Banadad Trail Association

Board Meeting Conference Call

July 12, 2012

Present:  John and Barb Bottger, Peter Spink, Karla Miller, Ted Young, Tom Rice, Wayne Monsen, Chris Matter, Andy Jenks, Anne Rykken

Agenda approved.

Motion to accept minutes from May retreat minutes.  Peter moved.  Andy seconded.  Motion passed.

Committee Reports

Finance – No report. 

Membership – No report.

Forest Service Meeting

Very positive meeting.  Some of the forest service people are at work on projects now.  Their availability towards the end of the summer depends on their firefighting obligations.  We will have a motion to entertain during the financing plan for the reroute.

West End Trail Connection

Ted and John met with Mike Prom yesterday.  There is a good understanding of the numbers and who is going to do what.  It got more interesting because any agreements will involve three people, - the current, legal landowner, the Proms, and the BTA. 

Proms were worried about liability.  Ted says his company’s insurance can cover this.  Proms are fine with the BTA doing some work on the Trail before the 3 – year period. 

If we decide to move forward with this project, Proms will start with the legal work.

Costs – The total cost of the project is a little over $9,000.  Ted has talked with the DNR to make sure we know which numbers are covered by the grant.  BTA estimated costs include the appraiser, the Natural Heritage Review and 25% of the grant which totals $3,540 for the BTA.  If we are going to use the grant, this project must be completed by June 30, 2013.  We are in an immediate cash flow crunch in order to proceed with the appraisal.

What is the appetite for incurring this debt?  There is a potential for a $1,500 grant from the USFS.  If we do that, the request would be for work on the existing trail because they do not award grants for work done on private property.  If we got this, we wouldn’t see the money until next Spring.

We can also apply for $500 from the Arrowhead Electric Cooperative which could be rather unlikely.

This adds up to the need to consider a loan because it is a cash flow issue.   Karla is uncomfortable because fundraising is then done to pay down debt.

Ted says we have a $6,000 loan with the county with interest rate based on T-bonds, around 3%.  It would be very easy to ask the county to rewrite the existing loan using the $12,000 from the snowmobile as collateral.  This project is so crucial to the survival of the Banadad that Ted is willing to gamble on it.  If we can’t cover the loan, Ted would figure out how to be sure the BTA does not take on the debt.

Andy agrees with Karla and understands that it is very common to take out a bridge loan due to a cash flow.  It is probably easier to raise money during the ski season.  This seems like an essential project for the trail.  We do have a business problem if we can’t get members but we have to have this trail.

Peter understands it is a near term cash flow issue but we’ve never been able to demonstrate getting memberships so the concern is how we are going to keep paying our expenses.

Ted feels very confident that we will get the $1,500 from the USFS and that the banks will give $500 each, especially when it is connected to this project.

Chris understands the situation and questions whether this can come soley from membership.

John asks if the board is comfortable with Ted and John to proceed with a detailed financial plan?  Ted says we need to hire an appraiser by the end of July and to get the trail work done before the snow falls.

Do board members have other ideas for raising funds?

Motion to get a short-term bridge loan for $1,500 to pay for an appraiser.  Andy moved and Wayne seconded. 

Discussion – We’ll need more money in the fall so we will also have to be aggressive with other fundraising.  We can’t get grant money until the appraisal is done.  This loan would be an unsecured loan from the bank.  Let’s get two banks on board with a contribution of $750 each first.  The banks should be told that there is a board approval to ask for a loan if we are turned down for the philanthropy.

Amended motion.  Motion to get a short-term bridge loan for up to $1,500 to pay for an appraiser.  Andy moved and Wayne seconded.  Ayes - 5   Nayes – 4  Motion passed.

Ted and John will proceed as discussed with the banks and will report back to the board.

Peter is just as unsure about the future of the organization as he is about the short-term expense for this trail reroute.

How will we raise the rest of the money?  Andy says we have a great plan with USFS support.  We should be able to fancy a letter to the membership and ask for a cash donation.  Barb will draft a letter for the membership fundraising effort.  The letter should include a picture of the flagged trail and emphasize the parking and access to the trail from the west end.

