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[QUOTE="fishhead, post: 732827, member: 18565"] [b]warm up the keys and send some messages[/b] Here is the latest. Note the opponents don't have much concern for facts or truth. Please take the time to write to the commisioners and support the park. ----- Original Message ----- From: [email]EBushLBush@aol.com[/email] Sent: Saturday, February 07, 2004 11:14 PM Subject: ORV Needs your help "NOW" Please Read Below are several letters sent to the county commissioners the one at the bottom of the page is a letter sent to "JAN" a writer from the Tacoma News Tribune. "you probably need to start gathering the troops to give some accurate information on this..." Please write letter in favor of the ORV park to the following e-mail addresses: Heather Woodward, The Olympian; The Olympian; [email]hwoodward@olympia.gannett.com[/email] Jen Graves, Tacoma News Tribune; [email]jen.graves@mail.tribnet.com[/email] Steve Dunkelberger, Managing Editor, Assistant The Business Examiner Editor Steve Dunkelberger [email]sdunkel@BusinessExaminer.com[/email] The Business Examiner; Terry Knight, The Sitting Duck [email]tknightvision@aol.com[/email] "Steve Willis" stevenl@olynet.c "Susan Willis" [email]swillis@tctv.net[/email] Bill & Jeanette Willis FROM: Ed Bushnell North West Outdoor Coalition President The "Willis" Neihbor to the Thurson County ORV are now using dirty tactics to pressur on the commissioner on the progress to getting Thurston County ORV back in operation. Here is a letter I sent to JAN at the Tacoma News Tribune Jan, I have read two letter that your friend Bryan Wills has sent to the county commissioners. I am writing you to inform you that there are misleading statements in his letter. To introduce my shelf My name is Ed Bushnell. My titles include: President of the North West Outdoor Coalition (formally know as the "Thurston County ORV Advisory committee") Competition manager for American motorcycle Association District 27 (Washington State). User of the ORV sport park for over 20 years. Father of a family who has used the park for the past 11 years. Lets start at the beging of what has transpired. In Nov of 2002 the county commissioner voted to close the park the vote was two in favor and one opposed to closing Thurston County ORV sports park. The two commissioner who voted to close the park were commissioner Sullivan (who is no longer in office) and commissioner Wolff. the commissioner in favor of the park is Commissioner Oberquell. The reason sated at the time for closuer of the park were: 1. Envoromential issues 2. Financial 3. Risk & liability Item 1. There were complaints that the run off from the park was putting silt into the Mox Challis Creek. Root cause: Logging has been done above the park on both hill just above the park. Yes, the run off was coming thorough the park and into the Creak (record rains in the summer of 2001) The County applied for a grant to build retention ponds to control the run off from the park. The grant was approved from the IAC (NOVA Funding) as a capital improvement to the ORV Park. The retention ponds have been built and are working. IAC grants require that you do the work than once completed the IAC will reinburst the County. The funds that funded this project came from the ORV park funds. Never has any Thurston County general funds been used in the Operation of the ORV sport park. The NWOC has received a letter from the dept. of Ecology stating that there has not been any issues with the run off into the creek and the retention ponds are in operation doing their job. Just a not the project still is in need of a cross over tube to be installed which will make the project 100% complete. Item 2. Financial issues: The County stated that is was costing the county to much to run the Park. Just a little history on Thurston County Parks. When the ORV park was established there was no Parks dept. in Thurston County. The ORV park is what has supported the parks dept. and made it what it is today. In NO time in the history of the ORV park has there ever been any money used from the general fund to support the park. When the commissioner voted to close the park they were misinformed on the fact. The gross revenue at the gate for the 2002 record year was $192,000. The county also receives Maintenance and Operation (M&O) grants from the IAC (NOVA Funding) for 200,000 Biannually. Any major improvement grants come from the IAC and are a competitive bid in the grant process. There were 32,000 people used the park in 2002 the last year of its operation. The Department of Trade and Economic Developments shows that the Avg. daily spending per person