The Granite Gorge ski park had sued Granite State Insurance over a broken chairlift, but the parties have settled the suit by working out an agreement in mediation, according to court information.
ROXBURY — The Granite Gorge Ski Area won’t get auctioned off as owners have been able to arrange for debt payments to stave off the sale that had been scheduled for this past Monday.
Granite Gorge announced on its Facebook page that the auction had been called off, and that the park would be ready for the winter skiing and tubing season.
The terms reached to avoid the sale were not disclosed, but public records show the company recently paid off a town property tax lien in the amount of $13,254.
Fred Baybutt, owner of the Granite Gorge Ski Area, was informed earlier this month that he faces up to $24,000 in fines from the state over the operation of a summer camp at the ski park last year. He also recently lost the $10,000 defamation lawsuit he had brought against a parent who had pulled her children out of the summer camp.
The fines of $24,000 are for 12 violations found last year at the Granite Gorge Summer Camp before it was forced to close by the state. The camp was accused of improper medical record keeping, not having background checks done on counselors, and allowing campers to play in water without trained lifeguards, according to state records.
A mother of four from Nelson, Nicole Hutchins, sued Baybutt in small claims court seeking a $2,100 refund. Baybutt responded by suing her for $10,000 for complaining about the conditions at the camp to the state and the press.
Last month Judge James Gleason ruled after a hearing in the 8th Circuit Court in Keene that Baybutt was not entitled to the $10,000 as his defamation claim lacked credible proof. Gleason did rule that Baybutt did not have to pay the $2,100 refund to Hutchins, as the contract she had signed included a cancellation policy that governed refunds.
The property of 146 acres located on Route 9 is listed as having a total assessed value of $543,595, and the 2018 tax bill was $13,592.
The ski area includes a tubing hill and about 20 ski trails. The property also has a 3,839-square-foot lodge, a 2,827-square-foot yurt and a maintenance building.