Four years ago, a liquor referendum passed at one of Whitetail's sister resorts, Roundup near Harrisburg, Pa.

"Because ... we operate two other resorts (with liquor licenses), we are very knowledgeable in offering the necessary training that our staff would need to properly operate a restaurant with a liquor license. We will operate any restaurant in a responsible fashion and we will make sure that the staff has the necessary training to serve alcoholic beverages in a restaurant establishment," he said.

He said some people have expressed concerns that if the referendum passes, bars will pop up in the township.

There are currently no liquor licenses available in Franklin County, MacAskill said.

"The only reason we would be able to secure one is that we fall under the special classification of a golf and ski resort," he said.

MacAskill said passing the referendum would mean jobs.

"Currently we provide 1,100 seasonal jobs and 42 full-time, year-round positions. With the passage of this liquor referendum, we plan to expand the resort, which will provide greater job opportunity for people in the area," he said.

Passing the referendum would enable the resort to expand, which would mean additional property tax revenue for the Tuscarora School District, he said.

"We are the largest taxpayer in the school district. Our annual property tax bill is $275,000," MacAskill said.

The Tuscarora Chamber of Commerce officially endorsed the effort to pass the referendum during its legislative breakfast Thursday at Whitetail. In a letter dated Feb. 1, chamber Executive Director Mary-Anne Gordon said the chamber thinks Whitetail will remain family friendly and a great place for residents to "play as well as work."

She wrote that the chamber looks forward "to the jobs this will bring as Whitetail grows, the stabilization of township and school taxes, and the positive impact this will have on our neighboring businesses and communities."

Awesome.

meh

Liquor and its derivate, beer, are quite tasty. A nice finish to a day on the slopes. Don't be so dismissive. We're not all from WV where we distill our own. ;-)

I enjoy a brewski or something stronger like most do. If s"no"time wants to improve things alkeyhol is not the way.

New and improved with Booze?

The first thing a good resaurant should have is good food. It is certainly nice to have food/drink options for said business. Bottom line is they knew it is a dry location when they bought the place.

If the folks who live there don't want it then they should not force change on them. Reminds me of the attempts to get a casino in Gettysburg.

I agree. Should be up to them and NO ONE else.

Oh, the township won't be forced. It was voted down last time it made it to the ballot. In 1981.

I read elsewhere that Whitetail would have to get a license from the existing pool of licenses. Not get a new one like this article states. Here in Franklin Co. (all of PA??), liquor licenses are allocated based on the population. We got a few more licenses after the 2010 Census, and the last one was supposed to be decided upon last week among 7 local applicants. The Liquor Board decided to postpone that selection. Maybe it's because they're holding back until the Fall for Whitetail? Or maybe the 2 have nothing to do with each other?

Restaurants here frequently buy licenses from other establishments at ridiculous 6-figure rates.

I absolutely hope they get it. No sure thing though.

I still think they should do a non-ski retail space at the hill. As in Knob Hall wine and Clear Spring creamery tasting room.

I personally have no interest as I need every possible brain cell available when I am out on the slopes. I wonder how they would segregate the alcohol from the kiddies. I imagine they would have to build a separate area as it gets pretty crazy in that place sometimes.
Can you imagine the prices they would charge? I always try and bring my own food when I go as a soda, hamburger and fries costs somewhere around $16-18 IIRC.
Man a brew there would probably be north of $9.

Neither 7Springs nor Liberty have any problem with that.

Its nice to have a beer after skiing but really I don't see it as that big of a deal. Plus as crowded as some of these places can get do we really need to throw alcohol into the mix?

It could be an atmosphere change, as in: make Whitetail and, indirectly, skiing itself, more of a singles/date night/nightlife possible destination. 7S manages to capture this. Very few other hills south of NY and VT manage to do it; we can easily make the argument that the 'family resort' market is saturated, but the 'singles resort' market is relatively untapped. (hehe)

We can make the further argument that a 'singles resort' option would also bring new interest to the sport, from people whose families didn't teach them to ski.

