By BECKY CRISSMAN

becky.crissman@gaflnews.com

VIENNA — The road is growing longer for one Houston County man who wants to construct a drag strip on his property in north Dooly County.

Michael Reece, of Perry, has met a great deal of public opposition ever since he first made his intentions for the land known. It is that opposition that has slowed his progress.

Several times in the past few months, Reece has come before the Dooly County Commissioners to ask that they overturn the Planning Commission’s denial of his request for a conditional use permit for the land that’s located on Highway 41 just north of Unadilla.

Commissioners conducted a public hearing Thursday morning and heard more comments. A number of citizens, living in the vicinity of the proposed drag strip property, turned out to voice their disapproval. They complained about the noise that the drag strip would generate, the type of people the establishment would bring to the community, depreciation of homes in the area, and traffic and alcohol consumption issues.

“I can’t be convinced that this business will be good for the city of Unadilla or Dooly County,” said Nelson Dupree, one of several citizens speaking against the drag strip. “The noise will be a nuisance and Georgia Law protects us from nuisances. Loud noises can lead to high blood pressure, and anxiety.

“He (Reece) did not come to the citizens first. He did not have any consideration for us. Why should we have any for him.”

Dupree went on to say that the drag strip would cause the value of adjacent properties to diminish. He also charged that the oil or fluids that may leak from the vehicles could cause contamination to the water supply.

Dupree and other citizens expressed concern over the “riff-raff” that the drag strip would bring into the area, claiming it will increase the number of alcohol impaired drivers and speeders and therefore would increase the number of accidents in the area.

One citizen, who agreed that those leaving the races were more likely to speed also claimed that the smell from the drag strip would not be good nor would it go away, even after days. She claimed to have such knowledge from living near a drag strip in another state.

In rebuttal Reece promised citizens that he was a “man of integrity” stating that he would do whatever is necessary to accommodate citizens and make the drag strip into something that not only will bring revenue into the community, but will be something the community could be proud of.

He informed citizens that the track would be built down in the dirt with barricades around it to assist in containing noise.

“Cars are only on the track for a matter of seconds,” said Reece. “It is not going to be in operation every night or not even every weekend. There will be times, like in cold weather that we cannot run races.