July 13, 2017 Chapter Meeting Minutes

CRAMBA Chapter Meeting Minutes7-13-17This meeting was held at Pontiac Lake Recreation Area. There were about 15 people in attendance.Steve Vigneau chaired the meeting. It was called to order at about 7:44PM.Minutes of the previous meeting were not read

• CRAMBA signed the 2.0 Chapter agreement with the IMBA
  • Dues are now split 50/50 with IMBA
  • Doesn’t really affect us that much
  • CRAMBA now has our own 501c(3) as a prudent safety-net measure
  • CRAMBA supports the MMBA and their efforts but we (CRAMBA) will maintain a wait and see posture as to our further affiliation
• Shelby Township Award
  • CRAMBA has received the “Better Place to Play award from Shelby Township
  • Jeremy Verbeke will receive the award on behalf of CRAMBA
• MMBA Bike Festival Cancellation
  • The MMBA has officially canceled the MMBA Bike Festival at Boyne Mountain
  • Registered riders will get a full refund
• Metro Parks Information
  • Steve reported that he will be meeting with the interim director of the Metro Parks
  • He will be discussing the MOU (Memorandum Of Understanding) and getting it signed
  • Improvements to the current trail system
  • Hiring a professional trail builder for design of new trails
• Board Elections
  • Steve announced that CRAMBA will have openings for new board members at our next election
  • Election for new board member will be at our October 19 meeting
  • Jeremy Verbeke noted that volunteers for committees need not be board members and indeed, ideally they are grooming for eventual board membership
• CRAMBA receives REI garnt
  • Jeremy Verbeke announce that CRAMBA received a $5000.00 grant from REI
  • CRAMBA used this money to build two new trail kiosks, one at Pontiac Lake and the other at Holdridge
• Blitz Day report
  • Mike Fitzpatrick said the Blitz day was a measured success with a net of 42 new or renewed members
  • CRAMBA had 13 station set ups at 12 trails with 33 total volunteers
  • All original and summation documentation has been recorded in Basecamp for next year
• Trail updates
  • Ron Arnott said the Meadows at Holdridge has been bush-hogged and is in good shape
  • Cori Chesnutt said they are holding a Beginner Information ride on July 29 between 10:00 and 12:00 at Holdridge to introduce new riders to the mountain bike experience.
  • Zandra reported they had a successful trail day with good participation and bermed some need sections of trial
• Bike Patrol
  • Jeremy Verbeke reported that CRAMBA now has 58 Bike Patrollers (up from 49 at April’s meeting). Good job Jeremy!
  • The Bike Patrollers have received generous donations from different sources totaling about $1550.00
• Take a Kid Mountain Biking
  • No formal report but Mike Fitzpatrick reported that attendance was up over last year’s very successful event
  • Well organized with food, waivers, helmets, bike numbers, Bike Patrollers as guides
  • No injuries
• Treasurer’s Report
  • No formal report but our balance after expenses is about $17,000.00
  • Our balance is a bit better than this time last year
• GOT Clinic
  • Scheduled for August 20
  • Restricted to 18+ riders for liability reasons
  • Marty Shue will be the instructor
• Addison Oaks Classic
  • Roger reported everything is on track
  • Still looking for title sponsor and number sponsor
• Massive Fallout
  • Chris Westerlund showed a sample of a direction sign that will be used this year.
• Winter Grooming at Holdridge
  • Cori Chesnutt is exploring winter grooming at Holdridge
  • They pack with snowshoes now
  • Looking for a groomer
  • Have access to a snowmobile

Next chapter meeting will be October 19, Thursday, at 7:00 PM at Addison Oaks

• Elections for board
• Pre-meeting ride (bring lights)
• barbecue provided
• .