There was a town hall meeting held at the Aberdeen High School in Harford County on Monday March 10, 2008. This was the third meeting that they have held so far. The next one will be in Havre De Grace. The date, place and time have not been released yet. Did anyone attend this meeting? I am still waiting for the video to be released.
According to ABC 2 News, The Base Realignment and Closure Process or "BRAC" will bring thousands of jobs to Aberdeen, along with Ft. Meade in Columbia. "People say ‘When is it coming?' It's slowly happening as we speak right now," said David Craig, the Harford County Executive.
Craig says about 500 new residents have already moved to Harford County because of BRAC. Eight intersections near the Proving Ground will have to be improved, most of them along Rt. 40. Other roads that lead to the base, including Rt. 22, will have to be widened.
Eventually, 8,000 new civilian jobs will be shifted from Ft. Monmouth, New Jersey to Aberdeen Proving Ground. About 2,000 military jobs from Aberdeen are being moved to Ft. Lee, Virginia. "The Department of Defense and the Department of the Army are moving forward with BRAC," said Col. Jeff Weissman, Aberdeen Proving Ground's Garrison Commander.
There have been reports that workers at Ft. Monmouth don't want to move to Harford County. Col. Weismann said that in BRAC-related job shifts in other states, only about 30 to 40 percent of civilian employees moved to a new location to keep their job. That is not slowing the Army down. "Aberdeen Proving Ground has received all the funding that it requires," Col. Weissman said. "We have a plan, we have a schedule and we're on plan and on schedule right now."
And if those statistics hold true in Maryland, Aberdeen Proving Ground will have a lot of job openings. At the town hall meeting, Marlene Lee from the Harford Community College and David Valrath from the Harford County School System discussed a number of new degree programs that are being developed so that local workers can be trained for the new jobs.
Sheriff Jesse Bane told the crowd he's estimating the Sheriff's Department will need 60 new deputies by the year 2011. The county jail will also have to be expanded.
And County Executive Craig said that by 2020, the growing county will need to be able to produce 53-million gallons of water a day. Right now, the capacity is 20-million gallons. Craig said addressing the water issue will take three to four years.
But Craig said Harford County residents will not be asked to pay for it all with an increase in their property taxes. "We're not anticipating an increase in taxes because of the capital improvements we need to make, or because of the operational improvements," he said.
This is the official press release from Harford County
BRAC TOWN HALL MEETING DRAWS LARGE AUDIENCE
(Bel Air, MD - March 11, 2008) - - A near capacity crowd of 400 attended the third BRAC Town Hall meeting Monday evening at the Aberdeen High School. The event was hosted by County Executive David R. Craig and James Richardson, Director of the Office of Economic Development for Harford County.
Among the officials participating in the community meeting were Colonel Jeffrey Weissman, Aberdeen Proving Ground Garrison Commander, Aberdeen Mayor Michael Bennett, Sheriff L. Jesse Bane, Marlene Lieb, Associate Vice President, Harford Community College, David Volrath, Executive Director of Secondary Education, Harford County Public Schools, Bob Cooper, Director, Harford County Department of Public Works, James Richardson, Director, Office of Economic Development and County Executive Craig.
"We are extremely pleased with the attendance at the BRAC Town Hall meeting," said County Executive Craig. "Clearly the citizens of Harford County and the surrounding communities have a keen interest in BRAC and the positive impact it will have on our county," Craig remarked.
The Harford County Office of Economic Development, the lead department for Harford County with BRAC issues, served as coordinator for the event. A fourth BRAC Town Hall meeting will be held later this year in Havre de Grace at a date and time to be determined.
The panel of officials responded to 40 questions posed by those in attendance. A concern of many of those who attended was transportation and the ability of the state, county and federal government to fund the necessary infrastructure improvements necessary to meet the needs of the BRAC.
"We will continue to work with our federal, state and local government partners to meet the challenges and opportunities that BRAC presents," stated James Richardson, Director of the Office of Economic Development. "BRAC is a reality. Jobs are coming to Harford County and that means we must be ready to address the needs of the people who move to Harford County as well," Richardson stated.The BRAC Town Hall meetings are part of the county executive's "Open Government" initiative, sharing information with citizens and those interested in BRAC and the impact to Harford County. The Town Meeting can be viewed on the Harford County Government website. For more information regarding BRAC visit www.harfordcountymd.gov or the Office of Economic Development website at http://www.harfordbusiness.org/.
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