COOPER PARK COMPLEX WEBSITE
WHAT DO OUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS THINK?
Michael Seifert 377
"This is exactly what Central Ohio NEEDS!"
Cathie M. Webb 483
"Great entertainment, jobs, community need, easy access, walking distance"
Michael Sekeres 230
"By far the best idea proposed for this site. A big plus for the area"
Laurie Ogburn 421
"I am a Hill Top resident and absolutely LOVE this idea for Cooper Stadium"
Craig Butt 012
"This what is needed - a privately funded, comprehensive plan - that is not reliant on public monies"
Jon McVay 646
"Sorely needed - would love to work there again - stated first job there at age 16"
Moses Kahiga 625
"I'm in full support of the project. For Columbus and the surrounding communities to be competitive with other major urban cities, we need Cooper Park Complex"
James Leezer 591
"Columbus needs this and so does Franklinton"
Nita Eisnnicher 569
"This sounds like the shot in the arm needed for this area. What an awesome idea"
Paul Weikel 053
'Franklinton NEEDS the jobs and influx of private development money"
Mike Fornataro 099
"Do not take this opportunity lightly. An opportunity such as this for investment in a white elephant such as Cooper Stadium is rare indeed"
Jon Chester 365
"This would be a wonderful addition to Columbus, bringing revenue and multiple events. I totally support this!!!"
Thomas Pettit 206
"This would be a great idea for Columbus. I was born and raised here and would love to see this happen. Lets put Columbus on the fore front for a change instead of on the backburner"
Greg Wheeland 173
"This would be amazing to have in Columbus"
Lisa Conrad 358
"I believe this will bring jobs and money into our community"
Don Howell 519
"Our area needs this for revitalization"
Mike & Yvonne Fraizer 459
"This would be a terrific means to give this area of Columbus, as well as surrounding businesses, a HUGE boost. We welcome and are very excited about this wonderful opportunity"
Marialyce Gregory 252
"I believe that the technology center alone will improve the area and provide great resources for Columbus residents"
Sheila Micholes 231
"We need the jobs!"
Charles Jenkins 649
"I live fairly close to the location and think it would be a great idea. I feel if all go as proposed it will revitalize a part of Columbus that really needs it. Also it is a great idea for a lot of unused space.
Brandi Heimbush 550
"This project would bring great improvement to the Cooper Stadium area. We need this!"
Mark Gleckler 040
"This is a great opportunity for Franklinton to bring jobs into the area during this economic downturn. The financial benefits to the area with the influx of new businesses to support this complex will help both Franklinton and its residents"
Ryan Haegele 508
"This looks like an awesome facility that the entire Columbus community can be proud of. Much better that letting an empty, outdated stadium continue to deteriorate in a deteriorating community"
Aaron King 168
"Please do this"
Jonathan Beaty 633
"Lets fix up a depressed part of our city and create jobs at the same time"
John Welsh 145
"This is the type of entertainment I would spend my money on"
Tanya Lewis 350
"I hope this is just a start to many good things on that side of town"
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HOW CAN YOU RECEIVE PROJECT NEWS AND UPDATES DIRECTLY TO YOUR EMAIL INBOX ?
Send an email message to: info@CooperParkComplex.com You'll receive future updates and information on the project while joining a growing list of Central Ohio project supporters.
Reborn as an advanced automotive technology & research center featuring a modern, 8500 seat, multi-sports arena.
A VENUE LIKE NO OTHER!
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ARSHOT SOUND CONSULTANT PROVES ITS CREDIBILITY WITH THE TRACKRACKET GROUP!
"Where was HMM&H when we needed them?" - TrackRacket
HMMH was hired by the city of Millville and NJMP to complete an analysis of an initial sound study by another consultant. Prior to the results of the analysis there were statements included in an email message forwarded to CooperTalk, and written by TrackRacket founder, Michelle Post, that HMMH was simply a high priced hired gun sought by developers that want to get a project through whose main by-product is sound pollution. On local forums here in Columbus, those claiming to be ROAR members have made similar claims.
However, as it turns out, TrackRacket has reviewed the recent analysis click here and HMMH is not simply a hired gun for developers. They provided an impartial analysis of sound issues and TrackRacket now includes this statement about HMMH in they're report on the analysis. "Where was HMM&H when we needed them?"
Here in Columbus, the ROAR effort is focused on a Zwerling sound study click here that includes types of racing that could never occur at Cooper Park, does not account for any sound mitigation, and a mystery follow up analysis that they fail to make public. While the Cooper Park sound mitigation plan click here is based on the analysis & recommendations of HMMH.
Unlike the ROAR/Zwerling methods, HMMH simply utilizes actual facts to arrive at their results.
In answer to TrackRacket's question "Where was HMM&H when we needed them?", we suspect they were busy making sure that Cooper Park would not only become an important asset to the city, but a great neighbor to the local communities as well.
