http://honda-tech.com/showthread.php?t=2995408
Thread on honda-tech this information is from. Check out the thread for all the information, contacts for officials to let them know your opinions on this, etc.
From KC Star news paper.
Kansas City has taken a preliminary step toward buying the Kansas City International Drag Strip in the Little Blue Valley so it can be converted into a park.
The city council’s Planning and Zoning Committee today authorized the park board to purchase the 93-acre property at 82nd Street and Noland Road from NP3 Racing LLC for an undisclosed price. The measure goes to the full Council Thursday for approval.
“It has been a long time coming,” 5th District at-large Councilwoman Cindy Circo said, noting that neighborhoods in her East Kansas City district have tried for years to acquire the property for a regional park. She said the owners finally reduced the price to a point where the city could afford it.
“It was a priority, and there was money available for it,” Circo said.
Assistant City Attorney Ted Anderson said the price won’t be disclosed until late this month, after the deal closes. He said the money will come from a parks development fund and from public improvement sales tax dollars available for the 5th Council District.
A city fact sheet supporting the purchase said that, over time, a 90-acre “sea of asphalt” will be replaced with grass and pervious surfaces that should reduce flooding and increase water quality.
Dan Porrevecchio, past president of the Little Blue Valley Homes Association, said his neighborhood group had been trying for a long time to relocate the racetrack, which was noisy. He said the new city park will be adjacent to the county’s Little Blue Trace Park and will become part of a regional park complex that can feature softball and soccer fields and trails.
“It’s a boon to the Little Blue Valley, for the peaceful environment of the homeowners in the area,” Porrevecchio said, adding that it could be the linchpin for more residential development.
Porrevecchio said the community is also working with the racetrack’s owners to find a larger, better and more accessible venue within the city for the drag racing operations.
Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2011/11/02/32 ... z1cfEgMWXh
KCIR closing?!?!? See inside.
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twkdcd595
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KCIR closing?!?!? See inside.
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twkdcd595
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From a KC board...
Originally Posted by JohnnyBravo
Let me start out by saying that the "sale" of the track is not a decision that the owners want to make. They are not sell-outs, nor are they willingly abandoning the racing community. They are as deeply tied to racing, if not more, than anyone here.
In a nutshell, this was a political move. It may be one person, it may be a combination of people, but there are only 3 major players who have the kind of clout around KC to force the sale of the track.
1. Claire McCaskill. She owns approximately 27 acres (I believe) in the immediate vicinity of the track. My understanding is that she has been unable to market or sell her property for a significant profit because of the proximity of her property to the race track. That might make a good motive to lean on the city to force the track out of operation. And you can't forget councilwoman Circo...who also happens to be a fundraiser for Claire McCaskill. Interesting how that works out, isn't it?
2. Christine Kemper. She owns one of the houses on the hill on the other side of Noland Road, across from the track. The bulk of the track's problems started immediately upon her taking possession of that home. Many of you will recall the huge debacle involving the storage shed that Kemper and Porrevecchio tried to use as leverage to shut down the track. Huge hearing before the BZA. City Hall was packed. While she was successful in costing the track a lot of money in unnecessary "improvements" and attorneys' fees and ultimately restricting the days and hours of the track's operation, she could not shut the track down. But don't for a second think she has let it go.
3. Ms. Ulmer who owns all of the property up on the hill, east of the track. After her husband passed away, she has been trying to develop that property by herself. Rumor has it that nobody is thrilled about assisting in the development of that property because it's right above the track.
Now which one(s) of these people are behind the political pressure to force the sale of the track is anyone's guess. But there is a jerk in the woodpile somewhere.
Next, while what the city may try to claim is that this is a voluntary sale, nothing could be further from the truth. The city had been trying to buy the track for a while, but could never come up with any money. So the track entered into negotiations with another buyer (who would actually keep the track there, but would result in an infusion of cash for the track). After finding out that the current owners had found a buyer that would keep the track where it is, the city sent a letter threatening the condemnation of the land. Guess what that did to the sale of the property.
While under threat of condemnation, the property is dead. You can't sell it. You can't rezone it. And it makes no sense to spend any more money on it, because it may be taken from you at any time. So that's the first dirty trick the city pulled. Just the threat of condemnation crushed any chance the track had of selling to someone who could improve the place and devalued the purchase price to any other interested buyer.
