By RICK MILLER
Olean Star
ELLICOTTVILLE — The Cattaraugus County Industrial Development Agency has accepted an application from Win-Sum Ski Corp. for sales tax breaks on a $5.1 million spending plan for Holiday Valley Resort in Ellicottville.
The corporation is seeking $408,428 in state and local sales tax exemptions on about $4.1 in equipment and materials and $993,000 in construction costs.
Holiday Valley has more than 500,000 visitors a year, 172 full-time and 600 part-time employees with a $12.8 million payroll and pays $765,000 in property taxes.
David Trathen, Holiday Valley vice president for finance, spoke to the IDA board of directors earlier this week to detail plans for this year’s projects.
Much of the planned spending deals with snowmaking, Trathen said. Two snow groomers are being purchased plus over $1 million for new automated snow guns and new “fan” snow guns that will spread snow out over a further distance. Snowmaking is “the lifeblood of the resort,” he said.
The 2024-25 season was a “record year for revenue,” Trathen said. That’s because the resort can make a lot of snow if it’s cold — even if there’s no natural snow. This was a cold winter.
This past year, the resort got a good assist from Mother Nature in the form of lots of natural snow to go with the man-made snow, he said.
IDA board members expressed concern over the potential local impact on U.S. tariffs added to Canadian goods imported into this country. The tariffs have been a source of anger among many Canadians. Ontario is home to a large number of visitors to Ellicottville every year – not just during ski season. Holiday Valley celebrated its 67th year this past ski season. It is not a four-season resort and will host a record number of weddings this summer.
Asked by IDA members what the impact might be, Trathen replied that Holiday Valley “hasn’t noticed anything yet.” Canadians, he said, “are pretty welcome in Ellicottville. They have for a long time. They own property here. I think we’ll be alright. They are welcome here.”
The town of Ellicottville accounts for nearly 25% of the tax base in Cattaraugus County, said IDA executive director Corey Wiktor.
The IDA agreed to set a public hearing on Holiday Valley’s request for sales tax exemption on materials and equipment.
The IDA also congratulated the Village of Cattaraugus, which received a $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative grant from New York state. IDA board member Tom Cullen of Cattaraugus helped prepare the grant request. It was the biggest DRI grant received in Western New York.
One Main, the site of the old Bush Brothers factory that has since been cleared, will be much of the focus of the DRI project. A farmer’s market, music pavilion, a building for vendors and the new Revolution Rail franchise on the New York & Lake Erie Railroad line – the former Erie Railroad – now owned by the IDA. Visitors will ride two-person rail bikes along a three-mile section of the recently rehabilitated rail line. The Cattaraugus County Legislature and IDA contributed funds to rehabilitate the rail line that has long been out of service.
Cullen said plans are for Revolution Rail to have a soft launch on Memorial Day. Tickets are expected to be available online.
The company hopes to attract up to 50,000 people a year to the rail bike experience. They operate similar rail bike operations in other parts of the country, with the closest being in the Adirondacks. There may also be winter rail bike activities.
Local officials plan to have activities for these new visitors, including a renovated Crawford House, which will become a boutique hotel.
Local residents are also being invited to submit proposals for economic development and other village projects.
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All Rights Reserved. Star News LLC. Eric M Firkel.
