COTA Austin - construction and infrastructure

[andrew]

Speaks volumes.
That silence is deafening

We would respond, it's just that none of us want to be labelled anti-American Nazis for daring to look upon this race from a negative stance.

[Mr Alcatraz]

Speaks volumes.
That silence is deafening

We would respond, it's just that none of us want to be labelled anti-American Nazis for daring to look upon this race from a negative stance.

Just for the record slick, I have never used the N**i word, or have any other forum members from the U.S. Freakin' A in this matter or any other!
In case I'm mistaken do enlighten me! :-"

[andrew]

My bad, it was an aryan reference from earlier. Word association and wotnot. Either way, reviewing the previous pages has renewed my anger at being called anti-American for no good reason.

[F1Addict]

I live in Austin, and I can't get over how people here are reacting to this. It really amazes me that they are short-sighted.

I missed the meeting on Thursday (had to work), but if there will be another before they vote next week, I'll definitely be there!

[strad]

F1Addict,,Some think you're hayseeds that can't /don't deserve to host an F1 race.

[Jersey Tom]

I'm sure there would be similar sentiments if we were to set up a 1.5 mile NASCAR oval in say, England.

[xpensive]

This race is dead in the water, just as serious as Ken Anderson or Taz.

[Mr Alcatraz]

just as serious as Ken Anderson or Taz.

Bro let it go. So much anger in a young man. You are tripping me out.
You are also going autistic on me once again. Chillax brotha' REPUG

[RacingManiac]

I am not sure on how the return of the Montreal race is, but it is now partially funded by Canadian federal government.....And as far as the city goes most of the business definitely seems in favor of having the race....despite of the usual amount of people like every other town with their noise/environment/NIMBY complaint....

[Mr Alcatraz]

I am not sure on how the return of the Montreal race is, but it is now partially funded by Canadian federal government.....And as far as the city goes most of the business definitely seems in favor of having the race....despite of the usual amount of people like every other town with their noise/environment/NIMBY complaint....

You’re making too much sense. That's crazy talk on this forum.
It's better to have the U.S. fail.
That puts the world right for those that think that the U.S. will not/can't/aren't going to support it!

[hairy_scotsman]

Well, my friends and don't intend to let it fail without putting up a serious fight.

OK, HERE'S THE DEAL:

This is IT. Circuit of the Americas needs every one of you who supports this project to go on down to City Hall to show your support during the Council Special Session at 10am on Wednesday. Get there early, too, because (1) F1 Gear to identify us will be passed out until it's gone, (2) it takes some time getting through the line to register your support, and it's IMPORTANT to do that. Also, the Fire Marshal cut off admittance last week once the chambers were full. If you have F1/CoTA hats/gear, wear em. If you have something to say, sign up to speak (or you can donate time to other speakers if you like).

It seems like the Council will vote our way, but they want to know they have popular support. The opposition is trying their best this time to match our turnout, and you never know how much effect a very vocal, relentless, and utterly dishonest minority can have in this town...so even though we had a fantastic turnout last week (and thanks to those of you who were there BTW), we need to absolutely overwhelm EVERYONE with a MASSIVE show of support.

If you can't be there, go sign up in favor anyway before the session. I believe you may be able to do that on Tuesday as well. Bring everyone you can. Spread the word.

We also need:


- Direct emails of support sent to council members...beginning tonight. Don't be shy. Send more than one if you like, & it can be short & sweet. We need quantity. That's what the council looks for. Title your email so that it shows your support. ( Lee.Leffingwell@ci.austin.tx.us; Chris.Riley@ci.austin.tx.us; Mike.Martinez@ci.austin.tx.us; Laura.Morrison@ci.austin.tx.us; Bill.Spelman@ci.austin.tx.us; Sheryl.Cole@ci.austin.tx.us; Kathie.Tovo@ci.austin.tx.us )

- Petition signatures. Every time the petition is signed, an email of support is sent to the council. Sign the petition here:

http://www.change.org/petitions/tell-th ... -formula-1

- Sign up at City Hall in favor of F1 even if you can't attend the meeting.

- Call your friends, family, coworkers or anyone else who supports COTA and what it will bring to the City. Get them to help in any or all of the above ways!!

Please, take the time to show your support and get others to do so with you. This is your last opportunity to show the Austin City Council that you want this project! Ever feel like you never have a voice in the crazy politics of this city? Here's your chance to make a meaningful difference on something that really matters!

City Hall is located at 301 West 2nd St and parking in the garage will be free as long as there's room.



Thank you for all of your help and support. See you ALL Wednesday at City Hall.

[jon-mullen]

My e-mail returned my message to kathie.tovo@ci.austin.tx.us, can you please confirm the address?

[i70q7m7ghw]

So the race is in trouble already? There's a suprise.

