21 Cottonwood Lane

Yerington NV  89447

October 22, 2009

To:  Lyon County Fair and Rodeo Board

c/o Lisa Tibbals, Secretary

Dear Members of the Lyon County Fair and Rodeo Board:

We are writing to request that you honor the provisions of paragraph four of the addendum (Attachment "A") to the contract between Lyon County and Mustang Motorplex and remove the motocross track at the Fairgrounds after the end of the second event (Nov. 7-8, 2009).

We are also writing to explain our concerns, clear up some misconceptions, and clearly show that there are indeed problems with the location of the motocross track. 

Here are four common misunderstandings:

1.   "What are those residents complaining about?  They already live by the fairgrounds, and motocross will only be four extra days a year."

                Actually, the residents who live by the fairgrounds have no problem with events that take place in the Arena, including motocross racing.  The Arena is enclosed and surrounded by buildings and trees that help block the noise.  In fact, Mustang Motorplex held a race in the arena early in September, with no complaints from local residents.

                The new track is an entirely different story.  It is out in the open, almost a mile long, occupying about 23.5 acres, and about 200 yards from residential properties.  The noise from the first race was horrific.  We heard complaints from people who live on the east side of Yerington proper, about a mile away, so imagine what it was like on Cottonwood Lane.

                The Promoter from Mustang Motorplex has stated that his plan is to hold eight two-day events per year.  The two races already scheduled (Sept 19-20 and Nov. 7-8) are part of the Fall Series.  We assume that means Winter, Spring, and Summer will have two more each.  In addition, he stated that local business sponsors are planning to have eight "customer appreciation" events.  That's thirty-two days of racing.  If you add sixteen days of track preparation, using heavy equipment, you have 48 days of noise and dust.

                Now, this is what was observed during the September races.  The racers and fans who came to Yerington spent Saturday night partying and shooting off fireworks (illegally) while they were camped within a stone's throw of a half-dozen residents.  In addition, despite numerous appeals from the track announcer, riders zoomed along the chain link fence separating our properties from the fairgrounds during the day, adding to the noise and dust.

2.  "The motocross races will bring bring revenue to the community."

                The racers and fans who come to Yerington usually stay in their own RV's at the Fairgrounds.  They bring everything with them, including high octane fuel for their bikes.  One of our neighbors asked the owner of a local motorcycle shop how business was during the first race.  He said he sold a few tubes and some handlebar grips.  There were few cars at local motels.  We have heard that the Promoter hasn't yet paid some of his bills to local businesses for goods and services, e.g., the local radio station  Finally, whatever revenues the Promoter collected are drops in the bucket compared to the financial impact of that motocross track on the millions of dollars worth of property that we neighbors, in good faith, invested in prior to the expansion of the Fairgrounds in 2002.

3. " People who live by the Fairgrounds are like people who move next to an airport and complain about airplane noise."

                In 1995, we bought our Cottonwood Lane property when maps publicly displayed at the Lyon County Economic Development Office showed "Proposed Fairgrounds Expansion" on a parcel east of the Fairgrounds. 

                In 2002, Lyon County purchased the land north of the Fairgrounds and built the motocross track in 2009.

                We were here first.

4.  "Everyone supports the motocross track except a few people who live by the Fairgrounds."

                A story in the MV News right after the Arena race in September stated that there were "no complaints,"  giving the impression that everyone was happy with plans to build the new track.  One reason there were no objections was that few people beside the Fair Board and the Promoter knew any details of the project.  We honestly feel as if the Fair Board has not been totally forthcoming about this project.   For example, the very first time some of us saw the contract between Lyon County and Mustang Motorplex was right before the Commissioners meeting to approve it.  

                The Lyon County website link to the Fair and Rodeo Board brings up a blank page (http://www.lyon-county.org/index.aspx?NID=213)   Why should it be so difficult for ordinary citizens or residents who have much to lose by actions of the Fair Board to find out who is on the Board, how to contact them, and what their agenda is?

                Many of our neighbors enjoy motor sports.  One is a former dirt bike racer.  Another rides quads. We ourselves supported our son when he was a young dirt bike rider.  We support the building of a motocross track, but in a suitable location and not next to established residences.

Please, remove the motocross track.  It does not belong next to our homes.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Mike and Cheryl Hagen

CC: Phyllis Hunewill, Lyon County Commissioner, District 5