SAM Magazine-Donnelly, Idaho, Nov. 9, 2010-The Tamarack Municipal Association (TMA) has reached an agreement with creditor Credit Suisse, the Idaho Department of Lands, and the equity holders of the resort to allow payment of a land lease that is a key part of TMA's effort to open the resort to skiing and snowboarding next month.

TMA, the association that represents 389 homeowners at Tamarack Resort, will contribute $80,000 to a series of payments of more than $350,000 that will be owed the State of Idaho by early 2011. In the process, TMA secured an agreement to negotiate a sublease of state lands to enable the organization to operate Tamarack Resort's ski facilities this coming ski season.

The annual lease payment is $250,000. Subject to Bankruptcy Court approval, Credit Suisse will pay the past due amount plus interest and fees for 2010; TMA will pay for the rent attributable to the ski season as part of the first half of 2011 rent, and Credit Suisse will pay the balance of the first half's rent for 2011.

In exchange for the agreement among the affected stakeholders, the state agreed to extend for two weeks, until Nov. 19, the time for assuming or rejecting the lease between the resort and the state. TMA expects that the State Land Board and Credit Suisse will grant their approvals and join in any necessary motions in Bankruptcy Court to allow the use of the resort's facilities for the upcoming ski season.

"The commitment of the homeowners of Tamarack Resort to restore wintertime recreation at this exceptional destination has paid off," said Dr. Michael Carey, a pathologist based in Boise who is on the executive committee of the TMA board of directors.

TMA plans to conduct a 15-week season from Dec. 20-April 3. Five lifts are scheduled to operate, including the lift accessing the 7,700-foot summit. The resort will be open Thursdays through Sundays, with extended days during Christmas, New Year's, Martin Luther King, Jr., President's Day and spring break. Adult season passes are $199, daily lift tickets are $46 for adults, $22 for youth.