NMMBA Board of Directors Meeting
Date and location: Wednesday, September 10th, 2025 Acme Twp Hall
Board Present: Tim Reicha, Kim White, Mike Walters, Chad Jordan, Chad Schut, Heath Day, Tim Jenema, Tom White and Steve Mentzer
Board absent: Brian Pugh
Guests: None
Mission statement —---> It is our mission to Envision, Build and Protect the mountain bike experience while respecting all forest users and uses.
Tim R called the meeting to order at 6:35 pm.
August meeting minutes were approved online.
Financials:
Kim led this discussion.
RunSignUp registration outstanding as of today is $1600.00; everything else is already accounted for.
Donations received from various organizations and individuals totaled $7500.00 so far this year (to clarify, not for TCTF).
Donations for the Darek Purgiel memorial have been moved to the TCTN fund. These dollars will go towards concrete work.
General fund stood at $17,286.82
Also of note: Tim R will attend a Trailblazing Tomorrow meeting with TART on September 11th.
Grants:
Grand Traverse County Marijuana revenue grant update.
Carl Ferguson to format application for submission. Letters of support will be needed from at least 3 supporters.
TimBarn: $500,000.00 is still needed to meet the proposed goal.
Another grant proposed is the Cone Drive Timkin grant.
We will be applying for a $50,000.00 grant. If successful, monies will be distributed in Sept 2026.
TCTN:
VST Trailhead update:
The committee met to discuss what concrete work was needed as to the entrance from the parking lot and around the fire pit and pavilion. A possible mixture of concrete and gravel was suggested. And flags were put down to show layout.
Iceman Course update:
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Iceman Course Update: The DNR approved two very much needed reroutes that remedy course safety issues and poor soil conditions. The reroutes will share parts of existing trails, but are protected from ORV use. These will be race routes only and will be closed after the event. The next step is mapping the entire course for the Festival Foundation event permit submission.
Greilick property:
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The County portion of the Greilick property was granted its site plan proposal. The public development of the park moves to the next step.
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The City portion of the Greilick property is still moving through the process of ownership transition. The estimate for ownership transfer from Rotary to City is still November 2025. The next meeting for the Brownbridge Advisory Group is 9/18 where discussion will continue regarding the mixed use plans.
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The city will weigh in after ownership has transferred.
Shop rides:
Ambassador Day:
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Steve and Kim held down the fort from 10am-noon. Spoke with a few folks. It seemed to get busier towards noon.
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Amy Kennedy, Rachel Decker and Tom seemed to have a bit more traffic for the 2nd shift.
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Kim observed a family of four (kids under 10 years) set out on the main VST. Later in Kim’s ride she came up on the family. One of the kids was having a blast leading his family; dad bringing up the rear. The family had a 3+ hour ride. There was zero drama from the kids, which was awesome to witness. As they were about to leave, Kim approached and told them how awesome of a job they all did. Dad said that was the second time they had done this and it will be a regular thing.
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Planning to keep this going because it is a worthwhile endeavor. Tom collected a $50 cash donation.
The question then came up as to how often we should have events like these? Quarterly? More discussion needed.
There were no reports submitted for either the Vasa Bike Park, Bike Leelanau, Hickory Hills or Cadillac Pathway.
Glacial Hills:
Ten was the magic number today. Ten volunteers, that is. Trees were cleared, invasive species were pulled and some trailbed cupping issues were fixed. It may look like these guys are just standing around, but they had to pose for the photo, ya know. Another workday in the books.
Commons:
Andrew Farron and Tim Pulliam to represent NMMBA and work on a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
LMB/MMBA:
Old Business:
Joint staff position with TART. Tim R shared a list of job descriptions and possible duties this person would/will have. The board will review and make any changes/suggestions.
TCTF:
Tim R presented a spreadsheet showing what duties would be needed and who could fill those slots.
Brian will once again handle the race awards and also assist with event parking.
Steve has volunteered for parking as well. He will only be available from 7:00 am until noon.
Two people are needed all day to direct cars into Timber Ridge.
Heath and Tom will run SAG.
Tim J will serve as course marshall.
Sweepers for all distances will be needed. There were some names of folks interested in this.
Kim and Rachel will handle the beer ticket/merch tent from 10 am until 1:30 pm.
Brian will handle beer pouring. Costs discussed were $6.00 per draft or
5 for $25.00.
Kate White will handle registration on Friday night and John and Rachel Roe will handle Saturday morning.
Chad J will handle MC/announcer duties.
Tim J, Tom and Tim R will handle course markings and pre-ride sections of the course.
Road crossings should have 2 people plus one law enforcement officer.
Board discussion/health:
Tim R reached out to Rotary Charities to engage with their Capacity Advisory Pool to initiate board interviews.
The reason is to have them gain an understanding of our current dynamics, challenges and shared goals. They are needing 3 to 5 current board members.
Kim, Tim J, Tom and Chad J have offered to help out with this.
Interviews should be completed before the November board meeting.
New business:
Iceman Expo. Steve and Kim to work on any signed attachments and liability insurance required by the Festival Foundation that is needed prior to the November 7th Expo at the Grand Traverse Resort.
Jersey store reboot:
Tim R had attached a link to Jakroo, a merchandising company to explore a possible reboot of merchandise that could be sold at the Expo.
The next board meeting will be on Wednesday, October 15th, 2025 at the Acme Twp Hall.
With that the meeting was adjourned at 8:30 pm.
Submitted by
Steve Mentzer, secretary