ANNUAL REPORT. 51 st Annual Meeting. Hosted by the Franklin & Grand Isle County Snowmobile Clubs Saturday, September 15, Enosburg Falls, Vt.

Transcription

1 THE VERMONT ASSOCIATION OF SNOW TRAVELERS, INC. 51 st Annual Meeting 2018 ANNUAL REPORT Hosted by the Franklin & Grand Isle County Snowmobile Clubs Saturday, September 15, Enosburg Falls, Vt.

2 Franklin & GRAND ISLE Counties Thank you for hosting the VAST 51st Annual Meeting! Alburg Sno-Springers Cold Hollow Bearcats Covered Bridge Snowmobile Club Fletcher Rough Riders Franklin County Snow Raiders Northwest Riders

3 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 List of Directors and Officers 2018 Annual Meeting Agenda 2017 Meeting Minutes President s Report Vice President s Report Executive Director s Report Committee Reports Nominating, Scholarship & Recognition Long Range Goals Planning Governors Council Safety Committee Policy & Bylaws Committe Finance Committeee Snow Trails Conservancy Lamoille Valley Rail Trail Page 1 Page 2 Page 3-6 Page 7 Page 7 Page 8-10 Page 11 Page 11 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 13 Page 14 Page 14 Page 16 Statewide Snowmobile Trails Program Report VAST FY2018 Budget and FY2017 EOY Projection Page Page VAST DIRECTORS & OFFICERS FY 2018 Board of Directors Addison County Lewis Barnes Bennington County Mike Viggiano Caledonia County Ken Gammell Chittenden County Pat Poulin Essex County Stewart Ahern Franklin County Michael Burns Grand Isle County Vacant Officers President Tim Mills Vice President - Jeff Fay Lamoille County Ellis O Hear Orange County Juliann Sherman Orleans County Roger Gosselin Rutland County Curt Marechaux Washington County Mark Reaves Windham County Drew Frasier Windsor County Dick Jewett Treasurer Sonia Koehler Secretary Jim Hill PAST PRESIDENTS Wayne Flynn John Hall William Oakes Norman Hayes Darwin Rogers Mark Hutchins Patricia Rogers William Oakes Dexter Willson VAST STAFF Executive Director Cindy Locke Trails Administrator Matt Tetreault Media Manager Beth Godin Donald Finick Bryant M. Watson Fred Putnam, Jr Ron Bartemy Ann Shangraw Pat Poulin Jim Hill Joe Cicia Finance and HR Manager Sheila Fenoff-Willett Trails Manager & LVRT Project Manager Ken Brown Office and Programs Manager Cyndy Carrier Brown

4 2 51st ANNUAL MEETING AGENDA Saturday, September 15, 2018 The Abbey Pub and Restaurant, Enosburg Falls, VT The following members need to check in at registration: Voting Delegates from each snowmobile club, County Directors (Board), Officers of the Board (President, VP, Secretary and Treasurer) and Life Members. Other members should check in and purchase their lunch tickets at the Franklin County Clubs registration table near the VAST registration table. Time 6:00 a.m. 8:00 10:00 11:30 1:00 MORNING EVENTS Description County members & VAST staff arrive on site to finalize set up and continued set up of vendors, groomers, etc. Registration opens. Coffee, donuts, etc. Silent Auction opens Vendor Areas open Pre-meeting with VAST Leadership Lunch Delegate Registration ENDS! NO EXCEPTIONS! VAST 51st ANNUAL MEETING AGENDA Time 1:00 5:00 Description Welcome by Franklin County Opening Ceremonies: Pledge of Allegiance & Invocation Introduction of VAST President, Tim Mills Annual Awards Introduce Parliamentarian & Moderator Official Meeting Opens Call to order Tally of Delegates Approval of Meeting Agenda Approval of 2017 Meeting Minutes Approval of VAST President s Report Approval of VAST Executive Director s Report Approval of VAST Committee Reports Approval of VAST Trails Administrator s Report Bylaw Proposal Proposed VAST General Fund, Trails and Scholarship Budgets Annual Auditor s Report Nominating Committee Report and Slate of Officers Affirmation by those on the slate, any nominations from the floor President Vice President Secretary Treasurer Meeting concludes

5 50 TH VAST Annual Meeting Minutes Lamoille Union High School, Hyde Park, VT - September 9, VAST OFFICERS PRESENT: Tim Mills, President Jeff Fay, Vice President Tom Baltrus, Treasurer Jim Hill, Secretary VAST COUNTY DIRECTORS PRESENT: Addison: Lewis Barnes Bennington: Vacant Caledonia: Ken Gammell Chittenden: Pat Poulin Essex: Dave Page Franklin: Mike Burns Grand Isle: Dave Ladd Lamoille: Carmin Lemery Orange: Juliann Sherman Orleans: Roger Gosselin Rutland: Curt Marechaux Washington: Mark Reaves Windham: Vacant Windsor: Dick Jewett VAST STAFF PRESENT: Executive Director: Cindy Locke Trails Administrator: Matt Tetreault Finance and Human Services: Sheila Fenoff-Willett Trails Manager: Vacant Media Manager: Beth Godin Office and Programs Manager: Cyndy Carrier Brown PARLIAMENTARIAN: Senator Rich Westman Meeting was called to order by President Tim Mills at 1:10 p.m. OPENING CEREMONIES Members from the Boy Scout Troop Pack 876 from Morrisville led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance. Desirae Barrows sang the National Anthem. Pastor Al Lamos gave the Invocation. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF SPECIAL GUESTS Tim Mills recognized VAST Past Presidents, Life Members in attendance. WELCOMING ADDRESS President Tim Mills noted that today s meeting is being conducted according to Robert s Rules. Senator Rich Westman from Lamoille county will be our parliamentarian to help keep the meeting in order. PRESIDENT S ADDRESS Tim Mills, President of VAST, welcomed the members to the Annual Meeting Board of Directors and Officers

