Future of Heartland Park (and KS Nationals) in jeopardy (3 Viewers)

[M Jones]

Thanks Nick, I'm just an old racer tired of these ripoff artist, I appreciate the info, it's the way the council members tried to buy him out so fast and quite makes me wonder if some of them weren't in on it, it happens here way too often and some have been cought, I hope they find the right combo to keep the track going, just sucks this guy can steal more on the way out

 

[Chevy Nick]

I was at last night's Topeka city council meeting. When I have more time I will post up more info.

City holds lengthy discussion on Heartland Park

Topeka city officials responded to a flurry of questions Tuesday evening from council members concerned about potential pitfalls regarding the city’s proposed purchase of the financially troubled Heartland Park Topeka racing facility.

City manager Jim Colson stressed that the city would require whoever it contracts with to operate Heartland Park to be financially responsible for the facility’s success or failure going forward, and to make investments in it.

“There is no consideration — none, zero — that the city is going to invest any money in Heartland Park,” Colson said.

Colson, city attorney Chad Sublet and administrative and financial services director Doug Gerber responded to numerous questions during a detailed, three-hour discussion regarding the proposed purchase of the track from Jayhawk Racing, LLC. No action was taken.

Tuesday’s talk came at a time when the city governing body has approved every proposal it has considered to proceed with the purchase, but turnover that body saw as a result of the April 7 election could threaten the move’s chances for final approval.

Sublet said the city plans to schedule two public hearings before governing body members vote May 5 on whether to proceed with the purchase. He said the hearings will be at 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 28, at the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library, 1515 S.W. 10th; and at 11 a.m. Wednesday, April 29, in the city’s Holliday Building, 620 S.E. Madison.

Council members near the beginning of Tuesday’s 6 p.m. meeting heard a presentation to kick off the city’s process of crafting its 2016 budget. Budget manager Nickie Lee indicated the city administration didn’t plan to seek an increase in the city’s property tax mill levy for 2016.

The council then began hearing a presentation regarding Heartland Park about 6:45 p.m.

That discussion ended about 9:45 p.m. after the council heard from nine members of the public who included both supporters and opponents of the purchase.

Those posing questions Tuesday included Councilwoman Sylvia Ortiz, who urged Colson not to hold back any information.

Ortiz said: “We need to put everything on the table. We really, really do. No matter how big or small or whether you think we know it or not.”

In response to a question from Councilwoman Sandra Clear regarding who would be responsible for Heartland Park’s unpaid water and electrical bills should the purchase go through, Sublet said Jayhawk Racing would cover those costs using money it would receive.

Some of Tuesday’s questions focused on the NHRA’s plans to hold its annual Kansas Nationals at Heartland Park from May 22 to 24. Sublet stressed that a contract with the NHRA that the city entered into regarding the event last summer was contingent on reissuance of STAR Bonds for the track — which hasn’t happened — so that contract is being renegotiated.

The contract’s new version would arrange for the NHRA to sell the tickets and put on this year’s event itself, Sublet said.

“They have a significant investment in seeing this race go off,” he said.

Council members also were shown a video featuring Chris Payne of Shelby LLC, a Missouri developer who has become the frontrunner to obtain the track’s lease.

Colson said he liked that Payne hopes to develop more of Heartland Park’s property than just its racetracks. He acknowledged the city and Payne were still “a long way” from reaching a finished deal.

 

[Chevy Nick]

Here are images from the presentation materials at the Topeka City Council meeting:

 

[M Jones]

Thanks Nick

 

[FABMAN]

I would like to know if this scheme started right after he purchased track and when did city realize what was going on.. Also how did he qualify for loan to start with. There's a lot to this story that hasn't been told. The Max Hotel in Colorado 6th floor down would be a good place for him.

 

[Chevy Nick]

Jayhawk Racing/Ray Irwin got the 'reversionary interest' when it purchased HPT in 2002. He had been the successful owner of Blackhawk Farms track in Illinois and (my guess is that he) made some substantial profit when he sold that facility.

