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Commission seeks answers after Blanding National Guard armory is scheduled to close
Summary
Commissioners were told the Blanding National Guard armory is scheduled to close around June 1. They expressed concern about losing local emergency response expertise and training slots and agreed to seek a meeting with Guard leadership and community stakeholders.
The San Juan County Commission on March 17 was told that the National Guard armory in Blanding is scheduled to close "approximately June 1," and commissioners urged immediate outreach to Guard leadership and local stakeholders to clarify the timeline and explore alternatives.
The chair said he had spoken with the sergeant at the armory (Jesse Barton) and that a recruiter who had been assigned to the post resigned; beyond that, "there honestly are not a lot of answers," the chair said. "The armory is scheduled to close approximately June 1," he added.
Commissioner Harvey said the county should press for a public meeting that includes National Guard leadership, tribal leaders and other interested community members so the commission and residents can ask direct questions and seek commitments on emergency response capability. "We want to have input," he said, urging the county to arrange a meeting "as soon as possible" and to consider alternate uses for the facility if the transportation component or recruiter positions are removed.
Commissioners noted several practical concerns cited at the meeting: the armory provides local training and expertise that could support hazardous-material response along transport routes, and the facility has been a source of CDL training slots that the sergeant said were limited ("they have given them 14 slots"). Commissioners said losing those slots could reduce local recruitment and training opportunities.
County staff and commissioners agreed to reach out to the appropriate state and National Guard offices and to schedule a stakeholder meeting that would include tribal representatives and local emergency managers. No formal action (motion or vote) was taken during this agenda item; the discussion concluded with direction to staff to initiate outreach and convene interested parties.
Next steps: staff will contact National Guard leadership and attempt to set a public meeting in Blanding to obtain clearer information about the closure and possible alternate uses; the commission also asked staff to coordinate with tribal leaders and emergency-response partners.
