October 2007
Here we are again at the beginning of yet another snowmobile season. Looking out of the window I can see the first snow of the season on Mt. Katahdin. Bright fall foliage at the lower elevations capped by new snow higher up. Beautiful! It sure would be nice to have some snow on the trails by Christmas this year.
As you can see by the financial statement, the club has had a “busy” year. When I found out that very few clubs had purchased new grooming equipment as of late December, 2006 we quickly decided to purchase a newer groomer to replace the 1994 Bombardier BR-400 that we’ve had since 2001. We found and purchased a 1997 Bombardier MP Plus (micro processor controlled) at a closed ski area in Pennsylvania. We sold our old unit to the Bethel Inn as a cross country ski trail groomer. In order to make the deal work we had to take their old groomer in on trade. I did this reluctantly but as luck would have it, I was able to sell the old cat to a guy in Newfoundland who was going to use it to build sno-cross tracks! We also decided to buy a new Skandic Wide Track and an older Ski Doo Alpine with a 4 ft. drag. Everything happened within a two week period and in the end, the State reimbursed us, thru the Capital Equipment Grant Program, 42% of our actual purchase costs…the highest payout ever in the history of the program. It was a good year to buy!!
The financial statement also shows how much money we continue to put “into the ground”. Already this fall we have spent over $15,000 on trail improvements; $14,000 to gravel the first 1.1 miles of the trail as you leave South Twin Lake (the remaining .3 miles was graveled last year) and another $1600 to have a fellerbuncher cut .6 miles of new trail for Alternate ITS 83. An excavator will soon be hired to make that .6 miles of trail smooth enough to groom…probably another $4000 or so. As you can see, good trail infrastructure doesn’t come cheap. But it does reduce the overall maintenance costs on the groomers and it allows us to get on the trails sooner with less snow. And the state will reimburse 70% of the costs through our annual trail grants.
As I just mentioned, ITS 83 will now be part of our responsibility as the trail is being rerouted due to bridge construction in Medway. In order to reduce the amount of trail on the ice, a new 7 ½ miles of trail over North Twin Ridge will be used that will “dump” us on to North Twin Lake directly across from the Wadleigh Pond trail, an ice crossing of just ¾ mile. Some beautiful views from the top of the ridge await you. Remember, the bridge across the Penobscot River in Medway will be closed all winter (and probably next year too) so there won’t be any gas or food available in Medway if you’re coming from the south.
Another look at the financial statement shows an interesting fact….diesel fuel costs for the two groomers ($5500) is slightly more than three times what we as a club take in from membership ($1800). All of our costs continue to spiral upward yet the State has done nothing to try to compensate the clubs for these ever increasing costs. There will be legislation introduced in January that will make joining a snowmobile club mandatory in Maine. Personally, I don’t think that this is a wise move and will probably testify against the bill. Small clubs in small communities or, like the Jo Mary Riders, in unorganized territories of Maine, will see very little of an increase in our bottom line. A better plan would be to see an increase in registration fees for both residents and non-residents with that money going into a dedicated fund available to all clubs based on actual operating costs. Something has to happen to increase our funding levels and it has to happen this winter. Stay tuned!!
Thanks for your continued support of our little organization. We will continue to provide quality riding as long as Mother Nature provides us with a little of that white stuff. If you have some time that you can donate this fall for some preseason trail work give us a call. There’s lots of work to be done and we can really use the help.
Rick LeVasseur
President