Minutes: January 13, 2018
The 01/13/18 face to face Board of Director’s meeting of the Wisconsin Trapshooting Association was called to order at 9:14 am by Fritz Thistle, President. Directors present were, S/E Dick Otto and Jerry Kaszynski, N/W Tate Barwald and Phil Challoner, N/E Don Chrapla, ATA Delegate Kevin Doerring, 1st Alt. Delegate Dwight Paulin, 2nd Alt. Delegate Fritz Thistle, Treasurer Arlene Otto, Secretary/Shoot Coordinator Amy Jenkins. Absent for face to face meeting was S/W LaVerne Lehman.
Also present at the meeting: Gary Gerhartz, Esther Thistle, Bruce Wiegmann, Kevin Schutz, Pete Rustad, Glenn Carlson, John Coniff, Chops, Julie Atkielski, Jay Nigbor, YZ
Meeting started at 9:14am
Fritz welcomed everyone to the meeting. He thanked the previous board for what they have done. Fritz stated that he would like input from everyone at the meeting, but go back to the meetings being Board of Director meetings where the vote is done by the board and delegate.
Tate a motion to return the meetings to the Board of Directors and the Delegate having the vote. Don seconded. So carried.
Secretary’s Report:
Amy gave an update of everything she has been working on since the last meeting. She has been working on the program with John Atkielski. She has been working on selling ads and trying to find a printer that will place the ads in the program and complete the printing and mailing; she will go over the price quotes received later in the meeting. Currently the campground is full for the state shoot. She will present the golf cart quotes later in the meeting as well. The shoot calendar will be due to Carol Keeley by the end of the month.
Treasurer’s Report:
The balance sheet printout is effective as of yesterday. There is a profit and loss report from November. Arlene is willing to mail out the reconciled report after she balances each month. The Checking account has $93,000. Homegrounds has $16,000. John Coniff asked for an estimate of monthly expenses until the spring/summer when we start making income. Arlene estimated $6000 a month. The property taxes for 2017 have been paid. The next installment will be due in July. There was a two-hour meeting with the accountant last week so that will be a sizeable bill that will be due. Any money for the building will come out of the FoWTA account.
Arlene passed out expense reports to the Directors to be used. Each month the Directors should fill out the expense report with receipts and turn in for reimbursement. Fritz suggested that the reports be submitted within three months of the receipts. If the receipts are not turned in within three months, the Director will not be reimbursed.
Don. C made a motion to limit the expense reimbursement to three months. Jerry K. seconded it. So carried.
Amy and Arlene will turn in their Secretary and Treasurer’s salary on the expense report form for payment every three months or monthly.
Kevin made a motion to accept the treasurer’s report. Jerry K. Seconded it. So carried.
Building Update:
Chops and John went to the Town of Rome to get the necessary permits. Chops met with Modern Pole. Modern is ordering the materials. The plumbing permit and occupancy permit have not been received. Chops has tried to reach Dewey multiple times without a response back. Chops will move forward and get in touch with the soil tester in order to move forward with the sanitary permit. Without being able to reach Dewey, Chops will have to start over on getting the sanitary permit. Chops talked about bringing in some fill to level off the building with the hoop building. John will make his tractor available and do some of the work when the weather breaks if the WTA bobcat is not back from winter storage when Chops needs it. The top of the floor in the new building will be level with the current floor in the hoop building. Arlene will order the pods (classification/squadding/trophies) just to be safe in case the registration area is not completed in the new building. John and Jay suggested making a decision to allow Chops the authority to spend a certain percentage or dollar amount so he doesn’t get held up waiting for the entire Board to approve something that comes up.
Don made a motion to authorize Chops to spend 10% of the amount without contacting the BOD to keep the building rolling. Tate seconded it. So carried.
Fritz is putting together a claim to the insurance company for reimbursement for the lightening strike that damaged the sewer system.
