Car club barely misses

And, despite dire concerns about the car show’s future, the new owner seems agreeable to work something out. He and the car club president plan to meet this weekend to discuss the show’s future in Stowe.

The 37-acre property was listed for foreclosure earlier this year after a court ruling allowed The Manor Inc., the nursing home based in Morrisville, to go after it for restitution after the death of Kathryn Nichols, who left behind a $196,000 debt to the Manor.

The Vermont Automobile Enthusiasts hit their spending cap just $2,000 short of the winning bid.

You could have shattered the tension in front of the lodge with a stone or two kicked up from the late-model Honda Civic that pulled up to the auction, followed closely by what looked like a late 1940s Plymouth. The two vehicles found their places amid the swirling dust between a 1920s Ford mail truck, a BMW X-Series and an 1980s Saab convertible.

Their drivers came in impractically black jackets, in sunglasses, in matching polo shirts and driving gloves, men, women and a child or two blinking into the late June sunshine.

They circled around the Nichols Lodge and its adjoining barn, field and campground. The Vermont Automobile Enthusiasts formed a tight pack, flanking their president, Dan Noyes, whose responsibility it was to bid — and to stop bidding, when the time came.

They wanted that land keenly for their annual show, and have been in negotiations for it for months, Noyes said.

“We met with The Manor, we talked to Ed French [the attorney handling the auction], we tried to put together a deal,” he said. “But we couldn’t come to an agreement.”

The auction, Noyes said, was the only way for someone to lay claim to the land, and it wasn’t as simple as buying the 37 acres valued at $484,900 that auctioneer Thomas Hirchak described as “the gateway to Stowe.”

Protected land

Just over 31 acres of the land is protected from development by a conservation easement with Stowe Land Trust and is open to the public for outdoor activities such as running, biking, birdwatching, cross-country skiing, fishing, trapping and wildlife observation. No buildings, no signs, no billboards, no driveways, no roads or utility lines may be erected there. The land is hayed every year by the Percy farm family.

“The purpose of the easement is to protect the agricultural value of the property. It’s protected open land,” Stowe Land Trust’s director Caitrin Maloney said.

The easement, however, allows one commercial event every year after Aug. 1, although it does not mandate it. Historically, that one event has been the Stowe Antique and Classic Car Show, in its 59th year this year. Whether it will reach its 60th at Nichols Field is now anybody’s guess.

Anybody’s, that is, but the auction winner.

The land trust could have had the land if it wanted; the easement gives it the right of first refusal, which Maloney said means Stowe Land Trust could have matched the price and bought the property. It waived that right; Maloney said the land trust isn’t interested in owning more land. It would rather it sell to a farmer, someone who will work it and steward it.

And they’d like the car show to continue there, although Maloney called it a compromise. The show does cause soil compaction, but it’s a “valued community event,” she said. “We make these concessions. We’re completely comfortable with that.”

It happened fast

The sputtering of electronics and the boom of the auctioneer’s voice called the crowd to attention. The air swirled, suddenly, with an electrical charge of money and high heat and the lingering smell of gasoline and cracked leather from ancient cars, relics.

What will it smell like next year?

“Sometimes, messy things come to apocalyptic endings,” sighed Chandler Matson, the Vermont Automobile Enthusiasts’ attorney.

And then the bidding began.

It went fast, and without much fuss, to James Casey of Morristown, N.J., for $288,000. The car club stopped its bidding at $286,000.

“I’m disappointed and heartbroken,” Dave Sander, the club’s chairman, said after the gavel went down. “We all pool our vacation time. We live here for two weeks before the show. We set it all up and we run the show. We’re not making any money.”

Later, after the show, Sander wrote about the auction on Facebook.

“The Vermont Automobile Enthusiasts has donated many thousands of hard-working hours every year to pull this show off, providing funding to many needy Vermonters, who, without our help, would not be able to afford an education in the automotive technology field, and the Stowe Area Association has enjoyed profiting handsomely from our efforts,” Sander wrote.

According to Noyes, by the Stowe Area Association’s numbers, the car show has historically brought $1.7 million annually to the local economy.

“Now, I feel like we were just punched in the face,” Sander continued on Facebook. “Where was the town of Stowe to help us today, and over the last year? I am so frustrated and disappointed right now.”

“It was the right decision for Vermont Automobile Enthusiasts not to saddle its 501(c)3 with debt so we can do our mission,” Noyes said, explaining that the club would rather focus its energy and resources on its charitable and educational outreach programs for teens interested in pursuing careers in the automotive field.

“I’m disappointed, but I know we’ll be able to work with the buyer to have the car show in Stowe,” he said.

Manor made whole

The Manor is happy to have its outstanding balance paid, Jennifer Colin, the attorney representing the nursing home, said Tuesday.

“I think my client’s going to be made whole,” Colin said. “That’s all they wanted over the last four years of chasing this debt. The Manor provides an important service to this county, taking care of our elderly.”

And where is Casey in all of this?

He and his wife, Alison, own property in Stowe already — the cheerful blue Painted Lady at Main and Park streets. They have a soft spot for the town and are excited to own more of it.

“My husband and I really love Stowe,” Alison Casey said Tuesday. “Our kids have kind of grown up coming here on vacations.”

Casey said she and her husband don’t have solid plans for the property yet, but the car show will be part of its future.

“They’re still going to have a place to have the show because we think it’s good for the town,” Casey said. “We plan on spending a lot of time here in Stowe. We’re committed to the town.”

So, this year, Noyes knows, the car show is safe. The permits have all been applied for and granted, but he can’t offer any guarantees for future years, although he hopes to keep the show right here at home.

“It’s [Casey’s] field now, and he could say ‘no trespassing,’” Noyes said. “However, I’m sure we’ll be able to come to an agreement with him.”

Noyes has been investigating other options, just in case. He’s received an offer from Waterbury to host the show there, he says, and he’s looked into other fields in Stowe, too — he wants to keep it here, if at all possible.

Stowe Planning Director Tom Jackman says the club doesn’t have many options, though. Fields big enough to host the car show — at least 40 acres — and that are zoned to hold events are few and far between in Stowe.

“All the other fields are in rural residential districts,” Jackman said. “They can’t have events.”

Topnotch is too small, Jackman said. The club’s best bet, aside from Nichols Field, is to consider either the Mayo Farm Events field, using another property for parking, or Stowe Mountain Resort.