Dear editor,
Some “concerned citizens” of Black Creek are trying to halt a proposed RV park on the Saratoga Speedway grounds. This group of NIMBY’s uses every card in the deck, including climate change, to paint the proposal as some sort of evil development without acknowledging any positive attributes whatsoever. Come on people, think about the broader community.
Saratoga Speedway was established in 1965. Of course, there is noise. Why would anyone buy a house near a race track if they hate auto racing? We bought our place 24 years ago, one mile from the track. It is what it is. The noisiest things here by far are planes, jets, helicopters, roosters and dogs every single day. We accept and embrace it all. It all represents life, enjoyment and our community. We don’t love noise per se, but it represents the freedoms of our rural life.
The Leightons recently purchased the Speedway and during COVID lock-downs invested millions into the place, cleaning it up and making it a world-class facility we should all be proud of. Plus, incredibly, they immediately invested in double-wall wood fencing completely surrounding the track reducing the noise by 50-75 per cent by my estimation.
Back to the real event. What does the track have to do with 168 quiet RV spots? Black Creek is rural and is the perfect place for seasonal tourists. We have many RV Parks in the area plus many other wonderful tourist attractions. It’s great because the urban folks come, have some enjoyment in the country and then leave again. The current RV campsites are chock full every summer. More are badly needed. Thanks to the Leightons for coming up with a plan to help address the need. Plus the development will provide some great jobs, especially summer jobs for our local kids, not to mention the boost this would provide to some of our local businesses such as our grocery store, restaurants, gas station, and so on.
Thank you to the Leighton family for wanting to invest in and improve the broader Black Creek community and character.
Otto Schulte,
Black Creek