Snowmobile Council

Taylor County Snowmobile Council Meeting December 1st, 2022 HOSTED BY: Pine Creek Riders at Deer Trail Inn Called to order: 7:02 PM Secretary’s Report : Report presented by Jake Walcisak. Motion made and 2 nd to amend agenda. Change Dan Roiger to Matter Roiger under request for annual operating expenses of the Council. 1st Delvin Smith, 2nd Rickie Schmitz, motion carried. Motion made and 2nd to accept November minutes as amended. 1st Delvin Smith, 2nd Rickie Schmitz, motion carried. Treasurer’s Report: Report presented by Elaine Emmerich for December, see attached for details. Motion made and 2n d to accept Treasurer’s Report. 1 st Matt Roiger, 2nd Roger Bube , motion carried. AWSC Report: Bob Meyer • Please mail old groomer GPS units back to GTS or give to Bob Meyer and he will get them to GTS at the March AWSC directors meeting. Old Business: • Reminder to notify Jake Walcisak about trail reroutes. Also, be sure to touch base with your landowner’s pre -season to make sure agreements are in place. Consider using written agreement provided by the County. • Central meeting location discussion. When scheduling a venue please be conscious of the location to be sure it has sufficient seating and an adequate layout for our meeting. There was a suggestion for the Council to purchase a portable sound system to help broadcast the voices of the officers. Kirby offered to bring a small sound system if requested. No action taken. • Elaine Emmerich distributed a 3 -year summary of expenses for operating the council. Average annual expense of $4,844.45. This includes ordering new maps once during this 3-year cycle. Discussion was had regarding the level of funding to retain annually. As well as different ways to reimburse clubs through changes in the raffle percentage or year - end carry over. Dave Roiger requested Elaine to prepare a 3 -year summary of revenues to be s ure we were comparing apples to apples. This item will be discussed at a future meeting. No action taken. New Business: • Actively looking for a County Snowmobile Council youth rep. Please discuss at your club meetings. • USFS Lake 11 timber sale is expecte d to be active this year. Black River Rock Dodgers have signed the reroute appropriately. • Taylor County Forest is expecting to have two timber sales active this winter which will impact snowmobiling. Trout Avenue and a quarter -mile segment of North Loop Road, just north of Cut Off Road, will likely be plowed. • Wisconsin has a lack of snowmobile safety instructors. Please consider becoming an instructor. Nick Meyer sits on the AWSC safety committee and would be a good contact for bringing Council safety concerns to the Association. Next Meeting: January 5th, 2023, Hosted by Moonlite Sno-Kats at Kountry Korner Bar. Adjourn: Motion made and 2 nd to adjourn. 1st by Steve Thums, 2 nd by Cole Rudolph, motion carried. Adjourned 7:32 pm Respectfully submitted by: Jake Walcisak Taylor County Forestry Dept. Taylor County Snowmobile Council Meeting November 3rd, 2022 HOSTED BY: Tired Iron Vintage Riders at BS Bar Called to order: 7:02 PM Secretary’s Report: Report presented by Jake Walcisak. Motion to accept October minutes as presented. Motion made and 2 nd to accept Secretary’s report. 1 st Dan Roiger, 2nd Rickie Schmitz, motion carried. Treasurer’s Report: Report presented by Elaine Emmerich for November, see attached for details. Motion made and 2n d to accept Treasurer’s Repo rt. 1st Delvin Smith, 2nd Cole Rudolph, motion carried. AWSC Report: Bob Meyer • There were 679 groomer GPS units active last season. o Groomer Tracking Systems (GTS) will be replacing the oldest GPS units this year. GTS will send out new units to be installed by the clubs. Return old units to GTS. • Last season there was 18 counties in supplemental with 3 exceeding the maximum. • The scholarship auction raised $6,000. Over $10,000 in scholarships will be awarded. • New Miss Snowflake is Rachyl Burzinski. • Encourage club members to become safety instructors. • Remember to sign trails like you have never been there before. • International Snowmobile Congress will be held in Green Bay June 2024. • Raffle calendars will be available soon. • Get familiar