 

[The Little Lizard]

****NEW UPDATE****Really good article with important information, one may want to note the section of the article titled, "The Drags" http://cjonline.com/news/2015-04-22...in-city-council-spends-tuesday-night-spirited

 

[Chevy Nick]

One of the concerns voiced in the Heartland Park STAR bond issue is that the citizens Topeka should have a vote in the city owning the racetrack. Well guess what? They already did....

Thanks to Topeka Capital-Journal for the research on this. On April 4th, 1987 the residents of Topeka voted 13,289 to 12,579 to issue $7.5 in bonds to build what would become Heartland Park Topeka.

 

[Chevy Nick]

City Council Will Decide The Fate Of Heartland Park Topeka Next Tuesday, May 5th, And Kansas Racers Need Your Help/

 

[Chevy Nick]

Topeka City Council votes down measure to move ahead with Heartland Park purchase. Foreclosure imminent.

Before we get into the bad news I would like to recognize those that came forward to support Heartland Park Topeka. Speaking in front of a large audience and on camera is no small task. In honor of the people who stepped into the arena tonight; Kraig Bailey, Suzie Mears, Bryan Cohn, Chuck Hanna, Elyse McKinnon, Gary Vonderschmidt, and Rob Parks. When the stakes were highest these people rose to the challenge. I'd go to hell for every one of them. I will sleep well tonight knowing that I gave it my best.

After months of divisive deliberation, the Topeka City Council on Tuesday voted against a resolution that would have allowed the city to proceed with its purchase of the financially troubled Heartland Park Topeka racetrack.

The council’s governing body of nine members and Mayor Larry Wolgast voted 6-4 against the resolution, which required a six-vote majority for approval, during a three-hour city council meeting.

The measure would have allowed city manager Jim Colson “to proceed with the implementation of the Heartland Park Redevelopment Project Plan including, but not limited to, the sale of additional STAR Bonds estimated to be between $4.8 and $5.5 million.”

Wolgast voted in favor of the measure, along with council members Michelle De La Isla, Brendan Jensen and Karen Hiller.

“I believe that this proposal has the best chance of protecting the pocketbooks of Topeka taxpayers while giving Heartland Park Topeka an opportunity to prove it can return to contributing to our city’s economy,” the mayor said.

Council members Sandra Clear, Sylvia Ortiz, Jonathan Schumm, Elaine Schwartz, Jeff Coen and Richard Harmon opposed the measure.

Schwartz asked city leaders, including Colson, a litany of questions, saying she has been misled by them.

“I’m going to vote against this,” Schwartz said. “I polled my own district and it came back three-to-one against.”

Clear, of District 2, and Schumm, of District 4, said their constituents are also opposed to the purchase, and they would vote against it for that reason.

“I want a racetrack in Topeka,” Schumm said. “I simply do not want a racetrack owned by Topeka.”

District 8 Councilman Coen criticized ambiguities with the Heartland Park purchase before telling those in attendance he would vote against.

“Business deals need to be airtight but should also be easy to understand,” Coen said.

Wolgast acknowledged that the city could have handled the Heartland Park matter better but said past failures informing the public shouldn’t justify voting against the measure.

“The handling of this process could have been done better,” Wolgast said. “We could have engaged the community from the beginning better and shared complete information on a more timely basis.”

Nine people lined up to speak before the council made its vote, eight of whom were in favor of the motion. They included Topeka residents and nonresidents, including many who conduct business at the track.

“The doors are open. You have motor sports, you have that money coming to your community,” said Brian Cohn with the National Auto Sport Association. “Vote for and you get my 15,000 drivers to spend their money here.”

Before the governing body voted on the motion, they voted down a measure by Ortiz to defer the vote for six months. The amendment was defeated by a 9-1 vote, with Ortiz dissenting.

Topeka city officials have said they will need about $5 million in reissued STAR Bonds to purchase the track, but the proposal before council members Tuesday night granted Colson flexibility to seek up to $5.5 million in bonds for the purchase.

