J & S Matus Motorsports, Inc.
January 10, 2012
Important Updates: Challenges being faced by The Texas Mile in its efforts to work with the Bee Development Authority to create an agreement that supports Chase Field being The Home of The Texas Mile
The staff of the Texas Mile has been in contract negotiations with the Bee Development Authority since April of 2011. The Bee Development Authority is a board of appointees who control the use of the Chase Field Facility where we hosted our May and October 2011 Texas Mile events.
We have worked very closely with the community and named Beeville as the New Home of The Texas Mile. The City of Beeville had even presented us with a proclamation at the May event and the Chamber of Commerce had performed a ribbon cutting ceremony at our October 2011 event. Even with all this positive momentum and two successful events in 2011 that made a significant economic impact to Bee County and Beeville, we have been faced with many challenges behind the scenes. Due to the critical level that some of the challenges have reached, now is the time to let everyone know the steps that have been taken in order to make sure that the Texas Mile event can call Beeville its home. We are bringing to light the key issues that have arisen between the BDA and J & S Matus Motorsports, Inc.
Contract negotiations between the Bee Development Authority and J & S Matus Motorsports, Inc started promptly after the last Texas Mile event in Goliad Texas which occurred in March of 2011. From the beginning, J & S Matus Motorsports desired to sign a long term contract with the BDA to make Chase Field in Beeville, Texas its home. We voiced our desire to have a long term contract to the BDA and hoped that those desires would come to fruition.
In May of 2011 we were presented with the first draft of the contract from the BDA. Instead of being presented with the long term agreement that we desired we were presented with a short term agreement and given no choice but to sign this contract so that we could move forward with our May and October Texas Mile events. There was some good faith language in the contract that said we would be working towards a long term agreement and we were hopeful to have the long term contract completed by the October 2011 Texas Mile event.
On September 2, 2011 we sent the director of the BDA, Joe Montez, a contract that showed certain elements we wanted included. We were continuously told that the BDA and its sub-committee were making updates and changes and that we would be pleased. To our surprise when we received the contract in November 2011, it was nothing similar to what we had requested. There were key areas of the contract that were of great concern to us. Some of these areas include
1. An unrealistic vastly increased and out-of-standards insurance requirement (from 5 million to 50 million in liability coverage),
2. The contract was still only a one year agreement
3. There is no guarantee that the BDA will renew the contract for 2013
4. And a 30 day without cause out clause was included.
We expressed our grave concerns both verbally and in writing. The director of the BDA, Joe Montez, indicated that we could submit our concerns. We followed the process and submitted an eight page outline of our concerns as discussion points, continuing to ask for an audience with the BDA and the Committee, which has not occurred.
We were advised, between the week of Christmas and New Year's, that the BDA had approved another contract addressing our concerns and that they were sending it over to the insurance provider for any other final recommendations. Upon receiving the contract on Jan 3rd we found that there were minimal changes and the key concerns were not addressed. During this process we had continued to offer up our desire to present documented information regarding standards for motorsports insurance and to have an open dialogue with experts in the field. These requests have been either ignored or denied by the director, Joe Montez, or the BDA. Upon contacting Joe Montez after receiving this latest contract, he indicated that the contract was non-negotiable and that everything in the contract was to protect their assets. We were also given only a fifteen day period to accept the agreement and execute it. No explanation or justification for the contract's unrealistic insurance requirements or lack of addressing many of our concerns was provided to us.
The Texas Mile staff and leadership are aggressively seeking remedies to the situation including potentially moving the event to another location, if it is even possible.
The City of Beeville's elected officials, Main Street Manager, its residents, and its businesses, have been extremely supportive in trying to rectify the issues with the BDA and Chase Field. They too have invested substantially in making Beeville the home of the Texas Mile. We greatly appreciate them and thank them many times over. We continue to want to bring The Texas Mile event to Beeville. The Texas Mile delivers a significant economic impact and exposure for the City of Beeville that reaches not only every corner of the United States but all over the world.
We thank you for your continued support of The Texas Mile and we hope to have good news for you all soon.
ALSO:
Today, Shannon and Jessica attended the City Coucil Meeting in Beeville to request Hotel/Motel Tax funds to help cover the cost of the new $50 million dollar insurance policy. The Council will vote on giving us the funds on Monday, January 16th. Contact information is coming your way soon so that YOU can voice your opinion to the City, its officials, and the BDA. Stay Tuned...
Sincerely,
Jay Matus, Shannon Matus & Jessica Reyna
info@texasmile.net
281-303-1844
J & S Matus Motorsports, Inc.
