Tri-County Snowmobile and ORV Club News
December 2023 Meeting News
Here are the meeting minutes from our December 2023 meeting :
Membership Count
Business: 35
Standard: 37
Treasurer’s Report
Treasurer’s Report
Checking Account December 1, 2023: $21,007.74 Savings Account: $5,004.32
Checking Account December 31, 2023: $32,899.11
Expenses Paid Since Last Meeting: $25,210.92
-Northern Interstate Bank- $31.00 for annual fee for safety deposit box
-Universal Equipment- $25,130.00 for first payment on new snow drag
-Jen Kirk- $49.92 for candy for Norway Christmas Parade
Income Received Since Last Meeting: $44,546.91
-State of Michigan- $855.91 for reimbursement for Fendt 2014 door repair
-Toro- $300.00 donation for Brian Elliott’s volunteer hours
-State of Michigan: $11,206.00 for reimbursement for ORV Projects 1, 2, and 3
-State of Michigan: $25,130.00 for first payment on new snow drag
-Dickinson Area Community Foundation Community Impact Grant- $500.00 to purchase a Cricut and materials to create trail information signs
-Standard Memberships- $15.00
-Business Membership- $200.00, needs to be deposited
-State of Michigan- $6,340.00 for reimbursement for comprehensive insurance
Income Received at Meeting: $110.00
Business Memberships: $0.00
Standard Memberships: $110.00
Bills Proposed to be Paid: $75.35
Bertoldi Oil- $75.35 for 5 gallons of fleet supreme 15W40 oil
Made a motion to approve the treasurer’s report and pay the bills. Motion voted on and approved.
DNR Report
1. The Sturgeon River bridge is complete. The gate will be chained and locked after final inspection.
2. Justin and Zach have completed trail signage checks and sent the reports to Jen Kirk. As a general note, they recommended more turn signs and more confidence markers. If anyone is able to
fix any of these issues before trails open that would be great. The auger has been prepped for winter. They would just have to put it back how they found it after completing their tasks.
The club’s grant was revised to buy a new drag instead of fix one of the current ones. The money to fix the drag was reallocated and the additional funds were added. The drag will be ready
in March. The club will be purchasing a Universal Drag.
ORV Report
1. TJ Spencer has agreed to take over the ORV coordinator position once Mike Harper has officially stepped down.
2. 2024 Projects
-Project 1- Merriman East to Carney Lake: $20,000. Al Bilski has started this project. $1,380 has been used.
-Project 2- Wickman Drive West: $10,00. The project has been completed
-Project 3- Grading country road segments: $9,000. The County will be doing this project.
Groomer & Brushing Report
1. The door has been fixed on the Fendt. Steve Swallow and Lee Coates have taken the brush out to trail 16, 2, and Black Creek.
2. Rick has been working on pre season maintenance. He noticed that the screen on the Fendt was black. Lee did some research and found that when a flashlight is shined on the screen, you can
see it.
3. Groomer Tracker app satellite has been installed by UP North Fun.
4. The front right track on the Tucker is delaminating. Jen Kirk is working with Drew Gaffney on how to go about initiating a fix.
2022-2023 Snowmobile Trail Projects
2022 – 2023 Snowmobile Trail Projects
Projects #1 – 6
All are complete
2023 – 2024 Snowmobile Trail Projects (To Be Completed by 9-30-24)
Project #1- Beaver Control: $800 – Jared has asked that his sponsor ship to be fixing the washout on 115. The remaining amount will be pulled from the contingency fund.
Spring 2024
Project #2- Replace bridges and fix abutments (trail between Treves Farm Rd & Lower Pine Creek Rd.): $80,000 (we were approved for the additional 50,000 by the DNR)
Spring 2024
Project #3- Hole below Norway Mountain: $2000 -Matt Tinti to complete in the spring
Project #4- Hole near the tunnel in Waucedah: $2000 -Matt Tinti to complete in the spring
Project #5- Major Repair, rebuilding drags: $20,000 – This project will be removed. The grant was amended to buy a new universal drag, as it was only $6,150 more to buy a new one.
2024 Snowmobile Trail Projects Ideas
1. Trail to Pine Mountain. Jen Kirk and Jim Harris have been talking about this. This would avoid the Iverson property by crossing at Bellagama. The ground would have to be built up in order
to do this. Funds might be able to come from the state for this.
2. Grade from the Sturgeon River Bridge to Hamilton Lakes Rd.
3. Bridge past Supa to State Land
Old Business
All but one trail map kiosk has been installed. The last one will be installed Spring 2023 at the junction of Trail 5 & Trail 16.
New Business
1. 2024 Elections for Officers and Board Members will take place at the January meeting. All have said they are okay with keeping their positions
2. Jen Kirk and Steve Swallow have come up with some ideas for getting more club engagement
-Club rides with hot dog cookouts on the trails
-Summer time get together: side by side meet up
-After season trail inspections and trash clean-up
-Grass drags and swap meet at the fairgrounds. The Club will need to talk to the fairgrounds
3. It was suggested to put a gate up in Waucedah by Hupps Rd.
4. Drew Gaffney presented an opportunity to buy swamp mats at an auction. It was proposed that he could buy 10 at $100 a piece, spending a max of $1,000.
5. Roger Peterson made a motion on the above proposal. Motion voted on and approved.
Close Meeting & Next Meeting
Roger Peterson made a motion to close the meeting. Motion voted on and approved.
Next meeting is scheduled for 6:00 pm, January 2nd, at Waucedah Township Hall, Vulcan, MI.