with your new elected officials this November. • Contact Dave Newman if you have had any trails closed to do trespassing. Working on developing a mandatory educational video about staying on the trail. Old Business: • International Snowmobile Hall of Fame donation request. Letter provides a suggested donation of $250 from County Councils and $50 from individual clubs. Motion made by Penny Olson to donate $100, seconded by Dan Roiger. Motion carried. Clubs are encouraged to consider their own donations if they wish to support the mission of the ISHOF. • Starla Meyer will follow up with trail scavenger hunt signs. New Business: • Fun Day raffle tickets have arrived. See Elaine for initial distribution or if you need more. • Dan Roiger asked if Elaine could provide a report for annual operating costs of the Council. • Centralized Council meeting location. o The idea has been proposed to host monthly Council meetings at the Community Center by the fairgrounds. o This would provide a predictable location and dedicated area for meetings. o Some have voiced their concern with the rising cost of providing a host meal. o Carry-ins are allowed at the Community Center. o The cost is $35/month with a $200 annual deposit. o No action taken at this time. Will address at a future meeting. • Contract/Agreement with landowners. o These contracts should be reviewed annually. o They may be verbal, handshakes or written. o Consider using the form provided by the County. • Report any know reroutes to Jake Walcisak as soon as possible. He will work with Groomer Tracking Systems and DNR for the necessary updates. • Trail will no longer go through the Mondeaux Lodge upper parking lot. The trail will now go through the lower parking lot and follow the edge of the town road. Bob Meyer, Starla Meyer, Steve Thums and Wendy Thums recently met with the USFS on si te to discuss this matter. Next Meeting: December 1st, 2022, Hosted by Pine Creek at Deer Trail Bar. Adjourn: Motion made and 2 nd to adjourn. 1st by Leon Long , 2 nd by Cole Rudolph , motion carried. Adjourned 7:54 pm Respectfully submitted by: Jake Walcisak Taylor County Forestry Dept. Taylor County Snowmobile Council Meeting October 6th, 2022 HOSTED BY: Jump River Runners at Back 40 Bar Called to order: 7:06 PM Secretary’s Report : Report presented by Jake Walcisak. Motion to accept April minutes as presented. Motion made and 2 nd to accept Secretary’s report. 1 st Dan Roiger, 2nd Steve Thums, motion carried. Treasurer’s Report: Report presented by Elaine Emmerich for January, see attached for details. Motion made and 2n d to accept Treasurer’s Repor t. 1 st Steve T hums, 2nd Wally Emmerich , motion carried. AWSC Report: Bob Meyer • July 29-30, 2022 Director’s meeting in La Crosse. • International Snowmobile Congress June 7-10 Moline, IL. • DNR is asking clubs to schedule safety classes 6 weeks in advance to allow time for materials to arrive. • Fall workshop October 21-23. • Silent auction donations. Please get to Bob Meyer or Elaine Emmerich. • Get familiar with your new elected officials this November. • Contact Dave Newman if you have had any trails closed to do t respassing. Working on developing a mandatory educational video about staying on the trail. Old Business: • Taylor County Tavern League now has gift certificates available. Consider purchasing fo r landowners or club raffles. New Business: • Youth deer hunt is this weekend. Wear blaze orange if you are working on trails. • International Snowmobile Hall of Fame is looking for donations. • Motion was made by Dan Roiger and seconded by Dusty to reimburse AWSC Rep (Nick Meyer) for mileage (current IRS rate) when attending Director’s meetings. • Gray D og of Medford would like a snowmobile trail to downtown Medford. The trail would extend south f rom the BP gas station and stay on the west side of the railroad tracks. Gray Dog owner states City Manager, Joe Harris, is in favor of this trail extension. • Jump River Runners and Snowmobile Grooming Association need to sign and return maintenance contracts to the Forestry Department yet. • In 2021, collectively, all clubs underspent our budget by $11,200. This is approximatel y 8% of the total budget at $138,410. Need to do a better job utilizing all funds. • Walcisak presented three bridge projects he will be applying for this coming spring. Re - deck Little Rib bridge, re-deck Gilman Village bridge, replace Kasparek bridge. Next Meeting: November 3rd, 2022, Hosted by Tired Iron at BS Bar. Adjourn: Motion made and 2 nd to adjourn. 