Then the city, through its codes administration, began really putting the pressure on the owners to "fix" certain alleged violations at the track. "You can't have any electricity in your new outbuilding." Ok. Then it was, "You MUST run electricity to the new outbuilding." Ok. Then it was, "You have to repave the parking lot near the outbuilding". Why? That wasn't on the approved plans? "DO IT!" Then it was, "you need illuminated exit signs in the building." Why? Those weren't on the approved plans and this is a storage shed. It's not a public building as defined by the codes. "Do it or we'll fine you, etc, etc,"
So the city started making it clear that if the owners didn't sell, at a low ball price which the city could afford, they'd just come out there every single day and find something to ticket them for. Take away their vending permit. Something. The city very clearly sent the message, 'If you don't give us this land, we'll make your life a living hell. And if you make us go through the condemnation process, we'll make sure you are offered pennies on the dollar for the property and that after you've paid your lawyers, you'll walk away with next to nothing."
Welcome to Kansas City politics. And you thought it was bad during the Cleaver days?
And so far, the city has failed and refused to provide any assistance in finding another location for the racetrack. The owners even agreed to take less money in exchange for help finding a replacement property and some time to operate while they built the new facility. The city was NOT willing to give them another season, or even another day. The city is not paying what the property is worth, but it's paying more for the property just to shut it down NOW and to not have to find a new place. If that gives you any idea of the real motivations behind this move.
So you, the tax payers, while still getting a deal on the property, could have had it even cheaper if the city would have given the owners more time and helped them find a new place. But the city would rather pay more to run a business out of town immediately. Feel free to be pissed aS fuark about that, too.
So the city will have a completely worthless, non-income generating nuisance that it will have to take care of in place of a money earning, property tax paying business.
But hey, at least some of the more powerful women in the city will be able to line their pockets with cash after it's gone. And when it comes down to it, isn't being a politician really about using your power for your own profit?
Those are about all of the details I can provide at this time. I'm waiting for the press release to be issued by the city, to see how they "spin" this thing, but what I just told you is pretty dang accurate (other than my speculation about who is behind the string pulling). The city is RUNNING THE TRACK OUT OF TOWN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER.
The track has been blackmailed, bullied and beaten into selling. HOWEVER, you can still lean on your elected officials to either (a) undo the deal and refuse to fund the purchase; or (b) at a minimum, assist the owners in finding a new location for the track.
Those are the facts as I believe them to be.
Originally Posted by JohnnyBravo
Let me start out by saying that the "sale" of the track is not a decision that the owners want to make. They are not sell-outs, nor are they willingly abandoning the racing community. They are as deeply tied to racing, if not more, than anyone here.
In a nutshell, this was a political move. It may be one person, it may be a combination of people, but there are only 3 major players who have the kind of clout around KC to force the sale of the track.
1. Claire McCaskill. She owns approximately 27 acres (I believe) in the immediate vicinity of the track. My understanding is that she has been unable to market or sell her property for a significant profit because of the proximity of her property to the race track. That might make a good motive to lean on the city to force the track out of operation. And you can't forget councilwoman Circo...who also happens to be a fundraiser for Claire McCaskill. Interesting how that works out, isn't it?
2. Christine Kemper. She owns one of the houses on the hill on the other side of Noland Road, across from the track. The bulk of the track's problems started immediately upon her taking possession of that home. Many of you will recall the huge debacle involving the storage shed that Kemper and Porrevecchio tried to use as leverage to shut down the track. Huge hearing before the BZA. City Hall was packed. While she was successful in costing the track a lot of money in unnecessary "improvements" and attorneys' fees and ultimately restricting the days and hours of the track's operation, she could not shut the track down. But don't for a second think she has let it go.
3. Ms. Ulmer who owns all of the property up on the hill, east of the track. After her husband passed away, she has been trying to develop that property by herself. Rumor has it that nobody is thrilled about assisting in the development of that property because it's right above the track.
Now which one(s) of these people are behind the political pressure to force the sale of the track is anyone's guess. But there is a jerk in the woodpile somewhere.
Next, while what the city may try to claim is that this is a voluntary sale, nothing could be further from the truth. The city had been trying to buy the track for a while, but could never come up with any money. So the track entered into negotiations with another buyer (who would actually keep the track there, but would result in an infusion of cash for the track). After finding out that the current owners had found a buyer that would keep the track where it is, the city sent a letter threatening the condemnation of the land. Guess what that did to the sale of the property.
