Christie Aschwanden, executive director for Grand Mesa Nordic Council, says her organization will host a groundbreaking celebration for the Skyway Station on Friday, August 8th.
“The Skyway Station is going to be the Grand Mesa Nordic Council's first permanent structure on the Grand Mesa,” she said.
The non-profit organization has been operating for over thirty five years without a permanent structure.
“We do have a little sort of Kwanzaa hut up there, but it's small and takes a while to heat. This is going to be our first real warming hut. But even more importantly, the building will also have a big storage space for our equipment and some workspace,”she said.
They also hope to build a secure garage for their snowcat. Aschwanden noted that two years ago one of their snowmobiles was stolen.
“Right now we've just been leaving them out in the open. So we'll have secure storage. We'll also have a solar energy system that's being installed by Empowered Energy Systems based out of Hotchkiss, and that solar energy is going to allow us to plug in the snowcat."
With extremely cold days on Grand Mesa, the avid skier says it’s important to have a warm place to store the snowcat and allow for easier starting in frigid temperatures.
“So it's going to extend the life of our grooming equipment a lot. It's going to give us secure storage. It's going to give us a more secure and safer spot to do maintenance and equipment, stuff like that.”
It’s not just equipment that gets cold on the mesa.
"You know, if you've ever gone up there with kids, they can get cold and cranky, and now you're going to have a nice warm space to come in from the cold,” Aschwanden noted.
The groundbreaking ceremony will take place at noon on Friday. The building site on the Grand Mesa Skyway Trailhead. The building site is located at the north end of the parking lot.
MORE FUNDS NEEDED
The $1.6 million dollar Skyway Station project is about ninety percent funded, but GMNC still needs funds to complete the entire project.
“We have raised a little over $1.4 million at this point with about one hundred and sixty thousand dollars left to raise. But, I'm feeling pretty confident. You know, we started this project. I thought, oh my gosh, we're never going to be able to raise a million dollars. That just seemed so large. But our community has been so broadly supportive of this, this project. We've had more than two hundred individuals, organizations, businesses, um, give to the project, including Delta Montrose Electric Association.”
In addition, there have been numerous participation from local businesses and GMNC who’ve stepped up.
PROJECT QUALIFIES FOR A TAX CREDITS
The project also has a Colorado Enterprise Zone designation, which means supporters of the project can receive a twenty five percent tax credit from the state of Colorado.
“This isn't a tax deduction. It's actually kind of like a coupon that you use when it comes to tax time. You have five years to use that,” said Aschwanden, who also mentioned some sizable five figure donations from current GMNC members who are of retirement age.
“You know, you have to do these mandatory withdrawals and if you give it to GMNC, you can do that tax free. So that's really nice and you still get the tax credit. So there's a way to kind of double dip on the tax benefits.”
GMNC IS GROWING AND GROWING UP
The building of a new warming station and storage area also has some significance to the 35 year plus organization beyond keeping folks and things warm during the winter ski season.
“This project is really part of the professionalization that's been taking place with the organization. But I want to be really clear that this is not a commercialization. We are still very much a community based organization. We want to keep cross-country skiing affordable, accessible to everyone. We continue to have very low membership fees. Those membership fees are voluntary and we just want people to love what we do and want to give to us.”
PROJECT COMPLETION
Completion of the project, depending on how much more money is raised, is slated for the end of the 2026 ski season.
“We have that one hundred and sixty thousand dollars left to raise, if we can get that raised before the season starts. So basically, at some point in the construction process, we need to make a decision about whether we have all the money or not, because we're not going to get out ahead of our skis on this project. We're only going to spend money that we have on hand,” Aschwanded said. “Our goal is to be able to have our end of the season party at the Skyway Station, which would be really fun. Now, if we fall short and aren't able to raise that final $160,000 we will complete everything except the snowcat garage. But I hope that we'll just get this done, because I know there's a lot of enthusiasm here."
YOU CAN DONATE
To make a donation or to find out more about the Skyway Station go to GMNC.org. There’s information on the website on where to send a check or folks can bring a donation to the groundbreaking ceremony on Friday, August 8th at Skyway Trail on Grand Mesa.
