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General view of the Valbois Village gate
YALBOIS INCORPORATED
Suite 600 - First Interstate Center
877 Main Street Boise, Idaho 83702 - Tel. 208/344-8800 - Fax 208/342-4459
65, avenue Paul-Doumer 75116 Paris
T61. 33-1/45.04.66.97 - Telex TOURISC 640.496 F - FAX 33-1/40.72.64.81
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S t u d y o n L e B o i s r e s o r t d u e b y J a n . l
B Y E R I C B E C H T E L
T h e S t a r - N e w s
P r o g r e s s i s s l o w , b u t a d r a f t
e n v i r o n m e n t a l i m p a c t s t a t e m e n t
f o r a p r o p o s e d s k i a r e a o n t h e
w e s t s i d e o f C a s c a d e R e s e r v o i r
c o u l d b e o u t b y t h e f i r s t o f t h e
y e a r , a c o n s u l t a n t f o r t h e
d e v e l o p e r s a i d l a s t w e e k .
B r u c e E r i c k s o n o f J . J .
J o h n s o n a n d A s s o c i a t e s o f P a r k
C i t y , U t a h , w a s h i r e d b y D e n n i s
T a g g a r t , a P h o e n i x , A r i z . a r -
c h i t e c t , t o d o e n v i r o n m e n t a l i m -
p a c t s t u d i e s o n t h e p r o p o s e d L e
B o i s d e v e l o p m e n t .
T h e s t u d y i s b e i n g d o n e f o r t h e
B u r e a u o f R e c l a m a t i o n a n d t h e
U . S . F o r e s t S e r v i c e , o w n e r s o f
m u c h o f t h e l a n d o n w h i c h T a g -
g a r t ' s r e s o r t w o u l d s i t .
T a g g a r t ' s p r o p o s e s t o c o n v e r t
a b o u t 2 , 5 0 0 a c r e s o f f o r e s t s e r -
v i c e l a n d , a b o u t 1 2 0 a c r e s o f B o f
R l a n d a n d a b o u t 5 0 0 a c r e s o f
p r i v a t e l a n d i n t o a r e s o r t a r e a
w i t h a s k i h i l l , m a r i n a c o m p l e x ,
t e n n i s c o u r t s , a g o l f c o u r s e , c o n -
d o m i n i u m s , s i n g l e f a m i l y h o m e s ,
b r i d l e p a t h s , a h o t e l a n d a s h o p p -
i n g a r e a .
" W h a t ' s b e e n c o m p l e t e d i s
a s s e s s m e n t o f t h e e x i s t i n g e n -
v i r o n m e n t , " E r i c k s o n s a i d .
" W h a t w e s e n t w e r e t h e e x i s t i n g
e n v i r o n m e n t a l w o r k i n g p a p e r s .
" T h e y ( B o f R a n d t h e f o r e s t
s e r v i c e ) r e s p o n d e d b a c k w i t h
s o m e t e c h n i c a l c o m m e n t s , " h e
s a i d . " T h e r e ' s s o m e a d d i t i o n a l
i n f o r m a t i o n i n t h e d r a f t t h e y
h a v e t o h a v e .
" W h a t ' s c o m e b a c k i s t h e e x -
i s t i n g e n v i r o n m e n t a l i n f o r m a -
t i o n , a n d w h a t w e h a v e t o w o r k
o n n o w i s t h e i m p a c t a n d t h e
p o t e n t i a l i m p a c t s ( o f t h e
p r o j e c t ) , " h e s a i d . " I ' d s a y i t ' s
g o i n g t o b e r i g h t a r o u n d t h e f i r s t
o f t h e y e a r ( t h a t t h e d r a f t s t a t e -
m e n t i s r e l e a s e d ) . "
O n c e t h e d r a f t e n v i r o n m e n t a l
i m p a c t s t a t e m e n t i s p u b l i s h e d ,
t h e p u b l i c a n d f e d e r a l , s t a t e a n d
l o c a l a g e n c i e s w i l l h a v e t h e o p -
p o r t u n i t y t o c o m m e n t o n t h e p r o -
p o s a l . T h o s e c o m m e n t s w o u l d
t h e n b e t a k e n i n t o a c c o u n t i n t h e
d e v e l o p m e n t o f a f i n a l e n -
v i r o n m e n t a l i m p a c t s t a t e m e n t ,
w h i c h E r i c k s o n s a i d c o u l d b e
r e l e a s e d a s e a r l y a s M a r c h .
A s s u m i n g a l l g o e s w e l l a n d t h e
B o f R a n d f o r e s t s e r v i c e a p p r o v e
t h e p r o j e c t , " t h e e a r l i e s t c o n -
s t r u c t i o n c o u l d b e g i n w o u l d b e
t h e s p r i n g o f n e x t y e a r , "
E r i c k s o n s a i d .
B e s i d e s w o r k i n g o n t h e s t u d i e s ,
T a g g a r t s a i d i n a n i n t e r v i e w l a s t
w e e k t h a t h e ' s w o r k i n g o n a r -
r a n g i n g f i n a n c i n g f o r t h e p r o j e c t .
" F i n a n c i n g o f t h i s t y p e o f p r o -
j e c t o n t h i s t y p e o f s c a l e i n
t o d a y ' s e c o n o m i c m a r k e t i s v e r y
c h a l l e n g i n g , " h e s a i d .
" W e a r e w o r k i n g w i t h s e v e r a l
o r g a n i z a t i o n s , s o m e o f w h i c h a r e
v e r y i n t e r e s t e d i n e i t h e r p r o v i d i n g
t h e m e a n s s o l e l y w i t h i n
t h e m s e l v e s o r p a r t i c i p a t i n g i n
s o m e o t h e r m e a n s o f f i n a n c i n g i n
a j o i n t v e n t u r e , " h e s a i d .
r Alcv 15;'`1y°
Beaver Creek builder joins
Valbois
BY TOM GROTE
The Star -News
The developer of the Beaver
Creek ski area in Colorado has been
hired as the new president of Val-
bois, Inc., to guide the planning and
construction of the proposed year-
round resort on Cascade Reservoir.
Jack Marshall, 53, has been
named as president and chief execu-
tive officer of Valbois. He replaces
former President Dennis Taggart,
who conceived the massive resort
idea in 1983.
Taggart remains as a partner in
the French -American consortium
that wants to build the resort. He
also remains chairman of Valift,
Inc., which will operate the resort's
amenities, such as the ski lifts, golf
course and marina.
Marshall served as president of
Vail Associates, which owns both
the Vail and Beaver Creek resorts in
Colorado, between 1977 and 1982.
Since 1982, he has operated his own
resort consulting business based in
Vail.
Vail is traditionally among the
top two ski areas in the nation, log-
ging in 1.3 million skier -days last
year. Beaver Creek, located about
eight miles west of Vail, is one of
the newest ski areas in the nation,
having opened in 1981. Last year,
the area drew 375,000 skier -days.
In an interview on Tuesday, Mar-
shall said that the techniques used to
build Beaver Creek will come into
play for clearing the remaining hur-
dles facing Valbois, which would be
built on 3,800 acres of private and
federal land on the west side of Cas-
cade Reservoir.
"My understanding is that a lot
of the concerns expressed here are
the same that were expressed by lo-
cal people in Colorado while we
were doing Beaver Creek, he said.
"But by doing a thoughtful job,
of planning, and listening to the
people, we were able to plan a pro-
ject that everyone who visits it or
lives near it feels very good about,"
Marshall said.
The Beaver Creek developers un-
derstood the need to pay, in advance,
the cost of public services that were
required by the ski area, such as fire
protection and sewage treatment.
But Marshall said his experience
is that any changes in Valley
County that will occur because of
Valbois would be gradual, rather
than the dramatic growth feared by
critics of the project:
"It's one of those rare opportuni-
ties to do the best things that have
been done at other ski resorts," he
said.
He said the fact that Beaver Creek
is thriving is clear proof that a year-
round destination resort like Valbois
can succeed in harmony with the lo-
cal lifestyle and economy.
Currently, the Valbois developers
are waiting for the U.S. Forest Ser-
vice and other federal agencies to
grant approval on the project's con-
cept. That decision is expected by
the end of the year.
Even if the federal agencies ap-
prove the project, construction can-
not begin until after those same
agencies and the developers agree on
a master plan. Valley County offi-
cials must give their approval as
well.
Marshall predicted that another
year would be needed to wade
through the various planning and
permit processes. That would put
start of construction in late 1991 or
early 1992, with the first facilities
opening two years after that.
Marshall has been involved in
planning and management for more
than 30 years. In Idaho, he directed
the initial construction of the
Elkhorn condominiums and cham-
pionship golf course at Sun Valley.
Prior to managing Vail and Beaver
Creek, he was responsible for the
development and expansion plan at
Pebble Beach, Calif.
Since he started his own consult-
ing firm in 1982, he has been in-
volved in a variety of office and
condominium developments and re-
sort planning projects in Palm
Springs, Calif., and a golf/hotel
project in Puerto Rico.
As part of his getting involved
with Valbois, Marshall has acquired
an undisclosed ownership share in
the project, Taggart said.
The other partners in the project
include French resort developer
Pierre Schnebelen, who is chairman
of Valbois, Inc., and French fi-
nancier Malik Bencheghib, who is
chairman of Valbois International,
the financing arm of the consor-
tium.
The company's corporate head-
quarters are located in downtown
Boise, and Valbois also operates a
visitor center in Donnelly.
Taggart said the developers al-
ways anticipated bringing in a man-
ager who had the talents to direct
planning and construction of the re-
sort.
"We need a person of Jack's qual-
ifications to direct the further devel-
opment of this project," said Tag-
gart, an architect. "My background
does not lend itself to all aspects of
the project."
Plans call for Valbois to consist
of a ski area served by seven chair
lifts and a gondola. The ski runs
would funnel into a village that
eventually would contain 3,000
housing units, including hotels,
shopping centers and restaurants.
In the summer, resort visitors
would be able to use a 250-slip ma-
rina on Cascade Reservoir or play
on an 18-hole golf course.
Jack Marshall
_Z-7Y4 Ai o S1/4 lej 7-//--)iv
This is an artist's rendering of the proposed Valbois resort.
Valbois
By Andrew Garber
The Idaho Statesman
A decision is expected today by
the Boise National Forest on
whether to grant developers of a
$100 million resort near Donnelly
a permit to use 2,800 acres of
public land for the ski area and
resort project.
Boise Forest chief Dave Ritters-
bacher has scheduled a press con-
ference on the Valbc is project for
1:30 p.m. today at the forest's
headquarters downtown.
Rittersbacher on Wednesday
gave no indication of what the
forest's decision will be, but he
did say that grantil,g the permit
Valbois resort
yes or no?
Decision on resort
is expected today
mar
would not rq.pan the developers
will be free to start building im-
mediately.
They first have to go through a
planning process for the resort
that also must be approved by the
forest, he said.
The Valbois resort is pegged for
the densely timbered West Moun-
tain near Donnelly, about 100
miles north of Boise.
It would include a large ski
area with eight four- or six -person
Valbois
From 1C
long needed, and others saying it
will change the area in fundamen-
tal ways that will endanger the
very advantages that make people
want to live there.
Developers are hoping to open
Valbois in late 1992.
The project is being proposed
by Pierre Schnebelen, president
of PSI Resorts based in Paris and
a veteran resort developer; Boise
native and architect Dennis Tag-
gart; and French bank executive
Malik Bencheghib.
Cascade Reservoir, the second -
most popular fishing spot in the
lifts and a gondola; an equestrian
center; ice rink; health and fit-
ness center; 18-hole golf course;
marina; condominiums; interna-
tional hotels; 50-plus shops and
more.
The project would be the larg-
est recreation resort developed in
the Gem State since Sun Valley
was created in the 1930s.
Valbois has stirred controversy
because of the massive changes it
will bring to the now -quiet Valley
County area. Residents and land-
owners are divided, with many
saying the project will bring the
area the economic boost it has
See ValbotC
state, is at the foot of the pro-
posed resort, and the resort would
include development on 120 acres
of the reservoir's lakeshore land.
Concerns have been raised about
the effect of Valbois on water
quality in the reservoir, and ex-
tensive studies have been mount-
ed on that issue.
The developers say Valbois will
be a world -class resort that will
serve as a destination for skiers
and other vacationers coming
from both in and out of Idaho and
even from overseas. The project is
expected to create hundreds of
jobs, and increase the county's
population by as much as 75
percent. •
Valley County now has about
6,900 residents.
"GIP 7c(a 0 5-6 4..5177 c 4 - / -2». / 9O
Valbois vote stirs up
a riot of reactions .:
By Stephen Stuebner
The Idaho Statesman
Valley County residents had
a variety of reactions Thurs-
day, in support of or opposing
the proposed Valbois four -sea-
son resort in Donnelly:
■ Geri Corbet, broker for
Corbet Realty — "I think it's
marvelous. I think Valbois has
the best interests at heart for
our community. I have young
children I hope can earn a de-
cent living from the growth of
Valbois."
Corbet said land values are
doubling in parts of Valley
County due to the proposed
resort.
"Lots that sold for $25,000
last year sold for $50,000 this
year," she said. "Dog lots, just
one-half to three -fourths of an
acre, wouldn't sell for $12,000
last year. Now they're selling
for $25,000 to $30,000.
"People are coming here
from California; they're tired
of the rat race. They can come
in here with $400,000, invest
and retire quite comfortably."
■ Jim Weaver, a McCall at-
torney who flies for McCall
Air Taxi in the summer
"The project would bother me
if it could be built. It would
ruin our way of life. It could
turn that area into Park City.
But I don't think it will occur.
They (developers) don't have
anything to sell.
"It's the lowest base of any
area I know of in the West at
4,800 feet. They'll have real
problems with snow, just rot-
ten snow quality. And it's not
much of a mountain for skiing
terrain. It's ludicrous to refer
to that as a world -class
mountain.
"They'll have horrible trans-
portation problems. McCall
will never be served by com-
mercial airlines because of
weather problems. And I don't
think people will be willing to
drive 80 miles in buses from
Boise.
"Cascade reservoir is little
more than cesspool, really. It's
a shallow reservoir ... and the
shoreline varies several hun-
dred feet, depending on the year.
"I just add all those problems
up, and I look at who's doing this,
and I see a promoter rather than
developer; I see a group of pro-
moters who will try to sell to
some developers with a lot of
6 6 Dog lots, just one-half
to three -fourths of an
acre, wouldn't sell for
$12,000 last year. Now
they're selling for $25,000
to $30,000. , 5
Geri Corbet
Broker, Corbet Realty
money. And they don't have any-
thing to sell."
■ Tad House, Mayor of Cas-
cade and owner of Heartland Ad-
ventures — "I thought it was
great; I've been looking forward
) to (the Forest Service's) decision
for a long time. This process is
like climbing a mountain; we just
got through the foothills, now it's
time to move up the slope.
Can the cities and Valley Coun-
ty protect residents' interests? "I
think so. This is a prime time for
us. We're just finishing up our
comprehensive plan for planning
and zoning ... And I hand-picked
some really energetic people with
a vision for the future" to sit on
the planning and zoning board.
Can Valbois complete the mas-
ter plan in one year? "Yes, but
think they're going to have 1
work real hard with city ar
county government to make it."
■ Joni Fields, Donnelly res
dent — "I'm not surprised. I el
petted Rittersbacher to make th
decision; however, I'm no
pleased.
"As far as I can see from read
ing the record of decision, it stil
sounds to me like there's tot
much emphasis on catering to thi
developers and not payint
enough attention to the critica
impact that this thing will have
on Valley County.
"I've been studying this thin
for two years ... higher proper
taxes is the number one concer
others are water quality, wast
water treatment, and no loggil
on West Mountain. My main co
tern is the socio-economic impact
on valley county. I think it's go-
ing to be disastrous.
"The voters just defeated a $5.3
million bond issue for a new high
school in McCall. All we've got is
a volunteer fire department .. .
We are not prepared.
"Valley County can't even deal
with the impacts of putting a tent
in the middle of a pasture.
They're not qualified for a huge
development like this."
Valbois
wins first
0-ahead
By Stephen Stuebner
The Idaho Statesman
Boise National Forest offi-
cials gave preliminary approv-
al Thursday to Valbois devel-
opers, allowing them to
proceed with the detailed plan-
ning of a four -season resort on
Cascade Reservoir.
In a news conference, Boise
Forest Supervisor David Rit-
tersbacher said he has issued a
special -use permit to Valift,
Inc., a subsidiary of Valbois,
Inc.
The permit orders Valift de-
velopers to write a detailed
master plan that addresses all
the social, economic and envi-
ronmental issues associated
with the resort development in
one year's time.
If the master plan is ap
proved, construction would
have to start within six
months, and the project would
be completed in three years, or
sometime in 1994.
Master planning is anticipat-
ed to cost Valift $3 million to
$5 million.
"Now we're going to try to
get all the jurisdictional enti-
ties working together to thor-
oughly explore the feasibility
of the project from a very site -
specific standpoint," Ritters-
bacher said.
Valbois officials seek to use
2,800 acres of national forest
land for a destination ski area,
and 120 acres of U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation land for a marina,
Proposed
Valbois resort
Wkst Mountain
restaurant, hotel and tennis
complex.
The project also would in-
clude an equestrian center, ice
rink,health and fitness center,
18-hole golf course, condomini-
ums, international hotels and
at least 50 shops.
If approved, the $119 million
project would be the largest
single destination resort to be
built in Idaho since Sun Valley
in 1936.
Dennis Taggart, chairman of
Valift who initiated the Val-
bois project (then called Le
Bois) originally in 1982, was
cautiously pleased with the
■ Don Weilmunster, a Garden
Valley rancher who will sell
about 500 acres of private land to
Valbois developers — "I think
they not only met all the con-
cerns, they went beyond.
"I think the cooperation has
been outstanding. It might be one
of the most important develop-
ments to come to Idaho in a long
time."
Val
Valbois developers buy up
701 more acres next to site
,S7/-4-/p‘s Amu AMRcA /9' t
The Associated Press
McCALL --- Developers of the
planned Valbois resort near Cas-
cade Lake have purchased an ad-
ditional 701 acres of private land
adjacent to the resort site.
Dennis Taggart, founding part-
ner of Valbois, said the acquisi-
tions are intended to protect the
resort from undesirable adjacent
development, and do not signal an
they plan to ship treated sewage
from the resort to the ranch, to be
used to irrigate crops.
Taggart said Valbois bought
private land that Boise Cascade
wanted and traded it for the tim-
ber company's land adjacent to
the main resort site.
"We wanted to make sure that
they were not developed in a man-
ner that would detract from our
investment in the resort," Tag -
expansion of the project.
However, the president of a citi-
zen group critical of the big devel-
opment said he's concerned about
the land acquisition and other in-
dicators that point toward ex-
pansion.
The recent land acquisitions in-
clude a 520-acre parcel previously
owned by Boise Cascade Corp.
and the 181-acre Blue Mountain
subdivision previously owned by
gart said. He said the Blue Moun-
tain parcel was approved as a
subdivision, but no lots have been
sold.
Valbois plans a European vil-
lage theme for the development.
The original application called
for 3,000 housing units.
The land acquisitions were out-
lined in a document submitted
last week to the Boise National
Forest by Citizens for Valley
Ironside Funding Co.
Both tracts are south of the
main Valbois site of 578 acres. It
is planned as the site of housing,
hotels, shops and a golf course. A
ski area and marina are planned
on federal lands adjacent to the
private land.
Last week developers also,
closed a deal for the 800-acre
Parks Ranch, several miles north
of the resort site. Developers say
County. The group is appealing
the Forest Service's decision to
allow Valbois to use national for-
est land for the ski area.
The information was provided
as a supplement to the appeal,
said Bob Krumm, Lake Fork,
president of the group.
Krumm said he was worried
that the new land acquisition in-
dicates an expansion of the resort
beyond its original boundaries.
/ 9 ?c)
H&W urges new study of
Valbois
BY TOM GROTE
The Star -News
The state Division of Environ-
mental Quality is asking the Boise
National Forest to reopen its study
of the proposed Valbois year-round
resort following the revelation that
the developers have acquired addi-
tional land near the resort site.
A letter was sent earlier this
month to Acting Boise National
Forest Supervisor Roberta A.
Moltzen from Joe Nagel, adminis-
trator of the DEQ, which is part of
the Idaho Department of Health and
Welfare.
Nagel urged Moltzen to reopen
the environmental impact statement
on the proposed Cascade Reservoir
resort because of the revelation by
Valbois developers last month that
701 acres south of the project site
had been acquired within the last
year by the French -American devel-
opment team.
Nagel noted that the additional
acquisitions were not disclosed by
the developers until after last De-
cember's preliminary decision by the
Boise forest to grant a permit to
Valbois to develop federal land.
That decision was based on plans
submitted by Valbois for 576 acres
of private land located near the Poi-
son Creek Campground on the west
formally rejected on Wednesday by
the forest service.
The state agency said in its ap-
peal that there were not enough as-
surances that the water quality in
Cascade Reservoir would be pro-
tected if the resort was built.
Valbois founding partner Dennis
"It is a serious deception by Valbois."
— Bob Krumm
side of the reservoir. Nagel said a
new study is needed "to consider and
discuss the foreseeable development
of this newly acquired property and
show how development of this
property would impact the environ-
ment."
The DEQ appealed the original
decision in December by the Boise
forest to issue a permit to develop
ski runs on national forest land.
That appeal and six others were
Taggart on Tuesday repeated his ear-
lier statements that the developers
have no intentions of extending the
resort to the additional 701 acres.
The lands were acquired as a
buffer to the resort to prevent any
development that might be incom-
patible with Valbois, Taggart said.
"Our position has not changed,"
he said. "The EIS did address the
current use plan, and the forest ser-
vice approved us. We are not
proposing anything different."
The DEQ letter was backed up by
Citizens for Valley County, which
has been the chief critic of the Val-
bois project.
Group President Bob Krumm of
Lake Fork said that the DEQ letter
"is validation that our point of view
is correct" that the forest service
study is flawed.
"The state appears to be as
outraged as we are that Valbois
failed to tell the forest service before
completion of the (EIS) that they
had acquired the 700 acres," Krumm
said. "It is a serious deception by
Valbois."
Krumm said the DEQ letter sup-
ports the view of Citizens for Val-
ley county that the forest service
study and its results were conducted
improperly and were incomplete.
"How can we trust the Valbois
team when there are this many seri-
ous questions this early on?"
Krumm said.
Cascade
Rail service: Railroad
passenger service hasn't been
offered between Boise and
Valley County's recreation
areas -for 35 years, but the
developers of the Valbois Resort
are looking into the possibility.
Valbois is being developed as
a destination resort on Cascade
Lake. In a newspaper
advertisement this week,
developer Dennis Taggart said
the company is making
feasibility studies.
Valbois said Intermountain
Western Railroad, a company
that wants to purchase the track
from Union Pacific Railroad, is
conducting the study at the
request of Valley County
Commission Chairman Tom
Olson. Input will be solicited
from cities along the way, which
include Nampa, Caldwell,
Emmett, Horseshoe Bend,
Cascade and Donnelly.
izor C?
Valbois gets
green light
for planning
BY TOM GROTE
The Star-News
The U.S. Forest Service on
Wednesday rejected the claims of
challengers of a federal permit issued
to the developers of the proposed
Valbois resort on Cascade Reser-
voir.
A decision issued from the forest
service's Intermountain Region of-
fice in Ogden, Utah, turned down
the appeals of seven appellants to
the decision in December by the
Boise National Forest to issue the
permit.
The rejection of the appeals does
not mean that construction can be-
gin on the $120 million resort. The
"I only hope that
those people who
had concerns ...
are ready to work
with us."
— Dennis Taggart
clearing of the appeals allows Val-
bois officials to begin working with
the forest service on a detailed mas-
ter plan for the project.
Also, numerous other permits
must be obtained from federal, state
and local agencies, including devel-
opment approval from Valley
County, before any building can be-
gin, said Robert Joslin, the deputy
regional forester who issued
Wednesday's decision.
The chief spokesman for the
Valbois developers welcomed the
decision and said work already was
underway on detailed planning of the
resort.
"We are, of course, very pleased
that the regional forester concurred
with the Boise forest," Valbois
founding partner Dennis Taggart
said. "I only hope that those people
who had concerns and still may have
concerns are ready and prepared to
work with us and the federal agen-
cies."
The developers and their consul-
tants have been working the past
several months on the assumption
that the appeals would be rejected,
Taggart said.
"Very little time has been
wasted," he said. "We've been work-
ing with our land - planning consul-
tants on detailed configuration of the
base property, our environmental
consultants on water quality and air
quality, and our mountain planners
on a refined mountain and lift plan."
Taggart said he did not know
when a formal application would be
submitted to Valley County offi-
cials for approval, but he hoped that
enough hurdles could be cleared by
the spring of 1992 to start construc-
tion.
"A lot depends on the point wc,
get to on the other planning pro-
cesses," he said. He noted that the
developers were just now beginning
to work with a steering committee
appointed by Valley County Com-
missioners to oversee the project's
development.
As proposed, Valbois would use
2,800 acres of Boise National Forest
land for a ski area served by seven
chair lifts and a gondola. An addi-
tional 120 acres of U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation land would be used to
build a 250 -slip marina, and 576
acres of private land would be used
to build a golf course and Alpine -
style village ultimately containing
more than 3,000 homes, condo-
miniums and hotel rooms.
The forest service decision was
assailed on Wednesday by Bob
Krumm, president of Citizens for
Valley County, which is the chief
critic of Valbois and which was one
of the seven appellants.
Krumm, of Lake Fork, said the
decision was not a surprise, but a
sign that the approval process was
flawed
"We fully expected this," Krumm
said. "The forest service and the
Valbois developers have manipu-
lated the proper government pro-
cesses to the point that we don't
give this decision credibility."
Citizens for Valley County want
the developers to prove that schools,
police, fire protection, health care
and other services will be enhanced
by Valbois without costing local ci-
tizens extra tax dollars.
"Valbois is not a done deal," he
said, noting the many permits that
still must be obtained. "Any one of
those permit processes can be ap-
pealed."
