BRAC Announcement
December 15, 2008
Good morning. Thank you for joining us today. Let me start by quickly thanking the members of the BRAC Subcabinet for their work and leadership this past year. Maryland is ready for BRAC and it’s in large part because of the collaborative work we’ve strengthened.
Last year, we came together at a similar time in the year in the State House and we presented our BRAC Action Plan to Governor O’Malley – an action plan built from our conversations with local government and the lessons of past BRAC growth.
So, today, we have the chance to look back on year’s worth of work, and we can say – with great confidence – that we have made significant progress. If last year was defined as a year of planning and listening, this year was marked by our implementation… Like I said already, Maryland is ready for BRAC. Don’t mistake that, though, to mean that we can accommodate 60,000 new jobs and 28,000 new households tomorrow – we can’t. But we are exactly where we need to be at this stage.
We have started infrastructure improvements and put others in the queue. We’ve enacted new policies to enhance the incumbent workforce and develop tomorrow’s. And we’ve done it by forging new partnerships with the public sector, with local government, with the military and with our community of colleges and universities.
So, what have we done the last year? We’ve addressed the two most pressing challenges we face: infrastructure and workforce. And later this week, we’ll release the BRAC Progress Report that will speak in much greater detail.
But let me highlight a few things, starting with the infrastructure: We passed the BRAC Community Enhancement Act and gave the state and local government the authority to negotiate PILOTs with private development on military land to help kick start infrastructure projects near military installations; We passed transit-oriented development legislation that will encourage development near MARC lines rather than rural outposts; We convened a summit of local officials to address water issues near Aberdeen Proving Ground; and we’ve enacted MDOT’s hi/low strategy to prioritize transit projects for the BRAC growth.
And to develop the workforce pipeline: We’ve reached out to incumbent workers at Ft. Monmouth and in Northern Virginia through One Stop Information Centers; We’ve established the Workforce ONE Maryland initiative to provide grants and fund programs to grow Maryland’s professional and technical workforce; We’ve expanded STEM and CTE curriculums across the state and 35 colleges and universities have designated BRAC liaisons to ease student transition into programs; We’ve reached articulation agreements with colleges in New Jersey and eased professional licensing transfers for spouses of military personnel; And, one of the things I’m most proud of, we invested $81 million in capital projects at community colleges because those campuses are indeed one of the finest incubators of today’s workforce.
And today, we’re excited to announce that our progress continues, and will continue into the New Year.
When we presented the Action Plan to Governor O’Malley last December, we – the BRAC Subcabinet – indicated the need for two pieces of priority legislation: the BRAC Community Enhancement Act and a BRAC Higher Education Fund.
The Community Enhancement Act was initially designed to clarify the state’s authority to negotiate a PILOT with private developers on military land. From our conversations with local leaders through the BRAC Local Government Subcommittee, we included language to create the BRAC Revitalization Zones, and we are very thankful to the Subcommittee for their input. The BRAC Zone program is already receiving national attention as a model for how to complement BRAC growth with sustainable strategies and it’ll prove to be economically sound as well.
Generally speaking, the $5 million appropriation in 2011 is capable of financing $50 million in infrastructure, and should leverage at least two times that amount from local and other partners. In other words, the BRAC Zone appropriation is expected to give us an estimated $150 million in capital funding for division among the BRAC Zones that are ultimately approved.
And after carefully reviewing the applications, it’s my distinct pleasure to announce the 2009 BRAC Zone designees:
- Baltimore City BRAC Zone – Westport Waterfront Development
- Andrews Air Force Base – Branch Avenue Corridor BRAC Zone
- City of Frederick East Side BRAC Zone
- City of Laurel BRAC Zone
- Odenton Town Center BRAC Zone
I’d like to thank the local leaders from these jurisdictions for joining us today. I had the opportunity to tour each of these projects with Sec. Edgerley and we were both very impressed with your applications.
Today, we’re also announcing the first recipients of BRAC Higher Education Investment Fund Grants. The Higher Education Fund was passed by the General Assembly to provide funds specifically to help meet our BRAC obligations. Any Maryland college – independent, public, community – could apply and the recipients are a diverse mix of colleges and universities from across the state. The original legislation allocated $3 million for the fund this year, but as Governor O’Malley has been heard saying recently, sometimes you need to take three steps forward, and one or two steps back.
We’ve allocated approximately $2 million to thirteen colleges and universities. In all, 16 individual grants have been awarded for new programs that are designed to, among other things, better train BRAC workers, initially hire faculty, and provide online classroom space for incumbent and potential BRAC workers. Secretary Jim Lyons and the Maryland Higher Education Commission did a terrific job reviewing the applications. And, Mr. Secretary, I look forward to visiting as many of these schools as soon as possible to get a full briefing on their programs. With that, let me quickly announce which schools will be receiving grants and I’d like to thank the presidents and the project managers for their work leading up to this announcement and the work that is still to come.
- Baltimore City Community College – $129,676
- Bowie State University – $140,000
- Cecil College (two grants) - $80,828 & $70,000
- Community College of Baltimore County (two grants) - $150,000 & $83,924
- Hagerstown Community College - $113,052
- Harford Community College - $153,198
- Johns Hopkins University - $140,000
- Morgan State University - $107,059
- Prince George’s Community College – $87,000
- Towson University (two grants) - $90,990 & $60,000
- University of Baltimore - $25,381
- UMBC - $135,808
- Washington College - $164,551
I’d like to thank UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski for being here today and for saying a few words on behalf of the colleges and universities. But before Freeman speaks, let me turn the podium over to the mayors and county executives, beginning with the Mayor of the Great City of Baltimore – Mayor Sheila Dixon.
Thank you.