Lincoln Aldermen debate making changes to Lincoln Speedway curfews from special events in 2023

 

[April 04, 2023] 

At the Monday night voting session of the Lincoln City Council, aldermen will consider an agenda item regarding the Lincoln Speedway curfew times for four special events to be held this summer.

The topic has been subject to much debate by the council, with the result being that the motion tabled from March 20th will be presented again without any alterations. After the item is removed from the table and the voting motion made, there will be a few scenarios that could take place. The motion could fail for a lack of a second, it could be amended to take a new direction, it could be passed as presented, or there could be a motion to remove the item from the agenda, which would mean no vote whatsoever.

The discussions on the racetrack began after Lincoln Speedway representative Adam Mackey had appeared before the council with the 2023 schedule. Mackey had reported a very good 2022 season with good turnouts on the special event nights and/or weekends that had been on the schedule. He pointed out that there would be special nights and weekends in the 2023 season as well.

Mackey had said that the races had gone well, and that the managers had used very little of the allowable extensions written into the ongoing agreements between the city and the track.

When the vote to approve the new year season was conducted, all the aldermen approved the 2023 schedule.

Afterward, Alderman Kevin Bateman said he would like to suggest that the track be able to earn extra time for the special event nights and weekends. He said that it could be a matter of collecting the time the track ended its evening early and banking those minutes to use as curfew extensions on the special event races. After some discussion, the aldermen agreed that a banking method would be too complicated. The suggestion was made that for the special events, the track be allowed the an extra 30 minutes above and beyond their standard extensions if needed.

Bateman said that the special events which include the Super Late Model race on Thursday May 11th, Summer Nation Tour on Sunday June 25th, and Fall Nationals on Friday and Saturday, September 29th and 30th brought in big money for the racetrack with many competitors from throughout the Midwest. He said those racers did spend nights in Lincoln improving the local hotel/motel tax revenues and supporting many local businesses from eateries to gas stations and more.

He said that he was a race fan and had been to many of the races and knew that the track managers move things along very quickly so as not to break the curfews. He felt that in the spirit of supporting a business that brings money into Lincoln, it would be nice to give the track managers the option of extra time at those special events.

After the meeting, Lincoln citizen, Logan County Board member and former city council alderwoman Kathy Schmidt reached out to Mayor Tracy Welch and asked that the city delay taking any action on the recommendation. She said there were citizens in Lincoln who do not want the races to run any later than they already are, and those citizens have a right to be heard before the voting takes place. Welch said Schmidt was working on a petition to put before the council to that effect.

The council agreed to hold off on voting on the extensions by tabling the motion on the March 20th Agenda.

At the March 28th Committee of the Whole, Welch opened the discussion of the topic with comments regarding the agreement between the city and the racetrack. He said the last time the agreement was reviewed was in 2015.

He presented a document for the 2023 agreement that is basically the language as that original document with the dates changed and the alterations of curfew times on the special event races noted.

The curfews are set as follows:

Friday or Saturday night – 11 p.m.
Sunday through Thursday night – 10:30 p.m.
School night – 9 p.m. (A school night is defined as any night – weekday or weekend – when District 27 is scheduled to hold classes the following day.)

The document then reads that 30-minute extensions would allow the Thursday, May 11th race (which IS on a school night) to run until 9:30 p.m., the Sunday June 25th race (NOT a school night) would have to be done by 11 p.m. and races on Friday September 29th and Saturday September 30th would need to be done by no later than 11:30 p.m.

If the council were to approve additional 30-minute increments for each of those dates, the Thursday event in May could run until 10 p.m. at the latest. The Sunday race in June would be able to run until 11:30 p.m. and the races in September could run until midnight.

Alderman Tony Zurkammer spoke saying he would suggest that instead of moving for extra time on four specific dates, that the council compromise and add 60 minutes worth of extensions on the season to the 90 minutes the track already has. He said the request for the special date extensions would equal two hours, so adding 60 would be the compromise. He added that the track could then use those extensions 30 minutes at a time for whatever race they needed it for, and if they ran out of extensions before the big-ticket races, that was on them.