As to whether the group will file
a lawsuit to block the project,
Krumm said that matter would be
decided by the CVC board and its
more than 750 members. "We'll
also consult with Governor Andrus
and the state (Division of Environ-
mental Quality) to decide who, if
anyone, will sue in federal court,"
he said.
Besides Citizens for Valley
County, other appellants to the De-
cember decision were the DEQ, Ted
Swen of Anchorage, Alaska, David
S. McColly of Boise, Joni Fields of
Donnelly, Judy Anderson of Boise
and James F. Keating of Cascade.
(See" Valbois," Back Page)
Sides promise to keep wrangling
over Valbois environmental review
By Stephen Stuebner for Valley County.
The Idaho Statesman ■ U.S. Forest Service gives "Valbois is a huge development
Valbois the go- ahead /1A
that will change our quiet coun-
Citizens for Valley County try way of life in Valley County
want the U.S. Forest Service chief But Valbois partner and forever," he said.
to review the Valbois environ founder Dennis Taggart said Citi- "We believe that it's poorly
mental impact statement, a zens for Valley County and Fields planned and that important con -
spokesman said Wednesday. flatly oppose the project and will tingencies haven't been planned
And if he doesn't, the group try to do anything to stop it. for. Who will get stuck with the
may test the document in court "I hope people with concerns bill if Valbois goes belly -up half -
he said. will participate and help come up way through ?"
Both Bob Krumm, president of with solutions and not try to ob- Fields said the gaps in the envi-
Citizens for Valley County, and struct the process," Taggart said. ronmental impact statement were
Cascade resident Joni Fields said "Citizens for Valley County have so wide that she can't understand
the Forest Service has lost its a stated goal to stop Valbois." how the regional forester missed
objectivity in reviewing proposals The Valley County Commission them.
to build a four - season resort on has appointed a 19- member citi- "How could anyone read
the northwest bank of Cascade zens advisory committee to over- through this document and ap-
Reservoir. see master planning of the resort. prove it? It just doesn't make any
Krumm and Fields are two of Krumm said the $120 million practical sense. Now I'm madder
seven appellants whose concerns Valbois project, which includes a than ever," she said.
about the Valbois EIS were dis- destination ski area, 18 -hole golf The next step for the project is
missed by the regional forester in course, 50 shops, condominiums, obtaining approval from the U.S.
Ogden, Utah, on Wednesday. hotels and more, is a major step Bureau of Reclamation in about a
Forest Service clears Valbois trail
Cascade resort developers
can move to next step
By Stephen Stuebner
The Idaho Statesman
Plans for the $120 - million Valbois resort on
the shores of Cascade Reservoir cleared a big
hurdle Wednesday when U.S. Forest Service
officials gave the proposal a green light.
Robert Joslin, deputy regional forester in
Ogden, Utah, upheld the decision by the Boise
National Forest to allow Valbois developers to
proceed with the master - planning phase of the
planned resort near Donnelly. In giving the go-
ahead, Joslin denied objections from seven par-
ties to Valbois' environmental impact
statement.
Joslin's decision means that the Boise forest's
final environmental impact statement met the
standards of federal law, even though the appel-
lants argued that it didn't.
Valbois partner Dennis Taggart said the deci-
sion was a big step toward final approval of the
project, which could rival Sun Valley and
Coeur d'Alene Resort as the states largest tour -
season recreation resorts.
Appellants were disappointed or declined
comment.
"Valbois is not a done deal," said Bob
Krumm, president of 750 - member Citizens for
Valley County. "They must now start master
planning but they must obtain almost a dozen
permits from various government agencies. Any
one of those permit processes can be appealed."
The environmental impact statement was re-
quired because the resort is planned to be
located on a combination of Forest Service,
Bureau of Reclamation and private lands.
If the project wins approval from iuuai, 5tluue
and federal agencies as part of master planning,
Valbois developers hope to break ground in late
1991 or early 1992, Taggart said.
"We're very pleased," Taggart said. "This
will allow us to go forward with the detailed
master planning to help us find the answers to
all the tough issues that remain ahead of us."
month, and then the detailed mas-
ter planning, including planning
and zoning approvals, and wet-
lands permits, among other
things.
Before master planning can be-
gin, Boise National Forest
spokesman Greg Spangenbexg
said Valbois will have to put
about $5 million in a bank ac-
count to show it has the financial
capability to complete master
planning.
In a related matter, Spangen-
berg said Valbois must put in
writing that it won't include a
recent purchase of 701 acres as
part of the resort.
"If they change the concept,
we'll have to start all over from
scratch," he said.
Taggart said Valbois has no
plans to include that property as
part of the resort development.
THE VALBOIS APPEALS
Seven parties appealed the
Valbois final environmental im-
pact statement, Here are the
key points raised in their ap-
peals; all were denied:
■ Ted Swem, Anchorage, AK
— Argued the expected elimi
nation of two bald eagle nests
would violate the Bald Eagle
Protection Act.
■ David McColly, Boise —
Argued the project's impact on
traffic on Idaho 55 would be
worse than stated.
■ Joni Fields, Cascade —
Argued the project's impacts
on traffic and water quality on
Cascade Reservoir were un-
derestimated.
■ Judy Anderson, Boise —
Argued the Forest Service was
biased toward the project de-
veloper; and the agency failed
to consider scaled -down alter-
natives.
■ James Keating, Cascade
—Argued Bureau of Reclama-
tion lands shouldn't be used for
hotels or other non- water - relat-
ed development.
■ State Division of Environ-
mental Quality — Argued Val-
bois' impact on the water quali-
ty of reservoir was
underestimated; measures in-
tended to protect the reservoir
were inadequate.
■ Citizens for Valley County,
McCall — Argued the Forest
Service should disclose Val-
bois' developers financial ca-
pability; the agency didn't con-
sider scaled -down alternatives;
economic and environmental
issues were inadequately ad-
dressed; the socio- economic
impacts on Valley County were
underestimated.
, 2 /��('s
Study says Valbois
. Ow M
BY JAMES L. KINCAID
The Star -News
A recent report by U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service says that bald ea-
gles face a greater threat from the
proposed Valbois resort than an ear-
lier study had indicated.
The USFWS study, completed
last November, said that all seven
active bald eagle nests now known
to exist around Cascade Reservoir
could be abandoned if the proposed
year -round resort is built. _
An earlier study, which is part of
the environmental impact statement
on Valbois, said that just two nests,
each occupied by two eagles, would
be forced to move if Valbois is built
on the west side of Cascade Reser-
voir.
The new study, obtained by The
Star -News, details threats to central
Idaho's bald eagle population should
Valbois be constructed as proposed
on the west side of Cascade Reser-
voir.
The Boise National Forest issued
a Final Environmental Impact
Statement on Valbois in December
at the same time forest officials is-
sued a special -use permit for the de-
velopers to continue planning.
That report said "disturbance of
bald eagles is likely to occur from
the construction and operation of the
resort and from the expected concen-
trated presence of human activities
in the surrounding area." But the
report said only eagle nesting pairs
now known to be in the Poison
Creek and Buttercup areas likely
would be displaced.
The newer report was prepared by
reate:
excessive disturbance in the imme-
diate vicinity of nests.
It also predicts the Hurd Creek
territory will be abandoned because
of the male eagle's association with
the Poison Creek nest and because
of disturbances in the pair's foraging
area.
Recreational use of foraging areas
of the reservoir is likely to reduce
productivity and eventually force
abandonment of the French Creek
nest, the new report said. Human
activity associated with the proposed
wastewater treatment facility near
the Donnelly nest will also proba-
bly render it unsuitable for eagle use
over the long term, according to the
report.
"The outlook for eagles at Cas-
cade Reservoir becomes alarming
when the Valbois resort and the
amount of eagle habitat that will be
lost is taken into consideration," the
report said. "When in full opera-
tion, Valbois will undoubtedly
eliminate several presently -used nest
sites and preclude the use of many
potential future sites all along the
west side of the reservoir."
The Poison Creek and Hurd creek
areas are thought to be occupied by
one male eagle and two females, ac-
cording to the report. This polyga-
mous situation usually develops
when small population size limits
the number of males during the
breeding season.
"If this is truly a polygamous si-
tuation and the male was forced to
"Valbois is not a good idea for eagles,
especially the marina."
Karen Steenhof and Marc J. Bechard
of the Raptor Research and Techni-
cal Assistance Center and Boise
State University. The report was
presented to the Fish and Wildlife
Service in November 1990. but did
not appear in the Forest Service fi-
nal environmental report.
The newer report states that, un-
der the worst conditions, the pro-
posed Valbois development will
probably eliminate the bald eagle
population at Cascade Reservoir
within five years of construction.
The report predicts immediate
abandonment of the two nest sites at
Poison Creek and Buttercup due to
— Marc J. Bechard
abandon its primary n st e, it
could also be forced to abandon its
secondary site, causing the Hurd
Creek Territory to be abandoned,"
the report said.
The effects of the proposed Val-
bois wastewater re -use area, recre-
ational disturbance in foraging areas,
nesting site disturbances and an al-
ready faltering eagle population
could hamper the eagle's recovery in
central Idaho, according to the re-
port.
According to the Pacific Bald Ea-
gle Recovery Plan, Cascade Reser-
voir is a recovery region that has
nesting habitat for bald eagles. In
1990, seven of nine occupied nests
in the central Idaho recovery region
ns eag
were associated with Cascade Reser-
voir.
"The assumption has been that
the Cascade Reservoir population
would form the nucleus from which
eagles would expand to other por-
tions of Central Idaho," according to
the report. A loss of birds from this
area could delay the removal of the
bald eagle throughout the Pacific
Northwest from the federal endan-
gered species list, the report said.
The report said the reduction of
occupied nesting territories at Cas-
cade Reservoir is inconsistent with
the Pacific Bald Eagle Recovery
Plan and the Cascade Reservoir Bald
Eagle Management Plan, which call
for maintaining a minimum of five
bald eagle territories at Cascade
Reservoir.
"There is a good chance the Bald
Eagle Protection Act will be tested
here," report co- author Karen Steen -
hof said in an interview.
"We do not see any reasonable
way to eliminate loss of eagles
without a major change in the pro-
posed development," the report said.
Loss of birds could be lessened
by reducing the size of the marina,
relocating the wastewater re -use site
and completely restricting boating
on shoreline portions of the reser-
voir from May through August, the
report said.
"Valbois is not a good idea for
eagles, especially the marina," Marc
J. Bechard, co- author of the report,
said in an interview.
Charles H. Lobdell, Boise field
supervisor for the fish and wildlife
service, said in an interview that the
study assumed the worst conditions.
He said it was his opinion that Val-
bois would delay, but not preclude,
recovery of the eagles.
"This is good documentation of
what might happen," Lobdell said.
"But, there are a lot of unknown;
Valbois has said a lot of things, bi
damned little has been written.
That's why we haven't committed."
Valbois spokesman Dennis Tag-
gart criticized the report, saying its
conclusions were too severe. "This
report is a worst -case scenario by
the authors' own statement," Tag-
gart said.
"We (Valbois developers) agreed
to modifications to our proposals as
a result of the effects on eagles," he
said. "We are ready to do anything
reasonable to avoid impact on ea-
gles."
les
Greg Spangenberg, special pro-
jects coordinator for the Boise Na-
tional Forest, said the issue centers
on whether the Valbois project will
effect the eagles' ability to continue
to live in the Cascade area. He said
the Gold Fork and Buttercup nesting
pairs will not leave their territory
solely because people are using it.
"We're convinced eagles have
great adaptability," Spangenberg
said. ' If we can solve the water qual-
ity and improve the fishery, we are
going to have eagles."
Bob Krumm, president of Citi-
zens for Valley County, said he does
not know why the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service has not paid more
attention to the more recent report.
<%hrs /claGr6 �f� r��c� rt /�fy 4 /
Valbols developer
says if they build it,
the foreigners will come
The Associated Press
CASCADE — Idaho might be
getting a lot more foreign tour-
ists, and must be ready to deal
with them, says the developer of a
destination resort in Valley
County. But the basics already
are there, says Dennis Taggart,
who is devel-
oping the Val- y.
bois resort on
Cascade Lake.
"I believe
that we do
have the basic
tools to ac-
commodate
our foreign
visitors," Tag- Dennis Taggart
gart said in an ad in the McCall
Star -News. "All we have to do is
build on them."
American ski areas are drawing
more and more foreigners because
of several years of bad snow in the
Alps, the improving general econo-
my in Europe and favorable ex-
change rates. Taggart said the
Travel Industry Association is pro-
jecting 7 to 9 percent growth in in-
bound tourism in the next year,
and Idaho could get a share.
Some of the foreign tourists
will cause problems, Taggart said.
"The greatest majority, however,
are good people genuinely inter-
ested in learning more about
America and our lifestyle."
"Not all foreign travelers will
speak English. We will have to be
sensitive to accommodating them,
perhaps by having available res-
taurant menus translated into
more popular languages, and uni-
versal symbols for basic facilities
such as restrooms, restaurants
and hotels.
"However, the basic element tc,
welcome th,�se new guests will be
something most people in Valley
County already have: a respect
for others and a genuine friendli-
ness," he said.
He said American prices will be
attractive to foreign tourists, es-
pecially in ski areas. "They find a
high level of service, no lift line
hassles and generally warm hos-
pitality. It's different in Europe."
"With the right effort on our
part, even after the snow starts
falling again in Europe, foreign
visitors will continue to ski in
America," he said. "It's a good
value, and they will return home
smiling."
Around Idaho
McCall
Valbois poll: A new
survey by critics of the proposed
Valbois resort on Cascade
Reservoir shows non - resident
property owners in Valley
County generally support the
four - season resort.
The poll, conducted by the
Citizens for Valley County,
showed that 48 percent of non-
resident property owners backed
the resort, whose developers got a
planning go -ahead from the
Bureau of Reclamation on
Friday. Another 38 percent
opposed Valbois.
Those results were almost
exactly opposite of the findings
in an earlier survey of county
residents that showed 47 percent
opposed to the resort and 39
percent supporting it.
Both telephone polls were
conducted by David Ripley and
Associates Inc. of Boise. The non-
resident survey involved 200
people, 70 percent of them
residents of Ada County.
Ripley said 17 percent of those
backing the resort wanted the
extra recreational opportunities
while others hoped the project
would improve public services.
Vie 15¢QY " 111' v✓.S —
Valbois ruling appealed
Citizens for Valley County has
appealed the decision of the U.S.
Bureau of Reclamation to allow de-
velopers of the proposed Valbois re-
sort to proceed with master plan-
ning.
The B of R in September ap-
proved a special -use permit for the
Valbois developers to use 75 acres
of the B of R's land along the west
shore of Cascade Reservoir for a
250 -slip marina and other uses.
However, the bureau emphasized
at the time that construction could
not start before master planning was
conducted, a process to be reviewed
jointly with the Boise National For-
est. Valbois developers propose to
place ski runs on Boise forest land.
Bob Krumm, spokesman for Cit-
izens for Valley County, said that
attorneys for the group believe that
the decision by the B of R violates
provisions of the National Envi-
ronmental Policy Act and federal
regulations.
"Our objective is to assure that
the agencies and developers comply
with appropriate laws and regula-
tions," Krumm said.
"We have already said that the
Bureau of Reclamation has done a
very good job of requiring the de-
velopers to commit to needed miti-
gation measures, but the law must
be followed if the public interest is
to be served," he said.
Forest Service approves
Valbois planning stage
Permit does not allow
construction to begin
The Associated Press
Developers of the four - season
Valbois resort near Donnelly got
• the . approval of the U.S. Forest
'.S�rvice to begin drafting a master
plan.
Boise National Forest Supervi-
sor Steve Mealey announced Fri-
day he signed the special -use per -
rriit allowing Valbois to begin
Planning what the resort will
look like, location of buildings,
and to assess the financial and
environmental costs.
The master plan "really looks
at all the issues that will have
been raised across the board on
the environmental impact state-
ment," said developer Dennis
Taggart of Boise. "You can deter -
mine the ways to avoid environ-
mental impacts or mitigate
against them."
But a group opposing the pro -
posed Cascade Reservoir resort
&iticized the permit Friday as
premature.
"We regret that the Forest Ser-
vice has announced their support
for Valbois before all of the an-
swers to environmental questions
are in," says a press release from
Citizens for Valley County. "At
this stage of the game they should
be impartial, and environmental
consequences should be foremost.
It's important to remember that
this is one tiny step in a slow and
tedious process, and Valbois is a
long way from being able to build
anything," the group said.
Envisioned for the resort are
ski lifts, a marina, golf course,
hotels, condominiums and other
additions. Taggart said his group
has a year to submit a draft mas-
ter plan, and three for the final
acceptable plan. The special -use
permit does not authorize con-
struction to begin.
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Re-
gional Director John Keyes will
sign his agency's special -use per-
mit in January, allowing plan-
ning to proceed on the Reclama-
tion- administered lands and
water on the reservoir.
"The issues that have been
raised in the (impact statement)
and by our opponents, we agree
are critical issues," Taggart said.
"They are conditions we must
meet. Here is when we begin to
prove that."
/ J1119
Valbois gets OK to start master planning
The Associated Press voir is appropriate and environ- ber The Forest Servic did
The U.S. Bureau of Reclama-
tion has given developers approv-
al to begin master planning of the
Valbois four - season resort on the
shores of Cascade Reservoir.
Reclamation's Pacific North-
west Regional Director John
Keys on Monday announced his
agency has struck an agreement
with Valbois Inc. The agreement
allows it to proceed with detailed
studies and planning on Reclama-
tion- administered lands.
"Reclamation is committed to
assuring that any development
that may occur at Cascade Reser-
mentally sound," he said.
Opponents of the Valbois pro-
ject weren't surprised by the de-
cision.
"We fully expected that they
would issue the agreement," said
Bob Krumm, chairman of the
board for Citizens for Valley
County.
He had no comment on it be-
cause he hasn't seen the agree-
ment yet. .
Reclamation cooperated with
the Forest Service in the initial
environmental impact studies. It
issued its record of decision in
support for Valbois last Septem-
. e i som
December 1990, and concluded an
appeal process one year later that
upheld its decision.
The Forest Service oversees
public lands on West Mountain
where Valbois' ski slopes would
be located, while Reclamation
manages land along the reser-
voir's shore.
Keys said that once developer
Dennis Taggart and Valbois Inc.
finish their draft master develop-
ment plan, it will undergo more
environmental assessment and
public review. The master plan
does not allow Valbois to begin
construction.
M* 4/�_)/ �� 9�
G�
Valbois promises big changes to
Area residents worry
about adverse effects,
but planner says he's
trying to do things right
By Peter B. Rose
The I0aho Statesman
It has been more than 10 years
since Dennis Taggart began plan-
ning the Valbois four - season re-
sort on the shores of the Cascade
Reservoir.
Since that time, it has survived
political battles, environmental
studies and economic swings. To-
day, it still is a concept on paper,
with many tests still ahead.
If constructed, the $300 million
development would be the largest
Palley County
year -round resort to be built in
Idaho since Sun Valley was con-
structed in the 1930s.
Whether it would benefit
Colorado and big resorts have all
had the same kinds of problems,"
Taggart said in a recent inter-
view. "Affordable housing, quali-
t
f
sparsely populated Valley County
depends on whom you talk to.
"Rural mountain developments
from Stowe, Vt., to small towns in
ty of life, impact fees."
Valbois is "probably as scruti-
nized a project as any in the coun-
See Valbois /2A
An artist's rendering of what the lodging comprex at Valbois would look like.
irC3 A ± -; -y -3
Resop,teveloper aims for 1994
consipucuun
Dennis Taggart is optimistic
about Valbois project. Land
managers say 1995 is the
earliest work could begin.
By Paul Beebe
The Idaho Statesman
On the west side of Cascade
Lake in Valley County, develop-
er Dennis Taggart is in the
midst of a $10 million gamble.
That's what Taggart says has
been spent since 1982 on his Val-
bois project, a four - season desti-
nation resort that may be only a
year away from construction.
Taggart, who first proposed a
ski resort on Cascade Reservoir
11 years ago, says if master
plans being written for several
agencies get quick approval,
Valbois will be under way this
year or in 1994.
On a probability scale of one
to 10, Valbois "is a 9.999," Tag-
gart said Wednesday.
"I am extremely confident. We
have studied this project to such
a degree that there is no fatal
flaw," he said.
Land managers who must ap-
prove the plan aren't as optimis-
tic. They take Taggart and his
major partner, Pierre Schnebe-
len, chairman of Valbois Inc.,
seriously, given the enormous
amount of money and work
spent so far.
But they say that because of
the time - consuming review pro-
cess this year is out of the ques-
tion, next year is extremely opti-
mistic, and 1995 would be the
earliest that work could begin.
"I think they are dead seri-
ous," said Joe Gallagher, Val-
bois project chief for the Boise
.National Forest, which would
provide 80 percent of the land
for the 3,463 -acre project.
"I think they've put their
heart and soul in this, but the
agency's concern is for the long-
term quality of resource man-
agement in that part of the
world," Gallagher said.
Legal problems may be anoth-
er hurdle. A coalition opposed to
the resort, Citizens for Valley
County, has threatened to fight
Valbois in court.
"I don't want to see it. I don't
think it's good for the valley. I
think it will overpopulate the
county, and we aren't ready for
that influx of people," said Fern
Krumm, a coalition board
member.
Ballooning prices for water-
front property on Cascade Res-
ervoir suggest people are bet-
ting that Valbois will be built.
Mark Earle, a Realtor with
Century 21 Chisholm Realty in
McCall, says reservoir prices
are as much as $2,500 per foot of
waterfront. Three years ago, the
price was $1,000 a foot.
The average increase for all
kinds of land in the county is
less, between 50 and 75 percent,
Earle said.
"I would say we can tie the
proposed Valbois project to the
appreciating markets here in
McCall and in the valley. Many
people are investing and buying
on that projection," he said.
Almost no new ski resorts
have opened in the West in the
past 10 years, said David Rowan,
publisher of Ski Area magazine
in Connecticut.
The reason: environmental
constraints and long periods of
time required to get construc-
tion permits have contributed to
the "enormous" cost of launch-
ing new resorts, he said.
Rowan won't speculate about
Valbois' chances. But he noted
that other resorts have been on
the drawing boards for years.
And after spending millions
they are only marginally further
along, he said.
Taggart insists the market is
ripe for Valbois, though he con-
cedes the U.S. ski industry is
growing only about 1 percent a
year. The wave of baby boomers
behind the industry's explosive
growth in the 1960s and '70s, is
moving into middle age.
But he says the destination
resort business is growing much
faster. That's why he's designing
Valbois to be a year -round desti-
nation, with a golf course, ten-
nis courts, marina, and equestri-
an trails — as well as 50 alpine
ski runs and cross - country
trails.
Financing is secure for the
first phase of Valbois, expected
to cost $120 million and take
three years to finish, Taggart
said.
Most of the money spent so far
has come from Schnebelen, a
French citizen who's developed
ski resorts in Europe and has
moved to Valley County to run
Valbois Inc. The money has
been used to buy land and pay
for engineering and other
studies.
Gallagher said Valbois devel-
opers will have to prove they
have enough money to complete
the first phase before construc-
tion can begin. He said the com-
pany received a master planning
permit because it demonstrated
that it had enough cash to com-
plete a plan.
Valbols developer predicts
gamble will pay off by 1994
Statesman staff
A high- stakes gamble in Val-
ley County bankrolled by a
French businessman may pay off
just a year from now with the
start of construction on the Val -
bois four - season resort.
Short odds: Dennis Taggart,
who first proposed a 3,463 -acre
ski resort on Cascade Reservoir
11 years ago, says if master
plans being written for several
agencies get quick .pproval,
Valbois will be under way this
year or in 1994.
Long odds: Land managers
who have to approve the plan
aren't so optimistic. They say
that because of the time -con-
suming review process, this year
is out of the question, next year
is extremely optimistic, and 1995
would be the earliest that work
could begin.
Others place their bets: Land
speculators seem to be betting
with Taggart and Pierre Schne-
belen, the chairman of Valbois
Inc. who has sunk $10 million
into the project 90 miles north of
Boise.
Mark Earle, a Realtor with
Century 21 Chisholm Realty in
nearby McCall, says reservoir
prices are as much as $2,500 per
foot of waterfront. Three years
ago, the price was $1,000 a foot.
Building plans for Valbois destination resort
A look at the proposed Val -
golf course, restaura rts, retail
bois destination resort:
shops, a boat marina, tennis
■ Valbois was first proposed
courts and an equestrian cen-
in 1982 by Dennis Taggart of
ter. Taggart says lodging with a
Boise.
total of 2,000 beds will be built.
® The site is 90 miles north
■ Planned for the ski area
of Boise, on the west side of
are eight chair lifts, two gondo-
Cascade Reservoir in Valley
las, 50 ski runs, and 36 k- Horne-
County,
ters of cross- country s , h-aiIs.
■ The resort will sprawl
a $10 million has been spent
across 3,463 acres, of which
so far, mostly on getting per -
2,800 acres is Boise National
mits from federal, state and ic-
Forest land. Seventy -five acres
cal agencies.
are controlled by the Bureau of
■ Phase two will be built
Reclamation. The balance, 588
when market conditions war -
acres, is private property.
rant more construction. Ulti-
■ The resort will be built in
mately, Valbois lodging will
two phases. The first phase is
consist of 160 single- family
expected to cost in excess of
homes, 1,800 hotel rooms, 697
$120 million. Financing has
townhouses, and 2,011 condo-
been arranged.
miniums.
0 Phase one will take three
0 Ultimately there will be
years to complete. It will in-
250,000 square feet of comrner-
clude 925 acres of ski runs, a
ciai space.
- 7 -`13
! "he Advocia -te Ma 1-e- 3/,19a
Ta gg art addresses realtors
_
Once construction
on Vstarts, said it wile take
process three years to complete con -
MCCALL — While holding out hope
for a 1993 ground- breaking, Valbois de-
veloper Dennis Taggart told 60 or so peo-
ple in the real estate business in Valley
County that such an event would be un-
likely.
"We'd like to build this year, break_
ground, but I doubt it'll happen," he told
those attending the monthly meeting of
the Mountain Central Association of Real-
tors at Shore Lodge here last week.