Motion to have John and Linda write a letter to Dennis, the Forest Ranger to request for funding of $1,500.  John moved and Andy seconded.  Motion passed.

Annual Meeting Date

The annual meeting will be on Saturday, October 20, 2012.

Maps

Andy reports that they are waiting for the west end of the trail to be finalized before maps are printed.

Karla will ask Linda about putting a request for funds on the Give MN site. 

Motion to adjourn.  John moved and Andy seconded.  Motion passed.

Board Meeting - August 30, 2011

Present:  Ted Young, Kate Kelnberger, Paul Kelnberger, John Bottger, Barb Bottger, Tom Rice, Linda Bosma, Chris Matter, Wayne Monsen, Karen Monsen, Peter Spink

1.  Pres. Linda Bosma called the meeting to order.

2.  Motion to approve minutes.  John moved.  Kate second.  Motion passes.

3.  West End Re-route.  New owner would like us to pay for cost of survey of property at an approximate cost of $8,000.  A BTA member has suggested that the trail would be grandfathered and there would be no legal obligation on our part to change the trail head.  Ted suggests we consider grant monies to pay for the survey.  These grant monies, “Local Trail Connection Grant” is due October 31, 2011.  The grant is a 25% cash match up front.  Chris and Ted could work on this grant application in order to get it through the county by mid-October.  Barb and John will also be consulted.  The survey would be part of the trail development costs, thus fitting the parameters of the grant.  Kate moves that the board let the property owners know that we want to go forward on the project contingent on the approval of a grant proposal.  John seconds.  Motion passes.

4.  Maintenance.  Jim Raml cleared, for 4 miserable rainy days, ¾ mile of the trail, eight miles out for $1,000.00 covered by grant money.

MCC worked 8 days in August to clear down trees on the west end and widened about 1-1/2 miles of the west end.

Mowing has occurred on the Tall Pines Trail and the Banadad by brush saw.

Banadad Bridge Project for Sept. 17-18.  Lee W. and Steve are interested as well as one or two other people (Karla, Ted, Pete, Tom).  Ted will ask Jim Morrison and Tom will ask a few more.  Out of town workers can stay at Little Ollie on Friday and workers will camp at the site on Saturday night.  Ted and Tom will work out equipment, etc.  This project is being funded through the Arrowhead Grant.

Ted reports that we should focus on work outside the Boundary Waters with equipment to finish the trails; namely, Tall Pine, Lace Lake and part of  the Tim Knopp Trail.  Ted would like to hire a brush hog and bobcat to come up to do it for 3-4hours.  Grant money would cover this. 

5.  Treasurer’s Report.  Kate reported ending balance of  $1,227.66. 

The budget needs to be prepared for the annual meeting.  Linda has asked Chris and Ted to join Kate and Linda in preparing the budget.  Linda anticipates a few conference calls and emails in order to accomplish this task.

6.  Possible new ski trail from the west end of Poplar connecting to the Banadad.  Homeowners on Poplar are proposing to take the old Winchell Lake trail, widen it and use as a ski trail.  They hope to groom this section by mechanical means upon approval by the USFS but they would do it by hand if need be.  Kate moves that we support this group in their efforts and to send a letter saying so.  Chris seconds.  Motion passes.

7.  Grant Status.  Ted & Chris

MN DNR Grant in Aid has been paid by the state.  The proposal for this year’s grant has been submitted to the state.  We should hear from them between mid-August and mid-October.

The MN DNR grant for the Lace Lake Trail Extension of $4,500 has been closed out.  Work has been completed.

MN DNR Ski Trail Assistance Program was used to purchase the snowmobile.  This grant expires this fall.  Ted reported that an activator on the motor of the groomer needs to be replaced for $400 +.  Ted would like to re-write the grant to purchase another activator in order to use the last $500 of the grant, with the BTA providing $250. 

