Update: PAL has announced it has a new management team and the necessary insurance to reopen the City’s BMX track on May 31. However, it will not divulge who the team is or if it has received a sanction from USA BMX. For complete details, please read this article.
Few people in Santa Clara — if anybody — would dispute the importance of publicly available recreational activities, often called “public amenities.” The topic rears its head almost any time a new development is slated to come online.
The Santa Clara City Council has often put pressure on developers to include more than the bare minimum public amenities, often with much success. Whether it is parks, soccer fields or bowling alleys, Santa Clara is big on recreational activities for its citizens.
So, naturally, you might think that when behemoth developer, Related, informed the Council their new project would displace a local BMX track, the Council put its foot down and told Related the City would not sacrifice such a valued public amenity.
Only the Council never did that.
Now, strife between the track operator and its management has caused the track to close even before the Related development forces the track to relocate or, possibly, be eliminated. Unless something changes, it could stay that way.
Finger Pointing
The organization that sanctions tracks, USA BMX, ranks Santa Clara’s BMX track the top in the nation. The Police Activities League (PAL) manages the track, and a team of volunteers operates it. Unlike many public amenities such as parks or soccer fields, the track turns a steady profit, generating roughly $250,000 a year. The track’s revenue funds a large swath of PAL’s programs despite the organization’s minimal involvement.
“For them not doing much, it is a pretty sweet deal,” said Nicholas Valencia, the track’s operator until PAL “relieved” him of his duties last month.
Valencia said PAL recently began looking for another operator after its board became dissatisfied, alleging that he and his team had engaged in “financial mismanagement.” PAL even went so far as to install video cameras at the track, something Valencia said left the volunteers feeling as if they were under a microscope despite having done nothing wrong.
They seem to be looking for a “smoking gun,” he added. As a result, Valencia resigned all financial duties, but that wasn’t enough for PAL.
“They never made an outright accusation, they just painted several scenarios…if you are not going to make a true accusation, just piss off,” Valencia said. “There is definitely something weird going on. If a program is grossing $250,000 a year, you don’t go looking for problems.”
At a City Council meeting on April 15, Mike Walke, PAL’s president, pointed to PayPal transactions for clinics and camps that had gone unreported to PAL. Despite the accusation, Walke offered little else in the way of explanation.
In an email, Walke wrote that PAL had no comment, but PAL issued a statement on social media where it vowed to perform an audit and that it is “in the process of making a new governance structure.”
Although the money from clinics and camps goes into his pocket, Valencia said he often invests it in the track. Further, the clinics and camps were on the up-and-up, and previous PAL president, Rod Martinez, had no issue with them. In an email, Martinez told the PAL board as much.
“Back when I was running PAL, the BMX crew and I had a verbal agreement that [Valencia] and the other volunteers at the track could do private instruction/camps as a way to fundraise [sic] for your race teams or track improvements as a way of us showing appreciation for the efforts that you and the other volunteers put in throughout each and every year,” Martinez wrote.
The email continues: “As far as private instruction, some of our softball coaches gave private pitching or hitting lessons[,] and they kept the money for themselves. I didn’t believe that private BMX instruction was any different.”
In addition to ratifying the handshake agreement, in the email Martinez glows about Valencia’s management, saying the track “looks amazing” and that he doesn’t believe “the board realizes what the volunteers have done for the track.”
Adding Value
Valencia and his crew aren’t just well regarded by Martinez. At several Santa Clara Council meetings over the past couple months, dozens of parents sang the praises of the volunteers. Nobody said anything negative.
Christin Marron has three children — ages 4, 5 and 7 — whose lives have “revolved around the track since COVID.” Professionally, she investigates crimes against children.
“It takes me a lot to trust people,” she said. “I trust Nick with my kids, and that speaks to his character.”
Many of the public speakers who spoke at the Council meetings emphasized how important the track is to their families, something Marron echoed. She said to lose it because of, what she calls, a “personal vendetta” would be a tragedy.
“There is not a lot of things a family can do together…That bonding time is so important,” she said. “My kids are losing their skills. They are not able to stay competitive as when we had a track. This is their joy.”
