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Supporting Sub Base Will Help Keep It Afloat
May 28, 2007
JOHN MARKOWICZ
In the past three rounds of Base Realignment and Closure, the Department of the Navy concluded that the "military value" of the Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton was so low that it should be closed or realigned. A sustained effort by Team Connecticut in 2005 staved off closure. But with another closure initiative likely, perhaps as early as 2013, it is now critical to sustain the momentum generated Team Connecticut, and to implement important recommendations proposed by the Post-BRAC Commission created by Gov. M. Jodi Rell.
Two key steps have been endorsed nearly unanimously by six joint committees of the General Assembly and are embodied in Senate Bill 937. Prompt passage and implementation of this bill is vital to ensuring the survival of the submarine base.
The bill would create a permanent state champion for Connecticut's defense, military, BRAC, and homeland security issues. This would establish an Office of Military Affairs within the state Department of Economic and Community Development. Although the bill currently proposes significant new annual funding for additional department staff, it has also been suggested that the office be established with existing esources through internal reorganization and personnel reassignment.
The second significant element of the bill is the creation of an innovative $50 million revolving lease fund and a partnership between the state and the Navy. The fund would support major military value infrastructure investments at the submarine base. The bill uses BRAC infrastructure definitions (e.g., piers, dry docks, maintenance, repair and training facilities) to specify the types of improvements that would be eligible for state funding.
Further, the bill proposes a multiyear lease program between the state and the Navy. Mandated in the lease conditions would be a requirement for full repayment of all construction costs if the sub base is closed and, as an incentive, ownership transfer to the Navy at the end of each lease. The bill proposes using state bonds to create the fund, and requires the lease payments be recycled into the fund to support subsequent infrastructure projects.
At the end of the program, the $50 million would be returned to the general fund. In effect, over a 20-year period, the taxpayers of Connecticut would be investing approximately $2.5 million a year in bond interest to retain a vital Navy installation and industry cluster that annually generates $3.3 billion of the state's gross domestic product and employs 33,000 residents. By formalizing this partnership with the Navy, the interest of the state would be backed by the full faith and credit of the federal government.
In the past two years, the only new military construction projects at the sub base were funded before BRAC 2005. This unsettling trend must and can be reversed through the passage and implementation of the bill. Unless there are significant improvements to the military value of the base, it will again be recommended for closure or realignment, and it is very unlikely that this decision will be reversed.
John Markowicz is chairman of the Subase Realignment Coalition and executive director of the SouthEastern Connecticut Enterprise Region.
MY OWN COMMENTS
"Unless there are significant improvements to the military value of the base, it will again be recommended for closure or realignment, and it is very unlikely that this decision will be reversed."
So they have painted the interior of the sick bay (infirmary) and put in new A/C, heating, etc. And the main entrance gate is now really impressive. The simulators are/were in drastic need of beng rebuilt and improved. And they needed a much deeper training tank. So what have they done that is in the public domain and that we can discuss here?
May 28, 2007
JOHN MARKOWICZ
In the past three rounds of Base Realignment and Closure, the Department of the Navy concluded that the "military value" of the Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton was so low that it should be closed or realigned. A sustained effort by Team Connecticut in 2005 staved off closure. But with another closure initiative likely, perhaps as early as 2013, it is now critical to sustain the momentum generated Team Connecticut, and to implement important recommendations proposed by the Post-BRAC Commission created by Gov. M. Jodi Rell.
Two key steps have been endorsed nearly unanimously by six joint committees of the General Assembly and are embodied in Senate Bill 937. Prompt passage and implementation of this bill is vital to ensuring the survival of the submarine base.
The bill would create a permanent state champion for Connecticut's defense, military, BRAC, and homeland security issues. This would establish an Office of Military Affairs within the state Department of Economic and Community Development. Although the bill currently proposes significant new annual funding for additional department staff, it has also been suggested that the office be established with existing esources through internal reorganization and personnel reassignment.
The second significant element of the bill is the creation of an innovative $50 million revolving lease fund and a partnership between the state and the Navy. The fund would support major military value infrastructure investments at the submarine base. The bill uses BRAC infrastructure definitions (e.g., piers, dry docks, maintenance, repair and training facilities) to specify the types of improvements that would be eligible for state funding.
Further, the bill proposes a multiyear lease program between the state and the Navy. Mandated in the lease conditions would be a requirement for full repayment of all construction costs if the sub base is closed and, as an incentive, ownership transfer to the Navy at the end of each lease. The bill proposes using state bonds to create the fund, and requires the lease payments be recycled into the fund to support subsequent infrastructure projects.
At the end of the program, the $50 million would be returned to the general fund. In effect, over a 20-year period, the taxpayers of Connecticut would be investing approximately $2.5 million a year in bond interest to retain a vital Navy installation and industry cluster that annually generates $3.3 billion of the state's gross domestic product and employs 33,000 residents. By formalizing this partnership with the Navy, the interest of the state would be backed by the full faith and credit of the federal government.
In the past two years, the only new military construction projects at the sub base were funded before BRAC 2005. This unsettling trend must and can be reversed through the passage and implementation of the bill. Unless there are significant improvements to the military value of the base, it will again be recommended for closure or realignment, and it is very unlikely that this decision will be reversed.
John Markowicz is chairman of the Subase Realignment Coalition and executive director of the SouthEastern Connecticut Enterprise Region.
MY OWN COMMENTS
"Unless there are significant improvements to the military value of the base, it will again be recommended for closure or realignment, and it is very unlikely that this decision will be reversed."
So they have painted the interior of the sick bay (infirmary) and put in new A/C, heating, etc. And the main entrance gate is now really impressive. The simulators are/were in drastic need of beng rebuilt and improved. And they needed a much deeper training tank. So what have they done that is in the public domain and that we can discuss here?