New VA home gets $6 million boost from state legislators

Among those attending a press conference May 9 to announce a $6 million appropriation by the Alabama Legislature to benefit construction of the new VA home in Enterprise from left, are Enterprise City Councilmen Scotty Johnson and Eugene Goolsby, State Representatives Mike Jones and Rhett Marques, Enterprise Mayor William Cooper, Enterprise City Councilman Greg Padgett and Enterprise City Administrator Jonathan Tullos.

A $6 million boost for the soon-to-be-built veterans home in Enterprise was announced at a press conference held at Enterprise City Hall May 9.

State, county and city elected officials were on hand for the announcement that the Alabama Legislature had passed a $6 million appropriation to help offset the increased construction costs of the state’s fifth veterans home to be built between Highway 51 and Highway 167 North near Yancey Parker Industrial Park in Enterprise.

Ground breaking for the 182,000 square-foot facility is expected for June, Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs Commissioner retired Navy Rear Admiral Kent Davis said when he came to speak at the Association of the United States Army Fort Rucker-Wiregrass Chapter quarterly lunch meeting at the Enterprise Civic Center April 14. At that meeting, Davis expressed concern for the spike in construction supply costs since the project was first announced but promised that he would work tirelessly to ensure that the residential care facility for 174 veterans would be built as planned.

The $6 million appropriation by the Alabama legislature passed before the end of the regular legislative session will help offset increased construction costs for the new ADVA facility in Enterprise.

Once at full capacity, the home is projected to employ approximately 250 people and the projected annual payroll—based on the average of the existing four state veterans’ homes—is from $7.5 million to $8.75 million.

The unanimous decision in October 2018 by the State Board of Veterans Affairs to build a fifth veterans home came after a 2018 feasibility study commissioned by ADVA to determine the long-term health care needs of veterans in the state. “We had the longest waiting list for veterans homes than any state in the United States,” Davis said. “The student also showed that the area most in need was the Wiregrass region.”

“It is extremely important to our city and the future economy of our city and the surrounding communities—but it means so much more to those veterans who are in need of the long-term care it can provide,” said Enterprise Mayor William Cooper at the May 9 press conference. “We can’t stress that enough.

“Serving veterans is the single-most important factor in this entire project even though we know this project will have an economic ripple effect through the area,” he said, thanking the state legislators present. “We can’t thank you all enough for helping to see that we don’t have to compromise on the size and capabilities of this new VA home.”

City Administrator Jonathan Tullos agreed. “We appreciate everyone involved in securing the additional funds that could very likely save the project from cost-cutting measures,” Tullos said. “On an initiative led by District 91 State Rep. Rhett Marques and District 31 State Sen. Jimmy Holley, the Alabama Legislature approved a supplemental bill that included $6 million to help the ADVA with construction costs.

“Most of you understand what a great effort was required on the part of many people for Enterprise to compete successfully and be selected as the site for the next VA long-term care facility,” Tullos said. “It was a long and formidable process. But don’t get me wrong, it was worth each and every minute of work that was poured into it.

“It was worth every effort because we knew we had the opportunity to help veterans who badly needed long-term, high quality care in a community that will embrace them,” Tullos said. “We knew that 174 beds would be opened to veterans who had waited for months or even years to be admitted to a VA facility.

“The COVID pandemic brought negative economic repercussions that have snowballed with controversial political developments,” Tullos said. “While the VA home construction project was never really threatened because the original funding had been set aside, the scope of the project could have been downsized because of the soaring prices of materials, supplies and even labor.”

Tullos said Davis and his staff worked diligently to see that the facility, to be named the Command Sgt. Maj. Bennie G. Adkins VA Home, is being built to its original specifications and to ensure that veterans receive the full benefit of the project. “Of course they have had our unwavering support and we are honored to be able to work with the ADVA to make his project a reality for the deserving veterans in need of long-term care,” he said.

Tullos credited Marques and the Wiregrass coalition in the House and Senate, including the Chairman of the General Fund Committee Rep. Steve Clouse, for working closely with State Finance Director Bill Poole to develop the bill which was passed and signed by Ivey. “We greatly appreciate the governor for signing the bill and the successful efforts of all the others to keep this project on track to break ground in June,” he said.

“Mayor Cooper and I want to take the opportunity on behalf of our city to strongly emphasize our gratitude for the action that was taken after we expressed our concern to the area delegation about the significant cost hike as a result of the country’s current economic state,” Tullos added. “We appreciate everyone involved in securing the additional funds that could very likely save the project from cost-cutting measures.”

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