Although PAL and USA BMX, were able to reach an agreement for nationals in March, track operations have since ceased. Parents interviewed for this story and many comments at the Council meetings lay the blame at PAL’s feet.
USA BMX will not sanction the track without Valencia and his team as operators, and PAL does not have the proper insurance to operate the track without the sanction.
“The PAL board doesn’t have a good grasp of how the sport of BMX works. If they really took the time to learn…it would make the process go a lot easier,” Marron said.
Many parents and track users were in an uproar when PAL officials announced, without warning, that it was getting rid of the volunteers.
As is all too common, the issue at hand seems to be money. PAL collects half of the $10 each rider pays to use the track. USA BMX accepted a deal through the nationals because of the event’s magnitude, Valencia said, but refused to take over operation of the track unless PAL budges on its share of that fee.
Cassandra Caron’s kids also use the track. She attended the meeting where PAL announced it would be axing the volunteers. She was furious. She called PAL’s lack of willingness to accept less money “appalling,” saying it is “irresponsible, greedy and goes against their mission statement.”
“They provide nothing. They do nothing,” she said. “They are not enhancing the BMX program in any way — they are not doing track maintenance. They are not coaching.”
Rob Carnahan operates Calabazas Cyclery. He said the volunteers “work their butts off,” saying they are “the best people I have ever met.”
“Every person that I have ever sent to that track to be coached…has come back with a positive attitude,” Carnahan said. “Having it organized and having people out there that care really makes a difference.”
For a while, it appeared as if PAL and USA BMX would reach an agreement. During the April Council meeting where Valencia implored the Council to intercede and sever the volunteers’ tie with PAL, Walke told the Council PAL was still negotiating with USA BMX.
However, Justin Travis, a representative for USA BMX, said discussions with PAL are over, adding that PAL did not disclose the dismissal of Valencia and the other volunteers when they were in negotiations.
“It financially supports other recreational programs and is the benchmark for every other program in the country,” Travis told the Council. “Your City should be nothing less than proud of what has been accomplished by the volunteer group that the PAL board recently relieved of their duties.”
An Un-Related Matter
The situation with the Related development further complicates matters. Although the City has the ground lease for the track, its employees are uninvolved in its management. The development agreement requires that Santa Clara work with Related in a “good faith effort” to relocate the track.
In an email, Evette Davis, with Berg Davis, a public relations firm handling Related’s PR, wrote that “… reasonable faith efforts were made during the first two years after the agreement’s effective date, as required. The City did not relocate the BMX track during this period.”
Should the Council do nothing to relocate the track, Related is under no obligation to do so once it assumes responsibility for the land, meaning one of Santa Clara’s biggest public amenities would suddenly die.
“We should have been talking about it three years ago,” Council Member Suds Jain said about relocating the track. “[The City has] the crappiest deal with Related — they locked up our land for 10 or 15 years, and they don’t pay us a dime for it until they start developing.”
Perhaps the biggest problem in finding another place for the track is the City’s lack of available space for such a large attraction. But Jain said he actually sees the fanfare surrounding Valencia and the volunteers as a hindrance.
“If it is so dependent on two or three people, what happens afterward?” Jain said. “They don’t have a succession plan.”
Bad Blood
Because of the bad blood between volunteers and PAL, Valencia took the matter to the City Council. He implored the Council to intercede, perhaps taking over the management of the track, cutting PAL out of the equation. The Council unanimously passed the public petition to put the item on a future agenda.
During discussion, Jain directed City employees to look at the financial audit PAL vowed to produce. Valencia said he was intrigued as to what that audit will reveal because he claims PAL does no bookkeeping.
PAL’s finance and accountability score sits at 100 out of 100, according to charitynavigator.org, but lists “N/A” under independent audit or financial review. Its leadership and adaptability are not scored.
Calls to the City’s PR director, Lon Peterson, requesting interviews with sources at City Hall proved fruitless.
Vice Mayor Raj Chahal said the track is an invaluable asset because it provides an avenue for exercise, something he values very much. Since the track is likely to get eliminated once Phase 5 of Related Santa Clara comes online, he said the operators, USA BMX and PAL should come together in the meantime to reach an amenable agreement.