There have been several Opinion letters in the past few weeks, mostly supporting Whitetail's position. Wt and the GM have been pushing this pretty hard. Surprisingly hard to me, as Wt usually keep a too low profile around here (IMO).

http://www.publicopiniononline.com/opini...hitetail-letter

And it failed
Living here is so vastly different from living in Fairfax. I keep finding more and more reasons to move back.


http://www.publicopiniononline.com/ci_23...tail-resort-dry

Montgomery Township residents vote to keep Whitetail Resort dry

By Jim Hook

CHAMBERSBURG -- Montgomery Township residents voted Tuesday to stay "dry."
Voters in all four precincts said "no" Tuesday to the question: Do you favor the granting of liquor licenses for the sale of liquor in the Township of Montgomery?
The vote was 677-495 (54 percent to 46 percent) against allowing the sale of alcohol in the township.
The Friends of Montgomery Township lobbied for the question and circulated petitions to place it on ballots. Don MacAskill, general manager of Whitetail Resorts, is president of the local political action committee.
The effort had the backing of the Tuscarora Area Chamber of Commerce.
"The voters of Montgomery Township have spoken and we respect their vote to remain 'dry'," said Mary-Anne Gordon, chamber of commerce executive director.
Whitetail is the only ski resort of the more than 30 in Pennsylvania that does not have a license to sell alcohol, according to MacAskill. The Whitetail ski and golf resorts on Blairs Valley Road currently host wedding receptions and banquets, but without cash bars.
The resort south of Mercersburg on Blairs Valley Road employs 1,100 people during the peak ski season and 42 people full-time year-round. About 100 live in Montgomery Township. The resort had plans to apply for a liquor license this year, and build a restaurant next year.
The outcome would not have changed the number of general licenses available in Franklin County, but the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board considers, independently of the quota, licenses for golf courses, ski resorts, hotels, retirement communities, racetracks and betting parlors.
Montgomery Township residents had voted against going wet in 1981, three years before Dr. Bruce Foster unveiled plans for the ski resort on Two Top Mountain. Whitetail opened in 1991 with hopes of becoming a year-round resort.

That's a pretty damning statement. But hey, democracy rules. Look at all the idiots on both sides of the aisle elected to Congress.

At least the very little known ability to BYOB in the base lodge and enjoy at a parking lot tailgate will continue. That would've ended with the granting of an onsite license.

I bet R & M Beverage is glad that WT's liquor license was shot down!

...booze and skiin' just don't mix...ski whitetail!

I could see the lack of alcohol being an issue if Whitetail was a destination area that you stayed a couple of nights at. However, I find it hard to believe that anyone stays away from Whitetail for a day trip just because they can't have a beer at lunch or after they are done skiing.

As for the county deciding to be dry, I'm of two minds about it. On one hand, it doesn't effect me at all as I don't drink while skiing and I don't drink when I'm soon going to get in the car to drive somewhere. When I'm at Whitetail, 90% of my time there is on my skis .

On the other hand, I grew up in rural PA (Lancaster PA) and couldn't stand the area. The vote just reinforces the views I have from my childhood and teenage years of Rural PA and why I was so eager to leave it when I went to college and never went back to live there again. So while I enjoy the occasional trip to ski at Whitetail, I am so glad I do not live anywhere near that place. For all of its problems, the culture and life style of the DC suburbs fit me much better than rural PA ever did.

Thanks for nixing liquor vote (Letter)


A heartfelt thanks to all those voters who took a stand by voting no on the referendum for the granting of liquor licenses for the sale of liquor in Montgomery Township, defeating the referendum by a sizable margin.
With integrity, strong purpose and responsibility as watchmen for Him, you have helped keep Montgomery Township alcohol-free and safer for our residents.
You have fought a good fight, you have finished your course, you have kept the faith! (cp. KJV 2 Timothy 4:7)
Again, thank for your faithfulness.
Forrest Sprecher
Mercersburg

http://www.publicopiniononline.com/opinion/ci_23674272/thanks-nixing-liquor-vote-letter