Sunshine on RMP
Badlands is declaring the coming days a Sunshine Week to post a number of documents submitted to Merced County government in the last few months. Some of these documents have been included in the official packets of information for Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission meetings. Others have been suppressed.
This material is best understood by reference to the audio or video archives of supervisors’ and planning commission meetings and we encourage readers seriously interested in understanding their local government to go to the Merced County webpage, http://www.co.merced.ca.us/CountyWeb/, to seek out these hearings, particularly the two board of supervisors meetings on July 1 and July 8.
The image is a pure creation of the mind.
It cannot be born from a comparison but from a juxtaposition of two more or less distant realities.
The more the relationship between the two juxtaposed realities is distant and true, the stronger the image will be—the greater its emotional power and poetic reality … Pierre Reverdy, quoted in Manifestoes of Surrealism, Andre Breton, Ann Arbor, 1972, p. 20.
The Badlands editorial board is an expert team of specialists on flak and propaganda. Trained by the UC Merced Bobcatflakstersm tempered by years of finance, insurance and real estate propaganda, and refined by the recent campaign for a peripheral canal, the editors have great expertise. And expertise brings appreciation. We give both John Condren, Riverside Motorsports Park CEO and his vice president, Mark Melville, jointly, the Badlands Journal Surrealist Poetics Award (Flak Division) for 2008.
To fully grasp their genius and eccentric vision, first we offer versions of the vulgar reality shared by others – Merced County officials, Merced Sun-Star reporters and editors, the judge and attorneys on both sides of the case and the Badlands Journal editorial board. Only then, to showcase Condren and Melville at their best, do we include their vision in all its “emotional power and poetic reality.”
Test question for beginners in surrealist-flak poetics: What is the image that is a pure creation of their minds? (Clue: Don't neglect the obvious.)
Questions for intermediate level students of surrealist-flak poetics: What is Merced County’s indemnification agreement with Condren worth now? And, how much of attorneys' fees and legal costs will the winners of the lawsuit against RMP recover? (Clue: What number did the Arabs invent?)
The question for experts: Can you make this stuff up?
For those interested in continuing the fight against RMP, we suggest they contact members of the Citizens for the Protection of Merced County Resources – they were the real sparkplugs throughout the campaign to stop the project.
Suzy Hultgren-(209) 358-2339 ph, (cell) 209-769-8583
Paul van Warmerdam- (209) 678-2251 ph,(cell) 209-678-2251
Stacey Machado-(209) 564-8361 ph,
Badlands editorial board
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7-18-08
Merced Sun-Star
Is Riverside Motorsports Park racing out of town?
Recent actions by the company behind it suggest as much, but company officials deny it...CORINNE REILLY
http://www.mercedsunstar.com/167/story/352122.html
Riverside Motorsports Park officials have instructed Merced County to cease all permitting work related to their proposal to build a massive motorsports complex near Atwater.
RMP has also asked the county to return money it handed over earlier this year after county officials said they wouldn’t do any more work on the company’s behalf unless it paid up front.
Though RMP officials insist they are not walking away from the quarter-billion-dollar project, their request, made this week, doesn’t bode well for the proposal’s future.
“Although we are terminating this contract, it should not be construed that we are abandoning the project at this time,” RMP’s vice president, Mark Melville, said in a letter delivered to the county this week and obtained by the Sun-Star on Thursday. “You should know however that we continue to look at alternatives to lessen the project size while not compromising the economic (benefits) to the county.”
First proposed more than five years ago, the RMP project is still far from breaking ground. And this week’s news raises even more questions about whether the racing complex, originally planned to replace 1,200 acres of farmland near Castle Airport, will ever be built.
Earlier this month, RMP CEO John Condren issued a statement saying the company is considering scaling back its plans from an eight-racetrack motorsports park to a four-track park about two-thirds the size of RMP’s initial proposal... According to Condren’s statement, they are still attempting to find investors and banks to fund the project.
But, according to the letter RMP sent the county this week, the company has stopped working to secure the county permits and approvals it needs to break ground — seemingly because it no longer can afford to.