FoWTA Report and Agreement:
John passed out a report for the Friends bank account. The only check was for the Town of Rome for permits. Balance in the account is $190,588. Chops gave a breakdown of the payments that will be due for the building coming up. The second payment and third payments will be due when the materials are delivered. The final payment will be due when the building is completed and inspected. Fritz picked up the plumbing materials from Alan Prokopek in Illinois who graciously donated them to the WTA for the new building. They will be stored at Homegrounds until needed. Arlene will need the dollar amount for the donation tracking. John would like to create a mailing list from the 2016 and 2017 Kolar raffle tickets to assist in selling tickets in 2018.
Arlene has drafted a letter to the Department of Gaming to clarify some questions about the raffle tickets and selling of the tickets before the WTA prints the tickets for any raffles for 2018. Once the questions are clarified from the Department of Gaming, we will move forward with the 2018 raffle. This year, the Kolar raffle will be solely ran by the WTA and not the FoWTA. The silent auction and live auction will be ran by the FoWTA. John would also like to create a database for everyone that has donated items for the auctions so we don’t have to reinvent the wheel every year.
State Team & High Average:
Kevin handed out information for the All State Team. We went back to applications this year. When Kevin worked off of the numbers from the ATA, our numbers are based on different target requirements than what the ATA uses.
Mens:
Gerald Demulling – 95.56
George Hass – 95.50
Dwight Fitzsimmons – 95.20
Jonathon Denman – 95.15
Dan Haag – 94.51
Gerald Tenor – 94.45
Tim Mackey – 94.40
Mike May – 93.80
Christian Jensen – 93.77
Dave Studnicka – 93.53
Womens:
Cathy Wehinger – 93.18
Janet Reding – 91.41
Sandra Jo Jack – 90.60
Karlie Klas – 88.89
Carol Keeley – 87.98
Veteran:
Mike Nawikas – 93.59
Glen Grabski – 91.51
Kenneth Beutler – 91.05
Don Mittag – 90.70
Andy Hall – 90.64
Senior Vet:
Bruce Wiegmann – 93.55
Dwight Paulin – 90.57
Steve Keeley – 90.46
John Madsen – 89.71
Junior:
Hadyn McKeough – 90.54
Richard Olson – 89.12
Sub-Junior:
Logan Denman – 84.30
High Averages:
Singles – Cathy Wehinger = 98.88; 2000 in state targets
Handicap – Gerald Demulling = 93.70; 1000 in state targets
Doubles – Dwight Fitzsimmons = 97.36; 3600 in state targets
Tate made a motion to approve the All State Team and High Averages. Don seconded. So carried.
Hall of Fame:
John Atkielski sent out information on the Hall of Fame committee to all Directors in the mail. Jay gave an overview of all applications received. Based on responses, the selection committee requested Board approval of John Madson and Kenneth Beutler into the Hall of Fame.
Don made a motion to approve Kenneth Beutler for the Hall of Fame. Jerry seconded. So carried.
Don made a motion to approve John Madson for the Hall of Fame. Dick seconded. So carried.
In the packet that was sent out for the Hall of Fame names, also included was language to be added to the Hall of Fame Guidelines. “Any changes to the guidelines of the WTA Hall of Fame must be approved by a three-fourths majority of the voting members of entire Board of Directors and not just those Directors present at duly held WTA Board Meeting.” If everyone wasn’t present at a meeting, the vote would be able to be done via conference call or email.
Don made a motion to make the above changes to selection criteria for Hall of Fame guidelines. Kevin seconded. So carried.
Hall of Fame ticket payments will be sent to Arlene.
Campground Committee/Homegrounds Separation:
In discussing this with the attorney and accountant, once the Homegrounds is separated from the WTA, the WTA no longer owns it. Amy and Gary calculated the number of campsites sold in 2017 to be a 7.2% occupancy for a six-month open period; or 3.6% for a 12-month period. Fritz said there are some options to explore before making this decision. Fritz asked the attorney if there was a way to sell back a membership to the WTA. If it is not separated and the campground starts making money, the WTA could possibly lose the 501C-3 status. Jay asked if there was a way to discuss this with a real estate attorney about the possibility of only being able to sell it back to the WTA.