6 4 50 TH VAST Annual Meeting Minutes Cont. ANNUAL AWARDS President s Awards Snowmobiler of the Year Roger Gosselin, Derby Drift Dusters Snowmobile Family of the Year Matt and Bobbi Roone, Sterling Snow Riders Snowmobile Club of the Year Northeast Kingdom Snow Blasters Director of the Year Carmin Lemery, Lamoille County Officer of the Year Tom Baltrus, Windham County Carmi Deuso Dave Page, Brighton Snowmobile Club Founders Award Dick Jewett, Chester Snowmobile Club Horizon Award - Mike Mustacio, Lunenburg Polar Bears Business Partner of the Year Vermont National Guard Dealer of the Year Cofiell s Sport and Power, Connecticut Executive Director s Awards Excellence Awards: Dennis Lemire, West Windsor Moonlighters Raymond and Gloria Rodrigue, Orleans Snow Stormers Mountain Tamers Snowmobile Club Dave McFadden, Alburg Sno Springers Dot Williamson, Tweed Valley Travelers Gary Dockum, Ludlow Sidehill Cronchers Ray Heath, Caledonia Snow Trail Club Ken Gammell shared words of remembrance for his good friend, Ray Heath. Winner of the 50 / 50 Raffle donated the money back to Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund. Trail Administrator s Awards Groomer of the Year David Diminco, Sr., NEK Snow Blasters Ambition Award Jared O Hear, Sterling Snow Riders Appreciation Award Tim Hall, Hardwick Snowflake Ridge Runners Dedication Award Arklin Minor Woodford SnoBusters Effort Award Mike Mann, Andrew Godfrey, Dana Kendall; Justin Morrill Drift Skippers Enthusiasm Award Louis Lesage, Sterling Snow Riders Patience Award Dan Courchaine, Hardwick Snowflake Ridge Runners Trailmaster of the Year Award - Gary Lamberton, Buckaroos of 302 County Trail Coordinator of the Year Bob Farnham, Chittenden County Best Signed Trails Topsham Ridge Runners Best Groomed Trails Chester Snowmobile Club Distinguished Service Carmin Lemery and Tom Baltrus Presentation of Awards and Presentations was completed at 2:45 p.m. Business portion of the meeting started at 2:48 p.m. PRESENTATION OF HEAD TABLE Senator Rich Westman: Parliamentarian Tim Mills: President Jeff Fay: Vice President Jim Hill: Secretary Tom Baltrus: Treasurer Cindy Locke: Executive Director Matt Tetreault: Trails Administrator

7 5 Sheila Fenoff Willette Financial Manager Cyndy Carrier Brown Programs Manager 50 TH VAST Annual Meeting Minutes Cont. DELEGATE COUNT Jim Hill, Secretary, read the Tally of Voting Delegates for each county, as follows: Addison (8); Bennington (4); Caledonia (27); Chittenden (13); Essex (15); Franklin (12); Grand Isle (3); Lamoille (16); Orange (13); Orleans (17); Rutland (16); Washington (14); Windham (4); Windsor (27). MEETING AGENDA Larry Dwyer moved to approve the agenda for the annual meeting; Ed Hebebrand seconded, motion passed. ANNUAL MEETING MINUTES FROM SEPTEMBER 20, 2016 Dennis Lemire moved to approve the annual meeting minutes from 2016, Lewis Barnes seconded, motion passed. PRESIDENT S REPORT Curt Marechaux moved to approve the President s Report as presented, Lewis Barnes seconded, motion passed.. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR S REPORT Pat Poulin moved to approve the Executive Director s report as presented, Dick Jewett seconded, motion passed. VAST COMMITTEE REPORTS Bonnie Holbrook moved to approve the VAST Committee Reports as presented, Curt Marechaux seconded, motion passed. TRAIL ADMINISTRATOR S REPORT Stan Choiniere moved to approve the Trail Administrator s report as presented, Larry Dwyer seconded, motion passed. PETITIONED BYLAW PROPOSAL Jeff Fay, Chairman of the Policy and ByLaws Committee, reviewed the following proposed bylaws addition in response to concerns expressed by our legal counsel and our auditing firm, based on the amount of money VAST is distributing to clubs statewide annually. Policy will be established if the bylaw is adopted to detail the audit process and requirements. It is expected that a number of random audits will be conducted on an annual basis; however, specific audits may be warranted under special circumstances. Article II Organization Section 5 Right to Audit All Clubs shall establish and maintain a reasonable accounting system that enables VAST to readily identify a Club s assets, expenses, costs of goods, and use of funds. VAST and its authorized representatives shall have the right to audit, to examine, and to make copies of or extracts from all financial and related records (in whatever form they may be kept, whether written, electronic, or other). Such records shall include, but not be limited to, accounting records; written policies and procedures; all paid vouchers, including those for out-of-pocket expenses; other reimbursement supported by invoices; ledgers; cancelled checks; deposit slips; bank statements; journals and supporting documentation; insurance documents; payroll documents; timesheets. The Club shall at any time requested by VAST, at Club s own expense make such records available for inspection and audit (including copies and extracts of records as required) by VAST. Such records shall be made available to VAST during normal business hours subject to a three-business-day written notice/without prior notice. Costs of any audits conducted under the authority of this right to audit and not addressed elsewhere will be borne by VAST. If the audit identifies substantive findings related to fraud, misrepresentation, or non-performance, VAST may recoup the costs of the audit work from the Club. Any adjustments and/or payments that must be made as a result of any such audit or inspection of the Club s invoices and/or records shall be made within a reasonable amount of time (not to exceed 90 days) from presentation of findings to Club. Mark Reaves moved to approve the proposed bylaw addition, a member seconded, motion passed. A member from West Windsor In the section under costs, I think there is an error. I think the word non-performance should be changed to non-compliance, which is more appropriate in this circumstance. Tim Mills Yes, I think that is correct.

