Selling: new opportunities for public parks and recreation surface with the latest round of base closures

Parks & Recreation, Oct, 2005 by Steve Bonner, Richard J. Dolesh

Our Military Bases for Parkland

The latest round of military base closures and realignments has created high anxiety in hundreds of communities across America. The economic benefits of a U.S. military installation in or near a community are huge, and the thought that they might disappear overnight along with personnel and payroll strikes fear into elected officials, community leaders and business owners.

A new list of bases has been put on the chopping block by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) the fifth such round of closures and realignments since the commission began this process in 1989. While most communities react with dread upon seeing their base included on the closure and realignment list, some communities have come to realize that despite the short-term dislocation, there may be many unexpected opportunities and benefits from having their base closed or realigned.

In the previous four rounds of base closure and realignment, nearly 100 major bases and hundreds of smaller installations have been closed around the country. In addition, hundreds of accompanying realignments have changed the mission, and thus the impact of bases on their host communities. In this fifth round of closures and realignments BRAC, an independent panel appointed by the president, has recommended the closure of an additional 22 major facilities and nearly 400 additional National Guard and Reserve facilities. Under the law, the president must now review and forward those recommendations to Congress without change, and Congress must vote the complete up or down without change. Congress is expected to act on this latest round by late fall 2005.

Base closures are final and often irrevocable. "Realignment," however, means that the mission of a military installation will change in some significant way, but it doesn't necessarily mean a base will become smaller or less important. Realignment can mean anything from a base with only a caretaker presence remaining, to completely redefining the mission of a base and significantly increasing the numbers of personnel and activities that go on within it.

The process of closing a military installation and converting that installation into civilian infrastructure is a gut-wrenching process for local communities. Workers are relocated, local businesses sometimes wither, the tax-base temporarily declines and families are uprooted. The pain is real, and can be long-lasting. Nevertheless, once a community grasps the real opportunities inherent in the closing of a base or its realignment, a multitude of new opportunities become apparent.

The base closures that have occurred since 1989 have shown that in the long term, the overwhelming majority of closed bases have been successfully converted into vibrant centers of business, education, transportation and recreation that actually contribute more to the economic health, physical and social well-being of their host community than they did as military installations.

In 2001, the National Park Service (NPS) transferred 292 acres of the closed Myrtle Beach Air Force Base in South Carolina to the city of Myrtle Beach for a new regional park. The transfer included a gymnasium, ball field complex, youth athletic fields, recreation center, duck pond and the Whispering Pines Golf Course. Jimmie Waiters, the city's director of Culture and Leisure Services says, "If the city had to duplicate what we're doing today, it would cost $20 to $25 million."

Just like in Myrtle Beach, the park and recreation benefits that eventually come to a community can be numerous. Military bases often have outstanding conservation lands and recreational facilities that can be converted for public use at minimal cost. On larger bases, there are often exceptional natural resources and wildlife that has been protected for decades. Wetlands, streams and rivers are often undisturbed and have outstanding conservation and wildlife viewing value.

Golf courses, community centers and recreational amenities are frequently in excellent condition and usable with few modifications. No matter what the primary mission of the military base, when the lands and facilities are considered in a post-military context, there is inevitably strong public desire to preserve large portions of the land and natural resources in a conservation status and make some portions of the converted facilities and lands available for public use and recreation.

Understanding the Base Closure and Realignment Process

Once a base is officially slated for closure, the decision-making process to determine eventual reuse of the facility can take about six months to two years to complete, with implementation of the plan to take even longer. The process is governed not just by the BRAC law, but also by a number of other federal property disposal and environmental laws that lay out steps for communities to follow.

The Office of Economic Adjustment (OEA) provides help in funding the planning and implementation of base reuse, as do most state governments. Funding is of course a key question in any new park or conservation opportunity, and should be carefully considered up front as a part of the reuse planning process. While communities may hate to pass up the $10 million worth of parks infrastructure available from their base, the city budget may not be able to sustain operations and maintenance in the long term.