upnorthman
New member
I think I like this one the best!!
Wisconsin Cap/Step News! Read Below
- Thread starter ridindirty800
- Start date
I think I like this one the best!!
I don't quite get what all the fuss is about. You probably have 10-15k invested in your sled, some with several sleds, plus the trailer , suits, helmet, helmet cam, motel, etc. What is a couple bucks more. I have seen almost that much dropped by some at pit stops. By the way, the money is not going directly to the clubs, Indirectly they will hopefully see an increase in the per mile rate, additionally the increase will fund bridge rehab, trail re-routes, etc. I believe in MI you have to register your sled and then annually buy a sticker.
I hear ya Dan it will be a problem & choices will be made & all the chest beating about how you should spend your money is misplaced. IMO
goofy600
Well-known member
Michigan implemented a trail pass years ago, along with sled registrations to help offset the costs and it worked the trails have been better for it. Wisconsin has maintained the trails using registration money and privite donations ( trail donations, club memberships etc.). But for wisconsin to keep up with the costs they needed to do something, they are just doing what michigan did( kinda but a little different) hopefully this will do the same and make the trails even better. Nobody likes having more bills to pay but your other choice is not to play. At least the registration is going to 3 years up from 2 so they are trying to make it work.
I would love to see some type of reciprocal agreement between Wisconsin and Michigan...where we can go there and they can come here.....say $ 50 bucks a year for the joint sticker....25 bucks a year would go to each state....and boom...u are covered in both states....for basically 10 dollars more than Michigan currently cost...you can ride both states.....or...like the old US park passes...get a national pass and ride anywhere for $ 100 dollars.
In a perfect world we wouldn't have to pay any registration or trail pass fees and the trails would always be freshly groomed! If this was the case this thread wouldn't exist. Unfortunately it is not a perfect world we live in. In WI it has been too long since any registration cost have increased. Now that it appears the CAP/STEP is going to finally going to be voted on by the House and the Senate, I hope it passes! If it does, I will be "eating crow" since I voiced my concerns with the 2 separate rates and the fact that club members are the minority.
If all goes as planned in 2015 more than $5,000,000 in new funds will be available! This will be a step in the right direction in getting more money to help with the trails in WI.
If all goes as planned in 2015 more than $5,000,000 in new funds will be available! This will be a step in the right direction in getting more money to help with the trails in WI.
snobuilder
Well-known member
So I have 3 sleds.
If I don't join a club it will cost me $90.00 for 3 years registration on 3 sleds plus $270.00 for 3 years of trail passes for total of $360.00.
If I join a club, I pay $25.00 per year for a family membership or $75.00 over 3 years plus $90.00 for 3 years registration and $90.00 for 3 years worth of discounted club member trail pass for a total of $255.00 or $11.67 less per sled per year.
By joining a club I am not only contributing less to the trail funding by $11.67 less per sled per year but of the $25.00 club membership, how much will go to trail maintenance and how much to support the AWSC?....50/50 at best?
And also by not being a member I won't be adding to the bureaucracy costs that it will take to verify me being a member.
Now it looks like NOT being a member makes you a better stewart of the trails.
Most new members will become members for the discount and that will be the extent of there involvement.
also....if nearly everyone goes for the club membership dealio and we have this huge influx of new members, this will double or triple the burdon on the volunteer secretaries in all our WI clubs by them not only having to take care of all the new club members as is normally done, but now the additional work of verifying to the State of Wisconsin of all members in good standing.
And what about timing?....ppl buy and sell sleds by the 1000's during the riding season.... how many will be needing instant verification from a club secretary that they are becoming club members, or will they be able to join a club through the DNR at the time of trail permit purchase?
How will this change the way clubs operate?
With the new 3 year registration period, can I transfer a year old registration if I decide to sell after a year of use....If ,why not?
Just a few details I have not heard discussed yet.
I hope I am way off base on the administration end of this proposed new cop/step system and greater minds than mine have all of the logistics worked out....afterall they are the government, eh?
If I don't join a club it will cost me $90.00 for 3 years registration on 3 sleds plus $270.00 for 3 years of trail passes for total of $360.00.
If I join a club, I pay $25.00 per year for a family membership or $75.00 over 3 years plus $90.00 for 3 years registration and $90.00 for 3 years worth of discounted club member trail pass for a total of $255.00 or $11.67 less per sled per year.
By joining a club I am not only contributing less to the trail funding by $11.67 less per sled per year but of the $25.00 club membership, how much will go to trail maintenance and how much to support the AWSC?....50/50 at best?
And also by not being a member I won't be adding to the bureaucracy costs that it will take to verify me being a member.
Now it looks like NOT being a member makes you a better stewart of the trails.
