[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 8]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 11830]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



      AKRON, OHIO, AREA SKI RESORT WINS ENERGY CONSERVATION AWARD

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TOM SAWYER

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, June 7, 1999

  Mr. SAWYER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to commend the Boston Mills/
Brandywine Resort, located in my congressional district, just north of 
Akron, Ohio. The Boston Mills/Brandywine Resort is being honored this 
week for excellence in energy conservation.
  This is remarkable for two reasons, one obvious and one not so 
obvious. First, Ohio is not the location many would imagine when 
thinking of award-winning ski areas. But to my colleagues from the 
higher elevation, I highly recommend Ohio to you. It is actually 
possible, in Ohio's 14th District, to work all day in downtown Akron 
and ski in the evening. Moreover, the twin resorts at Boston Mills and 
Brandywine are located within the boundaries of the Cuyahoga Valley 
National Recreation Area, and are one of its important amenities.
  But it is surprising that Boston Mills was singled out because of its 
size. Being a small ski area makes it hard to compete against larger 
operations like Vail and Aspen. But Boston Mills won the energy 
conservation award over both of these sites.
  Boston Mills found that its energy needs were causing problems for 
its neighbors. Neighbors actually found their lights got dim when 
snowmaking equipment was turned on full force. Responding to these and 
other energy related problems, Boston Mills developed an ambitious $1.5 
million system providing maximum power efficiency and snow production. 
Making snow now costs 69.5 percent less. They also located new grooming 
machines which use 33 percent less fuel. Boston Mills calculates total 
energy savings at 962,000 kilowatt hours of electricity and 9,404 
gallons of gas.
  Boston Mills/Brandywine Resort will receive the Golden Eagle Award 
from the Times Mirror Co. this week, one of only five awards being made 
this year. I hope their conservation initiative will be an example to 
private recreation providers across our land.

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