HomeMy WebLinkAboutTourism & Fair Committee - Minutes - 6/6/2011K:\(T&R Committee)\2011\06 06\06 06 11 meeting min.doc
Minutes of the
TOURISM & RECREATION COMMITTEE OF THE BAYFIELD COUNTY BOARD
Monday, June 6, 2011, 4:00 p.m.
County Board Room, Bayfield County Courthouse, Washburn, WI
Members Present: Brett Rondeau, Bucky Jardine, Rusty Williams, John Bennett, Patti Rantala
Members Absent: none
Others Present: Mary Motiff, Sue Trepanier
I. Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 4:05 p.m. by Rondeau.
II. Minutes: Motion (Jardine, Rantala) to accept minutes from the September 22, 2010 committee
meeting. Motion Carried.
III. Public Comment: No one was present for public comment.
IV. Discussion and Possible Action on Lawrence J. Fox Snowmobile Easement: Motiff received a letter
from Lynn Fox asking that the easement on their land be canceled. Bob Lang, BCSA President, was informed
of this and wrote a letter asking the Committee to release them from the easement because that section of trail
has been closed for a while due to the loss of other easements along the trail. Discussion followed. Motion
(Rantala, Bennett) to release the Lawrence J Fox family from their snowmobile easement effective
immediately. Motion Carried.
V. Report from NORTAC: The last meeting was canceled. Rondeau believes they’re waiting for a decision
on the lawsuit. He reported that Barron County was still buying railroad grades from landowners.
VI. Report from Director:
A. Trails:
The City of Washburn has a land sale pending to StageNorth which includes the railroad right-of-way.
Discussion followed regarding the lawsuit, ownership and quit claim deeds. The consensus of the
Committee was that they would like to see that StageNorth is aware of the pending lawsuit and that
Abeles-Allison should send a letter to that effect.
A letter was received from the Great Divide Riders ATV Club regarding ATV use. Motion (Bennett,
Rantala) to receive and place on file the letter from the Great Divide Riders ATV Club. Motion
Carried.
A copy of the letter from the Town of Iron River to Mitch Rooni was discussed. Recreational trail
easements may have to be further defined.
Two snowmobile and four ATV trail projects were completed this year and we received and extension
and additional money for a project that was under-funded two years ago.
Mary updated the Committee on the Valhalla project. The work should be completed tomorrow and
once the grass is established, it will be open for use.
Easements/Bridges: The DNR is requiring additional information for bridge applications and it’s taking a
while to get the paperwork in order. Trepanier did a bridge inventory to locate all snowmobile and ATV
bridges. Some have been moved from closed trails and re-used in other areas. Motiff reported that the
Tourism Department is responsible for Paper Company easements and the clubs are responsible for
individual easements. She is working with Plum Creek and ALM Holding Company on easements.
Motiff attended two 3-county meetings with the USFS. They have been discussing road closures and
access issues in the CNNF.
B. Marketing :
Motiff is working with the Wisconsin Alumni Association to hold a lifelong learners event next June in
Bayfield County.
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There was some interest in having a new event, a run from the new casino to the Bayfield Recreation
Center, during the Apple Festival and they were looking for a letter of support from the Tourism
Department. Motiff had some discussion with the Highway and Sheriff Departments, and, along with
the City of Bayfield, discouraged the event from happening that weekend due to traffic issues and lack
of staffing. The event has been put on hold. Rondeau questioned whether the Department should write
a letter of support.
The Iron River Chamber will be holding a car show in September at the Fairgrounds.
New event: SUP Festival in Cornucopia.
The Washburn Chamber’s Board of Directors have taken over the day-to-day operations after they had
to lay off their director due to room tax issues and are doing great.
Secretary Klett was in Bayfield County in May to award JEM grants to Port Wing & Cable and hold
some Travel Green meetings.
A planning session was held last week to see what the Bayfield County Chambers would like to see this
office focus on. They would like to see this department focus on public relations – media
communications, getting travel writers here, etc. They will have a proposal to present to the committee
at some point.
Geiger tour: June 20-25. Travel writers tour is funded by the Department of Tourism. They provide
transportation and local businesses comp meals, lodging and entertainment. Bayfield is doing the
welcoming reception and Cable will do the closing reception.
Visitor guide distribution: Distributed about 5,000 guides in southeast Wisconsin. Just signed a contract
for unlimited distribution at the former Wisconsin Welcome Centers. More than 20 cases have been
distributed at the NGLVC.
C. Administrative Updates:
Trepanier is doing campground income paperwork this year for the Forestry Department. She will be
on vacation for 2 weeks starting Monday.
The Committee would like to meet more often. Next committee meeting set for 1:00 pm, Wednesday,
July 13, 2011 with one agenda item being the railroad right-of-way through Washburn.
Abeles-Allison arrived at 5:18 p.m. The StageNorth purchase was again discussed. The City of
Washburn would like Bayfield County to quit claim interest in a 200-foot wide section less 20-feet for a
multi-use trail. This request is going before the Executive Committee on Thursday at the Ag Station,
and could potentially come before the Full County Board at their next meeting on June 21.
Motion (Jardine, Williams) to enter into Executive Session Pursuant to Wisconsin Statute 19.85
(1)(c): considering employment, promotion, compensation or performance valuation data of any
public employee over which the governmental body has jurisdiction or exercises responsibility,
and to adjourn directly after the Executive Session. Roll Call Vote: All Yes.
Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 6:10 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by:
Sue Trepanier
Sue Trepanier, Tourism & Recreation Program Assistant