KCIR again in danger of being closed!

[SmallHurst]

Kansas City International Raceway is again in danger of having the plug pulled on them.

Houses have been built up around the track since the track was brought into existence in 1967. Now, the track is in danger again. Kansas City Parks and Rec is proposing to buy the property and make it into a park! Anyone who has been to this track understands how silly making this area into a city park. I will be posting about how we can try to keep another track from going by the wayside!

[ORIGLS6]

Get after 'em Rusty. Too many tracks going away in the name of &quot;progress&quot;. [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/thumbsdown.gif[/img]

[SmallHurst]

Reading up on this, sounds like the city has a public hearing at 3PM today. They have given the track way more problems than what they deserve. The ownership of the track was to work with the city. The city was to help find a suitable replacement area, but no help from them. Forcing the ownership to a reduced price for the land under threat of upcoming fines!!!! U.S Senator owns 27 acres close by, but cannot do anything profitable with it due to the track!!!!

[SmallHurst]

As posted on Yellow Bullet..... not kid safe!!!

http://www.yellowbullet.com/forum/sh...d.php?t=425039

[69Tom]

Per this case, they can not order them to sell the land at a reduced price. Here's the easy breakdown of it. I'll spare you the long case right now. Essentially a court will have to determine damages.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spur_Industries_v._Del_E._Webb_Development_Co.

<span style="font-style: italic">Citing the &quot;coming to a nuisance&quot; doctrine, which prohibits equitable relief for a homeowner who purchases a home within the reach of the nuisance, the court said that Webb must indemnify Spur for his losses as a result of a move or shutdown of his enterprise. The court reasoned that, whereas the &quot;coming to a nuisance&quot; doctrine usually bars relief, there was a public interest at play here, and Webb's choice to come to the nuisance could not preclude the public from being protected from the nuisance. Thus, the case was remanded for determination what the damages should be.</span>

[SmallHurst]

Already done.... KCIR is dead!!

http://cityclerk.kcmo.org/liveweb/Docume...Ro6NR8v7dnkobkR

Rammed through with no chance for the racer.

I understand that the owners can do what they want, but when the city is against you, its an uphill battle. Upset does not begin to describe the feelings I have currently. Looks like I will be pulling my money from Commerce Bank!!!! Thank you to the Kempers and Claire McKaskil.....

[Salvatore]

WOW, what a shame. NO reason for it. We hear bits and pieces but not lately about Maple Grove Raceway also. There are plenty of room for parks and recreation. Why does it have to be there? Doesn't that strip have alot of history with the Gibb/Harrell gang? How far was that from Dick's Shop?

[SmallHurst]

The track has been in that location for 44 years. When it was built, it was far enough away from everyone that it was not a problem. It was built in a flood plane and not going to hurt anyone. In 44 years, the city grew up around the track. Old school track that had seen the big names come and visit.

As for the proximity to Harrell's shop, roughly 8 miles away!!!

[SmallHurst]

It appears the track is not dead yet......

I need to find the link for the petition for everyone here, but over 5000 signatures have been placed on this. A great deal has been uncovered about the with holding of information to the city council.

I have just shared a link on FB for save KCIR. Google KCIR and lend a hand.... We do not need this track to soft into that goodnight!

[Chevy454]

I'm not sure how many are reading the comments on the KC Star site, but one article has already been taken down, so in case this one bites the dust I thought I'd post some comments by someone who seems to have some insight into some of the backstory...

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Posted in Multiple Parts:

Quoted by JohnnyBravo on purposebuilt.org

Let me start out by saying that the &quot;sale&quot; of the track is not a decision that the owners want to make. They are not sell-outs, nor are they willingly abandoning the racing community. They are as deeply tied to racing, if not more, than anyone here.

In a nutshell, this was a political move. It may be one person, it may be a combination of people, but there are only 3 major players who have the kind of clout around KC to force the sale of the track.

1. Claire McCaskill. She owns approximately 27 acres (I believe) in the immediate vicinity of the track. My understanding is that she has been unable to market or sell her property for a significant profit because of the proximity of her property to the race track. That might make a good motive to lean on the city to force the track out of operation. And you can't forget councilwoman Circo...who also happens to be a fundraiser for Claire McCaskill. Interesting how that works out, isn't it?