"There's a lot to do," he said. "The
minute we have the approvals, we are
ready to go."
But those approvals, in the form of
permits from the Forest Service, the Bu-
reau of Reclamation, the U.S. Corps of
Engineers, Valley County, along with
sign -offs from another handful of federal
and state agencies, require a lot of work,
work that is on- going, he said.
"We're not just building a ski resort,"
he said. "It's a year -round resort."
That requires all sorts of coordination
between the various agencies involved, as
all have made their permits contingent up-
on.the acquisition of the other permits and
approvals necessary, he said.
"This project can't fly without all the
pieces," he said. "All the approvals have
been conditioned upon one another. We
have to bring all the pieces together."
Each of those pieces alone would re-
quire one to two months worth of work
yet, he said. But the developers are hav-
ing to do all of work at once, he said, and
the agencies don't all take a step at the
same time. -
F The project consists of three major
components, the ski area on about 2,800
acres of Forest Service land, the marina -
and Lakeshore development on about 75
acres of Bureau of Reclamation land, and
the actual village and all the accou-
trements that go with it on about 700 acres
of private land.
That last component requires the
county's approval of the Planned Unit De-
velopment, which Taggart said is proba-
bly the most significant part of the project.
He also said he expected Valbois to sub-
mit its PUD application in one to two
months.
He said the process being followed
is that laid out by the court cases that
erupted over the proposed Early Winters
Project in the Methow Valley in north
central Washing-
ton gtatP
has the developers struction, but that the ski
gaining approval "Wetlands area portion of the project
of the concept for impact has been would open with about two -
the project first, he F' thirds of the mountain por-
said. That part of
re,
of the process was
.Ite said.
satisfied and the
Taggart fielded questions on roads
master develop-
and highways, sewage treatment, and the
ment planning
still- possible train service to Cascade.
process was al-
ph
lowed to begin, he
' for the sale of the Emmett to Cascade rail
said.
ce$
The second
key part of the pro- Dennis T8
cess is develop-
ment of those de-
tailed plans, the
part of the process Valbois officials are
now involved in.
The final step called for in the
Methow Valley project, preparation of a
Supplemental Environmental Impact
Statement, should culminate in the is-
suance of permits that will allow con-
struction to begin, he said.
During the process, he said there have
been some significant changes. One of
those is in the number of acres of land
classified as wetlands that the project will
affect.
That wetland acreage has been re-
duced from about 40 acres to only 4 acres.
rem tion constructed, which he
figured would come after
to two construction seasons.
ElS Developers have also
adjusted the mix of housing
)ro- that will be built on the pro-
ject site.
Though the total num-
ber of dwelling units re-
g8rt mains slightly less than
3,500, he said the number
of hotel rooms has been
dropped to 1,800 from
about 2,700. Each three hotel rooms
equates to one dwelling unit. The other
components are single family residences,
which he said will number 160, along with
about 700 town houses and 2,011 condo-
miniums.
That total number, he said, is what
developers have used through the entire
process. But given the density permitted
under county ordinance and additional
surveys that showed that developers had
more private land than they at first be -''
lieved, he said that number could have
been bumped up.
"But we decided to stay with what
He said the plan for the mountain por -'
we've represented to the public all along,"
tion of the project is now "pretty well de-
.Ite said.
fined," and that developers and the Forest
Taggart fielded questions on roads
Service are getting down to the final is-
and highways, sewage treatment, and the
sues that must be resolved before that plan
still- possible train service to Cascade.
is acceptable to the Forest Service.
He said Union Pacific is negotiating
Repeating a theme he's mentioned
' for the sale of the Emmett to Cascade rail
several times in public appearances con -
line. Such a sale might facilitate establish -
cerning the proposed resort, Taggart said
ment_of passenger rail service, as for now,
the project has received more scrutiny
Union Pacific has an agreement with Am-
than any, other in Idaho history.
trak that precludes .them from offering
passenger service on their tracks.
Regarding sewage treatment, Taggart
said the treatment facility in the plan,
which would have land application of
treated effluent on about 800 acres of *`
ranch land, is more than adequate to serve
the,., 600 acres of development they're
proposing.
"We believe our project could serve
as the core of what's needed for the west
side," he said. The situation with septic
and sewage is a risk to the groundwater,
and not necessarily to Cascade Reservoir,
he said.
May 19, 1993 The Advocate
Idaho Power's Valbois proposal
tabled again
CASCADE — A proposal
by Idaho Power Company to
construct a new power line along
the west side of the valley from
McCall to Tamarack Falls was
again tabled by the Valley Coun-
ty Planning and Zoning Commis-
sion here last Thursday.
The action came after addi-
tional concerns were raised by P
& Z members that in granting the
necessary conditional use permit
to the utility company, they
might be putting the cart before
the horse on the proposed Val-
bois project.
P & Z commissioner Mary
Hart said she didn't want the
commission to get caught in the
middle of a "Field of Dreams"
syndrome "If we build it, they
will come," referring to the pop-
ular baseball movie.
Commissioners also got ad-
ditional information they re-
quested at their meeting in April
concerning the feasibility of
putting the 138 kilovolt line un-
derground.
Stan Craven, the McCall
area manager for the utility, as-
sured everyone that construction
would not start until the compa-
ny had the cash in hand from Ida-
ho Power to complete the new
line. While the project was initi-
ated at the request of Valbois'
developers, Craven said Idaho
Power sees future needs for the
electricity that will be brought in
by the line whether Valbois is
built or not.
Tris Yerrington, with Idaho
Power's transmission depart-
ment, said the cost of burying the
roughly 14 -mile line would cost
about $14 million compared to
the estimated cost of $2.2 million
to build the lines above ground.
He also addressed concerns
raised earlier about electric mag-
netic fields generated by high
voltage transmission lines
though burying the line would
eliminate electric emissions from
the lines, Yerrington said the sci-
entific community is still study -
ing the magnetic component, and
has yet to determine what safe
guidelines are.
"It's frustrating to not know
the answers," he said. But he said
that the levels of magnetic fields
present in a house that contains a .
lot of electrical appliances can al-
so be very high.
Prior to the meeting, he said
they measured the EMF levels in
the courtroom at the courthouse
and came up with readings of .5
to 1.5 milligauss. He said the
Swedish government had recent-
ly set a limit of 2 milligauss, but
that it proved to be inordinately
expensive to adhere to and the.
government there is re- studying
the matter.
But other concerns dealt
with the precedence that would
be set by the commission should
they grant a permit for the line.
"I'm still very concerned
that approval of this would be de-
facto approval of Valbois," said
Judy Anderson, a Lake Fork res-
ident and member of the Citizens
for Valley County board of di-
rectors.
Jim Ball, a developer with
Larry Barnes Industries of Boise,
which is developing the Black -
hawk Ranch and Blackhawk
Lake projects along the West
Mountain Road corridor, said he
was also concerned about what
the overhead power lines would
do to the value of their property.
He said he supports the Val-
bois project and the effort to put
in the needed power, but he said
the overhead power lines would
cut their property values by at
least $1 million.
Yerrington said the most
likely construction time frame
would be during the summer of
1995.
"We're going to have to do
this anyway," commission chair-
man Elt Hasbrouck said. "Valley
County is in a good spot with a
chance to get power in and have
somebody else pay for it."
"What's there is being
served, what's not there doesn't
need serving," Hart countered.
Chuck Pickens, a Cascade
real estate agent, said he was in
support of the project.
"This whole valley's grow-
ing," he said. "If Valbois is will-
ing to pay for it, this would be a
good time to do this."
County Engineer Les
Ankenman recommended that
they study the West Mountain
Road corridor study prepared by
Centennial Engineering for LB
Industries. That study predicts
substantial growth along that
corridor.
"We're looking at a major
piece of Valley County's devel-
opable property right here," he
said.
Hasbrouck also suggested
that the commission provide Ida-
ho Power with some ideas of
how they'd like to see the job
done.
"I'm not looking for a yes or
no," he said.
But the majority of the com-
mission said they wanted more
time to study the roughly six
dozen letters of testimony
they've received on the project,
and the application was tabled
until the commission's June
meeting.
THE STAR NEWS - THURSDAY, MAY 20, 1993
P&Z tables power line request
st
BY JAMES L. KINCAID
The Star -News
The Valley County Planning and
Zoning commission last week de-
layed a decision on Idaho Power
Co.'s application for installation of
a power line to the proposed four -
season Valbois resort site.
In other business, the P &Z gave
the green light to an exclusive sub-
division to be constructed on the
site of the former Hait Ranch near
Donnelly.
The P &Z conducted a public
hearing on the issues before about
50 people Thursday at the Valley
County Courthouse in Cascade.
"We need more time to talk to
the public about burying the power
line," P &Z Chair Elt Hasbrouck
said. "It is a good chunk of juice
and somebody else will pay for it."
"I would like to emphasize that
the project would require no public
funds," said Stan Craven of the
McCall District of the Idaho Power
Company. "Valbois would pay the
total cost before construction starts.
Construction would start after engi-
neering of right -of -ways. There are
no figures yet, but Valbois would
pay all costs except for a switching
station."
The power line proposal cannot
be approved solely on the Valbois
proposal, Valley. County
Prosecuting Attorney Larry
Schoenhut said. Conditions of the
approval must have nothing to do
with Valbois due to possible insur-
ance liability, he said.
Idaho Power wants to get a head
start on the proposed line, company
officials have said. Materials must
be ordered and right -of -way negotia-
tions for the line must be competed
well in advance of construction,
they said.
Idaho Power Co. filed the permit
on Jan. 23, citing growing electrical
demands and inadequate present facil-
ities, should the Valbois resort be
constructed.
The proposal calls for installa-
tion of additional transmission, sub-
station and power distribution facili-
ties. Idaho Power Co. proposes to
construct and operate a 138,000 volt
transmission line from a new.
transmission station site about two
miles west of McCall to a new sub-
station about three miles west of
Donnelly.
If the line is built along the pre-
ferred route, it would cost about
$2.2 million for the 14- mile -long
line from near the Little Ski Hill
near McCall to a substation on
West Valley Road, according to
power company officials. It would
cost about $14.5 million to bury
the line, they said.
"The route of the line depends on
the route of West Mountain Road
and on involved agencies," Craven
said. "Our concern is ordering mate-
rial, but we will negotiate with
Valbois first.
There has not been Drover notifi-
cation of the route of the power
line, said Mike Barton of the Valley
View Subdivision No. 1
Homeowners' Association.
Larger power poles and lines
would affect the aesthetic and prop-
erty values, and there is concern
over electric and magnetic fields
generated by the power line, Barton
said.
"Overhead power lines through
the Blackhawk Lake area would re-
duce, by about $1 million, the value
of 17 view lots," said Jim Ball, of
LB Industries, Inc., which is devel-
oping homesites around the lake.
"We need to have underground
lines."
Distance is a major factor in elec-
tric and magnetic fields, Chris
Yerrington of Idaho Power said.
Electric fields are stopped by any-
thing solid, but magnetic fields have
not come into study until the last
five years, Yerrington said.
"Magnetics are not blocked by
solids," Yerrington said.
"Magnetics can possibly affect hu-
man cells, but that is not proven by
tests. It will probably take another
10 years to 20 years to determine."
"I feel that approval of Idaho
Powers permits would be de facto
approval of Valbois in the eyes of
the law and the public," Judy
Anderson of McCall said.
The transmission station on the
north end of the project would tap
the existing Oxbow Dam - McCall
138 kV line, providing the power
source for the Valbois project, ac-
cording to the Idaho Power Co. pro-
posal. The new transmission line
would deliver power to the southern
distribution substation.
Distribution feeders would then
supply the Valbois project.
The project is also being de-
signed with future growth in mind
and would be required for the area
whether or not Valbois proceeds, ac-
cording to the proposal.
Construction of the new power
facilities would take place in 1994
or 1995, power company officials
said.
The Blackhawk Lake proposal,
by LB Industries, Inc. in Boise, re-
ceived final plat approval from P &Z
officials for a proposed 4.8 -home
subdivision near Blackhawk Lake,
also known as Hait Reservoir. The
P &Z approval will next go before
the county commissioners for final
approval or revisions.
The homes would be constructed
on about 20 acres with about 2.4
homes per acre on the west side of
West Mountain Road about six
miles south of McCall.
Valbois ordered to submit financial data to Forest Service
BOISE — A letter from Boise National Forest supervi-
sor Steve Mealey to Valbois officials has put them on notice
that they must file financial information required by their
Master Development Planning permit or explain why they
shouldn't be found in violation of that permit.
According to the letter to Roger Lessman of the Valbois
Limited Partnership, dated April 28, 1993, Valbois develop-
ers haven't submitted balance sheets for 1991 and 1992 as re-
quired by the permit.
"Nonsubmission of these documents is a violation of the
terms and conditions of your permit," Mealey states in the
letter. "Please submit these documents to me by June 1, or
explain why I should not find you in violation of your per-
mit."
The letter also addresses what it says are concerns by
the agency and members of the public that Valbois does not
have sufficient funds to complete master planning or to con-
struct the proposed four - season resort on the west shore of
Cascade Reservoir.
"Therefore, by the terms of your permit, I am requiring
the year -end statement for Valift and Valbois to be audited
Financial Statements, following Generally Accepted Auditing
Standards," the letter reads.
"In addition, I am requiring you to prepare a Special Report on
your total expenditures to date for Master Planning and expected
costs to complete Master Planning," Mealey wrote. That report is to
be a combined report on expenditures with a financial report for ex-
pected planning costs. That report must be submitted by July 1.
Joe Gallagher, who was contacted prior to The Advocate receiv-
ing a copy of the letter, said, "It is the responsibility of this agency to
make;'sure that the proponents have sufficient funding to complete
master planning. And when the time comes, that they have sufficient
funding to complete construction in a timely and efficient manner."
Gallagher said Tuesday that his agency should have reminded
developers of the requirements of the permit, which includes more
than just putting together a master plan.
He termed the letter a "show cause" letter, that requires develop-
ers to either meet the terms of the permit, or show cause why they
haven't.
He said his agency has some discretion in enforcement of the
permit, and isn't out to sink developers over the matter.
But he said the agency has obligations regarding the permit, and
those obligations include ensuring that developers have sufficient
means to do the project right. That also includes protecting the moun-
tain, and protecting Valley County.
He said last week that the agency has heard from people in the
public sector about the matter, and that when the Forest Service is-
sued the permit to Valbois allowing master planning, one of the per-
mit requirements was that they keep the agency appraised of their fi-
nancial status.
He said the agency expected to receive the requested financial in-
formation from Valbois in the next weeks. And he emphasized again
Tuesday that he had faith that Valbois would submit the request in-
formation.
Last week, Lessman said Valbois officials are continuing to
move forward in their master planning processing, and are also "con-
tinuing to strengthen (their) financial position."
He said that developers have always been open about the fact that
they've continued throughout their process to seek out new investors
in their development, and that they didn't expect the process to move
along without a few stumbling blocks related to financing.
"It's typical that these things move in phases," he said.
He did say that Valbois is trying to manage its resources for the
master planning process.
But he also said that any late reports to the Forest Service would
resolve the problem, and that they are preparing the necessary report.
Gallagher said last week that, "We have faith in the proponents
to meet the requirements of the permit." Should that information not
be made available to the Forest Service by the stated deadlines, he
said the agency "would do what it had to do."
Asked what could possibly result, he said "That could result in
temporary suspension of the permit, or revocation in the long run."
On Tuesday, Jack Marshall, of Valbois, said he shares Lessman's
view of the matter as a technicality, and that they are proceeding
through master planning.
"We've agreed to provide them with what they need," he said. At
Valbois' request, however, he said the deadline for the special report
was set back from June 1 to July 1.
"All we have to do is get the audits done," he said. "Those are in
progress."
He said Valbois officials had no major disagreement with the
factual contents of the letter.
d 21 cl a r-P - 0�n, f )1 13
Valbois officials
discount rumors,
move ahead
With rumors of its pending demise clanging across Valley
County, officials of the proposed Valbois resort are refuting
them, and saying work on the proposed four - season resort is
continuing, and the project is far from dead.
Roger Lessman, of the Valbois Limited Partnership, last
week reiterated statements he'd made to The Advocate several
weeks ago when he was contacted to comment on a letter from
the U.S. Forest Service directing developers to provide audited
financial reports of the project's expenditures for 1991 and 1992
by June 1.
Those reports were required by the master planning permit
and were to be submitted by March of each year.
Joe Gallagher, the Boise National Forest official in charge
of that agency's monitoring of the project's progress, said Mon-
day morning that those reports had been filed on time.
He also said he expects developers to meet a July 1 dead-
line by which developers must submit a special report on their
master planning funding to the Forest Service. That special re-
port was ordered by Boise National Forest Supervisor Steve
Mealey in light of concerns over whether developers have ade-
quate funding to complete master planning.
Lessman said Friday that they were continuing to work on
the project while continuing to closely monitor the expenditure
of their resources.
He said developers are continuing to seek out additional
investors for the proposed project, which includes a ski area on
about 2,800 acres of Boise Forest land, a marina and summer
recreation facilities on about 75 acres of Bureau of Reclamation
land, and golf course and housing and commercial develop-
ments on about 500 acres of privately owned land on the west
side of Cascade Reservoir near the Poison Creek Campground.
Valbois' Jack Marshall said last week that the company has
not filed for bankruptcy, has *not had its offices in Donnelly
foreclosed on, and continues to move forward in its planning
process.
One rumor that apparently has some substance to it is the
status of Pierre Schnebelen, a French developer who was a pri-
mary investor in the project.
Schnebelen, who moved to McCall last year to be closer to
the project, has listed his McCall condominium for sale. Mar-
shall said that he doesn't know what Schnebelen's plans are nor
whether he will continue as a principal investor in the project.
Schnebelen could not be reached for comment.
Valbois draws -rh° C,4-re JUly 7, lqq
more fire from
DEQ on finances,
permit revocation
requested
BOISE — A letter from the Idaho Division of Environmental
Quality to the U.S. Forest Service asking that the federal agency yank
the master planning permit for the proposed Valbois resort on Cas-
cade Lake has drawn a terse response from developers.
In a June 24 letter to Boise National Forest Supervisor Stephen
Mealey, DEQ administrator Joe Nagel said that a revision of the fund-
ing structure for the project makes it clear that the project is not viable.
In the letter, Nagel said developers cannot meet existing obliga-
tions and also that "the project proponent is financially incapable of
completing master development planning and funding preparation of
the Supplement Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS)."
One of the key components of the DEQ letter is a recent offering
by developers to sell limited partnerships in the project in an attempt
to raise $13 million to pay off existing obligations, and to complete
master pladningfor the project. That offering has been withdrawn and
further work will be paid for by existing partners, Taggart said.
"Further, it is clear from the offering, that the entire resort pro-
posal is founded upon a fragile house of cards," Nagel said in his let-
ter.
But Dennis Taggart, the Boise architect who first conceived of
the project 10 years ago, challenged DEQ's position as stated in the
letter.
He agreed that developers
have spent more than originally «
estimated for master planning, "We've not asked to
$6 million instead of the $5 mil- do battle With
lion estimated by the Forest Ser-
vice. But he said DEQ is partial - CVC or the State
ly to blame for those extra ex- of Idaho."
penses.
While he said he believes Dennis Taggart,
the Forest Service has been fair Valbois developer
in its consideration of the pro-
ject, he said he doesn't believe
that state agencies have been equally fair in their treatment of the pro-
ject.
"Many people in government feel they've done their job if they
merely identify problems and create obstacles that must be overcome
in order to achieve something," he said. "I think they miss the point
that government is there to help us achieve within those regulations
that are duly established.
"We have only asked to work through the process with all in-
terested parties," he said. "We've not asked to do battle with (Citizens
for Valley County, a group opposed to the project) or the State of Ida-
ho."
He said delays and difficulties in moving through the process
have been caused, in part, by an inability to work with all agencies
that have an interest in the project, he said.
"DEQ was late coining to the interdisciplinary team process, and
have had very little participation, if any, as an example" of that, he
said.
Va I bo i s from pag
"If the Forest Service can be
reassured that we have the funds
to meet the needs of master plan-
ning, we're asking they work
with us to go through the pro-
cess," he said.
"While we've had cash flow
problems, we've met our obliga-
tions and will continue to do so,"
he said.
Kevin Beaton, the deputy
Idaho Attorney General assigned
to DEQ, refuted the charges that
DEQ has dragged its feet on the
project.
He said the agency's initial
refusal to be involved in the in-
terdisciplinary team was due to
the likelihood at that time of
DEQ filing a lawsuit against the
U.S. Forest Service and Valbois
over issuance of the master plan-
ning permit. DEQ became in-
volved once the Forest Service
required developers to do a Sup-
plemental Environmental Impact
Statement addressing DEQ's
concerns about the project.
Beaton said the documenta-
tion filed with the Idaho Depart-
ment of Finance makes it "crys-
tal clear" that developers don't
have the wherewithal to com-
plete master planning.
In reaction to the overall let-
ter, Taggart said, "For the most
part, it's all old news. You keep
hearing `financial capability, fi-
nancial capability,' and we keep
going on, and keep going on.
"I don't know what DEQ is
doing worrying about financial
anyway," he said.
"Their premise that some-
how money is tied to the level of
environmental protection is ludi-
crous," he said in reaction to
Nagel's statements in the letter
regarding the risk presented to
the environment because of the
project's financial status.
"The State of Idaho has con-
tinuously doubted the propo-
nent's claim that the Valbois Re-
'1
sort could be constructed and op-
erated in a manner that would not
cause degradation of the environ-
ment and negative impacts to the
communities in Valley County,"
Nagel wrote in his letter.
Asked if it was DEQ offi-
cials who made the judgement on
Valbois' financial capabilities,
Beaton said the review and
judgement were done by Idaho
Department of
Finance offi-
cials, but that it
doesn't take a
financial ex-
pert to see that
the project is
in trouble.
"When
it's prescribed
that something
be done in a
certain man-
ner, it isn't
done halfway
if only half the money is there,"
Taggart said.
Taggart emphasized that if
portions or all of the project are
sold, the obligations to the envi-
ronment are also transfrered.
"The requirements are on
the project, not on Dennis Tag-
gart," he said. "There's no way
for any environmental regula-
tions to be sidestepped regardless
of who owns it."
Financial information con-
tained in the letter, which was re-
leased by DEQ to the media, has
also caused some concern in the
Valbois camp, Taggart said.
"Information provided to the
Department of Finance and to the
Forest Service that has to do with
the business operation has been
conditioned to be held confiden-
tial," he said. "And, we are cer-
tainly interested if any of that in-
formation deemed confidential
has been inappropriately dissem-
inated." He said Valbois officials
are reviewing the information in
the 116tter
Real estate scam,
house of cards
Taggart also questioned
wording in Nagel's letter and ad-
ditional quotes contained in an
Associated Press article in The
Idaho Statesman that character-
ize the project as a "real estate
scam" and a proposal "... found-
ed upon a fragile house of cards."
"It's just rhetoric and with-
out basis," he said. There is no
way that project proponents
would realize any benefit based
upon the amount of money
they've committed to the project,
he said.
"It's the kind of phrase that
plays to emotion, and in this
case, it's certainly without foun-
dation," he said. He said Valbois
officials will also be investigat-
ing the sources of such rumor
andinnuendo.
"I think we certainly have to
look at actions by anybody that
are not based on fact as to the re-
sult they have on our ability to
perform and to move forward
and do business," he said.
There are numerous state
agencies tasked with policing
businesses and real estate devel-
opments for honest and fair busi-
ness practices, he said.
And directly addressing one
rumor that's been heating up the
Valley County grapevine, Tag-
gart said, "The partners have no
plans to file for bankruptcy."
Another criticism of the pro-
ject and reason for its request that
the planning permit be revoked is
found in Nagel's letter.
"It appears that master de-
velopment funds were utilized
for the purchase of real estate,"
Nagel wrote.
Of the $6
million spent by
developers since
issuance of the
planning permit,
Taggart said only
about $500,000
was spent for
payments on real
estate.
Business re-
structuring and
the environment
Also tying into the environ-
mental concerns is the business
restructuring that's taken place
with Valbois.
"If and when the project ev-
er becomes operational, the limit-
ed partnership will become `self -
liquidating,' after selling all of
the real estate, and Valbois, Inc.
will have little or no control over
future development at the resort,"
Nagel wrote in his letter.
"The present financial con-
dition of the project proponent
along with the proposed owner-
ship structure for the proposed
resort virtually ensures that the
project will cause negative envi-
ronmental and socioeconomic
impacts," Nagel said.
Addressing those concerns,
which are based on ashift from a
corporation to limited partner-
ships, Taggart said, "It's impor-
tant to know that the partnership,
as compared to the corporation,
have the same obligations. It's
just a different business organi-
zation."
The change has seen the cre-
ation of two limited partnerships,
involving the same principals,
that will oversee the real estate
development and operational
sides of the project, he said. Tag-
gart said covenants, conditions
and restrictions will apply to the
project that ensure that obliga-
tions to the environment will live
on, no matter who owns the pro-
ject.
In addition, he said that if
the project is built, it will be sub-
ject to annual reviews by the ap-
propriate agencies, those that
have granted permits.
Based on that review, the
operating permits can be re-
voked, suspended, or other steps
can be taken by the federal agen-
cies who grant use of land for the
project.
Also noted in Nagel's letter
is the mortgaging of an adjacent
700 acres, off the development
site, that had been purchased by
Valbois.
Taggart said the land was
bought by Valbois as a hedge
against development that might
take place on it that wouldn't be
up to the same standard as that
proposed for the project.
vd)fin; ✓- Ohtlhued the 1140;dle July7MF3
"We indicated we had no
When those difficulties
plans to develop that property,"
arose, Nagel said, the developers
he said. That statement was char-
'were no longer involved in the
acterized by others to mean the
° project.
property would be used as a
Taggart said those areas are
"buffer" zone, he said.
now doing okay. But he also
"Recent disclosures by the
questioned whether a developer
project proponent would suggest
is responsible for a project's fi-
that third parties, pursuant to
nancial well -being forever. He
mortgages, have obtained inter-
likened it to a homeowner selling
est in the off -site properties
a house, or business person sell -
which makes it more likely that
ing a_business, and then continu-
the properties will be commer-
mg to be responsible for that
cially developed and not used as
, business or home's continued
"buffer" zones as suggested by
Fell- being.
the project proponents," Nagel's
Special report on
letter states.
