Snowmobiling for 2018 is almost here!

It looks like winter is finally here, even though officially, it is still a few weeks away!

     The temperatures have been hovering around the low twenties. There is frost in the air and snow on the ground. The gun deer season has just closed and now the deer can make themselves visible again. Meanwhile, most adventurers have their snowmobiles uncovered, polished, filled with fuel and are all ready to go.

     When one ventures out and about, the snowmobile grooming machines are out panning the trail beds in preparation of opening day in about a week or so. Those brave soles will be inspecting the swamps to see if they are frozen to allow for the safe travel across that crust of ice. The lakes will be measured and if the ice is thick enough they will be lined with orange barrels to make the safest way across the ice that connects the many different trails here in the "Northwoods of Wisconsin".

     The guns have been cleaned and put away, the freezers are full of fresh venison, and not it's time to make sure the snowmobile boots, jackets and bibs are all in good shape and readily accessible for  a ride could be at hand on a moments notice. Anything between zero degrees and thirty is game and ideal. 

     Many others are getting their sleds ready to race against each other. Those are the individuals who put a lot of money and effort into seeing who is the best racer. Whether is be on the oval track or the Snowcross track, their machines too are in tip top condition and raring to go. Do I race locally or do I travel to different events around the circuit. That's the question only deep pockets can answer. The luck racer has sponsorships. Whether that be financial sums, equipment, parts, fuel, it is all necessary to be successful. There is always a possibility that the next world class racer never got to compete because of poor finances, and not because of ability. 

     Which brings up an observation of mine. Whenever you see a racing sled, you will see all kinds of sponsor stickers on the side of the sled. But did you ever see one of those stickers from a snowmobile club? I haven't? What better way for a snowmobile club to support the sport they all love, than by sponsoring a rider or two. I am sure there are clubs around that do this, but it is not as common as it should. Most clubs are incorporated and as such have a set of by laws and a mission statement. I am sure that somewhere in those documents it says "To promote the sport of snowmobiling". 

     Yes building trails is important, buying equipment is also important to groom those trails, etc. But, then again so is supporting your business community, and that includes that local snowmobile racer. What folks do not realize is that it is that racer who pushes that machine to its limits. It is that rider who helps make the design changes that we all get to enjoy after his tireless efforts to win and become a champion. 

     It is their constant hours of wearing a snowmobile suit or jacket and helmet too, that puts this attire to the wear and tear that most of us amateur riders will never do. But we will benefit from the professional rider's likes and dislikes, the clothing failures and those helmet bangs and knocks. It is they who are the risk takers, and it is you the casual rider who benefits from the toils of their labor. 

     The local restaurants will see a boom to their winter business bottom line as the riders venture out and stop by for food, fuel and refreshment. Without the snowmobiling activity, these venues would be sitting idle in the winter had it not been for the growth of the snowmobile sport and the industry as a whole. 

     For lodging there are those resorts that provide winterized cabins for the visiting snowmobiling group. Those resorts who did not have the foresight to winterize their cabins will simply lose out on this industry. Hotels and motels who have large parking areas to allow the loading and unloading of a trailer containing that precious cargo of a snowmobile will have more business than a smaller establishment, with limited parking area. And the biggest loss is for those establishments that are inaccessible to a local trail. Riders need to be able to ride from the hotel to the trail head. 

Just can't wait to get out there and enjoy the ride. 

All in all, here it is in the beginning of the month of December. The tween season of waiting for the trails to open and for Mother Nature to do her thing. So in a few days, let the riding begin and make sure you all ride safe.  

          

Why Non-ATV Towns Are Just Plain Stupid!

Yup! There, I've finally said it!  I said what you are all thinking of, but are afraid to speak or say it out loud yourselves. And frankly, that's what gets me into trouble a lot. So just ask yourself this?

When it comes to the people who serve on your local town boards, a job nobody wants by the way, where training and expertise, in the areas they are charged with, is certainly lacking. I mean, what is the purpose of a town board anyway? To govern, to look after the folks and residents who live in the town? Or to provide safe and operational ingresses and egresses to the town people via good sustainable roads?

Some people who run for these town boards, and get elected through the apathy vote no doubt, are just there to move forward their own favorite project or do what is necessary to fit their own hidden agenda. While they are serving on the town board will they do what their constituents ask them to do? Perhaps, but only if they know what the constituent is talking about in the first place.

