On speaking, and listening, to each other

It’s been a year of polarization in the USA, and that same sense of deep division has seeped into the communication and negotiation surrounding Lime Rock Park’s move to change the injunction controlling the days and hours of its operation. The race track went to court just about this time last year to modify its deal with its community, yet even after multiple public meetings and lots of back and forth with Salisbury’s Planning and Zoning Commission, a final decision has not yet been made. That is expected to be brought down from Litchfield Superior Court as early as next month.

As this drama has played out, on a parellel course some area residents have formed the Lime Rock Citizens Council in order make it clear to all who are considering the final outcome that they want to constrict the track’s operating agreement to remain as it has been since 1957, with subsequent amendments. Two sides, with two views of the same situation, unable to connect in a real way to come to a compromise  without going to the courts. 

The fear of those opposing the track’s plans is that it will run races on Sundays (as the lawn signs in the area express). Skip Barber and the race track say they want two Sundays open for racing. Two too many? For some of the track’s neighbors, the answer is apparently “yes.” Yet it doesn’t seem so much to ask if it helps the track remain a viable business and an attraction in the Northwest Corner.

There is just not the level of trust necessary for negotiations to be successful outside of a courtroom; many of the Lime Rock Citizens Council don’t believe the track when it says it will want only those two Sundays. After all, the track’s petition asks for many more. And the fear is also that the track will be sold to another entity that will run it with no respect for its neighboring community. It would also seem that there are those who would just as soon see the track closed.

If it were closed, then what? Would it not affect the economy of the surrounding area profoundly? The track pays taxes to the town of Salisbury, employs about 30 full-time and hundreds of part-time staff, and draws many race enthusiasts to the region who eat, drink, sleep and shop at our area businesses. There are even residents who migrate or retire to the region because they are race fans. 

There should also be some recognition of the positive impact that Lime Rock Park has had on the Tri-state region since 1957, including providing the site for the Salisbury Rotary Club’s fireworks fundraiser annually, as well as other charitable events and contributions. 

For those who just don’t wish to have Sunday racing more than twice a season, why not directly contact Skip Barber and others at the track and have a meaningful discussion with them about that face to face? You may come away finding you are heard, respected and perhaps even reassured. But it would mean both sides both speaking, and listening, to each other.

Too naive, suggesting such a thing? If the alternative is this rural, lightly populated area being as divided as the our political parties are across the nation, isn’t it worth a try? At least there might then be some hope for reconciliation once the judge’s ruling does come down.