Guard Says Armory No Longer Needed

By David Howell

Editor

WATER VALLEY – The city could take possession of the city-owned armory leased by the Mississippi Army National Guard after a spokesman for the Guard said it is no longer being utilized. In his second trip to speak with city officials, Col. Paul McDonald said the detachment of the 289th Engineer Company previously housed at the armory on Wise Street has been consolidated with the company headquarters in Bruce. 

The building is owned by the city and leased to the National Guard for $1 per year. McDonald said the 14,000 square foot building and 2.5 acre lot is valued at approximately $2 million.  He also said the lease could be terminated with a letter from city officials and the city could take possession of the building in approximately 60 days.

McDonald first visited the city board meeting last December and said the building was available if the city wanted it, explaining there was minimal use at the armory. When he returned last Tuesday night, June 6, he said the only activity at the building is grass cutting and other maintenance.  The unit is made up of 160 soldiers. Of the 160, 58 are assigned to the Water Valley detachment but already train and meet at the headquarters in Bruce.
 

“Mississippi went from our heyday of around 12,000 soldiers to under 10,000, about 9,500 soldiers across the state. We have fewer soldiers and less money, so we have to make some hard decisions on consolidating where it makes sense for training, readiness and recruiting,” the Colonel added. He also said a number of armories in the state have been re-purposed for local communities, citing an example in Grenada where the armory building is utilized by the Grenada School District.

“We stand by the Guard’s motto, ‘Always Ready, Always There.’ We are going to be nearby but we can’t afford to be in every community,” McDonald added.  

“The biggest thing that any community can do for us is not necessarily the facility, it’s the young people. It is the 18 to 30 year-olds that our nation and our state need to serve. And that is what we are constantly looking for,” McDonald explained.

“Can I ask what folks think?” Ward One Alderman Kagan Coughlin requested after McDonald’s presentation.

“My opinion is that we get this building back because there are some functions for this building that I see,” Alderman-at-Large Herbie Rogers answered.

“I can think of some immediate needs we have in the city that we could purpose the building for,” Coughlin said.

“Definitely, we had already spoken about that and were making a list of some different things that we could do,” Ward Four Alderwoman Nicole Folson added.

My biggest concern was the displacement of the two current (full-time) employees there,” Ward Three Alderwoman Cinnamon Foster said, noting that the meeting provided new information that the two employees could be reassigned to Bruce and not have to move elsewhere in the state.

“I will make a motion that we will proceed with requesting that facility back for city use, I know we have talked about city and fire are in desperate need of a new facility, that could be a potential use,” Coughlin said.

“I think we need to talk about it some more,” Ward Two Alderman Fred White said.

“I think we need to talk about it some more too,” Folson agreed, as the group decided to address the request in their July meeting.