UPDATE ON GIMLI MOTORSPORT PARK SALE / RFP PROCESS

[funkejay]

I'm sure by now many of you have heard rumours regarding the anticipated sale of GMP and the RFP that was scheduled to be released earlier this month.

For those of you who may not be interested in a lengthy recitation of the details, I can confirm at the outset that the RM of Gimli has informed us that they have terminated the RFP process and that plans for the immediate sale of the park had been shelved.

For those interested in a longer explanation of how all this came to pass, read on...

As I indicated during one of our recent Club meetings, over the past few months I have been communicating with Barb Gluck, president of the Gimli Glider Exhibit, who indicated they had received a grant that would partially fund a new sign at the entrance to GMP. She wanted to know if the Club would join with her in approaching the RM and propose that we combine our resources to erect a new sign to replace the current one, which as  you've all seen, is in dire need of replacement/repair.

After agreeing to approach the RM together, a date was set for a meeting on December 11th with Peter Holfeuer, Chair of Public Safety and Recreation for the RM of Gimli. 

Approximately a week before that meeting, I received a phone call from the Mayor, Lynn Greenberg, to advise me that the RM had decided to cancel the RFP and that they instead planned to simply maintain the status quo, by continuing to operate the track as they had been over the past number of years. After some discussion regarding our concerns about the condition of the track and the lack of investment by the RM into the facility, the Mayor agreed that we should meet with a representative of the CDC to discuss the future of the track, plans for some immediate repair work, and to confirm our schedule of events for 2022. He provided me with a contact number and name of the person who could direct me to the appropriate person on the CDC to follow up on those issues.   

Despite a number of emails and phone messages that went essentially unanswered, I wasn't particularly concerned given the meeting we had scheduled with Peter on the 11th of December. 

As I advised the WSCC Board at our transitional meeting on December 16th, when Barb and I attended for that meeting, we were met not only by Peter Holfeuer, but also by Mayor Lynn Greenberg, along with Richard Petrowski, Deputy Mayor and Chair of the CDC Board, and Ron Moore, Treasurer of the CDC. 

After discussing the replacement of the GMP entrance sign and agreeing to proceed with obtaining quotes and working on a draft design, we turned to the issue of the RFP. 

Without going into a long detailed description of what followed, I can advise that the meeting was very positive. We ended the meeting having agreed to continue our discussions with respect to the long term future of the park, the need for immediate repaving of critically damaged portions of the track, and to confirm our 2022 schedule of events at GMP. Most importantly, we now have a direct contact with a CDC Board member who has assumed responsibility for GMP and all of these issues. 

We have also provided them with a proposed list of our 2022 event dates and are waiting on confirmation of those as I type this report. 

So what does this all mean? 

Although there is still a great deal of uncertainty about the long-term future of the facility, we have at least confirmed that we will be racing at GMP in 2022, and that the immediate fate of the track is no longer up in the air. We have established a strong line of communication with the CDC and have their commitment to meet with us to continue discussions regarding these larger issues. 

All in all, 2022 looks much more promising than 2021. There is still much more work to do, but we are making progress. We are working together with the RM and the CDC to replace the GMP entrance sign, and will hopefully be in a position to proceed with some much needed repairs to the track this season. We will of course have to consider carefully how that impacts our BSC grant application that is due in mid-January, but that is a discussion for another day. 

For a more detailed break-down of what happened during my meeting with the Mayor and the Board of the CDC, you'll have to make sure you attend the next regular Club meeting when I will provide a more detailed report.

Confirmation of the 2022 meeting dates will be forthcoming shortly. Keep your eyes peeled for an announcement here on the forums with respect to that. 

All the best for the New Year everyone. Stay warm, stay safe, stay healthy. 

 

Edited December 30, 2021 by funkejay

[workinprogress]

Great news

[Miguel]

I had been looking forward to an update! Great news!

[KMiller]

Sounds good Jay, looks like things are going in the right direction finally.

 

[ACiFiC]

Awesome! Thanks for the update!

[Maxdia]

First great news this year