The GECCO
April 8th, 2008, 08:23 AM
The latest "What's Happening" letter from CAMA Manager Charlie Thompson
Every day gets busier than the last as we grow nearer to the official start of construction.
While we had track and engineering plans completed in late 2007, we elected to have a construction quality topographical survey prepared which turned out to be a wise decision. The survey we used for design was not as detailed as thought and while we have encountered a slight delay, we avoided potential costly changes that could have occurred during construction. I mentioned in my last letter that the design team had been especially busy, which continues. They had previously completed the layout of the horizontal design of the track onto the new topography and this month now have the vertical design and grading plans also finalized. While RG Consulting completes the construction drawings, we now have adequate documentation which allowed us to start the bidding process. These bids will give us a final construction budget. My best estimate is still that we need $2.8 million to start construction and another half million for a few of the desperately desired amenities. The detailed budget will be released to the website as soon as it is approved.
Also this month the design team did a draft layout of the barriers required for safety and run-off areas; copies of the drawings have been sent to K&K Insurance and Wilson Motorsport who will both be involved in recommending barrier placements. Needless to say our draft barrier plan included more barriers than our original budget. We are investigating options allowing us to provide all recommended barriers on opening day rather than adding additional sections later. One option we have worked on for months is the acquisition of a portion of the concrete barriers left over from the Denver Grand Prix. We have made an offer to Champ Car and the Bankruptcy Court to take half of the barriers. At 9,000 lbs each, the 60 mile trip to our property will be pricey, but will provide substantial savings over the cost of Armco or poured-in-place concrete. If any of you have trucking companies, please let us know if you can help, as moving nearly 1,000 barriers will be a monumental task. Just a footnote, the GP tires are gone but CAMA has arrangements with a tire manufacturer for a large quantity of new tires. Anticipate some tire bolting parties in the future.
This brings me to the heart of what's happening, which is the continued progression of the thermometer. The thermometer grew another $300,000 this past month and is currently at nearly $2.6 million. This represents $1,150,000 in loan commitments and $540,000 in contributions. Barring any surprises in the bid process, we are extremely close to reaching our construction release parameters. Let's not settle for just a quality track. Keep up the enthusiastic growth of the thermometer so we can build a facility in which we can all be proud.
With the welcoming of warm spring days, tours of the track site are becoming even more popular. Utilize the website, www.highplainsraceway.com, CONTACT US page, if you would like to do a walk-about. The Capital Campaign committee has expanded a program for first year advertisers called the Founding Sponsor program. Contact a CAMA representative if you or a friend has a business which could enhance our fundraising through advertising.
All of the clubs, members, and race fans who have contributed to date should be very proud of what we have accomplished so far - - a spectacular achievement. However, there are many future users of the track who have yet to become Founding Contributors and their participation will be required for our success. Inscribe your 'Brick' today and let's keep HPR on-track!
Every day gets busier than the last as we grow nearer to the official start of construction.
While we had track and engineering plans completed in late 2007, we elected to have a construction quality topographical survey prepared which turned out to be a wise decision. The survey we used for design was not as detailed as thought and while we have encountered a slight delay, we avoided potential costly changes that could have occurred during construction. I mentioned in my last letter that the design team had been especially busy, which continues. They had previously completed the layout of the horizontal design of the track onto the new topography and this month now have the vertical design and grading plans also finalized. While RG Consulting completes the construction drawings, we now have adequate documentation which allowed us to start the bidding process. These bids will give us a final construction budget. My best estimate is still that we need $2.8 million to start construction and another half million for a few of the desperately desired amenities. The detailed budget will be released to the website as soon as it is approved.
Also this month the design team did a draft layout of the barriers required for safety and run-off areas; copies of the drawings have been sent to K&K Insurance and Wilson Motorsport who will both be involved in recommending barrier placements. Needless to say our draft barrier plan included more barriers than our original budget. We are investigating options allowing us to provide all recommended barriers on opening day rather than adding additional sections later. One option we have worked on for months is the acquisition of a portion of the concrete barriers left over from the Denver Grand Prix. We have made an offer to Champ Car and the Bankruptcy Court to take half of the barriers. At 9,000 lbs each, the 60 mile trip to our property will be pricey, but will provide substantial savings over the cost of Armco or poured-in-place concrete. If any of you have trucking companies, please let us know if you can help, as moving nearly 1,000 barriers will be a monumental task. Just a footnote, the GP tires are gone but CAMA has arrangements with a tire manufacturer for a large quantity of new tires. Anticipate some tire bolting parties in the future.
This brings me to the heart of what's happening, which is the continued progression of the thermometer. The thermometer grew another $300,000 this past month and is currently at nearly $2.6 million. This represents $1,150,000 in loan commitments and $540,000 in contributions. Barring any surprises in the bid process, we are extremely close to reaching our construction release parameters. Let's not settle for just a quality track. Keep up the enthusiastic growth of the thermometer so we can build a facility in which we can all be proud.
With the welcoming of warm spring days, tours of the track site are becoming even more popular. Utilize the website, www.highplainsraceway.com, CONTACT US page, if you would like to do a walk-about. The Capital Campaign committee has expanded a program for first year advertisers called the Founding Sponsor program. Contact a CAMA representative if you or a friend has a business which could enhance our fundraising through advertising.
All of the clubs, members, and race fans who have contributed to date should be very proud of what we have accomplished so far - - a spectacular achievement. However, there are many future users of the track who have yet to become Founding Contributors and their participation will be required for our success. Inscribe your 'Brick' today and let's keep HPR on-track!