More News

Residents argued at a public hearing Oct. 1 that Camp Springs should be among the areas surrounding Andrews Air Force Base that will get money funneled from the state to help the region accommodate thousands of jobs slated from the upcoming military base reorganization.

The Base Realignment and Closure process, or BRAC, is slated to bring economic development and 2,500 to 3,000 employees to areas surrounding the base by 2018, said Col. Eric Snadecki, vice commander of the 316th Wing Division at Andrews Air Force Base.

The base realignment will relocate employees from Crystal City and other areas around the Pentagon to Andrews, he said, adding that of the possible 3,000 employees, 800 of these will be added through BRAC, and the Pentagon will continue to move employees to the area. The remainder of these employees will be due to Department of Defense growth and reassignment, according to the Prince George's County BRAC action plan.

Other areas in the state are planning to expand and receive hundreds of new employees through BRAC. Fort Meade in Anne Arundel County is expected to gain 5,700 jobs over the next few years, and Aberdeen Proving Ground in Harford County is expected to gain as many as 9,000 additional jobs through BRAC, according to the counties' Web sites.

Prince George's County expects to add nearly 10,000 new homes within the county by 2020 as a result of BRAC and other military mission growth, according to the plan.

For the first few years after the realignment, the new workforce may commute to the area, but employees will eventually buy or rent homes, Snadecki said, causing a spur in the population and a need for improved infrastructure.

Andrews Air Force Base is surrounded by existing residential and commercial development, Snadecki said, adding that the base will need to better use its existing space for maximum efficiency.

The county's Economic Development Corporation and County Executive Jack B. Johnson's office must submit a proposal to the state by Wednesday on what the area needs to accommodate the BRAC process. The proposal lists towns and cities in a zone surrounding Andrews Air Force Base, an area in which local governments are eligible for state funding to improve streets, utilities and recreational venues.

Each county is allowed a maximum of two BRAC zones. No more than six BRAC zones may be approved by the state per year, making the application process highly competitive, Economic Development Corporation President Kwasi Holman said.

To be considered in the BRAC initiative, an area must first be designated as a Priority Funding Area, which is an area within a half-mile of public transportation, such as Metro or MARC station, or is deemed to be of strategic importance, said Lavinia Baxter, a spokeswoman for Johnson.

Currently the zone detailed in the proposal includes areas northwest of Andrews Air Force Base to the Branch Avenue Metro station, north of the base surrounding the beltway and northeast of the base surrounding Pennsylvania Avenue.

The proposal does not currently include any areas in the county south of the base, including Camp Springs, the town closest to the base's southern border.

Camp Springs Civic Association President Leon Turner was present at the hearing to tell the county executive's office that he was "shocked and stunned" that Camp Springs was not included in the plan.

"We have been waiting patiently for future economic redevelopment [in Camp Springs] from BRAC," Turner said.

Andrews Air Force Base was first established as Camp Springs Army Air Field in May 1943. The base was re-named Andrews Air Force Base in 1947.

Tina Green, a Camp Springs resident, said at the hearing the state should enhance all areas surrounding the base.

"Prince George' s County is a welcoming center for the United States," she said, referring to the fact the Heads of State and other foreign officials are flown into the base and must drive through Camp Springs on Allentown Road to get to Washington, D.C.

With BRAC swelling the area's workforce and residential population, the county will need more money for education and transportation, said Tamara Davis Brown of the Piscataway Greater Alliance.

Brown, who lives in Clinton and already advocates the need for public school improvement, said she hoped BRAC would help highlight the need for new facilities. Her children attend schools in southern Prince George's County.

There are currently six new elementary schools and three new high schools planned throughout the county in the schools' Capital Improvement Program, which should be sufficient for the increased population, according to the Prince George's County BRAC action plan.

There are also 18 vacant lots in the county that "will more than accommodate any new school facilities that may be needed at a result of the residential growth associated with job increases at [Andrews Air Force Base]," according to the plan.

Brown said she was concerned that because areas south of Andrews Air Force Base were not included, south county area roads would be neglected.

Rupert McCave, the county schools' CIP officer, encouraged the county executive's office to prioritize the area's needs before submitting the plan.

"This is all competitive money, so you have to be very rigid," McCave said.

The comments voiced at the hearing will be taken into consideration before the plan is submitted to the state, said Wanda Plumer, a spokeswoman for the county's Economic Development Corporation and the appointed BRAC liaison.

Additional changes can be made, and the plan can be resubmitted in April, she said.

If the proposal for the current initiative is approved by the state, the county can create a second BRAC proposal that includes other areas surrounding the base.

E-mail Megan McKeever at mmckeever@gazette.net.