Fall 2007 Newsletter:

Welcome back to the 2007-2008 snowmobile season! We appreciate your continued support.

Changes have been made to your club during the past year… Our new
Website is online. Be sure to add it to your favorites. This is the best place to find out the latest about the club, area activities and anything pertaining to our trails. Stop back often…

The club has voted in a new executive board. Richard Seller is your new President. Pixie Bobela is Vice-President and Judi Sabatina has taken offices
of Secretary & Treasurer. The executive board invites everyone to attend a meeting and get involved.

You will also notice we have a post office box for any correspondence or those of you that mail in your memberships. For your convenience, our new Website has a page for joining the club, if you want to mail it in or use your credit card. Click on the “MEMBERSHIP“ button on the Website, for all the info. We have
the required vouchers for registering your snowmobile/snowmobiles and will be sending them right back with received memberships. Use the “ABOUT US” button to send us feedback. We’re hoping this will help us better
communicate with our members.

Regretfully, because the NYS Parks & Rec’s has delayed dispersing the high snowfall payments/checks, we’ve been delayed in upgrading our number one groomer, as well as having a hydraulic hose replacement on the number two groomer. Both of these are vital for us to groom by snowfall. We’re hoping to get these upgrades done before the snow starts to fall.

October 15th will be a "Signing Program" scheduled at the Ridgeview Motel,
on Route 12 North, in Lowville, from 6pm - 9pm. This will allow anyone interested in joining a club, an opportunity to do so, allowing riders to take advantage of the discount on their snowmobile registration. It’s important to join a club on Tug Hill to help support area grooming.

September 22nd will be a "chain saw State certification course" at the DEC headquarters in Dadville, NY, you must be certified to cut any trees on state land. Information on this course can be obtained by calling 315-348-3521.

October 5th through the 7th will be the " Big E" snowmobile show in Syracuse. While Friday will be half a day, both Saturday and Sunday should prove to be very busy days, especially if it rains. Last year two buildings were utilized for this show. Lewis County Snowmobile Club Members will be there handing out pamphlets on an important issue facing all the clubs on Tug Hill.

The short of the issue is as follows… When NYS Parks and Rec’s implemented the new snowmobile registration process last season, the goal was to get the 70%+ riders who normally wouldn’t join a club, to join and help clubs where people ride to maintain area trails. The thought was that a majority of people ride the high snowfall areas, riders would help fund grooming in that area. Unfortunately the state implemented this process without a plan… There was no one place that riders could go to join a club, preferably online. So when riders needing to join a club to take advantage of the registration discount, they joined a club in their home area. Which by all means you should join your local club, however many riders didn’t join any additional clubs, especially in the high snow fall area. This caused clubs that have less miles and expenses, in the lower snowfall areas, to have a huge surplus of funding and a deficit to the clubs in the high snowfall/tourist areas.

Now NYS Parks & Rec’s is stating they are cutting funding to Lewis County/Tug Hill clubs. This means that a club in the high snow area with “Corridor A” trails (The highest Grade Trail) would get $450 per mile for each mile of trail they have. In Lewis County last year, which was a very short season, it cost over $500,000 to maintain the trails. The county clubs received less than $300,000 from the New York state trail fund. The average cost per mile in 2006-2007 season was $1,013 per mile. It doesn’t take a math expert to realize that it won’t take long for the area clubs to run out of money, resulting in the area grooming coming to a halt. As of February 2007, the state didn’t disperse any funds/checks for that season, because so many people waited late into last season to register their sled and NYSP&R held back the payment due to clubs. As this newsletter is being written the state still hasn’t dispersed the additional funding/checks clubs in high snowfall areas receive. So not only is the state cutting funding to the area for the upcoming season, we’re still waiting on our promised funding from last season. Again by no means are we saying some clubs are more important than others, however the tourist dollar that’s generated in the state is generated in the high snowfall areas. These areas need to be properly funded, for the sport to grow and safe trails are provided to riders that travel and vacation in the area. The more people that travel to New York and register their snowmobile, means more funding for all clubs. The current trail funding system is not proportionate to where people ride.

After studying the issues surrounding this problem, Lewis County Area Snowmobile Association, has come up with the following suggestions…

NYS Parks & Rec’s could:
(1) Create a high traffic area, which would include approximately 600 miles of trails in
Lewis, Oneida, and Oswego Counties, and parts of other counties.
(2) Reduce the reimbursement rates of Class C groomers so that the payback periods are
proportional to Class A groomers.
(3) Put in place an auditing program for groomer hours, or use a GPS tracking system to
track each groomer's usage.
(4) Pay actual expenses spent by the clubs before reimbursing for donated equipment,
time and labor.

This is the issue that Lewis County club members will be passing out literature on, hoping that riders will see the need for a proper balance in funding. It would be one thing if there weren’t any money, however to give more money to areas where less people ride, doesn’t seem like a fair and balance funding.

For years the state has offered grants for expensive “Class A” groomers, because of the large volume of riders on area trails and the need for larger equipment to keep up with trail maintenance. Now when fuel is twice the
price, and the operating costs per mile is higher, the state is essentially
saying the expense is too much… Groom less!

Last season was unfortunately short. Although we all hope the snow comes early and stays on the ground, it could easily cost two to three times the amount the area clubs receive in funding. Now more than ever it’s going to be important to support our club and bring in new members.

Currently NYS Park’s & Rec’s have closed the proverbial door on the high snowfall areas and are not taking any recommendations or suggestions. As a matter of fact, NYS Parks & Rec’s is looking to increase funding to the lower snow fall areas. The high snowfall area clubs are just looking for a fair share
of the pie.

This is why it’s more important than ever to join a club in the Lewis County area. Our club doesn’t just ask people to join, Turin Ridge Riders work hard all year round to earn your support. Our executive board and members get along without the drama. We have a common goal to provide the flattest and safest trails on the Hill. With your continued support we’ll be able to meet that goal.

Think Snow,
Turin Ridge Riders Snowmobile Club