TRIMBLE COUNTY, Ky. —
A successful off-roading business in Trimble County is facing an uphill battle.
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County leaders said the Dirty Turtle is making a mess on county roads.
The Dirty Turtle is one of three motorsports businesses in Trimble County, bringing big business and national exposure to the area, but a proposed ordinance could change all that.
“This ordinance, in essence, it would shut me down. I would lose all profitability of my business,” said Joe Lawson, owner of Dirty Turtle Offroad.
Extreme off-roading in the 270-acre park draws thousands of visitors every year.
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“We’ve had folks from 46 states over the years, and over 12,000 individual people visit this facility in three years. I don’t know where else in Trimble County that’s ever occurred,” said Lawson.
But with the success of the Dirty Turtle has come a big mess.
“When they leave, they get mud on the roads, and I saw it firsthand last October, probably an inch and a half of mud on county and state roads,” said Trimble County Judge Jerry Powell.
Powell said muddy roads are a common complaint. He said a proposed ordinance would keep everyone happy, requiring the Dirty Turtle to provide a power washer for vehicles leaving the park, and would only allow off-road vehicles brought in on a trailer.
“That they be trailered in an out, which would prohibit people driving a four-wheel-drive truck or Jeep in off the main highway and go through the course and come back out and get back on the roads,” said Powell.
But Laswon said this would cut his business in half, causing him to close.
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Although Lawson said he’s taken measures to clean the roads after every event, he said he would be willing to invest in a wash station for the park, but not if the county doesn’t support his contribution to the community.
“If the folks of Bedford that lead this community don’t see the value of what I’ve done in the last three years, then I’m not going to fight it,” said Powell.
The first hearing on the proposed ordinance will be held Monday night at 5:30 p.m., at the Trimble County Fiscal Court.
The proposed ordinance also calls for recreation businesses to only operate between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m.
The Dirty Turtle is currently open Friday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., with the exception of two night rides a year when they’re open until midnight.
A group of “Dirty Turtle Offroad” supporters will caravan to Trimble County Courthouse on Monday from V3 Jeep Shop at 13015 Middletown Industrial Blvd. at 4 p.m.
Trimble County Judge Jerry Powell said, “It’s not our purpose, not our goal to close them down, to shut them down. All we want them to do is be good neighbors and good citizens.”
Source: https://t-tees.com
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