BRAC move largest ever

By Karen Middleton
karen@athensnews-courier.com

April 08, 2009 09:58 pm

— A consultant working with the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce said Wednesday that BRAC is the largest military and civilian relocation in the history of the U.S.
“There has never been anything this complex or large — this is the big time,” said Ed Bee of Taimerica Management Company, a chamber subcontractor in compiling the Tennessee Valley Regional Growth Coordination Plan.
But how does the region pay for the associated expenses of a projected 70,000 population increase in 13 surrounding counties by the end of 2011?
The counties in the primary study area (PSA) are Limestone, Madison and Morgan. Other counties — designated as the Broader Impact Region are Colbert, Cullman, Jackson, Lauderdale, Lawrence and Marshall in Alabama, and Franklin, Giles, Lawrence and Lincoln in Tennessee.
Chamber officials and consultants delivered their findings in a Plan Summit at Calhoun Community College.
While numerous figures on the number of people and jobs resulting from the Base Realignment and Closure Act have been cited since it was announced in 2005, the plan narrows those down by sector where those jobs will be.
The plan also lists infrastructure and education needs and suggests ways of funding them.
While BRAC job transfers remain at 4,700, the “real impact,” according to the study, is 20,000 in spin-off jobs. Twenty-one percent will come from office and administrative; 8 percent from sales; 8 percent from computer and mathematical; 7 percent from business and financial; 6 percent from architecture and engineering; 6 percent from food preparation and serving; 5 percent from management; 5 percent from production, and 34 percent from other occupations.
Bill Frederick, of Wadley-Donovan GrowthTech, another chamber subcontractor in the study, said the area would need 9,619 additional housing units by the end of 2011. Non-BRAC-generated housing demand would be 12,456, bringing the total to 22,075.
In education, there is projected to be a growth of 3,848 students in the primary study area of Limestone, Madison and Morgan counties with an estimated cost of improvements to meet the student growth at $455,111,000.
Frederick said he recommends the committee, comprised of eight superintendents, among which is Dr. Orman Bridges of Athens and Dr. Barry Carroll of Limestone County, in the PSA, continue to meet now that the study is completed.
“You must be among the top school systems in the country,” said Frederick. “To do this you must improve and diversify your funding. You must get away from retail sales funding. Not one other system in the technical centers across the nation depends on retail sales as you do. You cannot have a second-rate system.”
He said educators both on the community college and public school levels must advance technical and manufacturing.
Mark Waterhouse of Garnet Consulting Services, another chamber subcontractor, said there are 89 roadway-improvement projects in the PSA totaling more than $3.5 billion, $1 billion of which is attributable to BRAC growth. The top six of which are: Martin Road on Redstone; Memorial Parkway in Huntsville; Highway 53 interchange at Research Park Boulevard; Winchester Road; Zeirdt Road; and U.S. 72 East and West.
Waterhouse said he was surprised at how “far ahead of the curve” utility planners are in the PSA.
“There are $185 million necessary in utility improvements,” said Waterhouse. “The vast majority of those are unfunded. You need aggressive and collaborative ways of paying for utilities. Other areas of the world are doing better collaboration.”
He said two areas of special regional concern are assuring an adequate water supply and the disposal of sewer sludge.
Waterhouse said the region needs to aggressively develop public transportation, which at the present is only available to the aged or those with physical disabilities. He said the rail freight system must be upgraded in the next 15 to 20 years or even more freight shipment will have to be over public highways.
“How do you pay for all of this?” asked Waterhouse. “Your cities and counties do not have collaboration in full-court press. You need to approach the Alabama Department of Transportation, the federal government, consider tolls and user fees, special purpose local option taxes and all sorts of innovative and alternative funding.”