8 6 50 TH VAST Annual Meeting Minutes Cont. Member - my second point is about the four independent audits. I think that a more appropriate statement of Action 1 would be that annually the VAST Board of Directors shall set a budget and determine the amount of money to be spent and the number of audits to be conducted. Jeff Fay That would be covered in Policy vs. ByLaw. Tim Mills - You will need to make an amended motion so that we can now discuss the amended motion. Member, I refer back to my original motion, substituting the word non-performance to non-compliance. A member moved to approve the wording, Dean Percy seconded, motion passed. Tom Baltrus made a motion and Mark Reaves seconded, to change the wording in the ByLaws section to say that the compliance issue is addressing all previous VAST policies. Tim Mills - No, all current VAST policies. Jeff Fay Just a suggestion, you want to limit it to Policy. We need to clarify what we are going to be compliant with. We have a motion that says to add, with VAST audit policies, after the wording non-compliance. David Clough moved to approve the proposed Policy and ByLaw changes, as amended; Mark Reaves seconded, motion passed. Tim Mills now we need to go back to the beginning of it. We need a motion to approve the Bylaws with the amended changes. Motion was made and passed with two Nays. PROPOSED VAST GENERAL FUND, TRAILS AND SCHOLARSHIP BUDGETS Tom Baltrus reviewed the 2018 budget approved by the Finance Committee/BOD on July 31, John McManus moved and Lewis Barnes seconded, motion passed to approve the budgets. Motion to reconsider was made by John McManus, Lewis Barnes seconded, motion to reconsider failed. The budget was passed as presented. ANNUAL AUDITOR S REPORT Tom Baltrus reviewed the Letter from the Auditors Mudgett, Jennett & Krough-Wisner, P.C. Pat Poulin moved to approve the Annual Auditor s Report, a member seconded, motion passed. Tom Baltrus thanked the members and the Board for allowing him to serve as teasurer for VAST. Ken Gammell thanked Tom Baltrus for his help, his experience and his work with VAST as treasurer. NOMINATING COMMITTEE REPORT AND SLATE OF OFFICERS Dave Ladd, Chairman of the Nominating Committee, announced that we have one candidate for each office. Nominations are President,Tim Mills; Vice President, Jeff Fay; Secretary, Jim Hill; Treasurer, Sonia Koehler. Dennis Lemire moved to have all nominations approved at once, as opposed to having them done individually, a member seconded, motion passed. Dave Ladd asked three times if there were any other nominations from the floor, for all nominations. Hearing none, the nominations were closed. All nominations were approved by the membership. Motion to adjourn by Ed Hebebrand and seconded by Lewis Barnes, motion passed. Meeting adjourned at 3:18 PM.

9 7 It seems like the 2017 annual meeting was only last week. It is hard to believe it has almost been a year. It truly amazes me how fast time seems to fly by and there is never enough of it to get everything on our to-do list done. It definitely has been another summer of being on the run. VAST PRESIDENT S REPORT Submitted by Tim Mills Speaking of being on the run, as usual it has been another busy year for everyone here at VAST and at the local club level. Construction projects are happening state wide, clubs are performing grooming equipment maintenance, and other trail related projects are well under way. Work on the LVRT is an ongoing process with some projects moving faster than others. County clubs have been asked to come up with a favorite loop trail within their own county to be featured in upcoming magazine issues. This will definitely be difficult to do as all Vermont counties have several loop trails that are very special and worth the ride. The VAST Summer Summit held this past June was another success in my opinion. The Summer Summit was attended by the VAST Board of Directors, Alternate Directors and County Trails Coordinators. This year s focus was mainly on streamlining all aspects of the Snowmobile Programs here in Vermont and being efficient with all resources. There was a lot of good input and ideas from all who attended, and it was great to see everyone who was able to make it to the meeting. This year the annual meeting is being co-hosted by both Franklin and Grand-Isle county and is being held at The Abbey Restaurant. This year also marks our 51 st anniversary. Annual meeting is a great opportunity to be active and have a voice. It is also a great opportunity to catch up with old friends and make new ones with people who share the same love for our sport as you do. I hope you are able to attend. We look forward to seeing you all there! As we head to Franklin County for this years VAST Annual Meeting, I want to thank all of the volunteers who have worked on planning and making it all possible. Every year it seems like there is a new aspect to annual meeting. Last year a craft fair was part of the event along with the vintage sled photo booth. This year VAST will be using a newly opened event space at the Abbey always an interesting prospect. I hope to see a great turnout as VAST celebrates the beginning of the next 50 years. As always, a huge Thank You to all of our Landowners and club volunteers for making Vermont a fantastic place to snowmobile. Also a shout out to our VAST Staff for keeping everything on track all year long. I saw something on the internet the other day that if the first week of August is hot and muggy, then the winter will be cold and snowy. Here s hoping the web is right this time. VAST VICE PRESIDENT S REPORT Submitted by Jeff Fay