1st by Wally Emmerich, 2nd by Cole Rudolph, motion carried. Adjourned 7:48 pm Respectfully submitted by: Jake Walcisak Taylor County Forestry Dept. Taylor County Snowmobile Council Meeting April 7th, 2022 HOSTED BY: Stump Jumpers at The BS Bar Called to order: 7:00 PM Secretary’s Report : Motion to accept March minutes as mailed. Motion made and 2 nd to accept Secretary’s report. 1st Nick Meyer, 2nd Dave Roiger, motion carried. Treasurer’s Report: Report given by Elaine Emmerich for January, see attached for details. Motion made and 2n d to accept Treasurer’s Report. 1 st Matt Roiger 2nd Rickie Schmitz, motion carried. AWSC Report: Bob Meyer and Nick Meyer • Safety Posters: Bob Meyer had examples of Safety Posters from ACSA and ISMA. You can order the full-size posters from either organization for free. If you want smaller versions, they can be down loaded from ACSA and ISMA websites. ACSA website: snowmobilers.org / ISMA website: snowmobile.org. New promotion poster theme will be ‘ride right’. • Conservation Congress is April 11th. Subject will be passengers on ATV’s – snowmobiles are exempt. • AWSC trailer will be at Farm Progress Days. • KAOS Auction total was $9,368.00. • Fall Workshop – looking for ideas for the Workshops. • 41,046 Memberships. • There were 2 contests started this year – Clubs with at least 10% increase in Membership and Clubs with at least 10% increase in Commercial Sponsors. • Proposed -Lifetime Membership for 60-year-olds and over. • Discussed increasing Law Enforcement wages. • Vote for Bylaws changes was approved. • 2021-2022 season had 14 fatalities. Speed and alcohol were a common factor. Old Business: • Trail closures went smoothly. New Business: • Taylor County Tavern League now has gift certificates available. Consider purchasing for landowners or club raffles. • Walcisak provided a trail maintenance funding update. All clubs need to approve SNARS grooming entries before they can be reviewed and app roved by the County. Approximately $58,000 of trail maintenance funding remains county-wide to date. • All claims must be submitted by clubs into SNARS by May 31 st, 2022. This will give the County enough time to review, approve and reallocate any remaining funds. • New miles were amended for the 2021-2022 season including: Q, M4, Rib Lake City, and Brooks. Total miles now come to 346.4. • Applications were submitted to the state for two segments of maintenance. Fuzzy’s Trail 0.3 miles and 86 Trail (in Lincoln County) 2.7 miles. All other trails are funded. • 2021-2022 season lasted 68 days, not including early opening of the Pine Line. This is longest season we have had since 2014. Average season length over the past 8 years is 53 days. Election of Officers: • Nick Meyer made a motion to elect Jake Walcisak as secretary. Motion seconded by Dan Roiger. Motion carried. • Starla Meyer made a motion to elect Elaine Emmerich as treasurer. Motion seconded by Dave Roiger. Motion carried. • Dave Roiger made a m otion to elect Angie Schmeiser as v ice president. Motion seconded by Starla Meyer. Motion carried. • Elaine Emmerich made a motion to elect Dave Roiger as president. Motion seconded by Angie Schmeiser. Motion carried. Next Meeting: October 6th, 2022, Hosted by Jump River Runners. Location is TBD. Adjourn: Motion made and 2 nd to adjourn. 1st by Dave Roiger, 2 nd by Cal Nick Meyer, motion carried. Adjourned 7:52 pm Respectfully submitted by: Jake Walcisak Taylor County Forestry Dept. TAYLOR COUNTY SNOWMOBILE COUNCIL MEETING MARCH 3rd, 2022 HOSTED BY WESTBORO SNO-DUSTERS – WESTBORO VFW HALL Secretary’s Report : Motion made and 2 nd to accept Secretary’s Report as mailed. 1 st Dave Roiger 2nd Delvin Smith Treasurer’s Report: Report given by Elaine Emme rich; see attached for details. Motion made and 2nd to accept Treasurer’s Report. 