He worries that the track will go away and wants to see it stay open as long as possible. A diagnosis as to the best course of action is only possible when all the facts are known and the parties have been given ample time to reach an agreement.
However, if push comes to shove, Chahal said he will do what is in the best interest of the public — preserving the track. If that means the Council has to exercise its authority, so be it.
Jain said he was “disappointed [Walke] was not forthcoming” regarding the status of negotiations with USA BMX. He called the track a “cash cow,” adding that PAL’s stance on how much of the rider fee it collects is unreasonable since it collects nothing if the track is closed. He is not optimistic a solution between the two parties is on the horizon.
“It has gotten to a point where there is so much bad blood that the Council has to intervene. They are never going to reach a deal,” Jain said.
The topic returns to the Santa Clara City Council May 24.
View Comments (170)
So far the only piece of fact based informational piece being presented as of yet. Thank you for publishing this piece with transparency and accuracy. Something tangible all have been waiting to see.
Now that we have the facts straight, let us not waste another moment and get PALoff of that land immediately. Us riders are tired of waiting around. Let's put the kids first and bring them back to BMX so they can do what they love most.
The track staff's ability to manage huge events is why they are indispensable. It is not easy to organize and run national and state qualifier races which the track staff did an exemplary job of. The mismanagement by Walke et al is shameful
Finally the real truth is being told. Excellent reporting David Alexander!
PAL is a classic case of bullying and deceit. The article is spot on!!
Thank you!
While the local adults struggle to act like, well, adults, local kids suffer with their bike racing track closed.
I love it. People are misled into thinking they are paying a non-profit (PAL) for camps and clinics, meanwhile the "volunteers" are pocketing the cash. "Valencia said he often invests it in the track". I'd like to know how much came in from camps and clinics and how much stayed in this "volunteer's" pocket and if he was pocketing some of this money what other money was he pocketing? Transparency please.....
Funny- yet another accusation of money mismanagement without proof—and from someone most likely not involved at all in the sport. Maybe you missed the part in the article discussing the verbal agreement allowing for camp and clinic money to go to the T.O.—just like the other sports under PAL that hold camps and clinics. I didn’t, I read the WHOLE thing. Perhaps you should read the entire article before you respond with this ridiculous drivel.
As someone with first hand knowledge of how clinics and camps are currently run in the other PAL programs, I can tell you that not a dime every goes to the volunteers running the programs. Every single penny is accounted for and goes directly to PAL to cover expenses, as it should. Does the organization sometimes use the money to hire outside coaching to work with the players? Absolutely, but it is all done correctly and with the proper paper trail of transactions (including receipts). There are responsibilities when volunteering for a non-profit, if someone isn't willing to uphold those responsibilities, they probably shouldn't be there in the first place.
Tom, there are responsibilities when running a non profit and managing a huge program too and usually those tasks do not fall on the volunteers. If you feel that there was a lack of oversight here, better take it up with the guys running the show, not the volunteers. Oh wait, you can’t, because they haven’t run and audit of their books or done anything responsible regarding management in years. Good luck!
No. The tasks do not fall on the volunteers but they do fall on the Track Operators.
PSA to Tom: not a single person believes a word that comes out of a PAL board members mouth or comments, any of their representatives, anybody from their PR group, or their followers. No proof no evidence ever follows any of their false accusations. With that said are you calling a former police officer a liar? As we have seen their written statement stating that clinic and coaching money was not something to be collected by the PAL board. It’s called past practice. We know you guys are all not well-versed in legal terms and contracts so I can explain what past practice means. Are you saying that other PAL organizations throughout the area are also liars. Please type in your response: yes or no, police officers are lying?
Did you have to surrender your phones prior to viewing The Letter or was there a sign that said no photos allowed =). I kid I kid. If it's not too much to ask, please post the link to a photo. I would like to have my legal team check it out. Thanks!
