July 29, 2021 at 11:24 a.m.
Council approves snowmobile trail crossing compromise
Council approves snowmobile trail crossing compromise
After hearing from concerned business owners and representatives of the Hodag Sno-Trails snowmobile club, the council voted unanimously to allow sleds to access the area in question during the upcoming snowmobile season with the long-term goal of establishing an alternate route.
Several speakers addressed the issue during the public comment portion of the meeting, stressing the negative economic impact of curbing snowmobile access to the city.
Bob Goodin, a Sno-Trails member and a Town of Stella supervisor, recounted some of the history of snowmobiling in the area.
"I'm old enough to remember that back in '50s and '60s tourism in the Rhinelander area basically went into hibernation after Labor Day until the following Memorial Day," he said, explaining that the rise of snowmobiling in the '70s changed that to the point where Rhinelander became the "hub of the north".
"Now, we're right down to the last spoke of the hub," he continued, adding that local businesses are still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic and can't afford for snowmobile customers to be cut off from them.
Scott Borths of Shoeder's RV & Marine echoed some of Goodin's points. He stated that snowmobiling represents a relatively small portion of his business and he wanted to speak as a proponent of trail access because he is "an advocate for Rhinelander" and wants to see the community move forward rather than backward.
"l love Rhinelander, I'm going to spend the rest of my life in Rhinelander," he said. "The (Hodag) Dome, phenomenal, great job. What we've been doing downtown, great job. Hodag Park, great job. Everything has been moving in the right direction, we're building for the future. In this town, as a business owner, winters are hard. I lose money, guaranteed, every year November, December, January, February," he added, noting that snowmobile-related clientele helps ease the strain for his and many other business in the winter months.
"If we cut off the trails going south that snowmobile business that comes to this town is no longer going to come to this town, they're going to go further north," he warned, adding that he keeps a close eye on local commercial real estate listings and has noticed that a number of businesses are up for sale.
"One of the hotels in town is for sale and I can name you five bars and restaurants off the top of my head in the city that are for sale right now. It seems like every week there's another one going up for sale," he said. "Winter is hard on these bars, restaurants and hotels up here, we don't need to make it harder on them."
Hodag Sno-Trails president Scott Hetland said the club is hopeful that alternate routes will be established soon, but for the 2021-22 season the Stevens Street crossing is vital.
"We will not give up looking for alternate routes, but this current crossing is our best option going forward this season," he said, noting that not allowing snowmobiles to cross at this junction will result in a dead end trail on both sides of Stevens Street which he said "could devastate snowmobiling and tourism in the community."
Snowmobilers will "begin to avoid the area" and not come back, he warned.
Following public comment, the alderpersons agreed to rearrange their agenda so that they could vote on the club's request to access the area in question for one more year while alternatives are being researched.
As the discussion shifted to the council, city administrator Zach Vruwink stressed that the city understands the important of snowmobile traffic and there is no proposal to eliminate snowmobile access to the city. The goal, he said, is to "find a more ideal crossing."
Alderman Gerald Anderson wanted to know how much damage snowmobiles can do to the pavement. He noted that he drove the area in question and concluded that it does not look any worse than other comparable city streets.
In response, Mark Barden of Town & Country Engineering, the firm that managed the recent Stevens Street reconstruction project, said snowmobiles do cause scratches and deterioration over time.
Ultimately, the panel agreed to allow the use of the crossing for one more winter.
"I think the city, what we really want to do is look for the trail with the most economic benefits for us, the safest, most fiscally responsible system," city council president Ryan Rossing explained. "I'm not sure if coming down Menominee Drive and going to Shawnee (Lane) after this year is going to be the best way."
Two motions were approved, one to allow use of the area in question this winter and a second to hire an engineer to research alternate trail route locations in the area of Highway 17.
Heather Schaefer may be reached at [email protected].
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