Two Spokane County commissioners said Thursday they lean in favor of making a bid on the raceway next week at a public auction.
Todd Mielke and Mark Richard say buying the track would save a raceway used by thousands of racing fans and could generate millions of dollars in the local economy.
"Leadership in Spokane County needs to be visionary, and they need to think 20 to 40 years out," Mielke said.
The 580-acre complex, which borders Northern Quest Casino, will be auctioned Thursday at the DoubleTree Hotel Spokane-City Center.
The property, which has been divided into 13 parcels, will be sold to pay off investors who put up $2.5 million to build in the early 1970s. A Superior Court judge ruled that Spokane Raceway Park operator Orville Moe improperly failed to pay dividends.
The raceway includes an oval track, a drag strip and a 2.5-mile road course.
County Commissioner Bonnie Mager questions whether the county should spend millions on the property while also paying millions on a new sewer treatment plant, and when the county likely will ask for new taxes for a jail expansion.
Mager also points to an initial environmental study that indicates lead contamination on the property and other environmental issues. A larger assessment that would calculate cleanup costs can't be done in time for the auction.
Mager said she has been impressed by the outpouring of support shown by the racing community, but not enough to risk tax money.
"If I was a fairy godmother and not a county commissioner I would grant them their wish," she said.
Mielke argues that the environmental cleanup is likely to be minor compared to other projects, such as what was done in the 1970s to create Riverfront Park.
Next week commissioners will decide if they make a bid. That decision will be made in public, but officials say they will meet behind closed doors to determine how high they are willing to go.
Mielke said he heard all of the acreage could be worth from $5 million to more than $20 million.
County leaders have expressed interest in the 200-acre site, which includes the raceway and a few other parcels, as a place to put a law enforcement training center or possibly soccer and baseball fields.
A county study on the property showed that the raceway likely could cover its operational costs. However, commissioners say taxpayers likely would have to help buy the land. Richard said that could cost $350,000 to $500,000 a year, depending on the final bid.
Mielke noted that most public parks and recreational structures, like the Spokane Arena, depend on tax subsidies.
"We provide a lot of recreational opportunities throughout Spokane County for a lot of groups," he said.
Mead resident and racing enthusiast Ray Young said the raceway gives local kids a positive activity.
"You go out there on a Friday night, there are just hundreds of kids out there," he said. "They're (racing) out at the drag strip and they're not doing it on the street."
The county study on the raceway says the property is in poor condition. "It is obvious that little money has been invested and no real maintenance has been performed in years," the report said.
But the report also said that despite the track's problems, it has a large, loyal following that could be the basis to make improvements. It says the land could be a "diamond in the rough."
"We spoke with motorcycle racers, club road racers and fans, and they all brushed aside the shortcomings of the facility and spoke highly of their race experience at SRP," the report said.
Last month, more than 500 people filled a meeting about the raceway at the Spokane County Fairgrounds. Almost all those who testified supported a county takeover.
To see more of The Spokesman-Review, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.spokesmanreview.com. Copyright (c) 2008, The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
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