Graham Smith doesn’t want to see public money used to build a NASCAR speedway in the north Marysville area.
But a trip to a race in Kansas changed his views about whether a track in Snohomish County would have a negative effect on traffic, property values and the tranquility of the rural area between Marysville and Arlington.
Smith, an Arlington City Council member, recently attended a race in Kansas City, Kan., along with other officials from Marysville, Arlington and Snohomish County.
Opponents of the proposal by International Speedway Corp. to build a track near Marysville had pointed out their concerns over issues such as noise, pollution, traffic, crowds and a decrease in nearby property values, Smith said.
“I was not in favor of it,” he said. “I went back looking for things to support those issues, and I did not find them.
“I still am concerned about the financing arrangement, whether taxpayer expense should be part of it,” he said, speaking as an individual and not on behalf of the Arlington council.
The ISC has said it would contribute $50 million, but the public could be left to fund about $200 million of the project.
Smith had never attended a NASCAR race and knew little about it. “I was quite impressed with the organization,” he said.
The crowd was well-mannered, and he saw no disturbances, and he was surprised at how clean the facility was during and after the race.
The group talked to about 100 people at nearby businesses, stores and parking lots, and took noise samples with a decibel meter while a NASCAR race was in progress.
“The noise was not a factor, not with these new tracks,” Smith said. “There was only one spot where the noise level was uncomfortable, standing behind a parking lot about quarter-mile downwind from the track. The noise was a little louder than standing next to a freeway.”
At a mile away, “you had to really listen for it to hear it,” Smith said. “We all came away with a different understanding of the noise level.”
Marysville City Councilman Jeff Seibert also went on the trip.
“We all kind of played devil’s advocate. Everybody we talked to said positive things about what the track would do,” he said.
As to property values, the area around the Kansas City track actually saw individual values jump from about $47,000 to $160,000, Seibert said.
Airport officials said they made a lot of money on fuel during race weekends, he said. About 70 airplanes flew in just for the race.
The Kansas City track was built in a large field and displaced about 120 people, Smith said.
“It’s not as congested as the Marysville area is right now. But in the immediate area, it has no negative effect,” he said.
The track attracted other stores and services that helped the economy and nearby residents, Smith said.
The group left the track about 20 minutes after the race and drove about 20 mph for the first few miles, but the traffic wasn’t stop-and-go, and it opened up to full speed quickly, he said.
“It was nothing like when the University of Washington football games end,” Smith said. “It was very smooth.”
Tiffany Killmer, a member of Snohomish County Citizens Against a Racetrack, remains unconvinced.
Many racetracks are built in light industrial areas rather than areas as rural as Marysville, which makes a big difference, she said. She also has reservations about noise, saying the local track wouldn’t be on level ground, but in a “bowl” and the sound would carry differently.
“I personally have not seen any change of heart within members of SCCAR. I see a lot of new names cropping up, especially with the public financing issue. I know people who were adamantly in favor of the track until the public funding issue came up,” she said.
Reporter Cathy Logg: 425-339-3437 or logg@heraldnet.com.
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