Supervisors Support Banning's Effort to Acquire Armory

The city of Banning’s effort to take over management of a California National Guard armory that area residents helped restore was endorsed Tuesday by the Riverside County Board of Supervisors.

“Why not give this to the community that’s been taking care of it for so long?” said board Chairman Marion Ashley, whose Fifth District encompasses the Banning Pass.

The armory is located on municipal property in the 2000 block of Nicolet Street that’s leased to the California Military Department, according to Banning City Councilman Art Welch.

He said the goal is to convert the facility, which has been decommissioned by the state, into a hub for community and public safety affairs.

In 2004, the city took part in the California Army National Guard’s “Adopt an Armory” program, enlisting residents and businesses to help refurbish the Banning armory out of respect to the troops then deploying to the Middle East for Operation Iraqi Freedom and other missions, according to Welch.

“There was a strong outpouring of local support,” he told the board. “The building has been repainted. The grounds have been improved. The sprinkler system has been replaced. It’s just been refreshed.”

The board directed the county’s state and federal lobbyists to make its support for the property transfer known to the Inland Empire’s congressional delegation, as well as to the California Military Department.