Grand Mesa Nordic Council
Board Meeting
March 12, 2025
Zoom
Board members present: Tom Ela, Dan Tille, Christine Noel, Susie Attaway, Marguerite Tuthill, John Traylor, Nike VanArsdale, and Ben Graves
Staff present: Christie Aschwanden, Hailey Coughlin, Tigran Bailey, and Beth Klein
Guests: Marilyn Kastens, Barb Rankin and John Rankin
Dan Tille called the meeting to order at 6:02pm and read the GMNC mission statement.
- 30 min Public Comment Period. John has questions on the building fund in the February meeting packet. Christie clarified those dollars were to reimburse for Christie’s time fundraising for the building. Christine clarified the dollars came from interest earnings on the building fund investments. Barb asked how much it costs to store the snowcat in Grand Junction in the summer. Dan replied it is around $1,800. The new snowcat pad will be a great savings because GMNC may be able to store the snowcat there over future summers. It would also help decrease the damage caused by storing out in the sun.
- Minutes. John moved and Tom seconded to approve the February minutes as presented. Motion passed unanimously.
- Monthly Financials. Christine provided the monthly financials report that was included in the Board packet. Christine shared revenues dipped in February due to several factors, including:
- Event timing, for example the Frilufsliv Festival was held in February last year, and in March this year.
- Investment income timing, for example, some Treasury Bills are maturing in March this year.
- The weather in the Valley has been generally nice, so less people are up on the Mesa.
However, year-to-date revenues are still ahead of last year’s year-to-date by nearly 16%. Expenses are still tracking well, and GMNC still expects to end the fiscal year in April with numbers close to what was budgeted. The Q12025 Investment Report will be available at the April meeting.
- Executive Director Update. Christie provided her written report in the Board packet. She reviewed highlights of the following:
Memberships – Memberships continue to come in strong and GMNC is in a good financial position. GMNC received money from 1,069 donors so far this season, compared to 987 at this time last year. GMNC has taken in almost $215K in memberships/donations so far this season.
Operations – GMNC finally has some fresh snow and the skiing has been great. The incident on Feb 23/24 (middle of the night) was successfully handled by the Ops crew.
Events and Ski School – Hailey is opting not to return next season, and her last day will be sometime the week of March 17. This is an amicable parting. Christie shared her thanks for Hailey’s good work this season. GMNC had a great day at the Friluftsliv, with beautiful weather and a good turnout.
USFS – The local USFS office has lost 10 employees in the DOGE firings. The status of remaining staff remains unclear. Christie shared she is working with Tim Wise on a plan for keeping the toilets stocked and accessible, in the event a government shutdown happens.
- Operations Update. Tigran provided an update on grooming operations. He shared he continues to work on training team. The snow for March has helped to bring the ski area back into normal conditions for the season. He is looking forward to seeing more snow for the month keeping surface at ski areas optimal.
- Skyway Station Update. Dan provided an update on the pre-construction work. He shared the USFS will be posting the 30-day public comment period soon. The posting will go on the USFS website. Dan said he would share the link with the Board.
The Board moved into executive session at 7:17pm. The Board will next meet on April 22nd via Zoom.
Respectfully submitted,
Marguerite Tuthill
Secretary