Dear Editor,
As a member of the business community, a resident of the town of Killington and an Executive Board member of the KPAA, I wanted to respond to some questions that have arisen regarding the KPAA’s proposal to the Select Board to manage the Marketing and Special Events for the town.
The KPAA is not just the Chamber under a different name. The Executive Board of the KPAA consists of Mike Solimano, Tracy Taylor, Seth Webb, Town Manager, Howard Smith, Owner of Sushi Yoshi and President of the KPAA, and myself, Owner of Boss Office Works, and Treasurer of the KPAA. I am happy to see the business community working together with Killington Resort and the local Town government to our mutual benefit
I feel that with this contract, we will be able to do more with the same budget already approved by the town. By combining the KPAA (Welcome Center, Events, and Volunteers) and the Marketing and Special Events of the Town, we can find efficiencies with both staff and other related expenses. We can attract more private dollars to Killington by using our regional merchant pass program and other assets. We will continue to recruit more private businesses to support events and marketing activities in Killington. We will also be able to open the Welcome Center seven days a week (currently it operates six days a week). All of this will be done with no tax increases to the taxpayers as a result of this agreement.
The Select Board and Town manager would not be writing a blank check to the KPAA. The KPAA would submit invoices for expenses related to the marketing and special events programs and the Select Board would have final approval on all invoices. This agreement is for one year (renewable) and will serve as a trial period to make sure that we are moving in the right direction, achieving our goal of increasing tourism and business in the area, thus increasing the revenue the town will receive and hopefully easing the burden on individual tax payers and home owners in the area.
Vince Chiarella
Owner, Boss Office Works