Take a look at who serves on these small town Boards of Supervisors. Are they made up of Politicians, or some old retired person who has nothing better to do and enjoys getting out of the house for a while? When it comes time for a vote on an issue, do they do the research on the subject to be better informed, or do they just vote for the item because they like the guy who brought it up, and do not want to offend him/her.  For example, let's take a look at road construction projects in a small town. Who is going to pay for the resurfacing of a road? Why the taxpayers of course! But did you ever ask yourself which taxpayers? Is it going to be paid by the taxpayers who own property in the town, or by visitors to the town or other? See, none of you reading this has a clue on how to answer that question.

So let's talk economics of a town. Where does the town get its money from? Well one source is certainly through real estates taxes, that's for sure. But other sources might be through gasoline taxes, telephone taxes,  road taxes, room taxes, sales taxes,federal and state grants, DNR grants, etc.

With those in mind, the more money that is spent in a town, the more sales tax that is generated. This means that the amount that the town will be sharing with the state will be much higher "IF" there are more sales revenue generated in the town.  This is also true of gas taxes, the more spent, the more shared. Road taxes, the WI Department of Transportation pays each town a share of those taxes based on a formula of how many miles of roads there are in a town. Usually you can tell which roads belong to which town by who maintains them. On the other hand you can simply go to the WI DOT website, and get a copy of the table that specifies it.

What about telephone taxes? Yes the town even gets a share of those taxes too. And now we come to room tax money. Each time a resort or motel rents a room, there is an additional tax that the renter must pay. This tax is turned over to the Town treasurer who shares the money between the Town and the Chamber of Commerce. So it would behoove the town to do everything in its power to keep those rooms occupied.  The more rooms that are rented the more tax money that is generated.

The local town's Chamber of Commerce is just that. It is a group of business people who pay dues to the Chamber and make sure the Chamber is doing everything in its power to bring people and their money to the town to help their businesses survive. The town is not necessarily a member of the Chamber of Commerce, but works closely with them to bring people into the town. Why? To get those people spending their money on rooms and other items so that those taxes, on the monies spent, can help pay down the funding needed to run the town. It's kind of like a big economic circle. The visitors come in, they spend their money, they pay taxes, the town builds or repairs a road, the now "good road" brings in more people, and so on and so on. Everybody wins.

However, remember where I said up above about the Town Board members? Most of them do not know or understand any of this. It's way above their heads. That's why they flounder when they have a major road repair or other. "Where are we going to get the money?"  they might ask. Well if you did not promote your town (remember the beginning of that circle, where you try to get the visitors into town to spend money?) then you are not going to have the funding to do it, and you will have to come up with decisions on which ones get fixed, and which ones get put off until next year.

Because there is a lacking of expertise on a Town Board, in many different areas, it causes them to seek outside help. This does not come free of course, and that outside help is dipping into their already low funds.  So where am I going with this?

What is written above might be read by some stupid town board member, and give them a short education on the economics of a town. Perhaps they will learn where their revenue stream really lies. Especially here in Vilas County, where the main revenue stream is tourism. Yes there are those real estate taxes. But, if people cannot get here, and enjoy the things they like to do, the town will falter and die. They will find elsewhere to go to. Then real estate properties will be assessed at lower values, and that will be the decline of that real estate tax revenue stream.

So when ATVs come knocking at your doorstep, where each rider that comes to town spends their money paying room taxes, gas taxes, sales taxes, phone taxes, etc. that revenue is here as a gift to your town. They won't come and spend their money, nor will the boaters, fisherman, nature lovers, etc. and your town will eventually falter and die.

Take any town in the Northwoods. Look at the successful ones, who allow ATVs on their roads, and those that do not, who are struggling to make ends meet. Look at the average age for the 2000 census and the 2010 census and I'll bet you will see the average age of a resident gets higher as time goes on. In the town of Plum Lake as an example, there are no ATVs allowed. The 2000 census states the average age was 63. In the  2010 census that age increased to 68. What will the 2020 census bring? It is predicted to be around 72. Pretty soon all of those folks will die off and the towns will start to merge. Young people do not move in, they move out. They graduate HS, go to college, and most never come back.

To the towns who fall into this category, you choose. You can continue to be stupid, or you can start getting smart and fix things while you still have time.  Be smart! It's a new revenue stream. Take advantage of it, don't shut the door. Sooner or later you will fail if you do.