Alderman Steve Parrott said the entire request had come not from the racetrack by from Bateman. He said the track has gotten by well with what they have and did not ask for additional time. Parrott felt the who topic should be tabled indefinitely.

Bateman said that he didn’t see the whole scenario the same as the others, perhaps because he does go to the races. He said that adding extensions to the curfew was not going to have the impact that all seemed to believe. He said the curfew was the curfew and it had to be abided by with the extensions being the only variable. He said adding time to the mandated curfew would be the only way to help the track managers.

Bateman added that he has heard from people who are overwhelmingly in favor of the extension, and only four who were opposed. He also mentioned that he had heard from NASCAR driver Kenny Wallace, who does race at the May 11th event in Lincoln, that the extension of time would be appreciated.

Zurkammer questioned what Bateman was saying. Zurkammer understood that the curfew would remain the same, and the race could run only an extra 30 minutes. Bateman said no, he wants the curfew on that specific night to be extended to 9:30 with an allowable 30-minute extension which would mean the race could go to 10 p.m.

Welch said he would have to be opposed to the explanation Bateman was offering. He said that for example this would bring the September races to the closing time of midnight. He said he understood that people who enjoy races would want that, but there should also be consideration for those who do not, and on a weekend after a week of work, want a quieter, calmer weekend.

Bateman had mentioned that one race was shortened by 10 laps in order to end on time. Parrott asked why Mackey had not reported that when he appeared before the council, and did Bateman know he was stating facts. Bateman said that is how the managers do it. If the race cannot end on time, they shorten the laps.

Bateman said that if the duty of the council was to vote the desire of the constituents, then the vote would have to be to extend the curfews on those nights. He concluded that he was apparently in the minority on the council when it came to voting to help the track.

Welch said he did not feel Bateman was in the minority. He felt the council wants to support the track, but not in the manner that Bateman may be suggesting. Bateman countered again that if the council votes for extra extension time it would do nothing for the track, because it would not add to the real time the race was allowed to run. The only way to help the track is going to be to extend the curfew by 30 minutes, then if needed the managers could also use the extensions available to finish the night.

Bateman said that he was concerned that the council was forcing the track to make its special events smaller because of the time constraints.

Alderman Rick Hoefle tried to bring a new perspective to the discission, encouraging aldermen not to mess with the schedule or the success of the track. “Lincoln has a history of screwing things up. We had the University of Illinois in our back pocket at one time, but no we wanted something else. We had Caterpillar. We could have had it, but no the city of Lincoln said we don’t want that. We’re screwing around with something that is attractive to the city that brings in lots of people, makes a lot of money, taxpayer dollars. We’re going to end up screwing this up. We’ve got it set up right now, but now you’re going to try and tweak it.”

Hoefle went on to say, “I have half a mind to say let’s just stop where we are at, go with what we’ve got and be done with it because we’re going to screw this up and lose something that is good.”

Hoefle had said that the city was now asking for Mackey, who has his plate full already, to come and explain all this. He said it was wrong. Bateman inserted again that the added extensions doesn’t help. Welch noted that when Mackey came to the council he did not ask for extra time. Hoefle added, “that is why I say stop this.”

Zurkammer asked why Bateman was asking, did he know this was needed? Bateman said he goes to the races, he sees the effort, and yes he knows this is needed. Hoefle quipped, “Are you Mr, Mackey?”

The final decision for the Monday night vote was to leave the item on the agenda as it was tabled on March 20th. Aldermen will then have an option to vote on the proposed motion, amend the proposed motion, or not vote at all by moving to remove the item from the agenda. The motion as written on the agenda could fail for a lack of a second.

The Monday night meeting of the Lincoln City Council will commence at 7 p.m. The community it invited to attend the meeting. Those who wish to address the council may do so by filling out a public participation form prior to the beginning of the meeting and handing it to Mayor Welch.

[Nila Smith]