Valbois financing
Taggart said that claim is al-
That report, due and deliv-
so without foundation.
ered by July 1, was to include a
"Any land that is developed,
review of expenditures by devel-
no matter who owns it, must go
opers to date, along with their ex-
through a permitting process that
pected expenses to complete
includes scrutiny," he said. "To
master planning and the source
insinuate that by merely selling
of that additional revenue.
some land that the owners are go-
Taggart said this week that
ing to bypass that process is ludi-
once developers receive the con -
crous."
currence of the Forest Service on
"On the other hand, we feel
that report which estimates need
good that there are permit pro-
for another $2 million or so to
cesses in place that, if applied
complete master planning, exist -
fairly, then those lands will also
ing partners in the project have
be developed in an environmen-
made commitments to provide
tally conscious manner," Taggart
funding to see planning through
said.
to completion.
But he said the land in ques-
tion is still owned by Valbois and
"We've expended an enor-
has simply been mortgaged to
mous amount of time and money
raised operating capital for the
in that effort," he said.
project. Developers have•a letter
"We just ask to be able to go
of credit from the bank, backed
on."
by standby letters of credit from
investors in the project, to pro-
vide security on the mortgage, he
said. The deal is no different than
that which a business owner
might enter into to raise capital
for their business, he said..
"It's very straightforward
and simple, and for someone to
make more out of it than that is is
trying to play to emotion and not
fact," he said.
Another concern outlined in
Nagel's three -page letter has to
do with financial difficulties en-
countered by two projects in
France that Valbois partner
Pierre Schnebelen was involved
with.
Valbois developer rebuts
M go
criticism of project
He says request to revoke
planning permit was based
on innuendo and rumors.
The Associated Press
McCALL — One of the princi-
pals in the proposed Valbois re-
sort development on Cascade
Reservoir has blasted the head
of the state Division of Environ-
mental Quality, accusing him of
possible libel, for criticizing the
project.
In a seven -page letter to Boise
National Forest Supervisor
Steve Mealey, Roger Lessman
dismissed the request of state
environmental chief Joe Nagel
that Mealey revoke Valbois'
planning permit, claiming Nagel
was relying on innuendo and
misstatements of fact.
Nagel said the resort project
was no more than a real estate
scam, a "fragile house of cards,"
and maintained state and local
taxpayers could not afford to be
left holding the bag when devel-
opers eventually pulled out.
"We have little patience left
for Mr. Nagel's unprofessional
attempts to harm this project
and place our investments at
risk," Lessman wrote.
"Mr. Nagel's claims ... are
baseless and quite possibly
libelous."
Lessman acknowledged that
the project needed additional
capital to complete its master
planning phase, but he said that
was no violation of its existing
federal permit and was caused
by the state's persisting opposi-
tion to the resort.
Nagel's request was based in
large part on information con-
tained in a filing with the state
Finance Department to support
the sale of limited partnerships
in the resort.
That filing was withdrawn
last month, according to resort
spokesman Dennis Taggart, af-
ter investors decided to put up
additional cash themselves.
But Lessman said in his letter
that the plan was withdrawn "to
allow us to respond to the needs
of a potential large purchaser
interested in the project."
The financial statement ac-
companying the filing showed
that the resort's developers were
heavily in debt and had missed
$625,000 in payments to Garden
Valley rancher Don Weilmun-
ster for the 590 acres of his land
along the reservoir that was to
serve as the resort's base area. A
mortgage on 670 acres to the
north was given to Weilmunster
instead.
At the end of October, accord-
ing to the filing, the investors
had contributed $4.7 million to
the project, but the developers
still owed Weilmunster $3.8 mil-
lion and had nearly $1.3 million
in outstanding bills.
Another $1.5 million was due
to two resort principals.
Valbois: still no word
BOISE — There's something in the wind about the pro-
posed Valbois project, but nobody's talking.
The rumors that something's about to break on whether or
not the U.S. Forest Service will allow Valbois to proceed with
master development planning have been building to a crescendo.
But Boise National Forest Supervisor Steve Mealey, who
will make the call, isn't talking.
Frank Carroll, spokesman for the Boise forest, said only that
nei_ >otiations between the developers of the proposed four - season
resort were continuing, and that neither he nor Mealey had any i
continent about the status of those negotiations or on what their
result might be.
Speculation is now focusing on some sort of compromise
being reached that could allow developers to proceed with some
strict conditions.
There appears to be some basis for that, in that the general
consensus among many is that it would have been easy for the
Forest. Service to simply cut the process off, and that decision
could have been arrived at by now.
Only more time will tell.
Th d_ Ad V0 C a le
Valbois developers given
Oct. 12 deadline to prove
financial capability
BOISE — Boise National Forest Supervisor
Steve Mealey has agreed with a proposal from Val-
bois developers to allow them until Oct. 12 to prove
they have the financial means to complete master
planning.
If the developers cannot meet that deadline,
they've asked the Forest Service to terminate their
master planning permit.
The deal has apparently been in the works for
about a month as the proposal was contained in a
July 12 letter from Valbois partner Roger Lessman
to Mealey.
"The amendment provides that the master
planning permit issued to Valbois will be terminat-
ed on October 12, 1993, unless Valbois can demon-
strate technical and financial capability to complete
the process, ". Mealey stated in the announcement.
`"Valbois l✓►m►ted Partnership originally pro-
posed this action in July 12, 1993, letter which
read, in part, 'if by October 12, 1993, we have not
put together a deal that allows us to demonstrate to
you our technical and financial capability to com-
plete the entire Master Development Process... you
may consider this our request that you terminate
our permit effective October 12, 1993, "' the release
states, quoting Lessman's letter.
The troubled project has come under fire in re-
cent months as Idaho state officials have ques-
tioned the developers' financial ability to complete
master planning.
In his announcement Tuesday, Mealey said he
was amending the permit requiring developers to
prove, in a financial document prepared to gener-
ally accepted financial standards, that they have
sufficient funds to complete master development
planning. That amount was not stated in the news
release from the Boise Forest, and Frank Carroll,
spokesman for the forest, said that information was
not being made public.
However, Lessman confirmed that figure was
$1.5 million in an interview Tuesday afternoon,
and said that is the amount that developers believe
it will take to complete master planning. But he
said the agreement with the Forest Service also in-
cludes assurances that developers will be able to
cover other "nebulous costs" that may surface as
the plan is completed and subjected to the public
hearing process that will follow.
"We believe that our budget is adequate," he
said. "We've identified that number as a number
necessary to complete master planning.
"We're obviously pleased that this is going to
provide us time to finish putting our financing to-
gether," he said. Unlike many may do when faced
with such a daunting deadline, he said Tuesday's
announcement is good news for the project.
"Absolutely," he said when asked if the deci-
sion gives him what he needs to take to potential
investors in the project.
"We needed some breathing room," he said.
"This allows people to make reasonable decisions
over a reasonable period."
Countering rumors that some key Valbois per-
sonnel have abandoned the project, he said that the
partnership's comptroller Brian Wilson has only
left for a three -week vacation and has not quit the
project.
"Under the circumstances we're in right now
our focus is on getting this package together," he
said. "People that are here, if they have an oppor-
tunity to do some of those other things, we're hav-
ing them doing them."
"We're continuing to plug along and do our
thing," he said.
Valbois promoters
say they'll prove
plan despite woes
Deadline is Oct. 12 for
investors to show that ski
resort project can be done.
By Ursula Thomas
The Idaho Statesman
Developers of the proposed
Valbois ski resort conceded
Tuesday they have had financial
problems, but insisted they will
meet an October deadline to
prove the $120 million project is
viable.
Dennis Taggart, one of the re-
sort's investors and its main pro-
moter, acknowledged wide-
spread rumors that the project
— one of the biggest private real
estate ventures in the state — is
...in trouble.
"We have had cash flow prob-
lems. And there have been state-
ments by the state," he said,
alluding to a demand in July by
state environmental regulators
that the project be stopped. "We
continue to have cash needs and
we continue to meet them."
The 11- year -old project has
been hailed by some as a poten-
tial economic boon for the tiny
resort area two hours north of
Boise. But it's also been criti-
cized by longtime residents and
state officials who worry the
project will lead to congested
highways and environmental
damage.
Tuesday, the U.S. Forest Ser-
vice said the developers must
prove by Oct. 12 that they have
the financial and technical abili-
ty to see the project through or
lose an exclusive permit needed
to plan the resort.
The permit, initially granted
in January last year, was sched-
uled to expire Jan. 1, 1995, said
Joe Gallagher, Valbois project
chief for the Forest Service.
If built, the resort would in-
clude 50 ski runs, lodging for
2,000, a golf course and marina
Valbois site
13 A Boise
McCall N
Golf
se 55
Ski Resort Donnelly 0
Wet Mountain
% na
Maril
1 Gondola asC de
7 Chairlifts Reservoir
Cascaded
on 3,463 acres in the mountains
west of the Cascade Reservoir.
The Forest Service owns the
bulk of the land.
Gallagher wouldn't provide
specific details, but said the For-
est Service has concerns about
the investors' finances and envi-
ronmental issues surrounding
the resort.
Taggart said the project was
still moving forward, although
he conceded that construction
may not begin this year or next.
That's a change from the timeta-
ble he predicted as recently as
March.
"I've given up with that think-
ing. We will start when we fin-
ish the process we're in," Tag-
gart said from Valbois Inc.
headquarters in Boise. "Certain-
ly, I'd like to get on with doing
something instead of talking
about it."
So far, the developers have
completed one of the three com-
ponents of the resort's master
plan, Gallagher said. The major
component — the mountain —
would include the ski lifts, ski
knaln
runs and cross - country trails
over 925 acres.
The other components, which
include condominiums at the
base of the ski area and a mari-
na on Cascade Reservoir, have
not been approved by the appro-
priate state or local government
agencies, Gallagher said.
In addition, the developers
need a dredge and fill permit
from the Army Corps of Engi-
neers in order to develop the
marina.
Taggart said developers have
spent $6 million so far on the
master plan and need as much
as another $2 million to finish
all three components.
The developers have the "ca-
pability to meet that ($2 million)
with our existing partnership or
we may seek additional part-
ners," Taggart said.
Valbois Inc. is backed by 18
investors, including French ski
resort developer Pierre Schnebe-
len, who moved to Valley Coun-
ty to oversee the project but
recently sold his condominium
there and returned to France.
The developers have spent $14
million so far: $6 million on
plans and another $8 million on
land acquisition and administra-
tive costs, Taggart said.
Valbois Inc. has had to negoti-
ate with five agencies at the
local, state and federal levels,
according to Taggart. "There's
been more and less cooperation
amongst the departments. When
that happens, it slows the
process."
In July, the administrator for
the Division of Environmental
Quality asked the Forest Ser-
vice to revoke Valbois' planning
permit. The administrator, Joe
Nagel, said he was worried that
state and local taxpayers could
not afford to be left holding the
bag if developers pulled out ane
left the resort half finished.
Tuesday, Nagel reiterated hi
concerns. He said, however, tha
he was unaware of the new pej
mit deadline.
P- P h"1 f i � //G 1, /PpiC'e e, 11.22 l y3
Bad news continues for Valbois officials
Valbols' Donnelly office
CASCADE — As if its travails weren't
bad enough, another setback has been
incurred by proponents of the Valbois
resort. A foreclosure notice on the devel-
opment's information center property in
Donnelly has been filed.
The notice states that the foreclosure
is being pursued because developers missed
an annual payment of $23,750 on the prop-
erty earlier this month.
That foreclosure comes on the heels
of last week's word that former Valbois,
Inc., president Jack Marshall was suing
Valbois, Inc., and Valbois Limited
Partnership for more than $1 million for
back salary and other participation he had
in the project.
In addition, more than $400,000 in
liens have been filed against Valbois by
engineering and architecture firms that
have done work on the proposed project.
Dennis Taggart, chief proponent of the
project, said Tuesday that Valbois staff
members "are all working on a solution
to meet both our current needs, and to sat-
isfy the Forest Service deadline, and are
still hopeful that we can accomplish both
those tasks."
He said developers are scaling
back operations and working pri-
marily out of the Boise office. As
a result, he said they are terminat-
ing their lease on the office trailer
at Donnelly, so that will be leaving,
but that they will keep the infor-
mation center trailer open, but for
reduced operating hours.
Valbois faces a partially self -
imposed deadline of Oct. 12 by
which time developers must prove
they have sufficient financial
resources to complete the master
planning process for the project.
Last week Stephen Mealey, Boise
National Forest supervisor, said the
expectations that his agency has of
Valbois are clearly stated in the
amended permit that cites the Oct.
12 deadline. `°Ibey are fairly straight-
forward," he said.
He declined to specifically address
what affect the Marshall lawsuit and
the liens might have on the Forest
Service decision on whether devel-
opers will be permitted to proceed
with master planning or not
The 5't�teswcah
Valbois developers say
they have the money
Tom Shanahan /The Idaho Statesman
Dennis Taggart, founder and an investor in the proposed Valbois ski
resort, talks Tuesday afternoon outside the Boise National Forest offices.
Forest Service will review
financial evidence before
deciding if ski resort
developers can make it.
By Ursula Thomas
The Idaho Statesman
Developers of the financially
troubled Valbois ski resort on
Tuesday gave federal authori-
ties documents they contend
will prove they can complete the
project's multimillion dollar
master plan.
Tuesday was the deadline by
which Valbois Inc. had to show
the U.S. Forest Service that its
finances were in order or lose an
exclusive permit required to
plan the proposed four- season
resort two hours north of Boipe.
Neither Valbois nor Forest
Service officials would make the
documents public despite re-
quests by The Idaho Statesman-.
Forest Service officials'
wouldn't comment on whether
the documents met their de-
mands until the agency's ac-
countants and attorneys had ex-
amined them. Spokesman Joe
Gallagher said he expected the
service would announce its deci-
sion by the end of the month.
The future of the controver-
sial $120 million project — one
of the state's largest private real
estate ventures— hinges on the
Forest Service's decision.
At a news conference, Valbois
founder and investor Dennis
Taggart said he was confident
the service would approve the
proposal, which was nailed
down only a half hour before
resort officials submitted it at 2
p.m., he said.
Ta¢Qart refused to detail the
proposal, except to say it includ-
ed a financial forecast examined
by an independent accountant.
The forecast outlines the esti-
mated costs for completing the
master plan and how developers
would finance it, he said.
Taggart wouldn't say where
Valbois developers would get
the money or exactly how much
was needed to finish the master
plan. In an earlier interview,
however, Taggart said it would
take several million dollars.
Resort investors have spent
$14 million on the project since
Taggart formed the Valbois lim-
ited partnership in 1988: $6 mil-
lion on plans and another $8
million on land acquisitions and
administrative costs, he said.
The project has come under
fire from some Valley County
residents and public officials
who worry the project will dam-
CLI «; r 4 93
Pd */
age the environment and prompt
serious traffic congestion near
the resort, which would be built
in the mountains west of Cas-
cade off Idaho 55.
Other Valley County residents
`,hail Valbois as a potential eco-
nomic boon that will create jobs
and prosperity in the primarily
rural area.
Construction can't begin until
Valbois finishes the master plan
and obtains several federal and
state environmental permits
needed to build the resort,
which would stretch over 3,463
acres owned primarily by the
Forest Service.
Gallagher, who held three
copies of the 100 -page Valbois
proposal tucked under his arm
during the news conference,
said the Forest Service couldn't
show it to reporters because it
was proprietary.
Over the past year, at least
two lawsuits have been filed
against Valbois seeking dam-
ages for unpaid wages and pay -
ments on property related to the
resort. Three liens seeking
about $400,000 for architectural
and engineering services also
have been filed.
Taggart said Tuesday develop-
ers had obtained enough money
to pay off all their existing debts
arid that they had reached a
settlement with Valbois Inc.'s
former chief executive and presi-
dent Jack Marshall, who filed
suit in July seeking about $1.04
million in back wages and
damages.
Taggart wouldn't reveal the
value of the Marshall set-
tlement.
Marshall, contacted at his Mc-
Call home Tuesday evening,
confirmed that a settlement had
been reached. He wouldn't dis-
cuss the details either, but said
the settlement meant he no long-
er was an investor.
As late as August there were a
total of 18 U.S. and French in-
vestors. Valbois officials
wouldn't say how many there
are now.
t 6 & I l / *y 1XdUaca- & - // // 311 9.5
Andrus says Valbois decision
was federal, not his
Mike Stewart
Staff Writer
BOISE — Idaho Gov. Cecil Andrus said here last week that the
decision to terminate the proposed four - season Valbois Resort was
solely the federal government's.
He said rumors that he's been "pulling the strings" behind the scenes
— strings that have, at least for now, led to the project being shelved
— are another case of people making unfounded accusations based
on politics.
Neither does his opposition to the project have anything to do with
personalities, he said.
Instead, Andrus said his primary opposition to the project stems
mostly from his having lost faith in developer Dennis Taggart to put
together a project that would have no adverse impact on Cascade
Reservoir's water quality.
He said he originally supported the concept for the project, but that
after meetings several years ago at which the developers couldn't guar-
antee there would be no additional phosphate load into Cascade Reservoir
as a result of the project, he could no longer support it.
"I told them, `Gentlemen, we welcome first -class development, "'
Andrus said of those meetings. But not at the risk of destroying a
resource such as Cascade Reservoir, he said.
"That lake is fragile now," he said. And the Draft Environmental
Impact Statement for the project originally stated there'd be a rough-
ly 8 percent increase in phosphates, he said. That was later revised
down to between 2 and 3 percent, he said.
And that wasn't satisfactory, he said.
The Supplemental EIS for the project, released in March of 1990,
states that mitigation measures can be reliably implemented that will
reduce the estimated phosphorous load to 810 kilograms per year, a
2.2 percent increase over existing conditions.
"This entire 810 kg /yr results from secondary development," the
SEIS states. Secondary development is that which was expected to
take place in area's adjacent to the Valbois development itself.
He said the state also asked for consideration of the project as a
three- season resort, that wouldn't include construction of the lakeside
marina and facilities. He said that alternative wasn't considered to the
state's satisfaction.
Developers have said that to be economically viable, the project
needed to be built as a four - season resort.
"They never answered the transportation question, financing or
water quality," Andrus said.
His statements tying Valbois' possible demise to Cascade Reservoir
water quality — to the effect that now that the Valbois issue has been
decided, efforts to clean up Cascade Reservoir can resume — only
means that the project was a major distraction that complicated efforts
to clean up the reservoir.
4, .
e 6fa r -
Mexicans pledge $6 million to
BY STEP�-IEN STUEBNER
For The Star -News
BOISE - Two Mexico City devel-
opershave pledged to rescue Valbois
Inc. with up to $6 million in cash to lift
the financially troubled resort com-
pany out of bankruptcy and possibly
revamp the project.
Valbois President Dennis Taggart
of Boise filed a new disclosure state-
ment and plan ofreorganization earlier
this month as required by U.S. Bank-
ruptcy Court.
According to court papers, Mina
Associates, a Delaware- registered cor-
poration, would be created to bail out
Valbois' debts and possibly restart a
resort project on Cascade Reservoir
west of Donnelly.
Two new investors are named in
the reorganization plan:
• Alfredo M. Afif, who would be
chief executive officer of Mina Asso-
ciates.
• Dr. Kemil A. Rizk, chief execu-
tive officer of Arko S.A. de C.V., a
Mexico City firm.
Rizk has "extensive experience and
expertise" in resort development, court
papers say. A hearing on the adequacy
of Valbois' latest reorganization plan
will be held on Jan. 15, 1997.
If approved, a vote on the plan
would occur among its creditors. If a
majority of the creditors supported
the plan, it could take effect in 1997.
If a bankruptcy judge rejects Valbois'
reorganization plan, the case could be
converted to a Chapter 7 liquidation
matter.
Taggart told creditors in the latest
bankruptcy filing that the plan "repre-
sents the best opportunity for
repayment of claims and for recovery
on investments."
Valbois reorganization plan
Taggart started Valbois in the
1980s in hopes of building a four -
season resort, including a ski resort,
18 -hole golf course; marina and con -
dominium village. The project began
to fizzle in 1993 when it lost its French
financing, and its development per -
mit was revoked by the Boise National
Forest in 1994.
Valbois filed for Chapter 11 bank-
ruptcy protection in 1995, listing about
$13.8 million in debts and $6 million in
real estate assets. Using Valbois' fig-
ures, more than 140 creditorsare in the
lurch for in excess of $7.79 million.
debt. Under the reorganization plan,
Mina Associates agrees to loan Valbois
an initial $4 million to retire bankruptcy
debts in return for ownership and future
development rights.
Mina also agrees to provide an
additional $2 million for retiring debt
if several specific creditors agree to
terms of the agreement. In certain
instances, Valbois offers creditors the
choice of swapping debt for a "resort
lot"— described as a townhouse cha-
let — to be built as part of the new
resort venture, if that occurs.
Court papers indicate, however,
that nearly all of Valbois' real estate
assets are saddled with liens and judg-
ments, meaning the assets may be
worth far less than stated.
Former Valbois officer Jack
Marshall of McCall, who is still a.
creditor in the bankruptcy case, pro-
ceeded with a sheriff's sale on Sept.
13 to bid on just under 500 acres of
forested land. The land is known as
the Boise Cascade - Ironside property
and is located near the main resort
base site at Poison Creek.
Marshall was the lone bidder dur-
ing the public auction, according to
the Valley County sheriff's office. He
bought the property for $648,327.13,
including sheriff's fees. Marshall bid
on the land in an effort to recapture
some value from his monetary invest-
ments in Valbois.
He has received a judgment of
$500,000 plus interest, but has yet to
collect it. Marshall has said he repre-
sents the interests of himself, former
Valbois accountant Brian Wilson,
Valbois controller Don Lidstrom and
attorney Paul Levy in the land sale.
Wilson has received a judgment of
$63,030 plus interest, Lidstrom has a
judgment of $10,288 plus interest,
and Levy has a judgment of $10,850
plus interest.
Valbois' reorganization plan indi-
cates that Mina Associates hopes to
exercise its option to buy back the
land Marshall has purchased within a
year. How that property is treated in
the bankruptcy case may have an ef-
fect on $850,000 in debt carried by
former Valbois chairman Pierre
Schnebelen and French investors
Alain Perrier and Pierre Casse.
A third party, John Fell Stevenson,
has held a mortgage on an additional
200 acres of the Boise Cascade - Ironside
property as security for the three men's
-rhe Sy" w - Alel ✓s -- / /Z3 / ? 7
Valbois buy -out moves closer
BY STEPHEN STUEBNER
For The Star -News
BOISE - A U.S. bankruptcy judge
last week approved a financial disclo-
sure statement for Valbois, Inc., put-
ting the financially strapped resort
development firm one step closer to a
proposed settlement with about 140
creditors.
Judge Alfred Hagen set a confir-
mation hearing for Valbois' proposed
reorganization plan at 9:30, a.m. Feb.
27. Prior to that date, creditors may
vote on the reorganization plan and
file objections.
Valbois filed for Chapter 11 bank-
ruptcy protection in June 1995, listing
at least $13 million in debts. Under
the leadership of French developer
Pierre Schnebelen, McCall resident
Jack Marshall and Boise architect
Dennis Taggart, Valbois tried to de-
velop a four - season resort on the north-
west corner of Cascade Reservoir in
the early 1990s.
The Boise National Forestrevoked
Valbois' special use permit to de-
velop the resort in late 1993 after
Valbois failed to prove it had suffi-
cient financial resources to proceed.
The centerpiece of Valbois' latest
reorganization effort is a buy -out by
two Mexico City businessmen who
own Mina Associates, a Delaware -
registered limited liability corpora-
tion. Valbois' court papers indicate
that Mina has offered to buy Valbois
for $4 million to $6 million, pay off
many of the debts, and possibly re-
vamp the resort development project
near Donnelly.
Valbois attorney Peter Slynn said
Mina Associates has to close on the
purchase of Valbois by March 31.
Even if Mina chooses to revamp the
resort project, Boise National Forest
officials have said any party wishing
to develop the site would have to start
from scratch.
Mina may be able to use some of
the old engineering and consulting
studies that were paid by Valbois.
Garden Valley rancher Don
Weilmunster confirmed Tuesday that
Mina has purchased an option to buy
525 acres of his land on the northwest
corner of Cascade Reservoir for an
undisclosed sum.
Weilmunster's property was se-
lected as the base of operations for the
Valbois resort, but due to financial
difficulties, Valbois never purchased
the property and defaulted on its op-
tion agreement.
Weilmunster said he has checked
out the principals of Mina - Alfredo
M. Afif, the chief executive officer,
and Dr. Kemil A. Rizk, chief execu-
tive officer of Arko S.A. de C.V. - and
he is interested in working with them.
"I feel good about them, or obvi-
ously I wouldn't renew the option,"
Weilmunster said. "I believe they will
make a serious run at (revitalizing the
resort)."
In checking out the investors,
Weilmunster said they have exten-
sive business experience in resort and
industrial development. He said they
own a factory that makes crankshafts
for Mercedes and Chrysler, textile
factories and several commuter air-
lines, and they developed a resort in
Cancun, Mexico, among other things.
Weilmunster said he is most
pleased that, if the buy -out goes
through, creditors will be paid off.
"It'll be great that they will pay off
these people," he said.
Valbois' plan of reorganization
calls for the following actions:
• Setting up an account for paying
off creditors.
• Paying off creditors under a se-
niority and priority system set by fed-
eral bankruptcy law. The plan states
that certain classes of creditors will be
paid only a percentage of the full
claim.
• Giving creditors the option of
rolling their interests into a lot pur-
chase program at the proposed resort
site.
• Buying back property that was
previously held by Valbois but was
purchased by Marshall at a sheriff's
sale. The property lies to the south of
Weilmunster's base parcel.
A proposed payment schedule for
creditors was attached to the reorga-
nization plan. The payment schedule
for investors in the old Valbois project
amounts to $7.16 million, including
payments of $1,272,147 to Dennis
Taggart and $401,702 to Pierre
Schnebelen.
