LAKE PARK — About 100 people representing the Concerned Citizens for Lowndes County gathered Thursday at the Lake Park Civic Center to discuss a proposed race track south of Lake Park.

The proposed area for the race track is located off of Interstate 75 near the Georgia Welcome Center between Peterson Road and I-75, John Kent Edwards Sr. said.

The purpose of the meeting was to talk about what’s going on with the proposed race track and get an update on an upcoming meeting with the Lowndes County Commission on Nov. 12, where the issue of rezoning the area from Agricultural Use to Highway Commercial is expected to be tabled.

Larry Dean has proposed building a “family entertainment complex” on the site, which would contain a half-mile paved oval, a dirt go-cart track, a drag strip and a soap box derby area. The 50-plus acre parcel is currently used to grow squash and greens.

A Nov. 25 meeting with the Greater Lowndes Planning Commission will make a recommendation to Lowndes County commissioners on the rezoning proposal, Cheryl Oelhafen, Frances Lake resident.

“The Lowndes County commissioners are the final governing authority. They will make the final decision,” Oelhafen said.

If normal procedure is followed at a Dec. 10 meeting, the Lowndes County Commission will consider the recommendation of the Planning Commission as to whether the agricultural area would be rezoned as Highway Commercial, Oelhafen said. If it is rezoned as Highway Commercial, there are plans to talk with the state and federal environmental agencies who will handle permitting, she said.

“This is an informational meeting,” Oelhafen said. “Many people have expressed to us they are concerned, but they don’t know what’s going on and how the fight is going. They don’t know where they stand.”

There have been rumors going around that the race track was a dead issue, which it isn’t, she said. They aren’t against a race track, — they are against the location that has been chosen for the race track, Oelhafen said.

“Many of us are racing fans, and we’ll support a race track, if it’s not in an area that affects thousands of residents,” Oelhafen said. “The impact will be too great on the quality of life for too many people.”

Attorney Gary Moser, who is representing the group against the race track, used a map showing a radius of three miles from the proposed race track location. Approximately 5,800 residents occupy 2,600 housing units in that radius, he said.

Information as to the effects of race car noise was also provided.

Moser urged those present to attend the meetings scheduled for Nov. 25 and Dec. 10. If no one shows up at these meetings, it sends a message to the County Commission that nobody cares and everyone thinks it’s all right, he said. “Silence is acceptance, you have to understand that,” Moser said.

Moser has also contacted an acoustical engineer who graduated from Georgia Tech and who has agreed to look over the data and give the group his opinion as to what effect it would have on the area.



To contact reporter Rip Prine, please call 244-3400, ext. 237.