[Archived] City of Alexandria Responds to the Department of Defense Proposed Major Office Closings in the City

City Press Release


	For Immediate Release	For More Information, Contact
	July 6, 2005 PIO# 225-05/rdo	Mark Jinks, Assistant City Manager, at 703.838.4300, or Bernard Caton, Legislative Director, at 703.838.3828 Raynard Owens, Communications Officer, at 703.838.4300

City of Alexandria Responds to the Department of Defense
Proposed Major Office Closings in the City

The City of Alexandria today released its response to the federal Base Closure and Realignment (BRAC) Commission in reaction to the Department of Defense’s (DOD) proposal made in mid-May to relocate 22 different DOD offices out of the City. The City’s response is available on the City’s website at: alexandriava.gov/brac. Under the DOD proposal some 7,200 public and private sector jobs in the City, representing 8% of the City’s employment base, would be moved to locations such as Texas, Kentucky, and Illinois, as well as to other sites in the Washington - Baltimore region. Also, some 32,000 jobs inside the Beltway in neighboring Fairfax and Arlington Counties would also be lost due to DOD proposals to transfer jobs from locations in those jurisdictions.

The key issues being raised by the City are:

1. The amended Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act specified BRAC selection criteria do not include, as a military value consideration, the moving from leased space as an approved criteria.

2. The “Military Value Scoring Plan” used in the Washington D.C. area for major administrative and headquarters activities was deeply flawed and biased.

3. The costing of factors used in the COBRA model resulted in a cost and savings bias against non-military base office buildings.

4. The DoD minimum anti-terrorism standards for new and existing buildings (UFC 4-010-01 8) are overly prescriptive and not performance-based.

5. Material external costs to the Department of Defense are not reflected in the COBRA analyses.

6. The definition of community in the determination of economic impact is overly broad.

7. The risk of organizational disruption of some of the activities that are being moved from leased space to military installations may outweigh the estimated cost savings.

The City’s recommendations to the BRAC Commission are:

1. Recognizing that the Secretary of Defense does not need the BRAC process to consider relocating Commands and Activities from their current leased space to other locations, the Commission should set aside and not approve the DoD recommendations to move Commands and Activities from leased space in Northern Virginia; and

2. The Commission should recommend in its final report to the President that DoD, in the upcoming year(s), undertake a specific, unbundled, detailed analysis of the economic merits, real costs and real potential savings from moving specific Commands and Activities currently based in Northern Virginia from specific leased space to either DoD-owned locations, or to other leased space.

The BRAC Commission is holding its hearing on Virginia base closures and realignments, including those in Alexandria, on Thursday, July 7, at 1:30 p.m. at the Sheraton National Hotel (Columbia Pike at 900 South Orme Street) in Arlington. The City is encouraging those who are concerned about these negative impacts on their DoD office mission as well as the economic impact on the City to attend the hearing. Shuttles for transporting people to the hearing at the Sheraton National Hotel will be provided by Arlington County from the Virginia Square, Courthouse and Crystal City Metrorail stations running every 30 minutes starting at 12:00 noon until 1:30 pm.

The City, the Alexandria Economic Development Partnership, and Congressman Moran are sponsoring an on-line survey of DOD employees’ views of the proposed DOD job moves. The survey may be accessed at: intercom.virginia.edu/SurveySuite/Surveys/BRAC .

The BRAC Commission, which is considering DOD recommendations impacting 837 base closure and realignment recommendations nationwide, is required by federal law to report their recommendations to President Bush by September 8, 2005. The President must either approve or reject the Commission’s recommendations in their entirety by September 23, 2005. If rejected by the President, the Commission must consider the President’s objections and send a revised list back to the President by October 20, 2005. The President then has until November 7, 2005 to forward an approval to Congress. If he does not, the BRAC recommendations are shelved. If approved by the President, the recommendations are forwarded to Congress to consider on an unamendable, accept all, or accept none, basis.

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