The Volusia County Council is expected to vote Tuesday on whether to spend over $4.6 million to buy 356 acres on State Road 44 for conservation and for a motocross facility.
The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. in the County Council chambers at county headquarters, 123 W. Indiana Ave. in DeLand.
The land is at 4845 S.R. 44 next to the Volusia County Gun and Hunt Club. County officials have been looking for a place for a public motocross facility, according to county agenda materials. Funding for the purchase would come equally from the Volusia Forever and Volusia ECHO programs. The seller is Volusia 44 Properties LLC.
“The intent would be to develop a dual-purpose site which includes a publicly owned motocross facility and a wetland conservation area adjacent to the 12,005-acre Longleaf Pine Preserve,” according to the county.
The county has been looking for a site for a motocross facility. The county considered a location off Tomoka Farms Road, but that got pushback from residents concerned about noise.
District 1 Councilman Don Dempsey, whose 12-year-old son is involved in motocross, has championed the effort to get a motocross facility in Volusia County.
“It’s not for me. I mean, I’ll putt around on one. It’s just for these young kids. There’s literally nowhere to go,” Dempsey said.
The County Council approved $3.5 million in ECHO funds to go toward a motocross facility as part of the current budget. The land purchase would use over $2.3 million of that amount.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Volusia County land purchase would pave the way for motocross facility
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