Hundreds crowd hearing on racetracks
By LORNA COLQUHOUN
Union Leader Correspondent

TAMWORTH — Hundreds of people turned out for a hearing conducted by the Municipal and County Government Committee last night regarding the repeal of a law many testified pertained to a special interest and bypassed the democratic process.

Senate Bill 458, which later became RSA 287-G, defined “private driving instruction and exhibition” and removed a town’s control over them, not long after Tamworth voters approved a racetrack ordinance at their annual town meeting.

About two years ago, Club Motorsports Inc. proposed developing a European-style driving course on 250 acres below Mount Whittier on the Ossipee town line. Tamworth is one of about 20 towns in New Hampshire that does not have a zoning ordinance and when the racetrack ordinance passed last March, several people testified, it gave them a measure of comfort that the town would have some control over the development.

But a couple of months later, Tamworth residents decried the passage of SB 458, saying it only favored the developers, who would be exempt from the ordinance residents passed in March.

Last night, the Carroll County delegation and dozens of resident, including some from neighboring towns, agreed. In this legislative session, several representatives have proposed a repeal of SB 458.

“I hope you all remember that this is not about a racetrack in Tamworth, but about repealing special interest legislation,” said Rep. David Babson. “SB 458 was passed legally, but there is no room for deceptive democracy and that is what SB 458 is.”

House Bill 90 in this session would repeal last year’s law, according to Rep. Harry Merrow of Ossipee, who co-sponsoring the bill.

At the heart of the issue are the plans by Club Motorsports Inc., which more than a year ago proposed developing a driving course on property on the Tamworth/Ossipee town line. It has met with opposition by some locals, who are concerned about noise and environmental issues.

“I was asked to do something to prevent it,” Merrow said. “I declined because I believe this is an issue between the developers and the town and that the state should not be involved.”

The developers, he charged, did not want “the town to have local control,” Merrow said, and enlisted the aid of a lawmaker who lived outside of the town and county to sponsor the legislation. State Sen. John Gallus, R-Berlin, sponsored the bill last year.

Merrow said no one was aware of the bill and it passed without comment on a consent calendar.

About three dozen people spoke at last night’s hearing at the Brett School, the first of two legislative hearings on the matter. The second one will be conducted in Concord, beginning at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Most residents said they favored the repeal of the bill. “Give us back our town and town government,” said resident Tom Vachon. “Let us make our own decisions. Don’t let someone who doesn’t live here take that away from us.”

Resident Anne Batchelder said the ordinance townspeople passed last year is useless in light of the bill signed into law by then-Gov. Craig Benson.

“The ordinance we passed won’t protect our community unless you pass HB 90,” she said.

Local control, said Cynthia Richards, is important, especially in Tamworth. “Losing local control is frightening for any community,” she said. “What is especially deplorable is that we thought we had a good neighbor we could trust and that trust has evaporated.”