The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

WAITSBURG – With more than 50 people in attendance, the Waitsburg City Council voted unanimously – though not necessarily enthusiastically – to dismiss Brandon Kelly’s proposal to develop a race track at the seldom-used city fairgrounds.

At their Dec. 16 meeting, the council – minus K.C. Kuykendall, who was absent – spoke in favor of Kelly leasing the fairgrounds to operate monthly car races from May through September, but decided to hold a public forum on the proposal before taking a vote.

However, comments from the community at the well-attended Jan. 6 forum were nearly all negative, as residents raised concerns about noise, dust, the character of racers, fire hazards, and other issues. It was standing-room-only at the follow-up January 20 council meeting.

Mayor Walt Gobel opened the agenda item by telling the crowd that the city had received two dozen letters and many more emails and was aware of their concerns. In the interest of time, if you’ve already sent us your complaints, please don’t repeat them here, he asked of attendees.

Kelly turned the discussion over to Steve Beitler, of Burlington, Wash., who addressed previously placed questions. Beitler said he has raced professionally for over 20 years and owns and operates Skagit Speedway. He said he is the promoter for Grays Harbor Raceway and holds a contract to promote and manage racing events at the Central Washington State Fairgrounds.

Beitler said he was not affiliated with Kelly and didn’t know him prior to learning about the proposed raceway. He said he contacted Kelly and grilled him over the phone before offering his assistance.

“Did he have all the answers? Absolutely not. But he did surprise me because he had a lot of answers and he’d done his homework,” Beitler said.

Beitler said that, according to what he’d read in the newspaper, citizens had some valid concerns but that they were all issues that could be worked out or rectified. Beitler spoke for 20 minutes, reading through The Times’ Jan. 14 article on the public forum, and addressing each individual concern.

Councilor Marty Dunn asked if the track might have a negative impact on property values and Beitler said that the commerce income would be more likely to increase property values. He gave examples of tracks in Kansas City, Kansas and Concord, North Carolina where businesses quickly grew up to surround the raceways.

Student representative Stuart Walsh was concerned that the track could have an adverse affect on the sheep pastured nearby and on the FFA pigs housed on the east side of the fairgrounds. Beitler said there were several things that could be done to help buffer the sound.

Beitler spent another 20 minutes fielding questions from the crowd; some new, and many that had been addressed previously.

“I’ve read all of these letters. I’ve gotten 10,000 emails,” said Councilor Karl Newell. “Come up with a use for the fairgrounds. I’m not saying I’m for or against racing at this time. I’m saying it’s your fairgrounds – come up with a use for it.”

Mayor Gobel said he felt the discussion was good in that it got the community involved, which was a departure from most council meetings which are typically attended by only one resident.

“We’ve heard all the comments about why we shouldn’t have stock car racing,” Gobel said. “I’ve read email upon email upon email and letters stating there are better uses for the fairgrounds. You know what disappoints me as your mayor? What are those better uses? Nobody’s come forward to help us with that situation or to get involved to help. I wish we had that same enthusiasm that I see here.”

The room erupted with comments from residents offering to get involved.

Most of the council members said they didn’t feel they had enough information to make a decision until they saw a finished comprehensive plan from Kelly.

Councilor Callahan, who had previously expressed strong support for the proposal and said she and her husband had researched the same idea years ago and that it was something the town needs, changed her position.

“One of my pet peeves is politicians who do not listen to their constituents and I think our constituents have spoken loudly. With that said, I agree that we have to have a way to keep the fairgrounds from deteriorating into dust,” she said.

Councilor Kuykendall said he’d never seen an issue raise more negative outcry from the community. We’ve received unanimous ‘no’ votes from the citizens and I’ve not heard any citizen – though they may be out there – say they want a stock car track here. And I’ve got two dozen letters from folks who are adamantly opposed to it, he said.

“For me, that’s enough to decide that the citizens feel that this is an incompatible use for the fairgrounds. I would also say that we desperately need the citizens to be as passionately engaged in helping define the future of the fairgrounds because we do need commercial enterprise and a community asset here,” Kuykendall said.

Mayor Gobel suggested taking the proposal to a vote of the citizens. Councilor Kuykendall responded that a vote was an expensive waste of time to get an answer they already know. Hinchliffe said there would be no cost to include the raceway proposal on the April ballot.

Councilor Kuykendall moved to disapprove the racetrack proposal, Councilor Callahan seconded, and the rest of the council voted to dismiss as well.