158 replies to this topic

[skier691]

iceberg210, on 23 October 2011 - 10:28 AM, said:

I wonder where those lifts are going, I know there was a sealed bid auction of sorts for them a little while back, should be interesting to see if they do another one or if they go with those bids...

I believe they are listed for sale on the SAM Mag site...The fixed grip would look nice here in MI.

[Lift Dinosaur]

I'd really like to have a lift delivered to my Area in January- can't install it and need to take up parking space to store it???
I know- it just tells you the people that are brokering the deal are "not on the same page"...
Dino

[Peter]

It appears that the homeowners have pledged to buy enough shares to purchase the Whitewater/Buttercup lift from Bank of America. Wildwood only has about 1/4 of its needed shares pledged though.

More here:
http://tamarackidahonews.com/?p=347

[jaxxex]

tamarack was as the boise ski swap .. and are saying "opening dec 15th"

[Peter]

Does anyone know the status of the Wildwood and Buttercup lifts with Bank of America? Have they been removed yet?

[Peter Pitcher]

I don't think so, I was told that the sale was postponed

[liftmech]

They're listed for sale in SAM....

[aug]

Buttercup lift was purchased by the HOA ... Wildwood is slated for removal ( barring any more legal maneuvers by the HOA) this spring .

[Peter]

Quote

Would-be Tamarack buyer indicted on federal charges
Matthew D. Hutcheson, who once appeared before a congressional committee to argue for transparency in retirement fund accounting, is accused of using stolen pension funds to try to purchase Tamarack Resort near Donnelly, fix up his Eagle home, repay loans, and buy cars and motorcycles.
A Boise federal grand jury on Tuesday indicted Hutcheson on 17 counts of wire fraud and 14 counts of theft.
Hutcheson, 41, was arrested by the FBI at his Eagle home Wednesday and placed in federal custody; his initial appearance in federal court is set for 10 a.m. Thursday.
Eagle attorney Dennis Charney said his client would plead not guilty to all charges. Hutcheson’s job is to invest other people’s money, and that’s all he was doing, the attorney said.
“Mr. Hutcheson is a fund manager. He is responsible for making investment decisions with respect to people’s retirement fund,” said Charney. “With respect to Tamarack, Mr. Hutcheson saw an investment opportunity with the golf course. We also dispute the allegation that he used pensioner funds for personal gain.”
According to the 21-page indictment, Hutcheson was a trustee and fiduciary for a number of multiple-employer pension plans, including the G Fiduciary Retirement Income Security Plan, National Retirement Security Plan 401(k) and the Retirement Security Plan & Trust (RSPT).
Hutcheson allegedly misappropriated approximately $2 million of G Fiduciary Retirement Income Security Plan assets in 2010.
When clients, plan record-keepers and others requested information about the location and status of plan assets, Hutcheson allegedly misrepresented that they were safely invested.
One of those seeking information was David Novak, a dentist from High Point, N.C., who put $275,000 under Hutcheson’s care in a 401(k) for himself and six employees. When he inquired about the money, Novak told the Statesman, Hutcheson wouldn’t give him any answers.
“If he’s so honest ... how come it takes (an indictment) to find the money?” Novak asked Wednesday.
Novak has filed suit in North Carolina against Hutcheson and several others alleging that Hutcheson sought to hide that he’d embezzled Novak’s retirement assets by repeatedly failing to provide promised information.
Hutcheson came to statewide attention in November 2010 when he bid $40 million to purchase the financially troubled Tamarack Resort.
Authorities allege in the indictment that Hutcheson misappropriated approximately $3.2 million of RSPT assets to pursue the purchase of Tamarack.
In one instance in December 2010, prosecutors allege, Hutcheson had about $3 million transferred from the RSPT plan to an escrow account for the benefit of Green Valley Holdings, a company he controlled.
Hutcheson used the money to try to obtain a majority interest in the Osprey Meadows Golf Course and Lodge at the Tamarack Resort in the name of Green Valley Holdings, not the RSPT plan, the indictment said.
When the RSPT auditor raised questions, Hutcheson told the auditor that he had “loaned” the money from the RSPT plan to Green Valley Holdings, according to the prosecutors’ account. Hutcheson produced fraudulent loan documents to the auditor, prosecutors allege.
In a second December 2010 instance, the indictment says, Hutcheson diverted more than $250,000 in a series of transactions into an escrow account in an attempt to demonstrate that he had the financial wherewithal to make the Tamarack Resort bid.
The indictment alleges that Hutcheson also used “false financial documents” to demonstrate that he had $40 million in “liquid funds” for the Tamarack purchase. In reality, federal prosecutors say, the account balance was $55.
In an October 2011 interview with the Statesman about the G Fiduciary case, Hutcheson denied that he used pension assets to further his interest in Tamarack.
Each count of wire fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gain or loss from the offense. Each count of theft from an employee pension plan is punishable by up to five years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gain or loss from the offense.
In addition to the charges against Hutcheson, prosecutors seek the recovery of $5.3 million.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Labor and the FBI. In a release, federal officials said that pension fraud “is a betrayal of trust.”
“We take allegations of pension fraud very seriously,” U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson said in the release.

