RIPLEY-Jackson County would receive $19.54 million from the federal government to build a National Guard facility if final approval is granted.

The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee has approved the fiscal 2010 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations bill, which includes the Jackson County center funding, U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., said Wednesday.

Mark Whitley, executive director of the Jackson County Development Authority, said $19.54 million awarded in the bill will be for the Department of the Army for the construction of the 62,000-square-foot Spencer-Ripley Armed Forces Readiness Center.

Whitley said the center will be at Millwood in the former Eastern Star facility that the West Virginia Army National Guard recently acquired on West Virginia 2 between Ripley and Ravenswood.

"I have been working with the Guard on this project," Whitley said. "This is not only for Jackson County but for the whole region."

Whitley said the center will include a community complex that can be used by various groups and organizations.

"This will be a community asset," he said. "It will be a campus-style facility which will bring other economic opportunities with it and National Guard service people in the area on the weekends for training."

Whitley said ground breaking is set for October and will take several months to complete.

Overall, the bill provides for more than $93 million for West Virginia's military installations and lays the groundwork for improvements to two Veterans Administration Medical Centers for the next fiscal year, Byrd said.

Funds totaling $21 million were appropriated for the construction of a 66,000- square-foot Fairmont Armed Forces Readiness Center and $22 million for the U.S. Department of the Army for the construction of a 56,000-square-foot Elkins Armed Forces Readiness Center.

"This funding will enhance and expand West Virginia's military operations duty and mission ready capabilities," Byrd said. "With these improvements, these facilities will be better able to serve the federal mission of unit training and mobilization, as well as maintaining its ever-ready status in the event of state and national emergencies."

All three readiness centers were U.S. Department of the Army/West Virginia National Guard projects that were recommended by the Base Closure and Realignment Commission for funding, said Byrd. West Virginia Army National Guard units will be co-located in each of these new facilities.

Byrd is the senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Other funding includes:

* $19.5 million has been approved for the West Virginia Air National Guard to complete the upgrade of the taxiway at Shepherd Airbase in Martinsburg. This is the last project to be funded as part of the $280 million transformation of the Air National Guard facility for the 167th Airlift Wing's new C-5 aircraft mission.

* $9.56 million has been approved for the U.S. Department of the Navy to replace the Emergency Service Center at the Naval Security Group Activity at Sugar Grove, W.Va. The project entails consolidating the fire station and emergency dispatch office into a larger facility that is fire and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) compliant, and helps to improve the response time of emergency personnel, Byrd said.

* $2 million has been approved for the West Virginia National Army Guard to expand the 1960s armory in St. Albans.

The committee included language that requests the Veterans Administration to provide funding in its fiscal 2011 budget request for construction projects at the Beckley and Martinsburg Veterans Administration Medical Centers.

The funding measure will now go before the full Senate for consideration. Upon completion it will be reconciled with the House bill before being sent to the President for his signature, Byrd said.