10 8 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR S REPORT Submitted by Cindy Locke Greetings VAST Membership! Like last year, this summer is hot, but all I am thinking about is the snow and winter ahead. Before I get ahead of myself, let me tell you about some things that happened this past year at VAST. As some of you are busy volunteering for VAST, working on trails, holding fundraisers and getting landowner permission forms, the staff at VAST is working hard partnering with you to make sure you have the tools you need while running this large and very important organization. Like the winter before this last one, we had some great riding out there, but also a major defrost in early February that put a stop to riding in some regions. While the clubs did what they could with what we got for snow, we had some great riding for sure from Bennington up to Essex County and in between. I rode every single weekend this past winter to visit with clubs, enjoy the trails and attend and support VAST events. I hope you had a chance to take advantage of the areas with snow too. I was also able to get to some club systems I had not ridden before such as Washington, Rutland, Wyndham, Windsor and Bennington Counties. I would like to thank all of you who showed me around and introduced me to your trail network, and a hearty thank you to those maintaining the VAST trail network! So much that we do here at VAST is tried and true and going back 20, 30, 40 and 50 years, so much is the same. The need for hands-on volunteers, volunteers getting older and the need for younger ones to step up, bad snow years and great snow years, focusing more money into trails, stagnant membership numbers and why, are all still very relevant issues. So let me tackle the membership one first. There are a few reasons that we all know about, like the mandatory liability insurance laws in Vermont (2008), the economic down turn (2008), the cost of snowmobiling (machines, gear, gas) which has out-priced some who used to enjoy this sport. While we can always look at the cost to ride in Vermont in registering a sled and buying a TMA, that

11 9 is still by far not why most don t ride any more. The ones who have left this sport, sadly, are Vermonters themselves. Vermont is well known for low paying jobs and a very high cost of living, and when the economy went south, folks had to make some tough choices about where to spend their extra money. In reality, it does cost more to ride in Vermont than neighboring states, but those states continue to raise their prices too and also some cut off grooming before the season ends to not go over their budget, leaving clubs and members to fend for themselves. Riding in Vermont costs more, but we offer more with incredible trail signing and maintenance, vibrant clubs, a strong volunteer base, statewide riding, top notch mapping systems, free trail map apps and much more. This association is run by six full time staff people, where other states are run by whole state agencies and double or triple the employees. This year, we continue to keep staffing costs level, while putting more money into marketing Vermont and into our clubs for their hard work. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR S REPORT This past summer, the VAST leadership (Long Range Planning Committee), Board of Directors, Alternate Directors and County Trail Coordinators met again to go over the future direction of VAST. We looked at ways to save money, promote VAST more, drill down on better and leaner ways to operate, etc. It was a good two days and some action items came out of the meeting. These are baby steps for us and while we see other states taking much more drastic steps, our goal is to be doing what we can to save money so we can put it where it is needed. Change is always tough, but it s important to always keep evaluating our organization, procedures and outcomes. Since Vermont is by far a family destination, this is going to be in the forefront of our promotions this year. We are changing the look of our Traveler s Guide book to appeal to families more than before. Once again we will hit the road in the fall to attend and exhibit at trade shows all around the Northeast. New this year, we will also be offering online TMA sales right from our Vermont booth at these shows: NY Powersports Show, Maine Snowmobile Show, NH Grass Drags, SAM Show and PA Powersports Show. Going along with VAST are a number of great volunteers to help promote all the great reasons to ride in Vermont! This past legislative session was a tough one, and I spent a lot of time in the state house and in meetings with legislators, agency leaders, and administration leaders. Constantly having to defend outdoor recreation in Vermont can be frustrating. I am hoping that with more common efforts between VAST and other outdoor recreation leaders as hosts of trail systems, we as a group can influence more change to benefit our members in the future. It s very important that, when you can, you speak up for VAST at public meetings and when talking with folks running for office that you have the information you need. Here is some great VAST info you can carry with you when you are asked questions about VAST: ABOUT VAST VAST was founded in 1967 as a non-profit 501-c-3 membership association. VAST maintains 4,700 miles of statewide groomed trails. VAST has 23,000 members (largest outdoor recreation association in VT). VAST members contribute $500,000,000 a year to Vermont s economy. VAST has 127 volunteer clubs statewide to maintain and