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NASCAR Negatives Among Neighbors Not Easy to Find
The woman contacted offered criticism of International Speedway’s 30-year tax-exempt status in Kansas, but later said she didn’t regard it as a big deal.
Through three rounds of calls to residents near speedways in Phoenix, Joliet, Ill. and Kansas, the tracks in those communities are generally regarded as pluses by those getting calls from the county’s race track Task Force.
Many singled out the tracks as money magnets. "There was nothing there before and now there’s everything you can think of," said Alex Fornal, who works on a GM assembly line near the Kansas Speedway.
The 12 locals participating in the calls to residents near other speedways are doing so at the request of the county. The commissioners asked for a dozen people who hadn’t made up their minds about International Speedway Corp.’s proposal to build the Northwest’s only NASCAR track on a site near Bremerton National
Airport.
During the three rounds of calls, the locals have gone so far as to ask about negative impacts — a question that usually draws the verbal equivalent of a shrug.
Bill Vogt, an unscheduled call recipient who lives within a few miles of ISC’s Kansas Speedway, was nearly gushing in his approval of the track there. He didn’t like that public funding was used, but said the economic payoff has been big. "I was skeptical about how big. I don’t think anybody would have bet this big," he said. "It has exceeded way past anybody’s expectations."
The feedback has left task force members mining for nuggets of possible negatives. Terry Hendren, who lives eight miles from the Kansas track, was the first track neighbor interviewed who considers himself a big race fan — so big he has an aerial photo of the Kansas Speedway in his bedroom. He said the average age of people attending was between 23 and 48 — because, he said, people older than that don’t want to sit that long and people younger than that can’t afford tickets.
That counted as a possible negative. Talking to Kansas residents has some pertinence to what’s proposed for Kitsap because the track is new, built in 2001, and used a combination of public and private financing similar to what ISC offials are proposing here. The Kansas site’s
setting was once rural, but is now seeing significant retail development.
There are stark differences, however. The property is near the interchange between Interstates 70 and 435, so infrastructure was
already in place to handle the traffic.
The 1,200 acres required that the county wield its legal rights of eminent domain on some property owners to clear the space. In fact, the speedway was cited in arguments for a June 2005 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in which the justices gave local communities the right to seize properties for private projects. But in Kitsap, ISC is dealing with a single property owner.
There is also a big economic difference between Wyandotte County, Kansas and Kitsap County. In 2000, the median home value in the area near the Kansas speedway was $52,500, compared to $152,000 here. It’s the kind of economy that would become Kitsap’s equal if Puget Sound Naval Shipyard shut down, said committee member Roger Gay of Port Orchard.
The Kansas respondents nearly all said that retail development around the speedway has been brisk, with stores and a movie theaters going up in places that were once home to farms.
That, said task force members, would likely remain a difference between Kansas and Kitsap, because the area proposed for the local speedway doesn’t have the roadways needed to draw accompanying retail development.
Those who have been called in all three communities have suggested the businesses that set up around the track on race days aren’t local.
Between this Saturday and next the locals will call residents in Pennsylvania, Tennessee and New York. A final report is scheduled to go to the commissioners on Feb. 8.
Link to Article
COOPER PARK COMPLEX
Job Creation
Economic Development
Educational Opportunities
Wide Ranging Entertainment and Events Venue
Research and Testing to Advance Automotive Technologies
Arshot submits its formal request for zoning change.
Cooper Stadium plan would benefit city
The proposed Cooper Park Complex is exactly the type of economic development Columbus needs to put our city on the national map and add to our city’s “branding” efforts (“Leaders try to sum up Columbus’ image,” Dispatch article, July 16).
The proposed complex, which will revitalize the shuttered Cooper Stadium, will boast a state-of-the-art automotive research-and-technology center that will be a magnet for renowned research professors and industry experts who will develop new fuel-efficient technologies and educate the next generation of mechanics and engineers.
This will instantly position Columbus at the forefront in efforts to reinvent the U.S. auto and auto-engine industries. And yes, there is a racetrack component, for two reasons: first, for research testing, and second, for auto races and auto shows that will attract visitors and tourists about a dozen times a year. The facility also can host convention-goers, community festivals and athletic competitions.
That’s what will attract visitors from around the state and across the country who will explore our great city and patronize our hotels, our restaurants and other entertainment and cultural amenities. This facility will add to our reputation as a research-and-technology stalwart, while at the same time expanding Columbus’ offerings of entertainment and sports.
Indeed, Columbus is truly becoming a diverse city.
KENNETH M. BESECKER
Columbus
FRANKLINTON BOARD OF TRADE MEMBERS VOTE IN FAVOR OF THE COOPER PARK PROJECT
SOUTHWEST AREA COMMISSION SAYS YES TO COOPER PARK!
