Maine Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins announced the U.S. Department of the Army’s decision to budget $23 million for developments at the Brunswick Naval Air Base. The project will not interfere with Bowdoin’s plan to build a storage facility elsewhere on the property.
The budget will cover the costs of constructing a new Armed Forces Reserve Center, or what Dwaine Drummond, the directorate of facilities engineering to the Maine National Guard, calls a “readiness center.”
The new facility will support the missions of the Maine National Guard’s 133rd Battalion, which is currently based in Gardiner, Maine.
“That facility is roughly 60 years old and has some significant condition issues, drainage issues, lead issues,” explained Drummond. “It really has outlived its usefulness and life-expectancy.”
With this in mind, Drummond and the Maine National Guard began planning the new center years ago in order to get ahead of what would be a lengthy process.
“The programming of military construction is a seven year process,” he said. “In this case it was actually more, so at this point it’s really been about eight years, and that’s just the formal request.”
Drummond and his squad then took their proposal to Congress, which authorized the project. However, the competition from other states desiring funding for their own projects poses another problem.
This year, Maine got funding for two such projects.
“We’ve gone about seven or eight years with nothing built,” said Drummond, explaining how Maine won the money over its competition. “We have also shown the National Guard a willingness to reduce our carbon footprint in the past.”
Drummond emphasized the base’s continued commitment to staying green as it formulates plans for the new Readiness Center. The center will be filled with natural lighting and solar power for heating. This energy efficiency will reduce costs for the facility.
“Going to natural gas reduces maintenance, and geothermal wells like we have in Bangor reduce the necessity to raise the temperatures of the water,” said Drummond.
While Brunswick has no choice but to support the upcoming construction, some in the town remain skeptical.
“There’s nothing wrong with a continued military presence at the base,” said Benet Pols, a Brunswick at-large town councilor. “But the primary mission of the redevelopment authority, and of legislative leaders, should be on commercial redevelopment rather than relying on additional government subsidies.”
Pols said that the main problem with this construction will be taxes.
“The Army reserve center will not pay property taxes. The payroll for the soldiers training at the reserve center will likely be spent in their home communities, not locally,” said Pols.
“Even a small orthopedic practice, or a little dance studio would pay property taxes. In addition the salaries paid, even at smallest businesses, would be reinvested in town just as the salaries of Bowdoin faculty are,” he added.
Drummond acknowledged the difficulty the Naval Air Base project presents for the local community.
“They’ve had a very difficult task—it has a huge impact on their economy. Our project is a small feat compared to what they all have to deal with and we don’t always agree, but we find a way to get where we need to be,” he said.
Drummond hopes to begin the project by the end of October and anticipates its completion in summer 2014.
An earlier version of this article mistakenly reported that Brunswick At-Large Town Councilor Benet Pols believes the Readiness Center will strain the local economy. The online version has been corrected.
Maine Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins announced the U.S. Department of the Army’s decision to budget $23 million for developments at the Brunswick Naval Air Base. The project will not interfere with Bowdoin’s plan to build a storage facility elsewhere on the property.
The budget will cover the costs of constructing a new Armed Forces Reserve Center, or what Dwaine Drummond, the directorate of facilities engineering to the Maine National Guard, calls a “readiness center.”
The new facility will support the missions of the Maine National Guard’s 133rd Battalion, which is currently based in Gardiner, Maine.
“That facility is roughly 60 years old and has some significant condition issues, drainage issues, lead issues,” explained Drummond. “It really has outlived its usefulness and life-expectancy.”
With this in mind, Drummond and the Maine National Guard began planning the new center years ago in order to get ahead of what would be a lengthy process.
“The programming of military construction is a seven year process,” he said. “In this case it was actually more, so at this point it’s really been about eight years, and that’s just the formal request.”
Drummond and his squad then took their proposal to Congress, which authorized the project. However, the competition from other states desiring funding for their own projects poses another problem.
This year, Maine got funding for two such projects.
“We’ve gone about seven or eight years with nothing built,” said Drummond, explaining how Maine won the money over its competition. “We have also shown the National Guard a willingness to reduce our carbon footprint in the past.”
Drummond emphasized the base’s continued commitment to staying green as it formulates plans for the new Readiness Center. The center will be filled with natural lighting and solar power for heating. This energy efficiency will reduce costs for the facility.
“Going to natural gas reduces maintenance, and geothermal wells like we have in Bangor reduce the necessity to raise the temperatures of the water,” said Drummond.
While Brunswick has no choice but to support the upcoming construction, some in the town remain skeptical.
Benet Pols, a Brunswick at-large town councilor, said he believes the Readiness Center will strain the local economy.
“There’s nothing wrong with a continued military presence at the base,” said Pols, “but the primary mission of the redevelopment authority, and of legislative leaders, should be on commercial redevelopment rather than relying on additional government subsidies.”
Pols said that the main problem with this construction will be taxes.
“The Army reserve center will not pay property taxes. The payroll for the soldiers training at the reserve center will likely be spent in their home communities, not locally,” said Pols.
“Even a small orthopedic practice, or a little dance studio would pay property taxes. In addition the salaries paid, even at smallest businesses, would be reinvested in town just as the salaries of Bowdoin faculty are,” he added.
Drummond acknowledged the difficulty the Naval Air Base project presents for the local community.
“They’ve had a very difficult task—it has a huge impact on their economy. Our project is a small feat compared to what they all have to deal with and we don’t always agree, but we find a way to get where we need to be,” he said.
Drummond hopes to begin the project by the end of October and anticipates its completion in summer 2014.
