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City reverses its course on hosting Flatlanders
By DAN DeWITT © St. Petersburg Times, published February 5, 2001 BROOKSVILLE -- After last year's Flatlanders Challenge road race, it was pushed from its longtime home: the city of Brooksville. Now, a week after the race was held outside the city for the first time, it is being welcomed back. David Pugh, the city's parks and recreation director, said he received several calls last week from city residents who wanted to know why the race had moved from downtown to rural Spring Lake. Pugh discussed the calls with City Manager Richard Anderson, who told him to contact the Red Mule Runners, the organization that has sponsored the race since the first running in December 1978, to explore the possibility of bringing it back. Pugh will meet with the runners at their next meeting, on Feb. 14. "As far as the city of Brooksville is concerned, we'd love to have an event like that again," Pugh said. "It's exactly in line with what we've been trying to do with our downtown." The race is a good vehicle to promote downtown Brooksville, he said. Flatlanders, a fine arts festival and a craft festival are three traditional downtown events the city lost last year. Pugh has discussed the idea of hosting the race again with City Council members, who would eventually have to approve a permit, and he said they seem receptive to the idea. The city and club, though, might have to discuss a new course to avoid the areas where residents objected previously because of traffic congestion caused by the race. "As long as everything can be worked out, we'd love to have them," said Mayor Joe Johnston III. The city recently agreed to host the former Masaryktown Art, Crafts and Music Festival, though that will be at Tom Varn Park, west of downtown. "(The race) is similar to what the Masaryktown art festival will bring, but this will specifically benefit downtown," Pugh said of Flatlanders. Nobody was talking about the race's benefits a year ago. In 2000, the city received a petition signed by 39 residents who lived along the course, including former City Council member Pat Brayton. They complained that they had been inconvenienced by runners clogging their roads. Race director Chuck Boldt was grilled by the City Council when he requested a permit last year. He was then told by a police official that he would not be issued a permit for 2001. "He said, 'You're not going to get this permit again, so you might as well not even ask,' " Boldt said. Police Chief Ed Tincher said Boldt was never told this. The Police Department's disagreement with Boldt, Tincher said, resulted from Boldt's request that the city provide the department's services for free. "I think the problems with the Red Mule group was they were looking for taxpayers to supply them with the officers they needed to protect the course at no charge," he said. Boldt said the club eventually paid full price for all of the officers last year. He also said holding the race in Spring Lake was cheaper and less complicated because the course has fewer intersections and less traffic than the one in town. That is one of several reasons, he said, that he and other club members have mixed feelings about the city's offer. The race has seen participation -- and income -- drop, partly because of competition from other nearby races, especially marathons. The hilly and scenic Spring Lake course, though it attracted fewer runners than the previous year's race, might offer the best chance of establishing a niche for Flatlanders, Boldt said. "If the course had bombed and everybody hated it, I'd say, 'Please take us back,' " he said. "But everybody loved it. Gosh, I don't know what to say." On the other hand, he and other Red Mule members said, everyone missed the community interaction that had been a big part of the race for more than 20 years. "I have really mixed feelings now," said member Sue Murphy. The course in Spring Lake "was a beautiful run, great location, and it was more challenging than the course in town. The only drawback was we didn't have the spectators, and it didn't bring people to Brooksville."
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