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NationalGuardReadinessCenters
Repurposed for Communities
Story and photos by Sta  Sgt. Scott Tynes
Fire trucks  ll the former drill hall at the former Prentiss Readiness Center. The town has made good use in repurposing the readiness center returned to them in 2012 by converting it to the Ronald W. Jones Memorial Public Safety Complex, which houses the town’s  re and police departments.
Five years ago, the small rural town of Prentiss in Je erson Davis County faced a dilemma City hall not only housed its government, but also the police and  re departments, as well as other services
“It was very crowded,” said Mayor Charles Dumas “We have a fairly small hall and we were all under one roof  e  re department didn’t even really have an o ce  ey had a dispatcher”
 e city council explored the possibility of constructing a building to house the police and  re departments, but with a population of approximately 1,160 residents, they could not  nd the funding Fortunately, they learned the Mississippi National Guard was looking to downsize their facilities by releasing Readiness Centers
“We reached out and said if this was going to happen could we have ours,” Dumas said “It’s been a huge bene t for us”
 e former RC, often called an armory, required
very minimal renovation to meet their needs as a home for both the  re and police departments,
he said It provided necessary o ce space and the drill hall became a bay for the  re and rescue vehicles and equipment Some town meetings and community events are even held in the facility
“I’m not sure what we would have done had this not happened,” said Dumas, who has served as mayor for two decades
 e release of the Prentiss RC is part of a national strategic plan to decrease the number of armories, said Col Paul McDonald, the facility management o cer for the Mississippi Army National Guard  e MSARNG still has 78 RCs statewide with the long-term goal of reducing that number to approximately 55
 e return of RCs to their local communities is a bene t to both the National Guard and the state, McDonald said  e average age of a RC in Mississippi is 32 years old, but many are much
older Select facilities are being returned based upon the MSARNG’s operational priorities “We’re returning a 1950s or‘60s building that is solidly built and generally on a three-acre plot of land with a replacement value of $2-5 million It’s a valuable piece of property the community wouldn’t generally be able to a ord,” he said
However, the reduction in force structure, technological advances, ability for fast domestic response, and other factors have changed the military’s demands placed on RCs
“ earmoryplanofthe‘60sofanarmoryin every community is no longer feasible,” McDonald said “Even at 50 readiness centers, no city in Mississippi will be more than 40 miles from one We’re not leaving your community We’re simply consolidating”
New RCs require 15-20 acres and are much larger to accommodate more units and lower upkeep costs
32 • Mississippi Municipalities
Volume 66 • Number 4


































































































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