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Deleted member 10829
Guest
Our club does not pay groomers and we are in Wisconsin. All volunteer hours.
It was great til noon with 8 inches in Houghton and 14 by Lac la bel then it drizzled til 7PM. I was standing outside the Ramada an hour ago and could hear the slush under sleds as they came down the hill by MM Yamaha/Cat. Gonna get better upon cold though.
Bear
What county in a Wisconsin was paying groomer operators? This is the first I have ever heard of this.
Not sure how your shifts are run but the people that I know who groom by me are never out for just 2 hours. Usually 6-8 hours. To make it work you would likely have to do a 4 hour minimum.
As for your comment about having a horse in the race....that seems to be true in Wisconsin. Not so much in the UP where my original post was directed.
Well each State might be different (Michigan vs Wisconsin). In Wisconsin, clubs are paid out a certain amount of money per hour of grooming. It could be pulled from that money or from all the new money clubs/state receive from the instate trail passes.
ridindirty800
Active member
Hey Whitedust if the club you belong to pays the groomers operaters in WI you may be the only one. The 3 clubs I am in its all volunteer.
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The money paid for grooming pays for maintance, gas, repairs and loans on the machines. There is no money left to pay operators IMO.
Correct, when running a nonprofit club you do end up spending all of the money. The clubs would have to make an adjustment to the budget or work something out with the State. Each county is different but I feel in the snowbelt (NW or UP) counties this would be a worth while change given the economic impact it can have for those areas. I do not think this model would make sense for the areas such as Southern Wisconsin.
ddhanna
Active member
Many clubs in northern WI employ paid groomers to supplement the volunteers. In almost all cases, it is paid for by the club (not county) from the per mile reimbursement (plus donations, etc.). We have done this for many years in Three Lakes, usually to fill the Friday / Saturday night shifts when it is more difficult to find volunteers. IMO, It has made a huge difference in the quality of the trails. In the overall financial scheme, it's not that big of a deal for us.
ridindirty800
Active member
Well that is a great idea, never knew clubs in WI paid operators. It makes since in N.Wi. where you can groom almost all season long.
ddhanna
Active member
Every club has their own set of unique circumstances to deal with. In our case, we usually have 4 groomers out on a shift and sometimes need to pay to get the job done.
3 lakes and Brule River groomers are some of the best in the WI Northwoods! I don’t think everyone knows how many miles of trails 3 lakes grooms. Phelps is 40 miles and Lando 38 or so 3 lakes may be in the 130s don’t know the exact miles but a lot!
ddhanna
Active member
Around 130 funded and 185 total. Last couple years we average 1 groomer on the trail every hour they are open. In other words, total hours trails were open divided by total hours billed equals 1.
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lenny
Guest
I don’t know, probably wouldn’t be hard to fill the slots but I could never see that happening, that state paying that is!
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We have business owners who groom here.
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lenny
Guest
i believe so but would probably be best to call club pres to set that up.
I'm sure you do....it just doesn't seem like you have as many resorts/bars invested like we do in Wisconsin. I know from riding both areas the UP doesn't have as many pit spots. I have also discussed this with the clubs down by Ironwood and they have voiced the same feelings.