Armory |
Some Boyle County residents concerned for the short- and long-term future of the National Guard Armory in Danville gathered with government officials and the National Guard's local leadership Friday to talk about what lies ahead.
Jim Talley and Jack Hendricks, both involved in veterans affairs, were prompted to call the meeting at the armory in large part because the facility no longer has access to the adjacent lot on Stanford Avenue that had been used for parking.
"They are land-locked since they lost use of that lot," Hendricks said. "They have had to move more than 60 pieces of equipment out to western Kentucky and it also makes parking difficult, especially on drill weekends. We want to see if we can get some community support for the idea of acquiring that land and maybe see if we can get the state to do something to help."
Sgt. Jeremy Burke said the Guard unit based out of Danville, which currently has 106 members, has moved 65 pieces of equipment to western Kentucky. Parking has been limited to the lot in the front of the building that extends to the Stanford Avenue entrance.
The 3.24 acre plot of land, once the parking lot for the Palm Beach factory, had been tied up in bankruptcy proceedings before it was purchased in March by Quince Arnold at a Master Commissioner’s sale for $60,000.
The Guard did not own the land, but had been using the long-vacant property until fencing was put up after the purchase. Talley and Hendricks said Friday's meeting was called after they had a discussion with Arnold about options for buying or leasing the property.
At Friday's meeting, Talley and Hendricks distributed information about their talks with Arnold, which included a purchase price of $175,000 that could be broken up over the course of three or four years. Arnold said the property was previously appraised by PNC Bank, which had taken possession of the lot, for $245,000.
Those in attendance Friday included Retired Gen. Howard Hunt, state Rep. Mike Harmon, Boyle Judge-Executive Harold McKinney, Danville Mayor Bernie Hunstad, Fire Chief Woody Ball and Danville-Boyle County Economic Development Partnership president Jody Lassiter. Most were in agreement the appraisal and asking price appeared to be high and needed to be re-examined before any attempt to work out a deal went forward.
Arnold, who was not at the meeting, said he was actually offering the property at a discount and was offering it for the Guard unit before considering other offers to sell. Arnold spent 42 years in the military and was a member of the Guard unit when they moved into the Stanford Road building.
"I would like to see them have it and I would like to see them stay in Danville," Arnold said.
Talley and Hendricks plan to talk to Arnold again about the property next week.
Although exploring the possibility of using the adjacent land was the impetus for Friday's discussion, talk eventually turned to the need for a new facility and more room in the years ahead.
Several potential alternatives for keeping the Guard unit in Boyle County were considered Friday, one of which is using land that has been offered by the Danville-Boyle County Airport Board.
Building on the 14 acres at the airport and most other options would likely involve millions in construction costs and could take years to finish, but there was consensus that steps need to be taken soon.
Another concept put forward by Lassiter involved looking at a portion of 50 acres of surplus land owned by Kentucky School for the Deaf just down Stanford Avenue.
The land has been held in limbo for years, but Lassiter pointed out that when it is put up for sale through the Kentucky Finance Cabinet’s Division of Real Properties, state agencies would first have the chance to get part of the lot for basically nothing. As a state agency, the Department of Military Affairs, which oversees Guard units, should be in position to acquire enough land for a new building and a motor pool, Lassiter said.
Hunt, who agreed to head a committee on the future of the armory, also raised the idea of some kind of private fundraising for a new armory, wherever it may be located. In light of military spending cuts in Washington and a potential 7 percent cut to the state budget, he said private and public partnerships may be necessary to bolster Guard units in years to come.
"I think you are going to see states and communities have to be more involved,” Hunt said.