The payment schedule for 12 se-
cured creditors is as follows:
• $281,297 to Roger Lessman, a
former Valbois officer.
• $193,921 to Toothman -Orton
Engineering.
• $186,759 to Pierce, Segerberg,
Spaeh.
• $104,446 to Sear Brown Group.
• $83,859 to Leslie McKinnon, the
widow of former Valbois officer Max
McKinnon.
• $60,213 to Tip Top Publicite.
• $20,181 to Northwest Telco.
• $16,021 to Canon Financial Ser-
vices.
• $14,227 to G.E. Capital Modular
Space.
• $8,453 to the state Department of
Labor.
• $2,043 to Office Value.
Valbois developers say they have
financial proof they can make a
go of it/
"Some version of the pro-
ject deserves to be devel-
oped. I've been fighting
with the French from day
one to build a little less of
a project."
Jack Marshall
"I'm very supportive of the
project. I wish Dennis the best,"
Marshall said, adding that he
left the project because of
squabbles with the French in-
vestors.
"I resigned as chief executive
officer when the French inves-
tors stopped sending money
about 21/2 years ago. . Some
version of the project deserves
to be developed. I've been fight-
ing with the French from day
one to build a little less of a
project."
Don Weilmunster, a Garden
Valley rancher who owns ap-
proximately 600 acres where the
resort's village would be built at
the base of the proposed ski
runs, said he had agreed to ex-
tend a purchase option on the
land that he'd given to Valbois
1-fie St a1 es t,, a k
DGf l3, /99-9
Pdoe ')
previously.
Weilmunster filed suit against
the resort, claiming that the de-
velopers had missed a $625,000
payment on the property.
Tuesday, he said he was satis-
fied that Valbois "will go
ahead" with its plans.
Valbois project
faces fire from
claims, lawsuit
BY TOM GROTE
The Star -News
Claims for more than $800,000 in wages, fees
and mortgage payments have been filed against the
developers of the proposed Valbois resort on Cas-
cade Reservoir, including a claim by a former
executive of the project, court and county docu-
ments show.
In addition, Valbois founding partner Dennis
Taggart said this week the resort's business office in
Donnelly has been closed but that the project's
visitor center will remain in place.
The revelation of the
claims comes as an Oct.
12 deadline approaches The largest
for the developers to
show Boise National Claim ZS
Forest officials they have
the financial ability to
continue with the plan- $347, 395
ning of the year -round
resort west of Donnelly.
The largest claim, $347,395, is shown in a law-
suit filed against Valbois by Jack Marshall, former
president and chief executive officer of Valbois,
Inc.
The suit, filed in July, said Marshall was termi-
nated on June 9 still being owed the money. Marshall
was hired in October 1990 with a salary of $22,915
per month, the lawsuit said. He is seeking triple
damages in the suit.
Fourconsultants whoperformed workfor Valbois
have filed liens over the past several months with
the Valley County Clerk's office seeking fees for
which they were not paid.
The claims come from the Colorado architec-
tural firm of Pierce, Sergerberg and Spaeh for about
$174,000; Toothman-Orton Engineering of Boise,
for about $140,000; The Sear -Brown Group of
Boise, for about $76,000; and Sno Engineering Inc.,
a New Hampshire company, for about $38,800.
Also, the holder of the mortgage on which the
Valbois Donnelly office sits has filed a notice of
f6 Aosure,-saying Valbois has fallen behind on its
payments.
The notice, by Charles R. and Jan Kintz of
Donnelly and Atlantis, Fla., say the developers
missed a payment of $23,750 due Sept. 6.
In an interview, Charles Kintz said the develop-
ers had made two payments on the property, but that
the Sept. 6 payment and one additional payment was
still owed.
Kintz said he filed the foreclosure to protect
himself, but hoped Valbois would find the resources
to continue. "I'm supporting it; the area needs a
boost," Kintz said.
stj 1^ / e W 3
Also, a claim for $2,555 in back wages has been
filed by Linda J. Gestrin of Cascade, who operated
the resort's visitor center between January 1990 and
Sept. 15, when she was laid off.
Gestrin, who has not been paid since June 15,
filed her claim on Sept. 16 with the Idaho Depart-
ment of Labor and Industrial Services.
As with Kintz, Gestrin said in an interview she
filed the claim to protect her interests, but she also
hopes the resort plans will get back on track. "All of
them are working hard," Gestrin said. "I am hopeful
they can take care of it."
Taggart said this week he would
have no comment on the lawsuit by
Marshall or on any of the claims other
than to say the developers intend to
make good on their debts.
The business operations at the
Donnelly office have been consoli-
dated at the resort's Boise office, lo-
cated in the Sonna Building in down-
town Boise. The lease on the trailer
which housed the Donnelly offices
has been cancelled and the trailer will
be removed, he said.
Valbois executive Roger Lessman
will continue to live in Valley County,
and the Donnelly visitor center will
remain open on a reduced schedule as
staffing permits, he said.
Taggart said he remained confi-
dent the developers will come up with
financing by Oct. 12 to pay off exist-
ing debts and to continue with plan-
ning for the proiect.
"We are confident thatwe can come
up with a solution," he said. "We'll
see where we stand on or before (Oct.
12)." Taggart said it was unlikely the
developers would ask for an exten-
sion of the deadline.
As proposed, Valbois would con-
tain a ski area built on Boise forest
land, a marina built along the shore of
Cascade Reservoir, and an extensive
base area consisting of hotels, condo-
miniums, shops, restaurants and a golf
course.
The developers said they have
spent about $6 million so farplanning
the project, but that an additional $1.5
million would be needed to complete
the planning.
The original French and American
investors are looking for new partners
to move the project along, and volun-
tarily agreed to the Oct. 12 deadline
under pressure from Boise forest offi-
cials.
Deadline
'7he �'�ato5wldh Oct��, /qy3
100 S, fop
Kevin Clark /The Idaho Statesman
The proposed $120 million Valbois ski resort voir and include 50 ski runs as well as lodging for
would be built on the west side of Cascade Reser- 2,000. The project would also include a marina.
s
Developers must prove
to U.S. Forest Service
officials on Tuesday that
they have the funding to
finish planning for the
$120 million resort.
By Ursula Thomas
The Idaho Statesman
DONNELLY — When people
in Valley County talk about the
financially troubled Valbois ski
resort, they talk in the past
tense.
"Mostly what I hear these
days is, 'It was fun while it last-
ed,'" said Tad House, Cascade
mayor and a Valbois supporter.
"There aren't a lot of people
giving it much of a chance. But
it's not over till it's over."
Valbois developers face a crit-
ical deadline Tuesday. They
must prove to U.S. Forest Ser-
vice officials that they have the
money and technical know -how
to finish planning for the re-
sort. The Forest Service owns
the land where the resort's 50
ski runs would be built.
If developers don't make the
case, the $120 million resort will
die because an exclusive Forest
Service permit needed to plan
the resort will be revoked.
Lingering questions
Developers face the deadline
with lingering questions about
the resort's financial health,
two lawsuits against them and
sharp criticism from Gov. Cecil
Andrus.
Boisean Dennis Taggart,
founder and a major investor in
the project — says developers
are working to satisfy the Forest
Service's financial and environ-
mental demands. But both sides
have declined to discuss spe
cifics.
"We are looking to a myriad
of investors that include individ-
uals and institutions," Taggart
said. "We have a lot of interest.
Most of the interest comes from
outside the state."
"They may luck out, but it's a
very iffy deal," said Frank Ed-
wards, a residential developer in
Donnelly who has benefitted
from Valbois in some land sales. '
A few yards south of Edwards
office sits a manufactured home
where Valbois maintains an in-
formation office. The office was
dark and vacant at mid - morning
on a recent visit.
Through a window in the in-
formation office you can see ar-
tistic renderings and architec-
tural plans for Valbois —
Taggart's 11- year -old dream.
A second manufactured home
next to the information center
served as a business office for
Valbois Inc. until it was closed
and removed from the property
last week — another sign that
the project is financially
squeezed.
Acknowledges difficulties
Taggart acknowledged this
summer that the project had fi-
nancial difficulties but said that
its cash needs were being met.
As late as last week, however,
he characterized the project's
current cash needs as "signif-
icant."
The latest audited financial
figures through December 1992
show that Valbois had assets of
about $21 million, including
cash of $15,204 and liabilities of
$13.5 million.
Taggart won't predict whether
developers will come up with
the cash needed, but he talks of
the future and the developers'
plans to obtain several state and
federal environmental permits.
Taggart, an architect, started
Valbois site
Boise •
McCall N
Golf
course 55
Ski resort Donnelly 0
We t Mountain
Marina
1 gondola Cascade
7 chairlifts Reservoir
Cascaded
• Project announced:
November, 1988
• Estimated project cost:
$120 million
• Size:
3,463 acres
• Number of ski runs:
50
• Accommodations:
Enough for 2,000 people
• Location:
Approximate)y 80 miles
north of Boise
/he .5 tdtCSNndk 0,:r ,'O /qaj
P:ci e- 2 of
raising money for Valbois on a
full -time basis in August 1989.
He's contributed about $1.2
million of his own money to Val -
bois, which also includes 18
French and American investors.
The largest investor is French
developer Pierre Schnebelen.
Schnebelen bought out the in-
terest of the largest investor
Malik Bencheghib for $4 mil-
lion. Valbois officials won't dis-
cuss why Bencheghib left the
project.
"In my opinion, when the ex-
tremely wealthy Frenchman
(Bencheghib) pulled out about a
year ago, Valbois was financial-
ly dead," Edwards said.
Investors have spent $14 mil-
lion so far on the project: $6
million on plans and another $8
million on land acquisition and
administrative costs, Taggart
said.
"There's really only one (step)
next, and that is Oct. 12. If we
get through that, we will get
through the permit process as
quickly as possible so that we
and the public can have closure
to this outstanding proposal,"
he said.
Taggart wouldn't detail how
Valbois has come to hit finan-
cial hard times.
"I think we can say the part-
ners are unwilling or unable to
continue funding the project in
its current status," Taggart
said. "With 18 people, you have
various reasons. Some certainly
are demoralized by the process
and particularly some public
statements by some governing
officials."
Criticism from Andrus
One public official who has
sharply criticized the project is
Gov. Andrus.
Andrus, who owns property on
Cascade Lake, said he was dis-
appointed with the Valbois pro-
posal because developers
haven't addressed critical state
concerns.
"To this day, they've yet to
speak to water quality, air quali-
ty, transportation and financial
capability. There's no way
they're going to get those per-
mits until they satisfy that," An-
drus said.
"It's pretty obvious that this
thing is falling apart at the
seams, but the Forest Service
gave them until Oct. 12," he
said. "I've heard nothing that
they've had a change in their
financial posture or are any
closer to meeting the state's con-
cerns about water quality, air
Chris Butier/The Idaho Statesman
Dennis Taggart has put about $1.2 million of his own money into the
p roj ect.
quality and transportation."
In July, the administrator for
the state Division of Environ-
mental Quality, with the ex-
pressed blessing of Andrus,
asked the Forest Service to re-
voke Valbois' planning permit.
The administrator, Joe Nagel,
said the state was worried tax-
payers would be left holding the
hav if r1PVP1nnP.rs nulled out and
left the resort half finished.
Two lawsuits filed
Over the past year, two law-
suits have been filed against
Valbois seeking damages for un-
paid wages and payments on
property related to the resort.
Three liens have also been filed.
The most significant suit in-
volves Valley County rancher
Don Weilmunster, who owns ap-
proximately 600 acres at the
base of the proposed ski village.
Weilmunster filed suit in dis-
trict court last month claiming
that Valbois Inc. failed to make
payments of $625,000 due him
,last fall on a promissory note
,related to the purchase of the
property. The suit also claims
that Valbois failed to pay the
balance of the confirmed pur-
chase price of $3.8 million.
Valbois used a mortgage on
670 acres of nearby property as
collateral to purchase the land
from Weilmunster. Developers
bought the property, known as
the Parks Ranch about six miles
north of the proposed resort, for
the resort's sewage- treatment fa-
cility.
In addition, three liens seek-
ing a total of nearly $400,000 for
unpaid engineering and archi-
tectural services were filed
against Valbois by three compa-
nies this summer. Jack Mar-
shall, the project's former chief
executive officer and an inves-
tor, also has filed suit seeking
more than $1 million in alleged-
ly unpaid wages.
Taggart said one of the law-
suits has been settled, but he
declined to say which one.
Negotiations are going on in
the other cases, but Taggart de-
clined to discuss them.
Some Valley County residents
hail Valbois as the area's eco-
nomic savior. Others criticize it
as an intruder sure to destroy
the peaceful, rural lifestyle that
typifies Valley County.
"I can't say it's going to be sad
to see it go," said Lance Gard-
ner of Donnelly. "The valley has
already changed so much. It's
been discovered. It's going to
change, but at least it'll take
longer this way without
Valbois."
Taggart isn't oblivious to the
fears of Valley County resi-
dents, but he's pragmatic.
"Things have changed and
they're going to continue to
change with or without Val -
bois," said Taggart, an Idaho
native who, as a youngster,
spent many a summer vacation
fishing and camping with his
family in Valley County.
The- Std rC s JA DC_ t
"There's really only one
(step) next ... If we get
through that, we will get
through the permit process
as quickly as possible."
Dennis Taggart
A major investor
"I've heard nothing that
they've had a change in
their financial posture or
are any closer to meeting
the state's concerns about
water quality, air quality
and transportation."
Gov. Cecil Andrus
County's future
The controversy of Valbois
hits close to home for him.
"I had a family member com-
plain that I was going to raise
her taxes," he said. "She said
the taxes on her (vacation) home
in McCall were almost as much
as her taxes in Boise."
Taggart defends the inevitable
tax increases that would come
with Valbois as necessary to pay
for essential public services.
People need utilities, hospital
services, fire departments and
schools in Valley County as well
as in Ada County, he said.
Some residents are staking the
county's future on Valbois.
Jewell Crutcher, a 71- year -old
native of Cascade, conceded
that she's afraid of change, but
she thinks it's necessary for the
economic future of Valley
County.
"I would like to see Valbois
fly. We'll die on the vine, if we
don't.
"I've been in business here,
and you can starve to death in
the winter," said Crutcher who
lives in the Valley County Hos-
pital because there is no nursing
home in town.
"We used to have three gro-
cery stores. Now we have one.
We had a bakery, innumerable
things. I'm not saying this
would bring 'em all back but it
would help."
he teS j4, c4 0� ' i0 /Uyj
Deadline looms for ValboiS /From 1 E
Kevin Clark /The Idaho Statesman
One of two Valbois business office buildings was removed from Donnelly Sept. 30.
Valbois
meets
deadline,
Forest
service to
decide on
permit-
BOISE — With little time to spare,
proponents of the proposed Valbois four -
season resort on Cascade Reservoir's west
shore delivered a package Tuesday to the
Boise National Forest that developers
believe will resolve the concerns of Forest'
officials and allow them to proceed with
master development planning.
Tuesday was the day of an agreed -_
upon deadline by which developers had
to prove the financial and technical where-
withal to complete the master planning
process or surrender their master plan-
ning permit.
According to a prepared statement
announcing the step, chief proponent
Dennis Taggart said he had delivered doc-
uments that would satisfy the require-
ments that were set forth in a letter to
developers from Boise Forest Supervisor
Stephen P. Mealey.
That letter agreed to a proposal from. .
developers that if they couldn't prove
Tuesday that they could get the job done,
they'd surrender their planning permit.
"We are confident that we have satis-
factorily met. the requirements of the Forest
Service, and look forward to moving on
with the Master Planning process," Taggart
said.
He said he couldn't disclose details of
the program developers have put togeth-
er because he wants the Forest Service to
have every opportunity to review the doc-
uments on their merits.
Taggart said he wanted to thank all
those people who have maintained faith
in the..project and asked for their contin-
ued patience through the process.
Lo m,� Advoc-d'f& Oc-t 13 -Uq'3
"I trust the Forest Service will move
quickly through this review," he said.
Once developers receive the approval
of the Forest Service, he said they will be
im a position to satisfy both small and
large creditors alike, and to proceed with
implementation of the plan. But he said
it will take some time to work through all
of that.
The troubled project has been faced
with a number of claims and legal actions
in recent months for failure to pay money
owed for engineering and architectural
services, for unpaid salaries and to secure
property critical to the project.
In addition, property owned by devel-
opers in Donnelly, where the now removed
information center and offices were locat-
ed, was foreclosed on.
Developers blame much of the prob-
e lems they've had on state agencies, par-
ticularly the Idaho Division of Environmental Quality,
whom they've charged have been particularly unco-
operative in working through problems associated
with the project.
The project would see construction of a ski area
on about 2,400 acres of Boise Forest land, a marina
and other amenities on about 75 acres of Bureau of
Reclamation Land near the mouth of Poison Creek.
That land sandwiches private propert y that would
be developed into housing, retail and recreational
segments, including an 18 -hole golf course and eques-
trian trails.
Attempts to get comment from Boise Forest offi-
cials on how long it might take the agency to review
the documents, and make a ruling on whether the
agency is satisfied with what has been proposed,
;;;were unsuccessful prior to press -time Tuesday.
`%/11to r All>,kls
% /V"
Valbois
lives on
BY TOM GROTE
7be Star -News
The developers of the Valbois re-
sort near Donnelly on Tuesday
delivered what they said was proof
they could pay off their debts and
compleie planning on the year -round
resort.
The submission of various finan-
cial documents to the Boise National
Forest in Boise on Tuesday met the
self- imposed deadline by the devel-
opers to show they had the financial
backing for the project proposed on
the west side of Cascade Reservoir.
The contents of the documents
were withheld from the public by
both Valbois officials and the Boise
forest. The forest service cannot re-
veal the content, by law, because they
contain confidential business infor-
mation, said Joe Gallagher, the lead
Boise forest staffer on the Valbois
project.
Only Valbois officials can release
the information, and founding partner
Dennis Taggart said Tuesday that he
did not want to release details imme-
diately.
Gallagher said that his office will
put a high priority on reviewing the
information, and he hopes to have a
review done by the end of the month.
At that time, a decision will be made
on whether to allow Valbois to con-
tinue planning, Gallagher said.
Taggart, who first proposed the
four - seasons resort more than a de-
cade ago, said that the documents
submitted Tuesday should satisfy the
demands made in July from forest
service officials.
"It feels very good to me," he said.
"I hope it looks very good to the
forest, and I believe it will."
Taggart said he looked forward to
resuming the resort planning. "All we
want to do is get back on track," he
said. "We are prepared to move for-
ward."
If the financing plan is approved,
Valbois will move immediately to
pay off all debts owed by the develop-
ers, Taggart said.
Those debts include at least
$800,000 in claims and lawsuits for
wages from former employees, fees
for consultants and mortgage pay-
ments on land acquired by the devel-
opers.
After satisfying debts, work will
resume on planning the resort, which
proposes a ski area with eight chair
lifts, a 250 -boat marina, and a base
area containing more than 3,500
homes, motel units and condomini-
ums in addition to a golf course, shop-
ping areas and restaurants.
Gallagher said that the informa-
tion received on Tuesday was shipped
to forest service attorneys and ac-
countants in Ogden, Utah, and Wash-
ington, D.C., for review.
The first conference call among
the parties reviewing the documents
is expected no later than next week,
he said.
The French and American owners
of the resort plan have said $b million
has been spent so far on planning the
resort, and an additional $8 million
has been spent on land acquisition
and administrative costs.
Taggart said he has spent about
$1.2 million of his own money on the
project. A total of 18 entities and
individuals have a share of the invest-
ment in Valbois so far, Taggart said
Tuesday.
The funding crisis arose when the
current partners decided not to con-
tinue putting their own money into
the project, and attempts were made
to seek additional investors in the
project.
din /GiC��to ntnsi��a - 1,41J 31913 f 2 �9�5
Valbois Pesopt
By Ursula Thomas
The Idaho Statesman
Federal authorities on Fri-
day rejected a last- minute ef-
fort by developers to save the
proposed Valbois ski resort
near Cascade, leaving little
hope that one of Idaho's big-
gest real estate ventures will
be built.
Boise National Forest Super-
visor Steve Mealey said he was
terminating
the permit
Valbois
needs to fin-
ish planning
the $120 mil -
,x lion project
because de-
velopers
didn't prove
Mealey they had
satisfactory
financial backing under terms
agreed upon by both sides.
The decision, although not
surprising, is a serious blow to
a project that some described
as a potential economic boon
for Valley County and others
decried as a traffic and envi-
ronmental nightmare.
Valbois officials reacted an-
grily to the news, but they
didn't say whether they would
appeal the decision.
Developers met a critical
Oct. 12 deadline when they
gave documents to the Forest
Service they said proved their
financial wherewithal. The ser-
vice owns most of the land
where the resort would be
built.
LI-
But Mealey said Friday the
documents didn't go far'
/
enough.
4 R°
"I am terminating the permit
because Valbois Limited Part-
nership did not meet the terms
'
of the amended special -use per-
mit. Their submittal failed to
include the required examined
financial forecast," Mealey
said, reading a prepared state-
ment at a news conference.
Mealey characterized Val -
bois' documentation as a "fi-
nancial forecast proposal that
contained mostly hypothetical,
unexamined proposals, and
projections conditioned in part
Dennis Taggart stands by Cascade Reservoir in
nn nn Pvto der] Hermit neriod."
November of 1990. The site of the proposed
Troy Mabon/The Idaho Statesman
Valbois resort is on the other side of the reser-
voir behind him.
Valbois site
Boise •
McCall N
Golf
course
Ski resort
Donnelly
Weft Mountain
be built, the experience was
d risk into this project and I
Marina
1 gondola
Cascade
7 chairlifts
Reservoir
Cascade
• Project announced:
November, 1988
Estimated project cost
$120 million
• Size:
3,463 acres
• Number of ski runs:
50
• Accommodations:
Enough for 2,000 people
• Location:
Approximately 80 miles
north of Boise
until Valbois completes its mas-
ter plan and obtains necessary
state and federal environmental
permits.
In a subsequent news confer-
ence Friday afternoon, Valbois
founder and investor Dennis
Taggart said he didn't accept
the Forest Service's decision, al-
though he stopped short of say-
ing whether developers would
appeal it or seek legal action.
Taggart strongly criticized the
Forest Service, saying develop-
ers weren't given an opportuni-
ty to discuss their proposal with
Mealey because he was on vaca-
tion the week before and of Oct.
12.
"We acted in good faith, in
regard to this issue of form and
content of our submittal, based
on discussions and advice of our
accountant" and the Forest Ser-
vice staff to whom we were di-
A,2 df 2Pgvs
rected by the Forest Supervisor,
but without the benefit of the
supervisor's guidance at that
critical time," Taggart said.
Valbois has 45 days to appeal
Mealey's decision to the region-
al Forest Service office in Og-
den, Utah. If the developers ap-
peal the decision, they will not
be allowed to submit additional
documentation other than what
was given to Boise National
Forest authorities.
Valbois told the Forest Ser-
vice this spring that it didn't
have the estimated several mil-
lion dollars needed to complete
the master planning process.
Neither Valbois nor the For-
est Service would detail the rea-
sons for the financing problems.
But in a letter to the Forest
Service, developers said they
were working to restructure the
project's finances and agreed to
prove that by Oct. 12.
Investors have spent $14 mil-
lion on the project since Tag-
gart formed the Valbois Limited
Partnership in 1988, including
$6 million for plans and $8 mil-
lion for land acquisition and ad-
ministrative costs.
The project is proposed for
3,463 acres — mostly on Forest
Service land — in the mountains
on the west side of Cascade Res-
ervoir, about 100 miles north of
Boise.
The project has come under
fire from some Valley County
residents and officials who wor-
ried it would damage the envi-
ronment and cause serious traf-
fic congestion. But other Valley
County residents see it as a po-
tential economic windfall that
would create jobs and prosperity
in what is now a primarily agri-
cultural area.
The Idaho Statesman
m in Valley county He said an examined fins n So soppy
ial forecast requires a certi-
fied public accountant's stamp
f approval that the figures
bmitted are credible enough
prove a development plan
ill succeed financially.
"I feel a lot of pain in an-
ouncing this decision. I'm dis-
to see Valbois permit revoked
By Tim Woodward
The Idaho Statesman
pointed the project didn t
Although Valbois may never
ork. We all put a lot of effort
be built, the experience was
d risk into this project and I
good for Valley County, and
dmire people for taking
some are sorry to see the Don -
sks," Mealey said.
nelly area ski resort on its last
"But it would have been irre-
legs.
onsible for me, on the basis
The plan had a favorable ef-
the continued uncertain ca-
fect on the area's economy and
bility of Valbois L.P. to com-
environment, said residents,
ete planning, to allow people
business owners and officials
continue to hang their hopes
Friday.
the success of this project."
I "There's no doubt it stimulat-
Construction of the proposed
ed the economy," said Frank Ed-
ur- season resort two hours
wards, owner of Donnelly's
rth of Boise could not start
Frank Edwards Subdivisions.
See Valboi918A
"Not only have prices increased
300 to 400 percent, my lot sales
Reactions from Valley
have increased that much."
County residents /8A
Edwards owns the Royal Scott
subdivision, immediately adja-
cent to the Valbois site.
"Before Valbois, I sold one or
two lots a year there," he said.
"In the last couple of years, I've
sold 15.... There's been a bub-
ble all over the valley."
Boise restaurateur Peter
.Schott bought 76 acres in the
area a year ago.
"I'm disappointed," Schott
said. "... I always felt that if
Valbois happened, it would be a
tremendous bonus." He said he
hoped to build a lodge on the
property and use it for hunting
and fishing.
Edwards predicted that with
the resort's permit termination
announced Friday, real estate
prices would decline to their
pre - Valbois levels.
"I've had Realtors ask if I'd
list my house for a million
bucks," he said. "Now it's proba-
bly only worth $200,000."
Cascade Mayor Tad House
credited Valbois with helping
the area prepare for the future.
"Valbois hit us right between
the eyes with, `You're not ready
for growth,' " he said. "All the
cities and the county had to
take second looks at their plan-
ning and zoning and comprehen-
sive plans and found they were
really lacking."