The Merced County Board of Supervisors approved RMP’s proposal in December 2006 after heated public debate over whether the project should be built. But a judge threw out those approvals earlier this year when she ruled against RMP in a lawsuit filed by environmental groups and the Merced County Farm Bureau.
To regain those approvals, RMP must turn in to Merced County more detailed plans for its project. RMP must then conduct new studies on how its proposal would affect the environment and allow the public time to review those studies.
The Board of Supervisors would then have to vote in RMP’s favor again...
RMP has been on shaky financial footing for many months, and it’s had difficulty paying its bills. After the company failed for months to make more than $150,000 in delinquent payments to the county, the Board of Supervisors voted to require RMP to pay up front for future permitting and legal services.
In February, RMP gave the county $50,000 to place in a trust account from which the county could draw. Now RMP wants back whatever is left in the account.
“This letter is to serve as our official notice terminating (that) contract,” Melville wrote. “This letter is to also serve as a request to return to Riverside Motorsports Park all remaining funds in the trust fund including any interest within 15 calendar days.” ...
The county is now calculating RMP’s outstanding bill to make sure nothing is missed, Hendrickson said.
“While we understand that RMP would like a refund, the county is going to approach the situation very cautiously to ensure that the Merced County taxpayer is held harmless from any expenses related to the RMP project,” Hendrickson said. “The last thing we’d want is to be left with an outstanding bill.”...
June 20, 2008
Badlandsjournal.com
Judgment Entered in Favor of Raptor, POW and Citizens Group in RMP suit
http://www.badlandsjournal.com/?p=487
MERCED, CA (June 20, 2008) –Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Humphreys signed this week the judgment for the lawsuit between San Joaquin Raptor Rescue Center, Protect Our Water, Citizens for the Protection of Merced County Resources (petitioners), against the County of Merced and real party of interest Riverside Motorsports Park (respondents).
Judge Humphreys ordered in favor of petitioners that the following approvals of the Merced County Board of Supervisors on the RMP project be voided and vacated:
Resolution No. 2006-219;
Ordinance No. 1800;
Zone Change No. 03-007;
General Plan Amendment No. 03-005
Removal of project site from the Williamson Act Agricultural Preserve;
Amendment to the Merced County General Plan to redesignate the project site from “Agricultural” to “Castle Specific Urban Development Plan Industrial”;
Rezone of the project from “A-1″ and “A-2″ to “Planned Development”;
Approval of the project master plan;
Text Amendment to Merced County General Plan to modify policies in the Circulation Chapter that would exempt the project from traffic Level of Service standards for feature and major events.
The Court also ordered the County of Merced to refrain from further approvals on this project until the County and RMP undertakes further environmental review “to correct the deficiencies in the EIR and as otherwise required under the California Environmental Quality Act.”
“We have nothing but the highest praise for our legal team,” said San Joaquin Raptor Rescue Center President Lydia Miller. “Gregory Maxim, Julie Garcia, Marsha Burch and their law firms, Sproul Trost LLP of Roseville and the Law Offices of Don B. Mooney in Davis.”
“This judgment is a tremendous victory for the citizens of Merced County,” said Gregory Maxim. “This lawsuit was brought for the purpose of ensuring that the citizens were provided with a full and fair opportunity to review and comment on all project impacts. This judgment, and the voiding of nine of the project’s prior approvals, will provide the citizens with this opportunity.”
“We are overjoyed at this positive outcome for the Raptor Center and Protect Our Water,” Miller continued. “But we were particularly pleased with the strong support we received throughout the process of this lawsuit from the Citizens for the Protection of Merced County Resources, led by Suzy Hultgren, Paul van Warmerdam and Stacey Machado.”