The email was cut and pasted below today for those who need their hand held
John, no one is being misled. Everyone who participates in these programs are glad to pay the fee. Transparency comes from an independent, outside audit which PAL has STILL not produced. Seems to me they're having trouble finding evidence of their alleged allegations. Don't be a boot-licker, John.
David, this is great. Most detailed article yet on the closure! If you could fill in some more details to help your readers get an even more comprehensive picture, even better. You report that, "PAL collects half of the $10 each rider pays to use the track" I think what you meant to say was that PAL collects half of the $10 each rider pays to race on the track. How much does USABMX collect of the $10 that each rider pays to race on the track? If, as you reported, there's no bookkeeping, is the $5 per rider cut based on trust and faith? Do you know if PAL and USABMX collect any money if a rider practices only - they still pay the same amount for practice - $10. It was also implied in your article that neither PAL nor USABMX collect anything if the rider uses the track for a clinic or a camp. Obviously there are many possible use-case combinations and hypothetically speaking, if a rider races 1x a week and attends a clinic once a month, PAL gets $20, USABMX gets ? and the coach gets $25. If a rider signs up for 2 summer camp weeklong sessions, PAL gets 0, USABMX gets 0 and the coach gets $400. Your article mentions insurance in passing. Inquiring minds want to know more. Is a rider covered by USABMX insurance based on his/her USABMX annual fee or based on the money USABMX collects from the track every time a rider uses the track? These are but a few of the additional details that I think would make your reporting more comprehensive. I look forward to your amendments or follow up pieces.
My kids did this sport for a while when there was nothing else going on during covid. And I was lead to believe that all the money I spent for these clinics (which had over 40 kids in them ) was going to the non-profit. $40x25x52 =$52000 per year. If I had known they were going into his pocket I would not have paid for them. They lied to me in other words. And I distinctly remmeber the race announcer guy saying multiple times "we are an entirely volunteer crew". What baloney!
I asked for tax ID number to get reimbursed from my flex spending account for 3 weeks of camps for 2 kids. Nothing.
So let me get this straight, Trish...a skilled instructor should be required to teach your kids, for free? Did you ever bother to ask where the money was going or if instructors were being compensated? Or were you "misled" because you failed to do your own due diligence? And am I reading right that had you known beyond a shadow of a doubt that the money was in fact going to the skilled, certified teaching staff, that would have been enough for you to throw the towel in and find another covid friendly activity for your children? For someone to lie, they have to be asked a specific question. Please provide evidence of where you asked and were told that your clinic money was going to PAL instead of the certified teaching staff. I think you will be hard pressed to find such evidence. Further, do the teachers at your kids other camps work for free, too? And lastly, why is it so important to you that PAL get the money in the first place? Can you please share with the rest of us what it is that they do with the money they receive? You might be interested in researching how much they have in the bank, how much their annual golf tournament costs vs brings in, and how much they have earmarked to help move the track once the developments starts, then rethink just how important it is to you, that your funding go there.
Marie -
Let me try to put this in a way you might be able to understand. Let's say you go to a store to buy some shampoo. You give the cashier your $5.99 and head home with a receipt and your shampoo. If something is wrong with the quality of your purchase, you know you can go to back to that store and get a resolution.
Now let's say you gave that cashier your $5.99 and they simply put it in their pocket instead of the register as you assumed they were doing. You get home, realize there is an issue and go back to the store, but sorry, no record of your purchase, nothing they can do. Can't get mad at this right? Don't expect the cashier to work for free do you?
If in fact, camps/clinics were being run at a track under a non-profit's name/insurance, it is reasonable for any parent to assume that the money was being collected by said organization. If the coaches had an agreement to be paid, fantastic, but it absolutely should be done the right way with an actual trail of all income and expenses. No one forced the coaches to be there against their will to volunteer. One could say they... volunteered... for the role.
As someone who sits on numerous non-profit boards, I welcome any entity wanting to look at finances. Doing things properly provides a level of protection that is really unmatched.
