Pratt, standing among a handful of ORDA staff and board members in the near-vacant Conference Center Monday, March 16, said the authority does layoffs every spring. Beyond those, there were no plans to cut staff as of Monday, Pratt said.

“We’re very fortunate that we have a quality crew of seasonal people that help us out. There will be some layoffs; some people move on to other jobs; some are kind of transitioning,” he said. “I guess those people are expecting it and will be laid off as appropriate. We don’t have an exact identification of days or people yet. The simple answer is yes. The more complicated answer is when or who.”

The ORDA Board of Directors met as usual on March 16, though there were some stark differences to the setting. The meeting was held in the Conference Center ballroom, the largest meeting space, with audience chairs placed 6 feet apart from each other — likely a remnant of a meeting on coronavirus hosted by the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism a few days prior. Some ORDA staff members sat far apart from one another. Just two members of the ORDA Board of Directors attended in person, Cliff Donaldson and Arthur Lussi, while others called or Skyped in.

Donaldson pressed Pratt to share information about possible layoffs.

“With all the shutdowns that are going on, and ORDA is not excluded in that, I’m confident there are going to be layoffs,” Donaldson said. “Has the state determined how they will handle these layoffs? Are they going to just expect the people to go on unemployment? Are they going to supplement that?”

Pratt responded by saying he wasn’t able to address those concerns.

“There haven’t been any directives issued yet,” he said.

Donaldson said ORDA’s employees are likely concerned about their jobs.

“I’d like to get them information as soon as we know it,” he said.

Diane Monroe, who lives near the Belleayre Mountain Ski Center in the Catskills, said ORDA should keep in mind the hard work the Highmount facility’s snowmakers and groomers have done this season.

“It’s been a stressful season, given the lack of natural snow,” she said. “I don’t know what, if anything, is done organizationally to celebrate exceptional work. I’m pretty confident, having been here for 50 years, that this may be the best performance ever for snowmakers and groomers.”

There’s a lot of us folks here in Belleayre, and I’m sure we’re not alone, that would like to know that there’s some way that these folks and all the guys who are busting their tails all year to make these things happen, are maybe shown a little extra appreciation.”

“Our employees are the biggest asset we have,” Pratt said. “They’re responsible for our successes.”

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Venues closed, events canceled

At the close of business Sunday, March 15, the ORDA-managed ski areas and all its venues suspended operation.

Closures include all Nordic and Alpine ski resorts; Mount Van Hoevenberg, Belleayre Mountain Ski Resort, Gore Mountain and Whiteface Mountain.

Additionally, the Lake Placid Olympic sites will be closing the Olympic Jumping Complex, Olympic Sports Complex, the Olympic Oval and the Olympic Center, including the Lake Placid Olympic Museum and ORDA retail shop.

The decision was made two days after ORDA announced it would close some venues and limit access to others, and three days after the Can-Am and ECAC hockey tournaments were canceled. All ORDA events were canceled, including the International Skating Union’s World Synchronized Skating Championships set for April 3-5 at the Olympic Center. All 6,000 seats were sold out.

The Italian and Chinese teams had already pulled out.

ORDA, the ISU and U.S. Figure Skating issued a joint press release about the cancellation March 13, saying that the decision was made in light of New York’s restrictions on public gatherings and the U.S. travel ban affecting 26 European countries due to the pandemic.

“While we are disappointed for all the teams that worked so hard to qualify for these world championships, U.S. Figure Skating supports the ISU’s decision as we globally work to limit the spread of the coronavirus,” U.S. Figure Skating President Anne Cammett said in a press release.

The decision affects skaters from 25 teams representing 19 countries, including five-time world medalists and 28-time U.S. champions Haydenettes and three-time U.S. silver medalists the Skyliners.

The cancellation puts an abrupt end to the synchronized skating season. U.S. Figure Skating withdrew its two entries from the ISU World Junior Synchronized Skating Championships 2020, which began Friday, March 13.

“I’d like to thank ORDA, the village of Lake Placid and the many volunteers who worked tirelessly to prepare for a world-class event,” Cammett said. “We certainly want Lake Placid to host these championships in the near future.”