Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

OK race fans, the City of Grain Valley just sent out an e mail about shutting down the track that will be held at City Hall Wednesday July 31st at 6pm. Pretty nice getting a 1 day notice. There are people on this committee that have already signed a petition to close the track so where do you think this meeting is headed. The lady that is pushing the petitions got up at the city council meeting last week and said race fans were threatening people if they signed the petition. Here is a paragraph from a letter she sent the Mayor. Quote "Lastly, there have been conceerns regarding personal information, such as social security numbers and credit card information, of people who have complained about the noise levels being illegally given out by certain employees" . If you can attend this meeting, if not send the mayor an e mail about how much money you spend in Grain Valley and what you buy. There are numerous businesses that are standing up for us in this matter so make sure you support them. You can e mail the mayor at [email protected] If you send an e mail be civil and state the facts of what you spend. If you want to be like the lady pushing the petition don't do anything, don't be a jerk.

I sent an e-mail to the mayor regarding this and gave my take on it to him (as a fan from out of state, every dime I spend in his city due to the racetrack disappears completely if the track is closed down -- it's the only reason I have for going there currently).

I encouraged him to work with local businesses (including the racetrack) and come up with good hard #'s to show the petitioners as far as the economic impact the raceway has on their community, as well as what kind of tax increases would have to be implemented due to those $$"s going away.  If there's one thing everyone hates, it's the government taking more $$$ from them (via sales tax, property tax, etc., etc.).

I bet it's another case of people building next to the track and then complaining about the noise. The track was there first, live with it. I'm sick of a few people determining the future for everyone else....racing and life in general.

This one is weird...the lady heading up the complaint lives over a mile from the track and claims the race track noise is a nuisance to her.  Mind you I-70 is 1/4 mile away, there are trains running right by the track 24/7 and an airport right by the track in addition to a sand drag track right next door.  Tomorrow will be interesting, many businesses near the track support the track.  The Casey's c-store up the street stays open late on race nights and is swamped after the races.  

Good luck, Grain Valley fans. I went once for a USAC race a couple of years ago & really enjoyed it. Slight detour returning from Knoxville to Colorado, real down home American racing....

Interesting article at reddirtclay.com about the whole situation.  Track promoter was on local news tonight holding a decibel meter and his conversation with the reporter was over the city's 65 db limit.  It's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of.  When the track promoter wasn't even talking with the reporter, just the outside noises this afternoon (no race cars, no trains, no planes) was 55 db alone.  That's just everyday background noise...just like this lady's complaint should be, just background noise.

G

Good Luck tonight! Keep us updated.

So far all updates are good.  All citizens comments have been in favor of the track at this point.  You can follow the meeting on Valley Speedway's Facebook page.

Board just voted to modify the permit to accomodate a race track.  It looks like Valley Speedway is saved!

Good news.  Something that we do not get too often these days.

From the Valley Speedway FB page...

I would like to start off by thanking everyone that contacted the city of Grain Valley in support of Valley Speedway. I would also like to thank everyone that took the time to come to the meeting of the Citizens Advisory Committee July 31st.

A couple of things really impressed me and somewhat caught me off guard. One was some of the stories that fans shared of what racing means to them and their family. These letters really touched my heart and made me really think about what is really important. We are doing more than racing we are allowing people to create memories that will last a life time. The second if the extremely professional way people presented the letters to the Mayor and the way they conducted themselves at the meeting. Everyone that stood up and addressed the members of the committee were courteous, respectful, and made valid points. I couldn’t be any prouder of our fans or our teams for they way they have conducted themselves. 

The points that were brought up by the residents of Grain Valley and the businesses of Grain Valley that spoke made a huge impact. I know there were numerous people that wanted to share their thoughts but couldn’t due to the fact only Grain Valley residents and businesses were allowed to speak. Believe me your presence at the meeting screamed very loud of your support without being allowed to say a word.

I will recap what the out come of the meeting was. They voted to look at the sound ordinance that is 65db and hopefully raise it to a realistic figure to accommodate a race track. We are not asking to be any louder than we are. They also recommended that they get into the conditional use permit. Here is where the problem comes into play. Right now there is nothing in the special use permit that we can not meet other than the reference to the sound ordinance. 

If they get into the special use permit they can do anything they chose to do. Such as mandate days of operation, times of operation, make us come to the board every year for an extension and numerous other things. If they get into the permit and make it so restrictive that the facility can not function it has the same effect as shutting down the track. The track has operated with this permit for 10 years and the only problem has been the sound ordinance it references.

I am not saying this is what they are trying to do. I truly believe every one would like to make everyone happy. I am talking to my council and will work with the city to try and see what we can accomplish. I saw the committee have a willingness to try to come up with something that will work but I can’t agree to something that I know is doomed for the future of the track.

Dennis Shrout