NYSSA

Niagara District Director’s Desk

I’ve been the Niagara County District Director since May of 2004. I felt that as a funded county in the NYS Snowmobile Trail Fund that we needed representation at the NYSSA Board level. I attend the Board of Directors meeting held the first Saturday of each month in Syracuse. At these meetings, the directors formulate the plan of what the Association is doing and where we are headed in the future.

One of the longtime goals of NYSSA is to convince the state to implement into law the Snowmobilers Rights Act (SRA). The SRA is designed to try to get more people into the clubs in New York State. Currently, there are approximately 20,000 people/ families in snowmobile clubs across the state. Last year, there were over 176,000 snowmobiles registered in New York State. These are people that (for the most part) ride the trails in New York State. What the SRA does is moves registration up to $100 per sled. Members of clubs affiliated with NYSSA would receive an automatic discount of $55 per sled. This is designed to encourage people to join clubs. Even if you get members that don’t participate in club activities and work days, the club at least receives their membership money. You’ve heard of the saying that 10% of a volunteer organization does all the work. Well, if you increase membership by 100%, then your ‘active’ volunteer pool will increase accordingly. For those that refuse to join a club, then $90 of their registration goes into the Trail Fund. $10 per registration goes to the DMV to cover their administrative costs.

Speaking of the trail fund, Niagara County has been approved for trail funding this year. We still are resolving some problems at the local level with NiMo, NY Power Authority and dealing with some landowner issues. But, I anticipate having a full trail connecting to N.E.S.S. trails in the eastern part of the county this winter. The corridor trail into Western Niagara County has been designated ‘C4B’ by the state. We should have more information on actual receipt of funds soon. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all the members of Shawnee, Pendleton and N.E.S.S. who have made this possible.

If you have any ideas on how to improve/add to the trail system, please contact me at NiagaraDirector@aol.com. One area we would like to start concentrating on is Northern Niagara County and building trail connections to Orleans County. There is an old railroad bed running from the Youngstown area to Orleans County. We may be able to use the ‘Rails-to-Trails’ program to get this property turned over to us for a ‘multi-use’ trail. Based on discussions with several members, I’d like to try to formalize some of the existing trails to the Wilson area and beyond into the trails system. If you need to contact the trail coordinators, please e-mail Mike Mueller at mmueller@adelphia.net for Shawnee or Mike Oliver at moliver3@rochester.rr.com for NESS.

By the way, the new Safety Slogan adopted by NYSSA is ‘Know Your Limit, Ride Within It’-you’ll be seeing it around. Please heed it, for your own sake and for the sake of the sport in New York State!

Gary Broderick

NEW YORK STATE SNOWMOBILE ASSOCIATION

Niagara County District Director

Gary J. Broderick

5785 West Street

Sanborn, NY 14132-9206

Home: (716) 731-1719

Cell: (716) 807-7002

E-mail: NiagaraDirector@aol.com

To:

Shawnee Sno-Chiefs Snowmobile Club, Inc.

Pendleton Snowmobile Club

Northern Erie Sno-Seekers Snowmobile Club, Inc.

Niagara County Snowmobile Federation

Subject: NYSSA Forum and Annual Meeting, April 8-10, 2005

Dear Club and Federation Members,

This letter is to recap information from and actions taken during the Spring Forum and the Annual Membership Meeting. I’d like to thank Dave Ackerman and Todd Burdick from Shawnee and Eric Glassman, Rich McNamara, Earl Schmidt, Sandy and John Gaulocher from NESS for attending. From the feedback I’ve received, everyone learned a lot from the seminars-which will benefit the clubs.

The annual meeting was held on Sunday. We accomplished a lot of things. We passed the budget for NYSSA, there was a vote taken on the subject of payment of officers, which was not approved. The body voted to support the 55 MPH speed limit in conjunction with the Snowmobiler’s Rights and Responsibilities Act (SRRA) which incorporated the Two-Tier system. I will keep you advised as this passes through the various stages of New York State government. The body also voted to support the list of Assumptions for snowmobiling in New York State. (See attachment).

On the payment of officers issue, as the Chairman of the Ways & Means Committee, it was my duty to present this to the delegates at the annual meeting and I made a motion that the payment of officers be accepted. There were lots of arguments and lots of opinions offered. You may here some things about how this was argued and my actions. I’d like to explain them to you. After much argument and one individual raising a ‘point of order’ about this issue (on the definition of employee), it was determined by the parliamentarian that officers could in fact be paid within the By-Laws of NYSSA. After more opinions were offered, the president requested that I withdraw my motion. I considered this but declined to withdraw the motion for a couple of reasons:

Payment of officers affects more than the office of the president
No other officer requested the motion be withdrawn
The Ways & Means Committee voted to present this issue to the board of directors.
The board of directors voted to pass this issue onto the delegates for a vote.
I was unable to consult the committee or the board at the time.

