Lawmakers tabled a request to increase fees at state-owned Cannon Mountain last week, citing concerns about higher lift ticket prices for seniors and state employees and the effect the move would have on tourism.
The Department of Natural and Cultural Resources had requested the fee increases, pointing to $825,000 in unforeseen energy costs.
But the proposal drew skepticism from a panel of lawmakers on the Joint Legislative Fiscal Committee, who voted 8-2 to table the request.
“Given this is a state resource, I’m wondering how you’ve decided to put the fee increases on New Hampshire residents or state employees that are hard enough to retain and seniors,” said Sen. Cindy Rosenwald, a Nashua Democrat, during the committee meeting on Friday.
The department proposed raising the cost of tickets for seniors and New Hampshire state employees, and a discounted Wednesday rate of about 20 percent for residents. Advance tickets for seniors would go from $66 to $81, with same-day tickets increasing from $76 to $91. New Hampshire state employee advance tickets cost $45 now but would go up to $55; same-day tickets would rise from $49 to $59.
Lift tickets for adults would also rise by $10, about a 10 percent increase.
“This last budget we added significantly more to tourism to try to get people to come to New Hampshire,” said Sen. Gary Daniels, a Milford Republican. “I feel that by raising the fees on them it sounds like we’re now fighting against tourism: ‘Get up here, but we’ll charge you more.’”
Lawmakers also balked at the department’s request to charge $10 for parking at two high-traffic lots that serve hikers climbing Franconia Ridge and Kinsman Ridge.
“We just want to make sure it’s a sustainable operation,” said Sarah Stewart, commissioner of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. “We’re looking for ways to cover the expenses, and we feel like these 200-plus parking spots are really the primo spots that people would be willing to pay $10 for.”
She pointed to the fee system used at Mount Monadnock as evidence that similar charges are already used by the state to manage popular hiking areas. The parking fees would offset the cost of running a shuttle service that the state started to prevent people from parking along the highway to access the trails.