[donskar]

There are all sorts of messages here for those of us willing to hear them:
-- the cost of putting on an F1 race is far too high

-- while we may overlook Bernie's overwhelming greed, others do not. He is a threat to future races.

-- F1's pathetic attempt to appear "green" is not making any inroads among those who truly care about the environment.

-- the "green" many people DO care about is the green color of money. Instead of saving the world by making F1 an economy run, maybe FIA/CVC/Bernie could give some small fraction of their revenues to charities local to the race track?

Let's not let our love of F1 blind us to the realities around the sport, err business, of F1.

[jon-mullen]

I just got an extremely well-written and informative response from one of the council members. I'll paste it in below, please pardon the length.

Dear Concerned Citizen,

Thank you for your email regarding the City of Austin's impending vote to endorse the use of the State of Texas' Major Events Trust Fund to secure the Formula One United States Grand Prix. My office has received hundreds of phone calls and thousands of emails over the past month, with large numbers of opponents and proponents voicing their thoughts on the matter. This is an important decision and I want to let you know the main reasons for my decision to conditionally support the endorsement request.

1. There must be no financial risk for the City of Austin or its taxpayers. Over the last several weeks, I negotiated with representatives from the Austin-based Circuit Events Local Organizing Committee (CELOC) to get them to hold the City financially-harmless in this deal. The event promoters have agreed to pay out of their own pockets the entire amount of money needed to seed the Major Events Trust Fund (METF). We call this the Local Increment. The way this works is that the State Comptroller's Office will determine how much additional tax revenue is generated by the running of the US Grand Prix and will inform CELOC what the maximum amount of money they can contribute to the METF can be. Through a contract with the organizers and the Comptroller's Office, CELOC has agreed to pay this Local Increment from their profits. Additionally, the City of Austin will receive ALL TAX REVENUES generated during race week. This provision is specified in the contracts with the organizers and the Comptroller's Office. Moreover, there is nothing in the State of Texas laws that would allow the State to either withhold our race week tax revenues or to obligate the City of Austin to put money into the METF.

Allow me to be very clear: as of today our contracts with the Comptroller and CELOC clearly state that the City of Austin will not put one dollar into the METF and that we will collect all tax revenues generated locally due to the event.

2. The City of Austin must be able to terminate all contracts due to non-performance. Since this is a ten-year long deal, we need to ensure that the City of Austin can terminate any and all contracts related to the F1 event in case CELOC, the owners of the race track or the Comptroller do not live up to their end of the deal. The current drafts of all three contracts clearly state that we can terminate the contracts due to non-performance, and each contract has a trigger that allows us to terminate one contract if another has already been terminated. Some examples of performance expectations are:

• CELOC must contribute the Local Increment each year
  CELOC must conduct annual economic audits and revise prospective impact studies each year
  CELOC must report progress on sustainability initiatives each year
  Race track owners must comply with the sustainability initiatives

3. Circuit of the Americas must meet the sustainability expectations. We strive to be a sustainable city and major construction projects, auto racing, and throngs of spectators driving in cars don't inherently fit within that image. The owners of the race track, Circuit of the Americas (COTA), must work hard to defend our local environment from significant impact and ensure that folks from all walks of life have an opportunity to benefit economically from this deal. Council Member Chris Riley has taken the lead on negotiating an environmental term sheet to which COTA and CELOC will be expected to adhere. Measures include: planting trees, developing satellite parking and dedicated transit lanes, following the City of Austin's Minority-Owned and Women-Owned Business Enterprise guidelines, working with local educational institutions to provide young people with the opportunity to learn and work at the track, and integrating with our high-tech industry to help develop research opportunities for our local universities.

We are still waiting on the final negotiated sustainability term sheet and I look forward to reading through it closely.

Circuit of the Americas could be economically fruitful for the City of Austin and nearby communities. It could offer opportunities to merge our high tech and environmental sectors with the automotive industry. It could serve as a focal point for significant economic development in southeast Austin. But we have to safeguard against the financial, environmental, and social risks that come with a project of this magnitude. Assuming the finalized sustainability term sheet is consistent with my expectations and the current contracts with CELOC and the Comptroller's Office meet the current legal and financial scrutiny, I intend to vote in support of the items at the Special Called City Council Meeting on June 29, 2011.

Thank you again for contacting my office. I hope you will remain engaged with all the City of Austin does and will let my office know your thoughts.

Best wishes,

Bill Spelman
Austin City Council Member, Place 5

512.974.2256 (office)
512.974.7655 (fax)
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/council/spelman.htm

(red highlighting is mine)

If you notice, their sustainability requirements have nothing to do with engine regs, tire warmers, or KERS. Instead, their concerns are trees, transit, jobs and education. My impression is that they're being very pragmatic and that's reason to be optimistic in my book.