Colson had suggested the city government contract with Shelby LLC, a company recently formed by Missouri real estate developer Chris Payne, to lease and operate Heartland Park. Ortiz said last month she wouldn’t vote in favor of the deal if she didn’t have a signed operating agreement with Shelby in front of her before Tuesday’s vote. Colson said April 29 that wasn’t feasible.

Tuesday’s vote followed two public meetings on the matter late last month. At the first, held at the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library on April 28, Shelby LLC attorney Wes Carrillo said the company plans to release Heartland Park’s financials for each of the first three years Shelby would operate it, so people will know how much money it has made or lost.

The Topeka City Council voted in 2006 to issue $10.46 million in STAR bonds to finance improvements at Heartland Park. Though plans called for those bonds to be paid off using sales tax revenue from the area near the track, revenue consistently has come up short.

Colson said last June that about $10.8 million in principal and interest remained to be paid on the STAR bonds, and the city was on track to be forced to pay $8.9 million in subsidies toward those bonds during the next 12 years.

On Aug. 8, 2014, the council voted 9-1 to buy the Heartland Park Topeka racing facility and expand its redevelopment district. Councilman Chad Manspeaker cast the lone dissenting vote, saying he wasn’t certain the moves were “the best deal for the citizens of Topeka.”

Council members then approved every measure put before them to advance the purchase between Aug. 12 and Tuesday night.

Public wariness of the city’s proposed purchase overshadowed the April 7 city council election, which saw the ouster of both incumbent candidates, District 2 Councilman TJ Brown and District 8 Councilman Nathan Schmidt. Brown and Schmidt had cast votes in favor of the purchase and each cited their tentative support of the deal as factors in their defeat.

Two other incumbents — District 4’s Denise Everhart and District 6’s Manspeaker — didn’t seek re-election. The result was a nine-member council with four new members being sworn in weeks before deciding one of the most heated issues facing the city.

The Heartland Park purchase has been delayed and nearly stymied by a petition effort launched after the August vote by Chris Imming. Imming’s petition drive gained more than the required number of signatures needed to put the city’s purchase of Heartland Park on a ballot for a citywide election, but the city filed a lawsuit challenging its legality. In November, Shawnee County District Court Judge Larry Hendricks sided with the city, ruling the petition invalid and prompting a number of appeals and challenges by Imming and his attorney, R.E. “Tuck” Duncan.

Some questions arose Tuesday night over the National Hot Rod Association’s annual Kansas Nationals at Heartland Park from May 22 to 24. NHRA media relations director Anthony Vestal told The Topeka Capital-Journal on April 29 that the NHRA was proceeding with plans to put on that event. Those plans don’t include Raymond Irwin, whose Jayhawk Racing LLC currently owns Heartland Park, according to Colson.

Sublet acknowledged that the city’s contract with the NHRA was terminated Monday.

“There is no contract between the city and NHRA,” Sublet said. “NHRA has been a willing participant with Heartland Park and the city for some time.”

 

[Bobby Bennett]

http://www.competitionplus.com/drag-racing/news/nhra-vows-topeka-event-will-continue-planned

 

[Butch]

It looks to me like, NHRA is going to have
to buy the facilities in order to keep it going. Then maybe sell it off to an interested party.

 

[Terry]

I was wondering about that too, Harry. It's what NASCAR did to save Iowa Speedway.

 

[NHRAMike]

It looks to me like, NHRA is going to have
to buy the facilities in order to keep it going. Then maybe sell it off to an interested party.

I thought the NHRA's goal is to bring money in, not spend it.

 

[Professional Fan]

Ticket sales must be really low. I don't think I have ever heard an event pushed as much as the Kansas Nationals was on the Atlanta broadcast

 

[Chevy Nick]

City truck falls through bridge at Heartland Park

 

[mick]

25 year bridge, got 1 extra year out of it.....umm, this a spectator bridge? or one designed for commercial vehicle
with full load of dirt?.....either way, yikes!

