PORT ANGELES — After a year of working with the Army Corps of Engineers, and more than $40,000 in studies, the investors hoping to create a sprint boat racing course have been given the go-ahead to go forward with applying for a city permit to build the course.
“Now we know what we always said,” said Dan Morrison, owner of Morrison Excavating, and one of the four investors who purchased the 113-acre South Fairchild Industrial Park in August 2008 for $1.05 million from the Port of Port Angeles about two years ago.
“We always said we didn’t want to impact the wetlands,” he added.
The Army Corps of Engineers, earlier this month, told the group of investors — known as the Dan Morrison Group — that it does not need to alter anything about the 4-acre planned course.
The concern of the Army Corps of Engineers was that the wetlands near the planned track might have been larger than expected and that drawing water out of the three wells or the process of construction could have impacted the sensitive areas.
Morrison said he has emphasized since the beginning that neither he nor the other investors believed that the wetlands would be impacted.
Morrison said the next step will be to organize a meeting with Port Angeles city planners to determine what they need to do to receive a clearing permit.
“Once that is done we can dig the track,” Morrison said.
Morrison said the course would host two races a year as part of the U.S. Sprint Boat Association circuit.
Because all of the national sprint boat races in 2010 have been scheduled, the group cannot begin to have races in Port Angeles until 2011, and that’s if all goes well with the permitting process, he said.
The race course would be 3 feet deep and 15 feet wide, and filled with 500,000 to 750,000 gallons of water.
At least 5,000 people are expected to attend each race, Morrison said, which would equate to at least $500,000 being injected into the local economy each race.
Sprint boat racing is a growing sport nationwide.
The races involve small, two-person manned power boats that can make quick turns and reach 80 mph.
To view photos and videos of the racing visit www.ussbaracing.com.
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.
