Post by bobjustbob on Dec 26, 2006 22:28:14 GMT -8
In the minutes of the November 7th meeting of the Truckee-Carson Irrigation District (TCID) Board of Directors, it states; “President Ernie Schank informed the Board that the Lions Club lease rate was $1,000 per year last year and asked the Board their thoughts on re-leasing the parcel. The Board suggested that the land be advertised for lease to the public giving others a chance to lease the land. A motion was made by Director Richard Harriman to postpone re-leasing the land to the Lions Club and advertise the land giving others the opportunity to present a proposal for the lease, not sale, of the land commencing January 1, 2007 seconded by Ray Peterson unanimously approved."
If we give Ty and Steve the benefit of the doubt, it could be said that they think they are only trying to come to the rescue of the Fernley track. Their grandiose plan for a big-time motocross facility, with a lot of races and many practice days, sounds very interesting and exciting. Many people support their project, especially when they claim that the Lions club is out and they are in..."done deal".
The truth is that the renewal of the lease of the property to the Lions club was "postponed". Their enthusiasm was understandably met with resistance by the Lions club, the Nevada Old Timers and the Reno Over the Hill Gang. These clubs have been holding race events here for almost 30 years and we have developed the motocross track the best we could when you consider the limitations of a 1 year lease. We are not willing to simply step aside. How could they think they would be met without opposition?
A major concern that TCID has is the liability they may be exposed to during the week when there is no race at the track. Many people, not just racers, go to the track to practice and play ride. TCID wants the area (38 acres) fenced to prevent people from riding at any time except during a race weekend. This works for Ty and Steve's project because they plan to charge riders to practice when they hold their practice days. One problem....the fence that TCID wants (8' high chain link with razor wire on the top) has been estimated to cost $100,000 according to one TCID Board member. TCID is considering that they may put the fence up and they would adjust the lease payment to cover the cost.
Limited racing at the Fernley track has worked because the Lions club is a small club, like the Old Timers and Gang, and they would have trouble getting their members to work at many more race events at this track. The Old Timers and the Gang have been working with the newly formed SMRA to get more tracks in the area. Hawthorne and Winnemucca are progressing at each of their races. And they are open to other tracks developing at other locations. There are also concerns of the impact that a large scale motocross facility would have at this location. There have been noise complaints filed against the Fernley track, but the noise issue is tolerated by the neighbors because of the limited number of race dates in Fernley.
There is a suggestion to move to a track on a piece of property 30 miles east, in Fallon, but that leaves the Fernley/Wadsworth Lions club out. The long term relationship that the Nevada Old Timers and the Fernley/Wadsworth Lions club have developed over the last 30 years is irreplaceable. If the current 38 acres had been lost to a subdivision and the neighboring BOR ground was available, it would have been a seamless transition. But, if a promoter is awarded the lease for this property, it doesn't make a lot of sense for the new Lions club track to be set up next door. Another, similar and nearby location is what is needed for the Lions club to continue their involvement with the Nevada rider base as they have done for so many years. It is sad that anyone would dismiss the good that the Lions club has been done and suggest “the Club would then have to look into the methods that are working for the 17,000 other Lion's Clubs that are currently operating without revenue from a motocross track” to raise the money for their charitable donations. In the last 30 years, without the Lions club, the Old Timers and the Gang, the racing in Nevada would have been very limited. The only other long term track in Northern Nevada was in Carson City.
The proposed motocross facility is destined to come to an end when the housing boom takes off again and building starts in that area. The new neighbors will be even less receptive to MX races at this location. There are many acres and similar locations in Nevada that would better suit a venture of this magnitude. But, by pursuing our Fernley track, a track that has the biggest rider turnout, they will achieve 2 things. They will take over an established track, recognized as the best in Northern Nevada, and they will eliminate their biggest competition in the clubs.
If they had been able to get this all done and a lease with TCID signed before anybody realized what was going on, it may have worked. But, now they appear to have been caught with their hand in the cookie jar. It doesn't look good for them to be throwing the Lions club, a non-profit charitable organization, off of their biggest income producing venue. They will tell you that they have always wanted to work with the Lions club, the OTMX and the Gang. In fact, they went to a Gang meeting on December 5th, Ty talked to two Lions club members on the evening of December 6th, and Steve came to Judy’s and my house to talk about their plans before the December 7th TCID Board of Directors meeting. They have never been to a Lions club meeting and they have never been to an Old Timer meeting.
