BRAC to bring new area jobs, people

By Diane Chiddister

In the next few years a U.S. Air Force consolidation move will lead to about 1,200 military and civilian workers relocating from around the country to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. If local leaders reach out to them, some of those people and jobs might come to Yellow Springs and that influx could strengthen the local economy.

That was the message delivered by Air Force civilian employee and Yellow Springs resident Dave Boyer at a meeting of the Yellow Springs Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, Aug. 9.

“There’s an opportunity for surrounding communities to tap into this growth,” according to Boyer, chief of the commander’s action group for the 88th Base Wing.

The meeting drew a larger than usual crowd of about 40 people, including non-Chamber members, several of whom said they attended due to concerns about the village seeking new business opportunities from defense-oriented projects.

“I’m coming from a desire for peace,” Billie Eastman said in comments to Boyer. “We all want peace.”

Yellow Springers need to know that many military projects have peaceful applications, Boyer said in response to Eastman’s concerns.

The consolidation project, Base Realignment Consolidation, or BRAC, will bring 1,071 workers, who with their dependents will number about 3,800 new people to the Dayton area, according to Boyer, who said that the projects relocating to Wright-Patt include research in medical issues, human factors, human effectiveness and sensor technology. Those workers will relocate between September 2007 and 2011, Boyer said, with most probably moving the latter part of that period. The move also includes 14 new construction projects, at a cost of about $332 million.

Because Yellow Springs has lost some businesses in recent years, and Antioch College may close in a year, BRAC could strengthen the local economy if contractors relocate here, Boyer said. Also, military families tend to be racially diverse, and attracting these families to live here could enhance village diversity, he said.

If Yellow Springs is interested in attracting either jobs or residents, it needs to make sure that Chamber and Village Web sites are up to date and user friendly, according to Air Force Captain Anita Skipper, who urged village leaders to publicize the quality of local schools and the village’s family-friendly nature to relocating families. Yellow Springs might be especially attractive to relocating workers because it offers a very short commuting time to the base, she said

According to Boyer, local leaders should stay in contact with the Dayton Development Corporation, Miami Valley Military Affairs Association and Dayton Area Defense Contractors to keep abreast of relocation efforts.

In a later interview, Dan Young, president of Community Resources, which developed the Center for Business and Education, said that the BRAC projects seem an especially good fit with Yellow Springs because the jobs involve innovation and research.

“BRAC raises the opportunity to attract highly educated workers,” he said. “They would be great people to live and work in Yellow Springs.”

Asked how he responded to those who don’t want the local economy tied to defense-related businesses, Young said the BRAC projects seem mainly related to medical and human factors research.

The Center for Business and Education, or CBE, should be ready for its first commercial occupants in about a year, Young said. Before the 34-acre park can move ahead with attracting commercial occupants, it needs to install roads, water and sewer infrastructure. The road work will be funded by a $600,000 grant from the Ohio Department of Transportation, and the water and sewer will be funded by a $400,000 grant from the Army Corps of Engineers along with about $140,000 grants from a local foundation which Young said he could not name.

The CBE’s educational component, Antioch University McGregor, is scheduled to finish its new building in September and will move its classes from the Antioch College campus at that time.

According to Young, CBE leaders have not had conversations with BRAC representatives at this time. The CBE is represented by Miller-Valentine Realtors, and that company will publicize the CBE’s availability to potential businesses, he said.

“Two or three folks over the last two years” have discussed the possibility of moving their businesses into the commerce park when it’s ready, Young said, and those people are still considered possible occupants. These potential occupants include some businesses currently located in Yellow Springs that are seeking larger quarters, he said.

The CBE was developed by Community Resources, Inc., with a $300,000 loan from the Village Economic Development Revolving Loan Fund for purchase of the land. Current officers of Community Resources are Young, president, Glen Watts, secretary and Carol Gasho, treasurer. The group currently has about a dozen members and its meetings are not open to the public, Young said.

Contact: dchiddister@ysnews.com