For further information contact:
Lydia Miller GREGORY L. MAXIM
San Joaquin Raptor Rescue Center Attorney at Law
Protect Our Water Sproul Trost LLP
(209) 723-9283, ph. (916) 783-6262 tel
Citizens for the Protection of Merced County Resources
Suzy Hultgren-(209) 358-2339 ph, (cell) 209-769-8583
Paul van Warmerdam- (209) 678-2251 ph,(cell) 209-678-2251
Stacey Machado-(209) 564-8361 ph,
Riverside Motorsports Park
July 12, 2008 Hand delivered
Mr. Demetrios O. Tatum
County Executive Officer
Merced County
2222 M Street
Merced CA 95340
Re: Merced County Contract #2008046
Dear Mr. Tatum,
On February 26, 2008, the County of Merced and Riverside Motorsports Park (RMP) entered into an agreement for the processing of development applications, environmental review, and for costs associated with processing said applications and environmental review. On or about June 1, 2008,. I spoke directly with County Counsel, James Fincher and told him that no further work was to be done on the processing of any applications until further notice by RMP, to which he agreed.
Pursuant to Section 6 of Contract #2008046, Titled: Termination, this letter is to serve as our official notice terminating the above said contract immediately. Pursuant to Section 3 of Contract #2008046, Titled: Reimbursement, and Sub-section 3.6, Titled: Closure of Trust Fund, this letter is to also serve as a request to return to Riverside Motorsports Park all remaining funds in the Trust Fund including any interest within 15 calendar days as specified therein.
Although we are terminating this contract, it should not be construed that we are abandoning the project at this time. As you are well aware of, the capital investment market has all be collapsed making funding extremely difficult. You should know however that we continue to look at alternatives to lesson (sic) the project size while not compromising the economic impact to the County. I will keep you posted on our progress.
Sincerely,
Mark D. Melville
Vice President, Operations
Cc – James Fincher, County Counsel
Robert Lewis, County Community Development Director
Riverside Motorsports Park
The Fast Track: Tracking Progress in the Development of Riverside Motorsports Park
June 2008
So… what’s happening? Adjustments.
· Adjusting to an unbalanced economy and financial market
· Adjusting to the sports-recreation-entertainment market
In the January (2008) edition of “The Fast Tract” newsletter, I made the following comment: “One challenge that we did not anticipate – nor did many on Wall Street or within the world financial markets – was the August (2007) collapse of the equity-based, fixed income credit market, which not only continued through the third and fourth quarters, but worsened at year’s end. Judged by many financial market leaders as the most serious financial crisis to hit the United States in a the last 100 years …”
Unquestionably, a lot has happened over the last twelve months within the U.S. economy: the implosion of the equity capital investment market; the general economy taking a dramatic downturn; stagnation within the housing and construction markets; fuel increases of more than two and one-half times the cost; rise in unemployment and, financial market concerns over inflation and the devaluation of the dollar.
Back in July 2007, Rioverside Motorsports Park had three (3) equity investment firms qualified by our investment bankers and lined-up for investment in the RMP project. These were supported by an internationally recognized bank providing additional funding on the debt side. In August (2007), as the equity capital market collapsed, investors found themselves in unchartered (sic) territory. Today, one year later, of the three investment companies RMP was working with, one of these companies no longer exists, having succumbed to their extensive holdings in the sub-prime real estate market. The second firm has retired all investment activities while they determine the liquidity of their portfolio. The remaining investment firm continues to have an interest in RMP. I should note that the international bank we were working with in 2007 remains very interested in funding the debt side of the RMP project.
Between September and December (2007), there was (in all candidness) very little for us to do on the financial front but watch the grass grow. The markets were reeling and investors went underground. Instead, we focused our efforts on the legal challenge to the project’s approval by Merced County.
In November, while we were waiting for the market to find itself, RMP had its day in court regarding the legal challenge issued jointly by the Merced County Farm Bureau and San Joaquin Raptor Rescue Center, challenging 10 specific points of the project’s approval and its environmental impact report (EIR). On 6 February 2008, the judge issued her ruling that the Merced County Farm Bureau and San Joaquin Raptor Rescue Center failed to make its case on any of the 10 environmental complaints and, in doing so, the judge confirmed the legal defensibility of the Riverside Motorsports Park and Merced County EIR.