Since this story broke (it has been in 4 newspaper articles) there are now 4 known bidders for the property. We understand that somebody from Marysville (?) and somebody from Susanville (?) have shown interest. They have made considerably higher offers than Steve and Ty. The price may now be too high for the Lions club to compete on a monetary basis. TCID is scheduled to vote to advertise the property for lease at a special meeting that they will hold on December 27th. With a higher lease cost, one thing that will probably happen is that the riders will have to pay more to practice and race. And spectators will probably have to pay more to watch the races.
If another promoter wins the lease there may not be any racing at the Fernley track for many months, maybe a year or more. A new promoter will have to get a business license and rezone the property to "commercial". There will be some permits required as well. The City of Fernley is known for being very slow to approve these requirements. Until everything is done, there may be no racing at the track. The Lions club could continue to have races with the Old Timers and the Gang as they are "grandfathered" in to doing so.
If TCID decides to award the lease of the property to someone other than the Fernley/Wadsworth Lions club, I think it will go to the highest bidder, period. They have said many times that it is their responsibility to get the highest dollar amount for the farmers in the district that they represent. If the lease is expensive, the promoter will have to have many races and many practices to meet those payments. Mustang did this last year, but they have been unsuccessful in retaining the track for 2007.
Another problem with the NMX5 (Ty and Steve) proposal is that it has all the racing at the same track. One of the premises that the Old Timers have been pursuing for many years is the development of more and varied tracks at new and different locations. The Old Timers have proven that we will honor another tracks race schedule. We have not scheduled a race on another Nevada tracks date. I agree that we have to coexist and a big step would be to work on scheduling the race dates for everybody so there was only one race on a given weekend. Can you say that will be the case in the future, or will the "more important" promoter dates have priority over the tracks in the outlying Nevada towns?
I wish the promoters would back off on the lease of this property. If they insist on developing a premier MX race facility, maybe they should consider a different location. After all, their days would be numbered from the beginning, at this location.
The riders are not really interested in any of this. They just "wanna ride". I don't blame them. The "Good Old Days" were a lot simpler....at least as far as I knew.
Bob Fabel and Judy Aja
P.S. A "done deal" is not a deal until it's "done". That's another way to say "It ain't over 'til it's over."
If we give Ty and Steve the benefit of the doubt, it could be said that they think they are only trying to come to the rescue of the Fernley track. Their grandiose plan for a big-time motocross facility, with a lot of races and many practice days, sounds very interesting and exciting. Many people support their project, especially when they claim that the Lions club is out and they are in..."done deal".
The truth is that the renewal of the lease of the property to the Lions club was "postponed". Their enthusiasm was understandably met with resistance by the Lions club, the Nevada Old Timers and the Reno Over the Hill Gang. These clubs have been holding race events here for almost 30 years and we have developed the motocross track the best we could when you consider the limitations of a 1 year lease. We are not willing to simply step aside. How could they think they would be met without opposition?
A major concern that TCID has is the liability they may be exposed to during the week when there is no race at the track. Many people, not just racers, go to the track to practice and play ride. TCID wants the area (38 acres) fenced to prevent people from riding at any time except during a race weekend. This works for Ty and Steve's project because they plan to charge riders to practice when they hold their practice days. One problem....the fence that TCID wants (8' high chain link with razor wire on the top) has been estimated to cost $100,000 according to one TCID Board member. TCID is considering that they may put the fence up and they would adjust the lease payment to cover the cost.
Limited racing at the Fernley track has worked because the Lions club is a small club, like the Old Timers and Gang, and they would have trouble getting their members to work at many more race events at this track. The Old Timers and the Gang have been working with the newly formed SMRA to get more tracks in the area. Hawthorne and Winnemucca are progressing at each of their races. And they are open to other tracks developing at other locations. There are also concerns of the impact that a large scale motocross facility would have at this location. There have been noise complaints filed against the Fernley track, but the noise issue is tolerated by the neighbors because of the limited number of race dates in Fernley.
