North Country Trail Association

Brule-St. Croix Chapter

 

M I N U T E S

 

Fall Chapter Meeting

November 11, 2004

Rapids Riverside, Amnicon, WI

 

 

1.  Call to Order

 

Chair Chuck Zosel called the meeting to order at 7 PM. 

 

2.  Approval of Minutes

 

 The minutes of the April 17th, 2004 spring meeting were approved.

 

3.  Treasurer's Report

 

Treasurer Peter Nason reports that we have $1408 in our account at NCT headquarters and that we have 46 members, an increase of one since our spring meeting.

 

4.  Brule River State Forest Report

 

A discussion about a running event to be held on the NCT was held with Steve Petersen, director of the Brule River State forest and Pat Root, a new member of NCTA and a member of the running group.  The event will be held in the fall of 2005.  The exact route is under discussion but the most likely route will be the 7 mile section of the trail from Lake St. Croix to the Highland town hall.  Our responsibility would be to see that the trail was in good condition the day of the race.  The runners group will do all the cleanup after the race.  The Race could attract from 30 to 200 runners.  Steve Petersen stated that a permit will be required and that the Brule River Lions Club has a liability policy that should be incorporated into the the race fees to protect the NCTA and the state forest from any liability.  More information on the runners group can be seen at their web site:www.trailrunner.com.  This type of event tends to attract older runners.  Lynne Nason will act as the contact person with the runners group.

 

Steve Petersen reported that there will be a timber sale near Highway 27.  The loggers will try to avoid the trail.   We should plan to check the trail after they are through.  Steve also reported that the board walk on Stone Chimney Road will be completed soon allowing a  linking of the After Hours ski trail and  the NCT  giving opportunities for joint events that would encourage the use of both trail systems by the  public.

 

5.  National Trails Day Events

 

National Trail Day is on June 4.  Lynne Nason suggested that we promote the hike and try to involve local Solon Springs businesses.  Since the meeting, a discussion was begun with the Friends of the Bird Sanctuary (FOTBS) to have the National Trail Day hike start at the Lodge in  the Bird Sanctuary  and to have some hikes guided by the FOTBS members.   Final details will be decided at the spring meeting. 

 

 

6.  Chapter Calendar for 2005

 

The  2005 event schedule is as follows:

April 14                        Chapter meeting

April 23                        Work day 

May 7                          Work day

June 4                          National Trail Day

Sept. 10                       Work day

Sept. 17 or 24              Fall Hike

Nov. 3                         Fall meeting

 

7.  CCS Grants/Trail Maintenance/Trail Construction

 

Peter Nordgren is coordinating a grant application for a new mower.  The present mower is four years old and has some aging problems.  Any mower used on the NCT will need ongoing  regular maintenance.  The mower is setup with the following:

            A gas can

            A spare blade drive belt and the necessary wrenches to replace it.

            A spare spark plug and a plug wrench.

The mower seems to handle the added weight all right.  If we get a new mower, we could sell the old one or keep it as a backup.  Peter Nason volunteered to store it in his barn.  The Nasons, Bob Norlin and Peter Edmunds mowed about six miles of  trail near Drummond that had not been mowed for about two years, so we put a lot of hard miles on the mower.   The engine is in fine shape.   The problems have been with the running gear, except for the fouled plug problem.   At the spring meeting, Peter Edmunds will conduct a brief mower use training session.  It was decided that the weed whipper mower was not useful and we should sell it.  The present list of trail adopters is attached to these minutes.

 

The parking lot on Highway 53 at the Solon Springs sewer ponds is complete.    We paid Douglas County Forestry Dept. $767.49 for gravel, hauling and dozer work.   The kiosk has been installed.  In digging the holes for the kiosk, we discovered that there about a foot of gravel under the sand that is visible on the surface.   The lot can hold about 10 cars. 

 

The kiosk has been installed at the Banana Belt Road Parking lot.

 

The NCTA national office has prepared a new waterproof map of our section of the trail.  The cost is $1.75.  We will order 30 copies.   Lynne Nason and Peter Edmunds volunteered to design a map on plain paper that would be cheap enough to hand out free at local businesses.

 

8.  Chapter Elections

 

Elections were held in record time resulting in the election of Paul Schoch as Vice-Chairman and Peter Nordgren as Secretary. 

 

9.  Hike with the Trail Builders

 

The section of the NCT near Bayfield County Rd A will be completed next year.   Bill Menke suggests that we have some sort of celebration marking the event. 

 

Peter Edmunds

Acting Secretary