[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6131091,"mediaKeyId","5734247-9fcf89a59b15ccf1d2746323e6d7776f","parentId",5734247,"title","Fire-department coverage quote for NHMS events spikes; selectmen ask for breakdown","audioSeconds",5108,"startMs",195000,"endMs",5303000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5734247-9fcf89a59b15ccf1d2746323e6d7776f&start=195&end=5303","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5734247-9fcf89a59b15ccf1d2746323e6d7776f/thumbnail_195000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6131091/Loudon/Merrimack-County/New-Hampshire/Fire-department-coverage-quote-for-NHMS-events-spikes-selectmen-ask-for-breakdown","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6131091-edfba794c9257bde6e206a3d52d5fc77/orig.mp4?Expires=1775671014&Signature=QBibghjyCr1v6~zvQYkYZ3HBAdX9u2AF1kdrvup7imH1DQQDfaFgFutHSEVKzloYlqYj8HMCcHTAYOApwFFOVcb6SBRaSpMMN-hLWsY~2Ei6n8NRyQXCkLvlbVd1G0YQWwmwRUhbkJwla3mDisBpW6G-EvzN2VxqptWokwLiBCBDS8GeyuhXQs9im1vJVJRHNbwzzZ8CH3E0zpacQBp2vH5VlKq0KJ0dllIKJ26ZjXM55yojVxiF7jXKAdqGcb9rIeGgI-kG4XQXpVu3vCqIv8vihTd9fKkD4qglEulSAtWbmXY9NAs0o8hGaxPgCX2aiQGkrKDf3F9cQfBQ0rvpnw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Town of Loudon, New Hampshire","date","2025-09-04T11:46:58Z","article","Loudon selectmen on Sept. 3 pressed the Loudon Fire Department and New Hampshire Motor Speedway to explain a proposed jump in emergency-services charges for track events that the track said rose from an estimated $62,000 in prior seasons to about $92,000 in the current quote.

Why it matters: the raceway is a major town taxpayer and these standby costs are a material line item for the Speedway’s event budget; the selectmen said the town needs clear documentation of days, staffing levels and the specific services that drive the higher estimate so both sides can negotiate a fair plan.

Tom Blanchard, Loudon’s fire chief, outlined operational changes and added positions that he said contributed to the higher estimate: new computer-aided dispatch and records-management systems that require vetted, trained operators; the relocation of a dispatch operator to race control; a new on-site monitoring requirement tied to the track’s updated alarm panel; additional Thursday-night coverage after a prior infield fire; and increased paid coverage for Sunday traffic-control engine staffing that previously relied on volunteers.

Blanchard said some items were added to address prior safety concerns and to comply with updated regional security and information requirements. He presented the Thursday-night detail as an add-on that would cost $6,180 and said the broader estimate reflected roughly 1,100–1,200 man-hours compared with about 770 reported man-hours on last year’s bill.

Track staff and selectmen said the track is not contesting hourly rates but asked for a clearer schedule and a day-by-day accounting of names, roles, hours and dates so they can identify where coverage can be reduced without sacrificing public safety. David McGrath and Matt Goslant for the Speedway agreed to receive the fire chief’s detailed spreadsheet and to continue negotiations; McGrath noted the track had invested in on-site improvements intended to reduce some staffing needs.

Selectmen and the track asked the fire chief to provide the schedule and spreadsheet (names and rates plus dates/times) to Speedway operations staff so both sides can refine the staffing plan. The board agreed that a follow-up exchange of written detail and a subsequent meeting to finalize coverage and cost would be the next step rather than extended negotiation at the Sept. 3 meeting.