12 10 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR S REPORT manage our trails with strict policies and procedures to teach and govern important environmental land stewardship procedures. VAST clubs, their steadfast volunteers, and the landowners who allow riders to cross their land are the backbone of the organization. VAST maintains a working relationship with more than 9000 private landowners (80 percent of VAST trails are privately owned and the other 20 percent are state and federal lands). Snowmobiling is a privilege and is permitted only through the generosity of these property owners. VAST has a good working relationship with state agencies including Agency of Natural Resources, Forest Park and Recreation, Fish and Wildlife, and Agency of Transportation. With our clubs we maintain more than 100 large grooming machines statewide that have a collective value of $15,000,000. Lots of the VAST trail system is also enjoyed by other sports like cross country skiing and snowshoeing at no cost to those users. VAST and our members feel it is incredibly important to be great stewards of the land, and that includes respecting the land, landowners and those who use it. WHY VAST TRAILS ARE IMPORTANT TO VERMONT Conserving environmental and historic resources that are central to Vermont s heritage Conferring healthy exercise benefits to users at a variety of activity and ability levels Providing safe and inviting places for people to spend time in a natural environment, thereby increasing awareness of the importance of the state s unique landscapes and wildlife Benefitting the economic development of small towns relying on our members Attracting tourists in a manner that encourages respect and appreciation for Vermont s rural spaces and small-town communities. Think Snow for 2019 and thank you so much to all that you who volunteer do! If you ever want to chat about VAST, feel free to reach out to me anytime.

13 11 NOMINATING, SCHOLARSHIP & RECOGNITION COMMITTEE Submitted by Patty Companik, Chair This is my fourth year on this committee, but it has been my first year as chair. Like any other committee, until you are in the driver s seat, you really never know how much actually goes into the job. This year s committee members included Star Poulin, Dick Jewett, and Merritt Budd. As the committee chair, I am a strong believer in collaboration. This committee works very closely with the VAST staff (Matt Tetreault and Cindy Locke) and VAST officers (Tim Mills and Jeff Fay) during our selection process. Cyndy Jones keeps the committee current by downloading and distributing all your nominations. I would also like to thank Dave Ladd (previous committee chair) for making the transition to chair seamless for me. His support and guidance have been great to have. We start our season with the selection of two scholarship award recipients. Cameron J. Burkhardt of Newport, Rhode Island is a member of the Cavendish Green Mountain Snow Fleas. Cameron is planning to attend Vermont Tech in the fall with his major area of study in Agribusiness Management. Ally Martin of Rutland, Vermont is a member of the Tweed Valley Travelers. Ally plans to attend Vermont Technical College in the fall with her major area of study in Business Management. We received 48 nominations for 10 of the Annual Awards from our membership. With the online option, the nominations are plentiful. I believe every one of our volunteers deserves an award. You are all doing great work and contribute so much. Unfortunately, we have to make one selection per Annual Award. It is a tough job to do, with a lot of conversation between committee members. The final decision of all the award recipients is based on your nominations and the input and feedback from many others. I am very honored to say we also presented 14 Trailblazer Awards during the 2017/2018 season. These recipients have dedicated over 25 years of volunteering for the betterment of VAST. This coming season we have a few items planned, including updating the scholarship and award forms and meeting with the county trail coordinators to obtain their input and opinions regarding their county trails and clubs. The committee is also very pleased to have all four VAST officers seeking re-election this year. LONG RANGE PLANNING COMMITTEE REPORT This year, the committee s work was focused on the second annual VAST Leadership Summit. For two days in June, VAST leadership, County Directors, Alternate Directors and County Trail Coordinators met to discuss the challenges facing snowmobiling and to begin developing solutions to address those challenges. The Summit began with an examination of the last 15 years of VAST operations. Understanding how the organization has responded to past fluctuations in snowfall, membership and revenue was instructive in Submitted by Mark Reaves, Chair determining what aspects of our current operations need refining. Among the items identified as needing to be addressed: - insuring all trails are accurately measured using GPS - insuring all trails are adequately and efficiently groomed and that grooming equipment is used to its fullest potential, - insuring resources are directed to areas that face increased ridership due to fluctuations in snowfall.

