The sale of Ricks Armory faces falling through if the key players cannot reach an agreement soon to share the costs of relocating the state’s largest National Guard command from the facility it has called home for more than 60 years.
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences said last month that it wants to purchase the armory as well as a few other state-owned properties that surround its main campus in order to move forward with a multimillion dollar demolition and expansion project.
The negotiations, however, hit a snag recently when it came to which party - UAMS or the state Department of Human Services - would be footing the bill for a requested $250,000 contribution to the more than $1 million in estimated relocation expenses facing the Guard.
The Guard has secured federal funding for the majority of the amount it will take to relocate the 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team and to renovate an existing space at Camp Robinson,but it requires a good-faith contribution from another source in the state in order to be awarded, said Guard spokesman Maj. Matt Snead.
Mark Kenneday, vice chancellor of campus operations at UAMS, said a proposal was submitted Thursday to the Human Services Department - which owns Ricks Armory - agreeing to pay one-third of the expense if the state agency would pay the remainder of the $250,000 contribution.
It is imperative, Kenneday said, that an agreement be reached soon, because the federal funding is contingent upon it. If funding is not secured before July 1, the Guard will likely have to delay the move for another three to four years.
Snead said Thursday that the Guard is set to begin special-deployment training at the beginning of 2015 that will likely continue for a few years. Any construction and relocation activities have to be completed before then, so it is crucial that the deal be finalized as soon as possible.
If the additional support does not come through before July 1, Kenneday said, “This deal will be a bust.
“They know the sense of urgency on this issue. I cannot tell you how they’re going to respond,” Kenneday said. “This offer is very good for all involved, and it’s good for us. It’s good for the governor because he is able to reduce his requirement for maintenance of state facilities. We support our own facilities at UAMS. It’s a much better deal for the state in the long run.”
However, Human Services Department spokesman Amy Webb said Thursday that the department has already made its decision.
“It’s my understanding that the State Institutional System said at its board meeting on April 10 that we would not be able to assist in paying any portion of the $250,000,” Webb said.
“The SIS board’s policy is that we get full appraised value in a sale, and funding a portion of those costs could conflict with that. In addition, though all the parties see value in this transaction, we don’t believe it would be appropriate to use Human Services funding to cover capital improvement projects on Camp Robinson.”
Gov. Mike Beebe’s spokesman, Matt DeCample, said that if a new proposal has been submitted, the governor will review it, but it is unlikely any additional funding will be provided.
“We won’t summarily dismiss any proposal before we see it. This issue has come up before in this office. It was agreed that the funding should come from the parties involved,” DeCample said. “He [the governor] has been reticent in the past to supply any additional state money. But if there’s a new proposal, we’ll review it.
Kenneday said that because the Guard signed a 99-year lease with the Human Services Department at a rate of $10 per year, it basically “creates a zero value for the property unless you can abate the lease somehow.” That lease expires in 2063.
Potential buyers of the property would likely be few, if any, Kenneday added, since the property is surrounded by the UAMS campus. Furthermore, UAMS has agreed to pay an estimated $500,000 in demolition costs toward all the improvements - an expense typically borne by the seller of the property.
“Normally, we would not pay it, but we agreed because we felt like it was the neighborly thing to do,” Kenneday said.
Kenneday said that UAMS will not be pitching in any more than the one-third of the $250,000 already promised to the Guard toward the relocation and renovation expenses.
“We can’t really sweeten the deal, and I’ve got confirmation that we’re not going to,” Kenneday said.
If the purchase of Ricks Armory and a few other state owned facilities goes through, UAMS is planning to transform the southwest portion of the campus - which also includes what was once Ray Winder Field - into a Sustainable Business Village.
Seven existing buildings would be demolished, and the construction of two 60,000-square-foot buildings are included in the master plan for the area. Nonclinical services - various administration and support offices, a learning center, a day care and a parking structure - would be located in the proposed area.
The plan also includes the construction of wind turbines, solar panels, a boardwalk, a wetland storm water retention, a shallow-water marsh, cycle lanes, rain gardens and an organic, sustainable farm.
Kenneday said, however, that the master plan does not include the removal of the historic Arkansas Travelers’ scoreboard, which remains at the parking lot, near Interstate 630 and the Little Rock Zoo, that was once Ray Winder Field.
“We’re keeping that scoreboard. It will not come down,” Kenneday said. “We are trying to figure out its effective use at this time. It evokes a lot of memories. The community has our commitment to keep it at the site.”
Arkansas, Pages 9 on 04/25/2014