Council approved presenting idea to Yavapai College by 5-1 vote

In a story dated February 22, 2017, written by Sue Tone, the Chino Valley Review brought readers up-to-date on the Chino Valley Raceway controversy. The Council voted 5 – 1 at its February 14 meeting to make a presentation on the project to the Yavapai Community College Governing Board. Council member Lon Turner was absent and council member Mike Best opposed sending staff to make a presentation. Council member Best said he opposed the raceway because of negative constituent reaction to the idea and the minimal tax revenue it would produce.  

Property owner Kathi Rafters submitted a letter to the Council citing a report from Juneau, Alaska. That report states that a noise level of 70 decibels can decrease the value of a home in the area by about 17%.

Residents Gary and Molly Beverly also  sent a letter to the Mayor and Council indicating concerns with power, water and sewer connections, noisy generators, air pollution, and the unacceptable low number of portable toilets to be used if the raceway is approved.

You may read the entire article by clicking here. http://www.cvrnews.com/news/2017/feb/22/motorsports-yc-president-tells-chino-her-concerns/

Asserts nothing has caused a change in IGA; outlines problems for College if raceway approved

President Penelope Wills delivered a six-minute political speech about the proposed raceway to be located near the Yavapai College Chino Valley Center on November 14, 2017.  She said she was speaking for the College, not the Board, and emphasized no Board members were present (unclear why this was her concern).

Early in her speech, Wills said that approval of the raceway was a matter “for the town to decide, not the College.”  She then went on to say that nothing had changed that should affect the IGA.  She said that of 300 emails received on this issue by her (or the Governing Board, it was not clear) that a majority of those voting “yes” for the speedway were from “outside the area.”  A majority of those voted “no,” she said, were from the area.

Wills said an impact study authored by the College was not a reliable document because it didn’t drill down and focus on Chino Valley.  She also said the amount of money coming to Chino Valley from the project was not significant, there were traffic issues on Perkins Road, an environmental study was needed, the raceway will use 1.12 million gallons of water annually, and the noise level could not exceed 70 decibels at the property line.

Wills indicated concern with the noise interfering with a number of outdoor classes.  She reminded the City that the College had invested over $8 million in capital construction and hundreds of thousands of dollars in operating expenses at the Chino Valley Center.

After hearing her speech, a majority of the Council voted to sent their City staff to make a presentation to the Governing Board.

You may view the six-minute speech by Wills to the Council below.

Not on February 14 Agenda; Discussion about how not to respond held during February 13 retreat

Once again, the issue of whether to approve a Chino Valley Raceway was absent from the Governing Board’s February 14 agenda.  Recall the Raceway needs approval from the College before it can move ahead because of the proximity of the Chino Valley Center to the project. The question of how Board members should respond, if at all,  came up during the February 13 retreat.  

Apparently, until the Chino Valley Town Council asks the College to review the proposed raceway, it won’t be put on the agenda for discussion.  Furthermore, Board members will apparently continue (with the exception of Deb McCasland) to ignore emails from interested citizens asking questions. (So much for elected officials responding to their constituents.)   That was the gist of the retreat on the 13th  and the general meeting on the 14th.

In a January 4, 2017 article written by Ken Sain and appearing in the Chino Valley Review, Mr. Sain indicated that the developer of the facility, David Brinkley,  told him that  it appears Yavapai College has no intention of allowing the raceway, but school officials won’t come right out and say so. According to the article, Mr. Brinkley is quoted as saying “I’m going to look at this as a filibuster, they’re choosing to make us go away by ignoring us.”

Mr. Sain also wrote  that “Multiple messages to YC officials seeking comment were not returned.”

You may read all of Mr. Sain’s article by clicking here.

Neighborhoods protest; Chino Valley Council grants tentative approval; College and District Governing Board run for cover

A group of concerned Chino Valley home owners are fighting to prevent construction of a half million dollar motorsports facility in that town that will be located relatively close to their homes.  The home owners argue that the track will adversely affect their neighborhoods.  If built, they believe the track will result in increased traffic (high traffic on low volume roads), noise pollution, dust pollution and declining home values.

Yavapai College’s Agribusiness and Science Technology campus is located less than a half-mile from where the speedway is to be constructed. According to press reports, the college negotiated a provision in its lease agreement with Chino Valley that it could veto any motorsports facility at Old Home Manor.

In October, the Town Council agreed to an outline of a lease agreement with the proposed track developer. If the college board approves the agreement, then the next stage would be to iron out a formal lease agreement and for a technical review of the site plan to be completed.

According to the October 27, 2017 issue of the Daily Courier, Yavapai College has a veto because it was “was among the first to lease land at Old Home Manor and agreed to a swap, giving the town the building that acts as its current Town Hall.”

The college and members of the governing board have received numerous emails from Chino Valley residents about the project. However, they have not replied to those emails and have not scheduled the matter on their agenda. They claim there has been no specific request made to them to discuss the matter.

The following short video provides an outline of the dispute and the College’s position as of January 10, 2017.

The following articles, written by Mr. Ken Sain, provide much more details about the dispute:

The Daily Courier, January 10, 2016: editorial, Yavapai College should make track decision. (Click here)

The Daily Courier, November 5, 2016: residents start petition to stop raceway. (Click here)

Chino Valley government website, October 27, 2016. Motorsports to be discussed at Yavapai College. (Click here).

The Daily Courier, October 27, 2016: Chino Valley town Council gives tentative approval. (click here).

Chino Valley Review, October 5, 2016: Chino Valley puts auto racing on fast track: (click here).

The Daily Courier, July 15, 2016: Chino Valley considers motorsports. (Click here).

Official petition to prevent motorsports track in Chino Valley. (click here).

Sale of Chino Valley Campus will provide funds for $45 million new campus in Prescott Valley

The Yavapai Community College administration, led by President Penelope Wills, is dead set on selling the Chino Valley Campus unless enrollment picks up.  This was clear from the presentation made to the College Governing Board at the February 9, 2015 workshop.

The Blog suspects that the technique  the College may use to accomplish the closing will no doubt be similar to that used in Sedona.  That is, put in as few class offerings at the Chino Valley Campus as possible and then conclude there is not sufficient enrollment to justify continuing with it. 

Reproduced below is the chart used by the College for the Governing Board workshop showing its determination on this issue.