By Michael Howell
At a meeting before the Board of County Commissioners last week, Ravalli County Fairgrounds Manager Deborah Rogala gave a quick summation of the plans for establishing a Motor Sports area at the north end of the Fairgrounds. Unlike the rest of the Fairgrounds, which is located within the city limits of Hamilton, the twenty acres at the north end is in the county and the commissioners will make the final decision about how it will be developed. The vacant land has historically been used for parking and camping during the Fair.
While a good chunk of the land would be dedicated to parking and camping, the plan for the rest would include an oval track for hosting stock car races, motorcycle races, demolition shows, swap meets, 4-H shows and other activities. Rogala said that all events would end by 10:30 p.m. She said that the motor sports group that is interested in funding the development was thinking of hosting eight to 12 stock car races during the racing season. They would be held on the weekend and the user fees would go to the Fairgrounds. She said up-to-date sound mitigation was being investigated and that the plan called for alcohol to be allowed at the events.
But the plan at this point is short on details and with no concrete plan really in place, she said, the Fair Board was simply looking to see if it is an acceptable use. The next step would be for the interested motor sports group to provide a professional plan for the area. She noted that the commissioners had expressed the need for an independent investigation into the impacts of the proposal.
While the first meeting at the Fairgrounds concerning the proposal was dominated by comments from motor sports enthusiasts, plenty of residents from the area near the Fairgrounds showed up at this meeting to express their concerns.
One resident of the Stonegate subdivision said that he had contacted about 140 households in the area and of those contacted 81% were against the proposal. He said 13% said they needed more information and only 6% said they were in favor of it. He also said that of the 81% who said they were against it, 91% said they would be willing to sign a petition against it.
The primary concern without doubt was the question of noise and the right of homeowners to enjoy the peaceful use of their property. Concerns were expressed about decreased property values, dust, potential pollution from petroleum products, and one disabled veteran expressed concern about the effect on her and other veterans in the area who suffer from PTSD.
Others supported the idea and spoke about the jobs and the revenue that would be generated, not only for the Fairgrounds, but for the whole community. They called it a family friendly sport for people of all ages that would give a lot of kids something to do that would keep them out of trouble. They argued that all the concerns about noise could be mitigated.
Rogala called it “a difficult conversation to have, with a lot of passion on both sides.” She said the Fairgrounds “is looking to enter the conversation because people came to us and asked us to consider it.”
Commissioner Greg Chilcott said that the county doesn’t want to be a bad neighbor and more study was definitely needed of the potential impacts, especially the noise.
Commissioner J.R. Iman said that a motor sports track proposed near Stevensville was soundly defeated based on concerns of residents in that area. He said the county needed to look at longterm impacts and that the idea needed a thorough vetting. He said they had received negative comments from city officials and there were questions about sanitation that needed to be addressed. He said the time to figure all this out is before the lawsuits and that some costly studies would be required. He said the county would not be paying for those studies.
Commission Chair Jeff Burrows said that what had been presented was a very rough draft and he needed to see a hard plan.
“We need a real proposal,” he said. He said only then could the county begin to address the many concerns being raised.