Photo by kahle via morgueFile.com
The Paris Town Board should have an agreement with the Great Lakes Dragaway governing issues citizens have complained about such as noise and excessive light to consider at its July board meeting.
Town attorney John Knuteson said he has been meeting with the dragaway’s lawyer to hammer out an agreement that the board hopes could take the place of having to pass an ordinance to deal with the nuisance issues.
When Knuteson said the goal was to have an agreement by next meeting, Chairman Virgil Gentz put it more forcefully.
“I don’t see any reason it can’t be done …” Gentz said. “It has to be done.”
You built your house or moved in long after the Dragstrip was established. Go fight liberal Democrats on something instead of giving the Dragstrip a hard time.
I’d love to know how much the Town is paying for all of this. Didn’t they spend quite a bit of money for that noise study already?, and now, more $$ to the Town Attorney, and for what – just to make a handful of people happy.
What happened to any grandfather laws? Where is the concern about the smell from the dump 24/7 all year long?
The dragstrip put Paris and Union Grove on the map – God Bless them. Anyone selling a property within earshot of the dragstrip can contact me.
doug
Gotta’ agree with BJ & Doug. The dragstrips been there for a long time. The only reason the board is all over the dragstrip is because they’re not bringing the town the same money the dump does. I guess money talks but getting Paris on the map (in a good way) is not so good. The animals next to the dragstrip don’t seem to mind the occasional noise.
Yes but now the dump is trying to back out of their deal and the town and lawyer will probably let them. Over 15K has been spent on the noise study already not including the lawyer. The study said : The dragstrip is not that loud. Period. Move if you don’t like it. The dragstrip was here first. The town has wasted two years of the dragstrips time and lawyers fees as well.
Did Lk Geneva get rid of their dragstrip? we aren’t trying to get rid of GLDS. we are asking for them to ABIDE by the conditional use permit that was implemented back in 1994. They refuse. Are you aware that they are NOT suppose to have motorcycle races there? that was pulled from there permit back in 1994, but he does it anyway. They can stay and they don’t bother me but to get a break on a weekend once in awhile during the Summer would be nice. Two weekends is all we are asking for. They can even pick them. I asked for the weekend when all the festivals were going on at the same time and his place is slow on that weekend, but “they” said NO, they aren’t even trying to co-operate with the locals or the town board. Its real easy for people who don’t live here to say yeah sell me your place or its been there longer then you have but in all reality PROGRESS supercedes the past and people live here now so the dragstrip is being asked to honor their conditional use permit which is to provide a wall or some means to keep the noise to a minimum from the neighbors and dim the lights or put shields over the lights so the lighting radiates down onto the track. They haven’t even tried to accomodate us. he was offered the dirt from the frontage road to create a burm and he refused. We aren’t trying to put him out of business, but racing the cars at 10PM and going past the designated time with little regard to the neighbors is just disrepectful to us. We have rights too. Until you are here on a daily basis to hear this constantly you have no right to say much of anythig about this situation. I’ll come into your neighborhood, race cars up and down your street, letting the tires squeal, smell the rubber from the tires heating up and lets not forget the rumble of the car taking off down the road or better yet when they use the nitro cars and your house shakes from the explosion. While all this is going on you even get to hear who won along with some comments as well. At least the swearing stopped. We had no clue about that stuff when we bought this land.
We knew the dragstrip was there and it operated during the Summer but we thought it operated on certain dates NOT everyday. That was our mistake and we live with it, but they do have rules to follow and they don’t. As far as the noise study went, it was OUR nickel not his and he was informed when it would be and what a coincidence that the stuff that was on his agenda seemed to just disapear that weekend and he had muffler cars racing which made the noise nothing of concern to us. WE accepted that study, but guess what? HE DIDN”T. Why didn’t he let the noise study go as planned? That only benefited us and he found that out later when we accepted that study as being the limit. So yes the waste of money was on us but you didnt’ get the whole picture until now. Now the noise is exceeding what was allowable. It has been there for a very long time and with the way things get done in this town, they will be there until they decide to close the doors which probably won’t be long due to the economy, fuel prices, and insurance rates. Once again before you flap your jaws contact the county office or Paris clerk Monday, Wednesday and half day Friday and ask for the conditional use permit pertaining to the dragstrip, then tell me that they are following what they are suppose to be. They don’t even tell the town board what the agenda is until it is posted on his site which right there is a violation along with the motorcycle races. This Town and the board memebers have been very sensitive to the business allowing them to run the business without much interference or intervention, but GLDS need to make some compromises and they won’t. Talk about stubborn, your right two years of fighting and they still won’t compromise which still doesn’t put them into following the conditional use permit by a long shot.
Yeah, you have rights… the right to remain silent. They can have motorcycles, just not motocross. You are also wrong because he couldn’t acedpt the dirt from the frontage road because he doesn’t own enough land on the east side. You are so full of misinformation. You are the reason the town wasted $15k+ on sound study that says it’s not that loud. Now live with it. He didn’t change his schedule, there has never be a day where they had “muffler cars” as you say. Go ahead and race cars up and down my road. I’ll have the sheriff’s waiting for you. That’s illegal, the dragstrip is not.
Also the Town is the one holding up the process not GL Dragaway. Do you think they want to spend more and more money on a lawyer. The town has a worthless one that has cost the dragstrip plenty already.
Also, Lake Geneva never had a dragstrip! Great Lakes Dragaway is the oldest dragstrip in the country! If you lived here before 1955 then you should have spoken up before it was built.
Talk about Misinformation , You make me laugh. Try gettinga copy of the condtional use permit that they are suppose to be abiding by and READ IT. Motorcycles were taking OFF the permit many, many years ago but he still does them. Motocross has been squashed. he can race the cars, but he has a curfew too. As far as racing cars up and down your street so you can hear it, tehn its illegal, but for US to listen to it thats ok in your book. Tiems change and so do townships. The dragstrip NEVER pays for the lawyer or the noise study, WE did oh yeah and his girlfriend too. Accepting the dirt, he chose not too. He purchased land from the neighbors years ago to do what he was suppose to do and he never did it. He increased his place instead and now again he is out of land? he just needs to move some of his stuff inside more and take the land that he originally purchased for the burm and do the job he was suppose to do with it. The neighbors are not selling him anymroe land at his price. He had his chance and he blew it. You are getting one side of the story and you are hearing what you want to hear. GET THE WHOLE STORY and quit the B.S. The noise study was a set up and you won’t convice me or any of the others in this area ( since you aren’t from this area) that it wasn’t. You need to get your facts straight and you are clueless what goes on here in this town. Im not the reason for the sound study, the surrounding people are the reason for the sound study and he caused it for us to ask for it again AT OUR EXPENSE. The sound and the light study went no where. he refuses to compromise any of what we are asking and he isn’t going by what he agreed to to begin with. He doesn’t have to pay for a lawyer. He jsut has to abide by his conditional use permit that was set up with his signature and that would end his lawyer fees.
Let me make some corrections to you “information”.
The dragstrip never owned enough land to build a berm.
I have read the conditional use permit and he seems to conforming to the rules. They must end by 10:30 on weekdays and 11:30 on weekends.
They do not run motorcylce exclusive events.
I do live here and I have the whole story. I have been following it for many, many years.
They have to pay for a lawyer to protect themselves(common sense) and to do the work that the town and it’s lawyer seem be draging their feet on FOREVER.