Post by admin on Mar 30, 2009 8:43:04 GMT -5
New OHV park revving up Cambridge
By:Marlys Barker, Nevada Journal
01/15/2009
Updated 01/25/2009 12:06:05 AM CST
The little town of Cambridge may have struck gold right in its own backyard.
As approved by the Cambridge City Council in December, the community is moving ahead to establish a private "off-highway vehicle" park on 20 acres, owned by the city, in the southeast corner of town.
Overseeing the plans for what will be one of just five private OHV club parks in Iowa is a "motor sports" committee appointed by the city council. Members of the committee include Dennis Van Arkel, Dan Soda, Luke Bristow and Matt Kahler.
Van Arkel said the committee will also oversee other community events and projects that have to do with motor sports, such as truck pulls; but for now, the committee's biggest task is getting membership started for what is being called OHV Cambridge.
The establishment of the park is a natural fit for land that was already being ridden on illegally, Van Arkel said. Part of the land is where the city's waste water treatment plant is located, but the other areas have trails. "Some people were getting mad that there were more and more people coming and riding on these trails, and then riding (the OHVs) through town," Van Arkel said. Riding an off-road vehicle on city streets is illegal, but without a full-time police officer, enforcing that law in Cambridge is hard to do.
Establishing the park seems to be a win-win solution in many ways. Van Arkel noted some of the ways that the city will benefit from the park. First, it allows the city to draw revenue off of land that it owns by leasing it to the OHV club. Van Arkel said some of the land has been leased for farming in the past, but because the land is in a flood plain, it's not real conducive to farming.
Second, the club will have members and rules, and the rules, Van Arkel said, will make it easier for the town to police and crack down on in-town riding.
Third, and possibly most important, the club will bring lots of people into Cambridge, which should benefit local businesses, like the convenience store and the bar and grill, Van Arkel said.
Mayor Scott DeYoung agrees. "This project is a very minimal expense (for the city) and will have a great economic impact for our community. It will bring a lot of people to our town ... and they'll spend money in our town. It's good use of some ground that's not being used very well right now. It's really an opportunity for us to have an attraction in Cambridge that there's not many of around."
DeYoung said there have been a few concerns expressed about noise, but through the club's establishment, there will be strict rules on how loud exhausts can be.
Van Arkel said the Cambridge motor sports committee has been receiving help in establishing this park from Dan Kleen of Pocahontas. Kleen is the executive director of the Iowa OHV Association (Web site: http://www.iowaohv.com) and president of the National Off Highway Vehicle Conservation Council (Web site: http://www.nohvcc.org).
Kleen believes the Cambridge off-highway vehicle club will flourish because of its location in central Iowa and because the Cambridge OHV club will be the first in Iowa to allow side-by-side off-highway vehicles, which are a growing segment of the sport.
Side-by-sides are a little wider, Van Arkel said, and most of the established parks' trails aren't wide enough for these vehicles.
Kleen, who himself is wheelchair-bound, said the side-by-sides are attracting a lot more people to the sport, including families with young children and senior citizens. "(OHV sport) is the great equalizer," Kleen said. "I can go out with buddies and friends and keep up with them. It's the same for people who are aging, they can get on a machine and ride. And it's a great family activity."
The other four private ATV clubs in the state are located at or near Spencer, Muscatine, Logan and New Hartford. Therefore, Kleen sees the Cambridge site as being a great draw for people from Des Moines, Ames and other central Iowa areas. He said that Boone just lost a private ATV park, so people who were used to going there may be looking for another nearby location.
Kleen said you can't dismiss the economic impact that this park might have on the Cambridge community. "They just completed an economic impact study on ATVs and off-road motorcycles, that showed they bring $126 million a year to the state of Iowa," Kleen said. He added that snowmobilers are figured as bringing in another $95 million.
"It's not a cheap sport - by the time you buy trailers and equipment, you can spend a lot of money," Kleen said. And these same people, he added, spend a lot of money when they're out and about on gas and other things.
The Cambridge OHV park is still very much in the planning stages. One thing its planners hope for is that the club will establish a safety course, where people can get certified after they've purchased their ATV or other off-highway vehicle. As for special places for kids, Motocross tracks and other elements that some parks have, Van Arkel said those types of things will have to be established later by the club's membership.
An exact membership price to belong to the Cambridge OHV club hasn't yet been established. Van Arkel has set up a Web site, www.ohvcambridge.com, as a place for people to go to express interest in joining the club. Membership price, he said, will be set once they figure out some idea of how many people are going to join the club. Kleen said the average cost of a membership at a private park in Iowa is around $50 per family.
Van Arkel said people can go to the ohvcambridge Web site and send him an e-mail if they're interested in joining. Van Arkel also invites people from the Central Iowa area to a meeting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 27, at the Cambridge Fire Station (across from the park on River Street). "This meeting will be for anybody who wants to be in the club; it will give everybody a chance to meet and hear things out."
Kleen said the new Cambridge park will also be discussed at this weekend's Iowa OHV annual meeting, on Sunday, Jan. 18, at Camp Dodge, Building B57. "We're going to talk about the Cambridge park and the club and the 20-some other clubs that are in the state at that meeting," Kleen said. He said more information about the meeting can be found at the "Iowahvb" Web site, or people can call him at 712-358-1870. Kleen said the state meeting is open to the public and admission is free. "There are door prizes and speakers," he said.
For those who are wondering when they might actually get to use the new Cambridge park, the news is good. "I'd like to see them be able to start riding by late spring or summer," said Van Arkel.
www.midiowanews.com/site/tab5.cfm?newsid=20241825&BRD=2700&PAG=461&dept_id=554450&rfi=6
By:Marlys Barker, Nevada Journal
01/15/2009
Updated 01/25/2009 12:06:05 AM CST
The little town of Cambridge may have struck gold right in its own backyard.