Last week, I attended the Erie County Federation Meeting. At this meeting they voted to produce a 2 county trail guide (map)-Erie and Niagara Counties; for the upcoming season. They also voted to allow Niagara County (Shawnee) to sell and receive 10% of the advertising for this trail guide. If the Niagara County Federation receives the funds from this, we can pay the costs of printing the copies we need and either give or pass along the cost to the Niagara County clubs. The face value on the map is $5.00-either way, the federation and the clubs can each make money on this.

All Federation members: The Federation meets every month on the 2^nd Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at the Shawnee Fire Hall. Our secretary noted that no one but her showed up last night.

The NYSSA Super Raffle brought in about $50,000 to the organization. It was an unquestionable success-remember-$50K to NYSSA means approx. $50K to the clubs that sold the tickets also. I know I deposited about $550 to Shawnee’s treasurer. Plans for next year’s raffle include getting a sled from each major manufacturer. If you know any business that wants to get involved with this, please let me know! One of the tickets sold by Shawnee was a winner: Corey Fisher of Amherst won a two night stay at the Adirondack Hotel.

Please remember to complete all your worklogs and paperwork so we can complete the county package, get it signed and mailed to Parks. All this should be done by the 30^th of April. Packages for the 2005-6 Grant need to be completed and turned in for signature by mid-May to ensure we get it to Parks by the 31^st of May.

Respectfully Submitted,

GARY J. BRODERICK

Niagara County District Director

New York State Snowmobile Association

1 Attachment

Assumptions for Snowmobiling in New York State

Assumptions for Snowmobiling

In New York State

As an off-road experience, snowmobiling can have risks. The NYSSA and its member clubs assumes every rider using snowmobile trails in New York State understands and accepts the following assumptions:

All snowmobiles will be operated meeting legal requirements.
All operators of snowmobiles and passengers on snowmobiles willingly use snowmobiles trails in New York State at their own risk.
Operators and passengers know and obey all New York State laws pertaining to the use of snowmobiles.
It is recognized and accepted that snowmobiling is essentially an off-road activity taking place in an unpredictable natural environment.

The NYSSA and its member clubs are volunteer-based organizations with finite resources and manpower.

It is not practical, possible or desirable to maintain all trails uniformly or to remove all potential trail hazards.
The NYSSA and its member clubs are providing the privilege of trail access for most snowmobile trails in New York State without any guarantee of service or quality.

Snowmobile operators and passengers will not consume alcohol prior to or while using the trails.

Snowmobile operators and passengers will be prudent and responsible and shall ensure that snowmobiles are operated with appropriate care and control at all time.

Operators and passengers know how to snowmobile competently and understand that the operation of snowmobiles requires full cognitive abilities.

Weather conditions affect trails and snowmobile operation and they may change without warning.
Snowmobile speed limits must be obeyed as posted or are controlled by lawful prudent and reasonable speed.

Snowmobile operators will stay to the right side of the trail, not withstanding that there are no center lines.

Snowmobile operators know that there may be grooming or other maintenance activities under way at any time of the day or night which may take up the whole or any part of the trail and have the right of way.

Snowmobile operators and passengers know snowmobile trails are not engineered highways.

All snowmobile operators and passengers know and will adhere to the Safe Riders Pledge by the International Snowmobile Manufacturer’s Association and follow safety practices presented by each snowmobile manufacturer provided to the operator when a new snowmobile is purchased.

Snowmobile operators and passengers are aware that emergency and cell phone service may not be available.

Operators and passengers are aware that signing guidelines do not guarantee the presence of all necessary signs that appear on snowmobile trails.

Operators and passengers know that snowmobiling on trails in New York State is regarded as a family-oriented activity.

Operators and passengers know the unique and particular dangers of ice crossing.

The grooming and maintenance of trails, when provided, is meant solely to enhance the comfort and enjoyment of the safe and prudent operators and passengers.

Operators and passengers will dress appropriately for all conditions and will have appropriate safety and emergency equipment at all times.

The majority of trails are on privately held lands. Snowmobile operators and passengers will respect landowner wishes and obey posted signs as an integral part of keeping the trail open.

The snowmobile operator is ultimately responsible for the safe operation of his/her snowmobile: Know your limit, Ride within it

July 11, 2005

NEW YORK STATE SNOWMOBILE ASSOCIATION

Niagara County District Director

Gary J. Broderick

5785 West Street

Sanborn, NY 14132-9206

Home: (716) 731-1719

Cell: (716) 807-7002

E-mail: NiagaraDirector@aol.com

To:

Shawnee Sno-Chiefs Snowmobile Club, Inc.

Pendleton Snowmobile Club

Northern Erie Sno-Seekers Snowmobile Club, Inc.

Niagara County Snowmobile Federation

Subject: NYSSA Board of Directors Meeting, July 9, 2005

Dear Club and Federation Members,

This letter is based on the July NYSSA Board of Directors Meeting.

