Accuracy of SRC Brochure Challenged

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Thirteen cars are visible in this photo taken at 4:43 pm on Wednesday Feb 20.

Photo by Linda Karn

(posted Feb 23)

Some see the recent brochure produced by the Speedway Redevelopment Commission as government propaganda to push the redevelopment effort, even at the expense of misleading the public.

Connie Norton, owner of Main Street Attraction Mall, is taking issue with the photo of her business in the 16 page brochure entitled "The Speed Zone Speedway's Future Starts Now. Transforming a Road. Opening Windows of Opportunity."

Norton called the photo "shoddy" that captured her business located next door to Dawson's On Main Street. She did not understand why the commission chose to use a photo with her front window temporarily boarded up. The window was smashed during an October 22 burglary. "It is too bad they had to come the three days our window was boarded due to the burglary," she said. The window had to be special ordered so it could not be replaced in one day.

Norton thinks the brochure's photo is giving the impression that Main Street is a place of boarded vacant buildings to assist with the SRC's push for redevelopment. Norton finds it difficult to believe the booklet's statement from the SRC saying "We believe it's time to show these merchants we support them" when a photo depicts her business in the worst possible light.

Norton is not the only one who had problems with the brochure depicting Speedway.

During the Feb 18 SRC meeting, Beverly Alexander question the legitimacy of a photo on page four showing a large number of high tension lines and support towers. The photo is listed under the heading "The Status Quo Is Unacceptable". Alexander asked the commission to identify the location in Speedway where the photo was taken.

The question apparently caught the commissioners off guard with an inability to answer with an exact location. The SRC failed three times to pinpoint the location as to where those specific high power tension lines are located.

SRC commissioner Ron Fisher first said it was taken along Georgetown Road. Alexander said "there are no high tension wires like that in Speedway." Then Fisher suggested it was on Main Street. Fisher tried to deflect the questioning by jumping back to the power lines along Georgetown Road. He asked if Alexander was concerned about the transmission lines along Georgetown Road. Part of SRC's justification to close Georgetown Road is to protect race fans from electrocution if the power lines were to collapse on the stands. He said "if that (high tension lines) would ever fail you will never park another car on your lot."

President Vince Noblet said it was by old Allison plant 2 and he would provide her with the coordinates.

Alexander disagreed, based on her driving in town trying to find the high tension wires.

Alexander said "I am concerned about what you are saying."

Steve Bishop asked Alexander if she was implying that photo was manipulated.

Alexander responded "yeah."

She also complained that the brochure fails to mention the 200 vacant acres that IMS owns at Georgetown and 25th Street that could be developed into a racing campus instead of destroying existing buildings. On page three the brochure says "In proportion to the population and georgraphic size, Speedway presently has an insufficient amount of open or green space."

Don Katterhenry said he was not saying "it was right or wrong" but that photo was "not true" in reference to the high tension wires in Speedway.

Bishop said the photos would be looked into and Fisher said he would verify the high wire transmission line photo.

The Navigator has also requested under the Freedom of Information Act for the SRC to produce the photos, their location and the time of day to resolve the issue. The Navigator requested the information be placed on the March 17 agenda to give the SRC an opportunity to address the public comment.

Executive Director Scott Harris attempted to address the concerns in his February 20 column that appears in a different publication. Harris confirmed the photo of the high tension wires photo was not in Speedway, but the decision to use the photo was a cost-savings decision.

Harris did not respond to an email asking how much the cost-saving was and why they decided to include the photo when the Speed Zone master plan shows the IPL substation located near the Marathon tank farm will remain.

The brochure's description of 16th Street and Georgetown Road states that "Horns honk constantly, the air punctuated every few days or so by the sound of breaking glass and twisting metal announcing the latest accident." Since January 1, only three accidents have been reported at the intersection. A police report submitted to the Navigator on February 21 stated that only three accidents have occurred in 2008, January 4, 5 and February 6.

A photo of Georgetown Road on page nine shows three cars northbound, a statement on page eight says "A recent snapshot taken on a typical Tuesday afternoon at 4:45 showed only sparse traffic on Georgetown Road in either direction."  The photo shows all the trees with full leaf coverage and the lack of shadows indicates the picture was taken closer to noon than 4:45pm.  According to data from the US Naval Observatory, sun angles in Speedway at 4:45pm vary from a low of four to six degrees above the horizon in December to a high of 37 to 39 degrees in July.

The brochure discussed a private-public partnership between the IMS and town for the proposed linear park, but at the meeting Noblet said no agreements have been reached except that the IMS would do the maintenance.

Parks board member Tim Raimon said the SRC's proposal is still not set in stone. "The Parks Board would address this proposal if it's determined that the linear park land belongs to the Town of Speedway, and as far as maintenance; the Parks Department personnel do not perform maintenance on private property, so that's not even an option."