Minutes: March 5, 2022
WTA Meeting
March 5, 2022
Homegrounds
The 03/05/22 Board of Director’s meeting of the Wisconsin Trapshooting Association was called to order at 9:03 am by Fritz Thistle, President. Directors present were N/E Ken Michels (zoom) and YZ Weisensel, N/W Keith Lehmann (zoom), N/W Aaron Katzenberg part of the meeting (zoom), S/W LaVerne Lehmann (zoom), S/E Tyler Buchanan, S/E Bob Ebbers part of the meeting (zoom), 1st Alt. Delegate Tyler Buchanan, 2nd Alt. Delegate Fritz Thistle, Executive Assistant/Shoot Coordinator Amy Jenkins, Treasurer Taylor Katzenberg part of the meeting (zoom). Absent: ATA Delegate Kevin Doerring.
Also present were: Glen Grabski, Chops, Gary Witzke, Tate Barwald, Tom & Nora Bristol, John King
Meeting started at 9:03 am.
Moment of silence for Ukraine.
Treasurer’s Report:
Balances: $26,000 checking; $41,000 camping, $13,500 savings; $62,500 expansion fund. Taylor said to make note of the balances. She owes $20,500 for trophies, $4700 monthly mortgage payment and other expenses. Will not have any income until June. All sponsorship money for the state shoot has been received. We owe $650,000 to Summit.
Tyler made a motion to approve the treasurer’s report. YZ seconded. So carried.
Secretary Report:
Amy continues to work on camping for the state shoot. She was approached multiple times in Tucson for sites. The waiting list continues to grow. The youth shoot weekends are filling up very fast. There are approximately 15 sites left for HSCTL and SCTP. The shoot calendar has been mailed out. Amy noticed that the ATA is utilizing the same online reservation system as we are for their camping reservations – Campspot.com. Amy has Kolar raffle tickets for each of the directors to sell. She will be handing them out after the meeting. Amy sold 100 tickets in Tucson so 25% of the tickets are already sold. Fritz stated that Carol Kelley said the pricing for the calendar went up 22% this year. We will need to discuss this in the future because she is no longer breaking even. Discussion was held in Tucson about the pricing of 3S and what clubs are going to do in the future. It will be another $3 per event per person. We can still use the old version if we choose. Amy talked to Michelle to see what the plans are for the state shoot. Michelle said that she is looking at other programs instead of 3S. She believes that ScoresR is likely going to be her choice. She is planning to purchase it for her club and check it out; it does everything that 3S does and it is all online so anyone with internet can watch scores as quickly as she can put them in. Her pricing for us will not change. ScoresR should actually give us more features for a better price. They also have a presquadding system which will look a little different, but it functions the same. When Michelle went with the new 3S system two years ago, it overrode the old system; so she no longer has that. Now, they can shut off her ability to use the system in June when her upgrade is due. They will no longer allow the system that she has to work after her yearly renewal date. She had to go with the new system in order to accommodate the size of the state shoots she runs.
Old Business:
TV Responder/Antennae:
Kevin talked to Tom Roberts on the antenna, he is waiting on warmer weather so he can test it. He will get back to us asap.
Grants:
Nothing to report. No information if we received the DNR grant.
Expansion:
Tyler presented a quote from Needham Excavating which offers a 10-year payback period. Tyler suggested possibly waiting a year to get quotes from other contractors. He suggested possibly waiting until after the lead reclamation project before we move forward on this. Chops said that Mashuda did a project for the solar farm and removed over one million tree stumps. Fritz suggested that Chops talk with someone from Mashuda to see if they would come over and look at it. There is still hope that the operator’s engineers will still be willing to do the project.
Umbrellas:
Baraboo Tent and Awning are working on the umbrellas. The frames are one-inch square hollow/bent and will bolt on the back of the stands. The fabric slides right on to the frames. The frames are $2220 for 30 fields. Fritz has the bill and will be submitting that for payment. The Friends will be paying for the frames. Once he has a frame in hand, then he will go back to get the awning pieces.
