Lively Ski Hill needs more than $755K in upgrades

The future of the Lively Ski Hill is in question, with Sudbury city council having to decide whether to spend close to $775,000 in capital work at the hill.

For people like Matt Foy, the ski hill is part of his family’s history. His father, Gary Foy, was one of the people that brought the hill to life.

“My dad opened that hill in 1963, so it's been around for 61 years,” Foy said.

“It was sort of the hub of, like, like racing programs and all these things. It brought so many people together.”

Since the future of the hill was thrown into doubt, he said an “unbelievable the amount of people that have reached out.”

“I think we just need to get together and fight for our fight for our little hill”

Earlier this year, city council halted capital spending on both the Lively and Adanac ski hills until a report could be presented for review.

During a committee meeting Monday, the report said the lift should be removed from service before it suffers a catastrophic breakdown or causes a safety incident.

The hill’s chalet also needs substantial work, which will cost more than $395,000.

“I'm on your side, but it's not me that needs to be convinced -- it's everybody,” said Ward 2 Coun. Eric Benoit.

“Everybody needs to be convinced. We need to show that this community wants this and we're there. And if we are able to save this, I need people to use it.”

The future of the Lively Ski Hill is in question, with Sudbury city council having to decide whether to spend close to $775,000 in capital work at the hill. (Photo from video)

The report also showed that during the 2022-2023 season, only 715 visits were recorded. In the previous season, there were more than 1,600 visits, although there were more than double the number of operating days.

“If the community had known before last season that there was a risk (of it closing), this community would have rallied behind it and we would have seen a lot better numbers,” Benoit said.

“But instead, we had a horrible winter. Nothing was talked about. And then all of a sudden, out of nowhere, well, we want to close the ski hill and it's like, well, give us at least some time to prove that this is what we want.”

A change.org petition that started Tuesday has more than 1,300 signatures. A decision will be made Aug. 13about whether to proceed with the capital spending at both hills.