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City set to receive national VA archive

VA chief will make final decision.

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By Ben Sutherly, Staff Writer Updated 11:08 PM Thursday, February 2, 2012

DAYTON — The director of the Dayton VA Medical Center on Thursday said he “absolutely” expects the hospital’s Dayton campus to become the home of the national VA archive, a project that could be the nexus for a proposed national veterans museum and education center.

Director Glenn Costie said the primary question remaining is whether the Dayton VA will receive the $10.6 million in federal funding it is seeking to restore historic buildings on campus for the museum complex.

The entire project could create 440 new retail, tourism and educational jobs within five years, according to a federal funding application submitted to the Dayton Development Coalition.

However, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki hasn’t made a final decision on where the archive will go, Costie said. But he expects Shinseki to arrive at one of two conclusions, both positive for Dayton.

“ ‘You (Dayton) are designated as the archive site; I can’t give you the money.’ Or he could say, ‘You’re designated as the archive site, and I’m going to give you the money.’ ”

When asked by the Dayton Daily News if there was a 100 percent chance that one of those scenarios would happen, Costie said, “Yes, yeah, absolutely. I think if we hadn’t had to tie this to money it would have probably happened. ... If we had a building that was ready to accept all these documents and properly secure them, he would have signed off on it very quickly.”

The VA hospital in Minneapolis has also been in the running for the national archive, though officials have long said Dayton was the frontrunner. Still, Costie’s comments are the most confident made publicly by a VA official to date about the Dayton VA’s prospects for landing the archive.

Sen. Sherrod Brown’s office last year said the archive itself would likely employ about 25 people.

The VA said late Thursday that no decision has been made, and that the total number of items to be included in the archive remains to be determined. The collection will include historical documents, photographs, artifacts, ephemera (items meant to be used for a short period of time, such as pamphlets or tickets), maps, site plans and other materials that span the VA’s entire history.

Items from more than 100 VA facilities will be consolidated in the national archive, according to Lauren Kulik, a spokeswoman for Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio.

Brown was optimistic but more cautious than Costie in commenting on the prospects of the national VA archive coming to Dayton.

“I’m confident we’ll get it,” said Brown, who met with Shinseki about the matter last week but said he received no assurances about where the archive will go. “I don’t think it’s certain yet. I also think the funding’s not definite.”

Brown met with Shinseki last week in part to reiterate his support for consolidating the VA archives in Dayton.

“He (Shinseki) hasn’t said yes for sure, but his body language is such that I’m very optimistic,” Brown said Thursday.

U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Centerville, said all indications have been that Dayton is the top choice for the national archives, and that it has the historical significance and capabilities to serve that role. He thinks federal funding will materialize for the project.

“This is a national commitment to our local VA,” Turner said. “It’s an added function and capability and an attraction.”

Turner said he anticipates interest in the archives will extend beyond the families of veterans and researchers.

The VA on Thursday declined a Dayton Daily News request to speak with VA historian Darlene Richardson about the archive’s potential contents, including what its most notable items might be.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-7457 or bsutherly@DaytonDaily News.com.

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