Posts Tagged ‘Office of Economic Adjustment’

Communities and states affected by significant cutbacks in DOD spending, including impacts caused by reduced operations at contractor-operated defense facilities, can apply for community planning assistance from the Office of Economic Adjustment to help them respond. Eligible impacts, according to the June 17 Federal Register notice, include: a publicly announced planned major reduction in DOD spending; the closure or significantly reduced operations of a defense facility as the result of the merger, acquisition or consolidation of the defense contractor operating the defense facility; the cancellation or termination of a DOD contract; or the failure to proceed with an approved major weapon system program …

The Clover Park School District of Lakewood, Wash., will receive three grants totaling $90.8 million from DOD to demolish and replace three elementary schools on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, the department announced last week. Project funding to replace the three schools, which will serve a combined 1,550 students in grades pre-kindergarten through fifth, also includes a non-federal share of $23.1 million …

On the 20-year anniversary of the closure of Myrtle Beach Air Force Base, S.C., the Sun News recounts the numerous difficulties facing local officials trying to redevelop the 3,937-acre installation. Today, the former base is the home of a variety of uses, highlighted by the Market Common, a town center with upscale shops and restaurants, and neighborhoods with more than 1,200 homes that follow the principles of New Urbanism. The project also features new general aviation and commercial airport terminals, and a technology and aerospace business park …

The state of Hawaii will receive a $26.6 million grant from DOD to renovate and expand an elementary school at Wheeler Army Airfield/Schofield Barracks in Hawaii, the department announced Thursday. The federal funding comes from $500 million allocated to DOD’s Office of Economic Adjustment by Congress in the fiscal 2011 and 2012 spending bills to construct, renovate, repair or expand public schools located on military installations …

The Solano County Board of Supervisors was scheduled this week to approve an economic diversification study intended to craft a strategy to reduce the local economy’s reliance on Travis Air Force Base in northern California. If the board approves the study, the county would receive a $370,000 grant from DOD’s Office of Economic Adjustment. The county would be required to contribute a 10 percent in-kind match of $41,000, which would be provided by staff managing the project …

Supervisors for King George County on Wednesday informally agreed to move ahead with a joint land use study for Naval Support Facility Dahlgren on Virginia’s Northern Neck, after hearing from a Navy commander why an assessment of the impact of future growth around the facility is needed. In short, ensuring that plans for residential or commercial development are compatible with the mission of the Naval Surface Warfare Center at Dahlgren is valuable for the Navy and the community …

The Defense Department recently awarded $60 million to upgrade and replace schools at two military installations, the first two grants under a $500 million federal appropriation intended to construct, renovate or expand facilities at 161 public schools located on military installations. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced the awards Tuesday at a seminar sponsored by the Military Child Education Coalition to demonstrate the department’s effort to invest in the education of military children …

In the face of looming defense budget cuts and the possibility of one or more base closure rounds, states and communities attempting to support their local installations can employ of variety of strategies to minimize adverse impacts while potentially positioning themselves to gain additional missions. The most critical step a community can take is to form a “trusting relationship” with base officials, Michael Hayes, managing director of Maryland’s Office of Military and Federal Affairs, said during a session of the 2012 ADC Winter Forum …

OEA would assist communities affected by the loss of weapons manufacturing jobs as well as those preparing to accommodate an influx of troops returning from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, under the fiscal 2013 budget request DOD released Monday. The request includes $12.0 million to support reductions in force structure and weapons procurement throughout the nation, funding needed so that OEA can help affected communities coordinate a local, state and federal response …

The budget for the Office of Economic Adjustment will rise $40.9 million to $91.8 million under the fiscal 2012 omnibus spending package approved last week, primarily because of three civilian projects intended to support the realignment of Marines to Guam. The president’s request for the agency included funding for the purchase of school buses for public schools in Guam; construction of a cultural repository to preserve artifacts unearthed during military construction; and the construction …