By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
The Great Bend City Council approved a new agreement for the operation of the SRCA dragstrip. The Sunflower Rod and Custom Association (SRCA) canceled the race season this past spring because they deemed the track unsafe and in need of substantial repairs.
With a one-year agreement to maintain the track and facility set to expire at the end of the year, the City of Great Bend will take over responsibility for the track beginning Jan. 1, 2024 since the track is not operating.
Great Bend City Attorney Allen Glendenning said the SRCA volunteers will still store chemicals and equipment at the facility located on the fairgrounds.
"The SRCA Board members need to occasionally get in there to keep the property maintained," said Glendenning. "They want to have their meetings there as well. We've negotiated this memorandum of understanding that will allow the SRCA to keep their equipment and chemicals out there. We've talked about where they're going to put them to get them all in a single building."
After a $1.6 million reconstruction of the dragstrip in May 2021, there have been problems with the surface meeting required standards. The legal issue is in arbitration, and not expected to get arbitrated until June 2024.
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The new agreement will continue until a rebuild of the track is complete and operation resumes at the Motorplex.