Camp Host:
Fritz has been doing a lot of work on this. He will continue to work on it. Glen and Fritz met with someone in Adams to host the first shoot weekend if we have not found anyone. He may be willing to host longer and work up on the trap line. Amy asked if this person would be able to do the campspot entries.
PA System:
Ken has been playing with it on different days (cloudy days vs. sunny days). The batteries go dead when they do not have any sun to charge. The batteries are fine but if they do not get sun, they will not be working for announcements in the morning. Tate and Ken both said that we could run power to each of them to avoid the battery issue. Ken stated that it is so loud in the building that when you do announcements at the current location it picks up so much feedback; could it be moved to the back area. It is convenient to have it at the desk for shoot offs. Ken ordered another panel to see about hooking two together.
Rome Pistol / Rifle Range:
On hold until the spring. Fritz talked to the insurance agent and it will cost us about $200 annually for liability. He has spoken to Town of Rome who will have their own insurance. Likely should not be any cost for us as Town of Rome will cover it.
Donations for Fall Classic:
No additional donations have been received.
Coverage of Directors at all Events:
Amy will not be available for the opener shoot in the Spring. Amy has an extra worker to help for the HSCTL league shoot. Tyler will be here for HSCTL and can set targets on Saturday and Sunday. He will not be here for KM or SCTP. Taylor, Aaron and Bob will not be here for any of the youth shoots. They will be present for the May/Fall shoots and the state shoot. Ken will be available for all the shoots. Fritz will be present for every shoot. LaVerne will be present for setting targets at HSCTL and state shoot. Rhino will be present for KM, SCTP, state shoot and the fall shoot. YZ will be present to help Amy set up the traps and microphones on the Wednesday of both HSCTL and SCTP. He will be present on Saturday and Sunday for the youth events as well. He will be present for the state shoot. Gary Witzke will be present for the spring shoot, HSCTL and for the state shoot and the fall shoot. He will be coordinating the youth.
Brine
The price will be $1.07 to $1.09 per gallon and delivery is approximately $250. We will try to hold off on getting it done until we have income coming in. Fritz has discussed with Tim so he knows we want it done.
Memorial Pavers:
Fritz had an example of what the pavers will look like. YZ asked if they should it be limited to memorials or should it be open to whomever wants to purchase them for someone. For example, Chops asked would he be able to purchase one for someone getting inducted into the hall of fame?
YZ made a motion to charge $300 for the pavers as a memorial only. Rhino seconded. So carried.
Landscaping:
Fritz still has the bid from the last meeting for the landscaping. It is approximately $16,000 and they would want half of it up front. Tate said that is a huge amount for landscaping. Fritz showed a picture of what would be done. YZ suggested getting another quote to compare and he will make some calls to other local landscapers. YZ and Chops will take the lead on this.
New Business:
State Shoot:
- Program: Amy will send out the final draft of the program to the Directors. They will need to respond when they approve the minutes so that Amy can go to the printer and get the program created and posted to the website.
- Sponsors: Trophies were ordered for the Kyle Sacia Memorial Handicap event. All other sponsors remain the same. In Tucson, Amy received some additional items to be used for this event. Bobby Chambers from Wenig donated $2500 towards a stock to be used for Kyle’s memorial. Storm Coats also donated a custom shooting jacket and pant set.
- T-shirts 10th Anniversary: Chops showed examples of the state shoot shirts. There were five different grey options. Athletic/Ash would look best with the logo. Suggestion would be to have the lighter gray in a 50/50 blend. Chops will ask about pricing for hoodies as well to sell at just the state shoot. He will order 576 to start with. The t-shirts will be available at all youth events as well. Selling price will be $20 a t-shirt.
- Scorers/Loaders: As of right now, we have 144 out of 300 positions filled which is 48% of what we need and includes all of the events for the season. These positions are all from the Nekoosa schools. The kids will all be trained by WTA workers ahead of time. YZ will pursue the group that works at the Florida shoot.
Food Vendors:
Connie and Glen are vending for KM, SCTP and state shoot. They would like to leave their food trailer on site from May through the state shoot. This is will be fine. Getting vendors for the events has been tough.
Mid-State Technical College:
Last year they were charged $16/round including shells. This is a fundraiser for their organization. They had 50 shooters last year. Suggestion to charge $19/round for 2022.
