Army Reserve Center
Dear Friends,

The controversy surrounding the location of a proposed new consolidated Army Reserve Facility in Williamsport is continuing to grow, and I am inviting you to join in the fight against the decision by contacting our federal officials.  Here is what has happened so far:

As a result of recommendations from the federal Base Realignment and Closure Committee, the Armory and the Army Reserve Facility in Loyalsock Township are being consolidated into a single new facility.  After an extensive site search throughout the greater Williamsport area, in the spring of 2008 the Army Corps of Engineers selected a site on vacant property near the new Eastern Lycoming YMCA in Muncy Township.  This site has great access to and from Interstate 180 and provided plenty of space for future growth along with opportunities to utilize existing facilities inside the YMCA and the Dome for military training. This site also provides room for a VA facility proposed for this region.  Since this site was the Army’s 1st choice, their architects and engineers began design for the facility and the site; they completed the necessary environmental assessments; had an appraisal done on the property; drafted up a sales agreement; and were ready to go.

After doing all this ground work, the Army was informed that some lawyers in the Department of Defense in D.C. had determined that the congressional act approving the new facility requires that it must be located "in" the city of Williamsport even though the current “Williamsport” Army Reserve Center being replaced is not located "in" the City.  Faced with this ruling and being "good soldiers", the Army downsized their plans and are doing their best to wedge their facility onto the National Guard Armory property in a residential neighborhood in Williamsport.

As a result of this decision, a meeting was held with the Army to request they reconsider and letters of support for the Army's preferred site in Muncy Township were sent by Mayor Gabe Campana, the Lycoming County Commissioners, and then State Senator Roger Madigan, Congressman Chris Carney, the Williamsport/Lycoming Chamber of Commerce and me.  Unfortunately, our appeals have been ignored and the decision of Washington “bean counters” won out over the voices of local residents and the desire of the Army units who will use the Center.

Many still question the decision to build this facility at a location that is in the midst of a residential neighborhood when another far more suitable site is still available.  I think a few salient facts are that the new combined facility will be busiest on weekends when families in the residential area around the Armory are at home trying to enjoy their backyards and neighborhoods as compared to the wide open spaces available in Muncy Township; that the Armory site lacks easy access to major traffic routes and will place heavy Army vehicles on the streets of Williamsport while the Muncy Township site has easy access to Route 180; that the Armory location has no opportunity for the future growth of the facility while the Army’s preferred site in rural Muncy Township provides unlimited growth potential; and, possibly most importantly, that downsizing the facility and the site around it will impede the effective training and operations of our Guard and Reserve troops.

The good news is that it is still not too late to have this decision overturned.  I am asking you to write to our federal legislators and ask them to contact the Secretary of Defense who has the power to override the closed minded decision of a couple D.C. lawyers.  To assist with this effort, download a sample letter (Word version or PDF version) that you can personalize for your use to contact Congressman Christopher Carney, Senator Arlen Specter and Senator Robert Casey.

The bottom line is this - the decision that this facility must be in Williamsport makes no sense on any level.  It is not good for the Army, it is not good for our troops and it is not good for Williamsport - in short - it's just no good.  Again, I urge you to write a letter or send an email to contact these federal legislators on this important matter.  Here is the contact information:


Congressman Christopher P. Carney
416 Cannon HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone: (202) 205-3731
For email contact, go to http://carney.house.gov/contact.shtml

Senator Arlen Specter
711 Hart Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Phone: (202) 224-4254
For email contact, go to HTTP://specter.senate.gov/public

Senator Robert P. Casey Jr.
393 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington D.C. 20510
Phone: (202) 224-4254
For email contact, go to HTTP://casey.senate.gov/contact/

To share your concerns with me, as always, please call my district office at (570) 546-2084, or you can email me directly at geverett@pahousegop.com.