Don made motion to table the conversation about separating the Homegrounds. Tate seconded. So carried.
Jeff Recob sent out two letters to possible camphosts for 2018. One turned us down but would like to be contacted for 2019. There is still one couple that we are waiting to hear back from. Helen and Bill will return, but the goal is to have one other couple there for the season to be able to run the traps, etc.
Gary Gerhartz and John Coniff did some extensive homework on finding an appraiser that specializes in commercial property and campgrounds. Three of the calls that Gary made all recommended the same place. Gary talked to the Jeff Gagnow from Appraisal Consultants, the owner and he said he is the go-to-person for these types of appraisals. He said that it is normally around $1500 to $2000 to do this appraisal. Gary asked him if he was willing to represent us at an Open Book meeting for the Town of Rome and he said he would charge $150 per hour and no charge for mileage. He needs a percentage occupancy for campground, a 3-year profit/loss and an approximation value of entire property. If we want to do this, Gary needs approval to move forward with this. We would get a value for the shooting facility; a value for the campground and a value for the combined total. Jay stated this is going to be a very difficult task to do. He said there are no comps to compare to. There is no financial amount for him to compare to. John asked Mike Miller, Town of Rome what the building would do for our taxes and he said nothing. Nothing will change on the taxes until the year after it is completed. Gary will make the call on Monday to move forward if approved by the Board.
Jerry made a motion to allow Gary to move forward on getting the property appraised. Don seconded it. So carried.
Free Camping Policy:
If someone has a lease, they get free camping for any WTA event. If someone comes up to work and doesn’t have a lease they have received free camping in the past. If someone comes up and doesn’t do any work, they should not be receiving free camping. Jay suggested having a list for the camphosts so anyone that is coming up to work and stay for free that they can log their time worked. Amy suggested that she would be able to monitor this for the youth events and it not being an issue.
Fritz talked about the other bunker events and youth events where the coaches are there running the shoot. Fritz talked to Perry Hintz about this and he will determine who will get the free sites.
Don mad a motion to give approval to Perry Hintz to authorize up to three complimentary sites for two bunker events and SCTP weekend and he will work directly with Amy on these. Jerry K. seconded. So carried.
Homegrounds Schedule for 2018:
May 12 & 13– WTA Registered shoot
May 19 – Kettle Moraine
May 19 & 20– WI Junior Olympic Qualifier (TENTATIVE)
June 2 & 3 – WI SCTP International Trap Championships (TENTATIVE)
June 9 & 10 – High School Clay Target League
June 22-24 – WI SCTP Championship
July 10 – 15 – State Shoot
July 18 – Cheesemakers
September 7 – Mid-State Technical College
October 6 & 7 – WTA WI Fall Classic
State Shoot:
Bartenders: Glenn Carlson to talk to Wagner Bros tomorrow about possibly being able to monitor the beer sales. Amy will take the online bartending class and get a bartender’s license for the Town of Rome. Amy will work with Glen Hammerly and hopefully we can attempt to not have to pay any bartenders for the 2018 state shoot.
Food Vendors: Amy has confirmed food vendors for the State Shoot. Butcher Block from Sparta, IL will be attending. Sky Cone from Ackley, IA will be attending. Buck Shot Grill and Papa Murphy’s will return. Amy will check with Glen Hammerly on confirmation that American Legion is returning. At this point, no other food vendors will be added due to space concerns with the new building.
Golf Carts: Amy presented two quotes. Little Egypt from Illinois provided a quote after requesting the possibility of handling our rentals last year at the Grand. Jim’s also provided a quote. Discussion was held by the board and Jim’s quote was approved. Amy will follow up.
Denny Taylor Lewis – Denny is okay with this. He has no preference on how we do this. Denny will have to report this as income. All three championship events would have a $10 option with ½ going to the shooter and ½ going to Denny.
