VOTERS APPROVE SENATOR TUTTLE’S ARMORIES BOND

Posted: November 05, 2013 | Front Page, Senator Tuttle

Question 1 provides $14m for National Guard Readiness Centers

AUGUSTA –With 70 percent of precincts reporting, Maine voters approved referendum Question 1, a $14 million bond sponsored by Senator John Tuttle of Sanford, in a vote of 58-42 percent. The bond will fund maintenance and renovation projects at Maine’s armories.

 

“Our servicemembers deserve the very best,” said Senator Tuttle, a National Guard veteran and the Senate Chair of the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee. “As they train to defend our country, they should be doing so in buildings without asbestos, broken windows, and inadequate heating systems.”

 

According to Brigadier General James Campbell, the adjutant general of Maine, most of the state’s armories were built between the 1930’s or 1950’s, and have never been modernized. They have outdated and inefficient heating, plumbing, and lighting systems, and many lack adequate bathroom facilities for women serving in the National Guard.

 

There are 23 National Guard Readiness Centers, or Armories in Maine. The bond will provide $11 million to upgrade the facilities, and $3 million to purchase training land for the National Guard.

 

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