Ahh Tom, cute. Let me put this in a way you can understand, since your response clearly lacks understanding of how this actually works. Camps and clinics are insured by USABMX, not PAL and they were not being run under PALs name. The track is called Santa Clara PAL because of PAL holding the land lease but the events there are USABMX sanctioned events. Also, that’s awesome that you sit on so many boards with clear transparency. Maybe you can get a seat on PALs board too and encourage them to get their finances, operations, and management skills in order, they could really use a guy like you it seems. Oh, and I’m wishing you the best of luck getting a receipt for your purchase with them and an explanation for what exactly you’re paying for, too.
Tom, if you’re buying $5.99 shampoo you better not complain or return that cheap sulfate ridden stuff. Horrible comparison. Store with receipts and tax collection, paid employees, labor laws, clearly written disclosures and equal right opportunity posters displayed. Yea bad choice Tom. These volunteers have had all their rights violated.
When you all figure out what to do and the track finally reopens…flushing toilets would be awesome! Seriously, we need peace and kids riding their bikes on the best BMX track we know!…and flushing toilets would be great!
Lease prevents this.
Trish, I doubt your comment. Your math must come from the PAL board. Plus if you really participated in the clinics, you would know there were discounts. So buy 4 for $20/ea. Not to mention they are not open 52 weeks of the year, well known by those that actually have riders attend this sport and know the season. Also there were many weeks there were no clinics and posted clearly on Facebook. So redo your math with a best guesstimate. Next, reason this thought, you are a volunteer, you already come to the track three times a week at least 5 hrs a day, then you come on Thursday, as a volunteer and train and coach riders and give them a preview of the sport. Hmm, for free and hand money over to PAL Board? Would baseball coaches hand money over to the PAL board to fund a over priced golf tournament or Judo? No. But these coaches and trainers invested in the track, invested in the riders attending camps. So you thought the PAL Board bought popsicles, pizza and other items for the campers?????? Really??? Be real or reasonable. If you don’t know don’t act shocked or disappointed, you should know where your money always goes.
Did you read the same article the rest of us did?
Misled? How are you being misled? Has anyone asked if clinics and camps go into PAL's pocket? Also, do you know that for nearly all parks and rec program/other youth programming, staff teaching camps and clinics are paid? Why should this be any different? Are skilled and certified coaches and teachers time not valuable enough to receive compensation for what they are teaching the riders? The fact that ANY amount of money could have been reinvested into the track is paramount as no teacher or instructor of other rec programs is expected or required to invest their compensation for instruction back into the program in which they teach. On a side note, do you even know where PAL spends their money and where it is even benefiting the community? If so, please share because I am hard pressed to see anything other than the 600K they have stockpiled in the bank and the cost of the 6 figure golf tournament fundraiser they threw that actually lost money to the program, in the end. Glad my BMX dollars were spent on that.
No one was misled and if you spent a moment at the track you would know this information. Not one time did I ever think that a nonprofit was profiting off of the coaches and their training and skill building lessons. We know for a fact the PAL board and organization has no skills, no training, and have nothing to do with Bmx therefore I personally would have made sure no one ever paid a dollar to get trained by any of you or the money going towards that organization. Skills pay the bills. And those that volunteer know exactly how much money came out of those volunteers pockets and onto that track. Prove me wrong with facts and legit documents. Not your hearsay and BS
It’s good to see that the mismanagement and unprofessionalism of PAL is being brought to light. PAL has demonstrated time and again their inability to manage or even hold a land lease to a program of this caliber. Even their Facebook page barely mentions the track until recently, and they lied to Facebook to get control of the track’s page, removing admins, the kid’s move up award photos, etc. They took a well curated page and ruined it. PAL needs to stick with what they know—which is clearly not land management, personal interactions, or telling the truth.
Marie,
There is only one certified coach (with 2 assistants) in a 2-hour long weekly clinic with FORTY KIDS!!! Wow, no wonder Nic closed the track and demanded PAL to get off his back. And which NPO does he want to take over PAL- Foundation for Better Riders / one that he's also involved in. VOLUNTEERS Nic and Crew - I applaud you for being ADVOCATES for the kids! Great job!