As approved by the Cambridge City Council in December, the community is moving ahead to establish a private "off-highway vehicle" park on 20 acres, owned by the city, in the southeast corner of town.
Overseeing the plans for what will be one of just five private OHV club parks in Iowa is a "motor sports" committee appointed by the city council. Members of the committee include Dennis Van Arkel, Dan Soda, Luke Bristow and Matt Kahler.
Van Arkel said the committee will also oversee other community events and projects that have to do with motor sports, such as truck pulls; but for now, the committee's biggest task is getting membership started for what is being called OHV Cambridge.
The establishment of the park is a natural fit for land that was already being ridden on illegally, Van Arkel said. Part of the land is where the city's waste water treatment plant is located, but the other areas have trails. "Some people were getting mad that there were more and more people coming and riding on these trails, and then riding (the OHVs) through town," Van Arkel said. Riding an off-road vehicle on city streets is illegal, but without a full-time police officer, enforcing that law in Cambridge is hard to do.
Establishing the park seems to be a win-win solution in many ways. Van Arkel noted some of the ways that the city will benefit from the park. First, it allows the city to draw revenue off of land that it owns by leasing it to the OHV club. Van Arkel said some of the land has been leased for farming in the past, but because the land is in a flood plain, it's not real conducive to farming.
Second, the club will have members and rules, and the rules, Van Arkel said, will make it easier for the town to police and crack down on in-town riding.
Third, and possibly most important, the club will bring lots of people into Cambridge, which should benefit local businesses, like the convenience store and the bar and grill, Van Arkel said.
Mayor Scott DeYoung agrees. "This project is a very minimal expense (for the city) and will have a great economic impact for our community. It will bring a lot of people to our town ... and they'll spend money in our town. It's good use of some ground that's not being used very well right now. It's really an opportunity for us to have an attraction in Cambridge that there's not many of around."
DeYoung said there have been a few concerns expressed about noise, but through the club's establishment, there will be strict rules on how loud exhausts can be.
Van Arkel said the Cambridge motor sports committee has been receiving help in establishing this park from Dan Kleen of Pocahontas. Kleen is the executive director of the Iowa OHV Association (Web site: http://www.iowaohv.com) and president of the National Off Highway Vehicle Conservation Council (Web site: http://www.nohvcc.org).
Kleen believes the Cambridge off-highway vehicle club will flourish because of its location in central Iowa and because the Cambridge OHV club will be the first in Iowa to allow side-by-side off-highway vehicles, which are a growing segment of the sport.
Side-by-sides are a little wider, Van Arkel said, and most of the established parks' trails aren't wide enough for these vehicles.
Kleen, who himself is wheelchair-bound, said the side-by-sides are attracting a lot more people to the sport, including families with young children and senior citizens. "(OHV sport) is the great equalizer," Kleen said. "I can go out with buddies and friends and keep up with them. It's the same for people who are aging, they can get on a machine and ride. And it's a great family activity."
The other four private ATV clubs in the state are located at or near Spencer, Muscatine, Logan and New Hartford. Therefore, Kleen sees the Cambridge site as being a great draw for people from Des Moines, Ames and other central Iowa areas. He said that Boone just lost a private ATV park, so people who were used to going there may be looking for another nearby location.
Kleen said you can't dismiss the economic impact that this park might have on the Cambridge community. "They just completed an economic impact study on ATVs and off-road motorcycles, that showed they bring $126 million a year to the state of Iowa," Kleen said. He added that snowmobilers are figured as bringing in another $95 million.
"It's not a cheap sport - by the time you buy trailers and equipment, you can spend a lot of money," Kleen said. And these same people, he added, spend a lot of money when they're out and about on gas and other things.
The Cambridge OHV park is still very much in the planning stages. One thing its planners hope for is that the club will establish a safety course, where people can get certified after they've purchased their ATV or other off-highway vehicle. As for special places for kids, Motocross tracks and other elements that some parks have, Van Arkel said those types of things will have to be established later by the club's membership.
An exact membership price to belong to the Cambridge OHV club hasn't yet been established. Van Arkel has set up a Web site, www.ohvcambridge.com, as a place for people to go to express interest in joining the club. Membership price, he said, will be set once they figure out some idea of how many people are going to join the club. Kleen said the average cost of a membership at a private park in Iowa is around $50 per family.
Van Arkel said people can go to the ohvcambridge Web site and send him an e-mail if they're interested in joining. Van Arkel also invites people from the Central Iowa area to a meeting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 27, at the Cambridge Fire Station (across from the park on River Street). "This meeting will be for anybody who wants to be in the club; it will give everybody a chance to meet and hear things out."
Kleen said the new Cambridge park will also be discussed at this weekend's Iowa OHV annual meeting, on Sunday, Jan. 18, at Camp Dodge, Building B57. "We're going to talk about the Cambridge park and the club and the 20-some other clubs that are in the state at that meeting," Kleen said. He said more information about the meeting can be found at the "Iowahvb" Web site, or people can call him at 712-358-1870. Kleen said the state meeting is open to the public and admission is free. "There are door prizes and speakers," he said.
For those who are wondering when they might actually get to use the new Cambridge park, the news is good. "I'd like to see them be able to start riding by late spring or summer," said Van Arkel.
www.midiowanews.com/site/tab5.cfm?newsid=20241825&BRD=2700&PAG=461&dept_id=554450&rfi=6