using public Camping is $37 per day. vAdd this to the 200,000.00 per year ORV park budget that was spent in the local economy each year and you get almost 1.5 million dollars in the economic revenue generated by the ORV park last year alone. Between the five motorcycle dealers in Thurston County they did an estimated $30 Million dollars in total sales for the year 2003 Residents of Thurston County purchased from the dealers a total 1954 motorcycles and ATV's in 2003. This equates to $18 million dollars in sales for those 1954 units sold in Thurston County. What was very evident from these reports is the loss of business in the off Road or dirt bike segments. In the year 2002 they sold 446 dirt bikes in Thurston County. This was a 13.2% increase over 2001. In the year 2003 they sold 443 dirt bikes in Thurston County This was a decline of . 07%. Now you may say this was due to economy or the war, but it was not. The rest of our state enjoyed an increase of 9.8% in dirt Bike sales in 2003 Item 3. Risk & liability: In the letter from Mr. Willis He is Quoted in a statement "I was also astounded to learn the County is responsible for up to $250,000 to defend EACH AND EVERY COURT CASE" This is the County's deductible. This means that if you are driving on a county road and you feel that the county is at fault the county will have to pay the first $250,000 If you sue and the County loses. Same as if you are walking into the County Court house and a limb was to fall from a tree and strike you. If you sue the county and they losses they will pay the first $250,000 than the county risk pool would pick up the balance up to 20 Mil. Which is the cap of the county risk pool If you sue for over 20 mil the county will have to also pick up the tab. No were have we said that the county is going to pay the insurance for the ORV park. Just to get the record straight the ORV has been paying for their own insurance We also have been paying 75% of all the Thurston County parks Dept. park insurance The rest of the acusation from Mr. Willias about user only camping and not using local business are all faults statement And the comments of "The big winners here have always been the professional race promoters and sales reps. Thurston County money supports a facility primarily used by out-of-county and out-of-state users". This is a family park used by off road users. There was more money generated by day use than promoters Let's look at the new sports complex in Lacey that the county is supporting. Skate board parks? Risk, Liailiby? The County has committed to paying $125,000 a year out of the general fund to support this complex. Please get both sides of the story not one side from neighbors who live just feet off Hwy. 8 Thank you for you time. Please feel free to call or send me a note: Ed Bushnell 425-745-4010 [email]ebushlbush@aol.com[/email] Fwd: Fw: ORV Park - Jen Graves, Tacoma News Tribune Hi Walt, Could you forward Shawn's e-mail address? The County Commissioners are preparing to make a pitch to the IAC regarding ORV funding. I think the tax-paying public would be astounded to learn Diane Oberquelle is even considering committing the County to paying exorbitant insurance fees for a high-risk facility in which so many people have been severely injured. The County is currently defending a lawsuit from the family of a man who died at the ORV Park. I was also astounded to learn the County is responsible for up to $250,000 to defend EACH AND EVERY COURT CASE. Many of these cases involve minors and, according to Tammy Devlin, County Risk Analyst, the statute of limitations will not run out for years even if the park never reopens. Win or lose, the County could be on the hook for $250,000 for each case. These expenses are not covered by insurance (the deductible kicks in after $250,000). This means we could, in fact, be on the hook for millions of dollars. Last week I attended a County meeting where the subject was discussed. A lawyer from the Prosecutor's Office reported that the County had already spent between $50,000 and $100,000 on the case involving a recent death at the ORV Park. The case is still pending. Sadly, this was not the first death at the Park. And it doesn't take a prophet to make the sad prediction that if the Park reopens more people will be severely injured and, unfortunately, it's highly likely more deaths will occur. It gave me an uneasy feeling to hear County officials ask: "What will a death cost the County?" "What will a severe injury to a minor cost the County?" I realize that's the reality of the situation. However, I highly doubt most Thurston County taxpayers want to support the ORV Park with County