Members of the Kansas Army National Guard Environmental Compliance team received an award Jan. 24 from Col. Anthony Hammett, chief – Army National Guard Installations and Environment Directorate, National Guard Bureau. This award, for the 2022 ARNG Environmental Security, Cultural Resources Management program, acknowledges the submission and subsequent selection of an ongoing historic preservation and restoration project at the Hiawatha Readiness Center. This project is completing limited repairs and restorations to the facility while maintaining original historically significant building features.
“I am extremely proud of the accomplishments of the environmental team,” said Kenneth Weishaar, director of Public Works, Kansas National Guard, “specifically Melissa Karlson and Denise Moravec for their initiative and tenacity to seek additional sources of revenue to maintain and improve our Readiness Centers. This is a historic award for our team, and I look forward to continuing to compete for additional grants in the future.”
This facility, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was constructed between 1938 and 1940 as a Works Progress Administration project. Unique to Kansas Army National Guard facilities, the Hiawatha Readiness Center retains many of the original art deco architectural features of its original construction period.
This repair and restoration project maintains facility compliance with its current listing on the National Register of historic buildings, while supporting the requirements of the facility as a functional Readiness Center of the Kansas Army National Guard.
The Hiawatha Readiness Center has long been a priority for the KSARNG’s Cultural Resources Management program. Over the past year, the program’s staff has developed a new partnership with the support of the State Historic Preservation Office, earning a Historic Preservation Fund grant to support repairs of this historic resource and continued asset to KSARNG units. Ultimately, nine interdependent repair projects were identified at an estimated cost of approximately $130,000, which will secure the building’s structure and integrity without sacrificing historic features. The CRM staff won a grant to support restoration in 2021, providing a $39,000