No formal vote on the coverage or costs occurred at the meeting; selectmen instructed the fire chief to supply the requested breakdown and to work with Speedway operations to seek a reasonable, safety-focused plan for future events.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Board of Selectmen - September 3, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","At a Sept. 3 special meeting, Loudon officials reviewed a proposed rise in emergency-services charges for race-week coverage at New Hampshire Motor Speedway—from roughly $62,000 to a quoted $92,000—directed the fire chief to provide a day-by-day staffing and cost breakdown, and asked the track and town chiefs to seek options to narrow the gap.","taxTitle","Loudon, Merrimack County , New Hampshire","taxId",61624,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6131096,"Loudon officials and New Hampshire Motor Speedway debate demo-ride safety, marshal requirement and permit process",3901,175000,4076000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5734247-9fcf89a59b15ccf1d2746323e6d7776f&start=175&end=4076","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5734247-9fcf89a59b15ccf1d2746323e6d7776f/thumbnail_175000.jpg","/articles/6131096/Loudon/Merrimack-County/New-Hampshire/Loudon-officials-and-New-Hampshire-Motor-Speedway-debate-demo-ride-safety-marshal-requirement-and-permit-process","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6131096-d02da57d5c78b2a92fbcad67b8cab2f6/orig.mp4?Expires=1775671014&Signature=obeiFZgIrZU1w6ug3vLwwcA3~Yq~IKxNBQCE~EEp8DiZQQnIsieReqD5PugGUrOahliFb-6njkj2o6DLQ6oqxsqB3clcziAivFiu~wGkjGklsMPuewctT1NjEJ9EdxXWA39soOx4wEVC2vTh8ryb6Lad-0dYhjkt8AgdOZ~X4ZLNhqQVQYk1-32CMTGWHnXtowLe3Sry6JOpPjnJ3saYXUEyDKmUwlVWHeoZ0B-iTBPgqAXjw~jitkRBgsTepLvsqyPB~ifnKejI4lWAJ9UgsH5RlAxyBafw~zF9mSV0V2Dv3Za9Z8JO62wOhedNpV31nMbpREbiX3Ce8IjlamAB~Q__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Loudon Board of Selectmen members met with representatives from New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sept. 3 to discuss safety concerns, permitting and public communication tied to the track’s motorcycle demo rides during bike week. The town sought clarification about a permit condition that would require marshals on demo rides; Speedway officials said vendors would not participate if marshals were mandatory.

Why it matters: the demo rides traverse town roads and residents on Lower Ridge Road and Route 106 have raised safety and driveway-visibility concerns. The permit conditions the selectmen can add to a special permit could affect whether vendors such as Harley-Davidson and Indian participate, and therefore could have economic impacts for the speedway and Loudon.

The meeting opened with town leaders saying three topics were on the table: the demo-ride marshal requirement, emergency-services fees, and permits for flat-track and fireworks. The discussion focused on the marshal condition placed on a special-event/hawkers-and-peddlers permit and competing views of the public-safety data that led the town to add the condition.

David McGrath, general manager of New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and Matt Goslant, the track’s vice president of operations, told the board the demo-ride program has run for 12 years and that major vendors would stop participating if marshals were required. McGrath said, “better than 90% of the motorcycles rolling into our property and being packed are heavy baggers by experienced riders who get off and wanna ride the latest new Harley Davidson.” He and other Speedway representatives said education and enforcement, not a marshal mandate, were the best ways to address safety concerns.

Dan Flanders, Chief of Police, disputed some of the Speedway’s framing and described the department’s enforcement work during demo rides. “In this year, 2025, the Loudoun Police Department was much more heavy handed in handing out citations. And that was a direct order from me,” Flanders said, adding the department concentrated stops and citations during demo-ride hours and collected speed data.

Town and Speedway witnesses disagreed about the event statistics cited in a June 19 town letter. A Speedway attorney and representatives said year-to-year totals for the entire motorcycle week were broadly consistent (the transcript records their comments listing totals they attributed to prior event weeks). The police chief said his department’s internal count—conducted during demo-ride hours and verified by license plate—identified the bulk of the stops as directly tied to the demo rides and that the 2025 enforcement effort produced more citations than prior years because of an explicit enforcement directive.

The parties also debated the basis for the town’s authority to add conditions. Town officials said the special application flows through the fire chief, police chief, road agent, planning and zoning representatives and the selectmen at a board-of-permit meeting and that town ordinances for hawkers and peddlers and the board-of-permit procedures permit the selectmen to add reasonable conditions to permits. Speedway representatives said their special-event form was intended mainly to cover hawkers-and-peddlers fees and inspections and was not meant to act as a permissions gate for on-track operations.

Both sides agreed that communication had been insufficient in the months leading up to the event. The selectmen said they received the permit after the 30-day review window in the town ordinance; Speedway representatives said they submit an annual calendar of events early each year and that the particular condition in the June letter arrived halfway through bike week. As an immediate next step, the parties agreed to pursue a follow-up process focused on public-safety measures that do not depend on the marshal requirement: additional enforcement, signage, citation notification to vendors, and a planned meeting between the police chief and Speedway operations staff.

The board did not vote to remove or keep the marshal condition at the meeting. Instead, selectmen signaled they would reconsider the condition for the 2026 season after a focused follow-up with public-safety officials and Speedway representatives. The board and the Speedway also agreed to improve lines of communication going forward.

The selectmen took a separate, routine motion at the end of the meeting to adjourn.","At a Sept. 3 special meeting, Loudon selectmen and New Hampshire Motor Speedway representatives disagreed over a permit condition requiring marshals for motorcycle demo rides, highlighted differing safety data and agreed to meet again to pursue enforcement and communication steps before deciding on permit conditions for 2026.","actionData","errors"]

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Fire-department coverage quote for NHMS events spikes; selectmen ask for breakdown

Loudon officials and New Hampshire Motor Speedway debate demo-ride safety, marshal requirement and permit process