The City of Palmdale is fighting to get their land back, Drag Racers and a New Track could be their answer!

Please follow the link's below and read the articles first then you will get what I'm talking about in the following commentary.

If Palmdale wants to keep their land and fight for it then they need to do something with it!

Palmdale airport land may become a solar farm Click Here!

Ladies and Gentlemen of the Drag Racing Community,

Jeffrey W. Hillinger A.K.A. Moldy Marvin here and I have some interesting news for you all!

I know that it has been a long time since most of you have heard from me. Well, I don't go away and I don't give up!
In the past two years I have brought 3 different properties for consideration to both the City of Palmdale, the City of
Lancaster and the county of Los Angeles.

Just recently we got real close to negotiating something with Fox Field (a county facility not affiliated with LAWA).

We had the City of Lancaster's Blessing along with the County of Los Angeles and the management with Fox Field, that is, until the FAA got in the way and shot it down.

During the past two years now, we have put together an executive summary, we now have a bona-fide developer, we have
sanctioning from I.H.R.A., we have the staff to run the facility and we sill have potential investors who are willing to put their
money into something tangible even though our economy is suffering at this time.

But we still don't have is the LAND!

For several years now the City of Palmdale along with the County of Los Angeles have suggested looking at
the undeveloped acreage around Palmdale airport, but nothing really has come to the table as of yet.

With the recent failure of the Palmdale Air Port and the struggle between the City of Palmdale and Los Angeles World
Airports, I would think, now is the time to consider all things possible and to seriously think of the economical features
that a Drag Strip could provide for the community of Palmdale and the County of Los Angeles.

With over 17,750 acres at stake and the City of Palmdale losing ground for the economic development in that area,
I believe that now is the time to get the ball rolling!; However, the only way that we can accomplish this is to sound off
and start rallying again, but... this time with the support from the City of Palmdale and the County with the City of Los
Angeles and LAWA as our target!

In other words the next rally will most likely be on the footsteps of City Hall in the City of Los Angeles and if we are to
succeed we are going to need to get a lot and I mean a lot of supporters to join us and this is going to take some
planning!

My executive summary not only proposes a Drag Strip, but a full blown automotive complex to include 3 other
automotive racing tracks, a camping facilities, park, a restaurant, auto sports museum, gift shop, mini mart, gas station,
motel and amphitheater along with amusement rides, all of which can be added as funds and acreage becomes available.

What we need to do right away?

First of all there have been a few racers out there with the attitude that we will never accomplish anything.
I personally disagree, because it is a proven fact that "the more no's one gets, that one gets closer to a yes!" so it is all
about attitude. If you have a negative attitude then please bow out!

For those of you that would still like to see a 1/4 mile bona-fide Drag Strip be put into place here in the Antelope Valley
then there are a few things you can do right away!

Please write out local government! the most important ones to write to will be James C. Ledford Jr., Mayor and
Norman Hickling, Deputy Field Rep. Fifth District LA County.

Keep it simple and courteous, tell them once again, why we need a drag strip.

There is a good possibility that us racers might be the answer that the City of Palmdale and the County are looking for in
order to get the rights back to their land. In other words we need them and they need us!

Below there is a up dated e-mail list, please use it!

James C. Ledford Jr., Mayor
jledford@cityofpalmdale.org

Steven D. Hofbauer, Mayor Pro Tem
shofbauer@cityofpalmdale.org

Mike Dispenza, Councilmember
mdispenza@cityofpalmdale.org

Tom Lackey, Councilmember
TomLackey@cityofpalmdale.org

Steve Williams, City Manager
swilliams@cityofpalmdale.org

Norman Hickling, Deputy Field Rep. Fifth District LA County
nhickling@lacbos.org

P.S. The City of Palmdale has finely gotten their City Council meeting video archives up and running smoothly on the
web. If you are interested in viewing the rally meeting that a lot of us attended back in June of 2007 click the link below.

Note: let the video down load a bit first... then forward the slider about 15% into the video for the segment on the race
track.

http://palmdale.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=11&clip_id=380

Sincerely,

Jeffrey W. Hillinger
A.K.A. the Zealot, Moldy Marvin
http://www.SaveLACR.org

This story appeared in the Antelope Valley Press
Thursday, May 8, 2008 .

By BRIAN GOLDEN
Valley Press Staff Writer

Hickling & Hillinger look over property location map for the east valley during a meeting in August of 2007

Norm Hickling's words last week landed like a salve, rather than salt, on the still-open eastside wound that is the former Los Angeles County Raceway.

Hickling, the Valley field representative for Fifth District Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, told the Valley Press last Friday that Antonovich sees economic development in Lake Los Angeles and a new Valley motorsports complex as mutually beneficial priorities.

Hickling's disclosure that a successor to LACR has already been discussed in the County's regional planning department was welcome news to Jeff Hillinger, the graphic artist and movie industry computer generation consultant who has been spearheading efforts to replace the famed dragstrip that was closed by Granite Construction mining efforts last July 29.

