School Board Property Lease To Be Paid Off
posted October 28, 2004
The process is beginning on transferring the final big tract of the huge Volunteer Army Ammunition Plant property at Tyner to the city and county.
The federal government will transfer the last 1,900 acres, including 400 acres needed at the Enterprise South Industrial Park for its Megasite designed to lure a big industry here.
Also, county officials said the final three years of the lease for the county school property at the VAAP site will be paid off. Then the federal government will sell the 23 acres to the county schools at a discounted price of $120,000.
Mr. Ramsey said the schools now "don't have any money," so the county will go ahead and pay off the last three years - $930,000. Then the county will pay the $120,000 for the purchase.
Fred Skillern, County Commission Chairman, said the obligation was supposed to be the schools, but he said the county will pay it as "additional funds we're putting into the schools. At least now it will be paid off."
The Army had provided funding to have former VAAP office buildings retrofit for the county schools.
The county schools now use about 11 acres of the 23. But officials said the whole property has to be used for education purposes for 30 years after the sale.
Becky Browder, county real property manager, said the VAAP tract was originally about 8,000 acres. She said the federal government sold some where a subdivision was built and also transferred land to the county where the Tyner Redoubt Soccer Complex is located.
She said the city and county have been acquiring some 6,000 acres from the federal government, and the 1,900 acres is the last piece.
She said environmental cleanup is going on now in the Hickory Valley Road area.
She said the area with the most contamination - the TNT Valley - probably won't be cleaned up until 2007.
She said no purchase price for the 1,900 acres has been worked out.
The Army used the VAAP site for a munitions facility.
Here is the public notice on the 1,900 acres:
NOTICEThe U.S. Government intends to transfer a parcel of real property at the Volunteer Army Ammunition Plant (VOAAP) in Chattanooga, Tennessee, consisting of approximately 1900 acres, to the City of Chattanooga and Hamilton County for non-residential, industrial and commercial purposes. Volunteer has been used primarily for the production of trinitrotoluene needed for the Department of Defense. The 1900-acre parcel was used primarily for manufacturing. Currently the Army is undertaking certain environmental investigation and remedial activities at Volunteer to address hazardous substance contamination on the installation, but such activities may not be completed prior to the transfer of some portions of the property. Federal Law, section 120(h)(3)(C) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) permits such transfers of property prior to the completion of remediation if the Governor of the State determines that the property is suitable for such transfer and the intended use is consistent with the protection of human health and the environment.The law authorizes the Governor to approve the deferral of the CERCLA covenant requirement, a warranty that all environmental remediation has been completed, upon the satisfaction of certain conditions, including a commitment that all necessary response actions will be taken. The Department of the Army intends to submit such a Covenant Deferral Request to the Governor of the State of Tennessee, for all of the 1900-acre parcel. The Army is preparing a Finding of Suitability for Early Transfer (FOSET), which will be part of the Covenant Deferral Request to the Governor of Tennessee. If approved by the Governor, the Covenant Deferral Request will allow the transfer of such property or parcels to take place prior to the completion of the remedial activities. The Covenant Deferral Request will include assurances that all remedial action found to be necessary will be accomplished, as well as a schedule for the completion of all such work. A determination of the environmental condition of the property was made based on the review of existing environmental documents, aerial photographs and recorded chain of title documents; completing associated physical and visual inspection of the site and the properties immediately adjacent to the Early Transfer Property; and conducting personal interviews. The information provided is a result of a complete search of agency files during the development of the Environmental Site Assessment (PLEXUS Scientific Corporation). A complete list of documents that provide information on the environmental condition of property is included as Attachment 2 of the FOSET. All documents may be viewed at the Office of the Commander's Representative, Volunteer Army Ammunition Plant, Building 232.Copies of the FOSET are available at the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Bicentennial Library and at the Volunteer Army Ammunition Plant, Office of the Commander's Representative. Comments on the suitability of this property for transfer, subject to a Covenant Deferral, should be mailed no later than 30 days from the date of this publication to: Department of the Army, Volunteer Army Ammunition Plant; Attn: Mr. Scott J. Bolton, Commander's Representative; P.O. Box 22607; Chattanooga, Tennessee 37422-2607.
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