Auditor General Jack Wagner Attending Aug. 17 Groundbreaking for New Military Commissary in Moon

Retail outlet will serve active military families and veterans in tri-state region

PITTSBURGH, Aug. 15, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Auditor General Jack Wagner will be among the political and military leaders attending groundbreaking ceremonies at 10 a.m. Friday, Aug. 17 for a new commissary that will serve 168,000 active and retired military personnel and their family members when it opens for business next year along the former Business Route 60 (now I-376) in Moon Township.

Wagner -- as a former state senator representing Moon Township and western Allegheny County, and as the present Pennsylvania auditor general -- has worked with local and state political and military leaders since 1995 to fight for maintaining retail shopping facilities at the Charles E. Kelley Support Facility in Oakdale, Pa, and to secure U.S. Defense Department funding for its modern replacement, which will be constructed at the intersection of I-376 and University Boulevard, across the road from the old Pittsburgh International Airport terminal.

"As a military veteran myself, who has used the shopping facilities at the Charles E. Kelley Support Facility, it's gratifying to know that a new, modern commissary will soon be available to the 168,000 active duty, reservists, National Guardsmen and women, dependents and retirees from Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia who reside within a 100-mile radius of Moon Township," Wagner said.  "Congratulations to the Military Affairs Council and Pennsylvania's congressional delegation for getting the Pentagon to do the right thing for our local military veterans and active soldiers who have put their lives in harm's way defending our nation."

The new 43,000-square-foot commissary, situated near the intersection of University Boulevard and Business Route 60, will be built on county-owned land.  The new grocery store will help military families in the tri-state Pittsburgh region stretch their paychecks and pensions, by providing discounts of 10 to 40 percent on everyday staples like food, healthcare products and furniture. 

Without this project, veterans and families in the tri-state Pittsburgh area would have to travel 180 miles east to Carlisle or 250 miles west to Dayton, Ohio to reach the closest military commissary.  "This would have greatly inconvenienced our hard-working, patriotic families, veterans and disabled servicemen," said Wagner, a former U.S. Marine who received a Purple Heart for service in Vietnam.

Construction of the new commissary is expected to be completed by October 2013.  A $12 million contract was awarded to Carothers Construction Inc. in June.

Auditor General Jack Wagner is responsible for ensuring that all state money is spent legally and properly.  He is the commonwealth's elected independent fiscal watchdog, conducting financial audits, performance audits and special investigations.  The Department of the Auditor General conducts thousands of audits each year.  To learn more about the Department of the Auditor General, taxpayers are encouraged to visit the department's website at www.auditorgen.state.pa.us.

SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of the Auditor General