Besides such usual work as repairing fighter planes and missiles, Hill Air Force Base also runs the little-known Hillhaus Lodge for its workers near Snowbasin ski resort.
But the inn with three suites, four rooms, a loft and food service constantly loses money. So Air Force auditors said it should be closed unless it can break even within two years, according to documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.But Hill persuaded overseers at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio that the lodge is so important to morale at Hill - which is facing thousands of possible layoffs from defense cuts - that it should be kept open even if it continues to lose money.
"It doesn't receive any taxpayer support," said Jim Stevenson, Hill's chief of Morale, Welfare, Recreation and Services. Instead, profits from other morale and recreation operations - such as base restaurants - help subsidize the lodge.
Also, the base operates the Carter Creek Campground for employees with cabins, trailers and camp sites in the Uinta Mountains - and it produces a small profit each year, he said.
"(The lodge) is very popular with employees, in part because it's so close to Snowbasin (30 miles from the base). It's so busy you can't get in there on weekends, although it's slower during the week. We'd hate to lose it," Stevenson said.
Use of the lodge is open to any member of the military, including reservists, plus civilian employees of the Defense Department, Stevenson said.
But the Air Force Audit Agency noted such morale and recreation facilities are supposed to break even or make a profit, and "Hillhaus Lodge had operating losses each of the last three years."
It lost $10,806 in 1990, $27,900 in 1991 and $14,959 for the first five months of 1992, auditors said.
On top of that, auditors said the facility didn't seem all that popular. "Hillhaus Lodge had between 30 and 40 percent occupancy rates for the three years reviewed," they wrote.
However, Hill said attendance was down those years "because of poor snowfall" and because many people at Hill were participating in the Persian Gulf War.
But auditors didn't believe the excuses, noting, "the Utah Ski Industry reported the 1990-91 and 1991-92 ski seasons were the first and third best seasons respectively based on the number of skiers."
Hill officials wrote to commanders that the lodge has since tried to attract more business by renovating rooms, improving its menu and allowing customers to now reserve rooms as far in advance as they desire, instead of just the 30 days that had been allowed.
Stevenson said, "We've had a banner year so far this season. Being so close to Snowbasin, as it goes, so do we. They opened earlier this year. Last year, they didn't open until Christmas - so we had a 30-day head start this year."
He said the eight-room lodge had a total of 101 rentals in December and 62 in January.
Stevenson added that the lodge is looking at ways to lower its utility bills, which now account for a third of its costs, according to reports.
"But I expect it will still always lose a little," Stevenson said. "We don't mind that it loses a little because we can offset that (with profits from other operations). Sometimes we offer a service for the good of morale."
Commanders at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base agreed with such arguments, and overrode a suggestion from auditors that Hillhaus Lodge be closed if it could not break even within two years.
However, they did order Hill to examine ways to make it more cost effective. And Stevenson said that includes looking at possibly using the lodge during summer months for conferences and other uses.