Thunderbolt Raceway Developmental Planning Meeting - 11/21/05 (date changed)
http://www.njmotorsportspark.com/

This date has just been moved to November 21st, same time and location. It is a special meeting where Thunderbolt NJMP is the only item on the agenda.

Attention Race Fans and Sports Car Crazy People:

Your attendance is requested at the next Millville, NJ public
meeting scheduled for Monday, November 14, 2005 at 7:00 p.m. This
meeting will take place in the presence of the Millville Planning
Board to determine site plan approval for the Thunderbolt Raceway
project, which includes a public hearing for comments. Though there
may be the necessity of a second site plan meeting if this one runs
over the time allotted, the more important meeting is this first one
(11/14).

Now in blunt English: What we need are folks who are pro-
Thunderbolt in seats at this public meeting.

Directions/Location:
Main Street, Millville, NJ

Map:
http://www.google.com/maps?q=Millville,+NJ&hl=en

Millville, NJ website:
http://www.millville-nj.com/index.html

If you have any questions feel free to email me. If I don't know
the answer, I'll do my best to find one.

Sincerely,
David Hess
SJR-SCCA Activities/At Speed
emwavey (at) yahoo.com


Modified by emwavey at 10:00 AM 11/3/2005

 

We should have all the NJ people meet up an hour prior to the meeting! Who's with me?

 

I am in...

 

me 3

 

Definitely need public support. Otherwise, a few anti-everything people will get all upset. And politicians don't like upset voters.

Need to stress the *MONEY* that these racers spend on food, lodging, etc.....

 

From what I know about this project it sounds very solid. They just settlled the lawsuit with the protesters:

Suit over motor-sports park in Millville reportedly settled

Government leaders and environmentalists fighting over the $100 million project are to give details tomorrow.

By Edward Colimore

Inquirer Staff Writer


An announcement is expected tomorrow detailing the settlement of a lawsuit filed by environmentalists to block a proposed $100 million motor-sports resort in Millville, Cumberland County.

City and county government officials and representatives of environmental groups plan to release the terms at a noon news conference at the proposed site of the New Jersey Motorsports Park - about 700 acres at Dividing Creek and Buckshutem Roads next to Millville Airport.

The park would include a 4.1-mile road course called Thunderbolt Raceway and a 3/4-mile tri-oval raceway. Hotels, restaurants, a conference center, and villas or condo-style guest houses also are planned.

Environmental groups object to the possible impact on wildlife, including threatened or endangered bird species at the site and several species of frogs in a nearby wetland.

Citizens United to Protect the Maurice River and Its Tributaries Inc., the state Audubon Society, and the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions were concerned about noise and the displacement of wildlife.

The groups sued this year with the help of law students in the Rutgers Environmental Law Clinic in Newark, N.J. A hearing scheduled for Nov. 14 in state Superior Court 14 in Woodbury is expected to be canceled with the resolution of the legal action against the Millville City Planning Board.

Last month, the board received a detailed 53-page site plan for the motor-sports park, including an environmental assessment. It will review the plan this month and is expected to grant approval. Construction could begin in the spring.

 

See above! Date has been moved to the 21st.

Andrew, thanks for the info.

I went looking for information in opposition to Thunderbolt. Haven't found anything concrete that has changed my mind. I don't consider myself a "tree-hugger" but I am concerned about environmental issues, and I would have no problem denouncing this build project if I saw something that would pose a permanent environmental hazard. The hard facts are, the site is zoned commercal, and is not being used. Traffic will increase, however it would increase no matter what was built there, provided it was a successful project.

In my brief search to become informed, the only thing I really found expressing an opinion against the track was this, which was really more of a response to a letter "Doomsayers ... "

This is one article written by a Green Party member, written 12/30/04:
http://www.gpnj.org/Green%20Grams/20...bolt%20Raceway


I'll let you folks poke your own holes in the article.

 

(promotion voice on)

OK, I know all you folks have become sour to the fact that just about every proposed track winds up going down the toilet, but have faith. The folks proposing this track are the very same folks who resurrected VIR (Harvey Siegel).

Can you imagine adding another track to say EC Honda Challenge ... MARRS ... NARRC ... or even NASA's HPDE program? From what I understand this also has great potential for autocross events.

The very fact that we're still talking about this track and the fact that the town of Millville is holding a separate meeting just to cover the development proposal has to tell you just how very excited the locals are. It's not just the race fans who are excited; it's the local artisans and businesses.

So my plea is if you're in traveling distance to the town of Millville, your butt is requested to fill some seats in the meeting. If you have any interest at racing at a 4 mile road course in Southern New Jersey, then please consider making yourself available to attend.

Take a look at the website, some stuff has been updated even since I last visited:
http://www.njmotorsportspark.com/

Please share your thoughts about the possibility of this track's existence.

Feel free to post here or email me personally with any questions.

(promo voice off)

Thanks for the bandwidth!