All have updated or are updat-
ing their plans as a result, he
said. The county also did "a to-
tal watershed management
study "' identifying sources of
pollution in Cascade Reservoir.
Gov. Cecil Andrus said Friday
he was pleased the issue had
been put to rest.
"Now that the speculation
and hype will quiet down, we
the people can get back to work
to aggressively clean up Cas-
cade," Andrus said. "... I think
there are plenty of opportunities
within existing recreational fa-
cilities to handle people that de-
sire that type of recreation."
Dave Fritschle, an owner of
Dave & Kathy's restaurant in
Donnelly, said he "would have
liked to see (Valbois) go. They
were trying to do it right, and I
think it would have been good
for the economy."
Tommy Davis, who owns 8,000
acres and has ranched in the
area for more than 50 years, was
pleased by the news.
"I don't know how we could
handle that many people coming
up the highway," he said. "You
hear about congested areas and
all the trouble they have, and
we don't want that. We're a nice
county and we get along and I
like it just the way it is."
Taggart says appeal will be filed
on Forest Service's Valbois ruling
Mike Stewart
Staff Writer
Dennis Taggart, the developer behind the embat-
tled Valbois resort proposal, said that despite revo-
cations of the project's permit last week, the pro-
ject is far from dead.
"Absolutely, at the very least we'll file an appeal,"
Taggart said Tuesday. "Because we don't feel the
decision was arrived at considering all the facts
and substance of our proposal."
Last Friday Boise National Forest Supervisor
Steve Mealey revoked the developers' master devel-
opment planning permit.
"I am terminating the permit because Valbois
Limited Partnership did not meet the terms of the
amended special use permit," Mealey said in
announcing the decision.
He was acting on what he said was the devel-
opers' failure to include a required "Examined
Financial Forecast" with a packaged proposal they
had to submit to the Forest Service by an Oct. 12
deadline.
Valbois officials, who have had serious finan-
cial problems over the past year, had asked that
the permit be revoked if they couldn't prove they
had the technical and financial means to complete
master planning with that Oct. 12 submittal.
"Their submission to me on Oct. 12, 1993, was
a financial forecast proposal that contained most-
ly hypothetical unexamined proposals and pro -
jections conditioned in part on an extended permit
Period," Mealey said in making the announce-
ment.
Further, he said that he will not violate
"clear permit requirements by accepting less
than the Examined Financial Forecast."
But Taggart said the project is "far from
dead."
Valbois officials have 45 days to appeal
the decision rendered Friday. Just how soon
that appeal will be filed will depend on how
soon they can put together a complete appeal,
he said.
"We'll do it as soon as we're fully pre-
pared," Taggart said. "So (the appeal will
be filed after) however long .!hat takes us to
do."
came out of discussions between their accountant,
Arthur Andersen, and the Forest Service accountant
they were told to contact during the final week lead-
ing up the Oct. 12 deadline. He said Mealey was on
vacation during that time, and after the deadline, he
said the Forest Service accountant began a two -week
vacation.
Additionally, he said the regular Forest Service
contact they've had was also on vacation during that
time.
That left developers with no one to talk to about
how their proposal was shaping up and if there were
any problems with any of the proposal's elements,
he said.
Is this the end ...?
"After ten years and many millions of dollars and
man hours invested in analyzing our proposal, par-
tially planned within the National Forest, it is rea-
sonable that we have the right to discuss the mater-
ial upon which they will base their decision, before
a decision is made," Taggart said in a prepared state-
ment released Friday afternoon.
"Valbois is not the only entity to be affected by
this decision," he said. "There are many creditors
and stake holders whose best hope forresolution is
that the project proceeds. This is evidenced by the
willingness of the major claimants and the land owns
to cooperate in our proposed plan. ".
Mealey said the decision wasn't a comfortable
one for him to make.
"I feel a lot of pain in announcing this decision"
he said Friday. "I'm disappointed the project didn't
work. We all put a lot of effort and risk into this pro-
ject and I admire people for taking risks."
But in the end, Mealey said it would have been
irresponsible of him to allow developers, with their
"uncertain capability" to complete master planning
"to allow people to continue to hang their hopes on
the success of this project."
But Taggart said the major creditors, lien hold-
ers and the key landowner backed the proposal. That
group included Weyer Consulting, Sno -E, Sear -
Brown Group, Goddard Clausen, Toothman -Orton
Engineering, Centennial Engineers, and Don
Weilmunster.
I /7P Zoe? Yi4 ,0�, 1410ca -�(P
Taggart included a statement from them as part
of his prepared statement Friday.
"While Mr. Mealey claims to feel the pain of his
actions, we are the. ones who will pay for them,"
their statement reads. "We are convinced that if he
was acting in our best interest, he would have allowed
the process to proceed. The commitments to move
forward are real. We will continue to stand with
Valbois to bring this to a satisfactory resolution."
Asked if he was perhaps grasping at a technical-
ity to keep the project alive, Taggart said it was the
Forest Service that is using technicalities.
"If there's anybody trying to hang their hat on a
technicality, it's the Forest Service," he said. "The
proposal was thorough and the information contained
therein was real."
"They made no effort themselves to verify the
substance of the proposal," he said. "So if anybody
is relying on a technicality, it's them"
l /Py g ;106 p .- ��hq 1 c
Valbois appeals Forest
Service decision to yank
master planning permit
BOISE — Dennis Taggart,
spokesman for the. Valbois part-
nership, announced Tuesday
that developers have appealed
an October decision to revoke
the master development plan-
ning permit for the proposed
four- season resort.
Developers faced a Dec. 6
deadline by which the appeal
had to be postmarked.
Taggart expressed confidence
that if the Forest Service con-
siders all of the facts and sub-
stance of the Valbois proposal,
the project will be allowed to
proceed.
"We remain confident that
we have satisfactorily met the
requirements of the Forest
Service, and are looking for-
ward to moving on with the
Master Planning process," he
said.
The appeal was made to the
Intermountain Region office of
the Forest Service at Ogden,
Utah.
Officials involved in the
beleaguered project had set for
themselves an Oct. 12 deadline
by which time they had to prove
to federal officials that they had
the expertise and financial where-
withal to complete master plan-
ning for the $130 million resort.
As proposed, the project
would involve construction of
a ski area on about 2,800 acres
of Forest Service land in the
Poison Creek drainage on the
west side of Cascade Reservoir.
The project'would also involve
a marina to be built on about 75
acres of Bureau of Reclamation
land, and on about 500 acres of
private ground sandwiched
between the two public parcels
would be built a residential devel-
opment, 18 -hole golf course,
and other amenities.
In recent months, however,
the project has run into finan-
cial difficulties, which devel-
opers blame partly on foot -drag-
ging by State of Idaho agencies
that developers claim have been
reluctant to participate in the
planning process.
The project has also become
mired down by some internal
restructuring, lawsuits, and liens
filed against developers.
The Boise National Forest's
Joe Gallagher said that the appeal
will be considered at the
Intermountain Region level in
Ogden, Utah. He said the easy
answer to the question of how
long the Forest Service has to
decide the appeal is 30 days.
But he said that may go longer
depending on the complexity of
the appeal.
The appeal also marks the
end of the administrative appeals
options available to proponents,
Gallagher said.
He said the Chief of the Forest
Service would also have dis-
cretion to review the decision
made at the regional level. That
has happened before with the
Valbois project and could hap-
pen again, he said.
Valbois: a
project who's -time
has come, and gone?
It was another year of emotional ups and downs for both support-
ers and opponents of the proposed Valbois Resort.
Some of that emotion boiled to the surface as proponents of the
resort faced deadlines and repeated calls by State of Idaho officials
who wanted the master planning permit for the
development revoked.
In the midst of all of that were the major
and minor court actions filed against develop- IF ers over money and lack of payment for ser- vices rendered.
Some of the struggling was internal as those R I N
backing the project became involved in board- ��
room hassles over who was in charge and who �y�V
wasn't.
The project's $23,000 per month President/CEO Jack Marshal, sued
for more than $1 million in back wages, unpaid promissory notes and
other costs.
Pierre Schnebelen, the controversial French developer who is a
major financier of the project, had moved to McCall to be closer to
the project. But after about six months, he moved himself and his fam-
ily back home to France.
During the summer, the project was hammered on significantly by
Idaho's Division of Environmental Quality, which had apparently
added fiscal expertise to its repertoire of technical specialities. DEQ
Director Joe Nagel, in a no- punches - pulled letter last
summer to the Forest Service, which is the lead
agency in the project, asked that the project be ter-
minated, primarily because their review of the pro-
ject's financing showed them that developers didn't
have the funding to complete master planning.
Developers countered with a tersely- worded let-
ter of their own, challenging DEQ's involvement in
the entire process, and accusing DEQ of doing noth-
ing but dragging its feet on the entire process. That,
developers said, was a key reason that the project
had run into financial difficulties — dealing with a
recalcitrant DEQ had cost developers a sizeable
amount of money — and the message developers
said they'd received from the state was clear, that
the state would never allow the project to be built,
no matter how viable it could be proven the project
to be.
Faced with all the problems, the rumors and innu-
endo, developers asked the Forest Service to give
them an Oct. 12 deadline by which date they'd prove
they had the financial and technical wherewithal to
complete master planning. If they couldn't prove
they could do it, developers asked that their permit
be yanked.
Well, Boise Forest Supervisor Steve Mealey, in
a decision he said he was making with a lot of reluc-
tance, decided that the information provided wasn't
sufficient, was based on too many "ifs" and specu-
lation, and he cancelled the permit. But it hasn't
ended yet. Developers just met a Dec. 6 deadline to
appeal Mealey's decision.
In between those two dates, however, Gov. Cecil
Andrus tersely discounted statements and allega-
tions that he had, as an owner of Cascade Reservoir
Lakeshore property that would be affected by the
development, orchestrated the project's demise from
behind the scenes.
At the same time, Andrus said that now that the
Valbois project had been dealt with, that the state
and other agencies could get back to cleaning up
Cascade Reservoir's nutrient over - loaded waters.
That sparked questions about whether the environ-
mental agencies that are charged with protecting
such resources, had put their efforts on hold until
the Valbois project was dealt with.
It's been an incredible year for the project, per-
haps the project's final year. But rest assured, there'll
be another project of that scale that will come along
soon, and people will line up and take sides and
there'll be controversy again.
j?,n C�`f rib` - ��C9Y% _ �� /,n ;i' jrj .� •
Valbois O
appeal F. S.
decision
BY TOM GROTE
The Star -News
The developers of the proposed
Valbois resort on Cascade Reservoir
are not giving up even though their
planning permit was cancelled last
week by the Boise National Forest.
Valbois will appeal the decision
issued last Friday by Boise Forest
Supervisor Steve Mealey to cancel
the planning permit that was issued
two years ago.
"We feel the decision was arrived
atwithout the full consideration of the
substance of our proposal," Valbois
founding partner Dennis Taggart said
Tuesday. "We feel his ( Mealey's) de-
cision was arbitrary and capricious."
Mealey rejected a package sub-
mitted on Oct. 12 by the developers
which, they said, showed Valbois
would be able to pay off all outstand-
ing debts and have enough money to
finish planning on the proposed year-
round resort west of Donnelly.
Valbois officials had agreed to
voluntarily give up the planning per-
mit if they failed to meet the Oct. 12
deadline.
In a statement issued last Friday,
Mealey said the submittal did not
contain solid financial information,
but "contained mostly hypothetical,
unexamined proposals and projections
conditioned in part on an extended
permit period.
" Valbois did not provide the infor-
mation specified ... and as a result the
permit is being terminated," Mealey's
statement said.
Mealey said he regretted his deci-
sion, but that he would have been
irresponsible to allow the project to
continue. "I feel a lot of pain in
announcing this decision," he said.
"I'm disappointed the project didn't
work."
The developers have until early
December to file a formal appeal of
Mealey's decision to the forest
service's regional office in Ogden,
Utah. Taggart said the appeal would
be filed as soon as it could be drafted.
Taggart said that Mealey and other
forest service officials were on vaca-
tion during the days prior to Friday's
announcement, which left no oppor-
tunity for Valbois to address any
concerns that the forest service might
have raised about the package.
Mealey's most specific complaint
was that Valbois did not submit an
"examined financial forecast," which
would consist of the current financial
position of Valbois as well as the
expected planning costs and other
expected costs during the planning
stage.
Taggart said that Valbois officials
were assured by forest service staff
members that an examined financial
forecast was not vital to allow plan-
ning to continue. "It was our
impression that our substance of the
submittal was more important than
the form," he said.
Taggart considered the matter "a
technicality," and criticized the forest
service for not consulting with the
developers before cancelling the per-
mit.
Even though Taggart has pledged
to continue to salvage the project, a
vocal critic of Valbois all but declared
the project dead.
"It's nice to have it over with," said
Bob Krumm of Citizens for Valley
County, a group that formed four years
ago to keep watch on the project's
development.
I'm pleased the public process
worked," said Krumm, who said CVC
has had 900 contributors over the
years in support of its positions. "The
government agencies were forced to
listen to the public response, and they
learned a lot about the process that
they wouldn't have otherwise."
Krumm gives Valbois little hope
of succeeding on appeal. "The evi-
dence has been there for 1 -1/2 years,"
he said.
Krumm said he was unsure if CVC
would disband or stay together as a
watchdogon growth in Valley County.
Reaction in Donnelly to Mealey's
decision has been mixed, according
to Hugh Somerton, a Donnelly real
estate agent and Valbois supporter.
"Some are happy because they
think growth is going to go away, but
it isn't," Somerton said. "Others are
saying we will continue to be one of
the biggest welfare counties in the
state."
Some Valbois real estate specula-
tors will be disappointed at the news,
but Somerton said development will
continue around Cascade Reservoir.
Valbois
pushed. The y°
BY TOM GROTE
The Star -News
For the past decade, the proposed
Valbois resort on Cascade Reservoir
has been hailed as both boon and
bane. But by the time 1993 ended, the
operative word to describe Valbois
appeared to be "bust."
In the last few years, Valbois ap-
peared to be picking up steam. The
project's founder, Idahoan Dennis
Taggart, picked up French partners
with extensive, although controver-
sial, backgrounds in ski resort
development in Europe.
Taggart also attracted two former
executives from the famed Vail resort
in Colorado, Roger Lessman and Jack
Marshall, to take over day -to -day
operations.
The project received formal per-
mission from the Boise National
Forest in 1991 to proceed with studies
on the extensive network of ski runs
proposed for the west side of Cascade
Reservoir near Poison Creek Camp-
ground.
The resort also proposed a marina
and a large base complex of hotels,
shops, restaurants, a golf course, plus
more than 3,000 living units.
But as momentum for the resort
picked up, so did opposition to the
A special
presentattor
by
project. A citizens group called Citi-
zens for Valley County continuously
harassed the developers, but the
project's most formidable foe turned
out to be the state of Idaho.
The Idaho Department of Health
and Welfare launched an unprec-
edented attack on the resort, citing
concern for the water quality of Cas-
cade Reservoir, which already was on
the ropes due to pollution.
In July, Joe Nagel, director of the
H &W's Division of Environmental
Quality, sent a scathing letter to the
Boise forest demanding the planning
permit be pulled.
Nagel said the project's financial
condition was weak, and that the en-
tire proposal "is founded upon a fragile
house of cards."
Valbois officials fired back an
equally fiery response, claiming Nagel
was "off- base," but the damage had
been done.
Prompted by Nagel's letter, Boise
forest officials turned up the heat,
demanding more assurances
See "Valbois, "page 2
64-, - -43o1y-3
Valbois
(Continued from Page I)
from the developers that the stud-
ies could be completed and the
project itself could be built.
,Not helping the situation was
the fact that the developers had
run out of money, and hundreds of
thousands of dollars in debts and
claims had accumulated while new
financing was sought. One of those
claimants was Marshall, who left
the partnership in June and sued
for $350,000 in promised wages.
Finally, Valbois officials agreed
to a self - imposed deadline of Oct.
12 to either show they had money
to back up their claims, or give up
the permit. The deadline arrived,
and the developers proudly sub-
mitted a plan they thought would
keep them in business.
Boise forest Supervisor Steve
Mealey was less impressed, how-
ever. Within two weeks, he an-
nounced he was jerking Valbois'
planning permit. The information
submitted was not solid, Mealey
said, but instead contained "mostly
hypothetical, unexamined propos-
als and projections."
Mealey's decision appeared to
blast a fatal hole in plans for Val-
bois, but the developers were not
yet ready to abandon ship. An ap-
peal of Mealey's decision was
filed, and the appeal was still be-
ing reviewed as the year ended.
Valbois'
Taggart
awaits
decision
OGDEN — proponents of the
proposed Valbois resort are now
waiting for a decision from act-
ing Intermountain Regional Forester
Bob Joslin that they hope will go
their way.
Neither Forest Service officials
nor Valbois developer Dennis
Taggart would say much Tuesday
in the wake of last Friday's oral
hearing on Valbois' appeal of last
October's decision by Boise
National Forest Supervisor Steve
Mealey to suspend the project's
master development planning per-
mit.
That decision was appealed,
and as part of that appeals process.
proponents of the four - season
resort proposed for the west side
of Cascade Reservoir were given
an opportunity to appear at an oral
hearing to clarify the information
they submitted to Mealey that his
decision to suspend the permit
was based upon. That hearing last-
ed about an hour.
Financial problems have
plagued the project since last fall,
troubles that project proponents
blame partly on foot - dragging and
opposition by State of Idaho officials to the project.
Dave Baumgartner, appeals coordinator for the recreation and lands
group at the Intermountain Region office, said the hearing record will
remain open until this Friday to allow Valbois proponents a chance to
submit in writing anything else they might offer in the way of clarifm-
cation.
But it will be closed Friday, and then Joslin will have 30 days with-
in which to issue a written decision, Baumgartner said.
However, Baumgartner said he expected a decision within a week
or two as there are other decisions and requests for information hing-
ing on what that decision is.
"I have no feeling one way or the other," Taggart said Tuesday.
"We were pleased to have the opportunity to review the points of our
appeal that we thought were important."
He said tiibre wasn't much of anything new brought up at Friday's
meeting,'and he didn't*how yet if anything would be submitted in
writing to further clarify information submitted by Valbois.
"We're taking care of business, and hopefully we'll be prepared to
move on (once a decision is made)," he said.
Attending Friday's meeting were Taggart, Joslin, Baumgartner, an
accountant from Arthur Anderson & Co., which prepared financial
information Taggart submitted in support of the appeal, John Hoagland,
winter sports specialist at the regional office, and a legal representa-
tive from the Forest Service.
Valbois loses
F.S. appeal
BY TOM GROTE
The Star -News
The termination of a special -use
permit for the proposed Valbois re-
sort on Cascade Reservoir was upheld
on Wednesday by the regional office
of the U.S. Forest Service.
"To continue the Valbois project
would not be in the public's interest,"
according to a statement released
Wednesday by Acting Regional For-
ester Robert C. Joslin in Ogden, Utah.
The Ogden office reviewed the
appeal by Valbois of a decision made
last Oct. 22 by Boise National Super-
visor Steve Mealey.
Mealey revoked the planning per-
mit that Valbois had held since 1991
to study the planned four - season re-
sort on the west side of Cascade
Reservoir.
The developers had met a self -
imposed deadline of Oct. 12 to submit
a new plan to finance the project and
pay off their debts.
But Mealey rejected the plan as
inadequate, citing lack of progress in
the master planning effort and the
failure by the developers to provide
required financial information.
Valbois founding partner Dennis
Taggart said on Wednesday he could
not comment specifically on the deci-
sion because he had not seen it. He
said he was informed of the decision
by news reporters.
"Without looking at the decision,
we are obviously disappointed the
"To continue the Valbois
project would not be in the
public's interest.-
- Acting Regional Forester
Robert C. Joslin.
forest service is still standing by the
decision even though we have made a
strong case for our efforts," Taggart
said.
In its appeal, the developers said
Mealey's decision was made arbi-
trarily, and the rejection was based on
technicalities rather than the substance
of the plan.
Taggart made an hour -long pre-
sentation on March 4 to officials at the
Ogden office of the forest service to
back up the appeal.
Now that the appeal has been re-
jected, the only remaining course for
the developers would be to take their
case to court, but Taggart could not
comment on what Valbois might do
next.
"This decision doesn't mean we
have no other options," he said. "We
will pursue the appropriate course
once we have looked at the decision."
As proposed, Valbois would build
ski runs on Boise forest lands in the
Poison Creek drainage, a marina on
shoreline controlled by the U.S. Bu-
reau of Reclamation, and more than
3,000 housing units plus shopping
and dining areas on private land at the
base of the ski hill.
The S�d7`�s{yta� lY/drch 31� (qq t.
Valbois loses appeal
for permit
Forest Service
stymies Idaho's
largest private
real estate venture
By Ursula Thomas
The Idaho Statesman
Valbois has lost its appeal to
the U.S. Forest Service to revive
a permit needed to plan the $120 -
million ski resort about 80 miles
north of Boise.
"We're disappointed with
their decision," Valbois develop-
er Dennis Taggart said Wednes-
day. "They've confirmed their
own opinion, which is obviously
different from ours."
The move all but seals the fate
of the state's largest private real
estate venture. In the works for
12 years, Valbois would have
been an all- season, luxury resort
with 50 ski runs, a marina, con-
dominiums and hotels.
Construction couldn't begin
on the resort without a permit
to complete the master plan.
Taggart, whose group spent
about $14 million drawing up
plans and conducting environ-
mental, traffic and other feasi-
bility studies, said he still hasn't
given up on Valbois.
But he didn't detail any plans
or provide a time line for addi-
tional action. Taggart also
wouldn't say whether the group,
which had several French back-
ers, would take its case to court.
The project spawned develop-
ment and helped escalate prop-
erty values in the rural area
surrounding Cascade and Don-
nelly in Valley County. Some
residents saw Valbois as an eco-
nomic savior, while others wor-
ried it would have damaged the
county's rural lifestyle.
Valbois promoters led by Tag-
gart of Boise appealed the Boise
National Forest's decision last
fall to cancel their development
permit.
The service canceled the per-
mit because Valbois didn't prove
it had the financial wherewithal
to complete the project, Boise
National Forest Supervisor Ste-
phen Mealey said.
The service owns most of the
land where the resort would
have been built in the moun-
tains west of Cascade off Idaho
55.
Taggart contended Valbois sub-
mitted proper and sufficient docu-
mentation to prove the group's
financial capability. He took Val-
bois' case to the regional Forest
Service in Ogden, Utah.
The Idaho Statesman's request
to examine Valbois' financial re-
cords through the federal Free-
dom of Information Act was twice
denied by the Forest Service.
Several lawsuits have been
filed against Valbois seeking
back pay for work done on the
project.
Taggart said some of the cases
still are pending. Others have
been settled out of court. He
didn't say which ones had been
settled.
'P
--//4/1 /��'
Valbois ruling
expected to
have little
effect on real
estate sales
Mike Stewart
Staff Writer
With the Valbois project down the tubes, provided no
reversal that might result from litigation, one might expect
some fluctuation in the area's real estate market.
Not the case, according to a couple of key players in the
local real estate industry. In fact, it may stabilize things.
"It'll take a lot of the uncertainties out of the market,"
Orin Makinson, owner of Cascade Lake Realty, said last
week.
"I don't see a big decline in property prices due to this,
other than the property bought right at the resort area," he
said. What there may be some changes in, however, is the
asking price of the property.
But, "I don't think you'll see a change in the selling
price," he said.
"In going back over our records, we don't find many of
our properties that anyone's going to get hurt on due to the
demise of Valbois," he said.
"Overall," he said, "just knowing that it's not going to
be built will help overall sales."
Talk in the real estate industry has long been that there
are as many people who would buy property if the project
weren't built, as there are who buy if it was built.
There has been a good bit of speculation, he said. But
he said that even those who speculated won't lose heavily.
They likely won't make any big profits, he said. And over
time, he said property values will continue to climb.
Makinson, however, did say that it was unfair of the
Forest Service to string the developers along for so long,
creating an unknown for them for as long as they did.
More important to a healthy local real estate market is
the economic development taking place in the Treasure
Valley.
"We have a good market up here supported by the growth
in the Treasure Valley," he said.
That's pretty much the assessment of Don Clark, of Clark
Realty.
"I think we've got a rising market, and as far as ivlcCall
goes it's not going to have much effect," he said.
There olay be some fluctuation in the Donnelly -area
properties, he said. But, our Donnelly office continues to
be busy, and people are continuing to look for lots," he said.
"Boise is real important to us," he said. "I think it's still
going to be good. There are lots of lots on the market, but
absorption has been good."
He said the project may have been a big shot in the arm
for the county, "but it was always highly speculative."
Clark said most people who buy second homes are not
speculators anyway.
"It's a nice bonus if the property value skyrockets, but
they mostly buy because they like it," he said.
Donnelly Mayor Dan Jones said he believes a major pro-
ject will be built at the Valbois site at some time in the future.
"If it's not those people it'll be someone else.
"We need to generate something in this area. We need
things to happen," he said. "We're probably in one of the
most fabulous areas in the whole state of Idaho, I'd just like
to see it myself."
Jones did say that if the project were coming in now, it
couldn't be any more of a detriment to Cascade Reservoir.
He added that if work had started on it several years ago,
the project would get the full blame for the reservoir's declin-
ing water quality.
Resort
mulls
offers
BY TOM GROTE
The Star -News
Negotiations with potential buy-
ers of MeadowCreek Golf and Field
Club were continuing this week, a
spokesman for the resort north of
New Meadows said.
The resort's owner, M Resorts
Limited Partnership, took sealed
bids on Oct. 15 for the 1,000 -acre
development, which includes an 18-
hole golf course, clubhouse, swim-
ming pool and other amenities.
Initial bids were received, and
follow -up negotiations are continu-
ing with some of the potential buy-
ers, said Brad Raulston, vice presi-
dent of operations of M Resorts.
"We are going back and forth
with a few different parties, uncov-
ering the cards, so to speak,"
Raulston said.