1st Matt Roiger 2nd Lynn Jochimsen Old Business • Youth Rep Report: Halee, the new Youth Rep, was not present. • Convention: Convention is in Green Bay Ma rch 25th thru March 27th. March 10 th is the deadline to get your Voter Registration forms to AWSC. If you are not going to Convention, Director Bob Meyer and County Rep Nick Meyer can vote in your place. -- Side Note: It was requested that, at the Dir ectors’ meeting, Bo b ta lk about allowing 12year-olds and up take snowmobile safety courses online. • Raffle Report: Elaine had the results of the Fun Day Raffle; see attached for details. Next year will be hosted by the Jump River Runners. New Business • Trails: Jake sent e mail asking if we should close the tra ils. After much discussion, it was decided to keep them open through this weekend. Need to see what the weather is going to do. Revisit the subject on Monday. There was a complaint that part of the trail on Corridor 21 was down to dirt in the section that is being logged. • Safety Posters: It was asked whether there were posters to remind riders to STAY RIGHT. Director Bob will check with ACSA and AWSC. Maybe we could sponsor a Poster Contest? Something to think of for next season. • Election: Next m onth is the Election of Officers. President Wally Emmerich is stepping down. Everyone, get your campaigns going! • Local Events: Interwald Wanderers Pie Shoot is this Saturday at Cattail Tap. Pine Creek Riders are hold ing a Meat Raffle. When all the cards are sold, they will draw. Hope Hospice Fish Boil is scheduled for April 29th at the Chelsea Conservation Club. Next Meeting: April 7, 2022, hosted by Stump Jumpers at BS Bar, Highway 64 Medford. Adjourn: 1st by Dave Roiger 2nd by Lynn Jochimsen Respectfully submitted by: Elaine Emmerich Temporary Secretary Taylor County Snowmobile Council Meeting February 3rd, 2022 HOSTED BY: Black River Rock Dodgers at The Groomer Shed Called to order: 7:03 PM Secretary’s R eport: Motion to accept January minutes as mailed. Motion made and 2 nd to accept Secretary’s report. 1st Nick Meyer, 2nd Dave Roiger, motion carried. Treasurer’s Report: Report given by Elaine Emmerich for January, see attached for d etails. Motion made a nd 2nd to accept Treasurer’s Repor t. 1 st Steve Thums 2nd Roger Bube , motion carried. AWSC Youth Report: Nick Meyer and Bob Meyer • Scavenger hunt signs are finished. Nick Meyer brought most signs with to the meeting. Carli will deliver the remaining signs this weekend. • KAOS leadership ride – Lakewood February 11-13. • Silent auction at the convention. Donations appreciated. • Seven KAOS members will attend ISC June 8-11 Dubuque, IA. • KAOS apparel will be available online. AWSC Report: Bob Meyer • Current proposal to change/update AWSC by -laws. Changes are available for review in the magazine and on the website. Minor changes. Mostly clean-up language. Additional section for emergency powers (particularly applicable during unforeseen situations). • Membership at end of December was 40,567. Up notably from pre-trail pass era. • Discounted trail passes through AWSC a t end of December approximately 50,000. Full price trail passes through DNR at end of December 40,641. Well below the total number of snowmobiles registered in Wisconsin. • American Council of Snowmobile Associations is asking for clubs to report when a trail is rerouted or lost due to trespassing. Notify Dave Newman. • ISC in Dubuque, IA June 8-11. Registration is currently $235.00 but will increase as it gets closer to the event. Block of hotel rooms at $119.00 per night. Consider attending as this is a close location compared to most other years. New Business: • Grand opening of the Taylor -Price connector trail (new segment of trail D) at noon on Tuesday February 8th, 2022. Groomers from each county will meet at the county line. Jake will provide drone footage. Dave Newman and AWSC will be there to write an article. • Forestry Department staff met with Jeff Anderson from Travel Wisconsin on February 1st. Jake wi ll be a ttending the upcoming cou nty Tourism Committee meeting to discuss Travel Wisconsin providing a Destination Assessment for Taylor County. This is a free assessment. It is conducted through resident and visitor surveys. Travel Wis consin then provides