Officials speculate on fallout

Having agreed Thursday to spend about $4 million to buy an Airway Heights racetrack, the county must now persuade voters to spend an even bigger sum.

And opinions differ over whether the acquisition of Spokane Raceway Park will hurt the county’s chances of increasing taxes later this year for some big-ticket law enforcement needs.

County commissioners say just because the county can afford to borrow $4.3 million for the raceway without taxes doesn’t mean it can afford more than $40 million to upgrade emergency communications equipment to meet new federal guidelines. That issue goes before voters in May, when the county will ask for a one-tenth of 1 percent sales tax increase that would also pay for the Crime Check reporting system. Then, in November, commissioners may ask for a property-tax increase for a jail.

Bonnie Mager, the lone commissioner who opposed participating in Thursday’s auction, said she is concerned the purchase sends the wrong message.

“I hope this doesn’t create a backlash,” Mager said. “I believe that this is a totally irresponsible way for government to act, but we need that emergency communication. That is the purpose of government.”

Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich said although some might use the purchase to argue against the tax, most of them likely already were opposed. “You’re going to have people who will say that. In truth, these are totally different issues,” Knezovich said.

Knezovich supports the county’s action. Besides economic development, the track can be used for police driver’s training and perhaps a new law enforcement training center, he said.

Commissioner Todd Mielke said he considers the raceway an expansion of the county’s nearby off-road vehicle park. The jail and emergency communication equipment issues affect many more governments than the county, he said.

“The issues you see on the ballot are regional in nature and they involve a cooperative effort between the county and every city in the region,” Mielke said.

But former County Commissioner Kate McCaslin, who opposes the emergency communications tax, warned “voters have a long memory, especially when it comes to their money.”

She declined to say if she supported the raceway purchase, but said, “I definitely think it could affect all the taxes they’re proposing.”

Commissioner Mark Richard argues that purchasing the property will help generate a larger tax base so taxes won’t have to be raised in the future.

“We can keep doing things the way we have always done and hope things get better and easier to pay for, or we can have dynamic leadership that seeks to diversify and expand the economy,” Richard said.

Last year the site generated about $14,000 in property taxes. The county’s purchase of more than half the site means most of the land will be off the tax rolls.

Richard said, however, that property tax from the site would pale in comparison to the sales taxes generated by a properly run raceway.

Harry Sladich, president and CEO of the Spokane Regional Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, agreed with Richard that with some investment to clean it up and make it safer, the track could bring in millions.

“I have thought all along that we, meaning the community, can make a success of it,” he said.

Mager said she’s concerned that a county study on the raceway overstated possible economic returns.