14 12 GOVERNOR S SNOWMOBILE COUNCIL This council is made up of legislative representatives (one member of the senate, one member of the house), two people from DMV; all law enforcement agencies; VT State Police, VT Department of Fish and Wildlife, VT Sheriff s Association, VT Police Chief s Association; Southern VT Snowmobile Task Force, and VT Department of Forest, Parks, and Recreation. The council also includes the VAST Executive Director, Trails Administrator, and Trails Manager. There are five volunteer VAST members appointed by the Governor to represent geographic regions of the state as well. These members represent the system as: the Northwest, Northeast, Central, and Southern portions of the state as well as a chairman appointed by the governor. The Council shall serve the following functions: To review, advise, and consent on development of the annual plan for the expenditure of funds for the Statewide Snowmobile Trail Program; To review and advise the Governor and General Assembly on matters relating to, and promoting snowmobiling in Vermont, including environmental and community impacts, development of snowmobile trails, ways to encourage snowmobile traffic, adequacy of parking areas, carrying capacity trails, State laws and rules affecting snowmobilers, and promoting snowmobiling in this state; To help coordinate the efforts of VAST and State and Federal agencies, private industry, and nonprofit organizations in meeting the needs of snowmobilers in Vermont; To perform any other duties or functions regarding snowmobiling assigned by the Governor; To assure that municipal legislative bodies are given advance notice and an opportunity for input before trail or parking lot expansion takes place in the community. The members appointed by the Governor shall serve for two year terms and all others shall serve the term of their office. The Council may designate technical work groups, composed of representatives of appropriate public agencies, private organizations, and individuals, to assist in the collection, study, and evaluation of information and to advise the Council on particular issues. The appointed members of the Council and the President or designee of VAST shall be entitled to compensation. Expenditures shall be paid from snowmobile funds appropriated to the Agency of Natural Resources for administration of the program. Legislative members shall be entitled to compensation and reimbursement of expenses. Technical work group members shall not be entitled to compensation or reimbursement of expenses. The Council is attached to the office of the Secretary of Natural Resources for administrative support. The State may extend coverage of its liability insurance to parties under contract with the Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation for the development and maintenance of the snowmobile trail system. The Governor s Snowmobile Council over-sees the SSTP budget. The following shows part of this past winter s coverage. DMV reps reported that there were 20,726 registrations for this year ( 2017/18) with a decrease of 260 from the season before, but still ahead by 1240 from the year before that. This past winter, Law Enforcement agencies reported as follows: Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife wardens patrolled 878 hours and did 1678 written/visual inspections with 112 tickets/citations/civil violations issued and 402 warnings. They had a total of 2974 contacts made. Vermont State Police patrolled 1190 hours logged and did 1292 written/visual inspections. They issued 37 tickets/citations/civil violations. They, also, issued 117 warnings. Vermont Sheriffs Association patrolled 866 hours and performed 2183 written/visual inspections. They issued 33 tickets/citations/civil violations and issued 73 warnings. Vermont Chief of Police/So. VT Snowmobile Task Force patrolled 242 hours and, also, did 1100 written/ visual inspections with 124 tickets/citations/civil violations. They issued 64 warnings.

15 13 SAFETY COMMITTEE REPORT Submitted by Patrick Poulin, Chair The Safety Committee has met through out the year working on several items. Collaborated with Vermont State Police to update the snowmobile safety manuals used in our safety classes. Developed a standard for signage to be used at road crossings to assist emergency responders to locate the best trail access point during an emergency response. These signs will identify the road name, town and trail number. Conducted a Train the Trainer class to certify new safety instructors. Worked on a recertification process for all snowmobile safety instructors. Revised a Trail Safety Patrol program to help identify issues on the trails as they come up during the season. This will also be combined with the VAST Ambassador Program to welcome and assist new and veteran members. Snowmobile Safety Certifications for the 2017/2018 season: classroom, 252; online,1085; total, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Trooper Marie Beland for her time as Vermont State Police Safety Education Coordinator and to welcome her replacement Trooper Chris Brown. We would also like to thank Sgt Trevor Carbo for stepping in to assist while the Administrators position was open. We look forward to working together to keep the trails and our members safe. I would like to thank the committee members for their time and efforts; Sgt Trevor Carbo, Lewis Barnes, Juliann Sherman, Roger Gosselin, Vice President Jeff Fay and Ken Gammel. We also thank President Tim Mills, and VAST Staff for their assistance. POLICY AND BY-LAWS COMMITTEE REPORT Submitted by Jeff Fay, Chair and VAST Vice President It was fairly quiet year for the committee with no major changes to By-Laws and only a couple of minor policy updates.

16 14 VERMONT SNOW TRAILS CONSERVANCY REPORT The VSTC has met through out the 2017/2018 season. We are currently working on a few potential easements. Several other properties were donated to towns and we ensured snowmobiling would continue to be an allowed use. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the trustees of the VSTC for their time and efforts over the past year. Jim Hill President Cindy Locke Vice President Mark Ellingwood Treasurer Stan Choinere Trustee Frank Stanley Trustee Greg Rouleau - Trustee Submitted by Patrick Poulin, Secretary FINANCE COMMITTEE REPORT Submitted by Sonia Koehler, Treasurer While we were down in total TMA counts this year overall by 406, we were up in some categories and up overall in revenue by $53,056. One thing to point out in the TMA count is that our 4-Day TMAs alone were down 108. EB Registered in VT was down 228. EB NOT Registered in VT was up 291. RS Registered in VT was down 368. RS NOT Registered in VT was down 97. Overall the biggest impact of loss continues to be folks with sleds registered in VT. On the income side of the General Fund, we had budgeted an income of $975,367. We believe we will end with around $948,261 instead, which is a difference of $27,106. On the other hand, we had budgeted to spend $917,589, but now we expect to expense closer to $904,570, a difference of $13,019. We should end with a surplus in the GF of about $43,690. For the Trails Fund, we budgeted income to be $2,043,703. We believe we will end with around $2,026,718 with a difference of $16,986. For expenses we budgeted $1,897,492 and we expect to end the year at around $1,924,988 a difference of $27,506. Most of that is found in grooming, which went over budget by $23,960. We expect to end the year with a small surplus of around $145,000. These funds the finance committee would like to allocate to reserve funds with the majority going to trail reserves. Regarding the FY19 budget, there are small increases and decreases throughout which are mostly due to actual dollars received or spent in FY18. Two larger jumps in spending in the General Fund are for legal and for lobbying. Legal just seems to have increased because of the amount of help our attorney has been able to provide for staff. Also, this year, he was asked to review and rewrite when necessary some of our contracts like TMA forms, landowner permission forms, and landowner bridge forms. For lobbying, we brought Frank Stanly back on full time year-round since so much is happening when the legislature is out of session that he has privy to and that we need to know about. For the Trails Fund, we have added $104,270 into the grooming expense line in FY19.

