Panel told snowmobiles rev economy

GREENVILLE – A commission studying the equity in the distribution of gas tax revenues was urged Monday not to pit the improvement of Maine’s roadways against recreational improvements.

Only a few people attended an afternoon hearing conducted at Greenville High School by the Commission to Study Equity in the Distribution of Gas Tax Revenues Attributable to Snowmobiles, All-Terrain Vehicles and Watercraft. A second hearing in the evening had more participation.

At the Monday afternoon hearing, Greenville Town Manager John Simko said that the Moosehead Lake region depends upon snowmobiling to help the region’s economy during winter months. But, he said, the area also has to have good roads for visitors to travel to and from the region.

The 15-member commission appointed by the Legislature has been holding hearings across the state to hear public comment on how the revenues should be used.

The commission’s job is to determine the percentage of gasoline taxes paid on gasoline for snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles and motorboats in the state and to ensure that those taxes are used to benefit the appropriate consumers.

According to figures supplied Monday by Bill Cost, a representative of the Kennebec Scenic Snowmobile Riders at The Forks, snowmobiling in Maine has grown considerably.

In 1995, the industry generated $226 million in the state compared to a projected $300 million this season. That $300 million will bring in $18 million in sales tax, which does not include other taxes generated by the industry, he said.

While Simko and Kate Dufour of the Maine Municipal Association cautioned the commission not to strip funds from highway improvements, others favored the diversion of more tax revenue to the snowmobile industry.

Cost, who with his wife Cori, owns The Inn by the River at The Forks, explained the impact snowmobiling has had on his small community. He said 10 years ago, there may have been 20 to 30 snowmobiles lined up in front of Berry’s Store on Route 201 in The Forks. Last winter, there were 600 to 700, he said.

To accommodate those snowmobilers, Cost said the local snowmobile club’s operational budget has increased from $25,000 in 1997 to $54,746 this year. Of this year’s cost, $27,300 will be paid through a state grant and the remainder from the community. Because the local match has increased over the years, Cost said it has become very difficult to raise the funds.

“The pockets are not limitless; we’re at the point of saturation right now, ” he said.

Both Simko and Cost also spoke about the volunteer effort provided to the snowmobile industry. Cost, a volunteer trail groomer, said he was not “whining” about the workload; rather, he just wanted more funds provided to the industry to help support it.

Cost also spoke about needed and costly bridge improvements for safety, and the need for wider and straighter trails to accommodate today’s sophisticated machines.

Simko said that in his community, the Moosehead Riders Snowmobile Club and the trail committee has managed to raise the local amount in the past without tapping into property taxes.

“Somehow they eke out the difference,” he said. “That local dollar is being stretched as far as it can.” Simko also noted that the list of volunteers is growing smaller because many now work two jobs or work longer hours in their jobs to make ends meet.

While Simko recognized the need for more funds to help the snowmobile industry and to make trail grooming a paid position, he said he didn’t want it to come at the expense of the roads.

The commission is comprised of five members of the Senate, five members of the House of Representatives, and designees from the Department of Conservation, Marine Resources, Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, Transportation and the Bureau of Revenue Services within the Department of Administrative and Financial Services.

It must report its findings and any recommendations to the first regular session of the 120th Legislature.