Fundraising update 3/4/08

[The GECCO]

Well, there's good news and there's bad news.

The GOOD NEWS - we have reached the MINIMUM fundraising goal of $500,000.

As of this morning total dollars raised to date is $511,000. But this DOES NOT mean we are done!! Remember that this is the amount budgeted to get us to a minimum operating facility (ie, partially paved paddock, temporary buildings, porta potties, no garages, no RV pedestals, etc), the more we continue to raise, the more we can build, or the sooner we can start (see below).

We are still collecting commitments for the loan program that makes up a large part of the proposed budget. Overall we are close to having enough money to break ground. If the loan program falls short, donations can make up for it in order to get us to the threshold to break ground.

The bad news - among the 5 CAMA clubs, the MRA now has the lowest total dollars raised.

The weather is starting to turn, the first day of spring is just weeks away and we'll all be ready to race very soon. I know most of us take the off season to allow our wallets to heal, and now that tax refund season is here I hope that everyone has a little breathing room and can give some serious thought to what you can spare.

So, to sum up - CAMA has the zoning and we own the land. Logistically we are very close to being able to start construction, financially we are not as close. Racing at HPR in 2008 depends on spring construction. A delay of one or two months due to lack of funds could put the 2008 season in jeopardy. It's crunch time!

[The GECCO]

Additionally, here is the latest "What's Happening" letter from Charlie Thompson, the Manager of CAMA.

http://www.highplainsraceway.com/new...ing-030308.pdf

[motobum]

so how much more money needs to be raised so that construction can start?

[The GECCO]

It depends on how the final bidding comes out after the last round of revisions to the grading plan and soils testing, but probably another $100k or so.

[The GECCO]

Also, just a reminder that you can donate via Paypal to me at MRA_CAMA@YAHOO.COM.

You will get FULL CREDIT for the amount donated, the Paypal fees don't count against you!

[nobasin]

considering the price jump of oil and petroleum related products (like asphalt), has this been taken into consideration for the construction budget? (i'm sure it has but just asking) wasn't the 2.8 mil to begin construction estimated over 2 years ago? if construction bids come in way higher than anticipated or estimated, what contingencies does CAMA have for that situation?

[The GECCO]

We have been getting revised materials estimates along the way. When we did the original numbers asphalt was very high, had dropped since and is now basically back to the same levels it was a couple years ago. The $2.8 million also had some fudge factor built into it, just for this reason.

The verges and run-off areas specified by Alan Wilson required moving more dirt than we originally anticipated, but with the housing construction slowdown the cost of moving dirt has dropped so we should still be pretty close in that area.

These two factors, plus the cost of the land itself, make up about 70-75% of the total cost of the project, so we should be OK. There is a trade-off involved - the more sub-grade dirt prep you do, the less asphalt thickness you need and vice-versa. With the costs of both of these factors varying it will be tricky to find the "sweet spot" in the middle to get the lowest overall cost.

[phildrummond]

Is there any benefit to offering labor time from club members? For instance, if some of us have heavy equipment experience, can we save some $ by moving dirt? Maybe we can get work credits of some sort from the contractors to lower overall cost.

Any thoughts?

[DingleBerns]

how much more money till the ground can be broken into...?

[Scored51]

how much more money till the ground can be broken into...?

... That would be five minutes after the bank is broken into! 8)