The Coldbrook Snowmobile Club held its fourth meeting of the 2009-10 season at the King Phillip Restaurant in Phillipston, MA on Monday, December 7, 2009 at 7:30pm.  Minutes from the November meeting as well as an itemized treasurer's report were made available to the present membership on a table as you entered the meeting room.

    At the start of the meeting, a motion was made, seconded, and a verbal vote approving the minutes as written was completed.  The treasurer's report was also accepted as official in the same manner of voting after a review of its content and a time afforded to the present members to ask questions about said document.

    The items on the agenda were the submitting of bills by those who have done work for the club.  The two main areas for bills were postage for mailings and supplies for trail work.  A motion was made by board of director member Louis Brassard, seconded by Gerry Cremin and an immediate verbal was requested by club president Gerry Balchuinas and a verbal vote approved the payment of these submitted bills.

  Club president Gerry Balchuinas presented the members present with a proposed list of upcoming bills which would be for the repair and maintenance of the groomers for the season as well as for projected trail repairs.

    Club president Gerry Balchuinas acknowledged the recent trail clearing work from two very dedicated volunteers who consistently are out working on the trails. Gerry spoke of how they work every weekend for 5 hours regardless if there is a scheduled work event or not.  Their names are Gary Roberts and Jeff Prinn. Gerry then asked for the clubs gratitude to offer a free membership to them. A unanimous decision and round of thanks was given at this time.   Glen Hines was also acknowledged for his many volunteer hours with his equipment clearing trails and fixing previously washed out areas to make our trails more rider friendly during the season.  Gerry stated that without Glenn, we may not be riding this year.

The bridge to be installed over the Otter River has been repaired, prepared, and has the approval from the Army Corps of Engineers.  Club president Gerry Balchuinas informed the club that a call has been made to Rick Marshall of Astro Crane for the hiring of their crane to install the bridge. The bridge is set to be installed on Sat December 12, 2009 at 10AM.

Gerry stated that the purchase of the required green safety shirts to be worn during trail work has made a tremendous impact on other trail users knowing who the people are working on keeping the trails safe and cleared.  At this time, two members of a nearby horse riding club were acknowledged and they thanked the volunteers for their thorough clearing of the same trails used when they ride their horses. Areas needing future attention were mentioned at this time and the need to have assistance from a local police department in a highly traveled area.  This action would be for the safety of the workers. Gerry has worked with Gary Roberts and has secured police help with no charge to the club.

    Club president Gerry Balchuinas informed the present members that the connecting trail between the northern and southern sections of the club located on the property owned by the Coldbrook Country Club will no longer be available.  Several attempts at negotiating with the new owners of the Coldbrook Country Club failed to reach an agreement to use the trails on the property.  A Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) representative has gone out with president Balchuinas and BOD Tom Donahue with a Global Positioning Satellite device and marked out an area for a possible connecting trail which can be roughly cleared in the near future for snowmobile travel. 

At this time, member Bobby Cox informed the present members that the beach area in Lake Dennison State Park has been properly signed.

    The next item on the meeting agenda was presented by club president Gerry Balchuinas and it was the proposed maintenance and repairs to be completed on the groomers.  Member Mike Chojnowski has generously afforded the club the opportunity to use his garage, equipment, tools and expertise to complete any necessary repairs and/or maintenance on the club's groomers. 

  The next items on the agenda were the fund raisers which are in progress and in the planning stages.  Club vice-president Dean Zuppio informed the members present that the television raffle ticket sales have reached the cost of the television and all expenses occurred for the raffle.  Any additional sales will be profit to the club and members were encouraged to sell more booklets for this raffle. 

The club's annual spaghetti's supper is being planned for Saturday, January 16, 2010 at 7p,m, at the Baldwinville American Legion Post.  As always the cooking will be until all are full and tickets can be purchased at tonight's meeting by visiting with Dawn Balchuinas.  Member Bob Cox volunteered his DJ and video presenting services for this event and this gesture was acknowledged with appreciation from club president Balchuinas. 

A proposal to have a club sponsored pig roast at the Snowbound Club in Winchendon was made at this time by club president Balchuinas.  This proposed event was met with approval by the members present as the details were given as to the cost, the chef/cook, the place, and the size of the pig to be roasted. 

The members were encouraged to check the club's website when the ice appears safe enough for the announcements for radar runs. 

At this time, club secretary, Mike Roy, mentioned the date of Saturday, January 9, 2010 as the proposed date for the recently awarded Massachusetts Vintage Snowmobile Club's vintage ride.  The riding area will be clearly mapped out in the Lake Dennison Sate Park area and volunteers will be needed for the event in the areas of tour guides, groomers, cleanup crew, and hospitality/assistance.  Club secretary Mike Roy inquired about the necessity of having a first aid station or a staffed ambulance and this can be addressed in future planning discussions.  Members were encourage to check the club's website for further details on this and other events and to contact the appropriate people to volunteer their services/time to help out.

   During the November SAMS meeting a donation to send disabled children to Camp Sno-Mo was presented and agreed upon by the club's representatives.  A motion to make a twenty-five dollar donation to this cause was made, seconded, and a unanimous verbal vote approved the funding for this donation.

      The next item on the discussion table was the SYMM grant for the club to purchase a multi-purpose tractor.  Club president Gerry Balchuinas mentioned that the club still needs to construct and install the gates necessary in order to complete the club's obligation for the grant.  Information is still forthcoming as the location for installing these gates on DCR property. 

     Club president Gerry Balchuinas proposed that the club purchase a seventy-five dollar gift certificate for landowner George Paul who has been consistently generous in his allowance of the club to ride on a trail through his property.  The gift certificate would be to the King Phillip Restaurant.  A motion was made by Bob Cox, seconded by Louis Brassard, and a unanimous verbal vote approved this purchase.

   The Kid's Cleanup Day has been postponed due to the wintery weather and the proposed holding date of this event would be at the end of the riding season in the spring of 2010 in conjunction with a similar DCR event. 

BOD Robin Briner, proposed that the club donate monies to the Narragansett Middle School which is sponsoring a community service project to help feed local families during the upcoming holiday season.  A motion was made, seconded, and a unanimous verbal vote approved donating one hundred dollars to this worthy cause.

   At this time, club president Gerry Balchuinas asked the members present to review the agenda section where acknowledgements were given to the many generous volunteers who have consistently offered their time, efforts, equipment, supplies, etc. to the many club projects.  Without their assistance the club would not be unable to operate at its current capacity and as successfully.

    A 50/50 raffle yielding $58 to the winner was conducted just prior to the close of the meeting.

    The fourth monthly meeting for the Coldbrook Snowmobile Club concluded at 8:45p.m..