However, the judge went beyond ruling on the 10 issues by the Farm Bureau/Raptors and she noted that the RMP Master Plan was deficient in that it did not include a “Development Agreement” between RMP and Merced County. A Development Agreement has no bearing on the environmental impact of the project or content of the EIR. Rather, it is the documentation of formalities of the working relationship between RMP and Merced County. RMP’s “Conditions of Approval” by Merced County required such an agreement; however, neither the County or RMP r our environmental attorneys or the County’s environmental consultants had considered this as a requirement within the environmental review process.
The judge felt that the citizens of Merced County could not reasonabley discern the full impact that the RMP project may have on the County without having access to this agreement. Because of this one missing document, she has issued the requirement that RMP re-circulate its Master Plan (with the Development Agreement included) for an additional 90-day public review and, then, re-submit the Master Plan for County (re) approval.
Although this ruling is creating a delay in the start of construction, RMP’s management considers the requirement to re-submit the project’s Master Plan as an opportunity, especially given current economic conditions and associated trends forecast within the sports-entertainment-recreation marketplace. If RMP were to ever consider any operational adjustments to the project, based on market changes that could influence recreational and/or entertainment trends for the next 55-10 years, now is the time to make those adjustments.
Because of changes in the financial and recreational markets, recent efforts have included the following:
· RMP has been reviewing and conducting separate market research, analyzing the possible effect of higher fuel costs on the recreational sports industry.
· RMP has reviewed various analytical reports on how a short-term recession might affect the recreational sports industry.
· RMP has been working with our financial advisors – Coit Financial LLC – to quantifiably determine the “threshold” of funding available for a sports-recreation project in today’s market as compared to the market of July 2007.
· RMP has been working with our architect and design team regarding possible park layout alterations – applying all of the market research information and potential funding thresholds to various design considerations for phased venue development and possible downsizing for cost reduction, as well as redevelopment to meet extended market trends.
An article that appeared in the Los Angeles Times on Thursday, 19 June 2008 focused on how gas prices appear to be affecting NASCAR race attendance. Attendance at some events is reported to be down by 10% (but is being off-set by a rise in television viewership ratings for the same events). However, within the article other key points are made that fully support Riverside Motorsport Park’s Business Plan and marketing approach:
· Point: Many NASCAR fans are foregoing drives of 500-1,000 miles for events and are attending races within a day’s drive
o Resonse: To this, RMP has always emphasized that the majority of season ticket holders to the NASCAR Cup races at Infineon Raceway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway and California Speedway have zip codes within 75 miles of the RMP project’s site
· Point: NASCAR fans (which are typical of NHRA fans, IndyCar fans, and fans of most other forms of motorsports) are willing to forego other forms of recreation and/or entertainment in order to attend their favorite events
o Response: This point was highlighted in the RMP Buisiness Plan and holds a significant truth for the Central Valley and local project site area, given that no other forms of professional sports entertainment or large-format family recreation exist between Stockton and Bakersfield, a 300-mile distance
· Poijnt: Even with decreased attendance, motorsports events still draw crowds larger than most other sporting events
o Response: Motorsports events in Northern and Central California maintain healthy attendance figures, such as Laguna Seca’s 85,000 attendees for the AMA Superbike-MotoGP event, and the 100,000+ at June’s NASCAR Cup event at Infineon-Sears Point Raceway
· Point: Recreational and entertainment expenditures need to be attractive for family outings; the more successful venues offering a breaoder range of entertainment
o Response: MRP has always emphasized this point and remains the ONLY motorsports facility in the United States to offer multiple venues and events for a single admission price, as well as music concerts, films, family arcades, indoor and outdoor karting tracks, family restaurants and diverse retail shopping within a family-oriented park setting
Datapoints from 3 other national articles are worth noting:
· David Carter, executive director of the Sports Business Institute at the University of Southern California, said, “…that while NASCAR fans may grumble about the price of gas, they still regard going to some races as a pilgrimate.” – “High U.S. gas prices pinch NASCAR fans (Reuters New Service – Mon. Jun 30, 2008)