Don made a motion to create a $10 Denny Taylor lewis option on all championship events where 50% goes to the shooter and 50% goes to Denny. Jerry seconded it. So carried.
Water on East Vendor Row Sites: – Tate will follow up and purchases hoses. Chops and Tate will take care of this before the state shoot so that all sites on EVR have water. Extra hoses can be used for sites on the south side of the parking lot now.
Camping Leases: Prices will stay the same. $1300 for a 5-year lease and $2000 for a 10-year lease. The 5-year leases will be up for renewal after the 2018 state shoot.
Tate made a motion to keep the 5- and 10-year lease amounts the same. Don seconded. So carried.
Program/Ads: Amy went through the program and questions that she needed answered in order to update the program for 2018. She gave a summary on the ads that she has secured. John Coniff contacted local businesses this past week and Fritz will visit some other ones next week in attempt to secure more ads for local businesses. The goal will be to cover the cost of the program and the mailing with the ad sales. Amy presented the quotes that she received for printing of the program. Championship programs is willing to place all of the ads at no charge and then print it for cost.
Dick made a motion to have Championship Programs print the 2018 state shoot program. Jerry seconded. So carried.
Shoot Calendar: Fritz will write up a new paragraph for the newsletter to be included in the shoot calendar to replace the youth program that no long exists. He will try to emphasize the 5th state shoot. Pete suggested adding a summary for the Friends of the WTA in there as well.
Round Table
Fritz:
He would like a Director to be able to be the point of contact for Adams County Recycling this year so that multiple people aren’t calling them all the time.
He contacted a few individuals on lead reclamation. At this point, there is not enough lead to reclaim.
Fritz will be following up on the Fat Tire Bike Club for an event in 2018.
Golf course will be putting up some yurits for their seasonal staff. They are interested in putting them on our Homegrounds and would pay us to put them; there will be more discussion as they pursue this.
Directors need to document when lessons are given which need to be recorded for our 501 C-3 status.
Arlene:
She reminded everyone of the scam that she received via email where they tried to get money from her with Fritz’s signature on it. She reported it to the police department and they are following up. She continues to receive an email from the guy every week. She asked when the Board would to receive the balance statements (after she reconciles for the month). She will email them out to all Directors.
Dick:
Suggested replacing batteries for the walkie talkies rather than getting new units.
Glenn:
Wanted to commend the board for getting the warm fuzzy feeling back that has been displayed at the meeting today. He admitted that he quit coming to meetings because of the attitude at the meetings. He asked where the food vendors will be set up for the state shoot with the new building. Tate stated that they will be in the same spot and will need to measure for space and talk with Greenway.
Connie:
Connie shared the results from the Town of Rome Hotel Study. WTA is rated the same as Sand Valley. They recommended that the town pursue a hotel. There was and increase of 439% in room tax. The study also talked about the shortage of laborers and the increase in wages needed.
Food Vendor fees for 2018:
Weekend shoots: $50 a day or $100 for weekend
State Shoot: $175 for food vendor for week
Don made a motion for food vendor fees of $50/$100 for weekend shoots and $175 for state shoot week. Jerry seconded. So carried.
Jerry K:
He would like to run a booze raffle to raise money to purchase a new lawn mower. Tate said that Camp Douglas just got a new mower through Toro through a grant so he will follow up. Jerry would like to get any bottles of booze donated for his raffle.
Kevin:
Asked when the lighted fields needed to be installed by. Fritz said no later than December 2018. Kevin said that he may alter the number of state shoot pins due to the youth program being discontinued; go ahead and drop it. Kevin has a new club membership to send to me to get approved through the ATA.
Next meeting will be March 3rd at Sherwood Lodge at 9am.
Kevin made a motion to go into closed executive session. Jerry seconded it. So carried.
Don made a motion to adjourn the meeting after the executive session. Jerry seconded it. So carried.
Meeting adjourned at 3:58pm.