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Pendleton BOE pushes base delay

FRANKLIN — With unanimous support, the Pendleton County Board of Education again appealed to their legislators to apply the “full force of your office” in asking the General Services Administration to delay the planned sealed bid option to dispose of the former Sugar Grove Navy Base.

“As we stated in our last correspondence, we firmly believe that a delay will allow a new Executive Branch and Congress time to decide whether walking away from this asset is in the best interest of the many federal agencies that could utilize it,” said board president J.D. Wilkins in an Oct. 19 letter.

“This reasonable delay would also allow a new state administration time to reassess the situation as well,” Wilkins continued.

In a letter dated Oct. 4, the board had urged U.S. Senators Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., U.S. House Representative Alex Mooney and State Representative Isaac Sponaugle to re-evaluate the Sugar Grove Navy Base and “help postpone the re-posting of the bidding process for this site” beyond January 2017.

Manchin said he concurred with the school board, and the federal and state governments should have another look at the base.

“I’m trying to get the Veterans Administration to look at the base as a facility to treat PTSD to help these wounded warriors get back into the mainstream of American life. The base would also be perfect as a drug rehabilitation facility which West Virginia does not currently have. I haven’t given up yet!”

Currently, the GSA has indicated intentions to re-post the facility for closed bids to be opened publicly Dec 1.

In an Oct. 13 letter, GSA Branch Chief Kristine L. Carson refused the school board’s delay appeal.

“Given the property conditions, carrying costs and nature of our process, we are unable to postpone the sale,” Carson said.

She indicated the GSA had enjoyed working with the Pendleton County Commission, local and state stakeholders, various nonprofit organizations and the community to reposition the asset for a positive and productive reuse.

“We have come to know and appreciate the plight of the community and potential socio-economic impact of the sale to the surrounding community,” Carson said.

While unable to delay the sale, Carson said the board and state representatives might consider the investment opportunity under the terms and conditions of the sealed bid sale.

Unlike prior considerations by the state for correctional purposes or non-profit organizations for educational or health uses, the buyer is free to develop and utilize the property for a wide range of possibilities without deed restrictions tied to a program or use restrictions for a period of years.

Also, “the sealed bid sale will also entertain offers without a minimum bid price,” Carson said.

The state and other organizations may find those terms attractive and reassess this investment opportunity, Carson added.

The property was formerly a Navy Information Operations Command (NIOC) base with approximately 445,135 square feet of improvements, including 90 dwelling units, along with various office, maintenance and support facilities built in the late 1950s to the present.

It was fully maintained and occupied by military personnel until Sept. 30, 2015, when the Navy decommissioned it.

Within 200 miles of Washinton/Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Raleigh/Durham, Roanoke and abutting the George Washington National Forest, the base was considered as ideal for a corporate training center, an academic campus, a treatment and rehabilitation center, a public safety training facility, a spa/clinic, a movie studio, or senior community housing/retreat.

In September 2015, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin turned down the base which the Division of Corrections wanted to repurpose into a women’s prison.

In February 2016, the Department of Health and Human Services assessed the base as a temporary shelter for unaccompanied refugee children, but did not announce any decision.

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) offered the former Navy Base through an online auction which closed July 25. An acceptable offer was awarded July 26. Subsequently the GSA announced Sept. 13 that the two high bidders were “unable to complete the transaction,” without further explanation.

The GSA plans to re-offer the base by conducting “a sealed bid competitive sale in which bidders mail in bids and bid deposits to GSA prior to the designated bid opening date and time,” according to GSA publicist Sherrie Taylor.

At 1 p.m. Dec. 1, all bids will be publicly opened and the highest bidder declared. Bid must be accompanied by 10 percent of the offered bid earnest money remitted by certified or cashier’s check. The terms are “all cash, as is. Balance due within 60 days after bid acceptance.”

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