Members of the public who attended the first hearing were still able to comment, but the next hearing will include a working video call link for people to attend remotely. The date for the next hearing has not yet been set. The new agreement can be viewed at “http://tinyurl.com/bdzev9x2″ rel=”noopener” target=”_blank”>tinyurl.com/bdzev9x2, or in the “public notices” section of the town’s website. Video of the first hearing can be viewed at tinyurl.com/96syfxvs.

The new agreement concerns the three ORDA venues owned by the town — the Olympic Center, the Olympic Jumping Complex and the Olympic speed skating oval (which is co-owned by the Lake Placid Central School District). It has a 20-year term, with the option to renew for another 20 years. Town Supervisor Derek Doty said the new agreement mainly “cleans up the language” in the old one to make it more relevant to the current situation at the venues, such as getting rid of old inventory lists that are no longer relevant.

Although the amount that the town has paid ORDA has varied over the years, since 2016, the typical annual payment has been $500,000 per year. This amount makes up about 0.5% of ORDA’s annual revenue. In this year’s budget, the authority was projected to receive $13.94 million from the state.

Town Supervisor Derek Doty said the town has negotiated an “affordable rate of compensation” in the new agreement. They will continue paying $500,000 per year, with the payment increasing 2% every five years, starting in 2031. Doty says that, in the town’s view, this is a reasonable price for what ORDA brings to the town.

From left, town council member Rick Preston, Supervisor Derek Doty and council members Dick Cummings, Emily Kilburn Politi and Jason Leon take notes during a public hearing for the town’s new agreement with ORDA on Wednesday at the Conference Center. (Enterprise photo — Grace McIntyre)

The agreement also establishes an ORDA Community Engagement Commission, which is meant to provide an additional avenue for communication and collaboration between the town and ORDA. Doty said the CEC is meant to replace the Community Advisory Panel, or CAP, which was created by state law to provide feedback to ORDA. CAP went defunct in 2016.

The CEC will consist of seven members, three of which will be appointed by the town board to represent each venue or sport. The town will also appoint one “community member at large” and ORDA management will appoint the last three members to represent each venue. A board chair will be elected by CEC members for a two-year term and the commission will meet and report to the town board twice per year. A document explaining the role and function of the commission can be viewed at tinyurl.com/5hcj43s9.

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First hearing feedback

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The town board, joined by ORDA CEO Ashley Walden, heard comments from the public who attended Wednesday’s hearing in person. The feedback ranged from approval of the creation of the CEC to concerns about whether Lake Placid and North Elba residents are benefitting from ORDA operating venues in the community.

Karen Courtland Kelly, a board member of the Lake Placid-based World Figure Sports, attended to request that a second figure skating organization, such as WFS, be included in the agreement. Specifically, Courtland Kelly asked that WFS be included in a list of organizations that have ongoing agreements for access to the town-owned ORDA facilities. This list, according to the agreement, is made up of organizations that were included in the original agreement.

A few public attendees expressed approval of the CEC, including Bryan Magnus and Jeff Erenstone. Both also suggested that the committee should be mentioned by name in the main text of the agreement, and not just in a second document.

Debbie Erenstone, who said she was attending as a resident and on behalf of the town’s Dark Skies Committee, emphasized the need for a mechanism for the public to give feedback directly to ORDA. She said the improvements made for the FISU World University Games, namely the lights at the speedskating oval, had impacted residents negatively, and at the time, she found no effective way to submit complaints.

Other residents raised concerns specifically about Mount Van Hoevenberg. One resident was concerned that the agreement only briefly mentions the facility in a note about school cross country ski teams continuing to have free access to the trails. Mount Van Hoevenberg is on state Forest Preserve lands and lands that are under a permanent easement from the town of North Elba, which means the land functionally belongs to the state.

A few more residents questioned whether town residents are getting their money’s worth out of the agreement as-is. Greg Dennin said he wants the venues to be more welcoming and user-friendly for residents.

“Nothing comes in life for free. And I think as part of this, for better or worse, this community is tied in with ORDA,” Dennin said. “Please take this seriously before you enter into the agreement.”