17 15

18 16 LAMOILLE VALLEY RAIL TRAIL REPORT Submitted by Ken Brown, Trails Manager and LVRT Project Manager What has been going on: After VAST filed with the Federal Surface Transportation Board to get the trail out of Act 250, the state agreed to a settlement which holds the trail to the environmental restrictions previously agreed upon, but frees us from further onerous review for each project. This will allow trail construction to progress at whatever pace there is sufficient funding for. Bridge 68 at Cambridge Junction was completed and opened to the public in October In January 2018, we learned that the grant VAST had acquired to serve as matching funds for the Phase 1C construction was not eligible for that use. We also found that the estimated project cost had increased by $400,000. In order to prevent ever increasing snowmobiler money from being directed to this single trail, VAST decided to postpone the project until other funding sources could be found. The Capital Campaign is continuing to raise funds with our focus shifted to applying for large grants. We found in the past year that private donations were not likely to meet the high cost of improving the trail. to rehab Bridge 93 in Sheldon (over the Missisquoi), upgrade that 1.5mi. section of trail connecting Sheldon village to the Missisquoi Valley Rail Trail, and repair a large washout in Highgate. The work should begin this fall. The town of Hardwick has decided to take on two projects of their own to accelerate improvement of the LVRT in their community. First they plan to adopt the NBRC grant which had been planned for Phase 1C and use it instead to deck two bridges and make some other repairs to connect Hardwick to East Hardwick with a safe trail (but not completely re-surfaced like the other sections of the LVRT). Second, they plan to do a full bike-pedestrian project connecting their historic rail depot in the village out to Route 15 near the yellow barn/lamoille Valley Ford (or perhaps a bit further to Wright Farm Rd.). We are looking into hiring a youth corps crew to help maintain culverts along the trail and also to improve access to some of the historic structures that people miss if they just pass by on the trail. The open sections of the trail are getting a lot of support from volunteers and the towns. Town highway crews are helping to mow the trail and keep it nice for summer use. Volunteers have helped mow, cleared down trees, ensured support from their towns and more. Special thanks to: Laird McDowell, Zeke Zucker, Peter Ingvoldstad, Ted Chase, Don Glover, Sonny Demars, Ron Gauthier, Al Spitzer, Keith Gadapee, Ellis O Hear, Terry Carpenter, Jeff Fay, Mike Spaulding, some anonymous people who cleared trees, and all the clubs that help maintain sections of the trail: Northwest Riders, Fletcher Rough Riders, Smuggler s Notch Snowmobile Club, Sterling Snow Riders, Lamoille County Snow Packers, Coles Pond Sledders, Hardwick Sno-flake Ridge Runners, and the Danville S-Ski-Mos. What s next for the trail: Early this summer, the VAST board of directors decided to direct some funding ($40,000) to the phase 1C project in order to at least get it open for snowmobiling. The state also provided some support ($75,000) in the transportation bill. These funding sources combined with the continued 80 percent match from the state/federal bike-pedestrian program means we are putting a sub-project of 1C out to bid

19 17 STATEWIDE SNOWMOBILE TRAILS PROGRAM (SSTP) REPORT FY 2018 was once again a season that kept us guessing. Overall, many areas had some great riding throughout the majority of the season, but some warm temperatures, rain and freeze/thaw cycles made for some interesting grooming challenges. We even had a few icing events that pulled down tree limbs. March was a heavy snow month, enabling some late season grooming and riding when the sun was warm and the weather was nice! A special thanks once again to all of the volunteers who created a well maintained and signed trail system, the great landowners who allow the volunteers and riders access, and the membership for sticking with us for another season. As we prepare for the winter of 2019, I will leave you with some statistics that recap what happened on the Statewide Snowmobile Trail System (SSTS) during the 2018 season. Submitted by Matt Tetreault, Trails Administrator Trail Construction & Maintenance There are approximately 4,688 miles of groomed trails and 1500 miles of secondary trails maintained by 128 VAST Snowmobile Clubs. During the 2018 construction season, there were 145 regular construction projects funded at a total cost of $385,984 and 27 debrushing projects funded at a cost of $16,692. Based on these figures, he average cost per mile to construct/maintain the VAST Trail system this past season was $85.90/mile as opposed to a figure of $47.06/mile during the 2017 season.