As part of the auction, M Re-
sorts was asking for a minimum bid
of $6 million cash or $6.5 million if
financed. A separate, oral auction
was held on Sept. 24 for 19 condo-
gt 'l r /V e- w5
miniums located near the club-
house.
Raulston declined to name the
potential buyers or any of the terms
offered.
M Resorts, headed by Shore
Lodge owner Douglas Manches-
ter, purchased MeadowCreek in
1991 when it was named
Kimberland Meadows and re-
opened it in 1992 as a private club.
Sales of home sites have been
disappointing since the acquisition,
and those slow sales prompted this
fall's auction.
About 25 home sites have been
sold under M Resorts' ownership
and about 250 lots have been sold
since the project's inception in the
early 1980s.
A total of 165 developed home
sites remain unsold, and two large
phases have never been platted..A
total of 52 homes have been built
and 83 memberships to the private
club have been sold.
Nov i7, l ? 'l y
l e,;5 lda`76
Valbois Inc.
resorts to
Chapter 11
bankruptcy
By Elizabeth Ommachen
The Idaho Statesman
Valbois Inc., the Valley Coun-
ty company that once planned to
build a $120 million ski resort 80
miles north of Boise, filed for
bankruptcy protection Wednes-
day.
Last year, Valbois lost a bitter
battle with the U.S. Forest Ser-
vice to build on public land west
of Cascade. Plans included 50
ski runs, a marina, condomini-
ums and hotels.
At the time, Boise National
Forest representatives said they
rejected Valbois' plan because
the company didn't prove it had
the financial means to complete
the project.
The project had been contro-
versial from the start.
Opponents worried it would
damage the county's rural life-
style, bringing congestion and
higher property taxes as land
values soared. Supporters, on
the other hand, saw Valbois as
the economically depressed ar-
ea's salvation.
Wednesday, Valbois listed no
assets and $13.9 million in liabil-
ities, according to a Chapter 11
bankruptcy petition filed with
the U.S. District Court in Boise.
Its partner company — Val-
bois Limited Partnership — also
filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy,
listing $6 million in assets and
the same liabilities. In Chapter
11 bankruptcy, a company is
protected from its creditors
while it reorganizes its finances.
As of March 1994 — when it
lost the bid for a Forest Service
permit -- Valbois had spent
nearly $14 million drawing up
plans and conducting environ-
mental, traffic and other feasi-
bility studies.
The all- season resort had been
in the works for 12 years and
would have been Idaho's largest
private real estate venture.
Valbois files
bankruptcy
Action avoids trial, land sale
BY STEPHEN STUEBNER
For The Star -News
Forced by an impending sheriff's
sale on 500 acres of property and a $4
million civil trial set to begin, offi-
cials of the defunct Valbois resort
filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy petitions
last week.
The filings, in U.S. Bankrutcy
Court in Boise, puts the trial on hold
and nullifies the sheriff's sale.
In two "voluntary" petitions filed
in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Boise,
Valbois Inc. reported no assets and
$13.8 million in liabilities. Valbois
Limited Partnership, a Delaware -reg-
istered firm, reported $6 million in
assets and the same amount of liabili-
ties.
The petitions listed 144 creditors
to whom Valbois owes money — no
exact amounts were given for that
group — and 20 of the largest "unse-
cured" claims.
That list includes a $4.16 million
debt to CERPAR, a Paris -based in-
surance company that had loaned
Valbois money. Valbois founder Den-
nis Taggart, Valbois director Pierre
Schnebelen and Valbois director
Guillaume de Bergh were listed as the
three principles of Valbois, Inc.
Contacted at his Boise office Tues-
day, Taggart said he could not
comment on the bankruptcy filing.
"What this bankruptcy does is it pro-
vides us with an opportunity to
reorganize," Taggart said. "Beyond
that, I'm not in a position to comment
right now."
Others interviewed said the bank-
ruptcy filing represents a chess -like
"Someone could be
sitting on the sidelines
waiting to pick up
Valbois. "
- Consultant Bruce Erickson
move by Valbois to avoid losing its
land on the west side of Cascade Res-
ervoir to the sheriff's sale.
The land, once proposed for resort
facilities, is the only property Valbois
owns that is not encumbered by liens
from creditors.
The filing also will buy Valbois
more time to find a financier to pay
off the debts and possibly try to revive
the resort project. Taggart has been
working on that task — without suc-
cess — for more than two years.
"Someone could be sitting on the
sidelines waiting to pick up Valbois,"
said Bruce Erickson, resort manager
for the Sear Brown Group, a consult-
ing firm that is still seeking $76,005
in fees from Valbois.
"I think the bankruptcy filing could
make Valbois more attractive for take-
over because someone could possibly
buy it for less than it's worth,"
Erickson said. "If you watch what
happens in the ski industry, the sec-
ond or third buvers are the ones who
are successful." Taggart declined to
comment on the issue of a buyout.
Valbois was proposed in the late
1980s as a $120 million four - season
destination resort to be built on the
northwest corner of Cascade Reser-
f a V (piew.s, Jo�te j4, !94
'Pei gc i of .7
voir and Lone Tree Mountain. Ever
since the Boise National Forest re-
jected Valbois' special use permit for
financial reasons in October 1993, the
developer's debts have been piling
up.
Disclosure statements in the bank-
ruptcy petition revealed that Valbois
owes substantial debts to a large num-
ber of parties that had not sought
damages in civil litigation.
On Monday, a trial on a consoli-
dated civil lawsuit was scheduled to
have begun in Cascade. In that case,
Boise County rancher Don
Weilmunster sought about $4.2 mil-
lion from Valbois for delinquent pay-
ments owed on his 525 -acre "recre-
ation site" property.
Three consultants who worked on
the Valbois project also sought more
than $350,000 in back payments in
the consolidated case. A sheriff s sale
scheduled last Thursday on the steps
of the Valley County Courthouse
would have been held to satisfy court
judgments.
The judgments were granted to
former Valbois President Jack
Marshall of McCall, Valbois accoun-
tant Brian Wilson, now of California,
and Valbois controller Don Lidstrom
of Boise.
According to Ada County court
records, Marshall was owed
$580,333.80 with interest, Wilson was
owed $62,918.58 with interest and
Lidstrom $11,941.26 with interest. 1
All three had received judgments in
their favor in late 1993 and were wait -
ing for Valbois to pay them off.
The sheriff's sale would have
placed about 500 acres of Valbois
property on the public auction block. On Friday, July 14, a 2 p.m. meet -
Proceeds from the sale would have ing with creditors will beheld in Boise
gone to pay the claims of Marshall, at the U.S. Trustee's office. The meet -
Wilson and Lidstrom. ing is open to the public. At that time,
The property proposed for sale in- creditors can ask Valbois officials
volved land purchased or traded by questions about the company's finan-
Boise Cascade Corp. to Valbois in the cial condition.
early 1990s. The 500 -acre Parks After that meeting, Howe will ask
Ranch, which Valbois purchased for unsecured creditors if they would like
land- application of sewage, has mul- to form a creditors committee. The
tiple liens on the mortgage. committee would monitor the case
Valbois' petition for bankruptcy and vote on Valbois' reorganization
throws Marshall, Wilson and Lidstrom plan.
into the pool of 144 creditors, al- It is possible, Howe said, that if
though their previouscourtjudgments Valbois develops a reorganization
might give them higher priority for plan that does not include enough
payment than others, according to new sources of income, then creditors
bankruptcy experts. Weilmunster and could petition the court to shift the
the consultants are now consolidated Valbois case to a straight liquidation'
into the bankruptcy case as well. under Chapter 7 in the bankruptcy
They, too, may have higher prior- code.
ity than creditors who did not file Larry Prince, a bankruptcy expert
liens on Valbois property. According for Holland & Hart in Boise, said the
to Jeff Howe, assistant U.S. Trustee, parties with judgments and liens
Valbois must file a detailed disclo- against Valbois would typically have
sure statement with the bankruptcy a higher priority in a bankruptcy case
court. Once that is approved, Valbois than those parties who are owed
must develop a plan for reorganizing money but have not filed for any liens
its finances. or judgments.
Howe said Valbois has 120 days to Parties who have no liens or judg-
develop the reorganization plan, and ments against Valbois are considered
after that time, if the company fails to -unsecured" creditors. "Unsecured
do so, creditors can develop one of creditors are generally treated the
their own.
same," Prince said. That means when
a reorganization plan comes forth, the
unsecured creditors can vote on the
plan and determine how many cents
on the dollar they will receive, if any-
thing is left.
Beyond the parties with liens and
judgments, top priority may be ex-
tended to court fees, attorneys fees,
U.S. Trustee fees and any taxes owed
to the IRS, he said.
Lou Esposito of Boise -based
Goddard Claussen, an unsecured
creditor who did some public rela-
tions work for Valbois, said he's glad
to see Valbois file a Chapter 11 peti-
tion because now he may have a
chance to collect some of the
$71,133.97 he is owed from Valbois.
Like many Valbois clients,
Esposito harbors no ill -will against
Taggart.
"We've been very supportive of
Dennis," he said. "We didn't feel they
needed another lawsuit to worry
about."
But with the Chapter 11 petition
now in court, "It helps us tremen-
dously," Esposito said. Asked if he
expects to get paid, Esposito said "You
can reach into your pocket, take out a
quarter and flip it in the air and tell me
how it comes out ... Who knows ?"
Erickson of Sear -Brown was a little
more confident. "Oh yeah, we have
to," he said. "We did good work and
we want to be paid."
Valbois creditors listed
Here is a list of the 20 largest unsecured
creditors of Valbois, as listed in filings by the
developers in U.S. Bankruptcy Court:
1. CERPAR, Paris, France, loan,
$4,160,000.
2. Mayer, Brown & Platt, Chicago, legal
fees, $296,340.
3. Apax Partners & Co., London, consult-
ing fees, $250,000.
4. Francoise Roetynck, Boise, loan,
$250,000.
5. Givens, Pursley, Webb & Huntley, Boise,
legal fees, $145,868.
6. Toothman -Orton Engineering, Boise,
consulting fees, $141,247.
7. TMF, Amsterdam, consulting fees,
$140,000.
8. Pierce, Segerberg & Spaeh, Vail, Colo.,
consulting fees, $137,467.
9. Robbins & Green, Phoenix, legal fees,
$102,819.
10. Dave Peugh Planning, McCall, con-
sulting fees, $98,367.
11. Sear -Brown Group, Park City, Utah,
consulting fees, $76,005.
12. OFIM SNC, France, loan, $75,180.
13. Robert Trent Jones, Palo Alto, Calif.,
consulting fees, $71,382.
14. Goddard Clauseen, Boise, consulting
fees, $71,133.
15. Givens, Pursley, Webb & Huntley, le-
gal fees, $60,000.
16. FIC Associates, Boise, office rent,
$57,963.
17. Tip Top Publicite, Paris, brochure,
$45,000.
18. Sno Engineering, Littleton, N.H., con-
sulting fees, $38,814.
19. Internal Revenue Service, taxes,
$33,636.
20. Weyers Consulting, Boise, consulting
fees, $31,241.
Valbois says
it may have
new investor
BY STEPHEN STUEBNER
For The Star-News
Valbois, Inc., has attracted an in-
vestment group that may be willing to
revitalize the four - season resort ven-
ture and pay off more than $13.8
million in debts, Valbois officials said
Friday.
In an informal question- and -an-
swer session before the U.S.
Bankruptcy Court Trustee in Boise,
Valbois director Dennis Taggart de-
clined to name the investment group.
He vowed to identify the group in
a business reorganization plan that
must be filed with the bankruptcy
court by mid - September.
Friday's hearing was an opportu-
nity for some 150 creditors to ask
questions of Taggart and Valbois di-
rector Guillaume de Bergh before
formal bankruptcy proceedings begin
in court.
Only about 15 parties showed up
— a mixture of people who have won
judgments against Valbois in court
and have yet to be paid, and parties
who seek paymentfor consulting work
or other services.
On June 21, Valbois, Inc., and
Valbois Limited Partnership filed a
voluntary petition for Chapter 11
bankruptcy protection, listing $13.8
million in debts and $6 million. in
assets.
Valbois lost its special -use permit
from the Boise National Forest in
October 1993 when developers failed
to prove they had adequate financial
;backing to proceed with planning and
building a $120 million four- season
resort on the west side of Cascade
Reservoir.
Since that time, Valbois' debts have
ballooned. Valbois has 90 days from
the date of the bankruptcy filing to
prepare a reorganization plan and dis-
close how it intends to pay off its
debts.
"They'll try-to hustle money and
put a plan together," said Don Hobson,
a bankruptcy analyst with the U.S.
Trustee's office, who presided over
Friday's hearing.
If Valbois does not file a reorgani-
zation plan on time, creditors can file
one of their own. In addition, secured
creditors - those with court judgments
or property liens against Valbois -
may file motions to foreclose on
Valbois' assets.
Unsecured creditors — those who
have no judgments or liens against
Valbois — "have to take care of them-
selves," Hobson said. "You can be as
involved as you want to be."
Once Taggart disclosed that he has
attracted investors for a joint venture,
parties at Friday's hearing pressed
him for details about how he could
revitalize the proposed four - season
resort.
Asked if the resort would be pro -
posed in its original configuration,
Taggart replied, "Our original premise
is still to go for the highest and best
use of the site ... We have not changed
the concept."
The Valbois project, as originally
conceived, involved a 250 -slip ma-
rina on the northwest shores of
Cascade Reservoir, a large ski area on
Lone Tree Mountain, an 18 -hole Rob-
ert Trent Jones golf course, horse
stables, tennis courts and more.
But the anchor of the resort in-
volved 525 acres ofprivate land owned
by Valley County rancher Don
Weilmunster. Valbois purchased an
option on Weilmuster's land, but it
defaulted on payments beginning in
1992.
As of now, Valbois owes
Weilmunster more than $4 million
for the land. Asked whether Valbois
still has any options on the
"Our original premise is
still to go for the highest
and best use of the site. .
. We have not changed the
concept. "
- Valbois founder Dennis Taggart
Weilmunster property, "Taggart re-
plied, "I don't know if Mr.
Weilmunster has any willingness or
is interested in revitalizing the site."
Weilmunster did not return The Star -
News' phone calls.
Under further questioning, Taggart
admitted that if he were to revamp the
resort at the lowest cost possible, he
would need to somehow woo
Weilmunster into the deal.
Asked if Valbois Limited Partner-
ship had any funds to invest into
revitalizing the project, Taggart re-
plied, "no."
Even if Valbois does bring in new
investors to restart the project, Boise
National Forest officials have said
that developers would have to start
over from scratch if they wanted to
obtain a permit for planning and build-
ing a resort.
Valbois is
denied any
protection
from its
creditors
"I was hoping Valbois
would have gotten their
money together and
settled with everybody. "
- Jack Marshall
BYSTEPHENSTUEBNER
For The Star-News
BOISE — Three creditors may
push for a sheriff's sale of Valbois,
Inc. 's real estate assets in Valley
County in the coming weeks after the
resort development company lost its
protection under the U.S. Bankruptcy
Court on Tuesday.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Alfred
Hagan lifted a stay Tuesday protect-
ing Valbois from debtors pushing to
seize its assets after Valbois failed to
provide sufficient information on its
reorganization plan.
Attorneys representing Toothman-
Orton Engineers, former Valbois
president and McCall resident Jack
Marshall, and landowner Don
Weilmunster all objected to Valbois'
reorganization plan, according to court
documents, and asked for the stay to
be lifted.
Valbois director Dennis Taggart
of Boise said the development firm is
still hoping to find financing. "There's
not much else I can say right now," he
said.
Even if a sheriff's sale occurs
Marshall said Valbois has one year i
which it could obtain financing an
make good on its debts. "They stil
could put something together," he said
Valbois, Inc., and Valbois Limite
Partnership filed for Chapter 11 bank-
ruptcy
protection in June 1995, just
day before a sheriff's sale was set t
occur on its land on the west side o
Cascade Reservoir near Donnelly.
Valbois' bankruptcy petition lists
$13.8 million in total liabilities and
$6 million in assets — all in the form
of Valley County real estate. Court
papers dispute the value of the prop-
erty, on which a number of liens exist.
Taggart created Valbois in the late
1980s to develop a four - season resort
on the shores of the reservoir and a
large ski area on Lone Tree Moun-
tain. The development firm lost its
special -use permit from the Boise
National Forest in October 1993 when
it failed to show financial capability
to proceed with planning and devel-
opment.
Last fall, Valbois claimed to have
found a new financier, the Bradley
Trust, which was going to provide
$3.75 million to revamp the project.
But according to court documents,
Valbois failed to provide any details
about how the Bradley Trust was go-
ing to provide funding.
Further, Valbois' reorganization
plan was based on Weilmunster agree -
ing to provide a new option on 525
acres of land on the northwest corner
of Cascade Reservoir.
Weilmunster's old option agree-
ment with Valbois has expired, and
"the creditor specifically represents
to the court that no such agreement is
in place or contemplated,"
Weilmunster's attorneys said in court
papers.
The firm's reorganization plan
"was based on nothing more than
highly conjectured speculation," said
Alan Cameron, attorney for
Toothman- Orton. The engineering
firm seeks to collect $175,825.77 for
unpaid consulting fees and interest.
Marshall seeks $500,000 for a cash
loan and unpaid salary, plus
$118,708.90 in interest, as of Feb. 27.
Weilmunster's claim exceeds $4 mil-
lion. There are about 140 other credi-
tors.
"I was hoping Valbois would have
gotten their money together and settled
with everybody," Marshall said Tues-
day.
Valbois asserts in its bankruptcy
npetition that its real estate is worth $6
d million. But that amount was dis-
puted by attorneys for Toothman-
Orton and Marshall. Cameron said
cl the Parks Ranch, a parcel that Valbois
purchased for land application of sew-
age, has an assessed value of $195,224.
a Weilmunster's 525 -acre parcel has
° an assessed value of $152,888,
f Cameron said.
,?-/,g- q / (7 6
Thomas Linville, a Boise attorney
who represents Marshall, said the two
properties mentioned above, as well
as other properties Valbois owns, have
a combined assessed value of
$1,157,822. "Without any corrobo-
rating documentation to support the
valuations of debtors' property, the
information provided by debtors is
hopelessly irreconcilable," Linville
said in court papers.
Beyond the three parties who are
pushing to seize Valbois' assets, oth-
ers may come forth and other liens
may be pending on the properties.
The bankruptcy petition, for example,
indicates that Blaine County rancher
John Fell Stevenson is acting as a
trustee for former Valbois Chairman
Pierre Schnebelen and former V albois
directors Alain Perrier and Pierre
Casse.
The trio have a combined total of
$850,000 invested in the Parks Ranch
and other property, the petition said.
In addition, Valbois owes $33,636 in
delinquent taxes to the Internal Rev-
enue Service, $2,869 in back taxes to
Ada County and $29,334 in delin-
quent taxes to Valley County.
Valbois also owes the U.S.
Trustee's office quarterly fees for 1995
and the first quarter of .1996, court
papers said.
Valbois case faces dismissal
BY STEPHEN STUEBNER
For The Star-News
BOISE — The U.S. Trustee filed
a motion on Friday to either convert
the Valbois bankruptcy case to liqui-
dation or dismiss the case altogether.
A hearing has been set for May 7 at
9:30 a.m. in U. S. Bankruptcy Court in
Boise. The U.S. Trustee's motion
appears to be pushing the financially
beleaguered resort development firm
one step closer to being forced to
liquidate any remaining assets.
When Valbois filed for Chapter 11
bankruptcy protection in June 1995, it
listed $6 million in real estate assets,
but the amount of those assets has
been challenged by creditors,
In March, three creditors,
Toothman -Orton Engineers, former
Valbois officer and McCall resident
Jack Marshall and landowner Don
Weilmunster all won the right to try to
seize the assets of Valbois.
Depending on how the bankruptcy
judge rules in May, a trustee may be
appointed to liquidate Valbois' re-
maining assets or the Case may be
dismissed and many of the 140 -plus
creditors could be left with no remedy
for collecting bad debts.
Jeffrey G. Howe, assistant U.S.
Trustee, said in court documents that
he made the latest motion for three
reasons:
• Valbois has failed to file monthly
reports, as required, since October
1995.
• Valbois has not paid quarterly
fees, as required by law, for the sec-
ond, third or fourth quarters of 1995,
nor for the first quarter of 1996.
• No plan of reorganization or fi-
nancial disclosure statement for
Valbois have been approved, and "fur-
ther, no movement toward a success-
ful reorganization has taken place in
this proceeding since the case was
filed," court papers said.
The resort had been proposed for
the west side of Cascade Reservoir
near the Poison Creek Campground.
The resort would have included a
major ski area and other amenities.
m Y12-
Valbois resurrects plans
for mount ain ski resort
By John Tucker
The Idaho Statesman
Developers have revived the
plan to build a destination ski
resort on West Mountain near
Cascade.
Financially plagued Valbois
Inc. filed papers in U.S. Bank-
ruptcy Court in Boise last week
saying it had found a new inves-
tor for the year -round resort.
In the legal filing, Valbois Inc.
;aid it has entered an agreement
with Infomin S.A. de C.V. of Mex-
.co City to pay off debtors under
is Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorga-
iization plan.
"They are a legitimate group,
t well- known, well -to -do indus-
rial conglomerate with some
Ictivities in recreation ven-
tes," said Dennis Taggart, a
principal in Valbois Inc.
If Valbois' bankruptcy plan is
pproved by the court, it would
gave the way for the developers
:) try again to get approval for
he project.
Valbois filed for Chapter 11
bankruptcy reorganization a
year ago after financial trou-
bles and an inability to per-
suade U.S. Forest Service offi-
cials that the company had
enough money to complete mas-
ter planning on the project.
The Boise National Forest
suspended Valbois' master plan-
ning permit in-1994, prior to the
bankruptcy filing.
Before the Forest Service's
suspension of the permit, Val-
bois developers had jumped
through the necessary hoops,
getting approval of its environ-
mental- impact statement.
If the project is revived, it's
uncertain whether Valbois
would have to go through the
process all over again.
Boise National Forest super-
visor Dave Rittenhouse was out
of town Thursday and unavail-
able for comment.
Thoughts of reviving the plan
were met with skepticism from
McCall and Cascade residents.
"I haven't heard much talk
about it yet," McCall Mayor
ReSOr t/From Page 5B
owned by the company near Poi-
son Creek to get his money.
But Marshall said he hopes
for the best for Valbois.
"I wish them luck," he said.
"For the large and small credi-
tors to be paid would be a good
thing.
"I wish them the best."
Selling the property wouldn't
stop the resort from being built.
If the investors in Valbois can
raise enough money, the compa-
ny would have a one -year re-
demption period to buy the prop -
ertv back.
A bankruptcy court hearing
on the reorganization plan is
scheduled for Oct. 8. Creditors
would have an opportunity to
vote on the plan if it is approved
by the court.
Bill Killen said. "But if I had to
guess, I'd say the local people
would be highly suspect of the
project ever getting off the
ground. They (Valbois) made a
pretty good dog- and -pony show
and then nothing happened the
last time."
In Cascade, the sentiment
was the same.
"I'll believe it when I see it,"
said a clerk in Cascade City Hall
who didn't want to be identified.
"It would be good for jobs and
the economy, but with the con-
struction and the growth, it
would also bring a lot of head-
aches to town," the clerk said.
Taggart began trying to build
the resort in 1982.
Plans for the resort included
ski runs, a marina, a golf course
and a variety of hotels and res-
taurants.
The plan was extremely con-
troversial, with residents of
Valley County divided on
whether they wanted it built.
The 1988 partnership with
Frenchman Pierre Schnebeler
Valbois
proposed
ski resort kBoise
made residents even more skep-
tical.
Schnebeler built many success-
ful resorts in the French Alps, but
his last venture before joining
forces with Taggart — Val- Frejus
— was a dismal failure.
After 12 years of trying, the
Valbois plans died with revoca-
tion of the planning permit.
Jack Marshall of McCall, the
former president of Valbois
Limited Partnership, is now
pushing for the sale of 400 acres
See Resort /Page 7B
McCall
A
Ski
N
Resort
Donnelly
wet Mountain
.,
1 Gondola
Cascade
7 Chairlifts
Reservoir
Cascade.
made residents even more skep-
tical.
Schnebeler built many success-
ful resorts in the French Alps, but
his last venture before joining
forces with Taggart — Val- Frejus
— was a dismal failure.
After 12 years of trying, the
Valbois plans died with revoca-
tion of the planning permit.
Jack Marshall of McCall, the
former president of Valbois
Limited Partnership, is now
pushing for the sale of 400 acres
See Resort /Page 7B
-- Troy Maben /The Idaho Statesman
Dennis Taggart, originator of the Valbois project, stands by Cascade Reservoir in this 1990 photo. In the background is the site of the
proposed resort. The proposal's backers say they have found a new investor to finance the year -round resort. The original proposal
included alpine skiing, seven chairlifts, one gondola, mountain lodges, restaurants, a golf course, a marina and hotels.
.. _ -- -,r- --
V
m hip
Second Valbois
reorganization
plan filed
BOISE — The Valbois project is still alive, in U.S. Bankruptcy
Court here anyway.
Last week, attorneys for Valbois Inc. and Valbois Limited
Partnership filed a second amended plan of reorganization with
the court.
The 108 -page plan includes more detail concerning the pro-
posed involvement of a Mexican firm in bailing the company out
of its $13 million of debt. And, project proponents hope, revive
the proposal to build a resort on Cascade Reservoir's west side.
The plan will be the subject of a Jan. 15, 1997, hearing at the
U.S. Courthouse in Boise to determine whether the plan contains
adequate information as required by federal law.
Written objections or proposed modifications to the plan have
to be filed not less than 10 days prior to the time set for hearing.
That hearing is set for 1:30 p.m.
The Mexican firm, Infomin S.A. de C.V., has been described
by Dennis Taggart, a Boise architect who first announced the
Valbois project in 1983, as an industrial firm with experience in
the hospitality business.
Taggart has said the company has plenty of money to pay off
the Valbois debts and capitalize some sort of project on the Cascade
Reservoir property.
Boise attorney Dale G. Higer, of the firm Stoel Rives, said
Tuesday that negotiations with the Mexican firm are still on-
going.
