|
Mayor Beth Davis opened by saying that
she wanted to dispel rumors that there have been hundreds of
complaints. There were only 10 calls logged at City Hall. They all
came in after 10:30 p.m. Sunday. Nine were about noise, one about
dust.
Mayor Davis said the races went past
the 10:30 p.m. shutdown time. This was due to starting an hour late
and then a four-car pileup on the very last heat of the modified. It
took a little time to get the cars un-crunched and off the track.
She said she spoke with the operators and recommended that they
allow time for such possibilities and plan to cut races at 10:20 in
the future. She also said that the cars did have mufflers on.
The complaint of dust is expected to
settle itself, as this is a new track and there would be more dust
using it the first time. Operators will also learn how to treat the
track to prevent excessive dust.
Alderman Madigan said that he and
Alderman Huskins are responsible for the wards that surround the
fairgrounds. He said he received only two complaints. They were
about the noise, and one was at 10:45 p.m. Alderman Huskins received
a concern that the lights from the track would shine in the house.
The lights are being adjusted. Alderman Steve Fuhrer also reported
receiving a call.
[to top of second column in
this article]
 |
There were folks sitting in their
pickup trucks across from the fairgrounds on Jefferson Street
watching the races. It was observed that the people in the vehicles
were drinking, and it may have been alcoholic beverages. Police
Chief Richard Montcalm said that starting next Sunday they will
strictly enforce that (the law). "It's not going to become drinking
on the streets of Jefferson Street," he said.
Alderman Derrick Crane shifted the
discussion when complaints had been aired, saying, "Everybody can
understand that we've got to give these guys a chance. Give them a
little bit of a chance and see if they can learn from their
experience. It sounds like we're bashing them here, and that's not
the case," he said.
His sentiments were echoed throughout
the room. Alderman Jonie Tibbs said she agreed. She didn't think
there were really too many complaints for a first-time event, and
they would need some time to get things corrected.
"I looked around and saw a lot of
unfamiliar faces, saw a lot of Lincoln people," Mayor Davis said.
"This will
be great for our community," Alderman Tibbs said.
[Jan
Youngquist]
 |