Most new members will become members for the discount and that will be the extent of there involvement.
also....if nearly everyone goes for the club membership dealio and we have this huge influx of new members, this will double or triple the burdon on the volunteer secretaries in all our WI clubs by them not only having to take care of all the new club members as is normally done, but now the additional work of verifying to the State of Wisconsin of all members in good standing.
And what about timing?....ppl buy and sell sleds by the 1000's during the riding season.... how many will be needing instant verification from a club secretary that they are becoming club members, or will they be able to join a club through the DNR at the time of trail permit purchase?
How will this change the way clubs operate?
With the new 3 year registration period, can I transfer a year old registration if I decide to sell after a year of use....If ,why not?
Just a few details I have not heard discussed yet.
I hope I am way off base on the administration end of this proposed new cop/step system and greater minds than mine have all of the logistics worked out....afterall they are the government, eh?
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T
Team Elkhorn
Guest
Maybe its more about getting people to join clubs and become more active in the sport that they claim to love so well. The trail system was built on the sweat of volunteers. The average age of the ACTIVE club member is getting older and wishing some young bloods would help take over some of their duties. And its just not happening. Instead people are getting on the internet and threatening to spend their money elsewhere if they raise the trail fee, including their own home states. I just can't help thinking at some point in their future, when the local trails are gone, they're going to wish they helped out. (Taking your grandkids for a ride near home comes to mind.) On top of marking and grooming the trails that people tear up, someone has to repair the damage, as well as clean up the beer cans, plastic snomo pieces and blown belt debris people leave on the trail. Think how high the cost of snowmobiling would be if the volunteers actually got paid a working wage for their time. That includes the property owners that allow the trails across their land. Eventually, if we don't get more people active in the sport, the only place we'll have left to ride will be north of highway 8 where snowmobiling is big business. And if you think its crowded and expensive now.......
snobuilder
Well-known member
The membership numbers will skyrocket in this new more complicated system and it will look good on paper.
Forced membership/volunteerism never works....it is nothing more than a warm feel goodism for the AWSC even if it does get a few more ppl active once they join a club for the discount. We HAVE had new members get involved in club functions in my local club, but they did it because they wanted to....not for some sorta discount.
I just don't like the link to club membership ...sounds way too much like some liberal came up with the whole idea.
Raise the registration fee and lets move on....it doesn't take a convoluted "bill" to do that....i'd rather see my state legislature concentrating on other things like lets say making sure companies look to Wisconsin as a great place to open or move a business to.
On a side note, I just heard that with this great snowy season, sled registration is up over 4000 units!
That will help trail maintenance alot!
To get an equal amount a funding to cap/step vs. a simple registration hike it would take the fee to approximately $30.00- $35.00 per sled per year along with the proposed non-resident trail pass hike. AND >ALL< of that money would go towards trail maintenence without additional administration costs! The trail fund would be flush with cash!
I would gladly pay that on a yearly basis and forget alla the fluff this bill is about.
Forced membership/volunteerism never works....it is nothing more than a warm feel goodism for the AWSC even if it does get a few more ppl active once they join a club for the discount. We HAVE had new members get involved in club functions in my local club, but they did it because they wanted to....not for some sorta discount.
I just don't like the link to club membership ...sounds way too much like some liberal came up with the whole idea.
Raise the registration fee and lets move on....it doesn't take a convoluted "bill" to do that....i'd rather see my state legislature concentrating on other things like lets say making sure companies look to Wisconsin as a great place to open or move a business to.
On a side note, I just heard that with this great snowy season, sled registration is up over 4000 units!
That will help trail maintenance alot!
To get an equal amount a funding to cap/step vs. a simple registration hike it would take the fee to approximately $30.00- $35.00 per sled per year along with the proposed non-resident trail pass hike. AND >ALL< of that money would go towards trail maintenence without additional administration costs! The trail fund would be flush with cash!
I would gladly pay that on a yearly basis and forget alla the fluff this bill is about.
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D
Deleted member 10829
Guest
You hit the nail on the head!! While the money is a very important part of it, if we don't start getting some new volunteers that are under 60 years old, the trail system will decline very fast! While we owe a lot to the many guys over 60 still working hard on our trails, they won't be able to do it forever. I went to a county club meeting a month or so ago, and almost everyone there was 60 or older. I kept thinking "What's going to happen when these guys are gone?"
Please get involved in your clubs today, you will be happy you did.
T
Team Elkhorn
Guest
Its hard to reply to your points when you keep editing them. But I hear what you're saying, and I would GLADLY pay, even $100 per sled. But who is going to do all the work when the current aging workforce calls it quits? How do you recomend getting more people involved in the sport?
