The Minonk "Goldrush" is on

      Editor:
The proposed raceway for Minonk continues to be the hottest topic around. Last Thursday night's large turnout to hear the developers presentation of the proposed raceway should drive home the fact that the Minonk community is strongly behind the raceway. I don't think any of us realize the extent of the impact it will have on Minonk and the surrounding communities. I believe that it is the beginning of a new Minonk.

I put a link to the raceway's newly developed website on Wednesday afternoon and by Thursday evening's presentation there were over 1100 hits. As of Monday night there were over 2300 hits. Their website is definitely drawing eyeballs and I believe most of the hits were coming through this website since the raceway's website is new and has not had a chance to be picked up by the search engines.

The I-39 Raceway Operations Manager Joe Spence told me that already there have been 3 inquiries about the commercial lots available at the south end of the development. I am sure savy businessmen will recognize the need to get in on top of this Minonk "goldrush". You can bet that there will be a McDonald's and other chain outlets vying to get in on the action real soon. As soon as a national fast food chain locates in the Caroline Development, the I-39 exit at Minonk will become "legitimate" and more cars than ever will stop.

To give you an idea of what kind of potential money we are talking about with this proposed raceway, I talked with Ross Fosbender who is Secretary of the Midwestern Council of Sports Car Clubs. He told me that his organization has over 1000 members and they rent racetracks for 26 weekends per year. He was told by one of the raceway owners that each weekend brought in $100-$150,000 in food, lodging, gas and retail in the area economy. And these are probably one of the smaller events. The impact on this area is going to be HUGE!

Ross also told me that they monitor their races for noise. If a racer exceeds a maximum noise level, he is pulled from the race.

I also talked to the Mayor of Brimfield whose town lost the proposed raceway that Minonk is getting. He said that over 600 of the 800 people in the town signed a petition supporting the raceway but was voted down by the Peoria County Board at the last minute due to pressure from two very influential people. He said that he is sorry to lose the raceway but is glad for us.

The raceway development is only the beginning. Once development starts in a virgin area like Minonk, it tends to catch fire. Psychology is so much a part of development. Once something new starts, the word gets out and everyone stumbles over themselves to get in before it's too late. I think that will happen here in Minonk. So Doc's Pharmacy, RP Lumber, and all you other local chains better start giving Minonk a serious consideration as a good place to expand your operations. You can bet that the big boys like McDonald's will be coming. It is very possible that Minonk may someday be the site of a nationally televised race. Motels and restaurants within 20 miles of Minonk will benefit,including Wenona and Toluca.

The City Council approved the agreement to buy an option to purchase Section Six from Waste Management at the Monday night council meeting. The next step is to buy the land and then resell it to the raceway developers. The amount of money to be spent by the city will be small. Water and sewer has already been run under Route 251 to Section Six. The developer takes it from there.

Minonk is entering a new era. We all extend our gratitude to Randy Hellyer and his partners in giving Minonk an opportunity to grow and we welcome them to our community. Tonight's approval of the raceway development is an historic event for Minonk. It's going to be an exciting future.

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March 21, 2005