*Meeting called to order on 1/2/24, 7:03pm at UW Wanderoos by Spencer.
Secretary’s report:
- December and all past month meeting minutes are posted on our webpage. No additions or corrections.
Treasurer’s report:
- Memberships still trickling in.
- One check in December from Revenue Committee for Poker Run sponsorship.
- Slight net increase in balance for the month.
Media/Marketing:
- Jacquie and Eric still working on shared access to the club Facebook page. Might have to start a new Facebook account if we can’t get the login figured out.
Council Report:
- AWSC Directors meeting is being held at Hartwood this weekend.
- Decked 2 bridges in the county.
- Opened Gandy Dancer bridge by luck.
- International Snowmobile Congress will be June 13-15.
- Trail Easements / Land Owner Agreements. Plan to schedule a meeting in the near future to go thru the list and update as needed. As chair of Trail Committee, Kevin to schedule it.
- Groomer Rodeo was held December 9 at the shed. Good turnout. The KAOS youth club served lunch to all attendees.
- Stower trail. An appeal to the ruling was filed Dec 20 in Polk County. A response was due by Dec 28, but not sure if a response was received. Unsure of status just yet.
- Maps are printed and available at the shed.
Trail Bosses Report:
- Kevin. One parcel of property may have changed ownership on the east side of County Road MM across from Trollhaugen. If so, need to determine whether the trail can still run on that property or move it to the ditch along the road. New landowner signs might be needed, but wouldn’t do that until next year.
- Scott. All good.
- Frank. No updates.
- Gordy. Got new land use agreements for the properties by Kwik Trip.
- Most trail updates have been done in the Polaris Ride Command app. Let Kevin know if you have other recommended updates. Everyone can view trails on your phone or computer, or you can download the updated maps to then upload to Ride Command equipped snowmobiles.
KAOS Youth Club:
- December meeting had another great turnout! Great to see so many families getting involved.
- KAOS club served lunch at the groomer rodeo on December 9.
- Tentatively planning a club ride for January 14 at 12:00 noon, pending snow.
- Next KAOS meeting is next Tuesday, 1/9 at 7:00 at McKenzie Lanes in Centuria.
Old Business:
- Reviewed committee overview from December meeting. See notes below in the Committee Report sections. Again, all club members are encouraged to help and contribute in any way possible!
- No updates yet on the status for the 501c3 application that was submitted.
New Business:
- No new business. We just need snow!
Committee Reports: Reminder to all club members that committees were formed at the December 2023 club meeting to establish designated missions, leaders, contributors, and budgets for each. This is intended to allow progress to be made within each committee without requiring votes for actions so long as the committees operate within their allotted budget and mission. Anyone is welcome to join a committee(s) to get involved. More help is always appreciated! Questions can be directed to committee chairpersons.
- Fair Revenue Committee:
- Chair: Cyndi Sommerfeldt
- Mission: Maximize fair revenue by providing food and drink to the participants of the Osceola Fair at a reasonable value.
- Budget: $500
- No updates this month.
- Other Revenue Committee:
- Chair: Kate & Chris Shermach
- Mission: Generate additional revenue to the club to close any budget gaps that may happen. Possible streams could include donations, raffles, poker run, clothing store, etc.
- Budget: $300
- Updates:
- Planning a Poker Run on February 24, with or without snow! Helping to draw awareness to the new Trail 30 and generate awareness for businesses that can now be reached with the new trail. Also creating a loop for a fun Poker Run!
- Start at any of the locations to purchase a punch card for $25/person. Tickets will be punched at each stop. Participants will receive a T-shirt and be entered into raffle prizes
- Six stops on the route, each business donating for Silver sponsorship:
- The Friendly Bar in Star Prairie
- The Sports Bar in Star Prairie
- Tac Two in Amery
- Alibi Bar in Amery
- UW Wanderoos in Wanderoos
- Pottsie’s Place in East Farmington
- Final stop will be the Gold Sponsor and host the raffle at 7:00pm.
- Ken’s Keyboard in East Farmington
- Other Bronze level sponsors are donating cash, gift cards, prizes, etc
- All sponsors will be listed on the t-shirt.
- Look for more info to come as things get finalized.
- Landowner Appreciation Committee:
- Chair: Donna Berg
- Mission: Show appreciation to our 110+ landowners for allowing our trails to cross their property.
- Budget: $5,000
- Updates:
- Reserving UW Wanderoos outback shed for May 5.
- Scholarship / Donation Committee:
- Chair: Angel Olson
- Mission: Give back to the community by donating to worthy causes like college scholarships to our local graduating high school seniors and donating to the local food shelves, fire departments, rescue squads, etc.
- Budget: $1,000
- Updates:
- Meat raffle planned for February 9 at 6:00pm at Pottsie’s Place.
- Social Committee:
- Chair: Spencer Feldt
- Mission: Show appreciation to our members for all the work they do to ensure we meet the needs of our landowners, trails, and community.
- Budget: $200
- Updates:
- Club Safari planned for Hayward on January 18-21. Snow conditions not looking great. Rooms can be canceled 48 hours prior to check-in for full refund.
- If we can go, planning a meal for Friday night in the big room. Anyone that wants to join the meal is welcome, but will be doing free will donation to cover the costs.
- Social Media Committee:
- Chair: Jacque Bonneprise
- Mission: Maintain our website, Facebook, and other platforms to ensure our by-laws, meeting minutes, activities, trail information, etc are readily available to our members and community.
- Budget: $25
- Updates:
- Still unable to actually log into our Facebook account. Can’t figure out what email address and password was used. Checking with a few more people, but seems that we will need to create a new account to get it resolved.
- Trail Committee:
- Chair: Kevin McNutt
- Mission: Work closely with our landowners to ensure our trails are safe and fun for all our members and visitors. Document all trail work in SNARS. Collect and save land use agreements and send to the county rep.
- Budget: $800
- Updates:
- Some discussion on whether we should sell any of the pole saws if they’re not getting used much. Team seems to prefer the lighter weight electric pole saws that some individuals have been using. No decisions made yet.
- Finance Committee:
- Chair: Frank Sommerfeldt
- Mission: Create and oversee a budget that will be sufficient to appreciate our landowners, maintain our trails, recognize our members, and contribute to our community.
- Budget: $300
- Updates:
- If the Other Revenue committee generates incremental revenue, we’ll be able to revisit some budget reductions that were otherwise under consideration.
Next Meeting: February 6, 2024 at Ken’s Keyboard at 7:00pm.
*Motion to adjourn approved at 7:23pm
Officers: President: Spencer Feldt (2025),Vice President: David Johnson (2024), Secretary: Kevin McNutt (2025), Treasurer: Frank Sommerfeldt (2024)
Board of Directors: Rhett Larson (2025), Cyndi Sommerfeldt (2025), Chris Keezer (2024), Austin Mueller (2024)
Trail Bosses: West: Brad McGuiggan & Jason Raska, East: Scott Carlson, Dresser West: Arik Mahler, Dresser East: Kevin McNutt, Stower Trail: Jeff Jonas & Rick LeRoux, Trail 30: Frank Sommerfeldt
Council Reps: Eric Hallen, Jim Berg
Osceola Valley Sno-Goers 