Components for the Beaufort County Police Activities League’s Aviation, Technology and Fitness Center are scheduled to arrive Monday, said Al Powell, BC PAL president.

Widespread community support is a key factor in the center becoming a reality, Powell said. The center, once up and running, will be used in conjunction with BC PAL’s summer program and after-school program. The center, 100 feet long and 60 feet wide, is expected to open later this year.

“We integrate aviation and boating. … We expose the kids to all the great opportunities in the aerospace industry, careers and stuff, so they can see that there’s a reason for staying in school, staying out of trouble,” Powell said. The center will expose its patrons to people who have or had careers in aviation-related fields and boating-relating fields, including boat building. “It’s a total-package program. … We’re just giving the kids reasons to dream and hope,” he said.

Washington officials are supporting the center, which will be built on Washington-Warren Airport property.

“PAL is actually setting up their building for the learning activities. They’ve got the building ordered, and it’s coming in. So, we’re trying to work through the surveying (of the property) and some other things,” City Manager Bobby Roberson said, adding that the center will offer additional educational opportunities for area youth.

The Burroughs-Wellcome Fund’s website says this about the center: “The objective of this project is to cultivate the students’ enthusiasm for science and mathematics utilizing methods of transportation as the intellectual ‘bait.’ The project also demonstrates to the youth the real world relevancy/application of selected scientific principles.”

Earlier this year, the City Council voted to lease land to BC PAL so it could build a multi-purpose center designed to expose area youth to careers in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and aviation. Last summer, the council authorized the city manager and city attorney to draft an agreement allowing BC PAL to build and operate the facility on airport property, with the understanding the construction and operation of the center would not require a contribution from the city and if the facility ceases to be used for its stated purpose it would become the property of the city. The city’s Airport Advisory Board recommended approval of the center. The proposal has been reviewed and cleared by the N.C. Division of Aviation.

Powell said it would cost about $188,000 to build the center, which will be housed in a metal building designed to blend in with the new terminal at the airport. To date, BC PAL has raised about $138,000 of that mount, he said.

Grants to build and equip the center come from several sources. The Winston-Salem Foundation is providing $75,000. The Cannon Foundation is contributing $35,000.

Grady-White Boats is kicking in $15,000. A $160,000 grant from the Burroughs-Wellcome Fund is providing $160,000, but that money is earmarked for program expenses. Beaufort County United Way is helping fund the project, Powell noted.

The center’s facilities include, but are not limited to, a simulator room where patrons will learn flight and boating fundamentals, a multipurpose classroom, a fitness center (addressing physical fitness, nutrition and other health-related concerns) and a laboratory where patrons may construct airplane models and other items related to their studies and research.