FORKS — Building a new Forks motor sports park is not feasible, a consultant told the Port of Port Angeles commissioners Monday.
Chris Ward, an analyst for SE Group, said it would cost between $6 million and $13 million to construct a new motor sports park at any of six sites near Forks.
“The fatal flaw is the cost,” he said.
Ward said that it might be feasible if there were more than 100 events per year at the park, but West End Thunder, which runs drag races at the Forks Municipal Airport, only has about 10 events per year.
The Federal Aviation Administration has told the city of Forks that the drag races may continue at the airport only until 2011, at which point it must find a new spot.
Ward said the races might be able to continue at the Quillayute Airport, about 10 miles outside of Forks.
Although it is also a functioning airport, one of the two runways is closed.
If the cars stayed more than 100 feet from the functioning runway, it would likely be allowed by the FAA, Ward said.
The impact on the races is unclear, though, he said.
Airport accessibility
“The Quillayute Airport is not right there on [U.S. Highway] 101 like the Forks Airport, and in our evaluation, many of the people there had seen it and decided to stay for the races, but that isn’t something you would get if it were at the Quillayute Airport,” Ward said.
“You would have to intend to go there.”
Another issue with the Quillayute Airport is that the parking lot is on the opposite side of the land from the usable runway, so either a new parking lot would have to be developed or people would have to walk around the functioning runway, Ward said.
Rod Fleck, Forks city attorney and planner, said the information was invaluable.
“Chris worked through a bunch of issues for us on this,” Fleck said.
He said holding the events at the Quillayute Airport would have permitting issues of its own, because it is within county, not city, property, although the city of Forks does own it.
Fleck and the port commissioners all said they were committed to finding a solution for the races.
“I think one thing we need to look at is that the position of the FAA is immutable,” Commissioner Jim McEntire said.
McEntire suggested continued negotiations with the FAA to determine if an agreement could be reached.
Grant money given to the city for some land near the airport also adds to the requirement that the airport not be closed for such events, Ward said.
“Even if that money were paid back, those restrictions would remain until it is no longer an airport,” Ward said.
Port commission President John Calhoun, who lives in Forks, said some of his constituents had suggested that closing the municipal airport and transferring all the air traffic to the Quillayute Airport would be a good idea.
Ward said, theoretically, it could work, but he didn’t believe it likely.
“Before I was in the environmental business, I was in avionics, and in my experience, the FAA was not in the business of closing airports once they are built,” he said.
Calhoun and Fleck said ,each of their entities would continue to evaluate the problem over the next two years.
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.
