A piece of legislation that could save the Guam International Raceway from being evicted from the Yigo property occupied since 1998 is expected to have a public hearing date set.
The question is, when?
Is the Guam International Raceway a Community Recreation Facility?
Many individuals attest to that and want to “Save the Track” by filling out petitions and making their voices heard.
Those voices were heard as Freshman Democrat Sen. Dwayne San Nicolas introduced Bill 56-37, which aims to legally classify the racetrack land as a Community Recreation Facility and transfer authority from the Chamorro Land Trust Commission to the Department of Parks and Recreation.
This legislation followed a request by Speaker Therese Terlaje for a 90 day extension to the eviction notice for the Guam International Raceway served by the CLTC.
The extension was granted to allow for upcoming events to take place. One of which is the 40th annual Smokin’ Wheels off-road event, which paused during the global COVID-19 pandemic and will take place from April 21-23 in Yigo.
Henry Simpson, the general manager of the Guam International Raceway, claims the same transfer of authority has been done in the past.
“The same thing was done in the past with the soccer fields at the Sports Complex up in Dededo,” said Simpson. “That was all Chamorro Land Trust and the legislature transferred that over to Parks and Recreation, so we think that’s the best overall solution for everybody.”
Now, it’s been over a month since the measure was introduced and according to San Nicolas’ office, it’s pending confirmation on the public hearing date.
“This bill is the perfect situation for us to move us into an organization that has the same goals that we do to have a good public recreation area,” Simpson told the Pacific News Center.
If San Nicolas bill isn’t passed into law before June, this means the raceway could be evicted from the Yigo property.
For those interested in further supporting the Guam International Raceway, sign the petition at guamraceway.com.
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