February 1, 2019

Snowmobile North Dakota

Board of Directors Meeting

February 1, 2019

 

The Snowmobile North Dakota Board of Directors held a meeting on February 1, 2019 in Langdon, ND.

Members Present:  Paula Berg, Shawn Cole, Chase Heck, Laura Forbes, Dale Deibert, Joel Iverson, Riley Bata, Quince Hambeck, Perry Britnell, Jesse Fritz proxy for Randy Knain.

Absent:  Brent Haugen, Joanne Seifert, Troy Klevgard, Jeff Seifert and Randy Knain.

Others Present:  Todd Thronson – Executive Director, Erik Dietrich – NDPRD, Ben Potts, NDPRD, Matt Korhnak, NDPRD, Chris Iverson

  1. Call to order at 7:32 by Laura Forbes.

 

  1. Approve Agenda – Shawn noted the equipment meeting was held prior to the board meeting. Other than that change, Shawn made a motion to accept the agenda, seconded by Reily, approved by all members present.

 

  • Approve Minutes
    1. The minutes of the November meeting were e-mailed to all board members prior to the meeting.
    2. Chase made a motion to accept the minutes, seconded by Quince, approved by all members present.
    3. The minutes of the 2018 Annual meeting were e-mailed to all board members prior to the meeting.
    4. Paula made a motion to accept the minutes, seconded by Chase, approved by all members present.

 

  1. Financial Reports
    1. The financial reports were e-mailed to all board members prior to the meeting.
    2. The books will now be reconciled monthly by an outside entity for a small fee.
    3. Payroll expenses for Todd will be changing temporarily from 15/85 to 100% from the trail program budget.
    4. Paula made a motion to accept the minutes, seconded by Quince, approved by all members present.

 

 

  1. Reports
    1. President’s Report – Laura thanked the board for their continuing work. She noted the falling number of registrations is a challenge and encouraged members to look outside the box for ways to both save and raise money.  We are currently down about 1,000 registrations.

 

  1. Office Report:
    1. Marketing Stats—2,354 likes on Facebook as of 1/22/19. Members encouraged to share posts to boost awareness of SND.
    2. Benchmark Payments—compiled and sent out.
  • Trail insurance paperwork filed and approved.
  1. 18-19 Membership at 492 Family/Individual and 22 Associate as of 1/22/19
  2. Trade Shows—Attending St. Cloud Sportsman’s Show 2/8 – 2/10/19
  3. Equipment—new drag is done and going to Red River North. Equipment committee just decided to apply for a groomer and drag in the 2020 grant cycle.
  • Trail Inspections & Openings—all trails inspected at least once, many twice. Signing has been completed.  There are currently 6 systems open.
  • Members are encouraged to continue to use Amazon Smile to garner free money.

 

  1. NDPRD Report:
    1. Registrations are down but recent snowfalls will help.
    2. Enforcement has worked around Metigoshe and will be floating in the Langdon area tomorrow.
  • Safety class—one in Rugby the 17th, one in Harvey next week. Please ask if you want to schedule one.  All scheduling now done through Parks & Rec by calling 701-328-5357.
  1. Out-of-state permit numbers are holding steady. Two have been issued to tracked dirt bikes.
  2. Talked to the Missouri Valley system about implementation of tracked vehicle testing next season.
  3. Game Wardens are also trying to check sleds and OHV’s while checking ice fishermen. OHV vehicles from out of state also need out-of-state permits.
  • New Parks & Rec manager Jolene Rieck was unable to attend today. She is an OHV enthusiast and is excited to try snowmobiling.

 

  1. Committee Reports:
    1. Equipment Committee—Met prior to this meeting. As stated above, they will apply for a groomer and drag in the 2020 grant cycle.
    2. Budget Committee—nothing new
    3. Regulations Committee—nothing new
    4. Awards & Nominations Committee—Due April 1st. Applications may be submitted on the website.
    5. Trail Operations Committee—nothing new

 

  • Old Business
    1. Probation Systems
      1. Northeast—Cavalier had a meeting Wednesday night. They are still a club but are looking for volunteers.  They have submitted temporary trail changes to try to make loops.  Their trail system has been reduced by about 150 miles.  Their system is listed as ‘Closed for the Season’ on the website.  Their temporary status may continue for two years but if they are not back up after that they would have to reapply.  The trail association would still like to keep two groomers.  The Cavalier groomer is currently in Langdon.
      2. Red River South—They signed the Grand Forks sections this year and are back on track.
    2. Groomer Tracking Software & Mapping Program Update—There is new hardware and we have seen some glitches. Some units are currently not pinging.  The dashboard is coming next month.  We are on a year-to-year contract with this company.
    3. Tracked Vehicle Testing—This topic was covered at the annual meeting and the Missouri Valley system has agreed to be the pilot site for further testing. This will start in the fall of 2020.
    4. 2019 Convention—Will be hosted by the Peace Garden Trail Association on December 6-7, 2019 at the Cobblestone Inn in Bottineau.
    5. DOT Snowmobile Registration Legislation—We have been waiting for budget figures to come out. Parks & Rec can’t bring the legislation forward and they don’t want to pursue it now due to internal changes with both Parks & Rec and Snowmobile North Dakota.  DOT is still interested in perusing the change and it is anticipated we will try in the 2020/21 session.

 

  • New Business
    1. The same firm that handles SND’s taxes has been hired to for accounting services. This will include reconciliation of check books, quarterlies and they will also provide a balance sheet.  The cost is $125 per month and will be taken from the professional services line item.
    2. North Central Groomer
      1. East Side didn’t sign this year and their trails are marked as closed. The Equipment committee Ok’d the use of their groomer in the Lake Region system.  Make sure to update the equipment location for inventory purposes.
      2. The RTP grant cycle is slight different this year due to personnel changes and absences. Information should be released on Monday and will be open until April 1st.
  • There are mechanical issues with the Grafton groomer transmission. Interstate Diesel will be looking at it to determine what steps can be taken to get it up and running.
  1. 2020 State Ride—Members were encouraged to talk to their clubs about hosting the ride.

 

  1. Announcements—Perry stated Grand Forks dropped out 2 years ago but he talked to members at the convention this year and they wanted the trail to go through town again. They did sign it.  However, now they are indicating the ground is not ready.  Members discussed grooming to the north edge of town and then picking the skid up until on the other side of town.

 

  1. Adjournment—Paula made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Joel, approved by all members present—meeting adjourned at 8:15 pm.

 

 

 

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