The $500 Arrowhead grant will be used for the bridge project.  Chris suggests that photos be taken during the project to be submitted with the final report.  Barb will take lead on the final report.  A separate thank you note, requested by Arrowhead, will be sent along with an invitation to the annual meeting.

Question to Ted – do you know how much we need to request from the DNR this year?

8.  Membership Committee – Ann R. submitted an article to a prominent magazine.  It will appear in the November issue of the Cross Country Skier magazine.  Ted suggests that board members write the magazine with enthusiastic reports of the Banadad and the magazine will print those.

 We continue to struggle with the number of memberships outside of the board.  We have not been able to figure out number goals.  John suggests we use boreal, if possible, to solicit memberships.  Ted reports that every time he posts on his blog, it goes on the boreal website.  It is recommended that an article of the bridge project be included in the North Star newsletter as activities of members, not a direct club activity. 

Linda asked about the collection box installed at the beginning of the trail.  In 2010-11 we collected approx. $7.00!

This committee will meet before the annual meeting. 

9.  Annual Meeting, October 22.  This includes a work day, a short board meeting, and a showcase general membership meeting.  Pictures presented last year were impressive.  Linda will ask Andy if he could bring is projector again.  Any pictures on a cd or memory stick to Tom by Friday night would be included on a presentation he could put together.

Terry Grove and Priscilla will be contact people from North Stars.  Tom will send Terry’s phone number to  Ted.

Linda will pull together a nominating committee (Karen M., John B.) to present a slate of candidates of officers to be voted on by this meeting.

10.  Maps.  Ted has asked for and will submit an estimate from the McKenzie Map company.  We will need new maps by mid-winter.  This would be chargeable to the DNR Trail Fund.

11.  Other items.  Officer’s Insurance.  No money to pursue this at this time. 

Ted’s contract will need to be reviewed and updated by the annual meeting.  The contract will be updated to support the need to spread out our payments to BCT over the year rather than at the end of the year.  Linda and Ted will present to the board.

12.  Paul K. moves that we adjourn at 8:15.  Kate seconds.  Motion passes.

Board Meeting - March 2, 2011

Present:  John and Barb Bottger, Linda Bosma, Ted Young, Kate Kelnberger,

Ann Rykken, Chris Matter, Tom Rice, Peter Spink, Karla Miller, Andy Jenkins

Meeting was called to order by Linda.

Motion was moved (Barb B.) and seconded (John B.) to accept the minutes of the October 2011 Board Meeting.  Minutes approved.

Finance Committee Report:  Preliminary is in the first column.  Few changes -

most significant - DNR grant in aid - $2,000 more than original, so

$8,000.  Revenue - $6,000 loan and $6,050 grant?  Ted says the $6050 loan is

what Ted is paying.  On a cash budget, it should appear on a balance sheet

rather than a budget.  Debt and equipment balance out on a balance sheet.  

Linda recommends that we approve the preliminary budget with instructions for

the Finance committee to iron out these reporting details.  John says that

for the next meeting we should have a copy of the budget and a copy of the

balance sheet.  Motion carries.

This discussion exemplifies to the exec committee that we must understand the

financials.  Thus, a finance committee has been proposed.

The finance committee members will schedule a meeting within the next two

weeks to discuss this matter.

Kate reports the bank statement with a balance of 1451.31 with an invoice of

$237.11, the ending balance is $1,218.20.

The invoice for this conference call is included in this budget. When BCT

gets that invoice, it should be submitted to Kate who, will in turn,

distribute to the Finance C.

BTA 1099 Tax Form from Cook County - Paul K. explains that the money from

Cook County is reflected in that 1099 which goes into your non-profit tax

return.  Should we be issuing a 1099 to BCT?  We're too late for this year.  

We can issue a 1099 at the end of 2011.  Not anything to worry about at this

point as far as a penalty situation.