· Desp[ite a daily barrage of ominous reports chronicling the shrinking dollar, soaring oil prices and tightening credit markets, top property, sponsorship and marketing executives assured attendees of last week’s IMG World Congress of Sorts that the industry remains impervious to an economic recession. Such attitudes are rooted in the sports industry’s resiliency during past economic downturns. There have been five (5) bear-market periods since 1973, and studies have shown attendance increases in the four major sports throughout each of them, unless a labor disruption occurs. – “Can Sports Weather the Storm?” (Street & Smith’s Sports Business Journal 17 March 2008)
· History shows consumers consider a night attending the big game just the tonic after a bad day at the office. “The evidence from past recession is, indeed, that sports is one of the last things people cut back on,” said Andrew Zimbalist, a professor of economics at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. “They need their distractions and they need their obsessions.” This makes sports teams more recession-proof than many other industries, according to the (sic) Rich Gotham, president of the National Basketball Association’s Boston Celtics. “Sports are the great distraction from the economy,” he said. “Sports attendance up, hot dog spending down” (Reuters New Service – Sun Jun 29, 2008)
The final analysis of the research work, financial market data and recreational market trends indicates that in order to maximize profitability and ensure project success, RMP may want to consider, initially, reducing the size and scope of the project. Financial analysis identifies that by maintaining four (4) key venues – the Speedway Oval, the Road Course, the Dray Strip and the Kart Course – RMP would also maintain 90% of the total revenue generated by the originally planned park layout with 8 venues.
One potential new layout design of the facility looks like this: (map unavailable on Badlands)
What you’ve probably noticed is that the new layout uses far less of the land originally purchased for the project…but allows for phased expansion later on. A smaller project and smaller footprint would reslt in reduced environmental impacts; therefore, no revision to the existing environmental impact report (EIR) and no new environmental studies are required.
Granted, the facility will not initially be able to claim ”every kind of track for every kind of racer” but even with 4 venues, the facility would still have the distinction of featuring:
· The only world-class Oval Speedway in Northern and Central California
· The only world-class, stand=alone Drag Strip in Northern and Central California
· The longest, most diverse Road Course in the State of California
· The first Road Course that operates in-and-out of an Oval Speedway
· The newest world-class motorsports facility in the State of California
· The only multi-venue facility in the world that promotes ”Synchonic Marketing” – multiple venues with simultaneous or sequential events at one admission price. The facility will also be the only motorsports venue in the world to have an Entertainment Village with amphitheatre, films, arcades, children’s Playland, restaurants and pubs integrated within the complex.
As the 4-venue project maintains 90%+ of the original revenue projection, a 4-venue project also maintains its full economic benefit for Merced County.
Yes, there will be critics and sideline-consultants that claim, “We knew that the project was too big or We said they should do this three years ago.” And, of course, there will always be the claim, “This project was never realistic or fundable.” The company’s response to all of these “opinions” is the following:
· The project is, indeed, realistic and fundable. RMP would never have been able to enlist letters of support or requests for events from over 50 sanctioning bodies – including the largest names in the industry – had it shown any sign of being unrealistic. The same can be said of the support provided by our construction team – Fluor and Granite Construction – and our motorsports industry specials: Paxton Waters, Rusty Wallace, Derek Daly and Boris Said (among others) who have validated the RMP project with their name and their involvement.
· The project could not be modified in any form while the environmental impact report and related evaluations towards project approval were on-going. Even so, RMP saw no reason to make any adjustments to the project until market indictors, issued this year, provided new information.
And, finally…
· The market of July 2008 is completely different from the market of July 2007 … or the market of July 2003 when the project had just initiated its environmental reviews. And who is to say that the market of July 2009 or July 2010 may not be similar to the market of July 2007?
Although critics and naysayers will always have something to say, what we really like to hear are supportive statements and e-mails such as, “Hand in there, more people than you can even imagine really want your track right here in our county.” (R. Button – Atwater, CA – 27 June 2008). I cannot tell you how refreshing it is to get messages like this, and we get quite a few every week. It’s the letters, e-mails and phone calls like this that drive us forward.
So, securing project funding remains RMP management’s primary focus. To this, we have already initiated discussion with investors regarding the reduced venue, phased approach. We remain committed to bring world-class motorsports and family-based recreation to Merced County.
All the best –
John F.S. Condren
Chairman and CEO