HLRA
Wednesday, February 21 2007
HORSHAM TOWNSHIP AUTHORITY
FOR NASJRB (NAVAL AIR STATION JOINT RESERVE BASE)
MEETING MINUTES
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2007
In Attendance:
Authority Board
Staff
W. William Whiteside, III, Chairman
Michael J. McGee
Joanna M. Furia Esq., Vice Chairman
Mary Eberle Esq.
Carolyn T. Carluccio
Curt Toll, Esq.
David Creamer, Treasurer
William
Walker
Donnamarie Davis Esq.
William Donnelly
.
Carmen S. Italia, Jr.
Mark Theurer
Curtis Griffin
Mr. Whiteside called the meeting to order at 3:00 PM in the
Horsham Township Municipal Building at 1025 Horsham Road, Horsham PA, 19044. Liz Gabor joined the meeting at 3:09 p.m. via phone.
Mr. Whiteside introduced the new Board Members Curtis Griffin and Mark
Theurer.
Mr. Whiteside asked the Board for nominations of Authority Officers. Donnamarie
Davis nominated W. William Whiteside as Chairman, Joanna M. Furia as Vice Chairman, David Creamer as Treasurer and
Curtis Griffin as Secretary. On a motion by Donnamarie Davis which was seconded by Carmen Italia, Jr. the Board
closed the nominations and approved the election of officers as nominated. The motion passed unanimously.
Mr. McGee reviewed the need for Nominating Committee to make recommendations to
the Board to fill some vacancies on the committees. On a motion by Joanna M. Furia which was seconded by Carmen
Italia the Board unanimously appointed William Whiteside, Carolyn Carluccio and David Creamer as the committee
members. It is expected that they will report back to the Board with
recommendations on the make up of the committees.
On a motion by William Donnelly which was seconded by Carmen Italia the
Board unanimously approved the minutes as proposed for the October 18, 2006 meeting.
Mr. McGee presented the Treasurer’s Report. He noted that the Authority expenses to date were a total of $212,045.32.
Mr. McGee distributed a list
of checks for the Board’s consideration. William Donnelly then moved and
Joanna Furia seconded to approve the list of checks in the amount of $35,527.87; the motion passed
unanimously.
Mr. McGee informed the
board that a proposal for the Audit of Records has been requested from Bee & Bergvall in which a response is
expected by the next meeting. The Audit is required to be submitted to the State each year in June.
Mr. McGee provided a
brief overview of a copy of letters received from Army Secretary Whitaker and Navy Secretary Winter. Secretary
Whitaker’s letter to Governor Rendell indicated the Army validated a 40 acre federal requirement for the PA Army
National Guard at Willow Grove and 25 acres for construction of an Army Reserve Center. Mr. Whitaker advised the Governor that the Army was not interested in retaining any
additional acreage. Secretary Winter’s letter to Congressman Murtha
indicates that the Navy was looking to receive an additional 60-day extension of the Surplus Determination (SD) to
resolve the location of the Army National Guard’s 40 acres but that the Navy would declare the remainder of the
property surplus.
Mr. McGee reviewed a
PowerPoint presentation plan depicting the airbase. The FAA has a request for four acres for the radar tower on the
Horsham Road side of the base, which serves as a back-up to Philadelphia International Airport. The Air Force has
requested an additional 17 acres for security purposes. The LRA has requested that the 65 acres requested by the Army
be moved to provide greater flexibility in the planning process. Ongoing dialogue between the three branches of
service concerning a number of issues needs to be worked out before making a declaration of surplus.
A letter submitted by
Shaw Environmental was reviewed regarding an unsolicited proposal to acquire the excess property from the Navy in
exchange for providing military construction services to the Department of the Navy equal to the mutually agreed to
fair market value of the property.
Mr. Ken Plunkett,
Horsham resident, requested the Board consider requesting an FAA Master Study Plan by the LRA. After some discussion and with the Board’s concurrence, Mr. Whiteside informed Mr.
Plunkett that the Authority will request the Plan at a later date after a declaration of surplus is
made. The Board feels requesting the Plan would be premature at
this time.
Mr. McGee provided Board
members with an Installation Summary Report CD dated September 2006 for their use. Also distributed was a copy of
information from Mike Shea of the Montgomery County Workforce pertaining to the County’s Contract with Penn State
University to conduct a detailed study of the economic impact of job loss to our region.
