May 12, 2011 Shelton Mason County Journal | ![]() |
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' "'UI% I
Open
Continued from page A-1
counties when it comes to
changing regular meeting
times and producing
agendas.
"It comes down to
whether or not Mondays,
Tuesdays and Wednes-
days are all regular meet-
ings or not," he said. "For
a state agency, a 20-day
notice is required for
regular meeting changes.
We're a political subdivi-
sion of the state, and a
public agency, so it could
be different.
"There are still some
questions and I'm still
trying to get answers my-
self."
Roslaniec said that des-
ignating three days of ev-
ery week for public meet-
ings is really pushing the
notice requirements be-
yond what was intended
in the OPMA.
"You can't say we're in
meetings all week as a
way to give notice to the
public because people
can't be expected to sit
around all day waiting
for a meeting," Roslaniec
said.
"You can't just say we're
in meetings for three days
on Mondays, Tuesdays
and Wednesdays. No one
can be expected to monitor
that."
Lastly, Roslaniec of-
fered clarification about
what "is a common mis-
conception or misinterpre-
tation that there needs to
be final action" in order for
a meeting to be open to the
public.
"All you need to do is
discuss county business
and you're having a meet-
ingf Roslaniec said.
"Any discussion, de-
liberation, debate, etc.
amongst a quorum of the
board is action and it
doesn't have to be final
action."
Crews work to clear land on the 173 acres on Eells Road that will soon be the Ridge Motorsports Park.
Journal photos by Natalie Johnson
Drag
Continued from page A-1
the rest, a 40-acre-parcel, from
Green Diamond.
"When Joe Manke and I settled
on this particular site, because
we'd looked at a bunch of them ...
the ridge was the deciding factor
because of the topography," Powell
said.
The ridge Powell referred to is
the parks namesake, a steep ridge
right in the middle of the park.
Most of the racetrack will be up
on the ridge, while the drag strip
will be below, in a slightly recessed
strip of land, for noise abatement,
Powell said.
One of the many challenges in
getting all of the necessary per-
mits, Powell said, was zoning.
"The best way to look at this is
as a one off- the last racetrack
that was built in Western Wash-
ington was in 1961 so there is no
blueprint to work off in both the
land use side of things and quite
frankly" the permitting," Powell
said. "We had to find a zone that
would accommodate motorsports."
The county settled on the Rural
Tourist Campground (RTC) zon-
ing, because it allowed motors-
ports, and approved the rezone, al-
lowing the Ridge Group to go after
permits.
Powell, a long time club level
racer, said that Mason County's
long history of racing intrigued
him, and influenced his decision to
invest in building a track here.
"Shelton had a very strong
sports car and drag racing history
in the mid 1950s to early 1960s,"
he said. "Before they built Se-
attle International Raceway, this
is where everybody on the West
Coast ca'me to run."
The facility will not only I~
unique to the county, Powell said,
but possibly unique in the count~/,
because unlike most racing facili-
ties, the road course and drag str~ip
will be separate.
"To my knowledge we will lbe
the only duel racing surface facili-
ty on the west coast, in fact, I don't
ewm know if there's another one in
the country," he said.
While some residents in the
Eells Hill area voiced concgrns
about noise generated from the
racetrack, Powell argued that
noise studies showed that exist-
ing barriers, like trees and topog-
raphy, would mitigate any noise
problem for neighbors. Also, be-
cause the facility is designed for
non-professional racers, many
cars on the track shouldn't be
:much louder than an average daily
driver.
"Most of the activity quite frank-
ly, is street legal cars," he said.
Most importantly, beyond the
simple fun of racing, said Powell,
a lifelong resident of the area, this
racetrack could be a serious, and
much needed, "economic engine,~
in Mason County.
"The reasons these have become
economic engines is they're region-
al draws, they pull out of the metro
poles (sic), so people from Seattle
and people from Portland who
would not normally come here," he
said. "So the track becomes a mag-
net for people to come and spend
their recreational dollars."
Powell compared the Ridge Mo-
torsports Park to a similar park
near Willows California (popula-
tion 6,000) - the Thunderhill Race-
way Park.
"The track created 16 million
dollars of economic activity in Wil-
lows that would not be there if the
track wasn't there," he said. "We
expect to match Thunderhill's re-
suits."
Body
• Continued from page A-1
find Lawrence's body.
During ithe searches for
Lawrence, deputies used dive
teams from Mason and Thur-
ston counties, King County's
Guardian One Helicopter,
along with K-9 and cadaver
dog teams.
The sheriff's office said
that Lawrence's death is still
under investigation. Inves-
tigators did say that they
recovered a note believed to
have been written by Law-
rence, but they were unwill-
ing to elaborate on what it
said.
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Hanging Baskets
12" pots
Japanese Maples
$1299 99
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Serving you the best local produce for 15 years Pelid011s Syrups e
EBT Cards & All Major Credit Cards Welcome * Sallal, Miistardi
Look for our sign on Hwy 3 at Deer Creek & m0fe
5962 Hwy 3, Shelton • 253405-2832a
Entry Form
Mason County Forest Festival
Family & Pet Parade - June 4, 2011
(AII pets are welcom'e, but you have to clean up after them!)
Child's Name: Age:.
Parent/Guardian name: Phone:
First Place Prizes will be given in the following Qtegor/es:
- Group and/or Family Entry ~ Dress-up with your Pet(s)
Pr~'P's - Forestry Theme i Costumes / Fairy Tales
- Float or decorated wagon. Decorated Bike(s)
Day of the parade: check in at 9:00 am on S• Street between Railroad and Cot&
Judaina will beainat 9:30 am. Parade starts nromDtlv at 10:30 am,
[ " %
~O'l~ : PO BOX 925 "Shelton. WA 98584I rO ily/
In consideration of the acceptance of the application, the applicant named herein agrees to indemnify, defend and hold
harmless the Mason County Forest Festival, the City of Shelton, Meson County, their respective officers, employees and/or
property caused by or connected with the operation and/or behavior of applicant's unit in connection with festival activities.
No motorized vehicles allowed in the Family and Pet Parade.
Signature of Parent or Guardian
Date
Mason Cmmty Optimist
Family and Pet Parade Sponsored by:
Mason County Optimist and sq~n ,#a.# chu~-~n,~t c~Av
!
Squaxin Island Child Development Center ~ x ~ ~ 1
For questions call: Pat Ayers 360-426-1946
or Lorraine Coots 360-426-9852 Iz ~ ~"
7th May 13 - 15
~/::!i" Shelton, V~. Community Bluegrass Festival
m tionally renowned supergroup -from Tennessee
Youth The B( master
Program
with Runaway Train workshops
Chick Departure mandolin
Rose Blm tasting
I! ! il, Shltlton High School Audltorlu.ln i i: . !
i ii i i and C, al l utll • !
! ~, ]'frO ~DOOR S'IAGES ' BAND CONTESTS- !S~'~" :
BAN.IO CONTEST - MARV'S SLOW JAM - CAMPING
JAMMING - BAND SCRAMBLE - VENDORS - MORE!
Mark yo.r calendars for this great event!
info. 360 898 4581 or360 426 1782
e-mail runawaytrai.bluegrassband[i~holmail.com
.'ehsite blueg rassfrom t heforest.com
RI~ and tent camping on ,die! Showers
Presented by Kristmas Town Kiwanis
Shelton-Mason County Journal-Thursday, May 12, 201 t - Page A-7