HomeMy WebLinkAboutTourism & Fair Committee - Minutes - 5/18/2010K:\(T&R Committee)\2010\05 18\05 18 10 meeting min.doc
Minutes of the
TOURISM & RECREATION COMMITTEE OF THE BAYFIELD COUNTY BOARD
Tuesday, May 18, 2010, 2:00 p.m.
Bayfield County Courthouse Annex EOC Room, Washburn, WI
Members Present: Brett Rondeau, Bucky Jardine, Rusty Williams, John Bennett, Patti Rantala
Members Absent: none
Others Present: Mary Motiff, Sue Trepanier, Jane Freid, Bill Swenson, Al Bochler, Jim Nemec, Mark
Abeles-Allison
I. Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 2:08 p.m. by Motiff.
II. Election of Officers: Motiff asked for nominations for Chairman of the Tourism & Recreation
Committee. Jardine nominated Rondeau as Chairman. Motiff asked 3 times if there were any other
nominations. Motion (Bennett, Jardine) to close the nominations and cast a unanimous vote for
Rondeau as Chairman. Motion Carried.
Chairman Rondeau then asked for nominations for Vice-Chairman. Williams nominated Jardine as
Vice-Chairman of the Tourism & Recreation Committee. Chairman Rondeau asked 3 times if there
were any other nominations. Motion (Williams, Rantala) to close the nominations and cast a
unanimous vote for Jardine as Vice-Chairman. Motion Carried.
III. Minutes: Motion (Jardine, Rantala) to accept minutes from the March 24, 2010 committee
meeting. Motion Carried.
IV. Public Comment:
o Jim Nemec stated that he and others are looking forward to seeing the UTV resolution passed.
o Bill Swenson would like weekday AIS boat inspections at Twin Bear boat landing.
o Al Bochler expressed concern about the “fish sticks” project and the fenced in area at the beach in
Twin Bear Park.
V. Discussion and Possible Action on Potential UTV Pilot Program: Motiff shared the proposed
resolution with the US Forest Service. They proposed the addition of “and trails” to the last paragraph to
make it read: BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that continued study is underway on roads and trails under
the National Forest Service jurisdiction and, this action does not open Forest Service roads to ATV use
as study is pending. Motion (Jardine, Rantala) to accept the Resolution Supporting Bayfield
County’s Participation in the Utility Terrain Vehicle Pilot Program along with corrections and
send to the Full County Board. Motion Carried.
The committee agreed to postpone item #VI until Tom Thornton arrived. Thornton arrived immediately
after the committee decided to discuss item #VII and the discussion went back to #VI.
VI. Discussion and Possible Action on ATV Use on County Highway D: A 1,200 foot section of
County Hwy D was opened to ATVs by the Highway Department for access to the Namakagon Chief
Resort. Community reaction received by the Highway Department was divided equally, for and against.
Both the Highway Department and the Zoning Department have no safety concerns regarding the
route. Motiff recommended that the route be contingent upon the Township keeping the connecting
route open. Signing of the ATV trail to Lakewoods was also discussed. Rondeau volunteered to bring
up the signing issue with Lakewoods. Motion (Bennett, Williams) to support the amendment of
County Ordinance 10-3-2, as proposed by the Highway Department, that would open 1,200 feet
of County Hwy D for an ATV route to provide access to an existing business as long as it is
connected to another ATV route or trail. Motion Carried.
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VII. Discussion and Possible Action on Campground Management: AIS inspections: Patti Mitchen,
a seasonal camper at Twin Bear, expressed interest in helping with weekday inspections. Freid also
volunteered to help on Tuesdays. Training and funding were also discussed. Need for an on-site host
and subcontracting that position: Freid does not want to stay on site and wants to subcontract a host for
the summer. Liability and insurance were then discussed. Freid stated that she would stay on site for
Memorial Day weekend. Beach area restoration: Skid resistant tape will be put on the beach walkways
and Freid asked that the posts have caps on. Freid will get the safety information on the caps to Motiff.
Motion (Bennett, Rantala) to make a written agreement to have a sub-contracted host for 2010
after insurance concerns are met, and to keep the current contract as is and address any other
concerns in the 2011 contract agreement. Motion Carried.
VIII. Discussion and Possible Action on 2010 Tourism Budget Amendment Reflecting Award of
the National Forest Service ARRA Cooperative Project Grant: The Tourism Department needs a
budget amendment to allow for flow through money to facilitate a grant awarded through the federal
stimulus package. The Department is helping to administer the grant keeping the money local and
moving the project along faster than it would through the Forest Service. Motion (Jardine, Williams)
to approve the ARRA budget amendment and send to the Full County Board for approval. Roll
Call Vote: All Yes. Motion Carried.
IX. Report from NORTAC: All 11 counties in NORTAC are interested in proceeding with the UTV Pilot
Program. Still waiting for Trail #63 issue to be resolved. It was agreed that all potential projects near
the county lines be brought to NORTAC to coordinate between the counties.
X. Report from Director:
A. Parks: Illegal ATV use on the hillside on east side of Hart Lake Road and maintenance at Atkins
Park were discussed. Freid requested a new written update from Motiff to pass out to the campers
addressing the next steps that will be taken on the shoreline restoration project.
B. Trails: The trail #63 railroad right-of-way issue is still in appeals. Motiff was given permission from
the County Board to have conversations with adjacent landowners, but the process hasn’t begun
yet. The Flag River gate is back up and the Klemik gate is about 75% done. Motiff is going to the
BCSA meeting to talk about signing issues. Sign post materials were also discussed.
C. Marketing: Motiff asked all committee members to take at least 1 case of visitor guides with when
they left. The new website should be up around June 15th. The Fair is taking up much more time
than expected. The possibility of moving the campgrounds to the Forestry Department was also
discussed.
XI. Any Other Matters: Jardine believes that the bicycles should be licensed to help offset the $40-
55,000/mile cost of bike lane construction.
XII. Adjournment: There being no further business, Motion (Jardine, Williams) to adjourn at 4:07
p.m. Motion Carried.
Respectfully submitted by:
Sue Trepanier
Sue Trepanier, Tourism & Recreation Program Assistant