Camp Clark improvement projects under way

John Brandenburg uses a sledgehammer to knock a spike out of concrete Tuesday in a bathroom undergoing renovation with federal stimulus money. The money is paying for the renovation of four barracks at Camp Clark. --Steve Moyer/Daily Mail

Camp Clark is one of several sites in Missouri benefiting from money coming from the federal stimulus bill. In total the projects run $2.1 million which is helping to put Missourians to work.

At Camp Clark, some of the money is being used to bring World War II-era buildings up to current fire protection standards, making them more energy efficient and generally improving the buildings. Four existing barracks that sleep 36 each, will improve energy efficiency and troop comfort. Renovations include new roofs and windows, the installation of an insulated wrap system for the buildings' exteriors, new heating, air conditioning and water heaters with more energy efficient models and installing digital thermostats.

"We are supporting deploying troops in their training at Camp Clark, and anything we can do to make their stay at the training site more comfortable, it's important that we do that," said Terry Havens, plant maintenance engineer for the Missouri National Guard's five training sites.

Major Scott Macke is Base Operations Supervisor at Camp Clark and four other facilities in Missouri. Macke said making the barracks more comfortable was important.

"The renovations will increase troop morale," Macke said. "When you increase a soldier's comfort level you increase their morale. Morale is always important. Troops preparing for deployment are stressed that they will be away from their families and increasing comfort reduces that stress."

Macke said the four barracks being renovated with stimulus money join two others that had been renovated earlier with other funds. The two barracks remodeled earlier were done on a shoestring budget but the contractors doing the current barracks don't have to scrimp.

"We did these earlier and if we had the money available for them we have for the current project we would have done some things differently," Macke said.

When all the barracks are renovated Macke said Camp Clark should see an increase in usage.

"When you make the barracks better for troops to use you're going to increase usage," Macke said.

Macke said there are several projects in the works, most not involving stimulus money, that will change the face of Camp Clark.

"We have several projects in the works," Macke said, pointing to a line of buildings alike as peas in a pod except for their condition. "The buildings that have been stuccoed we will continue to use. The ones that haven't been stuccoed are scheduled to come down. We've determined that they are unsafe to use and we're getting rid of them."

Pointing to a row of metal sided buildings, Macke said those structures will remain, even though they are some of the oldest buildings on the site.

"These metal buildings are going to stay for historical purposes," Macke said. "There are two rows of buildings and the bath house that will stay. There's another two and a half rows of buildings to the west that are going to come down."

In addition to the work at Camp Clark, the Ike Skelton Training Site in Jefferson City, the Aviation Classification and Repair Activity Depot in Springfield, the Kingshighway Readiness Center in St. Louis, and the Guard's training area on Fort Leonard Wood are also receiving money from this round of stimulus funding.