As Loudon, NH, gears up for next weekend’s final NASCAR race of the year, the police department may find itself with less to do than in years past. With over one-third of its budget for security details slashed, fewer Loudon officers will be on hand. Officials at New Hampshire Motor Speedway said in interviews last week they’ll utilize other forms of security, like the state police and their own team to patrol parts of the track, which has a maximum capacity of 105,000. Loudon police Chief Robert Fiske said the reductions translate to a “dangerously low” number of officers at the track. “There’s a major safety concern,” Fiske said in an interview.
The town’s police department, which typically contracts up to 200 officers from throughout the state for full- and part-time use, was forced to re-evaluate its figures last month after the track took issue with a $265,000 bill for police details provided at a June NASCAR race. The track told selectmen the figure was excessive – up 40% from a $190,000 bill for the same race in 2005 – and agreed to pay it on the condition that fees for police and fire coverage on future races not exceed $175,000.
“The June bill was not a realistic reflection of what we needed,” said New Hampshire Motor Speedway Manager and Vice President Jerry Gappens. “We had concerns and asked for an adjustment. The bill was paid in protest, but it was paid.” The $265,000 was paid last month, and after some last-minute number crunching, Fiske presented the track with a $157,000 proposal for this week’s 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition. The bill, which Fiske said he presented “under protest,” was further reduced to about $136,000. With a few more changes, the combined bill for police and fire coverage tallied $174,000, according to Gappens.
The biggest reductions came from several areas, Gappens said, including paring back shifts the week before the race, when out-of-state travelers typically set up RVs in the parking areas. The track will man its own security until Thursday. “If we have an incident, then (the police) will respond like they would any other day,” Gappens said. Additionally, the state police will take over patrolling in two of the site’s campgrounds; the number of officers patrolling the grandstands will be reduced from 30 to 12, but there will be more track security and ushers, said Mark Furlone, the track’s security director and a former state trooper major.
The number of shifts and officers on staff were cut in half, Fiske said, and the number of hours in a typical shift were slashed from 12 to eight. Officers working shifts in the overnight RV areas will be off the clock at 2 a.m. There will be a “handful” of people on-call, Fiske said, but if something happens, “I really doubt six people are going to be able to control a crowd of 300.” The track has also eliminated 17 officers at 11 of its entrance points, where guests’ bags are checked for restricted items. Instead, the track will assign about 300 uniformed workers to man those points. “We’re quite well-staffed,” Furlone said. “We’re very conscious of the safety and well-being of our guests.” The changes, according to Fiske, are leaving the town wide open to danger. Given the number of people expected to attend the three-day event, he expects something will go wrong, he said. Fiske said he’s especially concerned about the lack of officers at the screening stations. Many of them are being moved to traffic detail on Route 106, which Loudon will also retain control over.(Concord [NH] Monitor)(9-14-2009)