http://www.idahostat...r-indicted.html

aug, on 08 March 2012 - 05:14 AM, said:

Buttercup lift was purchased by the HOA ... Wildwood is slated for removal ( barring any more legal maneuvers by the HOA) this spring .

Any idea where it might be going once it's removed? I noticed it's no longer listed for sale on SAM's website.

[Peter]

SAM Magazine—Boise, Idaho, June 5, 2012—Bank of America has acted on its threat to remove the Wildwood Express chair lift at bankrupt Tamarack Resort. The bank has hired Highlander Ski Lift Services & Construction of nearby McCall to dismantle and remove the lift, and much of the work has already been completed.

According to Paul Johnston of Highlander, the haul rope is spooled and the chairs are boxed up. The company expects to remove the towers in the next few weeks, and to complete the deconstruction of the top and bottom terminals before the scheduled October completion date. Work is already underway on the bottom terminal, and is set to begin at the top as well.

The Wildwood, which cost $4 million when new seven years ago, will be stored locally as Bank of America attempts to sell it. Johnston told SAM that the lift is in "fantastic shape," and that there has been considerable interest in purchasing it. The lift is about 6,000 feet long, with 18 towers. It has had between 2,000 and 3,000 hours of use, and has been maintained monthly by two mechanics retained by BoA since 2009, when Tamarack Resort ceased operations.

The Tamarack Municipal Association (TMA), a homeowners’ group, has operated a portion of the resort for the past two winters, but the Wildwood was not part of that effort. The lift was at the northern periphery of the area, and it was not central to the operation of the majority of Tamarack's terrain.

TMA purchased a second lift owned by BoA, the short, fixed-grip Buttercup lift, for $400,000. TMA considered purchasing the Wildwood as well, but felt the price was too high—and that a future resort buyer might not be willing to purchase the lift from TMA, leaving it with a high-maintenance responsibility.

Tamarack itself is currently in foreclosure proceedings in state court, where a settlement agreement is said to be near.

[SkiBachelor]

Photos of the Wildwood Express Removal.

[attachment=21912:1.jpg] [attachment=21913:2.jpg] [attachment=21914:2a.jpg] [attachment=21915:3.jpg] [attachment=21916:4.jpg] [attachment=21917:5.jpg] [attachment=21918:6.jpg] [attachment=21919:7.jpg] [attachment=21920:8.jpg] [attachment=21921:9.jpg] [attachment=21922:10.jpg]

Photos were taken by forum member John J.

[SkiBachelor]

A newscast showcasing the removal of the Wildwood Express:

http://www.ktvb.com/...-157389675.html

[floridaskier]

Does it have a buyer yet? Sad to see. What other lifts have had such a short lifespan in their original location? Original Ruby at Deer Valley comes to mind, 4 years, and the Saddleback/Raptor/Dreamscape quad at The Canyons, which moved twice in its first decade

[SkiBachelor]

No buyer yet, but Bank of America has an asking price of $4,000,000 for it and it's being shipped to Utah for storage.

Does anyone know about the two groomers that Bank of America seized?

[skier691]

SkiBachelor, on 08 June 2012 - 08:22 AM, said:

No buyer yet, but Bank of America has an asking price of $4,000,000 for it and it's being shipped to Utah for storage.

Does anyone know about the two groomers that Bank of America seized?

not sure what 'cats' they siezed, but we have a Prinoth Bison from Tamarack that was used for cutting pipe (Zaugg hook-ups)

[SkiBachelor]

Only a few more days until she is gone.

[attachment=21923:11.jpg]

[Peter Pitcher]

I am bidding on the Wildwood Lift from Bank of America. There is one other bidder who keeps out bidding me. Does anyone know who the other bidder is?
Thanks
Peter

[Lift Dinosaur]

Doppelmayr?

[aug]

open bidding process? sealed bids would be a more ethical way to do this..

[Peter Pitcher]

It started as a sealed bid, then BofA started shopping my bid with someone else. BofA wont say who, I don't think it would be dopp as they would already be doing the installation. I wonder if I am just bidding against BofA.