T
Team Elkhorn
Guest
Exactly. I'm 52, and I'm a youngster at some of the club meetings I attend.
snobuilder
Well-known member
I edit because i am a slow typer and have to occasionally insert a point I lost track of....LOL...my edits don't change my op.
IMO, as I stated in my posts, I think the new members under cap/step will be members in name only and will join for the discount.
I also stated that our club has grown through word of mouth and some of the new members we have are younger and are willing to do the work.
They joined without some sort of "discount" as proposed in cap/step on there own because they wanted to help.
IMO, as I stated in my posts, I think the new members under cap/step will be members in name only and will join for the discount.
I also stated that our club has grown through word of mouth and some of the new members we have are younger and are willing to do the work.
They joined without some sort of "discount" as proposed in cap/step on there own because they wanted to help.
snobuilder
Well-known member
What does the AWSC do to promote membership besides lobby in Madison for forced or enticed membership?
Do they get access to a list of all registered sled owners in the state and tell them through a mailing or email how and why they exist, and why membership is so important?....maybe a non member can answer that because I haven't heard a thing from them except for the magazine.
Do they get access to a list of all registered sled owners in the state and tell them through a mailing or email how and why they exist, and why membership is so important?....maybe a non member can answer that because I haven't heard a thing from them except for the magazine.
T
Team Elkhorn
Guest
If you're an active club member, then you know other clubs in our area are having a hard time finding help to work their trails and the surrounding clubs have needed jump in to fill the void. So we should both be in agreement that there is a growing problem? So again my question to you is, how do we get more members to join clubs and become ACTIVE in the sport of snowmobiling. Most clubs have fund raisers and trail side events and try to draw new people that way. If your club is growing with active younger members just by word of mouth, what's the secret?
Whos not relaxed? we're just having a conversion.
Yes I agree I'll probably just pay Madison be done with it! I'm not sure old guard at clubs knows how to welcome new members?... has their way of doing things not all clubs but many. I'm also not sure their is any savings once you pay club dues very complicated too much so for me. Trail grooming & other responsibilities could now become WI employees not a good idea for land agreements but you can't force people to volunteer too many demands on their time already. I hope I'm proved wrong time will tell.
It is a sad truth about our society that fewer people are volunteering in general. I’m a treasurer and firearm safety instructor for a local sportsmen’s club in MN. Our membership has been shrinking for years due to the aging membership and no new membership. We have the same challenges getting new members for important activities like performing youth firearm safety instruction, outdoor education, etc.
Meanwhile I understand the need for more funds and the attitude of the single guy saying “$50 sticker… all the snowmobile expenses… just deal with it”.
But think about the out of state family with two or three 20 year old sleds, rarely used, that want to expose their kids or relatives to a couple of hours of trail riding one weekend in Wisconsin. These families are not high mileage riders but are just trying to get their kids off their electronics and outdoors for a short ride to a local restaurant for a burger and back to the cabin to let the kids putt around the lake while a bon fire is on the shore. The $50 sticker may be 10% the sleds value and increasingly difficult to justify not just skipping bringing the sleds.
Now think about how seeing these young riders on the trail or entering the restaurant with that big old helmet on made you smile. Think of the pictures of Gracie on her pink Polaris here.
Remember back in the day as a kid when you went out riding on that old sled with a pocket full of wrenches and had hours of fun and were rarely farther than 5 miles from home?
I’m a long time johndee.com site follower whom has never before commented in the discussions but the “exclusive/elitist” complex I’ve seen developing in recent years about snowmobiling’s costs makes me ill.
How about hike the season trail pass but offer a 3 day pass at a reduced rate like offered for fishing licenses.
Meanwhile I understand the need for more funds and the attitude of the single guy saying “$50 sticker… all the snowmobile expenses… just deal with it”.
But think about the out of state family with two or three 20 year old sleds, rarely used, that want to expose their kids or relatives to a couple of hours of trail riding one weekend in Wisconsin. These families are not high mileage riders but are just trying to get their kids off their electronics and outdoors for a short ride to a local restaurant for a burger and back to the cabin to let the kids putt around the lake while a bon fire is on the shore. The $50 sticker may be 10% the sleds value and increasingly difficult to justify not just skipping bringing the sleds.
Now think about how seeing these young riders on the trail or entering the restaurant with that big old helmet on made you smile. Think of the pictures of Gracie on her pink Polaris here.
Remember back in the day as a kid when you went out riding on that old sled with a pocket full of wrenches and had hours of fun and were rarely farther than 5 miles from home?
I’m a long time johndee.com site follower whom has never before commented in the discussions but the “exclusive/elitist” complex I’ve seen developing in recent years about snowmobiling’s costs makes me ill.
How about hike the season trail pass but offer a 3 day pass at a reduced rate like offered for fishing licenses.
T
Team Elkhorn
Guest
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