Benton Courier - Aldermen against drag strip idea

Nine members of the Benton City Council said “no” Monday night to a proposal to build a legal drag strip on city-owned property that once served as the Benton airport.

Several dozen residents of Benton were present to express opposition to the proposal during a meeting of the council’s Economic Develop-ment Committee.
“I recommend that we don’t do this man any more injustice and that we give our citizens some relief,” Alderman Greg White said. “I make a motion that we kill this proposal in committee tonight. I don’t see any positive vote coming for it.”
Nathan Mann, a resident at the Saline-Pulaski county line and owner of Mann’s Speed & Performance in Little Rock, began a campaign in January to built the drag strip on Watts Field, but realized on Monday that his efforts had fallen short. He thanked the citizens and aldermen for the chance to present the idea.
“There is nothing more I can really say,” Mann said. “I understand the concerns of the citizens, and I am not trying to cause any problems. I thank you all for allowing me the opportunity to present the proposal.”
***Charles Mann, Nathan Mann’s father, told the ***Courier today that they still hope to build a drag strip, possibly somewhere in Saline County. He declined to reveal any plans on that future endeavor. He said he was upset with many of the residents who spoke at the meeting, but that he and his family have no bad feelings towards the alderman of Benton.
“We do have some plans for the future,” Charles Mann said. “We aren’t going to divulge anything at this time, but we will keep on with it somewhere, but not in Benton. We are done with Benton. They don’t want it, and they made it obvious at that meeting. However, I know the aldermen did what they thought they should do and I understand that, so I don’t have any ill feelings towards them.”
Although he felt that many citizens at the meeting were rude to his family, Charles Mann said that they personally thanked a young woman who stood and apologized to them.
“There was one lady that apologized to us for what we were hearing and I appreciate that,” Charles Mann said. “I hold her and the alderman in high regard. My son said that that woman made him feel better, and he won’t forget her. We weren’t trying to start any problems, and I think she knew that. We just saw something that we wanted to try and it didn’t work out, but I wish that some of those people weren’t so rude to my son.”
Charles Mann said that the family’s main concern and the reason why they wanted to build a drag strip in the first place is to keep people safe. They feel that many residents of Benton are unaware of, or possibly turning a “deaf ear” to, the problem of street racing on highways in Arkansas. He said his family wants to bring those street racers to a controlled, safe environment.
“There are kids that get killed in street racing in Arkansas and across the nation, so it is a problem,” Charles Mann said. “Some people think it isn’t a problem, but it is. It is a problem everywhere, and we want to keep these kids from getting killed in street racing.”
Benton Mayor Rick Holland previously said that he supports the Manns’ proposal for the drag strip, but didn’t attend Monday’s meeting. Holland supports the idea of getting the youth of Saline County away from illegal street racing and has also said it could generate revenue for the city.
“I think it would draw lots of people to stay in our hotels and eat in our restaurants,” Holland said previously. “I think the concept is a great idea.”
However, many residents in the area of the old Benton airport and members of Holland Chapel Baptist Church, which owns an adjoining section of the old airport land, including 1,000 feet of runway, did not share that feeling. On Monday, they rallied together to oppose a drag strip, convincing the aldermen to reject Nathan Mann’s proposal.
“I have been on the council now for almost four years and I have never had so many phone calls from so many people on a single issue as I have this one,” Alderman Larry Wolfe said.. “And I have yet to get a positive comment, so it tells you where I stand.”
Many residents and church members said numerous times that they are concerned about noise and pollution issues if a drag strip is brought into to the area. One citizen asked about how safe the children playing baseball in Holland Park directly behind the airport would be if a driver on the the drag strip possibly did not have enough room to stop. One church member also said that the church plans to expand their facilities onto the property.
One local resident defended the drag strip, saying it is is a controlled and safe environment.
“I think people have misconceptions on drag strips,” the man said. “This is a way to get the kids off the streets with racing and put them in a controlled environment. It is a lot safer than the kids racing on our streets.”
However, the supporters were heavily outnumbered by those who opposed the proposal, with even two alderman, including David Sparks and Wolfe, publicly voicing their opposition.
“I am personally not going to vote for it,” Sparks said.
White also said that he doesn’t believe that there would be enough support from enough alderman to back the proposal and didn’t want to waste any more of their time.
“I am just being honest,” White said. “I don’t think that you can get enough alderman to show support on this proposal.”

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