8555-R2_MSA_November2023_Newsletter

Fuel Assistance is never a Guarantee By Joe Higgins, State of Maine Snowmobile Program

W hat a summer, and where did fall go? Here it is the beginning of November, and our office has really ramped it up as we get to as many trails projects as we can. We are in the height of the season for grant applications, both club grants and municipal grants. Just a reminder that the appli cation deadline for both is December 1st, 2023. It’s look ing like a record year for appli cation requests, as the needed funding to repair bridges will be at an all-time high. You are all aware of the wet summer it has been and the toll that it has taken on our bridges and trails. I have been asking clubs to concentrate on the main artery trails as the dam age in the Central and Western Region has been extensive. There has always been bridge maintenance every year, but I think this will be one of the most expensive. The Disaster Relief Grant Program has been extremely helpful. Many clubs received funding for some of these repairs. Unfortunately, all the funding in that program has been completely depleted.

If it were not for the volunteers and generosity of landowners, we wouldn’t have the snow mobile trails we have. Thank you for all you do. I hope we have a good old fashion winter with cold to freeze things up and then a snowstorm every Tuesday and maybe a light snow onThursdays too. This brings up the subject and discussion on fuel assis tance. The fuel assistance we have been able to offer the last few years is not a guarantee as some know. It is solely contin gent on snowmobile registra tion revenue. So how have we been able to help with the cost of fuel you may ask? The num ber one revenue for funding is snowmobile registrations, on average the last 3 years registrations have generated about 3.5 million dollars per year. We also receive a portion of gas tax which accounts for about 1.5 million dollars per year. It’s looking like both club and municipal grant applica tions will come in at approxi mately 7.5 to 8 million dollars in requests. As you see we will have to prioritize projects in

order to aid in as many proj ects as possibly with a goal of opening as many trails as we can. With this year’s trail expenses the probability of any fuel assistance for the 2023-24 season is looking like a long shot.The fact is, groom ing equipment, fuel costs and groomer maintenance are our largest expenses. The overall cost for fuel last season is esti mated at 1.5 million dollars. None of us have a crystal ball and keep in mind that I bud get on a prediction of what we think registrations will gen erate each year for revenue. Most do a great job budgeting your grooming activities and I’m asking you to budget with the idea that any fuel assis tance is not guaranteed. On another note, you should start seeing your sign orders as we have had to wait for them to be shipped. The company we order from has had a chal lenge of finding help in order to get them out the door. We aren’t the only ones dealing with finding help these days. Ride Right and Ride Safe, hope to see you on the trails soon.

Lewiston Strong O ur worst nightmare happened last month in Lewiston.The L/A area is known for helping oth ers and inviting people to their community. What happened on that horrific night will never be for gotten. The MSA snowmobile family is behind you folks. Our words can’t take away the pain but we want you all to know you are loved and supported by the whole MSA team. We are all grieving with you. A loss that we don’t see coming is tragic and complicated. We are all very saddened by the situ ation and our heartfelt thoughts are with every one of you during this difficult time. We hope you all feel our love. God bless you all, AL

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