While under threat of condemnation, the property is dead. You can't sell it. You can't rezone it. And it makes no sense to spend any more money on it, because it may be taken from you at any time. So that's the first dirty trick the city pulled. Just the threat of condemnation crushed any chance the track had of selling to someone who could improve the place and devalued the purchase price to any other interested buyer.
Then the city, through its codes administration, began really putting the pressure on the owners to "fix" certain alleged violations at the track. "You can't have any electricity in your new outbuilding." Ok. Then it was, "You MUST run electricity to the new outbuilding." Ok. Then it was, "You have to repave the parking lot near the outbuilding". Why? That wasn't on the approved plans? "DO IT!" Then it was, "you need illuminated exit signs in the building." Why? Those weren't on the approved plans and this is a storage shed. It's not a public building as defined by the codes. "Do it or we'll fine you, etc, etc,"
So the city started making it clear that if the owners didn't sell, at a low ball price which the city could afford, they'd just come out there every single day and find something to ticket them for. Take away their vending permit. Something. The city very clearly sent the message, 'If you don't give us this land, we'll make your life a living hell. And if you make us go through the condemnation process, we'll make sure you are offered pennies on the dollar for the property and that after you've paid your lawyers, you'll walk away with next to nothing."
Welcome to Kansas City politics. And you thought it was bad during the Cleaver days?
And so far, the city has failed and refused to provide any assistance in finding another location for the racetrack. The owners even agreed to take less money in exchange for help finding a replacement property and some time to operate while they built the new facility. The city was NOT willing to give them another season, or even another day. The city is not paying what the property is worth, but it's paying more for the property just to shut it down NOW and to not have to find a new place. If that gives you any idea of the real motivations behind this move.
So you, the tax payers, while still getting a deal on the property, could have had it even cheaper if the city would have given the owners more time and helped them find a new place. But the city would rather pay more to run a business out of town immediately. Feel free to be pissed aS fuark about that, too.
So the city will have a completely worthless, non-income generating nuisance that it will have to take care of in place of a money earning, property tax paying business.
But hey, at least some of the more powerful women in the city will be able to line their pockets with cash after it's gone. And when it comes down to it, isn't being a politician really about using your power for your own profit?
Those are about all of the details I can provide at this time. I'm waiting for the press release to be issued by the city, to see how they "spin" this thing, but what I just told you is pretty dang accurate (other than my speculation about who is behind the string pulling). The city is RUNNING THE TRACK OUT OF TOWN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER.
The track has been blackmailed, bullied and beaten into selling. HOWEVER, you can still lean on your elected officials to either (a) undo the deal and refuse to fund the purchase; or (b) at a minimum, assist the owners in finding a new location for the track.
Those are the facts as I believe them to be.
-3000 lbs of sneezing Unicorn.
-God bless the men and women of the U.S. armed forces!
-God bless the men and women of the U.S. armed forces!
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twkdcd595
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KCIR closing?!?!? See inside.
From Honda-Tech thread...
Please help by voicing your concerns to these official and please do NOW as they are making the vote today at 3pm. They just informed the track yesterday...
kimberly.randolph@kcmo.org, jackie.burton@kcmo.org, lisa.minardi@kcmo.org, meg.conger@kcmo.org, melba.curls@kcmo.org, reva.simmons@kcmo.org, petrina.gooden@kcmo.org, erica.torres@kcmo.org, susan.borge@kcmo.org, michael.brooks@kcmo.org, lisa.sturgeon@kcmo.org, araceli.gallegos@kcmo.org, mayor@kcmo.org
Please help by voicing your concerns to these official and please do NOW as they are making the vote today at 3pm. They just informed the track yesterday...
kimberly.randolph@kcmo.org, jackie.burton@kcmo.org, lisa.minardi@kcmo.org, meg.conger@kcmo.org, melba.curls@kcmo.org, reva.simmons@kcmo.org, petrina.gooden@kcmo.org, erica.torres@kcmo.org, susan.borge@kcmo.org, michael.brooks@kcmo.org, lisa.sturgeon@kcmo.org, araceli.gallegos@kcmo.org, mayor@kcmo.org
-3000 lbs of sneezing Unicorn.
