By PAULA TRACY, InDepthNH.org
CONCORD – While the public and elected leaders have said they want to see a replacement of the aerial tramway at Cannon Mountain, Gov. Chris Sununu wrote that he favors an 8- to 10-person gondola, although he said all options need to be considered.
A public hearing was held on Senate Bill 55 this week before the Senate Finance Committee.
Sponsored by state Sen. Carrie Gendreau, R-Littleton, the bill seeks to spend $25 million in the state’s surplus revenues on a new tramway, which is also supported by the state Department of Natural and Cultural Resources which operates the lift, which is unique in New Hampshire and one of only two in the Northeast.
The tally sheet showed that 16 people signed up in support of the bill, four opposed and one took no position.
Sununu wrote to the committee on Feb. 7 and thanked Gendreau and others for bringing the bill forward.
He said he agreed that now is the time for a replacement.
But Sununu, who has past business experience as a ski area chief executive officer at his family’s Waterville Valley, urged them to look at “all variables” but noted in his letter favor an 8- to 10-person gondola.
“A gondola can increase revenue through its ability to bring customers to the summit faster, as well as create a more secure customer experience. Visitors may feel more comfortable in a gondola with 8 to 10 people rather than a tram with 70 to 100 people during the height of respiratory illness season in the winter months,” Sununu wrote.
Others disagreed.
They included Executive Councilor Joe Kenney, the Republican from Wakefield, who said the tramway is iconic and part of the state’s branding.
After the meeting, he said, “I am a tram supporter.”
“The aerial tram at Cannon Mountain is a branding tool for the state. In my judgment, it represents the ingenuity and freedom of America. Put in place before Pearl Harbor it was an engineering marvel and the first of its kind in North America. Returning WWII veterans from the 10th Mountain Division helped lay out our ski mountains around the country and many veterans were inspired by the Tram,” he said.
Kenney told the committee he hosted an Executive Council meeting at Cannon two years ago to show Gov. Sununu and his fellow councilors the need to address the tram’s future, that it was near the end of its current 40-year life cycle.
“The intent of the presentation was to educate the Governor and Council on the importance of this iconic asset and to recognize that equipment, parts, and supplies to support this Tram in the future will likely become obsolete. And many of the present equipment pieces have limited lifespans and need to be replaced.
“The Tram today is a money maker, bringing in over $2 million in revenue for our state parks system in FY 2022. It is also a complementary piece to the Franconia Notch State Park as this park is constantly being recognized as one of the best in the country. But what makes Franconia Notch State Park and the Tram a great experience is not only its majestic views but the state park employees who are proud to serve and full of morale and enthusiasm when visitors come to witness our great state.
“So, the time is now to create a Tram III at Cannon Mountain so that future generations can have that same experience that their parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents have had in the past. It is our responsibility to preserve this iconic structure as much as we have preserved the memory of the Old Man of the Mountain,” Kenney said.
The 70-passenger tram, (80 passengers of capacity in summer) with its two cars, three towers, and rope, whisks passengers up 2.3 miles in eight minutes to the highest access lift point in New Hampshire at 4,080 feet. It is in the heart of Franconia Notch State Park, surrounded by peaks like Mount Lafayette.
On a clear day, summit visitors can see Maine, New York, Vermont New Hampshire, and Quebec in Canada with a 360-degree view. The lift is considered a summer destination for tourists and a winter conveyance for skiers at the state-owned and operated Cannon Mountain ski area.
Last February, a public hearing at the mountain attended mostly by skiers and snowboarders, overwhelmingly supported replacing the tram with another tram and did not like the idea of a gondola.
Sarah Stewart, commissioner for the state Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, and Brian Wilson, the state parks director testified in support of the bill to replace the tram.
Senate President Jeb Bradley, R-Wolfeboro, who is a co-sponsor, asked Wilson if a gondola would be more subject to being inoperable due to wind, whether the existing buildings at the summit and base would need to be retrofitted or replaced for a gondola and whether such a system of multiple cars of a gondola, lower in the treeline than two large aerial trams would diminish the traveler’s viewing experience which is up high above treetops.
To each question, Wilson said “yes.”
Jayne O’Connor, retired president of the White Mountain Attractions Association, noted that gondolas are all over the place and there are very few aerial tramways, and that it is an important part of the tourism options in the region.
A number of tourism officials from across the state also supported the tram bill.
A copy of the bill is here https://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/bill_status/billinfo.aspx?id=1007&inflect=2
The Senate Judiciary Committee has not yet voted on the bill.