“Nobody is stealing anything,” said Nick Valencia, who has been overseeing the track’s maintenance and operations for about six years
On a recent night in mid-March, Santa Clara’s BMX track was buzzing.
“The track has grown really well,” said 70-year-old Jim Hummel, a Fremont resident whose been riding there for four years along with his 39-year-old son and 10-year-old grandson. “It’s meant a lot to my family.”Members of the Santa Clara Police Activities League or PAL — the nonprofit group that hosts the BMX activities — have accused volunteers at the site of financial mismanagement and miscommunication.
Nick Valencia, 37, the track’s main volunteer, said in an interview that no money was being mishandled and that both the commercial and the sponsorship logos were done entirely for free. He explained that it costs $10 each time a rider enters the track. Half of that money goes to PAL, while the remaining funds are used to purchase trophies, jerseys and track maintenance. But the volunteers don’t take home any of the money for themselves, he said.
PAL’s treasurer Dan Racimo told community members at the gathering that volunteers gave them the choice of having USA BMX help with managing the track — but PAL couldn’t accept the offer because of their organization’s bylaws. While his organization wanted the track open, Racimo said, PAL decided to suspend the volunteers after an agreement wasn’t reached.
The accusations have left community members feeling confused and parents wondering where they will be able to take their children if the track shuts down.Jason Perkins, who has nine-year-old and seven-year-old sons that ride BMX and who attended the Feb. 15 meeting, called into question PAL’s accusations.
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