Riverside Sparts Pork update: April 27, 2007
(Alameda County Supervisor Scott) Haggerty to (Mark) Melville and (John) Condren: "From the beginning, I told you that you needed to bring the community along on this. But for some reason, you decided it's better to give everyone the finger and do whatever the hell you want. Well, that ends today." -- Merced Sun-Star, April 27, 2007
Supervisor Haggerty was reflecting on how Riverside Motorsparts Pork chief Condren and the new manager of RMP Altamont Speedway Melville and old RMP Altamont manager Kenny Shepherd, have been improving the speedway without building permits, harassing local residents who oppose the speedway, and conducting races not permitted by the county.
Supervisor Haggerty listens to his constituents and represents them, however belatedly. Merced County supervisors do not listen to their constituents, with the exception of Diedre Kelsey on this one project. The result of this arrogance is that Condren -- who is beginning to look more and more like a competent professional confidence man -- may have run a successful con game on them. And constituents are suing the county, again.
The hatred of these arrogant and corrupt men and women on the Merced County Board of Supervisors for their own constituents has destroyed their judgment.
Unfortunately for these haughty personalities, developers are fleeing as the speculative housing boom busts and there may be no more developer deep pockets in which the supervisors can hide and from which they can sneer. We would not suggest Condren, whose pockets are probably like those of a new sparts-pork jacket, sewn shut. Supervisors Nelson, Crookham, Pedrozo and O'Banion don't have anywhere to hide, actually.
We wonder if Condren has the money to make good on the legal indemnification of the county after he sets aside what he needs for his lifestyle, his front and the stake for his next operation in whatever state and industry he chooses. He played these saps perfectly. Somewhere, out there in this great nation, there is another county whose supervisors are controlled by speculative finance, insurance and real estate special interests and will do anything to defeat their constituents' reasonable defense of their own environment. Condren will find that county.
Badlands Journal editorial staff
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4-27-07
Merced Sun-Star
Condren's Altamont biz in major trouble...Steve Cameron
http://www.mercedsunstar.com/sports/columnists/story/13526580p-14131393c...
Who is Scott Haggerty and how could he effect the future of motorsports in Merced County?...bottom line is...Condren's business could become a fatality. Despite all the grandiose plans thrown around in our neighborhood, Condren's only real connection to racing is that he runs Altamont Motorsports Park near Tracy. Altamont has been a loser under several previous owners...two years ago, Condren turned up with his limited partnership - the same group he eventually dumped from his board on the Riverside project - and threw some money into the Altamont property. Condren needed to establish some credentials as a serious racing operator. Who would have listened to his plans in Merced County unless he was actually running a track someplace?...had the foresight to install shareholder Kenny Shepherd as general manager at Altamont. ...people living near Altamont...hauled their complaints to Alameda County officials. Scott Haggerty entered the picture... right from the start he became a champion of Altamont and thus Condren's greatest ally...helped the track dodge some zoning issues...made sure the use permit was extended another year...not an exaggeration to say that Haggerty also helped keep the
Riverside dream alive in Merced… What's fact, however, is that Condren needs the Altamont and now, he and new general manager Mark Melville have contrived to make an enemy of Haggerty... Shepherd has long since seen the vultures circling and bolted to run his own track in Madera. ...Altamont does not have permission to run "drifting" races, yet they've done it anyway - in violation of several county agreements. Haggerty now feels he's been conned, and he's livid. In case you missed this quote from Wednesday's Sun-Star...it's worth repeating… Haggerty to Melville and Condren: "From the beginning, I told you that you needed to bring the community along on this. But for some
reason, you decided it's better to give everyone the finger and do whatever the hell you want. Well, that ends today." Haggerty also berated Melville for what he considered a blatant lie about how the track advertised its "drifting" races and made it clear that Altamont's very shaky conditional use permit - which he'd almost personally kept alive - might have a very short remaining life span. Suddenly this head-on wreck between Altamont management and Alameda County puts everything in a completely different perspective. Condren's true believers surely must be wondering if the whole house of cards is about to collapse...various legal battles...finding a quarter-million bucks to build a racing complex in an almond orchard now seems like an impossibly tall order. But with Altamont's lone warrior on the Alameda County board now so angry that he wants to shut down the place… Well, you've got a better chance of winning the lottery than seeing a $250 million racing megaplex in Atwater. Condren and his gang may have made one foe too many.
4-26-07
Merced Sun-Star
Alameda upset with RMP's Condren over 'drifting' races...Corinne Reilly
http://www.mercedsunstar.com/local/story/13522453p-14127859c.html
An Alameda County supervisor berated Riverside Motorsports Park officials at a public meeting this week, calling business practices at their Alameda racetrack dishonest and in clear violation of county law. "From the beginning I told you that you needed to bring the community along on this," Alameda County Supervisor Scott Haggerty told track officials during a board meeting on Tuesday. "But for some reason you decided it's better to give everyone the finger and do whatever the hell you want. Well, it ends today." Haggerty's comments came after county officials learned that the Altamont Motorsports Park...operated by RMP CEO John Condren, has continued to hold popular
"drifting" events, despite a county order against drifting competitions. Alameda county planning staff say the events produce noise similar to that of a drag race, which is specifically banned under Altamont's current permit. "Would you admit that your autocross was in fact drifting?" Haggerty asked Mark Melville, a former Gustine city councilman and RMP's current vice president. "No, sir. I wouldn't," said Melville. "So we're going to start off that way?" asked Haggerty, raising his voice. Haggerty said one racetrack official had admitted to him that the track defied the ban and apologized. "You guys can't even keep your story straight within your own business,"..."You can't even give me an honest answer and say 'yeah, we drifted' ... You guys have a problem with the truth." Board of Supervisors voted unanimously during the meeting to uphold the temporary ban on drifting events. Condren is also behind the $250 million, multivenue Riverside Motorsports Park, which planned to cover 1,200 acres in northern Merced County near Castle Airport. The Merced County Board of Supervisors approved plans for the project in December. Multiple lawsuits are currently pending against RMP's Merced track.
The Alameda track is also facing a number of challenges. Besides this week's ban on drifting events, park officials are also sorting through troubles with the county's building inspections department...officials say several renovations at the track were made without proper building permits...track also has an application pending with the county to change its site from agriculturally zoned land to a planned development....park is currently operating under a special conditional permit that expired last year. In February, Alameda's environmental health department approved a temporary permit that allows events at the track to exceed the county's noise ordinance standards. Community for a Better Altamont, the neighborhood group opposed to the track, sued the county over that decision. The lawsuit is still pending.