he 70-year-old Veterans Memorial Building at South H Street and Locust Avenue in Lompoc has been feeling and looking its age for the past few decades.

Its plumbing produced foul smells, the courtyard brick wall was cracked, broken and crumbling, the tiled roof was filthy and dangerous.

The $3.8 million price tag for a facelift for the formerly beloved building kept it in disrepair, along with ownership issues between Santa Barbara County and the city of Lompoc.

But the historic, yet deteriorated building at the south end of a shaded avenue of Italian Stone Pines is gradually getting a few more reasons to hold its head, or tower, up high.

Concerned Lompoc resident Alice Milligan has been working with the county, veterans groups and the local community to raise money and fix the basics since the topic was broached during the 4th District Supervisor race in May, she said.

“After the election in June, I said ‘I'm getting tired of talking about the problem,'” said Milligan, who works on a volunteer basis. “I have a lot of pride in our community, and I have a strong need to recognize and provide services to our veterans.”

Joseph McCormick, a retired Air Force officer and chairman of the Lompoc Veterans Council, said he's very pleased with the progress that's been made.

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“It's a public treasure” that should be preserved, said McCormick, who also sits on the committee to restore the veterans building.

The worst of the plumbing and the most neglected bathrooms have been repaired or renovated by the Santa Barbara County General Services Department. The roof on the auditorium has also been fixed by the county, although the roof tiles over the wings of the building still need work.

The worn and weathered tile in the foyer and the lobby have been replaced and parts of the broken courtyard wall have been made whole again, Milligan said.

“It's going to be amazing when it's all said and done,” said Susan Warnstrom, executive assistant to 4th District Supervisor Joni Gray. “It's definitely going to be a team effort, and we have a great team.”

After taking a tour of the 20,000-square-foot piece of history, Milligan compiled and submitted a two-page list of basic maintenance repairs to the county, and since then, work has begun in earnest.

In addition, Milligan and a 15-member county task force have submitted a grant application for $30,000 to cover acoustical treatment of the main auditorium and another for $255,000 for repair and replacement of the roof.

There is also a bill before the U.S. Senate that would include $865,000 for restoration funds for the Memorial Building, which would include funds for the initial addressing of asbestos, lead paint, heating and electrical needs.

To help increase grant funding, the committee has also applied to have the 1936 building, constructed in the California Spanish Moorish architectural style, registered as a national and state historic landmark, in addition to its city landmark status.

And within two months, wheelchair access between the foyer and the main auditorium should be installed, Milligan said.

Seven veterans organizations and two bars are resident and active in the Lompoc Veterans Memorial Building. American Legion Post 125 and the auxiliaries of Posts 211 and 125, VFW Posts 1717 and 570 and their auxiliaries, the Disabled American Veterans, the American GI Forum, and Boots and Chutes have offices and carry out projects for veterans.

McCormick said it was built in the 1930s to “rekindle the spirit of patriotism,” not only for veterans, but for the entire community.

With the recent reduction of rental rates and the improvements to the building, Milligan and McCormick both hope more ceremonies and events will be held in the auditorium, which would hold approximately 400 people.

Supervisor Gray has expressed plans to move her office from the county building in Lompoc to Judge Horace T. Reed's former courtroom and a former county supervisors office in the early 1970s, so that reservations and rentals could go through her staff, Warnstrom said.

October 12, 2008