FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MNSA partners with DNR on changes to ski GIA system
The Minnesota Nordic Ski Association (MNSA) has been engaged over the past year with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Parks and Trails Division in a process to simplify and streamline the cross country ski Grants-In-Aid (GIA) trail assistance program. The GIA program is the system used by the state of Minnesota to distribute the revenues generated by the sale of the Great Minnesota Ski Pass to ski clubs and governmental agencies (cities and counties) who maintain and groom public cross country ski trails. Over the past many years MNSA has received consistent feedback from ski clubs regarding frustration with various structural aspects of the GIA program, including the reimbursement process and paperwork requirements. Last year MNSA formally requested that the DNR consider modifying the ski GIA system to address these concerns and improve the overall system.
The DNR agreed that overhauling the ski GIA system was warranted and invited ski clubs to submit change recommendations. The DNR and MNSA received comments and recommendations from numerous ski clubs, including clubs from Bemidji, Brainerd, Grand Rapids, and St. Cloud. Through a series of conference calls and meetings throughout 2014, the DNR, in partnership with MNSA, just rolled out, at the end of November, the proposed changes to ski GIA which would be implemented for the 2015 – 2016 ski season.
Highlights of the changes include establishing fall trail preparation as 40% performance based, meaning that clubs and governmental agencies will receive 40 percent of their total grant upon certification that all fall trail preparation work is completed and trails are ready for snowfall. This change will give clubs more time and flexibility and reduce paperwork than under the current system. The remaining 60% of the annual GIA grant will be utilized for ski trail grooming costs, which is earned based on the hours of actual grooming. The proposed hourly reimbursement rates for grooming (operator, machine, and grooming attachments) are: $35.00 for a snowmobile, $55.00 for a midsized tracked vehicle, and $110.00 for large tracked vehicles such as a Piston Bully.
The overall goal of the proposed changes is to simplify the system and achieve a prudent balance between ski trail fixed (fall trail preparation) costs and variable (grooming) costs while considering the variability of ski pass revenue from season to season, which is directly impacted by statewide snowfall amounts. MNSA enthusiastically supports the proposed GIA changes and is pleased and honored to have been directly involved with Minnesota DNR Parks and Trails Division in advocating for and designing the changes that will have an anticipated very positive impact statewide for all GIA funded trail systems. The MNSA board of directors is very pleased with the cooperative process that occurred between the DNR and MNSA to achieve the proposed changes that many ski clubs have long advocated for.
A summary of the proposed changes is available on the DNR website at: http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/grants/recreation/gia_crosscountry.html. The DNR is also soliciting public feedback and comment on the proposed changes with information on where to direct feedback noted in the summary document.