Mr. McGee provided an
overview of the Horsham Memorial Army Reserve Center located off Route 611 (Easton Road), approximately 7 acres of
property already declared as surplus on May 9, 2006. Proposals by the Hatboro-Horsham School District will need the
support of the Federal Department of Education and the Willow Grove CDC will need support from HUD, which they have
not received. Reverend Kotzen, of Willow Grove CDC, who was in
attendance confirmed that the Willow Grove CDC’s proposal was for affordable low income housing and they do not
provide service to the homeless.
Mr. Robert Reichert,
Wayne Lankford and Dennis Stinson appeared on behalf of the Hatboro-Horsham School District. Mr. Reichert indicated
the proposal submitted would be to relocate and expand current maintenance and transportation operations as well as
playing fields for the school district. Mr. Stinson, Director of Operations, discussed the need for warehouse
facilities, storage of equipment and additional shop space in which they propose to renovate the 3-bay garage and use
Moreland Road as an access point for the garage. Mr. Lankford, Director of Transportation informed the board the
additional space will allow the district to store up to six buses and two vans. An access point is proposed from the
rear of the existing lot along the tree line so as not to disturb existing ball fields utilized by Hallowell
Elementary. The school district also intends to demolish the existing main Army Reserve building adjacent to
Hallowell Elementary to provide for playing fields. Total cost of renovations is estimated at approximately
$650,000. Mr. Reichert indicated the district is in the process of
submitting the necessary applications and proposal in which there is to be an expected administrative fee of 20% of
the fair market value for land used for administrative purposes, Mr. Reichert was reported that the expected cost is
reportedly in the range of $98,000.
Gary Horne, a Horsham
resident questioned the proximity of the building to areas of environmental issues. Mr. McGee indicated the “hot
spot” areas are located further up Rt. 611 near the main gate. Mr. Ken Plunkett questioned why the school district
could not utilize the new Highway Department’s building on Horsham Road as storage space. Mr. Reichert indicated it
would not be cost effective.
A motion was made by
David Creamer, seconded by William Donnelly in support of the School District’s proposal and asked that Mr. McGee
draft a reuse plan indicating same. Motion passed with abstention from Mr. Curtis Griffin.
Mr. Toll and Ms. Eberle had no Legal Counsel reports.
Liz Gabor via phone
provided the OEA Update. She indicated that the Army’s Environmental Condition of Property report is completed and
that the Army is expected to send it to the LRA shortly. Information can be found on the BRAC website. Mr. McGee
indicated Ms. Gabor assisted in the preparation of the Grant Application for Planning Assistance for NAS Willow
Grove, Phase I. He advised the Board that a draft copy of same was
distributed to them in their packets. He anticipates that it will be
ready for their consideration at next month’s meeting.
Greg Preston of the Navy
BRAC PMO office was present to discuss the 60-day extension of the declaration of surplus. Also present from the Navy
BRAC PMO office were David Drozd and Ralph Lombardo, Esq. Mr. Preston
stated that anticipated date for surplus determination is April 8, 2007. Mr. McGee provided the Board with an email
from the Secretary of the Navy to the Secretary of Defense looking for input from the LRA that they are on board with
the proposed 60-day extension. Mr. Preston suggested that the Board
schedule a presentation with Ms. Kimberly Kessler of the Navy’s BRAC PMO office to receive detailed information of
the benefits of utilizing the a real property exchange in a manner as suggested by Shaw
Environmental. In addition, Mr. Preston provided a explanation of
the “in kind” transfers under 10 U.S. 2869.
A motion was made by David Creamer, seconded by Carolyn Carluccio to support
the 60-day extension with the understanding that a declaration of surplus will be made by April 8 2007 and that Mr.
McGee forward such a letter noting that the HLRA is anxious to proceed and encouraged by Secretary Winter’s letter
and that a meeting be scheduled with Ms. Kessler as soon as practical. Motion passed unanimously. Mr. Plunkett questioned why the Board considered the real
property exchange proposal and not others, such as homeland security. Mr. Whiteside indicated the Board will be
interested in hearing reuse proposals once the declaration of surplus has been made and that the real property
exchange process was only one of the means of property disposal that is available to the Navy.
There was no one present
to provide an Army PMO update.
Mr. Whiteside asked for
any unfinished business, there was none.
Mr. Whiteside asked if there where any questions or comments from those in
attendance. There being none, the meeting adjourned at 4:20
p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Michael J. McGee
Executive Director
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