Tyler made a motion to charge $19/round for the Mid-State event. Rhino seconded. So carried.
SCTP Pricing:
Tyler sent out an email to everyone yesterday. Tyler talked to Gary DeSmidt on the phone this week and he was unhappy that the prices increased and we took away the scorekeepers. Lengthy discussion was held about the pricing and how we came to the pricing structure at the last meeting. Bob agreed that there is justification for raising the prices based on the increased price of targets, trap help, etc. While everyone understands it looks like we raised the prices and took away the scorers; the price of everything is increasing.
Tyler made a motion to reaffirm that the costs set at the January 2022 meeting stand. LaVerne seconded. So carried.
Information from the January 2022 Minutes:
KM $24/100 plus $1 maintenance fee – they provide loaders, scorers; we provide grounds ($25 total). HSCTL is $28/100; add $1 maintenance fee – we provide loaders and grounds; they do their own scoring ($29 total).
SCTP $28/100 for singles, caps, doubles, $1 maintenance fee; WTA/ATA daily fees for singles only ($35 total for singles; $29 total for caps/doubles). We provide loaders and grounds for SCTP and they will provide their own scorers this year. Rates will be altered if they do not provide their own scorers.
Tyler suggested going up $1 for each event and if the groups require workers go up another $1.
Skid Steer Maintenance:
Dylan was here to look at the machine with Fritz. He was going to send an estimate on what we would need to service it. The cost will be approximately $2500 to $3200 depending on the prices from CAT. He will submit a final invoice once he hears back from CAT. Fritz and Tate discussed the need for this type of machine at our grounds. Dylan stated that the trade in price for this machine would be more than what we paid for it right now. The cost to replace the under carriage in the next few years will be at least $10,000. Dylan stated that the running up and down the line is what causes all the stress on it. Tate suggested replacing it with an off-road fork lift.
Manager Salary:
Glen has approached Fritz for a pay raise. He said he would like $24,000. Fritz said that Glen can’t get a lot of stuff done because he has to be outside giving lessons, etc. and can’t get other duties done. He would be willing to be here on Thursdays to get other duties done. Fritz thought it was a little high and suggested 10%. Glen said gross sales were $39,000. Tate asked what the net on the sales is. If there is no net, there is no value of having a manager here. Tate asked if a job description was ever created for the manager position. Tyler asked if Glen would be willing to split the difference across two years.
YZ made a motion to give a $2000 raise in 2022 and $2000 raise in 2023. Rhino seconded. So carried.
Beer License:
Glen is working on renewing the beer license with the Town of Rome. Ken and Aaron will both need to fill out paperwork for the town. Bartender’s licenses will need to be renewed. Amy’s is valid until June 2023. Glen has one but will see when it expires. Gary Witzke and Tom Bristol will get bartender’s licenses.
Round Table:
Fritz:
State Shoot pricing – Iowa is charging $40 for targets. MN is charging $37 for targets. Fertilizer will be on hold until we get some money. What are suggestions for the Hilgendorf donations? Fritz asked if we should be contacting someone about the Trap and Field ad now so we aren’t doing it last minute. Taylor will contact Solarus to turn the internet back on. Plans will be to turn the water on in the campground April 23. Will need help to get this done. Directors should let Amy know if they can attend. Tyler will be present. YZ will bring the food.
Tyler:
He suggested that we come up with an inventory of parts and if there is anything that needs to be purchased for maintaining the traps this season.
John King:
He had some hats made for Glen to sell. Hats are $20 each. Glen suggested getting some hoodies made.
Gary Witzke:
He was asked to check on storage containers. He gave some prices. Fritz said that we need some storage for trophies during the state shoot. We need to store some other items in the main building that are taking up space. YZ suggested just looking for an enclosed 20’ trailer. We will look at cleaning out the Kolar trailer and using that for the trophies.
The next meeting is scheduled for Zoom ONLY on Friday, April 15, 2022 at 9am. Tentative meeting is Friday, May 27 at 9am at Homegrounds.
YZ made a motion to adjourn. Tyler seconded. So carried.
Meeting adjourned at 12:22pm.