As we’re sure you know, we’ve spent almost a year building a barn, and justifiably there have been questions about how that structure plays into this change. We’re taking all of these announcements step by step and truly appreciate everyone being patient and understanding as we continue to explain the different aspects of this change.
RASTA Sanctuary first started to fundraise for a new barn in early 2016, and after two years was able to raise $100,000 towards construction. Of course, many things happen along the way, and it was some time before we had enough of the puzzle pieces in place to be able to really start finalizing plans. After months of design, and the construction of an aviary so the birds had somewhere to live, we got quotes and were devastated to be receiving hugely inflated construction prices. Our 100K was barely going to get us started with the companies who had the ability to even build a barn. Then after Pamela Anderson came for a visit, her partner Dan Hayhurst offered to donate his labor to build the barn and run the project. We broke ground last November, and have been working on it every day since.
We have had amazing donations. Along with Dan’s incredibly generous donation of his labor, we’ve had many others volunteer their time and expertise building, and that has significantly reduced the cost. For the last couple of months, Cam has been leading the project with George and dedicated volunteers Linsey, David, and Chelsea as his team. They have done an enormous amount of work. We have also had incredible donations of materials from folks like Michael Niemi, Slegg Lumber, Bedrock Readymix, Soares Contracting, Ken’s roofing supplies, Xtend Rentals, John Beggs Contracting, Mike Harold, Richard’s Island Perimeter Drains, and donations of funds from both private donors and foundations.
We have, to this point, spent over $150,000 on this barn. That money is donations from amazing supporters from the original fundraising of $100K, and many helpful generous friends since.
We’d like to clarify though, that the misconception we keep hearing that “the barn was donated”, or “the barn was purchased for them”, or “they got the barn for free” are categorically false in every way. We are a charity, and as such are publicly funded, but those funds have been spent, by the sanctuary directly, to build this barn. This has been by far the single largest capital project ever undertaken by the Sanctuary.
There’s another misconception that we must clarify, and that is that the barn is finished. This barn is not finished, functional, or anywhere close to those things. As you can see from the pictures, taken this morning (apologies for the rain but we wanted these pictures to be as current as possible), we have yet to finish concrete, interior walls, all of the electrical, all of the plumbing, all of the exterior substrate and most of the landscaping, all of the fencing, gutters, doors, and the fire suppression system. Our conservative estimate is that these portions will likely amount to over $75,000. The fire suppression system alone could be upwards of $50,000. So the narrative that we have a finished barn worth hundreds of thousands of dollars is simply not true. There is a huge amount of work to do before any animals will live in this barn.
Which raises another point. Who will live in the barn? This property, the fencing, and this barn layout all lend themselves best to one use – Sanctuary. But what will become of it with a different owner? With a monitor style barn, various paddocks, no-climb fencing, tall shelters, and pasture, this property is perfectly suited to horses, and we’ve been told to expect the buyers to come from that angle as well.
We have had a professional assessment done by an independent managing broker with 20 years experience of the structural sanctuary assets and property improvements and their estimate is that they are worth $225,000. Unfortunately the construction costs of a barn do not dictate it’s value to the property, and an unfinished barn is certainly not worth what a finished one would be. Whoever buys this property will have tens of thousands of dollars of work to put into it and that is the reality of this sale.
The sale of these sanctuary assets and improvements will be going towards the future of the RASTA animals and A Home for Hooves. Along with a large cash donation for operational costs they will receive all of the RASTA assets such as the tractor etc, easily another 75-100K worth of assets. A dedicated fund for veterinary care will also be created giving A Home for Hooves a contingency safety-net for the animals that any sanctuary would be thrilled to have, and we will be funding all of the transportation costs of the Rasta Sanctuary animals as well as some ongoing staff costs to assist A Home for Hooves with integration and any help they may want in preparation of their new home once they find it.
But another point we must clarify is that RASTA and A Home for Hooves are not merging, and they are not by any means getting their down payment on their property from this transition. They are getting operational support funds and animal care funds that must be used as such, and they are reaching out far and wide for support and donations to help them raise the money to find and purchase a new property.
Hopefully this clears a few things up. Just like all the work we as an organization have done was for the animals, so too is this transition, and donations made to RASTA to help animals will continue to help animals. We are a public charity, and have always operated with integrity and transparency and we appreciate everyone being so understanding and supportive during this time of transition.