-God bless the men and women of the U.S. armed forces!
-God bless the men and women of the U.S. armed forces!
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twkdcd595
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KCIR closing?!?!? See inside.
From HybridMT on Honda-Tech thread...
I emailed Lynn Horsley of the KC Star, the reporter who wrote the straight news piece reporting the pending sale of the property:
From: Patrick Chambers Sent: Thursday, November 03, 2011 2:17 PM
To: Horsley, Lynn - Kansas City
Subject: KCIR Sale
There seems to be a lot more to the sale of KCIR than the owners simply deciding to sell it. Scuttlebutt about Codes department harassment of the owners and other external leverages being applied abound. It is well known that people who built or bought homes in that area long after the strip was already there have wanted it gone. What does seem clear is that the owners have no desire to sell the land or get out of the business, but they feel they have been threatened with condemnation or eminent domain being applied.
Might this story not be well served by doing more than reporting it as a straight news story about KC Parks acquiring a piece of land? Might not the owners of the property make for an interesting interview?
Patrick:
Very good suggestion and we will try to follow up. This came up yesterday afternoon on short notice, and was handled in a closed session, with very few details released. That’s frustrating for me too, but the city can legally do it that way because real estate transactions can be handled in secret. I will try to pursue this further but some of this is hard to track under state law.
Lynn Horsley
I emailed Lynn Horsley of the KC Star, the reporter who wrote the straight news piece reporting the pending sale of the property:
From: Patrick Chambers Sent: Thursday, November 03, 2011 2:17 PM
To: Horsley, Lynn - Kansas City
Subject: KCIR Sale
There seems to be a lot more to the sale of KCIR than the owners simply deciding to sell it. Scuttlebutt about Codes department harassment of the owners and other external leverages being applied abound. It is well known that people who built or bought homes in that area long after the strip was already there have wanted it gone. What does seem clear is that the owners have no desire to sell the land or get out of the business, but they feel they have been threatened with condemnation or eminent domain being applied.
Might this story not be well served by doing more than reporting it as a straight news story about KC Parks acquiring a piece of land? Might not the owners of the property make for an interesting interview?
Patrick:
Very good suggestion and we will try to follow up. This came up yesterday afternoon on short notice, and was handled in a closed session, with very few details released. That’s frustrating for me too, but the city can legally do it that way because real estate transactions can be handled in secret. I will try to pursue this further but some of this is hard to track under state law.
Lynn Horsley
-3000 lbs of sneezing Unicorn.
-God bless the men and women of the U.S. armed forces!
-God bless the men and women of the U.S. armed forces!
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twkdcd595
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KCIR closing?!?!? See inside.
Passed this afternoon just after 4pm. KCIR will be no more it looks like.
-3000 lbs of sneezing Unicorn.
-God bless the men and women of the U.S. armed forces!
-God bless the men and women of the U.S. armed forces!
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00siandrew
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KCIR closing?!?!? See inside.
Claire McCaskill can suck it. I can't stand that woman and even if it's never proven this seems like something she would do. Add this to the reasons I never have and never will support that moron.
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5thgen
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J.M.P
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KCIR closing?!?!? See inside.
Well, she just got a top spot with Jay Nixon on my list of people I hate.
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00siandrew
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KCIR closing?!?!? See inside.
Those two people have been in my list of most hated people for a while now. Not much worse than an extremist liberal.J.M.P;278284 wrote:Well, she just got a top spot with Jay Nixon on my list of people I hate.
And before people bash me, I'm not saying I dislike all democrats. I don't like extremist conservatives either. But PROGRESSIVE liberals will be the death of this country.
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Edison Carasio
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KCIR closing?!?!? See inside.
Missouri, do your part and vote her out.
“Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless - like water. Now you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup, you put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle, you put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.” - Bruce Lee
"In the spring you will bloom like your heart through the glass in the back of the ambulance. You turn and you turn and you turn down the street, one more turn, won't you come back to me? And as it turns, the red lights, they were turning into red roses, red roses. Red roses. I'm not giving up." - Steps Ascending by Thursday
"In the spring you will bloom like your heart through the glass in the back of the ambulance. You turn and you turn and you turn down the street, one more turn, won't you come back to me? And as it turns, the red lights, they were turning into red roses, red roses. Red roses. I'm not giving up." - Steps Ascending by Thursday