Your Support is Needed NOW. Letters written to the Governor in support of SRRA are needed now. This has been a 5 year process to get to where we are now. If we cannot show the Governor we support this bill, he will have no reason to sign it. I’ve attached sample letters. Please get the club members, landowners, business owners and local politicians involved. I can’t over emphasize how critical it is to get these letters out. If we fail now, we will never get this opportunity again. Please, do it now!

NYSSA is working with Herkimer Community College to produce several 30 minute television shows to be given to local Public Broadcasting and local Cable Access channels on snowmobiling in New York State. These programs will take on many subjects including safety, trail signing (sub-title: No there isn’t such a thing as The Trail Fairy) and many more. More info as it becomes available.

The statewide insurance policy this year will cost $685,000, a decrease of $70,000 from last year. The new policy also allows for a 5% growth of trail mileage, though it looks like OPRHP plans to only approve 500 new miles this year. Currently, there are approx. 1800 miles of proposed new trails this year from the clubs-including Niagara County’s proposed trail increase of 100% of trail mileage (approx.).

A Request for Proposal (RFP) has been sent out for the NYSSA Spring Forum 2007. I am working with the Niagara Tourism and Convention Corporation to prepare and transmit a proposal to bring the Forum here.

There will be a Fall Trails Meeting run by NYSSA on October 15^th either in Arcade or Byrnecliff. This is the same day as the Shawnee Grass Drags, but it is very important each club have a representative there. You can contact the State Trail Coordinator, Dave Perkins (jenval@adelphia.net) for more information.

Sign orders through the state will be available in the near future. These signs will be priced below the costs listed in the VOSS catalog. All sign order costs will be deducted from your grant amount. Also, OPRHP requires notification if any landowner restricts signage on their property-you can still run it, but the state needs to know.

Under OPRHP guidance, this year, any donation received will be required to have a receipt to be claimed. Recommend you get a standard receipt book from any office products store for this. OPRHP has not mandated a specific type of receipt.

For the International Snowmobile Congress Forum 2009, the Northeast will be the host. NYSSA would like to sponsor this forum. RFPs will be forthcoming. This is attended by representatives from every snowmobiling state and other countries also as far away as Sweden.

It’s time to start getting ready for The New York Snowmobiler to start publishing again and we need articles. If you want to write an article, please forward it to me and I will get it to the right people. This is where we can make Niagara County stand out. The magazine would like pictures and articles for this year on trail building activities. Also, if anyone has riding footage on digital, please forward it to me-the NYSSA office would like to use some footage for upcoming commercial safety messages.

This year’s Super Raffle is going to be bigger and better than ever! The committee is planning on giving away 4 sleds as Grand Prizes, one from each major manufacturer, they are also working on the January bonus drawing-a snowmobile trip for 2 to Yellowstone. The plan is to have at least 50-60 prizes total this year. If you know of any business that wants in on this, the prize needs to be $100 minimum value, please forward the information and a business card to me no later than the 22^nd of July.

The NY State Snowmobile Political Action Committee is looking for donations. All donations will be used to further snowmobiling activities in New York State. Donations should be sent to NYS Snowmobile PAC, P.O. Box 19, Long Lake, NY 12847-0019.

Some discussion arose about the proposed 55 M.P.H. speed limit. We have been advised by our lobbyists that the speed limit will be a reality regardless of passage of the SRRA Bill. Representative Morelle has indicated he will push through a freestanding bill requiring a speed limit if SRRA does not pass. 55 M.P.H. is the highest snowmobile speed limit in the Northeast, other states and Canada have lower speed limits. As we are going to be stuck with a speed limit, this is better than most other states.

Each club needs to appoint a person or persons to be the GPS point of contact. GPS is coming and will be the accepted way to do business by the fall of 2007. We need to get people up to speed on this so we can get our mapping done properly. The GPS person(s) should also attend the fall training in October.

The NYSSA membership committee is working to define what an ‘acceptable’ snowmobile club is. This is so when SRRA is signed into law, a couple people can’t just get together and say hey I’m a club and get the discount. I believe an ‘acceptable’ club will have to have by-laws, be incorporated and mark trails. I will make sure all the Niagara County Clubs are grandfathered in.

Please use the calendar on the website to advertise your upcoming events. It can be accessed at www.nyssnowassoc.org. There was a discussion during the meeting as to whether we should remove the forums currently on the website. I argued that they should not be removed-it is a public forum for better or worse and allows us greater access to information. The forums will be left on the site.

The Public Relations and Education committee is preparing a one page fact sheet on SRRA and will distribute to the clubs in the near future.

The Shawnee Sno-Chiefs are looking for clean fill at the Shawnee Fire Hall for the Grass Drag track-we haven’t gotten any yet and need to clear up the 300’ mark section that was swampy at last year’s event. The Grass Drags will be on October 15^th. Hope to see you there!

Respectfully Submitted,

GARY J. BRODERICK

Niagara County District Director

New York State Snowmobile Association

Encl: SRRA Support Letters

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