Tracking grants for accurate matching - Chris is reviewing the grants for

the ongoing maintenance through the DNR.  We need to get logged grooming

time to be submitted to the state.  The state pays us.  BCT bills us and we

pay BCT.  We've gone through that process and we are waiting for the state

to reimburse from the now $8,000 grant.  Our first submission was for

$3,071.  The finance committee is also reviewing this submission.  Chris

recommends that we make clear documentation on the ins and outs of this

grant.

Executive C. Meeting - Structure for efficiency and effectiveness.  

Committee formations - 1) Finance  2) Trail maintenance/reroute 3)

Membership/Fundraising

Peter has agreed to chair Membership.  Kate K. will chair Finance C.  

Maps - Enough printed til the end of the season.  These are not the glossy,

heavyweight maps.  These are BTA maps on lesser quality paper.  Tom, Andy

and Ted will work on a higher quality map for next season.

Non-profit status is still in the waiting mode.  No sense to the turn around

timing.

Need for director's and officer's insurance for the Board.  Karla reported

that she talked to an agent who impressed the importance of covering current

and retired board members.  Quotes are coming in from $521 to $1150/year.  

Advice includes making sure that our by-laws cover this.  Pete thinks this

insurance is very helpful.  Chris says it is imperative.  John agrees and

says it is another budget item.  Linda says there is a recommended piece to

put in the by-laws.  Karla moves that we put this in place if the Finance C.

finds a bid comes in up to $600.  Kate seconds.  Motion carries.

Membership Committee - Peter reports the committee consists of Barb, Ann,

Linda, John, Peter.  We've blessed a press release from Ted.  Chris worked

hard on a collection box which has raised about $5.00.  We also did a draft

for renewals and for BCT guests.  To do's consist of articles in magazines,

a survey of potential members, local and TC and resorts.  We need to meet

and put together a work plan for this year.  As of Jan. 27 we have 13 new

and 4 renews for a total of $800.00.

Trail Maintenance & Reroute Committee Report - Andy reported on the 2010-11

Trail Plan.  

Ted - The trail is in pretty good shape, with clearing of downed branches

done as of two weeks ago.  The trail will be tracked the end of this week

after a predicted snowfall.  Ted will get maintenance information to Andy to

apply to the trail plan.  The pattern of weather has made it difficult to

maintain this year, especially with the low number of people to maintain the

trail.  Linda wondered about reporting the difficulty in maintaining on the

weekly trail report. Does the reality of the situation mean we should report

the true condition?  Should we ask for more volunteer help in these

situations?  Should we have an emergency crew to get out and work on the

trail?

Plans for 2011-12:  Ted needs someone to do all the grooming, as an employee

of BCT.  Due to serious cash flow this year, Ted would like to set it up to

receive an automatic monthly payment to cover his expenses instead of a once

a year reimbursement.  By the annual meeting, we'll have grant dollars and

Ted can submit a proposal.  

West End Property sale - the land has been purchased and will be closed this

month.  Ted believes we will be able to work with the new owner.  More

information after the closing at the end of March.

Andy and Tom as co-chairs of Trail Maintenance and Mapping?  Both are

interested in the mapping aspects but not maintenance.  John proposed to

talk with Ted about the best way to do this.  The map piece needs to go into

this thinking as well.  Andy, Tom and Ted are well into this conversation.  

Ted suggests that he needs a North Star rep on this committee to line up

volunteer weekends, as well as Ann's group.  Ted will take on that role for

North Stars.  Karen and Wayne may be willing to help as well.  Ted reports

that North Stars is making a donation to a bridge project.  Tom suggests if

someone wants to formulate a request for trail type funds, ie. bridge

project, he would bring this to the North Stars.

Other Business

Articles/News Items for Banadad Bulletin in March.  How about a story about

the trip that Linda, Chris and Karla did.  

Website Updates.  Board positions have been updated.  Need to change photos

so the BTA is differentiated from the BCT.  The Facebook page should be included as a place to share photos and experiences.

Cook County Community Fund Meeting on March 8 - Kate will try to get to this

meeting on March 8 at 2 p.m.

Motion was made to adjourn.  Motion passed.