By REID TUCKER
Mayor Bob Campbell requested reimbursement for his recent fact-finding trip to Birmingham’s Barber Motorsports Park, and he got it by unanimous vote.
In fact, a motion to that effect was made and seconded before Campbell could even finish his pitch about midway through the Nov. 9 regular meeting of the DeFuniak Springs City Council. Per the Council’s decision, the mayor will be compensated to the tune of $235 for his daylong trip to the central Alabama racetrack, which hosts international auto racing events of the likes of IndyCar and the World Superbike Championship. As previously detailed in the pages of the Herald, Campbell made the trip to have a look at the grounds of the park, which hopeful proponents of a similar racetrack are using as an example of what could be in store for DeFuniak if a track is built here.
Campbell came back from the trip convinced more than ever about the possibilities such a motorsports park could afford for the city.
“I’ve not been a racing fan, so I thought I’d better at least look at one of these things first,” he said. “I was extremely impressed with the facilities up there. If they were to do [a racetrack] here they would mimic [Barber] other than it would be a little bit bigger than the one…in Birmingham.”
Councilman Kermit Wright, who was himself something of a racing fanatic in the heyday of his youth, wasn’t at the last meeting when the mayor gave a bigger report of the details of the trip. Part of the journey, for instance, included a visit with the CEO of a boutique automotive manufacturer who might also want to locate in the DeFuniak Springs area should the track project come to pass. Wright said this was exactly the kind of positive impact the other Council members should look for if a major racing venue comes to town.
“I don’t know that any of you have fooled with racing like I have, but…I’m telling you it’ll bring some folks in here; it’ll bring some dollars to our economy,” Wright said.
In other Council news, the board unanimously approved a request from City Marshal Mark Weeks to purchase four new patrol cars for the DeFuniak Springs Police Department. Weeks said it would probably be some time between March and May of 2016 before the vehicles actually arrived on the scene at the DFSPD, owing to the lengthy fitment process involved with equipping the vehicles with law-enforcement specific gear. Nevertheless, the total cost for the four Dodge Chargers – with police-spec optional equipment installed – should come in around the $132,000 mark, less than the $140,000 budgeted for the purchase.
Additionally, the Council approved its annual collective bargaining agreement with the labor representatives for city workers, and the board members also returned a 5-0 vote to re-up the city’s interlocal agreement with Walton County and Tri-County Community Council, Inc. The interlocal agreement stipulates that the county will take care of upkeep at the Life Enrichment Senior Center while the city will provide utilities services to the facility. Tri-County will continue to handle day-to-day operations at the Senior Center.