Emily-Outing Snowbirds
Meeting Minutes
February 6, 2010
Narrows Bar & Grill

Call to Order
President Scott Eppen called the meeting to order at 9:10am.

Review of January 2, 2010 meeting minutes
The minuets were accepted as written.

Review of the Crow Wing County Trail Association meeting minutes
Scott Eppen reviewed the January meeting minutes pointing out our club will host the lunch run on February 24th from 11:00 – 1:00pm at the Bungalow in Emily.  Members are encouraged to attend the event.

Treasure Report
Treasure Shirley Gronholm reported resolving issue with the check to Outing Sand & Gravel and closed the books on 2009.  Shirley distributed the January financial report and noted receipt of $1,600.00 from Cass County for reimbursement for trail work we had previously paid.  She also noted receiving payment from Crow Wing County of $7,776.00 for trail work. Shirley also distributed a new spreadsheet by expense category and asked if this would be something to continue.  The answer was affirmative.  Shirley also volunteered to put together a budget-spread sheet.
The discussion on how to pay for the monthly web site expense resulted in an action item by Shirley and Katie Finch to resolve the issue with our web provider.

Trail Report
Randy Rohwer reported on the latest grooming actions and pointed out the last mile on the east trail and swamp is not groomed.  John Gronholm talked to the Aitkin club requesting their assistance in grooming eastward on our trail to the swamp. 
Scott Eppen stated our goal should be to reroute the trail around the swamp. Eric Froidcoeur has been investigating the possibilities of rerouting the trail and will continue to work on a plan.  Randy also stated we should consider rerouting the trail near county road #48 and the gravel pit.
Discussion regarding the fencing along Lawrence Lake Road which prohibits grooming in the ditch resulted in several points. One, there is a 60 foot easement on the road which would allow for grooming in the ditch.  Secondly, the landowner that installed the fence needs to notified. John Gronholm volunteered to contact the Cass County and seek their help in communicating with the landowner.
John Gronholm, landowner on the south trail, agreed to remove some trees along the trail to enable safer snowmobiling and grooming.
George Pepek reporting being contacted by the dog sled club requesting assistance in picking up their trail signs after the sled dog race.  We agreed to pick up the signs and since George will be out of town, John Gronholm agreed to be the clubs contact on this project.

Membership
Jim Johnson reported membership was 36 family memberships and 2 business memberships.  He also reported on a plan for next fall to conduct a direct mailing to members including a letter from the president, membership forms and return envelope for renewing membership.  The issue is getting members to renew early as compared to the long drawn out process experience this past year.
George Pepek was thanked for the article he wrote and published in several local papers regarding the need for involvement in snowmobile clubs.
Shirley Gronholm passed around a newsletter created by the Merrifield club and recommended we should consider creating a newsletter.  The response was favorable.
Grants
John Gronholm reported three grant requests were submitted to Crow Wing County.  One for a groomer, a drag and a culvert for the south trail.  The estimated cost the culvert was $28,000 with $18,000 grant payment based on a 65% payment rate.  The maximum grant payment on a groomer is $75,000. The estimated grant payment for the drag is $6,000. The grant-processing schedule is approval by the DNR in March and release of grants in June.
Scott Eppen reported the estimated price of a new Tucker groomer is $172,000 and John Gronholm reported the price of a John Deere tractor is $147,000.

Web Site
Please forward club pictures to Katie Finch to be added to the web site.  Also needed is a weekly trail report.

Social Committee
A trail ride with an overnight at the Sawmill Motel in Grand Rapids is scheduled for Friday February 26th and returning Saturday February 27th.  Standard room rates are $85 to $95 but club members will receive a $10 discount. The tentative plan is to leave from Scott & Mary Eppen at noon.  Please contact Mary if you have questions and let her know if you are attending.
Mary Eppen651-322-2393
Sawmill Motel218-326-8501

Roundtable
Shirley provided information on a benefit for Diane Bjerkness planned for Saturday March 20, 2010 starting at 2:00pm at the Walter Scott Erickson American Legion Post #557 in Deerwood.  The event includes a silent auction, spaghetti diner and bake sale.

Next Meeting
March 6th starting at 9:00am at the Narrows Bar & Grill in Outing.




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