By Michael Howell
The Ravalli County Fair Board sponsored a meeting last week at the First Interstate Bank Event Center to present their plan for developing a motor sports area, including a racetrack, on the north end of the fairgrounds property. Most of the fairgrounds is within the Hamilton city limits, but the 20 acres under consideration on the north end of the fairgrounds are outside the city limits and in the county’s jurisdiction. The county commissioners, who will make the final decision about any development at the fairgrounds, were invited and at least three were in attendance.
Ran Pigman, Chairman of the Building and Grounds Committee, told the crowd that the Fair Board had been looking at developing the acreage at the north end of the property for about four and half years. Pigman said three years ago the Board developed a Grand Plan for the entire fairgrounds and “one of the uses for that area that came to the top as most supported and the best opportunity to generate revenue for the fairgrounds was a Motor Sports Area.” He presented a colored map of the fairgrounds with a green border around the area controlled by the Building and Grounds Committee and a yellow border around the equestrian area that was under the guidance of the Rodeo Committee and said the pink colored area would be the responsibility of a Motor Sports Committee that would be selected.
According to Pigman, a big part of any use of the north property would have to be parking. He said the Fairgrounds needed 50% more parking than it currently has. He said the plan also included a quarter mile clay based dirt track that would be suitable for sanctioned stock car racing, among other activities. He described a two-phase plan of installment that would begin with all the dirt work on the ground, including the construction of a dirt berm that would eventually have trees planted on it. The berm itself would be 6 to 8 feet high and separate the racetrack area from the neighboring Stonegate, Arbors and other residential subdivisions.
Pigman said the track might operate for a season or two with some temporary features, but eventually stands and bathrooms would be added in a second phase. He said the Fairgrounds had hosted demolition derbies and other motor events in the past “and never got a negative call to the Fairgrounds about those events.”
He said the regulations at the track would require mufflers that limit the sound from the motor to 95 decibels at 100 feet. He said at Stonegate it would be about 75 decibels and characterized it as the sound of a dishwasher when you are standing in the room with it. He said in Arbors it would be the equivalent of a hair drier. He said from there the highway noise, about 70 decibels, would be greater than the noise from the Fairgrounds.
Pigman also mentioned that no tax money would be spent on the development. It would be financed by private funds, donations and volunteers.
Many racers and racing enthusiasts spoke in favor of the development. Some emphasized the revenue that would be brought into the community and kept in the community by local racing families that now go elsewhere for events.
Another common theme heard from supporters was the value of the activity for youth. Jason Basnaw, head of the narcotics unit at the Sheriff’s Office, said, “I get to deal with lots of kids who have nothing to do… If they have a place to go to work on bikes, develop some good habits, we’re doing the community a big service.”
Although the meeting sponsors claimed that homeowners in the neighboring subdivision had all been mailed individual invitations to the presentation, at least two who did show up said it was difficult to attend with only two days notice or less.
The most common concerns from neighboring residents were about the potential noise level and the potentially negative effect on property values. One Stonegate resident said that a normal conversation was generally at a 55 decibel level. He said a 75 decibel level from the fairgrounds would leave him having to shout in his backyard to be heard. He said he could already hear all the fairgrounds activity inside his home and invited the county commissioners to come check it out.
Fair Board member Jeff Carter said that it was a dream for him to see a motor sports area go in.
“We understand where this is going,” he said, “and we want to be proactive in the capture, conversion and absorption of sound.” He said all races would end by 11 p.m.
Another neighboring homeowner said that nobody was against racing or bringing money into the valley, but he noted the lack of any real study or numbers on the noise issue.
One Stonegate resident said that she had no objection to a track. She said that she didn’t mind the noise. She said she heard it from every activity at the fairgrounds.
“You just have to tune it out,” she said.
A meeting to take public comment on the issue has been scheduled by the County Commissioners for Wednesday, October 21 at 10 a.m. at the County Administration Building, and a second meeting is scheduled there on Oct. 28 at 3 p.m. A third meeting will be held on November 9 at 7 p.m. at the fairgrounds’ First Interstate Bank Event Center.
The Hamilton City Council discussed the issue at its most recent Committee of the Whole meeting after hearing a report about the recent Fairgrounds meeting from a Stonegate resident who attended it.
Council President Jenny West said that she had asked the Fair Board and the motocross association to send a representative to talk about the proposal but apparently no one could make it.
A Stonegate resident said that the crowd at the Fairgrounds was “hostile” and many carried weapons. She said that she was told to shut up after she spoke at the meeting and that another man was threatened in the parking lot.
“We were very intimidated,” she said. She said that the proposed racetrack adjoins the most populated area of Hamilton. She urged the city to get involved and find out what it might mean in terms of city services such as public safety, fire, and emergencies. She asked them to get more information about how it was going to affect city residents.
Councilor Joe Petrusaitis said the best place for a race car track is the old Stoltz Lumber mill site near Darby. He also wondered if the motor sports area being planned would involve using city water and sewer.
It was agreed that the city would send a letter expressing its concerns and asking for more information.