HOT SPRINGS – The construction of the new Hot Springs clinic will begin at the end of April.

After months of fundraising, which is still ongoing, the Hot Springs Clinic Fund is within $11,500 of its goal to fund the construction of the clinic debt-free.

“The estimated cost of the project is $813,000,” clinic fundraising committee chair Sharon Flesch said. “We really want to get the rest of that without incurring any debt from the community.”

The group is still gathering material for its Tired Iron project, and is trying to think of ways to further fundraise so that it can “get into the building debt-free.”

Back in December, the fundraising committee had a daunting $300,000 to raise. By January, there was a little over $123,000 left to raise, and last month, $30,000 to go. Now, there is just $11,500 left to raise to break even. Though the funding was deemed “in place” due to the generous offer by Sanders County Community Development Corporation to match any remaining funds last month and a contract for construction has been materialized, Flesch and her crew still look to work hard to get those last remaining dollars.

Flesch is enthusiastic about this final stretch and is excited to see the destruction of the old clinic as well as the groundbreaking of the new clinic.