NoWayJose #facts
PAL Please take a lesson
It is so sad to see the number #1 track in the USA shut down because of clueless, greedy morons (PAL). The staff at Santa Clara is top notch. Living in Utah, my family has traveled to this track several times and would hate hate hate to see it gone permanently.
John,
There was another article where Nick mentioned, or maybe a FB post, the program brought in $500K a year. With this article clearly stating about half of that goes to PAL that means the other half is in the coaches pocket. So... since we all know that the money was handled via PayPal or cash, that means he pocketed about $250K (based on his own words) in a year of cash money.
What I wonder is does the IRS know he brought this much home.
PAL certainly has some issues they need to deal with. But my gut is telling me they were attempting to do this with Nick and crew and were met with much resistance. I would hope that Nick and team, along with some others, could help restructure the PAL organization (as they said in their note) to develop something which supports the group who was running the facility but also draws a fine line for parents to know where their money is going.
To me this is a scam of sorts pretty much identical to other scams run by others around the country. PAL's mismanagement aided in this but I do not believe the spirit of anyone involved, other than the scammers, envisioned it was close to $250K of cash money. That is an insane amount. Furthermore, if you carry it out for the number of years they were running the facility, how much money are we talking in aggregate.
Sorry for the rant. But I wanted to clarify what has been said by Nick and how I translated the total amount of money he took home cash free based on his own words. Also, I am extremely interested why Nick hasn't shared how much he reinvested back into the facility. Why isn't that being offered. Did he invest $10K or $200K of the $250K.
You are a liar. Nick is absolutely NOT 'pocketing' 250K a year. That is a ridiculous and desperate lie on your part, PAL troll.
@Lidstone,
Supporters listed $5,000 as 1% of the annual revenue on social media.
@NoNick Valencia Where is your PAL money going? I see you are so concerned with where camp and clinic money is going but where/what is your PAL money doing? Please let me know once you find out.
It goes to the track for the operation and the 8 other youth programs we have. Maintenance, upgrades, trophies the biggest expense.
Wow! So many BMX management experts commenting on here! With so many of you in an outrage and that know how things work, you would think you would be openly nominating yourself to join the new management team! Sadly, most of you are new parents, parents/riders that never really knew how a track runs and just worried about your own personal gain, or you are PAL board members and/or those clueless new parents following them but wont put your real names. So I put some example names for you.
First, the article states that PAL gets half of the $10 fee. This is incorrect. PAL receives ALL of the $10 fee. They are billed each month from USA BMX for fees and insurances. Ask any track and they will tell you that at each race there are fees that total a minimum of about $50 and tops at about $85 (bigger races are a different fee and other membership factors) so anything after that, PAL is keeping. Keeping and putting ZERO back into the facility. And if they do put some money back in, it’s a fight for anything. PAL felt the need to conduct “interviews” of out of town people at the recent national asking if there would be a reason the management team would even need paper! Paper!! Questioning a $30 box of paper.
If anyone has been at the track over the years, you can clearly see it has drastically changed and improved. You ask where Nick has listed improvements he made to the track but has PAL been able to state that they have dramatically improved the track? No they haven’t and can’t. In fact, if you find past interviews of the PAL president, he mentions numerous times it’s amazing what the current team has done to improve the track.
No where, anywhere, is it stated that the track made $500k - another false accusation. Shocking.
There were NO clinics during covid so that “parent” is flat out lying, but why would that be surprising that a lie would come from anyone that is a PAL supporter.
Speaking of PAL supporters, where are they? They claimed to have 10 new families ready to take over… where are they?
PAL publicly lied to everyone regarding status of negotiations and also publicly stated that they do not care if the track remained open or was nothing more than a practice facility. PAL posted (what I assume) a private email they sent to USA BMX and stated that the track would be open May 13th. Well is it? You posted the email, what was the response? Funny how one sided things are.
In a newly circulated article, the article states that PAL had two years to work with the developer to find a new location for the track, yet they have failed to do so. Seems convenient to place blame of closing the track on someone else’s shoulders.
It’s in the best interest of the riders for PAL to be relieved of anything regarding the BMX track. The City of Santa Clara should be embarrassed that these individuals represent them, their police department and city!