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2001
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| Charlotte County Airport Authority In Confusion Over Speedway's Fate | In a series of articles over the next several weeks KARNAC.com will explore in detail the complex fight for control of the speedway. A battle that has been raging since 1996
By Jack Smith
 Leroy Davidson and Mary Benson confer with their attorney
On Thursday morning the Charlotte County Airport Authority, landlord for Charlotte County Speedway, held their monthly board meeting in Punta Gorda, and most of the members seemed more confused after the hour and fifteen minutes spent on the speedway than when the subject first came to floor.
One of the dilemmas the Board faces is trying to unravel who their tenant is. Another is in trying to determine what their liability is in the event of a serious accident at the speedway.
And yet another is what to do about the fact that the lease has been substantially violated by Charlotte County Speedway Inc., the named corporation that leases the track.
Board members Tom Garrard and Gary Quill explored the legal situation between the three parties involved in court battles which include the Charlotte County Sports and Recreation LLC under the direction of Naples attorney Chris Felden.
The other two combatants for control of the speedway's destiny are Glen Vanhorn and the original builder of the track Leroy Davidson, each of who feel they are the majority stockholders in Charlotte County Speedway Inc.
Garrard stated in his overview of the current situation "it's a mess". That pretty much described the hour-long debate of the various issues by the board members as well.
He described the "mess" this way: Glen Vanhorn made a deal to sublease the track to Felden with an option to purchase the business.
Meanwhile in a mediation session Vanhorn agreed to buy out Davidson's shares of stock in Charlotte County Speedway, Inc. for approximately $250,000. Shares that took five years of legal wrangling for Davison to win the rights to.
In the same 'mediation' session Felden agreed to purchase the speedway business from Vanhorn for $525,000, according to Garrard.
"Lo and behold Leroy then buys out Vanhorn's stock, but we haven't seen the agreements" stated Garrard.
Garrard then pointed out with several other members concurring that the Charlotte County Airport Authority (CCAA) never approved a change of ownership or the sublease, both of which are required under the terms of the lease.
He continued, in reference to the legal entanglements, " Nobody is going to go quietly into the night".
CCAA Board member Pam Seay concurred, "Changes have to come before the Board, you are not the owner of the speedway until the Board says you are an owner." She insisted that the Board not get involved in the legal entanglements.
She pointed out that the "taxes are now paid, the speedway has a big event coming this weekend" and it could involve the Board in potential lawsuits if they revoked the lease at this point.
Seay told KARNAC.com she is a fan of stock car racing, loves to go the speedway and pointed out that she doesn't care who the owner is as long as the track has racing occurring. Seay acted as the attorney for Charlotte County Speedway Inc. for five months in 1996, the same time as the CCS Inc. board of directors under the direction of Glen Vanhorn was ousting Davidson.
Seay said "making a decision now would be shooting our selves in the foot."
The do nothing attitude was echoed by CCAA Board member Michael Grant who said "I'm tired of this" and insisted he also wanted to put any decision on hold. Grant's main expressed concern was if the speedway was "in harm's way", referring to the Airport's liability from the speedway's operations and both the board's and the speedway's insurance coverage.
Chairman Don Lee agreeing with Grant's concerns pointed out, " We don't know who we are dealing with right now". He also indicated concern that the Board's coverage through Lloyds of London is about to be cancelled.
The committee seemed to be split with Seay leading the charge to do nothing, Kathleen Cappola wanting to deal with the lease violation and Chairman Don Lee wanting to get the meeting over with.
By the end of this muddled session the Board decided to send a letter to Glen Vanhorn as head of Charlotte County Speedway Inc. requiring proof of insurance and proof of ownership, in an effort to decide who they should be dealing with and to make sure the Airport has its liability protection in order.
When the time came for public input (with two minutes allowed to address the Board), Davidson's attorney pointed out to the Board that his client was the majority shareholder in charge of Charlotte County Speedway Inc. The deal having been struck two weeks ago by Davidson and Vanhorn in which all the stock certificates had been transferred to Davidson and his sister Mary Benson.
This was followed by Davidson informing the Board that they had been sent a letter outlining this latest agreement and the fact that it (the agreement) should have been on the agenda for the Board to approve.
Then the bombshell of the meeting was dropped by Albert Tiseo, introducing himself as Vanhorn's newly acquired council, that Vanhorn was disputing the signed agreements he made with Davidson on the grounds that he was not competent to sign them.
At which point Davidson, who had cleverly saved 10 seconds of his two minutes allowed, asked the Board for an emergency meeting to decide the issue. The Board refused the request.
The current operator of the speedway, Charlotte County Sports and Recreation LLC, headed by Felden, was not in attendance as he is in Europe vacationing.
John Sarppraicone, owner of DeSoto Speedway in Bradenton, Florida was also in attendance.
Meanwhile Davidson walked out of the meeting with the stock certificate books piled high in his arms and said, "Well, I thought I owned the speedway."
As Tom Garrard said, "It's a mess".
-Jack Smith
www.karnac.com
Related News: Charlotte County Speedway Fate in Judge's Hands?
Field Of Dreams: A Decade Later
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