Borg Isaksen motioned to approve the minutes of previous meeting. Bob Cragin seconded.

Kevin Fiend liked the t-shirt that the club had given him for his excellent trail grooming.

The Learn-to-Ski Day days will be Sunday, January 5^th, and Sunday, February 2^nd. Both events begin at 12noon. Participants will not be required to pay for trail passes. Skis will be available for rent by those who reserve in advance. The club will need lots of help, especially instructors.

The annual candle light ski will be held on Saturday, January 18^th, and be hosted by The Brule River State Forest (BRSF). Volunteers are asked to help set candles at 4:30pm. The event will take place from 6:00pm to 9:30pm.

Paul Haltvick has designed a club website. The club plans to post its newsletter and calendar of events there. Other content for the website can be emailed to Paul.

The Riverview Loppet will be held Saturday, March 1^st. The racecourse will be changed slightly to make it a full 12K. Volunteers will be needed to assist.

A new and additional race event was discussed. The suggested name is "Timber Cruise." It will take place on Saturday, February 15^th. This is the same day as the night event called Book Across the Bay in Ashland. Timber Cruise would be a more competitive race, rather than just a social event. The club would want a carefully designed start. A brochure was also suggested for the event.

Dave Johnson, affiliated with SnowFlake, mentioned that Active.com is posting Brule's races. Online registration is also available. All Nordic Series Races are posted on the website. The club will make two $25 donations towards series prizes.

The club discussed making more room for race starts at the trailhead. The club did not decide on any particular course of action. However, a number of members said it would be nice to remove some Aspen trees, regardless of the type of start. It was also felt that tree removal should not create a clear path of view to the Ski-Doo shop. Finally, removal of large pine trees should be avoided whenever possible.

Steve Petersen discussed the Master Plan. Susie Isaksen had drafted a letter designed to solicit comments about possible ski trail expansion. It would be a club letter signed by the club President, and distributed to the more than 450 people who bought annual trail passes in Brule last winter. A topic for discussion was the proposal for two bridges across the river. The club decided to recommend that the State Forest keep the idea of only one bridge, not for now but as an option to build down the road.

Bob Cragin motioned to have the letter modified so it reflects the following changes: (1) More emphasis on calling for support of trail facilities and maintenance, and (2) The club would like to revisit the bridge issue if it is ever approved for construction. Joe Groshek seconded. Motion carried.

Cordell Manz motioned to approve sending out the letter when modified. Joe Groshek seconded. Motion carried.

There was further discussion of the master plan and the ski trail plans. It was decided that the club mission and goals would support the master plan's ideas for ski trails. There was concern that too much modification could eventually lead to commercialization and/or over development of the forest. Steve stated that the State Forest will try to minimize impacts on the wilderness, and that the new ski area would be on the other side of Hwy 27, off Samples Rd. The club favored a 200 car parking lot after Steve explained that the parking lot would not be paved, and that it will be designed like the parking lot at Whitefish Dunes State Park, with small areas intermixed among trees. Such a design would minimize the visual impact of a large lot in a forest.

Steve talked about the new grooming equipment and new trail addition. Last winter two Yellowstone Track Systems "Ginzugroomers" were purchased. This equipment does a far superior job of grooming compared to the Tidd Techs under most conditions. Over the summer a 1985 Tucker Sno Cat and an 11 foot wide "ginzugroomer" were also purchased. Overall the grooming equipment is in excellent condition and will provide enough equipment to handle the additional trails.

Through the spring and summer 5 ½ miles of trails were added to the Afterhours system. Jim Rau designed the trails, marked the timber, and supervised the timber sale. Then the Forestry Technicians from the Brule DNR Office did the bulldozer work to prepare the trails. Prisoners from the Gordon Correctional Facility did much of the handwork to finish the trail work.

Trail lighting was discussed next. Greg St. Onge has the plan from Nine Mile trail and other research on Low Voltage vs. High Voltage. The club discussed funding for the lighting. Suggestions included: (1) DNR matching funds, (2) Adopt-a-pole program, and (3) Non-conventional sources for power such as solar. Steve suggested that headlamps should be tried. The club liked this idea and thought it could support the purchase of headlamps. Susie Isaksen motioned to approve the concept of club funding to help purchase headlamps for repurchase by ski club members with trail passes. Cord seconded. Motion carried. Cord agreed to try a few headlights. Kyla and Steve will also work with Cord to select, price and purchase the headlamps. It was hoped that the club could subsidize1/2 the cost of each light.

The annual club workday for trail clearing will be the first Saturday in November from 12:30-4:30pm.

The club discussed purchasing Greg St. Onge's timing equipment. The payback period would be four races. The club would rather not rent out the equipment unless a security deposit is made that would cover the rental risk. Borg Isaksen motioned to buy the equipment or $1700. Joe Groshek seconded, motion carried.

Steve noted that the BRSF has received several thousand dollars in donations for trail grooming, which is greatly appreciated. Every year about $10,000 to $15,000 is spent on grooming and trail revenue amounted to $12,000 last season. It was suggested that a fuel account be established and no one objected.

Membership dues can go to directly to Bob Cragin.

Greg St. Onge asked that someone new step forward and become club President. Joe Groshek nominated Cordell and Kyla Manz. The club voted that the couple should become President. Other officer positions did not change; Darrell Thompson - Vice President, Colleen Klein - Secretary, Bob Cragin - Treasurer, and Joe Groshek, Board Member at Large.