 

[Chevy Nick]

Mike, it was a wooden bridge designed for pedestrian traffic, not a two-ton work truck loaded with top soil. There are signs posted that say "NOT FOR VEHICLE USE". Someone made a very poor decision.

 

[mick]

Mike, it was a wooden bridge designed for pedestrian traffic, not a two-ton work truck loaded with top soil. There are signs posted that say "NOT FOR VEHICLE USE". Someone made a very poor decision.

woops, i guess the article did have a mention of that.

 

[Chevy Nick]

Heartland Park pedestrian bridge collapses under weight of city truck

Three days before hosting what could be the final NHRA event in its 26-year history, the beleaguered Heartland Park Topeka race track suffered another setback Tuesday morning when a wooden bridge used primarily for pedestrians and golf carts collapsed under the weight of a city-owned, 1-ton dump truck carrying a load of dirt.

No injuries were reported in the bridge collapse, which occurred around 8:30 a.m. as preparations were being made for this weekend’s NHRA Mello Yello drag racing event, scheduled for Friday through Monday at the facility, 7530 S.W. Topeka Blvd.

Doug Gerber, director of administrative and financial services and utilities for the city of Topeka, said at a hastily called news conference Tuesday morning about 50 feet north of the damaged bridge that the dump truck from the city’s water department was on site for a project to ensure fire hydrants were working properly before this weekend’s races.

City officials said the truck was carrying dirt to fill holes that had been dug in the process of reaching a water line connected to the hydrants.

The truck was crossing the bridge from east to west when it crashed through the final section, dropping to the ground, approximately 15 feet below. The truck landed on its back end, narrowly missing an asphalt roadway.

Before making it to the final section of the bridge, the truck appeared to have caved in at least seven smaller areas.

City spokeswoman Aly Van Dyke said the dump truck’s driver indicated that “someone told him he could use the bridge.”

She said the city was checking into the driver’s claims, as well as other details surrounding why the truck was traveling across a bridge that wasn’t made for such large vehicles.

A small sign posted on the bridge indicated no vehicles larger than golf carts or quads were allowed on the “walkover” bridges.

During race-day events, the bridge is used by fans as they move from the grandstand areas near the track’s Corporate Tower to a pit area, where they can see race teams working on their Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Stock vehicles.

The bridge collapse came two weeks to the day after the Topeka City Council voted 6-4 to deny a plan backed by City Manager Jim Colson and Mayor Larry Wolgast for the city to purchase the race track.

In light of the council voting down the proposed deal for the city to acquire the track, Heartland Park Topeka continues to be owned by Raymond Irwin, of Jayhawk Racing Inc. Irwin took ownership of the track in 2003.

This weekend’s Mello Yello event is being run by the National Hot Rod Association through a contract with Jayhawk Racing, city officials said.

Van Dyke said early Tuesday afternoon that the NHRA already had been in contact with a contractor that will assess the collapsed bridge for safety.

Van Dyke said the contractor also will assess the structural integrity of another similar bridge at the facility.

There are three pedestrian bridges at facility, Van Dkye said. Only two have been in use recently, including the one that collapsed. The third bridge isn’t in use.

If the bridge that collapsed on Tuesday is to be closed for this weekend’s event, city officials said, an alternate route would be available to fans seeking to move from the grandstand to the pit area.

City attorney Chad Sublet, who also was present for Tuesday morning’s news conference, said the main concern at this time is to ensure the “safety” of race fans and others at this weekend’s NHRA event.

Heartland Park Topeka opened in 1989 and quickly became one of the NHRA’s fastest and most popular drag racing venues in the 1990s, serving as the site of two major events for much of that decade.

In more recent years, Heartland Park Topeka has had only one NHRA event -- usually toward the end of May. The events typically are telecast on a tape-delay basis by ESPN.

After the race track’s finances took a turn for the worse in recent years, the city proposed to buy Heartland Park and expand a sales tax district that would have paid off prior and new bonds related to the track.

At least one group was identified to lease and manage the track.

But after the city council voted down the proposal on May 5, the future of the race track was in jeopardy.