Board approved (4-1) moving NARTA from Prescott Valley to Prescott Campus; Prescott Valley Center was called “state of the art” facility; some taxpayers question move
The new training building for the Northern Arizona Regional Training Academy (NARTA) is under construction on the Prescott Campus. Recall that President Wills announced at the March 2018 Governing Board meeting that the administration had finalized plans to move NARTA from the Prescott Valley Center, where it has been located since 1996, to the Prescott Campus.
Per figures given the Governing Board, the College has budgeted spending $1,528,000 in 2018-19 and $509,000 in 2019-20 respectively to cover the costs of the move. The cost includes construction of a 2,500 square foot training facility. The Board subsequently approved the expenditures.
Taxpayers will be picking up the $2 million-dollar price tag (no grant money). NARTA runs for 20 weeks twice a year and graduates about 30 students after each 20 week training program is completed.
The change in location is a part of the College’s 2013 multi-million capital development Master Plan, which is spending millions on the West side of the County for new parking lots, renovated and new classrooms and buildings, etcetera.
The Prescott Valley Campus has been described as a state-of-the-art training facility for NARTA. However, the Master Plan justified the move as minimizing travel for faculty and students and locating a program on a campus with housing when a program requires housing. The Prescott Valley Chief of Police, Bryan Jarrell and the Prescott Chief of Police, Debora Black, both spoke to the Board at the March meeting and urged it to approve the move.
NARTA acts as a regional training center serving city, county, tribal, and state law enforcement agencies throughout the state of Arizona. Recruits must be sponsored by an agency before entering the academy. Classes such as Drivers and Firearms Training and Stop and Approach are held at off-campus locations.
The photo below was provided the Governing Board at its November meeting. It was taken by the College management team and placed in the Board Agenda.