COMMUNITY COMMISSION RECOGNIZES THE POTENTIAL AND POSITIVE IMPACT OF THE PROJECT
The meeting was well attended by supporters and opponents of the Cooper Park Complex proposed by the Arshot Corporation. The agenda for the night included a presentation by the hand-selected ROAR sound consultant, Mr. Eric Zwerling, president of The Noise Consultancy. Zwerling is known for his anti-sound activism and extreme views. His history of allegations include ice cream trucks, auto vacuum cleaners, American farmers and their tractors, and of course race tracks. His advocacy page specifically brags of his success at opposing the development of race tracks. This is the ‘independent” consultant contracted by ROAR.
Zwerling, on his website and in correspondence, also claims to be a member of the highly recognized professional organization Institute of Noise Control Engineering (INCE). However, Zwerling does not show up on the 2008 list of members, was on and then removed from the 2009 list, and to date, does not appear on the 2010 list. When questioned about this from a FOR Columbus member, he claimed to have no knowledge that he is not on the current list, and suggests that he may have simply forgotten to pay membership dues. (since at least 2008 ???) It’s interesting to note that access to the INCE site and critical industry information is only possible for current, dues paying members.
The meeting began with several ROAR founders introducing themselves and their reasons for opposing the project. Each speaker ended their introduction with a melodramatic “I am ROAR” statement.
Zwerling was then introduced and began his presentation with a short video clip attempting to make it appear that Chris Menge, (the Arshot sound consultant) had contradicted himself during his presentation the previous month. Following was supposed to be a presentation of his “independent” sound study. However, he instead produced an illegible power point program of a different analysis in an attempt to specify weak spots in the Arshot sound abatement plan. That seemed to exasperate many of the SWAC members as they have been very diligent in researching and analyzing information from both sides, and had made a request for his presentation information several weeks prior to the meeting, which was never delivered. Mr. Zwerling stated that he wasn’t aware of a request (the Arshot legal counsel confirmed they had also made the request) and also claimed to have just finished his preparation at 2am. The SWAC members also have been unable to research the initial TNC study as it had been removed from the ROAR website for a least a couple months. When asked why the full report can no longer be accessed, ROAR’s Regina Tobin claimed no knowledge that the report had been removed. A commissioner challenged that statement by firmly noting that an email mentioning the lack of access to the study had been sent to her at least a week prior. It’s beyond apparent that the intent of this presentation was to “surprise” the SWAC, Arshot, and the public with accusations that would not be available for review by anyone prior to this meeting.
(Note: ROAR has reposted the TNC study as of Saturday afternoon, May 22)
The meeting then moved on to the question/comment period with opportunities for proponents and opponents to contribute. Here’s is an observation of several points:
· Zwerling admitted that the developer’s sound model is accurate and basically stated that sound levels can only be too loud if you assume louder cars than those that will be allowed to race at the track.
· No one seems to be talking about the fact that all this discussion about sound is for just a handful of races each year. During the rest of the year, the track is going to be used for automotive research and technology, new car sales and corporate events. Why is ROAR ignoring these other uses?
· Zwerling and ROAR do not seem to care or understand that the neighbors of Cooper Stadium overwhelmingly support the project. That fact is supported by thousands of signatures on petitions.
· Zwerling admits that the area surrounding Cooper Stadium is dominated by freeway sound s but suggests that people find freeway sounds to be less objectionable because freeways serve a public need. If anyone bothers to ask the residents of Franklinton, they will find that the residents value the prospect of job creation and economic development much more than they value utility of the freeway that bisects their neighborhood.
Here is another recent example of the deceptive and ambiguous attempts by some Cooper Park opponents to prevent not only the re-development of the stadium, but also the jobs creation and positive economic impact potential to the local communities.The
GERMAN VILLAGE BUSINESS COMMUNITY (GVBC) complains to the Columbus City
Council that the proposed Cooper Park Complex will negatively effect
their businesses.
Read their letter here.
Are they confused??? or simply disregarding the facts of the project???
The letter, published in the Dispatch, is full of vague misstatements including this one; " the independent sound study commissioned by ROAR concludes that the proposed wall won't be nearly as effective as the developer claims." The GVBC claims that they have "studied the proposal". It's apparent that they didn't look very closely as the ROAR study they are referring to does not account for any sound walls or sound mitigation whatsoever, but it does include extremely loud drag racing, which will not take place at Cooper Park. However, when the ROAR anti-sound activist presented his 2nd analysis of the project including the walls, and without drag racing, he can be heard in recorded statements confirming that the Cooper Park plans will work. The ROAR activist also concluded that the racing sounds in German Village will be minimal to non-existent in a This Week German Village interview.Another vague statement indicates they have been "advised" (they're kidding, right?) that 90% of 140 cities surveyed by the EPA have more restrictive sound ordinances than Columbus. Of course, there is no reference to the mystery EPA study, or which cities out of the thousands in this country that were supposedly surveyed - no surprise there. However. a review of the cities included on a list from the Noise Pollution Clearinghouse, an anti-sound activist support website, indicates that the Columbus City Ordinance is in fact, very similar to comparable cities and in some cases more restrictive.
To read the Arshot Corportation response to the many misstatements made by the GVBC click here.
