Ticket to ride

The idling rumble of Andrew Hammond's motorcycle engine two feet away from a handheld decibel meter was, at 107 decibels, not much louder than the 85-decibel traffic noise from Interstate Highway 70, a short distance away from the Prairie Harbor Golf Course west of Salina.

"That's not at full throttle," Robbyn Anglin, 3256 W. Stimmel, observed, standing with a group that included neighbors living within a mile or two of the site of a proposed commercial motocross course Hammond wants to build.

The group of about 10 people gathered Friday at the property to observe Saline County commissioners and county administrators who were touring the facility in preparation for a commission vote Tuesday.

Commissioners are scheduled to decide on whether a conditional-use permit should be awarded to allow the track to operate.

That meeting starts at 11 a.m. in Room 107 of the City-County Building, 300 W. Ash.

Friday the visitors saw and heard Hammond ride the proposed course solo. Hammond provided Vicki Koepsel, the county's director of planning and zoning, with the decibel meter, which she used to take readings from various locations on the property.

Watching was Gary Gleason, Hammond's grandfather. Gleason has worked for years to establish, on his own, a 9-hole, par 3 golf course on the property at 2002 N. Halstead. The property is known to Interstate drivers approaching Salina by its landmark, full-size white lighthouse, towering above the clubhouse.

If the permit from the motocross track is approved, the name of the facility will be changed to the Prairie Harbor Recreational Area. About six of the still-to-be finished golf holes would remain, to co-exist with the motocross track.

Neighbors are opposed

Neighbors of the proposed track have been for the most part staunchly opposed to Hammond's plan, due to concerns that it will bring noise and dust to their properties.

Commissioners Randy Duncan and John Reynolds, together with Koepsel, County Administrator Rita Deister and County Clerk Don Merriman, watched as Hammond zoomed around the course layout on a 450cc bike, the biggest certified for motocross competition.

Commission Chairman Jerry Fowler was unable to attend Friday's tour because of a previously scheduled appointment concerning the health of a family member.

Hammond's bike was running with a stock muffler, which he allowed isn't always the case with some riders.

"You can buy after-market mufflers. Some guys put them on to get more power out of their motors," he said.

From a distance of about 40 yards with Hammond gunning the motorcycle engine, the decibel meter registered up to about 90 decibels. When Hammond was farther away, behind a line of small trees, the engine couldn't be heard at all.

There were questions from the crowd and commissioners after his ride about the number of riders in each motocross race heat. The number of riders a heat could average about 10 to 15, although for some beginning riders -- youth on bikes as small as 50ccs -- there could be up to 30 riders or more at any one time.

Not trying to pull the wool

"We're not trying to pull the wool over anyone's eyes. It's going to be louder," Gleason said.

The restrictions on the facility's operating permit would allow Hammond to be open for 10 open ride days each month, nine months of the year, on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Motocross and ATV riding would take place on some of those days, with mountain biking and radio-controlled car recreation on others.

Motorcycle and ATV races would take place at the facility on Sundays, one to two days a month, April through October. Admittance would be limited to 300 people at a time.

Operating hours would be from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesdays and Saturdays, and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays.

Skeptical neighbors asked Koepsel about the other 20 days of the month not designated as open-ride days. Would Hammond be allowed to open the facility for his friends to ride at those times.

"I would say he hasn't been approved for that," Koepsel said. "You can't be a business and a private entity, both."

Heard inside a home

Anglin said that he had videotape of Hammond and two buddies riding their bikes in the area and the noise was loud enough to be heard inside his home.

"One thing you won't be able to test today for, and that's the PA system that's going to have to be yelling above all these bikes," said another observer, Richard Rassmusen, 1927 N. Halstead.

"I do plan on installing a PA system," Hammond said.

n Reporter David Clouston can be reached at 822-1403 or by e-mail at dclouston@salina.com.

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