City Council Considers 'Waitsburg Raceway'

WAITSBURG – If Brandon Kelly gets his wish, Waitsburg will become the home base for regional dirt-track car racing events.

Waitsburg's city council was intrigued enough to invite Kelly back to give a more detailed presentation at their Dec. 16 council meeting, but councilor K.C. Kuykendall called the enterprise a "long shot."

Kelly approached the city last month about the possibility of modifying the fairgrounds horse racing track to use for car racing events. City Administrator Randy Hinchliffe said he and Kelly have visited the track several times and recently had an insurance representative out to make sure insurance is available.

Last week, Kelly took the next step and pitched his idea to the city council. The father of two said he grew up in Dixie, lives in Walla Walla, and hopes to develop something his whole family can do together while supporting the community.

"This would be the biggest track in Oregon and Washington if it was to become available," Kelly said. "I've spoken with a lot of racers that are tired of racing on little tracks. The biggest one is in Montana. There is a lot of racer interest."

Kelly proposed racing different classes of cars (4-6 cylinder, bomber, street stock, sportsman, and modified) at monthly Friday night and Saturday races. He would also like to hold dances after the night races.

Kelly said he has spoken with the Northwest Sprint Car Association, and they would be willing to run a dirt-modified sprint car race in Waitsburg to promote the track. Kelly said he would like to do an annual demo derby, perhaps during Celebration Days, and possibly even a wheat truck race, as additional special events.

Kelly envisions the track providing a wholesome family activity as well as promoting the community. He plans to use local vendors and organizations to provide food, a beer garden, and for print merchandising.

"I'd also like to give sport teams and groups the opportunity to do fundraisers during the events," he said, and shared an idea for a ball toss raffle.

Kelly said he has not promoted races before, but is no stranger to racing. "I've raced for 16 years. I raced late-model asphalt cars; I do the demo derby stuff. I know what it takes to do it and I know what the wrongs are and why people are not doing it anymore. I also raced 15 years of professional snow cross for Polaris," he said. "There is even the possibility of hosting a snow cross race in winter," he added.

Kelly said he would like a ten-year lease, with two years contingent.

Track modifications would include removing the current safety rail and widening the track, a 14' high fence with two steel cables will provide a safety barrier, and ecology blocks and combine tires will be placed by the track. The pits would be located on the far side of the track.

Hinchliffe said the racetrack modifications would not impact the new Little League complex that is being built in the track infield.

"You're talking about a long-term business plan with significant facility changes," Kuykendall said. "There are a lot of considerations – far more than we could get into tonight. I would personally expect to see a fairly detailed execution plan. What your emergency management plan is, what contracts are in place for emergency response teams, riders from insurance companies, whatever bonding you might have.

"Just at first blush, I think there is no way in the world that we would ever be able to pull this off in town like this," he continued. "The noise abatement . . . I don't know how you'd do that. I don't want to put the nail in the coffin but I would request a more detailed proposal," he added.

Kelly explained that he was there to present an initial overview to determine if the council was interested enough for him to move forward in gathering more details and information. He said he had the means to do much of the renovations himself and had spoken with family members in law enforcement. He also commented that the cars have decibel-rated mufflers.

"I really couldn't start asking people for specifics until I knew if the council will even consider letting me use the facility. If the council is interested, I can move forward," Kelly said.

Most of the council members expressed enthusiasm for the project, saying they and their families were race fans and agreeing that racing could be a strong draw and asset to the community.

Kuykendall said he didn't want to be the "lone stick-in-the-mud" but felt the "exceptionally neat" idea was a long shot. "I wouldn't feel comfortable putting my vote of approval on it unless we get an overwhelming community response saying, 'yes, we want this,'" he said.

"I'm getting kind of a positive attitude from the city council which I hope would then encourage you to go ahead and start doing your paperwork and come back to the council with more details," Mayor Walt Gobel said.

Kelly agreed to return to the Dec. 16 council meeting with specific plans for safety, fire, law enforcement, and insurance. Gobel suggested holding a public hearing, down the road, once council had the opportunity to review the more detailed plans.