recommendations on how to increase marketing and other promotional efforts that work with Taylor County’s strengths. Not exclusive to snowmobiling. • Jake will apply for new maintenance funding of trail 86 between the Lincoln County lin e and Wildwood Road, (2.65 m iles). If successful, this segment will be added to the maintenance contract of the Grooming Association for the 2022-2023 season. • Jake provided an update on active timber sales o County Forest: ▪ Intersection of Bear Ave and Emil Drive, extending 1.4 miles north. ▪ Bear Avenue between Emil Drive and Cut Off Road. ▪ Fawn Avenue between Newood Avenue and Camp 8 Road. o National Forest: ▪ Lake 11 sale has been awarded to Beiwer Sawmill with activity unlikely this winter. ▪ Jig sale between U rling Lane and Spieles Road. Contractor is plowing FR 570 going west from Lake 19 Road. ▪ South Twin sale on M and E Trail east of FR 566/Twin Lake Ro ad. Only hauling remains. ▪ Homestead sale near Winter Sports Road and Beaver Creek Road is active. Use of trail is not allowed but logging will occur near the trail. ▪ Trail plowed west of Mauer Drive may be groomed. Logger will n ot have time to harvest this winter. • AWSC Director and Rep Elections o County Snowmobile Council President, Wally Emmerich, called for nominations. ▪ Bob Meyer nominated for Director. No other nominations. ▪ Wally called for a voice vote. Passed unanimously. ▪ Nick Meyer nominated for Rep. No other nominations. ▪ Wally called for a voice vote. Passes unanimously. Next Meeting: March 3rd, 2022, Hosted by Westboro Sno-Dusters at the Westboro VFW Hall. Adjourn: Motion made and 2nd to adjourn. 1st by Scott Zondlo, 2nd by Cal Drost, motion carried. Adjourned 7:43 pm Respectfully submitted by: Jake Walcisak Taylor County Forestry Dept. Taylor County Snowmobile Council Meeting January 6th, 2022 HOSTED BY: SWAT at Zondlo’s Bar Called to order: 7:00 PM Secretary’s Report: Motion to accept December minutes as mailed. Motion made and 2 nd to accept Secretary’s report. 1st Kirby Jensen, 2nd Delvin Smith, motion carried. Treasurer’s Report: Report given by Elaine Emmerich for December, see attached for details. Motion made and 2nd to accept Treasurer’s Report. 1 st Dave Roiger 2nd Rickie Schmitz, motion carried. AWSC Youth Report: • Carli Berger will deliver Scavenger Hunt signs. Please call her at (715) 965-1673. • Potential new youth reps. Hailey Zickert and Rebekah Strobach. Old Business: • Elaine has more raffle tickets available for those who have not received them yet or additional tickets if you run out. AWSC Report: • Bob Meyer has American Coun cil of Snowmobile Association raffle calendars available for $20 each. • 40-foot rule has passed. Can now apply for maintenance funding of a one -way trail within 40 feet of a roadway. Must still be 10 feet from the shoulder or fog line. • Director’s meeting this weekend in Hayward. New Business: • Jake reviewed the process t o develop and receive funding on a new trail. Please contact Jake if you are working on a new trail or major reroute. • Small reroute near A&E. • 54th Annual International Snowmobile Congress (ISC) June 8-11, 2022, Dubuque, IA. • Jake provided an update on active timber sales o County Forest: ▪ 1st quarter mile of Emil Drive. ▪ Bear Avenue between Emil Drive and Cut Off Road. o National Forest: ▪ Lake 1 1 sale is out for bid s unt il January 17 th. Market co nditions may contribute to activity yet this winter. ▪ Jig sale between Urling Lane and Spieles Road. ▪ South Twin sale on trail east of FR 566/Twin Lake Road. • Bob Meyer has a promising candidate for AWSC rep. • Jeff Anderson from Travel Wisconsin has offered to meet with the County and local clubs to discuss how to promote snowmobiling in our area. • Jake, Elaine and Bob Meyer have been on WIGM Radio for educationa l and information interviews regarding snowmobiling and the roles played by our clubs. Next Meeting: February 3rd, 2022, Hosted by Black River Rock Dodgers at The Groomer Shed, on Howard Road behind Cindy’s Bar. Adjourn: Motion made and 2 nd to adjourn. 1st by Dave Roiger, 2 nd by Scott Zon dlo, motion carried. Adjourned 7:58 pm Respectfully submitted by: Jake Walcisak Taylor County Forestry Dept.