No changes for racetrack regs

PALMER — Having apparently been convinced there was actually no real need to change them, the Mat-Su Borough Assembly on Tuesday shot down a raft of changes to ordinances regarding racetracks.

Bill Haller, who sits on the borough’s planning commission, told the assembly that the ordinance change had been requested by snowmachine racing groups in Big Lake concerned that when the ordinance was initially passed, it outlawed what they do every weekend during the winter.

“It’s a very active part of our community,” Haller said.

But in his weekly podcast, borough mayor Larry DeVilbiss said the assembly didn’t think that was the case.

“The assembly just plain turned it down on the assumption that Big Lake can already do what they want because it’s not a dirt track,” DeVilbiss said, adding that he might bring it back to the table. “I would like to think it was not asked for if they were not getting some kind of pushback from somewhere, so there’ll probably be more to hear about that.”

Cathy Hummel, a veteran of the work that went into getting the ordinance passed in the first place, read the assembly parts of the code that showed the racetrack regulations applied mostly to permanent racetracks.

“Snow and ice aren’t permanent, so therefore it’s exempt,” she said.

She continued to point out that there could be a situation — if more than 500 people showed up — wherein a race would need a special event permit. But those permits aren’t as stringent as a racetrack permit.

“It indicates here that the races that are going on snow and ice only need to have a permit if you have more than 500 people there,” Hummel said. “That’s when the special event kicks in.”

Multiple assembly members asked if borough staff members could determine if Hummel’s reading was correct. None could.

Assemblyman Jim Sykes moved to postpone the measure indefinitely — effectively killing it.

Assemblyman Steve Colligan spoke against that, saying that he would like to get answers from staff at a future meeting.

Sykes said that he couldn’t imagine borough staff seeing a permit application from the clubs putting on the races and deeming the group untrustworthy.

Assemblyman Ron Arvin, meanwhile, argued in favor of the regulation changes saying that the racing clubs needed an exemption.

“We’ve got code that’s broad brush across the borough, and the fact that it’s not been enforced does not mean that we should not focus on bifurcating the rule to identify specific uses that are legal,” he said.

Eventually Sykes won the day. Joining him in voting to kill the ordinance were Jim Colver, Vern Halter and Matthew Beck.

Contact Andrew Wellner at 352-2270

or andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com.