2. Christine Kemper. She owns one of the houses on the hill on the other side of Noland Road, across from the track. The bulk of the track's problems started immediately upon her taking possession of that home. Many of you will recall the huge debacle involving the storage shed that Kemper and Porrevecchio tried to use as leverage to shut down the track. Huge hearing before the BZA. City Hall was packed. While she was successful in costing the track a lot of money in unnecessary &quot;improvements&quot; and attorneys' fees and ultimately restricting the days and hours of the track's operation, she could not shut the track down. But don't for a second think she has let it go.

3. Ms. Ulmer who owns all of the property up on the hill, east of the track. After her husband passed away, she has been trying to develop that property by herself. Rumor has it that nobody is thrilled about assisting in the development of that property because it's right above the track.

Now which one(s) of these people are behind the political pressure to force the sale of the track is anyone's guess. But there is a jerk in the woodpile somewhere.
Next, while what the city may try to claim is that this is a voluntary sale, nothing could be further from the truth. The city had been trying to buy the track for a while, but could never come up with any money. So the track entered into negotiations with another buyer (who would actually keep the track there, but would result in an infusion of cash for the track). After finding out that the current owners had found a buyer that would keep the track where it is, the city sent a letter threatening the condemnation of the land. Guess what that did to the sale of the property.

While under threat of condemnation, the property is dead. You can't sell it. You can't rezone it. And it makes no sense to spend any more money on it, because it may be taken from you at any time. So that's the first dirty trick the city pulled. Just the threat of condemnation crushed any chance the track had of selling to someone who could improve the place and devalued the purchase price to any other interested buyer.

Then the city, through its codes administration, began really putting the pressure on the owners to &quot;fix&quot; certain alleged violations at the track. &quot;You can't have any electricity in your new outbuilding.&quot; Ok. Then it was, &quot;You MUST run electricity to the new outbuilding.&quot; Ok. Then it was, &quot;You have to repave the parking lot near the outbuilding&quot;. Why? That wasn't on the approved plans? &quot;DO IT!&quot; Then it was, &quot;you need illuminated exit signs in the building.&quot; Why? Those weren't on the approved plans and this is a storage shed. It's not a public building as defined by the codes. &quot;Do it or we'll fine you, etc, etc,&quot;

So the city started making it clear that if the owners didn't sell, at a low ball price which the city could afford, they'd just come out there every single day and find something to ticket them for. Take away their vending permit. Something. The city very clearly sent the message, 'If you don't give us this land, we'll make your life a living hell. And if you make us go through the condemnation process, we'll make sure you are offered pennies on the dollar for the property and that after you've paid your lawyers, you'll walk away with next to nothing.&quot;

Welcome to Kansas City politics. And you thought it was bad during the Cleaver days?

And so far, the city has failed and refused to provide any assistance in finding another location for the racetrack. The owners even agreed to take less money in exchange for help finding a replacement property and some time to operate while they built the new facility. The city was NOT willing to give them another season, or even another day. The city is not paying what the property is worth, but it's paying more for the property just to shut it down NOW and to not have to find a new place. If that gives you any idea of the real motivations behind this move.

So you, the tax payers, while still getting a deal on the property, could have had it even cheaper if the city would have given the owners more time and helped them find a new place. But the city would rather pay more to run a business out of town immediately. Feel free to be POed aS fuark about that, too.

So the city will have a completely worthless, non-income generating nuisance that it will have to take care of in place of a money earning, property tax paying business.

But hey, at least some of the more powerful women in the city will be able to line their pockets with cash after it's gone. And when it comes down to it, isn't being a politician really about using your power for your own profit?

Those are about all of the details I can provide at this time. I'm waiting for the press release to be issued by the city, to see how they &quot;spin&quot; this thing, but what I just told you is pretty dang accurate (other than my speculation about who is behind the string pulling). The city is RUNNING THE TRACK OUT OF TOWN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER.

The track has been blackmailed, bullied and beaten into selling. HOWEVER, you can still lean on your elected officials to either (a) undo the deal and refuse to fund the purchase; or (b) at a minimum, assist the owners in finding a new location for the track.

Those are the facts as I believe them to be.
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