CCP 06-21-1999 - Laserfiche WebLink

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. _ SAINT PAUL .P10NEER PRESS NORTH SUBURBAN EDITION SATURDAY, JUNE 19.1999 SERVING NORTH SUBURBAN COMMUNITIES State may manage ammunition plant DETAILS The patrol statiOn could be housed In the ..me building 88 the public works "aell.. Ity,shartng offices and meet. Ing rooms with . the publlc works department. II8Id Ramsey County commissioner Tony Bennett. . . Now, county officials mayconside.r another Use of the land Citingtbe over- crowding of tbt'! Ramsey County Sheriffs Department patrol station in Shoreview, county commIssioner Tony Bennett has suggested moving the facility to the arsenal site. "At this stage of the game it's been a disewls10n item;" Bennett said "We're just: looking at ways to save money." Bennett said Sheriff Bob Fletcher is will- ing to consider the idea. Calls to Fletcher's office this week were not :returned. The patrol statioo rould be housed In the same building as the public works facility, . sbarIng offices and meeting rooms with the . publlcw$ department, Bennett said. . Several agencieS eager to occupy anenal site NANCY NGO STAFFWRlTER With just two legIs1ative steps feIIlalning, the Twin Cities Anny Ammunition PI&Dt in Arden H11Is could be lransfem!d from fed- eral to state control any day now. Among those waiting In line for the switcb is Ramsey County, which wants 36 acres for a pubUe-worts facility. The joint- "'" facility would include the City of Arden H11Is, the National Guard and Other inter- ested cities. NORTH SUBURBAN ~RVING NORTH SUBURBAN COMMUNITIES PROPERTY .. CONTlMJEO RlOM 18 commUDi.catioos center. MangIne said the ....... bulld- ing is too small to house the grow. ing number of staff and volunteer programs as well as equipment and lab space.. Due to lack of storage. space, some of the station's boats and other equipment 'gets left outside. The lakes and rivers patrol is one of the. patrol station's main func- timm. "We could use a larger facility," said Lt, Jim Daly, patrol supervl. sor at. the station. The building houses more than 100 full-time employees and 150 volunteers. "It is pretty crowded. 'We have poople, sbaring offices," he said. However, Daly said he was DOt aware of the possible shared facil. ity_ODS. The transfer of 1,200 acres of the 2,37G-acre arsenal property from the U.s. Army to the Nation. aI Guard came a step closer last week when a provision of the Department of Defense authoriza- tion bill passed in the House. Almost a month. ago, the Senate passed Its version of the bill, wbich says tbat the ~al land can be 1med for communities. The provision is an alternative route to the lengthy process of getting several signatures throogb the U.S. Army. The Guard's approach of sharing' land for com- munity use bas been controversial on the federal level. The bill mlL1t go to a conference committi!e before reaching the president for a floal signature. When the bill is signed, the land caD be transferTed. and Communi. ty uses of the property can begin. The City of ArdeD mils also bas its eye on the land; it needs 2.7 acnis for a new city ball. The Army has been cleaning up the hmd after dangerous solvents were found io the water from environmental studies that began in -1918. The arsenal opened In 1941 and functioned as a small. arms ammunition producer during World War 11. the Korean and Vietnam wars.. Nancy Ngo, who covers north suburban cOmmunities. canbereaciliad at nncooplonHrpNP.CIOIII Of (651] 481. 0433. ,The sheriff's deparlmeot has beeo pIan-. Diiig III upand or relllCllte the patrol sta- tion at some point, said Julio Mangine, oounty property manager. "It does seem like a good fi~" he said ci( \he Joint IllClltlOD _ODS, "I think that ~...a.J'bud.y wOO'i talked about it tbougbt it was possible." The current sheriffs patrol station, on 5.3 acres at 655 W. County Road E in Sboreview, was built in 1953 as a branch of the Ra""y County Library. In 1988, it was converted into the.patrol station. \ The station ~ office spaces, meet. ~ rooms, storage facilities and a jpiDt. PROPERTY CONTINUED ON '2B ..