Following a presentation last week by Ousman Valiante of Mono Nordic Ski Club (Nordic), Mono council will undertake a study of the relative costs of purchasing versus mining gravel, and consider whether it's prudent to risk losing part of a recreational facility by cutting down oak trees and digging for aggregates.

If the cost of purchasing gravel is greater than the cost of mining it from a town-owned pit, the difference in cost would amount to a subsidy, councillors agreed by consensus.

But Nordic, now with 600 members in its 23rd year of operation, has been totally unsubsidized and has created a series of year-round trails as well as the groomed winter ski ones at no cost to the taxpayer, Mr. Valiante said.

Mono, on the other hand, is subsidizing the Island Lake network of trails and, according to members of council, has more parkland per capita than any other municipality in Dufferin.

In what had been meant as a power-point demonstration, Mr. Valiante described Nordic as a world-class facility boasting of local athletes who placed fifth in team sprints at the national competition, possibly because of the club's 14 kilometres of groomed trails for training.

He said Nordic has some members in training for the Olympics.

His argument might not have been so much about gravel mining as about removal of trees. He said trees provide a natural cover for the groomed trails and grooming is needed for speed trials and the like.

On the value of the year-round trails for recreation, he described Nordic as in effect a tourist attraction for Mono - close by the Greater Toronto Area at a time when people are finding it too expensive to travel. He cited the declining market for SUVs as proof that more people are staying closer to home.

One of the main thrusts of Mr. Valiante's presentation was the need to preserve the 40-year-old oak trees. He said planting seedlings would mean 30- 40 years before the trails could be rehabilitated.

He asked for a moratorium on further deforestation, and a study into what the gravel pit is truly worth.

Deputy Mayor David Baldwin asked for a ballpark figure on relative costs of mining and purchasing aggregates. Public Works Director Wayne Reid indicated a difference of a $4 per tonne purchase and $1.40 to dig it.

But Mr. Baldwin wondered about associated costs, and asked whether the difference is a real saving or whether it's "a balance that looks good on the books."

He said the town's position has "always been gravel first. Maybe Mr. Valiante wants a new paradigm."

Councillor Jean-Gabriel Castel questioned the value of the trees to ski trails. He said members of his own family belong to Nordic but he, himself, skis on his own trails. He said he has never had a problem with a lack of trees.

"The bottom line is simple. If we close the pit, how much does it cost elsewhere? Is council prepared to subsidize the club?"

Councillor Ken McGhee wondered whether the town should be "building a facility for Mono or for everyone."

Mr. Valiante said he would speak to his executive, presumably to determine whether Nordic could partially fund the study into the issue.

Outside the meeting, Nordic members pointed to a Mono coat of arms on a pickup truck, and the depiction of a skier thereon - but no depiction of a gravel pit.