"That is good to hear," Hillinger said Monday. "I just wish they would keep us more informed on this, because we have people who're making efforts to buy land out here, and it would be nice to know that the County is on our side."

Hillinger said he has had several discussions with Hickling.

He said he is convinced of the sincerity of Supervisor Antonovich's interest in replacing the former drag racing icon that drew more than 250,000 visitors to the Valley annually.

"I believe in Antonovich, I really do," said the man whose passion for LACR prompted him to move himself and his bustling high-tech business from Glendale to Littlerock. "Businesses out here in Littlerock and Pearblossom are feeling it, man. Restaurants, hotels, even the auto parts places, because if somebody at the dragstrip needed a part, they bought it right here in town."

When not building websites and consulting computer-generated special effects for cinematic use, Hillinger has been absorbed in developing what is now up to a 14-page business plan for a new LACR.

He had the services of a financial planner and a real estate agent to assist with the vagaries of land acquisition and purchase.

But since his organization is made up totally of volunteers bonded by a passion for hot rods and drag racing, the challenges of the current economy have forced attention to be diverted elsewhere.

"SaveLACR has people who are willing to put up their own money in to take care of things like environmental impact reports and the other red-tape stuff," Hillinger said. "That's how badly we want to see a new dragstrip built to replace LACR.

"But there are certain things, like infrastructure and access roads, that only the County can do."

The Supervisor and the SaveLACR zealot have in fact corresponded about the specific piece of property the County has in mind.

It is a 500-acre parcel that would be third in size only to Willow Springs International Raceway and Auto Club Speedway at Fontana as a motorsports venue in the state of California , were it ever developed.

The SaveLACR group has also been eyeing a second, 140-acre parcel only a few miles east of the former LACR site. Currently it is used extensively for movie, TV and commercial location shoots.

"The owners there reside on their property," said Hillinger, who brought the second real estate possibility to Hickling's attention. "They're totally open to doing something with their property."

Working with tract numbers and regional planning and the other intricacies of development enabled Hillinger to make a valuable discovery.

The land areas under discussion would fit right in with the County's 30-year plan for the Valley, which includes a freeway to by-pass Highway 138 and link Interstates 5 and 15.

"The hotels, restaurants and entertainment venues in my plan would be just as welcome to truck drivers and motorists on the freeway as they would be to drag racers and fans coming to town for a weekend," Hillinger said.

In the meantime, Hillinger says there is something the County can do immediately that would show good faith for the big-picture motorsports complex to come.

"I'm still getting calls from people asking about the Wednesday and Friday night street-legal program at LACR," Hillinger said. "These kids need a place where they can race safely, under supervision and with the proper safety equipment in place.

"The sheriff already blocks off streets in the outlying areas of the eastside for movie and TV shoots. We've all seen those roadblocks. Why can't the county block off one of those roads that dead-end between the alfalfa and onion fields one Friday night a month and we can have safe drag racing for our young people?"

Hillinger has already floated the idea to several large businesses in Palmdale, who he said have expressed interest in underwriting the K-rail, Christmas tree and other features needed to transform the road into a temporary dragstrip.

A fee of $10 per racer could be assessed to create a fund SaveLACR could put toward the expenses of site surveys and EIRs.

"Our dream is still a new quarter-mile dragstrip, with an off-road racing course and an oval for the stock cars," Hillinger said. "But in the meantime, just one night a month would be a huge help to keep somebody from getting killed street racing.

"One night a month. Is that too much to ask?"

bgolden@avpress.com

Granite Construction is one of the largest heavy civil contractors in the U.S. and is a large producer of sand, gravel, asphalt and other aggregate-based construction materials.
Granite Construction not only supplies construction materials to other contractors but they are also major contractors who build our roads and highways. Next time you drive down the highway look for the giant water towers in construction areas that reside by the side of the road. They are big as day, that say "Granite" on the side.
In 2006, Granite Construction reported revenues of $ 2.96 billion.

Here in the State of California a portion of Granite's road building profits are paid via Tax's, coming from Federal and State, to include the Tax's that are being collected at the Gas Pump, paid by the communities that they serve!

The following is directly quoted off of Granite's web site; it can be found under Careers under Social Responsibilities:

Social Responsibility

"Granite's eighty-year history of commitment to a strong Corporate Social Responsibility program is a real source of pride of our people. As builders, the very nature of our work puts us in a position of service to our communities. As "Master Builders" we endeavor to meet the needs of all our stakeholders, including our communities and the environment . Employee volunteerism, resource recycling programs and charitable contributions are but a few of the many ways Granite actively gives back to our communities."

Our Question is as follows:
Is The gravel under the track worth more than the countless lives it has save over the years and the lives that it could save today?

By taking our track away without finding an alternative solution first shows no concern for the community that it has served for so many years?

There are a lot of other statements on Granite's web site that refer to commitment, integrity and the communities that they serve.

For more information on Granite Construction Please Visit their website at http://www.graniteconstruction.com

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