Taggart couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday on the lat-
est filing.
In late September, Valley County awarded possession of about
400 acres of land in the Poison Creek area to former Valbois
President Jack Marshall of McCall.
Marshall had a $500,000 judgment against Valbois, as did sev-
eral other former Valbois employees for lesser amounts. Valbois
retains the right for one year to take back possession of the land.
Tin j14IleY Valbois to get up to $6
million to resolve
bankruptcy under plan
BOISE —The reorganization plan put forward by Valbois devel-
opers to resolve its chapter 11 bankruptcy is based on the project get-
ting an infusion of up to $6 million from a group of Mexican investors
through a Delaware corporation to pay off existing debts.
In a 108 -page disclosure statement, Valbois officials outline how
the new corporation, Mina Associates LLC, will buy all of the stock
of Valbois for $4 million or $6 million, depending on which classes
of claims vote for or against the reorganization plan.
Under the proposed plan, some classes of claims will be paid in
full, some would receivea pro -rated portion of what is owed them by
Valbois, and yet a third possibility for several of the classes of claims
is that they would be given the opportunity to exchange their right to
receive a cash payment for the right to participate in a dollar- for -dol-
lar opportunity to purchase lots in the project, if it is ever built.
What the money does, according to the plan, is satisfy Valbois'
debts. There is no guarantee that the project will ever be built, as that
would be contingent on developers obtaining additional capital to build
the project.
But the plan does support the previously stated plans by Valbois'
chief proponent Dennis Taggart, who is the sole remaining officer and
director of Valbois Inc., to reclaim a nearly 500 -acre parcel of land
that was sold at Sheriff's auction in September from the purchaser,
Jack Marshall of McCall. Marshall is the former president of Valbois
Inc. who took the property to satisfy a $500,000 judgment he was
awarded against the ill -fated development.
While Taggart is presently running the company, should the plan
be approved by Valbois creditors and bankruptcy court, the plan states
that Alfredo Miguel Afif, who is chief executive officer of Mina, and
Dr. Kemil A. Rizk, chief executive officer of Arko S.A. de C.V. and
"who has extensive experience and expertise in resort development,
will be among those on the management team.
"Additional information concerning post- reorganization manage-
ment team will be disclosed to the Bankruptcy Court as it becomes
available to Valbois from Mina," the plan states.
Mina was formed for the express purpose of acquiring Valbois, the
plan states.
"In furtherance of this objective, Mina now holds an option to
acquire the Weilmunster Base Parcel," according to the plan.
That parcel, under the plan, could be purchased for an estimated
$700,000, or Valbois may elect to convey to rancher Don Weilmunster
free and clear title to the Parks Ranch Parcel in exchange for the base
parcel. The Parks Ranch ground lies north of Tamarack Falls and was
originally going to be the site of the sewage treatment facility that was
to built as part of the project.
Under the plan, those who are owed $1,000 or less by Valbois will
be paid in full.
What will happen with the other classes of claims is that the court
could order the plan be approved or it could be accepted by a major-
ity of claim holders in those classes who control at least two - thirds of
the dollar amount of claims in that particular class.
One class of claims, the Investor Debt Claims, totals about $7.1
million. Of those claims, about $4.2 million is owed to a company that
purchased the claim of former investor Malik Bencheghib, and about
$1.3 million is owed Taggart.
Those two and other investors would receive a pro -rated amount
of money under the plan, with the percentages yet to be determined.
However, in no event will the payment exceed 30 percent of the allowed
claim under the plan.
Regarding post- reorganization funding, the plan states that "Financings
to provide for the future development of the resort have not yet been
secured."
Following approval of the plan, developers will continue to pursue
a number of avenues to raise capital, including the sale of limited part-
nership units, resort lot sales, and other forms of debt and equity financ-
ings, according to the plan.
S! a l- Ne W-5
Judge clears way
for Valbois buyout
R�
BY STEPHEN STUEBNER
For The Star -News
BOISE — With no objections to
Valbois' latest plan of reorganiza-
tion, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Alfred
Hagen entered an order last Thurs-
day that would approve a pay -off
plan for creditors.
Hagen said the plan will take
effect 60 days after a confirmation
order is lodged in the court, which is
expected to be mid- March.
Hagen's order gives Valbois time
to close on the sale of the resort -
development firm to Mina Associ-
ates, a Delaware- registered inves-
tor whose partners are based in
Mexico City. Valbois attorney Dale
Higer said the sale is expected to
close on March 31.
In court papers, the sale price
was estimated to range between $4
million and $6 million. If the sale
goes through, Valley County resi-
dents may learn whether Mina As-
sociates plans to try to revitalize
plans to build a four - season resort
on West Mountain near Donnelly.
"It looks like this thing might
happen," said Alan Cameron, an
attorney who represents Toothman-
Orton Engineering Co., referring to
the buyout of Valbois. "We're cer-
tainly hopeful."
Toothman -Orton was the only
creditor of 140 to lodge an objection
to Valbois' plan earlier this month.
After working out a stipulation to
receive payment from Valbois for
$225,000 in engineering fees, attor-
neys fees and interest, Cameron
withdrew the objection.
Mina Associates has put down
funds to secure an option to buy a
key 525 -acre piece of property on
the northwest comer of Cascade Res-
ervoir. Owned by Don Weilmunster,
the property was going to be used by
Valbois as the cornerstone of the
proposed $100 million resort before
the project ran out of money.
Provided the sale goes through,
the pay -off plan would pay the high-
est- priority claims, as provided by
law, such as taxes to the federal
government and Valley County,
bankruptcy fees, and other items
totalling an estimated $430,000.
Then, the reorganization plan calls
for a step -by -step payoff of other
creditors.
In its original bankruptcy peti-
tion, Valbois listed $13.8 million in
debts and $6 million in real estate
assets. Some of those real estate
assets were purchased by former
Valbois partner and McCall resi-
dent Jack Marshall. Valbois will
have the option to buy the property
back.
In the court files, Mina Associ-
ates signed a line of credit to Valbois
President Dennis Taggart of Boise
and director Guillaume DeBerg,
whose address is listed in Portland,
Ore.
The contract says the line of credit
will be up to $50,000 at any one
time, and that loans of $5,000 per
month will be made to Taggart and
DeBerg to cover 50 percent of their
salaries. The loans will be paid off
as soon as Valbois plan of reorgani-
zation is avoroved, the contract said.
mah'A 6, /Q9i
Investors salvage plans for Valbois
Valbois, a proposed
$120 million
resort
L McCall
e
55
N
Ski
Resort Donnelly
West Mountain
. •6
�< Marina
1 Gondola Cascade
7 Chairlifts I Reservoir
Cascade
Original plans for the
resort include:
• Nearly 3,000 vertical feet of Alpine
skiing
• Seven chairlifts and one gondola
• Mountain lodges and restaurants
• Ice skating
• Cross - country skiing
• Snowmobiling
• 250 -slip marina
• Fuel and boat services
• Fishing, excursion boats, sailing
and water skiing
• Golf course
• Practice driving range
• Tennis facility
• Health /fitness center Q
• Flagship hotel • Boise
• Sewage treatment facility
Consortium repays creditors;
project likely will be smaller
By John Tucker
The Idaho Statesman
Plans to build the proposed $120 million
Valbois ski resort in Valley County are
back on the drawing board.
Mina Associates LLC, a consortium of
U.S. and foreign investors, has started to
repay Valbois' creditors under a plan ap-
proved this month by U.S. Bankruptcy
Court.
The group hopes to breathe new life into
the project that many Valley County resi-
dents thought was dead and gone.
"We'll be starting over with a new team
and a new name," Don Weilmunster, the
new chief executive officer of the project,
said Thursday.
The revived project probably won't be as
large as anticipated in the previous plan.
"We'll probably downscale the project,"
Weilmunster said.
Weilmunster, who has been a c %4e
mcher in the area since 1970, owns 1�P0
;res of land the resort would be built 5u•
Residents of the city of McCall, just a few
ilex down Idaho 55 from the propose de-
rt, don't seem too excited about thq4 re-
ved plan.
"When they get rolling along, then wall
'
ty attention," said Lorie Dorval, the o' e
anager at the McCall Chamber of do
erce. "No one in town is getting overly ex-
,ed at this point."
When plans to build the resort v�em
ider way two years ago, Valley County
sidents were sharply divided on the,
o
sal. p_ r
"We're a destination city and I think -the
business it would bring would be goon for
the whole county," Bill McMurray, acting
president of the McCall chamber, said.
"But right now, people around town *are
suspiciously quiet about the proposal.".
On the flip side, many residents felt
growth and the influx of people would n in
the mountain ambience they grew up with
in the area. "
"I'm sure when something
starts to happen with the resort
there will be hordes of people lin-
ing up against it."
After 12 years of working to
get the project off the ground,
plans for the year -round Valbois
resort died two years ago when
the investors filed for Chapter 11
bankruptcy.
Valbois, which was to have a
downhill ski resort with seven
chairlifts and a gondola, a 250 -
slip marina and a golf course,
would have been built on West
Mountain near Donnelly.
Valbois Inc., headed by Dennis
Taggart and French national
Pierre Schnebeler, had gotten all
the necessary permits except for
approval of the master plan by
the U.S. Forest Service.
The government agency with-
held approval because it wasn't
satisfied the developers had ac-
cess to enough money to get the
resort built.
Part of the resort was to be
built on land in the Boise Na-
tional Forest.
Pierre Schnebeler is still part
of the investment team, Weil -
munster said. But Dennis Tag-
gart will not be.
ski resort
Taggart could not be reached
for comment.
Joining Schnebeler and Weil -
munster is Alfredo Miguel, a
Mexican national who is in-
volved in textile manufacturing,
commuter airlines and industri-
al manufacturing.
Under the bankruptcy court
plan, the investors must pay $6
million to creditors.
The investors were to pay $2
million immediately, $1.5 mil-
lion of which already has been
paid.
They must then pay back an
additional $1 million by Sept. 15,
and the remaining $3 million by
Oct. 15.
The money will be paid on
time, Weilmunster said.
"I wouldn't come on board un-
less it was agreed that everyone
owed money would get it back,"
he said.
The next move would be to get
a plan together to take to the
Forest Service.
"Once we see a plan, then we
can assess how much is still ap-
plicable," said Cathy Barboule-
tos, the deputy forest supervisor
at the U.S. Forest Service.
But Weilmunster knows the
developers have to start from
scratch.
"The Forest Service made it
very clear we will have to start
the permitting process from
scratch," he said.
"The effort will be open and
inclusive. We want the public's
input throughout the process."
Former Valbois project back with
new team,
Galloping out of bankruptcy and back onto the local
business scene and into the local coffee shop talk is the
project formerly known as Valbois.
Last Wednesday, representatives of Mina Associates
announced that the company, which bailed Valbois out
of its bankruptcy by buying the company for $6 million,
announced that the project is back.
D.K. Weilmunster, a former Boise County
Commissioner from Garden Valley, has been named
Chief Executive Officer of the project. Weilmunster
owns the 1,8W acres on the west side of Cascade Reservoir
that would. have provided the bulk of the private land
comprising the project.
"I had to be satisfied that the first step in this new
effort was repayment of each creditor, dollar for dol-
lar," he said. "The new option is contingent on that
happening and will be revoked if it doesn't."
About $6 million will be involved in the repay-
ment under a payment plan approved earlier this
month by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Alfred C. Hagan
in Boise.
He approved repayment in three installments with
the first $2 million already paid, $1 million due on
or before Sept. 15, and the final $3 million due on
or before Oct. 15.
Payments have already been made to some cred-
itors, including Valley County, which last week
received about $51,000 in back property taxes.
Also paid from that first $2 million was Jack
Marshall the former Valbois
brought them into the troubled project.
Dennis Taggart, who initially generated the idea
for the project, won't be involved in the new pro-
ject.
Asked about the scope the project might take in
the future, Weilmunster said it will be scaled down
from the massive project proposed as Valbois.
"It'll be fundamentally the same, except scaled
down," he said. Developers do continue to plan on
having a ski hill, assorted base area residential and
commercial developments, golf course, and a mari-
na on Cascade Reservoir.
But they'll all likely be stepped down from what
was originally proposed.
To deal with concerns, Weilmunster said he real-
ly wants to get a dialogue going with local residents
about the project, particularly with those who have
concerns.
He said he believes that was perhaps one of the
mistakes developers made initially.
"The people who were against it were never
brought into the loop," he said. "I want to get them
involved.
"The effort will be open and inclusive," he said.
"We'll be asking for input from everyone as we go
through the permit process."
And that process is starting from scratch as Boise
National Forest officials cancelled the master plan-
ning permit.
He said numerous permits and reams of paper-
work will have to be completed before the project
can proceed.
president, who received a
check of more than $860,000
County get back
last Monday, Weilmunster
taxes $ 51 000+
said.
/ ! ✓
As of last Wednesday,
from Valbois
Weilmunster said about $1.5
million had been repaid to
CASCADE= Valley County, and some
creditors.
the taxing districts in the county, got a nice'`
The key investor in the
! windfall last week when Valley County
project is Mexican indus-
Treasurer Diana Healy received a check for
trialist Alfredo Miguel A.,
j $51,278.74 in back taxes from the develop- ;
who with Weilmunster pro -
ers of the now - defunct Valbois project.
viding the, land, are the sole
The money came from the first of three
investors'at-this point.
payments that will total $6 million made to
"He's for real,"
Valbois by Mina Associates, a company that
Weilmunster said about
bailed the troubled company out of its bank -
Miguel. He said he toured
ruptcy.
some of his factories in
The first payment of $2 million was made
Mexico recently and is who
_ recently, another $1.5 million is due next
he represents himself to be.
month, and the final $3 million is due Valbois
He said Miguel has ski-
in October.
ied and had a place at Vail,
Healy said Valley County will receive a
Colo., for two decades, and
total of $17,491.52 of the money, while the
toured the mountain and the
'_ McCall - Donnelly School District will be the
area of the proposed project
big beneficiary in receiving $27,912.66 in
last month by helicopter.
the back taxes that cover the years 1992 -1996. ;
"They helicoptered it and
The balance of $5,874.56 will be split
fell in love with it,"
among the Cascade Medical Center Hospital
Weilmunster said.
District, $5,030.38; the Valley County Cemetery
He said Pierre
District, $250.43; the City of Donnelly,$24.70;
Schnebelen, a Frenchman
[ and McCall Memorial Hospital District,
who was involved in the
$20.33. A small amount leftover will go to
original Valbois project, is
.a couple of special projects over the years.
nvolved in the new project
she said.
ily to the extent that he
,nd Mina Associates and
new
approach
new
project
Weilmunster said Valley
County is in need of the eco-
nomic boost that a well-
designed, well -run project
would bring.
"This is one of the most
depressed areas in the state,
with high unemployment
and a stagnant business
economy," he said. "One
of our principals objectives
will be to improve that sit-
uation."
Dan Ebert, who is in
charge of fisheries, wildlife,
heritage and recreation pro-
grams for the Boise National
Forest, said this week that
he has not yet been con-
tacted by the resort's devel-
"We're starting from opers. But, he said that if
scratch with a bold new con- he is contacted, he will refer
cept, a new team and a com- them to the Cascade Ranger
mitment to involve every- District, where such a
one who is interested," he process would have to be
said. initiated.
Another recent change
in the area that should ease
some concerns about poten-
tial negative effects of the
project is the construction
of a sewer system around the north end of the lake.
Weilmunster said it's a big plus and that the pro-
ject could be a contributor to it. Extending the dis-
trict's sewer lines to the Poison Creek area will allow
a lot of homeowners along the pipeline a chance to
hook on, he said.
Also, he said the county has paved the road around
the north end of the reservoir, which should ease
some other concerns both about traffic and that
runoff from the roads might contribute to making
worse the reservoir's water quality.
Once the creditors are satisfied, Weilmunster said
they will begin working on obtaining the necessary
planning permits they'll need. Mina Associates has
opened an office in Boise, he said.
�A�
4p \V/A\LB0II3
THE RESORT ON CASCADE LAKE,IDAHO
Valbois had an option on some of that land, but the option lapsed.
Weilmunster agreed to renew the option with a new investor on the
condition that every creditor in the original project be repaid.
New Valbois owners pay
Project founder
Taggert appears
_written out of deal
BY STEPHEN STUEBNER
For The Star-News
Mina. Associates LLC, a Mexico
City development firm, has officially
rescued Valbois, Inc., from the brink
of financial death for the purchase
price of $6 million.
Hard cash is beginning to flow to
'tile Valley County Treasurer's office
and other creditors, while Mina has
set up a new office in Boise to start a
new resort venture "from scratch."
Garden Valley rancher Don
Weilmunster is the new chief executive
officer, French developer and former
Valbois Chairman Pierre Schnebelen is
still backing the project, and former
Valbois President Dennis Taggart ap-
parently has been squeezed out.
"Those were the terms of the deal,"
a despondent- sounding Taggart said
Tuesday morning in Boise. "I found a
way to make sure that the creditors
got paid, and I'm happy with that."
Weilmunster, who owns 1,800
acres of private land near the base of
the proposed resort on the northwest
comer of Cascade Reservoir, said
Mina will try to revitalize the project
after the debts are paid off.
"It's very important for people to
get paid, dollar for dollar,"
Weilmunster said, "and they're in the
process of doing just that."
No action will occur on revitaliz-
ing a resort venture until secured and
unsecured creditors are paid off,
Weilmunster said. The terms and pri-
orities for payoffs are outlined in a
plan of reorganization in U.S. Bank-
ruptcy Court in Boise.
"We'll be starting over with a new
team and a new name," Weilmunster
said. "The effort will be open and
inclusive."
Valley County was one of the first
creditors to get paid, Treasurer Diana
Healy confirmed Tuesday. The county
received a check for $51,278.74 for
unpaid property taxes on 38 parcels of
land from 1992 to 1996, she said.
The McCall - Donnelly School Dis-
trict will receive $27,912.56, the
county general fund will get
off its debts
Pierre
Schnebelen
Still backing
Valbois plans
Dennis
Taggart
No longer part
of project
$17,491.52, and the rest, $5,800, will
be shared by five taxing districts, in-
cluding the Cascade Medical Clinic
and McCall Memorial Hospital.
"I presented this information to the
county commissioners, and they were
absolutely thrilled," Healy said.
Under terms 'of the bankruptcy
settlement, Mina was required to pay
$2 million at the Aug. 4 closing, $1
million on or before Sept. 15, and the
remaining $3 million on or before
Oct. 15.
After taxes owed to government
sources are paid off, the settlement
called for paying large sums to former
Valbois principals and project finan-
ciers, and others who filed civil suits
and property liens to ensure they got
paid.
High - priority claims include a
$860,000 payoff to former Valbois
officer Jack Marshall of McCall,
Weilmunster said. The payment settles
Marshall's $500,000 claim, plus in-
terest and attorneys fees, and buying
back 700 acres of former Valbois
property on West Mountain, which
Marshall purchased in a sheriffs sale
last year.
Marshall bought the property for
$648,327.13, including sheriff s fees.
Marshall's settlement also includes
payoff funds for the claims of former
Valbois accountant Brian Wilson, and
Valbois controller Don Lidstrom.
(See "Valbois, " Page 2)
Court papers indicated Schnebelen
is due to receive $450,000, a fraction
of the $4 million he invested,
Weilmunster said.
French financier Alain Perrier is
due to collect $350,000 and French -
man Pierre Casse is due to receive
$50,000.
Leslie McKinnon, the widow of
the late Valbois officer Max
McKinnon, who was Sun Valley's
mountain manager for years, is due to
receive in excess of $83,000 as part of
the settlement, court papers said.
When Valbois filed for bankruptcy,
Leslie McKinnon told The Star -News
she was angry that her husband had
worked for nearly a year without pay-
ment, only to watch him die
unexpectedly from a heart attack as
the resort development venture col-
lapsed.
McKinnon's attorney in Cascade,
Michael Pierce, had no comment ex-
cept to confirm that she is expected to
receive a full settlement.
Weilmunster said Schnebelen is
the one who made contact with.
Alfredo Miguel, the primary finan-
cial backer of Mina, to buyout Valbois
and revitalize the resort project.
Miguel has several other partners who
have yet to be named, he said.
Schnebelen "brought them here to
Idaho, and they absolutely fell in love
with the mountain and the people,"
Weilmunster said. Miguel has owned
property in Vail, Colo., for years, and
he looked at Sun Valley several times,
he said.
"They did their homework pretty
well," Weilmunster said. "They've
been around to several four- season
resorts, and we all feel there's a place
for one here as long as it's done right."
Weilmunster had a $625,000 claim
in the bankruptcy case, secured by a
lien on the 670 -acre Parks Ranch.
Mina has purchased an option on about
1,400 acres of his land, Weilmunster
said.
He said he expects to play a big
role in the resort development team.
"I believe in the project, and I believe
in these people," he said. "They're for
real."
According to Weilmunster, Miguel
has had a number of successful busi-
ness ventures, in oil refineries, textile
mills and the hospitality business.
To revamp,the resort project, Mina
will have to statt from square one, as
the Boise National Forest has indi-
cated, Weilmunster said.
"We're starting from scratch with
a bold, new concept, a new team and
a commitment to involve everyone
who is interested," he said.
Boise National Forest recreation
officer Danny Ebert said the forest
has not been contacted by Mina. "Un-
til we hear something, the permit has
been terminated," he said.
Ebert said he expects a renewed
proposal will prove to be controver-
sial. "As long as (former Idaho Gov.)
Cecil (Andrus) has a cabin on the lake
. it may be rough - going," he said.
Details of a new resort proposal
are in the beginning stages. The scope
of the project probably will be scaled
back from the objectives of the Valbois
proposal, Weilmunster added.
Valley County needs an economic
boost, and a properly designed resort
project will add new jobs and increase
the tax base, he said.
"The is one of the most depressed
areas of the state, with high unem-
ployment and a stagnant business
economy. One of our principal objec-
tives will be to improve that situation."
Taggart, meanwhile, said he will
be hunting for a new job. Court papers
indicated he is due to receive $123,794
in administrative wages, plus interest
and expenses.
His partner, Guillaume de Bergh
also is set to receive $119,005.64 in
wages, interest and expenses. The law
firm of Stoel Rives LLP is due to
receive $160,427.90 for handling the
bankruptcy case for Valbois.
The 'new' Valbois has the'same old faces
BY JONI FIELDS
I'm glad I read the "Opinion" (The Star -News,
Aug. 28, 1997) on the Valbois project before I wrote
this letter. The summation of the battles fought here
in Valley County, pro and con, on the Valbois resort,
is much more professional than mine and very accu-
rate. However, since I was one of the loudest, most
prolific in my personal fight against the project, I
would like to take this opportunity to remind the
citizens of Valley County and their elected officials
of some very important facts.
If you will recall, the very same men who were
involved in the original proposed resort are now
back under the new name of Mina Associates, LLC,
promising a completely new plan, with nothing but
"up- front, open and inclusive" tactics (according to
Don Weilmunster). These "new" executives, includ-
ing Don Weilmunster, as CEO, Pierre Schnebelen
(French developer) as the chief "moneyman and
dollar guarantor," Jack Marshall, former Valbois
officer of McCall (receiving a generous payoff from
current bankruptcy proceedings in U.S. Bankruptcy
Court in Boise), and of course former Valbois ac-
countant Brian Wilson and Valbois Controller Don
Lidstrom, also receiving payoffs for their claims.
Do you, as Valley County taxpayers, have full
confidence in the credibility of the above named
men? Yes, there was an organization, "Citizens for
Valley County," headed by Bob Krumm of Lake
Fork, who fought ferociously for the defeat of V albois.
I was an active member of that group, and I am sure
there are many citizens still opposed to it today, and
willing to say so publicly.
The only thing these men (who had control of
Valbois, and now Mina Associates, LLC, of
Mexico) did that was admirable was to squeeze
out Dennis Taggart because he was not a condu-
cive candidate to press forward with their suppos-
edly "new" Valbois project.
I would suggest that these men should realize
that simply because their bankruptcy filing and
payoff of Valley County government agencies,
such as the Valley County Treasurer for back
taxes, the county general fund, school districts,
and the Cascade and McCall hospitals does not
constitute full restitution to the citizens of Valley
County. In the first place, I personally believe
many prominent citizens are still adamantly
against any development such as the one pro-
posed by the Valbois contingent, and I am further
sure they will speak out as I have, when
Weilmunster's plans are fully released.
I, for one, hope for a more honest, open, and
publicly approved plan. I might add that Steve
Mealey, former Boise National Forest supervi-
sor, also felt the Valbois project was not a proper
development for this area, thus he proceeded to
terminate their former permit until a more fea-
sible plan was presented. I hope the current super-
visor will be as astute. I see the recreational
director, Danny Ebert, is aware of the facts and
cautious about any new permit.
Also, I hope our current county commission-
ers will study any and all projects being planned
for this area. Look what the City of McCall is
going through now, due to such rapid and un-
planned growth. The city fathers and city govern-
ment seem overwhelmed by the influx of people,
new businesses, and the growing costs to the city of
all this growth and development.
Could this have been the prime cause of City
Manager Gary Shimun's resignation? The demands
on all city services, law, personnel, etc., is extreme.
Just imagine what would happen to McCall, Cas-
cade and Donnelly if this abandoned project is
revived!
My husband, a lifelong Valley County resident,
built our little home by degrees, beginning to 1963.
We are located on West Roseberry Road, which is
the prime roadway to the proposed Valbois devel-
opment. The road can barely sustain the traffic as is,
since all the new homes have been built west of
Donnelly. That means more road improvements,
upkeep and construction to service Valbois. Do
these "new" officers of the "new" Valbois plan on
paying for this? Or will it be another of the taxpayers
obligations? Let's think this over before we allow
this project to be approved!
Another important thing to consider is the huge
improvements and increased services,(ski lifts, etc.)
at the popular Brundage Mountain Ski Area. Does
this area really need, or want, another large resort
development? I urge your complete attention to this
Valbois, or "new Valbois" plan, and make your
decision to support or oppose the upcoming plan
according to what will be the best choice for our
county and its people, not the pockets to be lined by
its acceptance.
(Joni Fields is a Donnelly resident.)