There is a suggestion to move to a track on a piece of property 30 miles east, in Fallon, but that leaves the Fernley/Wadsworth Lions club out. The long term relationship that the Nevada Old Timers and the Fernley/Wadsworth Lions club have developed over the last 30 years is irreplaceable. If the current 38 acres had been lost to a subdivision and the neighboring BOR ground was available, it would have been a seamless transition. But, if a promoter is awarded the lease for this property, it doesn't make a lot of sense for the new Lions club track to be set up next door. Another, similar and nearby location is what is needed for the Lions club to continue their involvement with the Nevada rider base as they have done for so many years. It is sad that anyone would dismiss the good that the Lions club has been done and suggest “the Club would then have to look into the methods that are working for the 17,000 other Lion's Clubs that are currently operating without revenue from a motocross track” to raise the money for their charitable donations. In the last 30 years, without the Lions club, the Old Timers and the Gang, the racing in Nevada would have been very limited. The only other long term track in Northern Nevada was in Carson City.
The proposed motocross facility is destined to come to an end when the housing boom takes off again and building starts in that area. The new neighbors will be even less receptive to MX races at this location. There are many acres and similar locations in Nevada that would better suit a venture of this magnitude. But, by pursuing our Fernley track, a track that has the biggest rider turnout, they will achieve 2 things. They will take over an established track, recognized as the best in Northern Nevada, and they will eliminate their biggest competition in the clubs.
If they had been able to get this all done and a lease with TCID signed before anybody realized what was going on, it may have worked. But, now they appear to have been caught with their hand in the cookie jar. It doesn't look good for them to be throwing the Lions club, a non-profit charitable organization, off of their biggest income producing venue. They will tell you that they have always wanted to work with the Lions club, the OTMX and the Gang. In fact, they went to a Gang meeting on December 5th, Ty talked to two Lions club members on the evening of December 6th, and Steve came to Judy’s and my house to talk about their plans before the December 7th TCID Board of Directors meeting. They have never been to a Lions club meeting and they have never been to an Old Timer meeting.
Since this story broke (it has been in 4 newspaper articles) there are now 4 known bidders for the property. We understand that somebody from Marysville (?) and somebody from Susanville (?) have shown interest. They have made considerably higher offers than Steve and Ty. The price may now be too high for the Lions club to compete on a monetary basis. TCID is scheduled to vote to advertise the property for lease at a special meeting that they will hold on December 27th. With a higher lease cost, one thing that will probably happen is that the riders will have to pay more to practice and race. And spectators will probably have to pay more to watch the races.
If another promoter wins the lease there may not be any racing at the Fernley track for many months, maybe a year or more. A new promoter will have to get a business license and rezone the property to "commercial". There will be some permits required as well. The City of Fernley is known for being very slow to approve these requirements. Until everything is done, there may be no racing at the track. The Lions club could continue to have races with the Old Timers and the Gang as they are "grandfathered" in to doing so.
If TCID decides to award the lease of the property to someone other than the Fernley/Wadsworth Lions club, I think it will go to the highest bidder, period. They have said many times that it is their responsibility to get the highest dollar amount for the farmers in the district that they represent. If the lease is expensive, the promoter will have to have many races and many practices to meet those payments. Mustang did this last year, but they have been unsuccessful in retaining the track for 2007.
Another problem with the NMX5 (Ty and Steve) proposal is that it has all the racing at the same track. One of the premises that the Old Timers have been pursuing for many years is the development of more and varied tracks at new and different locations. The Old Timers have proven that we will honor another tracks race schedule. We have not scheduled a race on another Nevada tracks date. I agree that we have to coexist and a big step would be to work on scheduling the race dates for everybody so there was only one race on a given weekend. Can you say that will be the case in the future, or will the "more important" promoter dates have priority over the tracks in the outlying Nevada towns?
I wish the promoters would back off on the lease of this property. If they insist on developing a premier MX race facility, maybe they should consider a different location. After all, their days would be numbered from the beginning, at this location.
The riders are not really interested in any of this. They just "wanna ride". I don't blame them. The "Good Old Days" were a lot simpler....at least as far as I knew.
Bob Fabel and Judy Aja
P.S. A "done deal" is not a deal until it's "done". That's another way to say "It ain't over 'til it's over."
