Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Garrison assumes responsibility for BRAC execution

Army officials and planners came together with local and state officials Tuesday during a Belvoir Board of Advisors meeting to discuss the most recent developments pertaining to Fort Belvoir’s realignment under Base Realignment and Closure law.

Military District of Washington Commander Maj. Gen. Guy Swan announced early in the meeting that authority to execute the BRAC mission at Fort Belvoir has been transferred from the Army’s Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management to U.S. Army Garrison, Fort Belvoir. Installation Commander Col. Brian Lauritzen now has direct control and responsibility for implementing BRAC at Fort Belvoir, including the execution of the contract with Belvoir New Vision Planners, the team of civilian planners, engineers, architects and environmental and transportation experts selected by the Army to lead the realignment process.

Swan also told the group that the Board of Advisors has exceeded all expectations in regard to maintaining communications with BRAC stakeholders, and encouraged them to continue their efforts.

Under BRAC 2005, Fort Belvoir will experience a net gain of approximately 22,000 people — about 5,000 military personnel and 17,000 civilians. In order to accommodate this migration of people, the base will require construction of several new facilities. Regardless, the law requires that all personnel realignments be in place by Sept. 15, 2011.

Six major concerns dominated the flow of the meeting: increased traffic flow and its impact on the community; infrastructure improvements; mass transit support capabilities; external studies integration with the Virginia and Fairfax County departments of transportation; the installation transportation management plan; and the support infrastructure.

JoAnn Blanks, deputy to the installation commander, briefed the group on the progress and concerns of the BOA’s transportation working group.

“We need to evaluate our transportation plan,” said Blanks, who also said the working group had recommended that the board look at opportunities for local communities to leverage grants available through the Office of Economic Adjustment for transportation studies. The OEA falls under the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and is charged with helping state and local governments plan and carry out community adjustment and diversification programs related to BRAC actions.

While transportation is a the top BRAC-related concern facing Fort Belvoir and the local community, Washington Headquarters Services’ Brad Provancha suggested that the group should look beyond the transportation-specific issues at other trends in the region which also impact on transportation. Provancha suggested “looking at the big picture — both job and growth projections.”

Lauritzen agreed, saying that growth throughout the region must be taken into account when planning for growth at Fort Belvoir.

“I think we need to look at the whole picture, not just Fort Belvoir and BRAC, but the other initiatives [underway in the region] as well,” Lauritzen said.

One of the key transportation improvements in the area – the completion of the missing link of the Fairfax County Parkway, is vital to BRAC development. The parkway connector will run through the Engineer Proving Ground, where plans call for 18,000 of the 22,000 incoming employees to work.

“Unless we get the parkway funded in the spring, it won’t be in place by Sept. 2011. What’s the most optimistic time frame to serve [the Engineer Proving Ground]?” asked Lee District Supervisor Dana Kauffman.

BNVP transportation expert James Curren responded frankly saying, “We’re going to be hard-pressed even if someone says, ‘Here’s the money.’ It’s a minimum of two years to build a parkway.”

According to Curren, progress has been made on actions needed to complete the parkway.

“VDOT has initiated the acquisition of Central Motors [which stands in the path of construction],” Curren said. “Along with VDOT, the Attorney General’s office, Army, and [the U.S. Department of Transportation] are working to finalize the Fairfax County Parkway agreements, the [description of proposed actions and alternatives] has been completed with the [environmental impact statement] underway, and discussions between Army and [VDOT regarding the high occupancy toll lane] project have started.”

The Board of Advisors is comprised of the installation commander, key members of his command group and staff, elected officials of the Fairfax County and Prince William County boards of supervisors, a representative from the Fairfax County Schools system, and representatives of major government agencies being relocated to Fort Belvoir under BRAC 2005. Their purpose is to ensure that all stakeholders have the opportunity to review initiatives, voice concerns, provide commentary, and make recommendations regarding BRAC implementation at Fort Belvoir.