money--particularly if they're aware of the ongoing costs involved. I want to be sure to point out that Commissioner Cathy Wolfe was clear in her opposition to rushing forward with any proposal. I've followed her career in the Legislature for many years and I'm overjoyed to see her continue to serve so well as a Commissioner. Members of the Parks Board, Planning, Michael Welter and County Staff were also providing excellent information of the costs and potential liabilities and dangers of reopening the park. Also, I know Bob Macleod to be a man of intelligence and integrity. However, we've heard rumblings from the Grays Harbor Commissioners that the park will eventually reopen, without fanfare, at a later date. The fact that Commissioner Oberquell is pushing to move forward with a proposal without knowing the costs of Insurance (or the cost of full-time staff for on-site enforcement of state noise laws) is disturbing to neighbors of the Park because it follows an ugly trend established years ago. The County approved the purchase of over $100,000 worth of lights for night racing. They were used once and then removed when neighbors organized, hired William Cullen, and took their case to a County Hearings Examiner (neighbors are prepared to hire Mr. Cullen again should the Park reopen and fail to enforce state sound restrictions and hours of operation). The County also pushed forward by constructing a drag strip for nitro-powered sand dragsters. These machines (again, the vast majority of users were from far outside the otherwise quiet confines of Thurston County) could be heard clearly in Summit Lake--four miles away--and were in direct violation of RCW 46.09 (86 db. at 50 ft.). Their tenure at the Park was short-lived. The dragstrip was demolished. Build now: find out if it's legal later. Find out what it costs later. Find out if area residents will organize and hire a lawyer--later. The big winners here have always been the professional race promoters and sales reps. Thurston County money supports a facility primarily used by out-of-county and out-of-state users. These are people who camp at the Park and leave. They don't stay in area hotels or go shopping in downtown Olympia. They do frequent the Capital Medical Center Emergency Room and, potentially, the Thurston County Courthouse. That's bad business, bad use of County funds, bad ethics, injured kids, dead users, high insurance, and a consistent record of violating RCW 46.09 as well as posted hours of operation (The Sheriff refuses to enforce the law and Park Managers are on record in reporting they are helpless--and sometimes intimidated--when it comes to enforcing state law and posted park rules). They're bad neighbors. One must ask--who's making money here? Public dollars--specifically County Tax Dollars--supporting out-of-county, private promoters, private equipment dealers, and out-of-county users at a potentially crippling (no pun intended) cost. That's right in Shawn's wheel house. Walt, you and I have discussed public access to public lands many times. We both know there's a real need for additional public parks for residents here in Thurston County. This land could be used for activities which could be enjoyed by more people who live right here. And those activities wouldn't necessarily have to be life-threatening or high maintenance. Even if the County had to pay back money granted by the IAC (which is definitely not a forgone conclusion), Thurston County would come out in superior financial shape by selling the land; it would become an ongoing source of tax revenue. Not to mention the lack of insurance, legal fees, labor, etc., etc. The Park has always operated at a loss; Park fees don't begin to cover expenses. I'd like to see that money (and over the years we're talking about millions of dollars) dedicated to a Park for Thurston County residents. At Diane's urging, the Commissioners will be discussing the insurance issue in greater detail in Executive Session (sound familiar?). At any rate, I'd like to talk about all this the next time I see you at the station. Congratulations on the tremendous success of your lawsuit against the city. As expected, your legal efforts were consistently dismissed in such a public fashion by so many public officials. Until the end, of course. Well done. Best Wishes Always, Bryan Willis 754-2818 cc: Thurston County Commissioners Macleod, Wolfe & Oberquell; Heather Woodward, The Olympian; Jen Graves, Tacoma News Tribune; Steve Dunkelberger, Managing Editor, The Business Examiner; Terry Knight, The Sitting Duck; Steve Willis; Susan Willis; Bill & Jeanette Willis [/QUOTE]
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