Youth race track parents on edge as Snohomish County seeks bids for new lease

SNOHOMISH COUNTY, Wash. — A youth race track in Monroe is about to hit the auction block.

The Washington Quarter Midgets Racing Association had a pretty sweet deal with Snohomish County. They were allowed to lease property for a racing track for just $7,200 a year.

Now the county wants the rent to be at least two-and-a-half times that much.

The association says it can handle the raise in rent.  The problem is they worry they could be outbid for this property they built into a first-class facility. But Snohomish County officials say they have it all wrong.

This track built and run by the Washington Quarter Midgets Association welcomes all young comers who want to race around a track, learning skills usually reserved for someone a tad bit older.

“I get to experience how to drive,” declared eight-year-old Avelyn Smith.

“I race hard,” said her brother, Wesson, 7. “And I have fun because one of my best friends race here, also.”

But the parents who run this track worry that Snohomish County could put the brakes on their kids’ fun by putting out to bid to lease the property.  After all, they’ve been paying a cool $7,200 a year since 2007, a price that would at least double.

“We built the facility,” insists Jeff Cannon, parent and board member. “We put the money, the time, the effort into build the facility. And we’re bidding against ourselves for building it?”

But county officials say another Quarter Midgets group asked about leasing the facility last year.

So, the new manager of the Evergreen State Fair where the track sits had the property appraised. And the appraisal showed that their rent was far below market value. So, the county put the lease out to bid.

“When we have something that multiple people want and being a public entity, it’s what we’ve always done,” said Mike Ohlsen.

Moreover, Ohlsen says it would be fiscally irresponsible not to seek at least the market rate but nothing more.

“The fact is we have to,” he said. “We have to ask for market value. We can’t gift public funds.”

But Ohlsen says the appraisal only, not the buildings.  He emphasizes the county wants market value and nothing more.

All they are looking for is a club that can run the track best.  And from where he sits, the club already running it likely has the inside track.

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