Thursday, November 06, 2008

Board meets installation commander, welcomes aboard newest members

by Travis Edwards
BRAC Outreach Branch Chief

Installation Commander Col. Jerry Blixt hosted his first Board of Advisors meeting recently that laid out the status of Base Realignment and Closure and infrastructure projects affecting Fort Belvoir and the surrounding community.

“It is important to me that I help ensure transparency and teamwork in regards to the planning process, not only for BRAC, but the partnerships and relationships that are legacy factors here at Belvoir and in the community,” said Blixt during his introductory comments to the board members.

This was Blixt’s first BOA meeting since taking command in the summer. “This community and board will receive nothing but honesty, integrity and efficient communication from me and my staff,” he said.

The BOA consists of community leaders from the region, including elected officials at the county, state and federal level who provide input to the commander from their respective areas; and representatives from the region’s institutes of higher education, incoming BRAC agencies and coordinating staff.

Also addressing the BOA for the first time was Brig. Gen. Dennis Rogers, commander of the newly formed National Capital Region-District of the Installation Management Command. Rogers described the new district that is composed of several installations, including Belvoir, and his focus to “help foster BRAC success across the region.”

New board members introduced were Mayor William Euille and city manager, James Hartmann, of Alexandria City. The Alexandria members were added to the board after the recent decision to place the BRAC Recommendation 133 employees at the Mark Center in Alexandria.

“A lot has occurred since the last meeting in February - we have a new commander, a new organizational structure for our higher headquarters, and the Army has placed the final pieces of the Belvoir BRAC puzzle by selecting Alexandria as the home of BRAC 133,” said Col. Mark Moffatt, Belvoir’s deputy garrison commander for transformation and BRAC.

BRAC 133, refers to a recommendation under BRAC 2005 which looked at the federally-owned General Services Administration warehouse site in Fairfax, the Victory Center and Mark Center commercial sites in Alexandria for the placement of 6,400 personnel from the Washington Headquarters Services and several other DoD agencies. BRAC law states all personnel will be “realigned” to Fort Belvoir.

“The Mark Center was deemed the best value for the Army after considering the cost, the schedule, the security requirements, transportation and other critical factors,” Blixt said.

The Corps of Engineers will now buy the Mark Center property for the property to become part of Belvoir.

The briefing included updates the other BRAC projects as well depicting costs, size, milestones and individual missions.

Members received additional information from the commander of the DeWitt Army Health Care Network, Col. Charles Callahan, about the $800 million new Fort Belvoir Community Hospital under construction. The facility is tentatively scheduled to begin providing patient care in April 2011.

Board member Gerry Hyland, Mount Vernon District Supervisor from Fairfax County, asked about plans for additional access to the installation and the new hospital.

“There will not be a separate entrance for the hospital,” Moffatt said, “but, there will be three additional booths at the access control point at Pence Gate, as well as Belvoir Road being expanded to four lanes.”

According to Moffatt, transportation continues to be the largest challenge in the BRAC transformation. He explained to the board that “our transportation partners in the region - VDOT, FHWA and Fairfax DOT - have worked well together” and that “issues are resolvable.”

One issue of interest to the local community around Belvoir is the Woodlawn Road replacement project, often referred to as Mulligan Road. This road will re-establish a transit link between Route 1 in Mount Vernon to Telegraph Road near Hayfield.

In a related matter, board member Jeff McKay, Lee District Supervisor from Fairfax County, asked about the expansion of Telegraph Road that is projected to be expanded to four lanes in the future. The Mulligan Road will filter into Telegraph.

“The land has been set aside, and environmental studies have been completed. But, there is no final resolution as yet on the road alignment,” Moffatt said. This fact was reinforced Oct. 30 during a Virginia Department of Transportation community input meeting
where a conceptual design for Telegraph Road was laid out.

The other major transportation issue of interest to the local community is the completion of the Fairfax County Parkway that broke ground Friday. While not a BRAC project, completion of the parkway will reduce friction and avoid congestion in the area, officials
said.

The installation has $172 million allocated for infrastructure improvements including sewers, power lines, water, utilities and road construction. Some of these projects will be started from scratch in areas such as the Engineer Proving Ground, according to Moffatt.

“We will be widening six different roads to four lanes on the installation to accommodate BRAC, the Warrior Transition Unit and
normal growth,” Moffatt said.

“The infrastructure and facility construction, the transfer of equipment, and relocation of personnel must be completed by Sept. 15, 2011, according to BRAC law,” said Don Carr, director, Fort Belvoir public affairs office. “The installation is now just over the half-way point toward the deadline.”

Blixt ended the meeting commenting that on the “good discussion” and explained his staff was “not only looking at impacts but secondary and tertiary order of effects, so we can effectively plan for the future of Fort Belvoir.”