March 2014 Alliance Minutes

The Mar 25, 2014 meeting was called to order by President Jim Kumbier at 7:34 PM at Oshkosh Lanes.   The February minutes were read and accepted.

Treasurer’s Report

The Treasurer’s report was read and accepted with the following balances.

Checking                                 $    4,156.90

Savings Account                   $     7,338.63

Certificate CD                        $  10,736.73

Passbook Savings                 $          25.15

Total                                        $ 22,257.41

Directors Report

The Cap/Step initiative passed the Senate and on March 19^th was signed into law by Governor Walker.  It is now known as 2013 Wisconsin Act 142.  The new legislation will go into effect on July 1, 2015.  There is a 4 year sunset clause on the bill that will allow for updates or changes deemed necessary in the future.

1. 2 tier pass system:  $30 non AWSC members, $10 for AWSC members
2. 3 year $30 registration required for everyone.
3. Free trail passes will be provided for registered sleds older than 30 years.
4. Non resident passes will be $50/yr.

Mike also reported that the AWSC is working on updating their website to allow for faster membership processing.

Trail and Grooming Report

Clubs are reminded that all bills for the season are required to be turned in by April 25^th to the County.  Also, all checks that are received need to be cashed in order for our county to be eligible for supplemental funding.  The trails were open for a few days around Christmas time and were then open all but one day from January 15^th – March 9^th.

Old Business

Mike Giese and Jason Ollanketo will be attending the AWSC convention in Green Bay the weekend of March 29^th.

Clubs were reminded to please collect all map ad money and map boxes from their trail stops.

Map Committee

Clubs are reminded to work with Mike Thoma and the map committee to collect map ads for the upcoming season.  The maps will most likely be going to print in October.

New Business

Jim reminded the clubs that he wants all the sign orders for next year turned in by August 31^st.  After a brief discussion it was recommended that the Alliance should order “Zone” signs for all the clubs for next season.  It was also agreed that the Alliance should order some “55 MPH at night” signs to place throughout the county.  The Drifters have examples of these signs for reference.

Mark Bombinski from the Drifters mentioned that they found a really good deal on aluminum Stop Signs from Renta-flash and he highly recommends them as the future sign vendor for Winnebago County.  They also sell a high quality snow fence material for a price of $72 for 750 ft of fence.

There was a brief discussion regarding putting an ad in the Northwestern to thank our local landowners for allowing us to have trails across their property.  A 5” x 10” Ad (1/4 page) would cost $633.  A ½ page AD would cost $1266.  In either case this was the nonprofit price and would be printed twice.  It was decided not to do an AD based on this pricing.

The Alliance agreed that we should continue to do Bartending at the Winnebago County Fair.  This year’s event for our group will be on the final Sunday of the fair.

The topic of capping clubs at $220 per mile for grooming was briefly discussed.  This topic will be on the table at the first Alliance meeting this fall.  The proposal is to only pay clubs up to their limit of $250/mile, ($30/mile for marking, $220/mile for disking and grooming) during the grooming season.  Once a club would hit their cap during the season, their remaining bills would not be paid until all bills from the County are received and processed.  In the event that additional funds were available in April, the remaining money would be split evenly amongst the clubs.

Election of Officers

All existing officers agreed to re-run for office for next year.  Debbie Beyer made a motion to cast a unanimous ballot for all officers to stay in their current positions.  Doug Stadler 2^nd and all approved.

8:32 PM, motion to adjourn the meeting, seconded – unanimously approved.

Clubs Attending:  Sno-Scats, Wolff’s Pack, Wolfrunners, Omro Driftbusters, Sno-Pioneers, Drifters, Waukau Drift Skippers, Cruising Paths, Poyganaires

Respectfully Submitted,

Jason Ollanketo