20 18 SSTP Equipment Grants For FY18, 23 Equipment Grant in Aid Applications were submitted. All grants were funded and were broken down as follows; 8 New/Used Power Units, 1 Drag, 13 Capital Repairs. A total of $361,882 was spent out of the budget. This is approximately 28 percent of the total cost to purchase/repair the equipment ($1,276,656). 100 percent of the funding for equipment came out of the SSTP budget. Grooming There were 110 grooming contracts during the snowmobile season. There were 98 contracts with VAST clubs and 12 contracts with grooming contractors. The total grooming budget for the season was $1,329,217. The VAST clubs and contractors received their grooming start-up funds during the month of November as usual. The start-up payments were equal to 12.5 percent of the clubs/contractors grooming contract cap, which is calculated by multiplying the club/contractors contract mileage by the contract rate by the contract weeks and multiplying this number by two grooms per week. The total figure for start-up payments for the season was $255,466. The first-round grooming payment totaled $198,878 and covered grooming between December 14th and January 21st. The total for second round grooming payments was $330,437. This payment covered grooming activity for weeks 6-10 (Jan. 22 through Feb. 25). The third and final grooming payments were mailed out to clubs/contractors that had submitted all 16 of their grooming log sheets along with their financial analysis in May. One club did not submit its grooming log sheets or financial analysis by the deadline and, as a result, will not receive its grooming payment this season. The total amount paid for the 3rd round of grooming payments was $572,656 (February 26th through the end of the grooming season 4/8/18). A total of $1,357,437 was paid out in grooming for the winter, with 26 clubs and contractors receiving a grooming subsidy. The subsidy amount paid was $30, The fleet of grooming equipment logged 117,005 miles during the winter of This compares to 96,464 miles during the winter of and 9,291 miles during the winter of

21 SSTP 19

22 20 SSTP SSTP CONTINUED Snowmobile Registrations The funding mechanisms for the Statewide Snowmobile Trails Program (SSTP) are snowmobile registration fees and snowmobile fines and penalties. Through a cooperative agreement with the Department of Forest, Parks and Recreation, VAST receives 100 percent of all snowmobile registration fees and 100 percent of all snowmobile related fines and penalties. During FY 2018, there were a total of 20,730 registrations; 14,119 VT Registrations and 6,611 non-resident registrations. This is based on a report from DMV for registrations as of 7/2/18. This is a decrease of 732 as compared to FY Summary VAST spent $282,319 in Trail Maintenance, $103,665 in Trail Construction, and $16,692 in debrushing on a total of 172 Grant in Aid Projects. The VAST Grooming Fleet logged a total of 117,005 miles during the snowmobile season. (Class 1: 107,149 Class 2: 2,112 Class 3: 1,721.9, Class 4: 6,022.1). $84,590 was spent on Law Enforcement through the Vermont Sheriff s Association, Vermont State Police and Vermont Department of Fish & Wildlife during the snowmobile season. Approximately $16,318 in fines were issued for non-compliance with various Vermont Laws. There were 2,950 hours of patrols, 6,449 inspections, 179 citations issued, 592 warnings issued, 0 search and rescue missions, 0 accident investigations and 0 fatalities investigated. The VAST Plowed Parking Area Program was a success once again during the season. 32 parking areas throughout the state were plowed under contract this past winter. Approximately $18, was paid out of the budget for this purpose. Each of these parking areas provided riders with crucial access to the SSTS. The VAST Trails Committee and Board of Directors continued to monitor policies designed to help the clubs and the trail Construction/Maintenance/Debrushing/Grooming budgets. Policies will continue to be reviewed as necessary. The Spring Construction Seminar was shifted to an online format where clubs are able to view the curriculum from their home computer. The program keeps track of individuals who sign into the course, so that we have a

23 21 SSTP record of attendees. Each lesson is followed by a short quiz. The entire seminar takes approximately one hour to complete. $361,882 was spent in the VAST Equipment Grant in Aid Program and helped clubs/contractors with the purchase of 8 New/Used Power Units and 1 Drag. A total of 13 clubs/contractors were provided grant funding to make necessary capital repairs on their equipment. (Arctic Cat: 0, Polaris: 0, Ski Doo: 1, John Deer: 1, PistenBully 0, Prinoth: 0, Tucker:6, Mogul Master Drag: 1, Mtn. Snow Drag 0 Maxey Drag: 0, Frenchie Drag: 0, Capital Repairs: 13, Rescue Boggan: 0) Average age of a Class I piece of equipment on the SSTS is a 2004 (14 years old). VAST and the Snow Trails Conservancy/Charitable Trust continue to work with various trusts and conservation groups to obtain permanent easements on private lands. VAST is continuing its efforts to market itself better, and promote volunteerism, safe riding and snowmobiling in Vermont by attending numerous power sports shows and placing our Snowmobile Vermont Magazine in welcome centers and local businesses. The Travelers Guide continues to be a valuable resource for tourists looking for winter recreation and amenities. VAST has also continued to add new features and improve upon our electronic version of the trail map or interactive map as we are calling it. This map was accessible on the website as well as through the app store for Smart Phone or Android device. Both products were used by over 10,000 people from around the world.

24 22 VAST VAST GENERAL BUDGET AND EOY EOY PROJECTION

25 VAST GENERAL BUDGET 2019 AND 2018 EOY PROJECTION 23

26 24 VAST VAST GENERAL BUDGET AND EOY PROJECTION

27 VAST GENERAL BUDGET 2019 AND 2018 EOY PROJECTION 25

28 Thank You VAST Members! Each year it seems that you have less and less time to get more and more done. Even with all the pressures and obligations of everyday life, you still find time to dedicate to snowmobiling in Vermont! We appreciate the late night meetings, weekend phone calls, long days in the woods working on trails or out pounding stakes into frozen ground. We know this is a huge investment of your precious time into the trails and community for everyone to enjoy! We value your commitment to this association. We are always looking to the future and know that without your tireless and often thankless efforts, we would not have our world-class trail network. To all the volunteers and landowners who keep snowmobiling alive in Vermont... Thank You! THE VERMONT ASSOCIATION OF SNOW TRAVELERS, INC.