The Wiscasset Board of Selectmen approved a special amusement permit for the Wiscasset Raceway to host Bikefest after a contentious, hour-long public hearing at their July 20 meeting.
Dozens of people, including several disgruntled neighbors of the Raceway, packed the hearing at the Wiscasset Municipal Building. Much of the controversy focused around an agreement by selectmen to wait until after Oxxfest, the July 31 concert at the Raceway, before granting approval for similar events at the site.
According to Wiscasset Raceway owner Doug White, Oxxfest and Bikefest bear little resemblance to one another. “This is apples and oranges,” White said at one point. “You’re dealing with two types of events. Totally different… We’re not doing anything out of the realm of what we’re doing every week.”
Bikefest will include an enduro race, a motorcycle show, vendors and – a sticking point for many at the hearing – performances by local bands Friday and Saturday night. During the weekend, attendees will participate in a pair of charity rides to raise money for Operation Recognition and Toys for Tots.
“We’re just trying to bring in a different type of customer,” White said. The music, which White described as “background entertainment” represents business as usual at the Raceway, he said. “This is common nature for racing. This is common nature, I think, for racetracks in general… We’ve never had any issues.”
Spencer Richie of the magazine RideMaine is co-sponsoring the event. “Our goal is to have a good, family-based weekend,” Richie said. The Raceway will provide private security and pay for a police detail at the event. The wearing of gang “colors” will not be permitted. “We want to keep it as a mellow event,” Richie said.
Richie’s expectations are modest. “Five hundred would be great. I think we’ll have 50-100 bikes at our first event,” he said.
Sherri Dunbar, an outspoken opponent of Oxxfest, spoke first for the opposition. “I am not against having fun,” Dunbar said. Dunbar said she owns a motorcycle and plans to participate in the Toys for Tots run. Her objection, she said, was not about bikes or bikers, but instead about the nature of Raceway events.
Dunbar, with the help of others like her, collected 65 signatures for a petition to oppose Bikefest, she said. “We have found that there’s a lot of people that don’t want to see this come to town,” she said.
“I like music. I like motorcycles. I don’t want to be forced to listen to either of them in my home day and night,” Dunbar said.
Skip Taylor brought a DVD recording of the June 1 public hearing for Oxxfest. “It was voted on to be a one time permit and to be open to scrutiny after that,” Taylor said. “If we’re going to play by the rules, we got to play by the rules.”
Mike Maney, owner of Naked Leather, defended Bikefest. “Every day at my store we have 15-20 bikes come in. Not one complaint. Ever,” Maney said. Maney told the board that many bikers are white-collar people, including doctors, lawyers and stockbrokers.
To ban Bikefest, he said, would be “like telling bikers they can’t pull into my parking lot,” Maney said. “It’s childish, but half the things said in this room are childish,” he said.
Jenny Greg suggested that White balance events like Bikefest and Oxxfest with quieter, more peaceful events, like ox pulls. “I moved out here so I could listen to the birds sing,” Greg said.
Bill Barnes said that, in the midst of the recession, White needs to explore events like Bikefest. “People have to move around and do more than one thing,” Barnes said. “Times are tough.”
Town Clerk Chris Wolfe told selectmen they could approve the permit and, should Oxxfest turn into a disaster, revoke it.
A heated exchange took place between Dunbar and Maney as both crowded around the podium, speaking over White.
Former Selectman Phil DiVece encouraged selectmen to review the audio recording of the June 1 hearing if they didn’t remember their ruling. DiVece made the motion to approve the Oxxfest permit, he said, but with the caveat that selectmen “wait and see how the concert was going to proceed” before granting additional permits.
DiVece, who did not run for reelection after his term ended in June, said he didn’t envy the selectmen’s position. “It’s a lot more fun sitting in the audience than sitting up there,” he said.
Jeff French made an emotional speech against Bikefest. “I’m about 300 feet from where three stages are set up for a huge rock concert,” he said. “There’s 72 homes within a quarter mile of the racetrack… It’s not what we moved there for.”
“It’s going to consume our whole summer,” French said, referring to events at the Raceway.
Taylor spoke again to object to White’s fundraising methods. “There’s a lot of quiet people in Wiscasset that generate money for charity,” he said.
The citizens of Wiscasset must decide how White can use the Raceway, Taylor said. “If they want it to be the rock and roll capital of the Midcoast, so be it. I’ll take my farm somewhere else.”
After the public hearing, Selectman Ed Polewarczyk described his difficulty in reaching a decision. “A couple weeks ago on a Sunday afternoon I went to the speedway,” Polewarczyk said. “That Sunday afternoon, there were only 500-600 people there. [White] has got 10 percent attendance.”
Given the struggles of the Raceway, Polewarczyk said, he felt the selectmen shouldn’t block what might represent a rare opportunity for the business to turn a profit.
Polewarczyk also praised White for his handling of the town’s concerns regarding Oxxfest. After Code Enforcement Officer Rick Lang gave the town a list of his concerns about Oxxfest, White invited the heads of town and county departments to the Raceway to discuss the event.
“A good thing was done,” Polewarczyk said. “They dealt with the issues that I had.” In an about face, however, Polewarczyk said the board should honor the earlier ruling. “I’m stuck in the middle,” he said. “I’m trying to select the lesser of two wrongs.”
Selectman Bob Blagden made the motion to approve the permit. “I see this as a different activity than a rock concert,” Blagden said. “As far as I can see, Mr. White has done nothing wrong.”
Blagden addressed the concerns of neighbors like Dunbar and French. Blagden built his house next to the Wiscasset Rod and Gun Club. “It can get noisy,” Blagden said, but the club was there first, and Blagden and club members eventually worked out a compromise.
“They don’t shoot at me, I don’t shoot at them,” Blagden said.
Selectmen approved the permit, 4-1, with Polewarczyk casting the sole dissenting vote.
An angry neighbor approached the selectmen’s table after the vote. Standing inches away from selectmen and new Town Manager Laurie Smith, the man, who did not identify himself, scoffed at the decision. “I hope you all enjoy your friendship with Doug White,” he said.
